Alrighty, part 2 of The Terror Beyond. I will say this, I am having fun writing this and I will be including some moments from the Ghost Rider movie. I am also open to suggestion for future chapters. Also, ONE HUNDRED FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS! INCREDIBLE! Thank you all for the support! Also, for some of you readers who think I was wrong when Mephisto said Jason was one of his most effective Rider's, I meant in terms of taking on bad guys and winning but not killing, like with the Justice Lords, they are the Justice Leagues counterparts and as such, the amount of individuals capable of taking out five of the seven Leaguers can be counted on one hand. So making it into that category is an accomplishment in itself. Anyway, I was thinking a bit further ahead to the point in the three-part episode starcrossed. I know some of you are kinda mad at me for always interrupting the Rider before he gets to the kill, well I will say in that episode, a lot of birds a gonna get fried, excluding Hawkgirl cause I want to include her in future chapters. Okay, enough talking, the Rider is gonna get annoyed.
Disclaimer: all characters and events are reserved by Marvel and whoever owns Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Fate's Tower
Things went from bad to worse when the League first arrived at the tower. Fighting against Doctor Fate, Grundy, and Aquaman had slightly drained the four Leaguers but that was only slightly. Now they were all staring down a massive demon? Monster? God? Superman, Diana, and the Ghost Rider weren't quite sure. The monster may not have done anything, yet, but that did not seem to stop Grundy who took the intruder as a threat. In the sense, he wasn't wrong.
"Worm face tries to attack Grundy's friends. GRUNDY CRUSH!" Grundy growled as he began to walk forward and attack the intruder. He was stopped by Aquaman who had run in front of him.
"Stay back, all of you. Everything is in the hands of Fate now," Aquaman pushed Grundy aside, not to knock him over but to allow Fate to fly up to confront the attacker. Chanting a short spell, Fate shot a beam of energy right at the forehead of the monster. The beam seemed to have some effect but the monster turned the tide and shot a beam of its own energy and canceled out Fate's power. Soon the beam that the monster shot struck Fate in the chest and caused electricity to crackle across the sorcerer. Fate cried in pain as the power of the monster overturned his.
"My turn," The Ghost Rider snarled and ran forward, its scythe in hand. The Rider swung a wide blow at the monster, sending a wave of fire right at it. The wave struck the monster in the face, causing its beam to falter. The Rider jumped into the air so that it was right next to Fate. Once he was next to him, the Rider held out its weapon for Fate to grab a hold of. Fate began to chant a new spell, the blade of the scythe began to glow as the Rider's blue hellfire was combined with Fates' magic. The Rider began to recite the same chant with Fate, the stream of hellfire and magic overloading the monster till it roared in pain, the hellfire covering the monsters portal and forcefully closing it.
With the portal closed, the Rider fell down to the ground but landed gracefully while Fate hovered down to meet up with the others. Fate leaned on the Rider for a second as he caught his breath, being forced to use an incantation while under a lot of mental stress from earlier took a lot out of him. Once Fate had a minute or so he stood up, the Rider made his scythe disappear so as to not hurt anyone, but since the fight had taken its' toll, even on him, he changed back to Jason, careful to reform his sunglasses.
"How could you possibly know that incantation?" asked Fate while looking at Jason. Jason merely shrugged.
"Rider did, I had no clue what it meant," replied Jason as he looked at the sorcerer.
"Is it over?" asked Aquaman, right after Jason.
"No, only a beginning." answered Fate, "It will rest, then attack again. We mus complete the original spell." Inza then stepped towards her husband.
"You don't have the strength." said Inza.
"Nor do I have a choice."
Seeing that they were getting more questions than answers, Superman stepped forward.
"What is going on here?" requested the man of steel. "What was that thing?"
"There's no time." interjected Aquaman. But Wonder Woman and Jason were not gonna have any of that.
"Then make time." demanded Wonder Woman.
"Or maybe because you're afraid cause there's no water here." added Jason while folding his arms. Much to his surprise and the surprise of the rest of the League, Hawkgirl spoke up.
"We're not gonna fight again are we?" asked Hawkgirl. Fate nodded.
"No, we aren't. I'll show you what you wish to know." With that, Fate clapped his hands together and created a cloud of violet smoke. The smoke rose into the air and began to create some images. One of which was a city that was floating on the ocean.
"Pretty." breathed Grundy as he saw the city.
"Where is that?" asked Superman as he did not recognize the city.
"It's Atlantis thousands of years before it sank beneath the waves." explained Aquaman. Jason had to give the Atlantians credit for architecture. "In those days Atlantis was ruled by Sorcerer Kings."
"And fortunately so," added Fate, "For Atlantis, along with most of the ancient world, found itself under attack by extradimensional beings called "The Old Ones." The images changed to that of the city being attacked by enormous monsters. But it wasn't the monsters that drew Jason's attention, but rather the name.
"That name sounds familiar." muttered Jason, summoning the Rider's journal, he flipped to the very beginning, stopping on the same image of the Skull monster with the tentacles. "Ixthultu?" spoke Jason as he read the name. Aquaman and Fate then looked at Jason for a moment. "What?"
"How do you know that name?" asked Fate as he stopped the images for a second. Jason did not answer but handed Fate the journal.
"There's a brief mention of this Ixthultu, in the Ghost Rider's journal. Something tells me he was somehow involved in this whole thing."
"And you would be correct," answered Aquaman. "He gambled that the Old Ones could be stopped, but not alone." The images changed to Poseidon meeting up with a warrior whose skull was bathed in amber fire. The two shook hands, then gathered some power together. "Poseidon and the Ghost Rider gathered nearly all of the ambient mystical energy on earth. The forged it into two weapons. The Trident of Atlantis, and the Ghost Rider's Hellfire. Together, served to banish the Old Ones from our realm." The images changed to show the Rider picking up a long sword, the blade becoming bathed in flames, changing into an orange and black sword with a skull near the base of the hilt. (Think the Dota 2 Demon edge). The Rider swung his blade in a wide arch, a wave of fire erupted and slammed into one of the monsters that were attacking Atlantis, Poseidon raised his trident and fired a ray of energy from it to disintegrate another one. The two then faced Ixthultu, raising their respective weapons, they both fired a stream of energy at Ixthultu, the collective energy was enough to banish the monster.
"But the price was high for both of them," continued Fate, "Poseidon knew that the same mystic energy he and the Rider used to defeat the old ones also powered the spells that prevented Atlantis from sinking beneath the ocean. As for the Rider, he knew that he had to take some of Gods power to save the world, as well as Satan's power. So in order to pay his debt, the Ghost Rider became a wandering spirit, bringing vengeance wherever he wandered, working forever for the devil, till at last, he went mad and became the violent monster that he is. They had saved the world, but both faced a specific doom of their own. Atlantis doomed to forever rest at the bottom of the sea, and the Ghost Rider forever drove to quench his unrestrained hunger for vengeance."
"Now they old ones seek to return to our world," concluded Fate, the images disappearing and the smoke as well, "Already, fissures have appeared, allowing creatures from their world to gain entrance into ours."
Jason looked utterly surprised to hear that the Rider had a history with Atlantis. He turned to Aquaman for a second. "Sorry about what I said before, I just never realized the history of your ancestors and the line of Ghost Riders."
"Your apology is accepted," answered Aquaman. "However, when you interrupted, we were helping Fate cast a spell to bar their way."
"And now we must complete the ceremony." added Fate. Fate perked up at the thought of possibly regaining his soul. Jason noticed the perk up in Grundy's behavior.
"I won't let you torture Grundy again." Stated Diana as she put herself in front of Grundy. Grundy's face fell slightly. However, Hawkgirl had a slightly different idea.
"It's not exactly torture, Diana," explained Hawkgirl, "More like... sacrifice."
"How come you know so much about this?" asked Superman as he stepped up.
"My people once worshiped Ixthultu."
"How does that work?" asked Jason.
"The old ones are an evil not bound by your understanding of geography." explained Fate.
"In return for his favors, my ancestors made offerings to him."
"I can't believe anyone would cooperate with that...thing." began Aquaman as he was slightly surprised to hear this as much as Diana, and Superman were surprised.
"To be fair, I made a deal with the devil. Sold my soul to help save my sister from a life of being handicapped." interjected Jason, "But then I made another deal to get my soul back and have full control over the Rider." Diana nodded that Jason made two deals with Mephisto.
"It was thousands of years ago. We were still a primitive culture." defended Hawkgirl as she looked down for a moment.
"With your knowledge, perhaps you can help with the ceremony." concluded Fate. Superman, however, did not really like the idea of sacrifice.
"Forget the ceremony. We're not sacrificing Grundy or anybody else." stated Superman.
"Grundy volunteered." countered Aquaman.
"I'm not sure he's competent to volunteer." retorted Superman, "Does he even understand what you're asking of him?"
"Grundy understands." began Grundy, "Grundy helps magician, then magician help Grundy."
"I agree with Superman. There has to be another way." conquered Diana as she stepped forward.
"There is," answered Hawkgirl while raising her mace. Jason agreed with what she had in mind.
"Better to take out the source of the problem then just put it off for a later date." agreed Jason. "We go to Ixthultu's dimension and we kick his slimy-"
"Bird Nose and Matchstick is right. Fight, not hide." agreed Grundy, clenching his right fist.
"No. We should stick to our original plan." disagreed Aquaman. Jason, however, shook his head.
"It will work only for a period of time, not a permanent solution. If it were the case, then none of us would be here." countered Jason.
"I agree with the Rider. This may be better," concurred Fate, "It's more likely to work than simply recasting a broken spell."
"It's a fool's errand," retorted Aquaman, "I joined with you to protect Atlantis."
"But you will still be doing that." interjected Jason. "You'll just be taking a more proactive approach." Aquaman thought about what he could say to convince Aquaman to help them. "Okay, you don't have to directly help us, but you can help by making sure any monsters that get through one of these fissures Fate talked about are beat or turned back to their dimension. Given your people's history with Ixthultu, I would hazard a guess he might target Atlantis first rather than the rest of the world. It was Poseidon's and the Rider's powers that banished him all those years ago, so this could be personally."
Aquaman looked away for a moment before turning back to Jason. "You make a compelling argument. Very well, I'll help act as border patrol." With that, he began to leave.
"We need his power," began Fate, but Jason raised a hand.
"It was the combined power of both his trident and my hellfire that can take on these monsters. But I can go against these monsters just fine on my own," explained Jason, "Half is better than none."
"Very well," answered Fate, he raised a hand towards Aquaman, who had picked up his fallen Trident, "A spell to return you home." His hand glowed with gold and violet energy and a beam shot out to Aquaman, who was teleported away in a second. Once Aquaman was gone, Fate turned to his wife.
"Inza, I must ask you-"
"To remain here as you anchor so you can find your way back." finished Inza as she guessed what Fate was going to ask.
"Prepare yourselves." began Fate, he then created a golden ankh that transported himself, Grundy and the Leaguers to Ixthultu's dimension. In the dimension, it looked as if it were some sort of nightmare, the sky and ground barely looked conceivable.
"This place is giving me a headache." muttered Jason as he rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up before setting them back in place.
"I always thought it was a fable to scare children." murmured Hawkgirl as she looked around the dimension.
"I'll take point." Said, Superman, as he flew up into the air.
"No! Keep down!" ordered Fate as he sent a beam of energy after Superman. The beam wrapped around Supermans' waist and pulled him back down to the ground.
"What did you do that for?" asked Superman once he was back on the ground.
"In this real, ground and sky are not always parallel." explained Fate. "If you are separated you could become hopelessly lost." Jason looked around and could see how that would work.
"Okay, so most laws of physics are out the window here." surmised Jason as he pulled out his chain and extended it. He then wrapped it around his shoulder going across his chest to his opposite him before going back to the shoulder. "Lets' get moving. The end of the world isn't gonna wait." Fate nodded and began to lead the League and Grundy to Ixthultu's location. As they were walking across a narrow stretch, Superman took the time to ask a few question to Hawkgirl about how Ixthultu used to be worshiped by the Thanagarians.
"I still don't see how your people could have fallen under the sway of a creature like Ixthultu." began Superman as he spoke with Hawkgirl.
"Thanagar was a harsh world in those days." explained Hawkgirl. "Ixthultu gave us agriculture, Mathematics, philosophy. The foundations of our entire culture." Jason nodded as he could how her people would worship Ixthultu.
"Now I understand why." said Jason as he entered the conversation. "Ixthultu basically gave you the means to provide for yourselves. But what changed?"
"You stopped believing in him." agreed Diana. Hawkgirl looked at her for a second before looking back to the road ahead.
"Yes." answered Hawkgirl. "Modern Thanagarians bow down to no higher power." Jason hung back till he was beside Grundy, he had heard the conversation but chose not to include himself.
"Explains a lot don't it?" Jason whispered to Grundy. Grundy nodded as he fought against Hawkgirl and even though he did not know her personally, even he could see that she was slightly rebellious, not afraid to voice her own opinion. Soon the group came upon a narrow canyon.
"I sense that we are very near our goal." informed Fate as he continued to walk forward. But he stopped in his tracks when the walls on either side broke apart to reveal several monsters. Ones that had were gray, had no head, large bodies, arms, legs, and hands. In the monsters hands were a pair of mouths with irregular teeth. Several more came out of the ground. Once out of the ground, the monsters held out their hands and a horrendous shriek erupted from the mouths. There was enough force behind the shriek to cause the ground to shatter heading right for the group. At the last second, Fate was able to create a shield to protect them while the League stood back-to-back staring down several monsters that had surrounded them.
More monsters joined in on the sonic attack and continued to try and break the shield. Fate was able to hold, but barely. However, several monsters had actually been under the shield dome, grabbing a hold of Fate's legs and attempted to pull him down. The ground itself was not actually stone, but some kind of flesh. The monsters the grabbed Fate began to pull him down, causing him to drop the shield. Moving as fast as possible, Hawkgirl and Diana grabbed Fate by his shoulders and attempted to pull him free. This did not stop the horrendous shriek from the monsters to affect the group. Jason's hands shot to his ears as he tried to block out the noise, falling to his knees screaming pain from the noise.
Superman was able to withstand the sonic wave, but several monsters attacked him, sending him flying into Hawkgirl as she and Diana continued to try and free Fate. Without her help, Diana was left trying to keep Fate from being pulled under. Hawkgirl saw her mace right in front of her. She reached out to grab the handle, but a monster planted its foot on the shaft, raising its hands to send a sonic shriek right at her. Before it could do that, it was torn in half by Grundy who saw her get knocked down.
"Grundy hates stupid screaming men!" bellowed Grundy as he looked around to see more monsters attacking. Several monsters had gone after Jason, dog-piling him and beating him. Fate, who had been freed by Diana, cast a spell that sent an enormous volley of energy pulses towards a group of monsters, turning them into dust on impact.
Jason was now getting angry, seeing his friends fighting for their lives. The monsters that were dog piling continued to beat him, but the pain only added to an emotion he was familiar with: anger. Once monster that was on the top of the dog pile was suddenly impaled by Jasons' arm, Jason roared at the top of his lungs as his skull became engulfed in blue flames. A shot of fire was blasted out of the pile, followed by another in a different direction. The pile then exploded in a blue fireball as the Ghost Rider roared into the sky. The flames around his skull burning a bright blue. The Rider snarled at several monsters, pulling out his chain, he charged right at them, chain slicing through them like a hot knife through warm butter.
A monster had managed to sneak up behind the Rider, the Rider whipping around to take a sonic shriek point blank. "Shut up!" bellowed the Rider as he impaled his arm through the monster. Grundy seeing that his friends were about to be overrun, jumped up into the air to land on top of a large arch and grabbed a boulder that was on top. Lifting the boulder over his head, he hurled it down on top of several monsters that had been attacking the Ghost Rider and Hawkgirl. Seeing their enemies beat the looked up to see Grundy standing above them. This minor victory was short-lived as several monsters erupted from the ground around Grundy.
"Grundy knows how to crush lots of screaming men!" shouted Grundy as he raised his fists into the air. He swung them down onto the arch he had been standing on, causing a shockwave the knocked several dozens off the arch, also causing a chunk of the arch to break off and crush several monsters as well as cut off a few hundred from the League. Grundy was satisfied for a moment or at least until the arch he had been standing broke in half, causing him to fall as well.
Grundy yelled in surprise when he began to fall. The Ghost Rider pulled out his chain and ran over to the edge, swinging the chain above his head for a moment, he swung it down so it wrapped around Grundys' wrist. Grundy noticed the sudden stop and looked up to see the Ghost Rider pulling him back up. Hawkgirl had flown down to help get Grundy up and out of danger.
"Bird Nose and Matchstick helps Grundy? But Bird Nose, Matchstick, and their friends hate Grundy." asked Grundy confused at seeing two heroes go out and save him.
"Grundy help Bird Nose and Matchstick, and Bird Nose and Matchstick help Grundy, ok?" replied Hawkgirl as she continued to help Grundy up along with Ghost Rider. Once Grundy was back on the ground, Grundy untied the chain around his wrist.
"Bird Nose and Matchstick go help smash, Grundy want in? asked Ghost Rider as he turned around and charged back into the fray. Hawkgirl was right behind him, Ghost Rider slicing through the monsters with ease and Hawkgirl crushed the ones he missed with her mace. Diana had swung her lasso around the wrists of one monster and swung it around to slam into a horde of monsters. Fate had begun to use another spell, this one had sent out a shockwave that destroyed several monsters, while Superman had charged forward and crushed the last monster.
"Everybody okay?" asked Superman looking around the group.
"Ok." answered Grundy.
"Fine." replied Hawkgirl.
"I am unharmed." confirmed Fate.
"Worse for wear." answered the Ghost Rider, being the only one who got dog piled. Despite the beating, the Rider was far more resilient than most would guess. "Let's move." The Rider then changed back to Jason. He had a few tears in his jacket and clothing, but he was otherwise unharmed.
Superman nodded and he and Fate took the lead towards where ever Ixthultu waited for them. The group continued onward to Ixthultu, this time through a wider more exposed part of his dimension. As they walked, Hawkgirl and Diana began a sort of conversation.
"Let me ask you something. Do you really gain strength when you call on your gods?" asked Hawkgirl as she walked beside Diana. Diana looked at her for a moment before answering.
"Of course I do." answered Diana simply. "My beliefs sustain me."
Hawkgirl looked down for a moment. "That must be comforting." said Hawkgirl sadly as she continued to look down. Jason noticed this.
"There are times when faith is all we've got to rely on." began Jason as he walked beside Hawkgirl on hr right. "It doesn't hurt to put faith in something so you don't have to deal with something by yourself." The quiet moment was ended when a huge shadow passed overhead.
"Great Hera!" exclaimed Diana as she looked up to see a migration of monsters heading for something. Though these monsters were far larger than the ones they had just dealt with. Each one of them was heading for some sort of portal to their left.
"What is that?" demanded Hawkgirl as she saw the portal for herself.
"One of the fissures Fate told us about." answered Jason as he looked down at the portal.
"Yes, it is the breach between this dimension and our own." confirmed Fate as he looked down at the portal. "My spell weakens. It is only a matter of time until it fails altogether."
"Then we draw a line in the sand a hold them off." concluded Jason as he stepped forward. "Superman, you wanna lead the charge?"
"Not all of us can go." cautioned Fate as he entered the conversation. "Superman, you and Wonder Woman halt their advance. The rest of us will take the battle to Ixthultu." With that, Fate created a golden bridge towards the portal. Diana and Superman looked over the bridge. "Stay on the path." They both nodded and began to run down the pathway towards the breach. On the other side of the breach, things were far worse.
Atlantis
Aquaman's forces were being decimated byIxthultu's forces. Battleships were being crushed by the giant monsters, his men barely able to hold back the coming forces of the extradimensional creatures. A squad of soldiers riding underwater jet skis fired at a monster that was crushing a battleship. The vessel did not last long as it was snapped in half by the creature. Aquaman could see this was a losing battle but he was far from giving up and retreating. Using his telepathic link to sea life, Aquaman summoned several hundred animals to assist him. The animals ranged from whales to sharks, a few smaller predatory fish, and many more animals. Riding the back of an orca whale, Aquaman fired his trident at the coming monsters, the beam slicing through their flesh. Suddenly, a few dozen tentacles slammed into the orca what, knocking Aquaman off, leaving him vulnerable to several monsters that began to swarm him.
With Fate, Grundy, Hawkgirl, and Jason, things were eerily quiet. Fate had led them to a large plain, one that was seemingly leading to nowhere. They had been treking for some time. After a few more paces, Fate stopped, raising his hand to let the others know to stop as well.
"Magician, why we stop?" asked Grundy as he looked around.
"He's here. I feel him." answered Fate as he looked around. Jason also did the same.
"I'm not sure if you can see that well with that helmet on but there's nothing." retorted Jason sounding mildly frustrated.
"No he is here, I am telling you I feel him."
"Well, you're wrong there's nothing here."
"This is the only place he could be."
"And I'm telling you, how can we be here with him, if he isn't even here!" stated Jason as he walked in front of the group spreading his arms to emphasize that no one is here. A bright light erupted behind Jason. He had to shield his eyes for a moment to allow them to adjust before he could see a massive skull monster, his eye sockets glowing and shining down on them. "Oh, that's how."
Jason turned back around see he could see the monster face to face, instead of over the shoulder.
"Be on your guard." warned Fate.
"Speak not until spoken to, dust molt." rumbled Ixthultu as he leered down at the four.
"Did he just compare us to dirt?" asked Jason rhetorically. Several tentacles began to branch out towards them.
"He did, and that is just rude!" confirmed Hawkgirl as she raised her mace, which was crackling with energy. Jason slipped his chain back up his sleeve in favor for his Hellscythe. The blade erupted in blue flames as his eyes glowed blue.
"Wind molt, Fire spark, who are you?" Began Ixthultu as several tentacles with eyes on the ends came down to have a better look at her. Several tentacles also came down around Jason as well.
"Shayera Hol, Hawkgirl." answered Shayera.
"Ghost Rider." answered Jason as he held his scythe menacingly.
"You have the stench of the Thanagarians upon you." Ixthultu then turned his tentacles over to Jason. And you have the stench of Zarathos upon you."
"Says the giant squid." quipped Hawkgirl, but for Jason, the new name caught him off guard.
"Wait, who is Zarathos?"
"Zarathos is the angel that assisted Poseidon in my imprisonment several thousand years ago. The spirit you know as the Spirit of Vengeance," answered Ixthultu. "As for Shayera Hol, she is definitely Thanagarian. I will speak to the Hawkgirl before I destroy her. As will, I with the Ghost Rider. You others hold no interest." With that, the ground began to rumble ominously, then suddenly, several monsters erupted from a dozen sacks that roared at Grundy and Fate. A wave of slime coated Grundy when the monsters exploded from the sacks.
"Ugh! Grundy crush pimple man!" roared Grundy as he did not appreciate the slimming. Grundy then leaped at one of the monsters and began to punch him into the ground that was one of Ixthultu's larger tentacles. Fate had begun to use one of his spells, but a blast of energy slammed into him and sent him to the ground. The monster that attacked him was now floating overhead, ready to fire again at Fate. The monster that Grundy had been fighting was getting pummeled pretty bad, but when Grundy his right fist at it, the monster bit down on his arm. Grundy yelled in pain as its sharp teeth penetrated his skin.
"Hang on, Grundy, I've got him!" yelled Hawkgirl as she flew over to her temporary teammate. Before she could help, Ixthultu had sent several tentacles that grabbed Shayera's legs and wrists. Jason was also about to help Fate, but several tentacles grabbed a hold of him.
"Get Back Bird Nose! Matchstick!" shouted Grundy as he tried to reach for his friends, however, the monster he had been fighting grabbed him and suddenly pulled him down. With Jason and Shayera, they were both being held in front of Ixthultu, his glowing eyes shining down at them. At the breach, things were also beginning to look dire.
Breach
Superman was fighting against several dozen monsters, punching them away as he tried to limit the numbers from getting through the breach. He and Diana were holding the line incredibly well, but that would only last so long until more monsters would overrun them. They both backed each other, keeping an eye on each other, fighting for a common goal. They had beaten a swarm of monsters pretty quickly, but the ground below them erupted, more monsters began to attack. One such monster shot it's tongue at Diana, latching onto her arm and began to pull her towards the gaping maw. Superman tried to fly over to her and help, but a monster shot the man of steel with a blast of magic.
Superman was forced back, grunting in pain till the beam subsided. He glared at the monster responsible then fired his heat vision, blowing the monster to pieces. After a moment, he stopped the beam, seeing the monster on fire, he tried a new tactic.
"Let me put that out for you." offered Superman as he took a deep breath and used his super breath to blow away a swarm of monsters.
With Ixthultu
"Speak to me, child of Thanagar and host of Zarathos." demanded Ixthultu.
"I've got nothing, how about you?" answered Jason sarcastically.
"I have nothing to say." barked Shayera, "I've got a gesture for you, but my hands are tied."
"I'm with her." quipped Jason as he glared up at Ixthultu.
"How I've missed your people's spirit."
"We don't miss you!" began Shayera. "We outgrew you; thousands of years ago."
"I gave your people everything. Why did you forsake me?"
"I'm pretty sure they threw you out." remarked Jason, eliciting a smirk from Shayera. "What you offered was promising true, but what you asked in return was way too high a price."
"My tribute to them was equitable. I earned your faith."
"Really?" asked Shayera sarcastically. "What's a fair price for the souls of my ancestors?" That last sentence did not go unnoticed by Grundy.
"Snake face steals souls?" demanded Grundy after he tore the monster he had been fighting in half. He turned around to face Ixthultu. "Give Grundy back his soul, Snake Face, or Grundy crush!" Grundy raised his fists up at Ixthultu, but Ixthultu, did not hear him or did not acknowledge him. "You hear Grundy?! Give it back!" With that, Grundy jumped into the air, landing on a stray boulder that had been floating up in front of Ixthultu. Riding it up, Grundy soon came level with Ixthultu, Shayera, and Jason. Grundy then jumped off of the boulder and headed straight down towards Ixthultu. He landed on top of the interdimensional demon and began to punch his skull, which made up like, 90 percent of Ixthultus' body.
"Where is Grundy's soul, Snake Face?" demanded Grundy as he continued to beat the side ofIxthultu's skull. "Tell Grundy!" After several more blows, Grundy was able to tear open a whole in the side of the massive demon's skull. "Tell Grundy, or Grundy crush!" Grundy then leaped inside of Ixthultu and began to fall towards the lower part of Ixthultus' head. Once he landed, Grundy sprinted off in a random direction to continue his rampage.
Breach
Superman and Diana both looked up to see the monsters that had been attempting to invade Earth now retreating. Diana noticed something odd about their behavior.
"They aren't attacking." began Diana as she noticed the desperation of the monsters fleeing.
"No, they're running." concluded Superman as he looked at the breach. One monster had been attempting to escape as well, but it did not get far before it was sliced in half by Aquaman with his trident. Landing on a large boulder, Aquaman fired the trident at any monster he could, determined to take down as many as he could be they all escaped. Superman and Diana flew in to help Aquaman as he fought the retreating monsters. After a minute or so, Aquaman had a solution.
"I think I can seal the breach with the trident," informed Aquaman as he fired the great weapon at more monsters, "But I need something to plug the hole."
Superman did not really understand where they were supposed to get something big enough to seal the breach on short notice.
"But what's big enough to-" Superman stopped midsentence when a massive floating boulder came into view, "That could work." He and Diana then flew to the boulder and began to push it towards the breach. Using all their strength at their disposal, the pushed the massive rock towards the breach. The monsters in the way of the boulder flew away, while Aquaman jumped off his boulder, leaving the rock he was just on to be destroyed. After one strong shove, Superman and Diana pushed the boulder into the breach.
Aquaman was still falling but was saved by Diana who grabbed him under his arms and lifted him to the boulder that was now lodged in the breach. Raising his trident, Aquaman fired the weapons energy at the boulder, the power coursing over the boulder forcing it further into the breach before it was turned to slag and sealed the breach permanently.
"Let's find the others." suggested Superman as he and Diana, who was still carrying Aquaman, flew off to find Jason, Shayera, Fate, and Grundy.
With Ixthultu
Fate was getting beat pretty badly, the monster he had been fighting was proving more of a challenge than he realized. The monster raised it's limbs into the air, both severing off and morphed into smaller monsters that attacked Fate. Before one of the limbs could attack, Superman put himself in the way of one, which resulted in him getting tackled by it. The other attacked Diana, who had landed right after Superman and was more ready for the monster. Planting her heel on one of the monster's three legs, she ripped the limb off, but still had to deal with a thrashing monster.
"They're...strong." grunted Diana as she held off the creature. A small green circle was at the monsters center, which split open to reveal a fourth limb that tried to impale her. Aquaman who had been dropped off by Diana fired his hook at the monster currently attacking her and impaled it right in the center. The monster squeaked in pain. Aquaman then swung the monster around and slammed it into the ground in a slimy mess.
He retracted his hook and turned to see Fate, who had regained enough strength to re-engage the larger monster that had now regrown its' lost limbs.
"Begone!" roared Fate as he shot a blast of energy at the monster, causing it to explode violently. The explosion caused a huge gust of wind, that caught the League by surprise. But the surprises did not stop because Ixthultu was roaring in pain for some unexplained reason. Seeing the demon now losing his strength, Jason roared as he turned into the Ghost Rider, he opened his mouth and shot a stream of fire at the tentacles previously holding him. Once the tentacles had been severed he began to fall, reverting back to his human form. Shayera was also able to free herself, using her mace to cleave the tentacles holding off.
After a tense moment, Jason felt someone catch him. Looking at his savior, he saw that it was Diana who had saved him.
"Come on, we need to find Grundy!" explained Jason while pointing towards Ixthultu. Shayera had already taken the lead, Superman, Fate, and Aquaman followed behind Diana and Jason. Upon finding a way into Ixthultu, the League tracked down Grundy, who was laying on the ground, seemingly injured.
"Grundy!" exclaimed Shayera as she flew down to the zombie. Landing beside him, Shayera woke up Grundy.
"Grundy can't move." murmured Grundy as he looked up at Shayera. "Bird Nose and Matchstick get Grundy's soul for him?" Diana and Jason landed nearby, Jason running up to see Grundy injured,
"I'll be damned if we don't," promised Jason as he looked down at Grundy. "Bird Nose and I will finish what you started." Shayera nodded, Jason pulling out his scythe, changing into the Rider, he and the Thanagarian ran forward towards Ixthultu's source of power. The Ghost Rider leaping into the air and landing down on Ixthultu's core. Shayera, meanwhile, flew overhead.
"You will not do this thing, Shayera Hol of Thanagar" stated Ixthultu as he attempted one last time to stop his coming destruction. "Ixthultu still has faith in you."
The Rider and Shayera looked at each other for a moment, sharing a silent agreement. The Rider raised his weapon into the air, likewise, Shayera did the same.
"So does she." stated the Rider, the blade of the scythe burst into flames brighter than before. Shayera let out a battle cry as she flew down, mace coming down. The Rider roared as he brought down his scythe, both weapons striking roughly the same area. The amount of energy that was within Ixthultu was enough to blow the Ghost Rider and Shayera across the inside of Ixthultu. With the energy now released, Ixthultu roared in agony as his power erupted in a huge flash before going out. The Rider pushed himself to his feet, as did Shayera.
"Bird-Nose...Matchstick." called out Grundy. The Rider changed back to Jason as he and Shayera ran back to Grundy who was not looking so good, even for a zombie.
"We're here big guy." said Jason as he and Shayera came to Grundy's side.
"Ahhh..." groaned Grundy as he looked up at his friends. "Grundy thinks he is going away now."
"No," gasped Shayera as she looked down at the former villain. "Just hang on." Diana who had been standing by to keep watch over Grundy attempted to comfort her friends, but a hand on her shoulder from Aquaman prevented her from going forward. The look on Aquaman's face said to let them be.
"Do you think Grundy's soul is waiting for him?" asked Grundy, looking at both Shayera and Jason. Jason looked at Shayera for a moment, Shayera did not believe in the afterlife, but after what happened today.
"Yes, it's waiting for you." answered Shayera as some tears began to stream down her cheeks. Jason stood up to place a hand on her shoulder.
"And I bet that it will welcome you back like old friends." added Jason, a tender smile on his lips. Despite the zombie being a villain, Grundy was actually pleasant to be around, even if it was for a short time and under dire circumstances.
"Then Grundy gets his reward." stated Grundy, looking at last at peace with his undead existence. After this last sentence, Grundy shut his eyes and fell limp. Seeing him depart his life, more tears began to roll down Shayera's cheeks, Jason kneeling down beside her and holding in a comforting hug.
Forest near Fate's tower
From the dimension, the six heroes returned to their realm, but not all of them left right away. Instead, they had a small burial for Grundy, on that was long overdue for the zombie. In the forest, the stood looking over the freshly made grave and headstone. Inza had joined her husband for the ceremony as he and the others said their farewell to the former villain.
Aquaman had worn a cloak from his home for the ceremony, as a sign of respect and tradition of Atlantis.
"I tried to do this according to human customs." began Shayera as she looked down at the grave of her short-term friend.
"You honor his memory." commented Diana with sympathy as she knew Shayera was mourning over the loss.
"Despite knowing him for less than a day, Grundy was actually not a really bad person, made some mistakes, but pulled through in the end." added Jason as he looked down at the grave. He rested a hand on Shayera's shoulder.
"He was happy at the end." said Shayera as she recounted Grundy's last emotions, "I still don't understand why."
"It's faith Hawkgirl," answered Aquaman after a brief moment of silence, listening to the wind. "You're not supposed to understand it. You just have it."
Jason nodded in agreement with Aquaman, faith is a complicated thing, but when you have, there is very little anything can do to stop you. Aquaman turned back to the grave, placing his right hand over his heart, he gave a short bow as a sign of respect. After a moment, he began to leave. Diana, Superman, Fate, and Inza also began to leave. Jason and Hawkgirl remaining behind to look at the grave one last time.
SOLOMON
GRUNDY
BORN ON
A MONDAY
To be continued...
