The Depths of Hell:
New York, Hell's Kitchen, Wednesday, December 22nd 2010:
Anatoly was never much of a drinker, much to the surprise of most Americans who meet him. His grandfather fought during the October Revolution during world war one. He had single-handled killed 37 men during the coup. He had survived several assassination attempts and random encounters against fellow soldiers who held a grudge against him for one reason or another.
But one day, when Anatoly's grandfather on the day of his son's birth, drank a few too many rounds of vodka and was run over by a horse-drawn carriage. Upon learning about this, his son vowed never to touch alcohol. A lesson he passed down to his own son - Anatoly.
Today, however, Anatoly found the burning sensation of the amber coloured liquid of scotch running down his throat comforting. With the Bratva's station in New York compromised by the Hand, his superiors in Moscow were breathing down his throat and would no doubt send an envoy to convey their displeasure.
The hairs on Anatoly's arm stood up and his heart started to beat faster than it had in years upon hearing a loud thud behind him. The gangster turned around nervously and saw a balding middle-aged man in a suit, lying on the floor with a young man in black standing over him.
"Guess Russians don't really have the three written warnings thing?" Matt asked sarcastically, walking over the assassin he just knocked out.
Anatoly calmed down immediately at the sight of Daredevil. A feeling very few criminals will ever experience.
"My superiors believe that actions speak louder than words," Anatoly said as Matt sat next to him.
"Speaking of action. How many of your guys can you spare?"
"For what purpose?" Anatoly asked, reaching out for his bottle.
Matt leaned forward and slid the bottle away from his reach. "I'm putting together a little something to make the Hand's life miserable. I'm gonna need all the men I can get," he said confidently.
This statement made Anatoly chuckle. "I have heard that you bring little Superheroes to fight them in England and they all fall. Why will it be different this time?"
"Because we'll be bringing the fight to them."
Gotham City, Bat Cave, Wednesday, December 22nd 2010:
"You'll be safe here when the fighting starts in New York. Alfred here will take care of you till I come back," Matt said, pointing towards the elderly butler.
"Where's Batman?" Britt asked, looking around the Bat Cave with the same wonder like a kid in Willy Wonka's factory.
"Off-world I think," Matt responded despondently. He was hoping for the League's co-operation on this mission but they had to deal with an unknown force in space.
Lakshmi was talking to Claire, who was holding onto her belly, clearly fearing for her child's life.
Matt walked towards the two and placed a gentle hand on Claire's shoulder. "The kid'll be fine. This place is a fortress," Matt said confidently.
Claire said nothing and walked towards Alfred who had just made a fresh pot of tea.
"She's worried about you too. We all are," Lux said.
"I know that. But this plan will work. It has too."
Lux took a look at the sword strapped around Matt's back and eyed it sceptically.
"What's going to happen when you meet her? That Kato guy told you that you need to - "
"Doesn't matter. I'll figure something out," Matt said, interrupting her.
"I know you don't want to think about it. And I know this is hard but if killing Elektra is the only way to beat that Trigon guy, then maybe it's best if you finished her off."
"I'm not a killer. And I'm not letting her die again," Matt said with a displeased tone. He marched towards the Zeta portal before Lux could get another word in.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Detective Blake asked Matt.
Standing before the two of them were four groups. The Bratva enforcers, members of the NYPD, the ninjas of the Chaste - wearing white - and the Team. It was a minor miracle that they all managed to assemble so quickly and without gaining the attention of the Hand since there were hundreds of people gathered here.
But unfortunately for Matt, all the groups began to argue the moment they set foot in their little bunker.
"I didn't come here to work with cops," one of the Bratva said.
A large member of the SWAT team stepped forward and looked down upon the Russian with a serious scowl. He had pitch-black hair that was cut short. His eyes were a deep blue and the Bratva enforcer flinched the second he made eye contact with the SWAT member.
"Well, we didn't come here to work with murdering scum like you," he said with a gravelly voice.
Aqualad stepped in between the two men. "Calm yourselves. We all are here for the same reason."
One of the younger Chaste members popped in, "Why aren't the Justice League here?" he asked, not impressed by the fact the only super-powered beings that they had access too were all teenagers.
"Regrettably, most of the League is off-world and… "
The SWAT officer pointed a finger at the Chaste ninja. "Aren't you a little young to be fighting son?" he asked.
"We've been trained from birth to fight the Hand. I… "
"Have you ever actually killed anyone with that little sword of yours? Have you ever actually served in a unit? Seen actual battle?" he asked almost derisively.
The exchange continued and Kato walked beside Matt.
"Perhaps it's best that you calm the troops," he said calmly.
Matt nodded and took out Blake's gun from his holster. He pointed it up in the air and fired, gaining everyone's attention.
"You could have used a megaphone," Blake said, rubbing his ears.
Matt shrugged and gave him his gun back.
"Look. This is weird for all of us. On any other day, we'd probably be at each other's throats. But you all know why we're here. A group of crazy, demon-worshipping ninja have taken over our city.
They've killed our colleagues, friends and loved ones. They're ruling over our city with an iron grip and we've got no one to help us. Not the government, not the League. Just us.
I'm not saying you have to be friends or get along. But the only way we can beat these bastards is if we stick to the plan and fight together."
Matt lit up Azrael's sword and the blue flame illuminated the entire bunker. "You know your orders. You know what's at stake. We stand together. We fight together and if we fall, we die together."
Everyone in the crowd cheered and started chanting. Kato nudged Matt by the elbow and smirked, "You're quite good at that."
"I spent an hour watching old videos of Captain America's speeches. I might have stolen a couple of lines," Matt said.
"I hope you're ready to do your job," an elderly voice said in the background.
He walked towards Matt, with glazed eyes and a head of grey hair.
"Oh. You're Stick right?" Matt asked.
"That sword is the only thing we have that can kill Trigon. Stabbing your girlfriend in the chest is a helluva lot easier than trying to stab a giant demon," Stick said bluntly.
Matt was taken aback by how forward Stick was.
"I'll take my chances," Matt said, trying to stand as tall as possible to make himself look more imposing.
Stick sighed and walked away back to where the rest of the Chaste was. He clearly was not impressed by Matt.
"And I thought you were an asshole," Matt told Kato.
"Yes. Stick has a way with words but he isn't wrong. Slaying Elektra before Trigon can fully manifest inside of her is our best chance at winning this fight," Kato said trepidatiously.
Matt shook his head and sheathed the sword. He had no intention of even entertaining that idea. The mere thought made him sick to his stomach. "We'll see about that," he said before walking towards Blake.
The large SWAT member was talking to him before Matt arrived. "Daredevil. I'd like you to meet Frank Castle. He and I were in the same unit in Afghanistan," Blake said.
Frank and Matt shook hands with so much force that their veins were starting to pop out of their skin.
"I've seen you in action. If we had a couple of guys like you in the Corps we could have gotten back home a lot faster," Frank said.
"Yeah, but I'm not much of a soldier."
"That's kind of obvious," Frank said.
"Obvious?"
"One of your orders before you gave that little speech there was to not kill the Hand lieutenants unless absolutely necessary. We're fighting an army of undead zombies and you're basically telling us to fight with one hand tied behind our backs," Frank said.
"The Team is to engage with the core Hand members. Your men serve a different purpose. I suggest you ensure that they do their jobs," Matt said sternly.
Frank crossed his arms and turned away from Matt. "Whatever you say."
Blake patted Matt on the shoulder and joined Frank with the rest of the cops.
Matt let out a massive breath and made his way to the Team. He was seconds away from punching someone out. Dealing with so many egotistical people was driving him insane.
"How you holding up?" Artemis asked Matt.
"Like we're about to storm a skyscraper filled with ninja," Matt replied sarcastically.
"So, pretty much an average day," Wally said.
Matt laughed. "Yeah. Pretty much." Matt sat down and lowered his head.
"There's a chance we might not make it out of this," Matt said.
"We run that risk every time we are on a mission. You shouldn't worry," Kaldur said stoically.
Connor looked at Matt's black, cloth costume and raised an eyebrow. "You're seriously fighting in that?"
"Bullseye trashed my armour," Matt responded.
Robin's eyes widened when he remembered something. He quickly ran into the Bioship and came back with a duffel bag.
"I thought this might be useful," he said, handing it to Matt.
Matt opened it up and felt the surface of the contents of the bag. It was his old red suit. The one he gave to Bruce when he retired. The same suit he wore the day Elektra died.
"Guess the red look's more iconic anyways," Matt said, trying to ignore the rough sensation dried blood on the gloves.
"We move out in an hour. The Hand are probably expecting us so be ready for a fight."
"Is this necessary?" Nobu asked while Shiva applied the last lock on the chains that were encasing Elektra who was in the middle of a large circle, with pagan patterns drawn all over the floor.
"Trigon is hours from emerging. We can't sedate her and she is struggling more and more the closer he is to being released. The adamantium chains will keep her in place," Shiva said coldly.
Elektra was thrashing against the chains with bloodshot eyes. She had not slept for days and was beyond tired. Her blood felt like molten steel and every second she was awake felt like an unending agony. As if someone was stabbing her over and over again. But unlike last time she could not die to alleviate the pain.
A small part of Shiva wanted to stop the ritual, halt Trigon's return if it meant her sister would no longer suffer. But she saw the adamantium rattling and knew that Trigon was providing Elektra with more strength than she ever had possessed before.
"Come Nobu. The Chaste will arrive at the building shorty. We must be ready."
Nobu gave Elektra one last sympathetic look and joined Shiva. They built this Skyscraper over cursed land. The mystical energies from the soil with hasten Trigon's arrival.
At this point, Nobu could care less about the demon's return to earth. He struggled to keep his hands off of his weapons. Eager to face Daredevil one last time.
Shiva noticed this and smiled. Every member of the Hand lived to fight. The closer they were to reaching their final goal the more that urge intensified. Even she couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement at the thought of their enemies trying in vain to stop them.
A sense of honour made it so that the Hand never killed the young heroes faced them. But all bets are off today. If they can't beat them their enemies will die.
'The first contingent of Chaste warriors enter the building from the ground floor. The SWAT team will reside on the roof till they need to come in while me and the Team along with the remaining squadrons of Chaste and Bratva zipline in to enter the middle of the building. Elektra will be in a secret floor between the 17th and 18th floors so that's where we have to converge towards.
Castle, are your men in position?' Matt asked over the psychic link.
'Uh, yeah. Affirmative,' Castle responded. The sensation of hearing everyone's voices in his head was still a new and uncomfortable one.
'Stick?' Matt asked.
'Ready,' he thought.
The Chaste have a technique to use chi to telepathically communicate with each other. Matt had no idea how it worked but thanks to the Chaste's technique Miss Martian did not need to strain herself to maintain the psychic link between so many people and it came with the added benefit of shielding their lines of communication from Psylocke. The Hand's own telepath.
Matt could sense the undead Hand ninja, scuttling through the skyscraper even though he was positioned on another building. Their movements felt fuzzy from this range and he struggled to form a clear picture of the ninja in his head but it was far better than hearing or sensing nothing.
Everyone was on edge. Not just because of the upcoming battle but because there was an ominous pressure in the air. The longer they spent near the building the more dread everyone felt. Like a scythe hanging over their necks.
'Ground squad. Move-in and disable the security,' Matt thought. There would be time to panic later.
Stick acknowledged the order and entered with his men.
Matt could hear the clash of metal against flesh on the floor below. Minutes later the power shut down in the building, disabling any sensors along the side of the skyscraper or through the doors and windows.
'Alright. Fire the ziplines,' Matt thought.
The Bratva and a few members of the Team fired large cables into all four sides of the skyscraper. They attached lines to the cables and zipped downwards. M'gann levitated herself and a few others towards one side of the building and Zatanna used some of her charms to keep them all hidden.
They placed small charges on the large windows of the skyscraper and set them to explode. The explosion was smaller than Matt expected and they shattered the windows.
They all flooded the 17th floor and were immediately molested by a volley of arrows. But they were prepared for this and M'gann repelled the majority of the projectiles away with her telekinesis with a handful of the Bratva and Chaste members being slightly cut by some glancing shots.
Matt could hear Stick and Kato leading hundreds of there ninja up through the building but at a slower pace than he expected. The Hand ninja must have been giving them more trouble than they initially thought.
The Bratva used their guns to fire at the walls and ceiling, reducing many of the Hand to green smoke and dust.
Matt ignited his sword and Zatanna used a spell to envelop the room in flame, burning away multiple ninja at once. The sweltering heat made everyone raise their hands to shelter themselves even though Zatanna made sure that no one on her side would be exposed to the flame itself.
The floor beneath the ragtag group of gangsters and heroes started to vibrate and many of them clung to the walls to try and maintain their balance. But they're efforts were unnecessary since the floor collapsed right under them, making them plummet violently onto the floor below.
M'gann was able to use her telekinesis to slow their descent but they were all still shocked and bruised from the fall. Matt coughed out some dust while Connor, M'gann and Kaldur helped anyone who was buried under the debris.
Quake scaled the walls to reach the floor above through the large hole she had just formed. The Hand's archers surrounded the hole and aimed there bows at Matt's forces on the floor beneath them.
Shiva monitored from a distance and was wondering why Daredevil and his companions weren't panicking.
'Castle, now!' Matt thought immediately.
The SWAT team rappelled down the building and placed charges on the walls of the 17th floor. Many of the Hands forces were blown to smithereens after the explosives destroyed the walls of the floor.
Frank ordered his men to open fire at the Hand, not having to worry about hitting any of his allies for they were safe on the 16th floor.
Some of the Hand ninja jumped down to the 16th floor to avoid being hit by the blizzard of bullets. Thought that did not help them much since Matt and his forces were ready to deal with any strays who fell through.
The Bratva unloaded their rounds into any Hand ninja that came close to them, with the majority of them being taken care of by the Team and the small number of Chaste they had available.
Matt knew that the SWAT team would be swarmed the moment the Hand got their act together. So he ordered some of the Chaste and a few members of the Team up onto the 17th floor.
'Castle, suppress your fire, we're coming up. Miss Martian, keep near the hole and throw as many ninja down there or out the building as you can. Chaste guys, keep close to the SWAT team and take out anyone who gets too close to them. Aqualad, SB, you're with me,' Matt ordered mentally.
Frank nodded and swiftly told his men to be more conservative with their weapons. He may not agree with Daredevil's methods but he knew a good strategist when he saw one.
Matt, Connor and Kaldur bulldozed their way through the hoard of ninja. Matt used Azraels blade to burn any that came by, Kaldur was using his water bearers to construct a variety of weapons while Connor just relied on brute strength.
Shiva saw this and pointed towards her lieutenants. "Nobu, Davos. Deal with the boys on the 17th. Quake and Psylocke, take care of the remaining heroes on the floor below," she said calmly.
They keenly accepted those orders and entered the fray themselves. Shiva retreated to where her sister was and waited. She saw her violently thrashing against the chains that were now digging into her skin, covering her body with blood.
Elektra was cursing her sister in every tongue she knew. Shiva was sure she heard a few languages that were long extinct exiting Elektra's mouth.
"The beast will come soon sweet sister. Your suffering will not be in vain."
Matt heard Elektra screaming and ran straight in that direction. Superboy and Aqualad followed him but the three stopped after seeing two old enemies standing before them.
"I assume you'll want the Devil?" Davos asked Nobu.
The red-clad ninja stared at Matt without even blinking.
"I suppose that answers that," Davos said, walking past Matt to square up against Superboy and Kaldur.
Matt and Nobu moved away from them, with Nobu not breaking eye contact - or the equivalent - with Matt.
Superboy waited till Matt was out of range and stretched his arms out to perform a thunderclap. Davos was ready this time and ran underneath Connor's arms and charged his fist and aimed an uppercut towards Connor's chin. Superboy leaned back and the fist grazed his chin.
But that was enough to stagger him long enough for Davos to follow through with a punch to the side of the head. Connor's ears rang like a church bell as he fell limp on the floor.
Kaldur formed a sword and shield with his bearers and lunged forward. Davos didn't bother to outmanoeuvre the attack and used his glowing fist to punch straight through the water-based weapons and into Aqualad's chest.
Davos didn't use his fist at full power since he did not want to overexert himself but he hit Kaldur with enough force to knock him down and spit out a bit of blood. Davos raised his fist to his head to block an incoming bullet, making it fall harmlessly to the ground.
He saw Frank Castle standing a dozen feet away from him with a pistol and a permanent scowl on his face, having run out assault rifle ammo just moments ago.
Frank fired his gun at Davos who was moving far too fast for Frank to predict his movements. Davos let the power in his fist fade and he kicked Frank in the chest hard enough to send him flying to the other side of the floor, nearly making him fall out of one of the holes in the wall.
Frank groaned and stood back up. He felt like he was just hit by a gorilla. Davos kicked the gun out of his hand before he could fire again, prompting Frank to take out a combat knife.
He swiped desperately to hit Davos but the immortal warrior evaded every attack like it was childsplay. Davos grabbed Frank by the wrists and twisted them, making him drop the knife.
In a desperate attempt to stave off any further attacks Frank stomped on Davos' foot as hard as he could and tried to land a headbutt.
Davos drove his knee into Castle's side, breaking a few ribs. With the stomp on the foot a mild inconvenience. Despite his body being in absolute agony and his ribs making every breath a painful affair, Frank still tried his best to stand up.
"I must admit. Your perseverance is impressive," Davos said before stepping on Castle's chest, pinning him to the ground. "But what are you without your firearms?"
Frank pulled out a small gun from an ankle holster and fired upward, clipping Davos in the shoulder. "A guy with a spare."
Davos looked at Frank and was outraged by how a common police officer managed to hurt him. He charged up his fist and was about to hit Castle with it but he felt a rock-like grip on his arm.
Connor lifted Davos up like a rag doll and threw him to the floor like a lump of iron. Davos rolled on the floor in pain while Kaldur engulfed him in water.
Kaldur's tattoos glowed and he passed a large current through the water, electrocuting Davos. The immortal warrior screamed in pain for almost an entire minute before Kaldur's electricity knocked him out.
Connor offered Castle a hand and the former soldier took it and got up. "You might want to start with the water tazer next time," Frank told Aqualad sarcastically.
He limped towards Davos and aimed his gun at his head. Connor put his hand over the barrel, stopping the bullet the moment it exited the barrel.
"You know the rules," Connor said.
Frank looked at Matt, swinging away at Nobu with blinding speed and muttered, "Goddamn Alter boy," under his breath.
'Don't bother with me, support the other troops,' Matt thought urgently before blocking three simultaneous sword strikes from Nobu.
Matt blocked out the smell of sweat and taste of the blood being spilt all over the battlefield and tried to swipe downwards to hit his shorter opponent but Nobu stepped out of the way and started striking swiftly at Matt's neck which he was barely able to block. For most of the fight, Matt was pedalling backwards as Nobu relentlessly attacked the teenager.
The only advantages Matt had in this scenario was the greater reach of his broadsword compared to Nobu's katana and his armour that mitigated any damage from Nobu's glancing blows. Matt thought he could weather the storm and strike when Nobu gassed out but Nobu's stamina was insane. The older fighter gave no indication that he would stop his onslaught anytime soon.
One of the Chaste's ninja ran behind Nobu and tried to ram his spear through his back but Nobu saw him coming and swept downwards to cut the ninja in the knee, severing the tendons there, crippling him. Matt wanted to capitalize on this momentary distraction and thrust forwards, aiming at Nobu's shoulder.
Nobu leapt to the side and struck Matt in the wrist, making him drop his sword.
Matt immediately pulled out his Billy clubs and formed an X shape with them to block an upwards strike from Nobu's sword. He managed to slow down the attack but the blade did impact Matt's helmet, making sparks form from the speed of the attack.
"I'm impressed Akuma-San. You're faster than the last time we fought," Nobu said with a slither of a smile on his face.
That little action made Matt mad. He could feel the anger crawling its way inside of him, his frustration at not being able to land a single hit threatened to take over his body.
But Matt remembered his training. He didn't need to succumb to his anger. He breathed heavily and attached his two clubs together and expanded them to form a bow staff. He would direct his anger and use it.
Nobu noticed that Matt did not go back for his sword.
"Very well," Nobu said before leaping into the air and slamming his sword into the ground where Matt was.
Matt rolled to the side and jabbed Nobu in the gut with his staff and then swung upwards to jolt him in the head. The older fighter recoiled in pain and tried to lunge forward only for Matt to stop him in his tracks by thrusting his staff into Nobu's groin and then at his arm to make him drop his sword.
Nobu grabbed the staff and pulled Matt forward and Matt was surprised by how quickly he was pulled in Nobu's direction. But that feeling didn't last long as Matt torqued his hips to make Nobu lose his grip and he headbutted Nobu in the nose, making Nobu inhale his own blood.
Matt somersaulted towards his sword and lunged forward to drive his sword right into Nobu's leg, making him bite his lip to avoid shouting in pain. Nobu used his other leg to kick Matt off but all it did was momentarily make Matt lose his balance.
The familiar feeling of sharp, cold steel was present against Nobu's neck as Matt placed his sword there, standing over his fallen enemy.
Nobu closed his eyes and felt an odd feeling of calm acceptance. His heart was beating slowly and the pain in his leg seemed to disappear. He was to die a warrior's death and nothing could make him happier.
Matt chuckled, "I'm not going to kill you Nobu." He moved the blade away from his neck and Nobu looked up at him with a confused expression.
"You asked me once what I was fighting for. And I have no idea. I'm not sure if I'm doing it to save people. Out of a sense of duty or just because I want to. But I do know it's the best way for me to do good in this world.
You don't owe Shiva or the Yakuza anything. Get out of here. Retire somewhere quiet and live your life. Figure out why you fight. And maybe we'll do this little dance again," Matt said. Giving a sincere bow to Nobu.
'Daredevil here. I'm heading towards the target. Converge on my location when possible,' Matt thought over the link, even though he knew that the Hand were keeping everyone busy.
Matt considered helping Nobu get out of the building and turned around only to notice that Nobu had disappeared. A trail of blood had lead towards one of the shattered windows.
Shiva sat cross-legged on the floor, feeling completely calm. Trigon's release was imminent. She could feel it in her bones. Elektra had stopped screaming for some time now and while she was still alive, she was in no condition to move.
Matt kicked down one of the doors to the secret entrance and ignited his sword. Shiva, unfazed by Matt's bravado, stood up and put her hands behind her back.
"I see that Nobu failed to kill you," Shiva said.
Matt nodded.
"I don't relish the idea of killing you. It's a shame to see someone as talented as you fall at my feet."
Matt had no response to Shiva. He was far too horrified by Elektra's current physical condition.
Her body had exhausted all of its fluids and could no longer form sweat or tears. Her muscles sounded like they were made of jelly and she could barely lift a finger. The only reason Elektra was still alive was because Trigon allowed her body to continue to function.
In an ideal world, Matt would have loved to ignore Shiva and ran straight towards Elektra. But this wasn't an ideal world and Shiva was the last obstacle he had to face.
He knew that taking her out on his own would be a long shot so he wanted to attempt at negotiating with Shiva first. At least then he might have enough time to formulate a plan in his head.
"I'll give you one last chance to give up and end this right now. My Team's taking care of your remaining lieutenants, my army's gaining more ground than yours and I've got the weapon that can take out Trigon. Face it. You're outmatched," Matt said with an assured tone of voice.
Shiva heard Matt's ultimatum and gave out a hearty laugh.
That's not a good sign, Matt thought to himself.
"Trigon is minutes away from emerging. By the time your forces reach me, it will be too late."
Matt knew that he needed to try a different angle.
"You're banking on a demon keeping its word. What did that thing even promise you?"
"Trigon has blessed several people over the centuries with the strength to conquer the masses. Henry the Eighth, Vlad Tepes, Joseph Stalin and many others were successful in their endeavours, thanks to their loyalty to Trigon. Imagine what he would do for the woman who brought him back to our realm," Shiva said with the utmost conviction.
"Yeah. A mad king, a vampire and a genocidal maniac are all great examples of strong leadership," Matt said sarcastically. "Then again I probably shouldn't expect much from the lady who's using her sister like a sacrificial lamb."
This provoked a brief spike in Shiva's heart rate. "My sister was stronger before she met you. Bullseye's report mentioned several occasions where she could have taken his life but she refused to do so. No doubt thanks to your influence. What I did ensures that she reaches her full potential."
"You're wrong," Matt said firmly. "We loved each other. Cared for each other. Called each other out when we needed to. We became better people because of our relationship and if you can't see that then maybe you're not worth talking to."
Matt ignited his sword and aimed it at Shiva.
Shiva unsheathed her own blade and raised it overhead, leaving her body open for attack. As if to invite Matt to take his shot.
Never one to waste an opportunity, Matt lunged forward with his sword and Shiva swept downwards to stop Matt's thrust. The sound of metal clashing against metal filled the air and sparks started to fly as Matt's sword started to melt away at Shiva's.
Shiva stepped forward and intertwined her foot with Matt's. She moved it backwards, causing Matt to lose his balance and fall backwards. Shiva swiftly grabbed hold of Matt's hilt before he fell and pulled the sword out of his grasp.
The sound of Shiva gripping onto both swords sent a shiver down Matt's spine. There was no way he could defeat her if she wielded both weapons.
As if she were reading Matt's mind, Shiva threw away both blades and beckoned Matt to come face her in hand to hand combat.
Matt could feel Elektra's body temperature increasing by the second. He estimated that they maybe had five minutes before Trigon escaped.
Shuffling his feet forward, Matt slowly edged his way towards Shiva, who made no effort to even try and move away from him. When Matt got in range he threw out a quick jab but pulled the punch back to try and feint Shiva.
He then shifted quickly to Shiva's right side and was about to deliver a blow to her body when Shiva turned around and hit Matt straight in the nose with the palm of her hand. Matt staggered back from that, holding his bloody nose, completely taken surprised by the speed and precision of that attack.
Matt did not have long to take in what had happened as Shiva followed through with an uppercut straight to the chin which made Matt's head shoot straight up. Matt's legs began to wobble and he knew he wouldn't be able to use them for a few moments.
He decided to increase the pace with his punches and threw another jab. Shiva casually leaned back and countered with another uppercut to the chin which made Matt's head feel like he was hit in the head with a hammer.
His legs nearly buckled when he took a step forward and kicked him in the knee, forcing Matt to land face-first into the ground.
Matt spat out some blood that had been leaking out of a split lip and groaned. He slapped his legs, which were completely numb thanks to the blows to the chin. His brain had been rocked back and forth violently against his skull by those uppercuts and Matt wasn't sure if he could survive another one of Shiva's precision shots.
The gap between us can't be this big. Right? Matt thought.
Shiva yawned and walked back towards Elektra. She scoffed looking at her little sister. "What did you see in him? If this is what he meant by making the two of you better then I am more than glad to have had you killed."
Something snapped in Matt when Shiva said that. He remembered how devastated he was when he lost Mark. The feeling of despair and emptiness when he realised that he was the last of his family.
The idea of Shiva not only being ok with ordering her sister's death but being happy that it happened was incomprehensible to Matt.
He cracked his knuckles and balled his hands into a fist. His knuckles turned white and he gritted his teeth. Matt could feel the blood being pumped throughout the muscles in his body and he could feel his anger building up to a boiling point.
If he needed to be a mad berserker to land a clean shot on Shiva then he had no problem with it. He would let the Devil out.
Matt yelled out a primal scream and sprinted towards Shiva, despite the fact that his legs felt like they were made of lead.
Shiva turned around, surprised that Matt could even stand on his feet. Matt threw a wild punch at Shiva, faster than he had ever thrown a punch before and it connected to Shiva's cheek, twisting her head to the side.
Matt kept on punching her in the face and her head kept swaying side to side, with each punch forming a new bruise on her face.
Shiva pushed Matt away and saw the look on his face. He looked less like a man and more like a raging bull. Shiva threw a punch at Matt who grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.
Matt slammed his forehead against her face.
Again. Again. And again.
Shiva slumped to the ground, with blood flowing down her nose and an angry look on her face. She almost seemed offended when she saw her own blood on her fingers.
Matt swung wildly at her in an attempt to finish her off and Shiva saw an opening. She extended two fingers and prodded Matt underneath his armpit, hitting a pressure point.
His arm went numb and his punch went limp mid-swing. Shiva then lightly struck Matt in the chest and kicked him where his heart was positioned.
Matt stood still, completely paralysed. His heart was beating erratically and his throat was convulsing. A fountain of blood rained down out of Matt's mouth and Matt once again tasted the dirty, blood-stained marble of the ground beneath him.
Shiva marched towards where she threw the swords away and picked up Matt's. "If we had fought five years from now, you might have won," she said graciously.
Matt's head was buzzing and his chest felt like it had collapsed. Whatever Shiva did would have killed him if he wasn't wearing his armour.
Shiva saw that Matt was attempting to get up and she paced towards him. "Stay down. Accept your defeat with honour."
Matt somehow managed to sit himself down. His body wasn't listening to him and he could only move one arm properly. He assembled a bo-staff out of his Billy clubs and used it to prop himself up.
Even with the aid of the staff, Matt felt like he could fall over at any given moment.
The sight of her opponent standing up impressed Shiva. She raised the sword in the air and lowered it, ready to take off Matt's head.
Shiva felt a large gust of wind behind her and when she swung downwards, she saw that the sword was no longer in her hand. She turned around and saw Kid Flash holding the blade in his hand.
"Pretty sure this isn't yours," Kid Flash said.
Miss Martian appeared and used her telekinesis to lift Shiva up in the air. Shiva pulled a small, black sphere from her pouch and threw it at M'gann, blowing up near her face, knocking her unconscious.
Shiva saw Super Boy charging towards her and she pulled out a Kryptonite knife. Artemis fired an arrow at Shiva, disarming her. Shiva threw a smoke bomb down before Connor reached her.
Kid Flash was caught in the range of the smoke bomb and was coughing. Shiva karate chopped him in the neck. She took the sword from his hands and was about to slash Super Boy with the magical weapon when she saw two disks beneath her.
They blew up from under her and she was sent flying to the other side of the room. Robin jumped from the shadows and Shiva turned around, grabbed him by the neck and stomped on his face.
Connor tried to grab her but she stabbed him through the leg, making him keel over. She grabbed an arrow that Artemis fired out of the air and threw it into Artemis' shoulder, taking her out of the fight.
Zatanna uttered a spell and Robin's cape separated from his body and wrapped itself around Shiva's legs. Aqualad wrapped her body with his water whips and sent electricity through them into Shiva's body.
She writhed in pain as the current passed through her body and eventually was knocked unconscious.
Kaldur placed the power dampening handcuffs on her since they were more secure than normal ones and checked on his injured comrades. All in all, Shiva defeated 6 out of the 8 Team members that fought her despite being taken by surprise.
"How are you faring?" Kaldur asked Matt after checking up on the rest of the Team.
"I'll feel… a lot better when we cut… her down," Matt said, pausing to catch his breath when speaking.
"Of course I - " Kaldur began to say before a large portal opened behind Elektra. A stream of black and red particulates exited from both the portal and Elektra's body.
They met in the middle to form a large, dark sphere which then started to form a vaguely humanoid figure.
Everyone in the building was sent to their knees when the figure exerted a fraction of its power onto the living creatures in the vicinity. It was as if gravity itself was altered.
Matt's hands were trembling, hanging on to his staff and sword for dear life. He noticed how he was the only one left standing and heard the metal of the sword almost screaming. Lending its power to ensure Matt would not succumb so easily to Trigon's power.
Every step Matt took felt like he was walking through hot molasses. He used his staff as a walking stick and was coughing out blood every few seconds. The closer he got to Elektra, the greater the pressure that was exerted on his body.
The heat of the portal was unbearable and Matt's bones could snap and any minute and he had no idea what he was going to do.
Horns started to form on the smoke-like figure and Matt could only perceive a massive amount of energy behind Elektra.
Matt ignited his sword and struck the adamantium chains multiple times. With each strike slowly melting away the chains that were suspending Elektra in the air. Matt yelled out when he hit the last chain for the final time and Elektra finally fell to the ground.
Matt unwrapped her body from the chains that were cocooning her and he placed his sword in his limp hand, which was still able to use to grip onto it.
Elektra slowly opened her eyes and Matt used his good arm to remove his helmet. She saw Matt's bruised but happy face and couldn't help but smile.
"Hey," Matt said hoarsely.
"Hey?" Elektra responded.
"It's been a while," Matt said with a blood-spitting chuckle. Hearing her voice brought him far more joy than he expected.
Elektra blinked when a bit of blood hit her face and she said, "I don't think now is the time for chit-chat Matthew," with a tone between sarcastic and serious.
"No. It really isn't," Matt said, tilting his head towards his sword.
Elektra kneeled on her legs and saw the weapon. Recognising it from ancient texts and scrolls. She knew what Matt had to do and she knew that he was far too moral and kind to even think about such an act.
"It's ok Matthew," she said softly.
"No. No. There's got to be another way," Matt said with tears forming in his eyes.
"I wished there was. But I can't live like this Matthew," Elektra said. Her pain and state of utter exhaustion were apparent with every word she said.
"You are right my dear. No one deserves to suffer as you have," an angelic voice said from behind the two.
The corporeal being was now more solid. One could just about make out his dark red skin and four glowing eyes if they gazed at him long enough.
"Trigon?" Matt asked. Not expecting a demon to have a voice like that.
"The two of you have gone through much in your short lives. Injury, tragedy, loss and even death. It pains me to see such a faith befall the two of you," Trigon said almost paternally.
Matt scoffed. "Pretty sure 'And no wonder, Satan himself masquerades as a holy light' applies here," he said, quoting Corinthians from the Bible.
"The quote is 'masquerades as an angel of light'. I have no interest in your world. My sights belong far beyond the stars of your galaxy. Allow me to roam free and I can ensure that you both can live the lives that you deserve," Trigon said. He placed his large, giant like hand over the heads of both teenagers, though all they felt was a slight pressure.
Images suddenly flood their minds.
They see themselves holding hands. Older, happy, in front of a church with Elektra wearing white.
The scene cuts to the two of them rocking a baby together, laughing as they struggle to make it go to sleep.
They then see them holding their child's hands. He had bright green eyes like his mother and a head of dark orange hair like his father.
Many more images go by until it ended with Matt on his deathbed. The hair on his head was almost gone and his skin was loose and wrinkled.
"Are they safe? The children? The grandchildren?" Matt asked.
"Yes. Matthew. Everyone has sent their love," an elderly Elektra said, placing her hand tenderly on his cheek.
"Then it's time. Thank you, Elektra. Thank you for everything."
The vision ends and the two of them find themselves back where they started. In front of a portal with Trigon seconds away from completely appearing in the moral realm.
Matt had tears streaming down his face and Elektra would have too if she had any left to shed.
"That could be us one day," Matt said hopefully.
Elektra placed her hand on his cheek. Just like she had at the end of that vision.
"We had our time Matthew. I loved every minute of it but everything ends. People, relationships, everything. We need to move forward Matthew," Elektra said. She wiped the tears from his eyes and placed her hand on the sword.
Matt swapped the sword into his functioning hand and Elektra still had her grip on it.
"I… I… " Matt desperately wanted to say 'I love you' but couldn't form the words. Not after what they were going to do.
"I know," Elektra said with a pained smile. She pulled on the sword and thrust it into her abdomen.
The sword sent the flame towards Trigon and enveloped him before he could fully manifest. He bellowed in agony as he started to fade in and out of existence. Trigon was being pulled back into his portal and he screamed in ancient tongues that the human mind could not understand.
Matt was blown away by a large explosion after Trigon reached the portal and a large, concrete column almost crushed him.
Minutes passed and Matt rolled on the floor, banging his hands against his head, trying to take away the infernal ringing in his ears. Matt could just about hear the Team get up as well as all the combatants on the floors below.
He tapped the ground to feel the vibrations. Trying to sense where Elektra's body was. He started to panic when he could not find her.
"Where is she? Where the hell is Elektra?" Matt asked erratically.
Kaldur sat him down while Robin investigated the portal sight. He saw something underneath a few small pieces of rubble and pulled it out.
"Wow. Take a load of this," Robing said, raising the object in the air.
"Is that a horn?" Kid Flash asked, pointing at it.
Matt stood up with Kaldur's help and swiped the horn from Robin's hands. "Anyone see my helmet?" Matt asked.
Connor spotted it with his X-ray vision and gave it to Matt.
Matt placed it on his head and ordered Zatanna to use her magic to wrap Shiva up with what was left of the adamantium chains.
"Eye's sharp guys. We still have work to do."
Both sides looked eagerly as Matt stood in front of them with the Team standing behind him like monoliths. The moment the Hand saw Shiva in chains they knew they had lost.
All the undead ninja were kneeling with their hands behind their heads and the lieutenants were all in cuffs.
Matt raised his sword in the air. "Bring her here," Matt barked out. Kato dragged Shiva towards Matt. Her hands were tied so that her arms were in front of her.
With the sword ignited Matt swung down in a smooth motion and Shiva could smell burning flesh. It took her a moment to realise that Matt had chopped off her hands and the flame had cauterised her skin.
She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. She was in far too much shock to do anything. Kato dragged her back and Matt began to speak.
"Your leader's crippled. Nobu has fled. Your Black Sky is no more and this is all that's left of your precious Trigon," Matt said. Showing everyone the small part of Trigon's horn that Robin discovered.
"The Hand no longer has a leader. If you morons really want one so badly then I am more than happy to fill the part," Matt said almost monotonously.
Everyone present was now twitchy. Even those on Matt's side seemed almost afraid of what he might say next.
"To the undead troops of the Hand I give you all one order. Kill yourselves. Right, this minute with whatever weapons you can find. If you so much as even think about disobeying me then I will incinerate every single one of you personally," Matt said, slowly waving his sword in the air.
The Hand ninja looked at each other as if to ask if their new, self-proclaimed leader was being serious. When Matt said nothing else they knew that he meant it.
They scrambled to find weapons. Some were found on the floor. Others near their disintegrated comrades. But eventually, all the foot soldiers of the Hand had weapons.
"Do it," Matt ordered.
The air in the building was soon filled with green smoke and the ground was laid with green ash as hundreds of ninja disintegrated from existence.
"The living initiates will be taken into custody by the NYPD and the lieutenants will be kept here until the proper authorities can transfer them to Belle Reve. Castle, Blake, make sure that the prisoners are restrained," Matt said before tossing the horn away.
He walked passed the see of Chaste, Bratva and NYPD towards one of the large holes in the wall. Matt fired a line and swung out of the building.
He was done for the night.
Kato picked up the horn and gave it to one of his men. They would need to store it. Even a small part of Trigon could be used for powerful magic.
"Why him?" Kaldur asked Kato.
"Come again?"
"Plenty of your men would have been willing to kill Elektra without a second thought. Yet you chose Matt. Why?"
Kato gestured all around him and said, "The boy had the opportunity to lead the greatest organisation of assassins in the world. And he turned it down. I needed someone who could resist any temptations that Trigon might offer. He was the only one I trusted."
And I hope that this has not broken you, Kato thought.
New York, Hell's Kitchen, Thursday, December 23rd 2010:
Matt sat at the pew for the third time that day. He perceived the outline of the statue of Jesus in the middle of the church but heard nothing. Why could he talk to the Devil while God remained silent?
"You should get some rest son," Father Lantholm said.
Matt remained quiet.
"If you won't sleep then I'll go get you some food at least." Lantholm stood up to leave when Matt talked.
"I couldn't save her father," Matt said meekly. "I did my best. I fought and bled but it wasn't enough."
The elderly priest sat next to Matt. "From what I gather she didn't want to be saved. You chose to sacrifice your happiness to save the world. She would have expected nothing else from you."
Matt pursed his lips and nodded slowly. Taking in what Father Lantholm had said. Lantholm was almost startled when Matt suddenly stood up.
"What is it?" he asked Matt.
Matt limped briskly down to his room in the crypt of the Church. He felt a slight breeze from the window and noticed that it was open. He could hear something flapping thanks to the breeze and the only reason it did not fly away was that it was under a book.
Matt removed the object from under the book and traced his finger over it.
It was the old picture he and Elektra took in a booth during their first trip to the zoo.
Matt placed the picture on his heart and leaned against the wall. Content in the knowledge that the love of his life was still alive.
Okinawa, Saturday, January 1st 2011:
"Three more orders," an elderly lady shouted out in Japanese.
"Yes Grandmother," Nobu said as he prepared the tea that had been ordered.
Nobu's grandmother owned a small tea shop in a remote village in Okinawa. Matt's words echoed in his mind.
With the Hand dismantled and Shiva gone he needed a new reason to keep on going. Something to give him the drive to fight.
And what better reason was there to live besides family?
And this final chapter is done!
I cannot believe that I managed to pull this off (hopefully).
Really sorry that it took this long to post. I'd finished my exams a couple of weeks ago but had to go into surgery a few days after that. Wasn't anything serious but I was still unable to write for a while so, once again I apologize.
The Hand are gone. Matt's injured but alive and Elektra is out in the open.
I personally think this is the perfect place to end the story since the only thing from season one of Young Justice I could do now at this point is Auld Acquaintance but there isn't much I can do to change that episode other than having Matt be in the League for a bit then escape the Watchtower only to have him come back with the Team to beat everyone in the League as they did in the episode.
The ending might be controversial but a bittersweet ending seems more appropriate than a corny happy ending or depressing ending where everyone dies.
But I might change my mind who knows.
I want to thank every single person who followed, favourited and read this story that I spent two entire years of my life on. Also two years on my first ever story? Wow, you guys have a lot of patience.
I've learned a lot about writing thanks to this and have responded/chatted to some great people. And I hope you guys loved reading this as much as I loved writing this.
Thanks to you all.
Until next time?