Author's Note: Okay so y'all might be able to tell but I have been ramping up to having AIM be a problem even after Ironman 3 events play out. I am essentially bringing in events from Agents of SHIELD to have AIM already be working towards Deathlok as opposed to only working on Extremis right now.
That said...that's Tony's problem. For now. Because Gohan's going to be getting pulled more and more into the Supernatural out here. And hey what do ya know finally a longer chapter again. Apologies for the short layup chapters.
Chapter 18: Black Talon or Black Mamba?
"Gohan," an astral projection of the Ancient One appeared before him during breakfast when luckily he was the only one in the tower. Pepper and Tony had headed back to California and the rest of the Avengers were well SHIELD agents or close enough. Gohan lived here.
Of course he still almost choked on his cereal, "Ah, uck..." he swallowed, "Yes, Ancient One? How can I help you?"
The Ancient One let a bemused smile creep onto her face, "I apologize for interrupting you, but I have received a request for aid from the brother of one of my Masters, you may have met Daniel Drumm in your work in New York?"
Gohan dabbed his mouth and chin with a napkin and nodded, "Yes, I have worked with Master Drumm on a few occasions with occult activity in the area. You said his brother requested aid?"
"Indeed, Jericho Drumm is an...independent practitioner devoting himself to his home's traditional magics. But because Daniel is such a well regarded Master of the Mystic Arts he will often collaborate with us and provide us with information on supernatural happenings in the Caribbean. The issue at hand is Jericho has requested aid with a Voodoo cult worshipping the darker aspects of the faith that he believes is getting out of hand. Apparently there have been a string of disappearances and graverobbings that he is investigating and both lead back to a name we thought we had dealt with in the 1930s, Black Talon."
Gohan followed along with the Ancient One's explanation, "Alright, so where am I supposed to meet Jericho?"
"He has a clinic where he does both modern and mystical medical attentions just outside of Port-au-Prince in Haiti. If you open your defenses for a moment I will transfer the location."
Gohan did so and immediately saw a rustic clinic on a beaten dirt road and knew where it was.
"So what is the worst case scenario we are looking at?" Gohan questioned as he got up and began preparing to leave.
"The last time someone used the name Black Talon a horde of zombies five thousand strong as well as the brainwashing of multiple politicians of no small political power was involved. Thus I would estimate anywhere from city level to nation level destruction," She answered with very little concern that showed Gohan that he was right in some of his criticisms of her as the Sorcerer Supreme. She'd been in the game too long, she'd seen too much and perhaps did not take some problems as seriously as she should just because she'd seen worse.
He tilted his head to the side and studied her astral projection as it faded having given him the information he needed, yes he would have some questions for her when he returned.
Then again technically, he mused to himself, her job was external supernatural threats. The Guardian was supposed to handle internal issues. And so in a way sending the Champion to handle an issue of a cult raising zombies was the precisely correct response.
But of course they had not had either until he came along for a long long time. So knowing his supernatural responsibilities were important but his Avenger responsibilities equally so, Gohan left a note that he might be gone a few days to a week. Due to "some kind of black voodoo magic thing? Might be world ending? Not a huge deal, I'll just be out of touch".
Flying at mach two it took Gohan approximately an hour to reach Haiti, putting him down in front of Jericho's clinic just a bit after it opened.
Gohan was, he mused to himself, getting quite frustrated with every magician in this universe being able to sense ki, as a man with a slightly above average ki signature himself, as well as a bearing that screamed a tumultuous power and wroth nature underneath his poise, stood waiting outside the clinic with the sign flipped to "Closed due to House Call" instead of open.
"Champion," the dark-skinned Haitian man's voice boomed out in English, "I was made aware that you would be my reinforcements for this endeavor," his accent was slight, belaying an advanced education which Gohan was reminded from his brief conversations with Master Daniel Drumm that both brothers shared in common with Stephen Strange as well.
Both Jericho and Daniel had trained in Western medicine, both achieving their MDs before having discovered the truth of magic through their dying grandmother. Daniel had went to seek the more structured magical education of the Ancient One, whereas Jericho had stayed on Haiti to learn from their grandmother in the final years of her life.
And while Gohan was a mere novice in magical detection, he could tell that Daniel was not in fact the stronger brother. Merely the formally educated one.
"Doctor Jericho Drumm I presume?" Gohan bowed slightly to the man, denoting respect but equal rank between their two spheres of influence.
"Indeed, now shall we retire to a more discrete location? Your...robes of office are not subtle."
Inside the clinic Jericho briefed Gohan on the local situation. A few hundred recently buried bodies had gone missing over the past month as well as there being a few politicians he had had to remove mystical hypnosis from. They would have to investigate the graverobbings and any spikes of dark magic that Drumm could detect and try and trace them back to the source. Unfortunately Jericho had had difficulty with this part of the investigation as the rogue priest was doing something or using some kind of artifact to mask his presence, or at least that of his lair.
Two days of almost fruitless searching ensued. Then on the night of that second day in frustration Jericho said, "And of course all of the detection rituals I do know cannot seem to overpower Black Talon's protections! I know I am more powerful than him, but he must have an artifact or mystical power source of some renown."
Gohan started, an idea just triggered, "If he's using an external power source why can't you?"
Jericho's eyes blinked as he considered this proposition, "It would certainly not hurt the ritual, but do you have such a source?"
At this the Champion grinned, "We both know that Ki can power magic rituals with proper focus, so I will be your power source."
The Hougan looked at Gohan with skepticism, "You can generate enough Ki to overpower what is likely at least a Le Fay class artifact?"
The grin broadened, "I could give you enough Ki to overpower a Merlin class artifact if your ritual could channel it in such an amount."
The man balked, "Ah, no that is alright. Le Fay class will likely be more than enough."
And so they started the ritual, Gohan standing in the middle with Jericho having taken three hairs from him to integrate into the ritual to allow his energy to charge it.
Once the ritual began, Gohan slowly powered up, the air rippling around him. And as he did Jericho's eyes began to glow blue, first a light blue and then as Gohan powered up more and more they grew brighter and more vibrant.
Once he hit almost two-thirds of his base form's maximum output Jericho held up a hand to have him stop.
"I see it! I broke through the darkness, Champion! Hold it stable so I can orient myself."
Finally he cut his hand across his chest, causing the flames of the candles to die down and Gohan's hair strands in said candles to burn to a final crisp.
He quickly explained had just detected a massive surge in Black Voodoo magical energy from a coastal cave. While he was confident that his White Voodoo Magic could win the day, he was not so certain that whatever ritual was being performed could be contained while simultaneously taking on a horde of zombies and the black priest behind them.
With Gohan having previously explained he was more of a combat specialist they had split their roles into Jericho handling Black Talon and Gohan taking on any zombies or lesser dark force that could be annihilated by brute strength.
Quickly, though not as quickly as if Gohan had gone alone, the two flew out to the location.
Just as the dark magic got strong enough in weight and power that even Gohan's weak magical senses could tell something was dramatically wrong.
They were met quickly by the anticipated horde of zombies, and Gohan quickly cut through them with his speed and strength not even needing to tap into his ki reserves. He didn't even have to reinforce his skin with ki, the golden mail of the Monkey King more than held off the fists, claws, and teeth of the horde.
Jericho followed behind, slowly falling into his battle trance, eyes and hands beginning to glow blue as smoke and flame swirled about him picking off any stragglers of the horde with pyrokinetic magicks.
Slowly they carved their way into the cavern and down into the recesses of the cave.
There they were met by a leather-hooded Haitian man in a black feather cloak decorated with bird and human skulls alike.
Before him sat an alter within a circle of shrunken heads holding black candles all alight.
On top of that alter the air shimmered black and purple. And slowly opened into a crack between realities.
"You are too late, Hougan! Dam-Ayido Wede will be here soon to aid me in my conquest!"
Jericho held his staff aloft, "No, Black Talon! Before you I hold the Staff of Legba, guardian of the eternal crossroads. A right of the Houngan Supreme. One right, among many, that I am certain you know nothing of. I am Doctor Voodoo! The Gunner of God, when I roar the Earth trembles!"
And with that declaration he slammed his blue glowing staff to the ground and it did indeed tremble. Blue light shot out in jagged lines, connecting all the candles and then pulling their flames into the smoke and flame haloing Doctor Voodoo, snuffing the candles.
But Gohan could see that it was indeed too late, for as the crack began to close a clawed hand grasped the edge from the other side, and held it open, and then another claw grasped the other edge and pulled. Pulled open a portal between realities that had barely opened.
Doctor Voodoo cursed, "Black Talon you fool that is not the Wede! This is some demon spawn!"
And what crawled out indeed fit the description.
A massive, four-limbed cobra-esque monstrosity clawed its way between dimensions. Its underbelly was a deep jade color which expanded in streaks across the black scales of the rest of its body. Its talons and fangs were an almost nuclear green that glowed, denoting a definite possibility in radioactive nature.
Gohan turned to Jericho, "This just escalated into my and the Ancient One's territory. I'll take care of this, you stop Black Talon from interfering and then hold that portal open so I can throw him back through."
Without even waiting for an answer Gohan accelerated with a sonic boom that shook the cavern and slammed right into the fifteen foot beasts belly and sent them crashing through the top of the cavern and out into the coastal air.
Powering up to the maximum of his base form Gohan spiked the beast down into the ocean below.
He began gathering the power for a Makankōsappō when suddenly he had to juke to the right mid-air as the beast launched with blistering speed back out of the water and landed on a nearby cliffside, having almost gotten Gohan with its talons.
"Ssssooo thisss realm hasss a new champion," it hissed out, "I had not heard of one quite sssoo sssstrong as you sssince the Hyborian Cataclysssm kekeke..." it bit out a stuttering laugh.
"There was one other before, me, you must have missed the Monkey King," Gohan bit out in retort as he charged and then fired off a volley of ki blasts.
Which ricocheted off of the beasts hide, "Oh...crap baskets."
Waves of radioactive energy rippled forth towards Gohan as the beast swiped its talons through the air at him.
One, two, five dodged but the sixth grazed his shoulder and to his surprise burned his skin through his golden mail.
The battle continued as such through a flurry of attacks from each. Gohan was just the smallest bit faster than the beast and knowing what it could do from then on avoided all strikes or radioactive bursts. However punches, kicks, and ki all seemed to do nothing through the beast's eldritch hide.
"You fool! I am Damballah, the sspawn of the Elder God Ssset. Divine energy runs through every aspect of my being what could you hope to do to me?" It cackled out.
They were in a stalemate, until by sheer happenstance the beast's claws cut one of the phoenix feathers of the Monkey King's magical cap.
It was then, as the feather burst into fire and transformed into a mighty fifteen foot tall bird with a forty foot wing span that Gohan discovered what the cap did.
The Elder Spawn stumbled backwards in what Gohan believed to be fear as the bird's blue flaming eyes turned upon it.
"Death, not rebirth to the Outsider!" The shrill voice of the phoenix cried out as it waved its fire-red wings with alternating golden pinions and waved its tail full of orange and gold and red it rushed forward looking for all the world like a sunset in motion.
And so a different battle ensued. The golden talons of its red legs raked vicious wounds across Damballah's hide, and its rippling flame aura repelled the radiation.
"Now, Gohan!" A voice rang out as the portal from before slowly lifted out of the hole in the top of the cavern and into the air, fully open now.
Gohan angled himself above the battle and charged up a one handed, "Ka...me...ha...me...Phoenix, clear the way! HA!" He let loose his warning and his blast simultaneously, the mystical bird rocketed to the side and his father's traditional attack struck Damballah and sent him rocketing back to his prison dimension. Which Jericho snapped close with haste.
Gohan was breathing heavily as the phoenix flew over to hover in front of him.
"Well met young Champion. You may call upon my sister and I again in times of trouble like this one. But should you ever use us for unjust causes we shall turn upon you, as we did Wukong before he learned his lesson and matured into a proper Champion."
With a burst of swirling flame the phoenix coalesced back into a feather upon his brow.
"Magic..." Gohan grunted out through labored breath, "is really beginning to frustrate me."
