Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2002 07:54:41 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Marvel Knights 8 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. Chapter 8 Planning Tandy ran into the apartment and found it empty. 'Everyone must be busy,' Tandy thought. 'I wonder what they are doing.' She walked over and looked in the cupboard. "Oh, look! Doritos!" Tandy grabbed the bag and sat down at the nearby table. As she munched on the chips, she thumbed through the newspaper sitting on the table. Blade pulled up at the apartment complex and parked his motorcycle outside the door. His morning with Whistler was not as fruitful as he had hoped. He wanted Whistler to tell him exactly how Ahriman could be brought down. Granted Whistler gave some help in that area, the tricky part was that it would be very difficult, nearly impossible. 'It would be a bit easier if Tandy were with the group instead of being held prisoner by the psycho,' Blade thought. When he walked past the main room he stopped, turned around and went back. Looking in at the table, he saw Tandy sitting looking at the newspaper. "Tandy?" he asked. Tandy looked up at him. "Blade?" she said giving him a weird look. "You're free. How did that happen?" "I tricked Ahriman and his vampire groupies. Wasn't too difficult. I just used my brain." Knowing how difficult that was for Tandy, Blade just nodded and walked over to the table. "Did you find out anything that can help us?" he asked as he sat down. "You know, Blade, it isn't becoming of you to pine over my safe return. Really, you should be more reserved." Blade just looked at her. Tandy smiled at him knowing her sarcastic comment hit him just the way she wanted. "It's good to have you back," he finally said. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" "Not really. But you make it hard." "And where would the fun be if I didn't make life a little harder for you? See, I knew I could get your personality to change and grow. I think the word is 'evolvo'. Or maybe it's 'evolve'? Isn't evolvo or Volvo a car?" Blade put his head in his hands. Tandy was back. Johnny and Michael finally got dressed. They both became hungry and, since Johnny had no food in his apartment just yet, they had to go out and eat. They went down the stairs, climbed in Michael's Suburban and drove off to a nearby restaurant. They sat down and the two talked about their past and present. In the parking lot, a gray van pulled up. The commandoes looked out through enhanced binoculars and watched the Punisher eat with his newfound friend. The head commando pulled up the handle of the radio and called it in. "This is Heckler. We have the Punisher in sight at a restaurant. He's eating with another guy. Do you wish us to confront the Punisher and bring him into custody?" "Not yet," a voice replied. "Get an ID on the Punisher's friend and contact me. We could use it to our advantage. Follow them and make sure they don't get away." "Understood. Heckler out." Heckler placed the radio back. "Get an ID on the Punisher's friend. I want to know everything about him." "Yes, sir." The commando at the computer terminal took an image from the binoculars and fed it into the machine, then ran the image through several databases throughout the city. One advantage to having the government's backing was that they had access to the government's technology and information. "The guy is Johnny Blaze. He's twenty-six years old. He has an ex-wife and a son named Caleb." "Do we have their address?" "Yes, sir." "Get a unit over there. We may have to take the woman and child into protective custody." Davey took the bus up to the apartment. He wanted to check in with Blade to see if there was any news on Tandy. He would then have to go home and spend time with his mother. She felt so bad about what had happened with the F.O.H. that she wanted to make it up to her son. And Davey was more than happy to oblige his mom. The bus dropped him off down the road and he walked the short distance to the apartment. As he approached he saw Blade's motorcycle sitting by the doorway. 'Blade's here. That's a good sign.' A motor revved and tires screeched. Davey turned and saw Ty's car pull up and Ty climb out. "Hey, little man. How was school?" Ty asked. "Horrible. Harris thinks I don't love him." "Do you?" Davey thought for a moment. "Yeah, I do." "Then the question remains: what are you going to do about it?" Davey smiled. "I have a plan that I'm working on." Ty smiled at Davey in return and they entered the apartment complex looking for Blade. To their shock, when they arrived at the main room, they saw Blade sitting at the table talking to Tandy. "Tandy!" the two young men exclaimed as they ran in and hugged her. "Thank God you're okay!" "I missed you, too, guys." When Ty and Davey released her, Tandy turned to Blade and said, "See, they know how to express themselves. And it doesn't kill them." "Any way..." Blade went on. "What happened while you were with Ahriman?" "It was so scary. In fact, I would like to talk to Whistler about it, too." "He said he would be by later." "Good." Relief was evident on Tandy's face. "After Ahriman got me, he kept telling me how we were linked, how deep down my powers were from the dark side or whatever you want to call it, just like other vampires. I kept denying it but then he took me on a hunt." "A hunt for what?" Davey asked. "Vampires. He took me to a wooded area and forced me to reach deep down inside and listen with my very soul. It was such a Zen experience." "I'm sure it was," Blade said impatiently. "But I felt something. I became something. I could sense the vampires from a distance. My strength increased and my speed increased. And when I fought the vampires, I became cruel and I actually enjoyed inflicting pain on the demons. It was freaky!" "Whoa," Davey whispered. Ty and Blade looked at Davey, rolled their eyes, and turned their attention back to Tandy. "How did you escape?" Ty asked. Tandy filled them in on the rest of the story and they reflected on her words. Blade more intently on Ahriman than the others. He knew Ahriman's strengths and weaknesses. He didn't want the others to be intimidated by what Ahriman could do. They didn't need to know. Not yet at any rate. "What do you think I should do, Blade?" Tandy asked. "We'll keep an eye out on patrol. But we do not engage. None of us. We are not ready to fight him. "While you are in school, I can keep an eye out. Ty, maybe you can put up a mystical barrier around the school to alert us if Ahriman shows up." Ty nodded. "Until then, we hold tight and stay cautious." Davey nodded and left the group followed by Tandy. Ty stayed behind and waited until the two younger ones left. "What's going on, Blade? Yesterday you were gung-ho about us training with Whistler to fight Ahriman. Today you want us to avoid him. What's up?" "Whistler found out some more specific information about Ahriman. Let's just say it doesn't look good for us if we were to get into an all-out fight with him. I don't want Tandy or Davey to know yet. I want to find out some more weaknesses. Maybe Whistler's contacts in Europe can get us the location of Ahriman's sister and he will leave peacefully." Ty nodded in understanding and agreement. "Tandy," Davey said to Tandy as she came out of the room. "Can I talk to you?" "Sure." The two went into another room and Davey sat down. "I have a problem." "With what?" "Harris." "Oh, you decided he didn't look good enough for you, huh? I knew that was coming." "No!" Davey replied rather forcefully, a bit more forcefully than he wanted. "I was hanging out with Larry and Charlie and they made comments about Harris. Now Harris thinks I never cared about him. He believes I picked my friends over him." "That's what you usually do, Davey." "But it's not like that any more. I think...I think I love him, Tandy. And I want to win his trust back." "What can I do for you?" Tandy asked. Davey smiled. Ahriman looked through the local newspaper. "What could be going on that would be a good intro to the world's newest ruler?" His lackeys stood around and said nothing. Ahriman did not expect them to say anything. It wasn't their place, not unless they had some really good useful information. "Well, well, what do we have here. A parade. I always love a parade. It is for celebrating people with differing sexual identities. I thought society was supposed to be advanced. It doesn't look that advanced to me if people need a special parade to celebrate their difference. I mean, why take pride in how one is born? It is a fact of life if one is, let me find the word...ah, here it is...it is a fact of life if one is gay or lesbian or bisexual. There is no reason to be proud." Ahriman considered his words for a moment. "On the other hand, I guess I can see being proud of something that makes one unique and special. Like me, for instance. I've been blessed with good appearance. I've had a wonderful life with my sister, until she was taken from me. Now, all the good that has been done will be countered by my loss. If people will repay my good with evil, I repay their good with evil. And I will get my sister back." Ahriman stood and went to the balcony. He closed his eyes and stretched out his mind seeking all the minds close by. "I will set this town on fire if it will not have me as its leader. I will rule and find my sister or I will cause unspeakable evil to come to these people. No one will keep me from my happiness. No one." As the sun set, Blade, Cloak, Dagger and Marvel Boy headed out on patrol. They pulled their vehicles into an alley and parked them. As they disembarked, Blade stood in front of them to address them. "I want everyone to be careful. Ahriman is a very dangerous vampire. I'm waiting for Whistler to return with information about his weaknesses. Until we get the info we need, keep away from him. Do not engage him in any way. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone nodded. "Good. I've experienced his power firsthand, as has Dagger. I don't want Cloak or Marvel Boy to experience it." The two young men nodded and the group headed out on patrol. As they came to the main street and spread out, Marvel Boy heard a strange flapping sound. "Something's up," he said to anyone who would listen. "Do you hear that noise?" "Ssh," Blade replied. All were silent as the sound of beating wings got louder and louder. Suddenly, about thirty feet in the air, several winged creatures flew. "Oh my god," Cloak said at their sight. "What is that?" The creatures were gray in color with bat-like wings, pointed teeth and large black eyes. Their hands had three fingers, one of which was an opposable thumb, all were clawed. Their feet had two large toes in front and one toe in the back, all were clawed. They were slightly larger than the average man. "Lanithro demons," Whistler answered as he climbed out of his car. "I thought I would find you here causing trouble." "No time for small talk," Blade said. "Do they have any special weaknesses?" "Kill them like you do anything else. They are tough, though." One of the creatures swooped down and picked Marvel Boy up in his claws. "Marvel Boy!" Cloak replied. "Malleolus!" Several darts of fire shot from Cloak out at the Lanithro demon. Cloak turned to Dagger. "See, I can do that, too." Dagger smiled at Cloak. "Consequi," Cloak called out. Energy flowed out of his hand and wrapped around Marvel Boy, catching the youth before he could get hurt. Cloak lowered his friend to the ground. "Look out," Whistler called out. The Lanithro demons turned and came toward the group. Everyone dropped to the ground as they swooped by attempting to grab someone. "Into the alley," Whistler ordered. The group stood and ran into the alley as the Lanithro demons made a second attempt at grabbing them. "It looks like a family has come to town," Whistler informed. "They must be protecting something or someone." "Could it be Ahriman?" Blade asked. "I don't think so. Ahriman isn't one to get involved in magic. In all actuality, the species of vampire Ahriman is of cannot perform any magical spells or incantations. The closest they have to magical powers are those which come naturally to them over time." "Like..."Dagger said. "Telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis. Mostly powers that deal with their mind. The species Ahriman is from tend to be very intelligent and resourceful." "So we rule Ahriman out as the one behind this new group of baddies," Cloak summarized. "What now?" Dagger stood as a Lanithro headed into the alley. She created a large energy around her hand and threw it out. A large light dart flew into the air and hit the demon. The light dagger paralyzes the creature and it falls to the ground. "Good work," Whistler praised. Dagger smiled and clapped her hands. "Yay me!" The demons screeched loudly. "They aren't very happy," Whistler said. "Look out." Every jumped to the corners where the buildings met the alley and flattened out, making it harder for the Lanithro to grasp anyone. The demons, however, did not have any intentions of grabbing the demon hunters. Instead, two grabbed the fallen Lanithro and picked up. After several cries in the humans' direction, the Lanithro flew off into the night. "That was very strange," Blade said. "I've never dealt with them before, or any other kind of demon before. Usually all we deal with are vampires and the occasional crazed witch or wizard." "Welcome to my world," Whistler responded. "I've dealt with all kinds of things." "Looks like you are the one to have around any more," Cloak replied. "That's a good thing," Marvel Boy said. After several minutes of waiting for the Lanithro to come back, Whistler stood. "I think it is safe to come out. They don't seem to be returning." Everyone stood and looked around. "Now we have something else to investigate," Blade replied. "Ever since you showed up, we've had more intense things to deal with. Why is that?" "It's not my fault," Whistler replied. "I guess my timing is just impeccable." "Let's get some patrolling done," Blade replied. The group went out in search of vampires to slay. To Be Continued...