Disposable Heroes: A Daredevil and Hellblazer crossover
Disclaimer: Ok OK!!....jeez dude...I don't own Daredevil he's a property of Marvel and I don't own John Constantine he's a property of Vertigo. This is just a work of fiction that I myself have made up and any other character I put in are properties of there respected companies...Can I sodding write now?...Thank you...bloody nancy boy.
Chapter One: The Devil
Karen Page was never one for faith or never had a faith for that matter at least that's what Matt thought. A year after her murder, Daredevil now had no faith
He sat atop St' Michael's Church...pining and contemplating the so-called "faith" he once thought was the answer to all of the world's problems now he thought it to be a curse. He stood and looked over the huge granite cross at the busy Hell's Kitchen streets.
"Hard to protect people when you don't want to protect yourself." He thought darkly.
He jerked his head. "Scream...woman...less than thirty feet away." He said softly as he sprinted toward the ledge of the cathedral. He jumped blindly...no pun intended. He pulled out one of his billy clubs from the pockets at his legs and extended the hidden cable inside. It caught a water tower and The Devil used it to swing to where the sound waves originated. He landed on the unsteady ground and fell through the rotting boards.
One....two...three floor...on concrete he found solid ground. The Man Without Fear groaned nosily and shook the deep throbbing pain out of his head.
"Damn...should have heard the boards..." He said softly to himself. He rose to his knees...and the pungent smell of recent death hit him in strong waves...a smell the Guardian Devil was all too familiar with. His mind flashed to the recent radar sense sight of the parish of dead nuns...compliments of Bullseye ending with the death of the only woman he ever loved.
The Devil shook the images from his head and rose to his feet. He stomped his foot and saw the atrocities that awaited his blind eyes. Crucifixions, Pentagrams, melted candles covered in blood, and bodies...countless lives sacrificed to heathen and pagan gods.
"My God...how could I have missed this hell hole?..." He thought horrified. As he made his way down a seemingly endless hallway he extended the billy club he had been clutching, ever alert for sounds and sights of movement...hostile or non. With each step more horrifying scenes were revealed to him; heads separated from the body, long dead skeletons still caked in flesh, and the ever increasing smell of death.
Daredevil reached the end of the hall to find a door covered in metal casings. It had a single symbol burned into the center of the door...a snake twisting up a upside down cross.
"A cross defiled...Witches or Satanists..." He spoke aloud trying to unravel the question of who was behind this. In seeing the cross a spark of faith renewed in Matt. He took a deep breath and entered the room. The first step reveled a large double decker foyer walls lined with book shelves and littered with candle holders with wicks burning. The hall was littered with bodies and demon rites...but this room as clean and straight but the smell of death still lingered heavily.
"The room....it looks as if someone was...expecting me for God's sakes.." He thought puzzled. He caught a hint of Chandelle lipstick. Daredevil snapped to attention and looked to where the smell was coming from. At the far end of the room there was a girl kneeling, shaking, and sobbing the Lord's Prayer. He ran to her and dropped to one knee. He stopped the prayer abruptly and started screaming.
"No...No...I'm gonna get you outta here..." He said trying to sound comforting...not knowing the hells she has seen and see until her death.
"HE'S COMING!!!," She yelled at The Devil "NO...escape....HE'LL KILL US BOTH!!!!" She stopped and got silent. Daredevil tried to pull her to her feet but...she was caught on something. He slammed down his billy club and saw her bewildered and blank face. He looked down and saw a single jutted claw protruding from her chest....covered in blood, pulp, and bone fragment. It retracted from the lost soul and he caught the sound and sight of the hell beast running. The waves never crossed over the beast so Daredevil never saw it completely. The Man Without Fear followed the human looking creature and rased his club.
He brought down the club and connected...with nothing. The sounds and waves of the beast had disappeared. He wheeled around to still see nothing. He heard the faint sound of laughter...The Dark was beginning to rise.
The Man Without Fear now had something to fear.
Chapter Two: The Fool
A lone haggard in a tan trenchcoat sta in a empty bar, at a table littered with empty bottles...beer, whiskey, scotch, and whatever else he could get his hands on. The burly...and heavily drunk bartender looked up and saw him still sitting in the same place he was when he first saw the man.
"C'mon now....time to piss off Johnny." The bartender grumbled at the trenchcoat man in a heavy Irish accent.
The man stood up and put a cigarette in his mouth. He began to walk toward the door.
"The sodding band tonight blew." The man said lighting the cig and taking a drag.
" Not every band is gonna be as good as Mucous Membrane John," He chuckled "Oy...didn't you 'ave lung cancer?."
He takes the fag out of his mouth, smiles a cocky smile and says, "Yeah...I did."
He opens the door and leaves the smokey pub behind. He takes in the cool air of the streets of Liverpool, England. The streets he had saved many times and many times to come. He is the bastard by any other name...John Constantine...The Hellblazer. John starts his walk home and he takes in the sights of the familiar streets.
"Bloody hell...I missed this..." He pined as he made his way up to the cobble steps of his apartments.
Constantine opens the door and is met with the sight of his landlord, Murray. He starts to walk past him but is spotted before he hits the stairs.
"Hey there Constantine....Where the fuck is me rent mate!!!???. You haven't paid me in God knows how long!!!" He spat at John. "If you don't pay me in the next week...your out on your damn bum!!!"
"These conversations are the highlight of my day..." He said as he puffed at his cigarette.
"What did you say you bloody smartassed prick!!!" He screamed. Constantine waved his hand and muttered a few words and he became docile and quiet.
"You still want your money Murray?..." John said cooly.
"What money?" He answered dumbfounded. John smiled and walked up the stairs.
"Been doing that spell for three years still hadn't caught it...dim-witted bastard..." He muttered amused. He reached his door and slid the key in the knob. Something rustled behind him...He turned his head and looked around with puzzlement, shrugged, then walked in. He closed the door behind him and muttered an incantation he picked up in the Pit...as he called it. The door glowed a faint blue then slowly faded away. Arcane Protection Charm. The apartment of the Hellblazer is just that...a hell.
A few chairs, one coffee table littered with cigarette butts and bottles of booze, a sparse kitchen, gallon jugs of water blessed by anyone with a loose affiliation with the Catholic Church, and hundreds of books on the Occult and Arcane. He took off his coat and loosened his tie (even more then it already was) and landed in the nearest chairs. He ran one calloused hand though his matted blond hair and took one last drag off of his cig.
The phone buzzed. John jumped in surprise...and he hates surprises. He picked up the receiver "Constantine." He said sharply at the person on the other end.
A bright voice on the other side said 'Mr. Constantine...this is Lt. Myers from New York precinct 12." The lieutenant said almost cheerily.
"Well bloody fine to meet you Myers...now piss off." Constantine snapped.
"I think you need to hear this sir..." He shot back darkly. The Hellblazer sighed heavily...
"Go a-fucking-head slick. I'll give you ten minutes." He breathed. Myers launched into a speech about how the N.Y.P.D needed him to help on an investigation of some disappearances and murders in a place called Hell's Kitchen and how they suspected the crimes to be Satanic in nature ("Fitting." John thought). He ended with "I heard you were the best at this kind of thing Mr. Constantine..."
John put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He took a heavy drag and started to laugh.
"That I am kid...but what makes you think that I'm gonna hop a plane and leave the Queen's country for the sodding Big Apple?...there's too many memories there for me...savvy?" He said for once lightheartedly.
"Jesus man...at least try for the families man...give them at least a little
solace." He said downtrodden. Constantine felt anger well up inside of him.
"I've seen more Occult murders in my life then anyone in the world!!! The families will never...and I mean never sleep again knowing that little Susan's nickers were invaded by a hell beast and she was nailed to a cross." He shot at him and slammed down the receiver. He plopped down in his chair again and took a drag. He heard the rustling again this time outside his door.
John flew out of his chair and gabbed a vial of Holy Water and muttered the counter-spell to his door. He flung the door open and saw...nothing and no one...
The looked up and down the hall and only saw footprints...made out of deep red blood. He followed the prints and they let him down the stairs to the lobby. As he walked he never took his eyes off of the footprints. They ended at Murray's booth.
He looked up and saw good ol' Murray...with his head splattered all over the wall behind him. He turned away from the horrible smell and caught sight of a slip of paper nailed to the door. He walked over and ripped it off and saw that it was a plane ticket...
One way to New York...Constantine went up stairs and looked up Lt. Myers.
Chapter 3: Meetings
John sat and stared at the glowing no smoking sign that hung above his seat...he loathed American anti-smoking laws. "Bloody hell.." he breathed. He looked out the window and was greeted by the sight of the New York skyline.
"That does kinda make it worth while." He thought brightly. The plane was inching toward the ground as the sign flicked off and the head stewardess came over the PA.
"We are now landing at La Giardia airport...we thank you for flying British Airways." He said in her usual bubbly fashion. Constantine unbuckled his seat belt and stood up. He bumped into something....
"What the...." He looked up and was face to face with a smiling and bespectacled man.
"Oh my apologies!" He exclaimed. He was young looking...about 20 or 21. He was also wearing a deep purple suit with a gold tie that had some strange markings on it. John examined them and remembered that they were hiding charms.
"Accepted....you hiding from someone mate?..." John asked thoughtfully.
"My name is Morgan La Fey...and no....I know of the markings but I just like the way the look Mr?..." He said extending his hand. Constantine shoved his hands in his trenchcoat pockets.
"Constantine....hm...well brilliant to meet you." by this time the plane had completely stopped and Constantine made his way to the doorway. La Fey's smile widened
"Same here....I have a feeling were going to see each other very soon..." He called.
"Bloody git..." John thought as he walked into the terminal. He took out his pack of his precious Silk Cuts and shook one out.
"Mr. Constantine!" A voice called from across the room.
"What sodding now?..." He muttered. He looked across the terminal and saw a man standing near the baggage pickup...He saw a man in a dark grey suit. He was wearing deep red sunglasses and he was carrying a walking stick with a hand hoop on the top. John flashed back to the Daily Bugle he had read on the plane the headline was: " PULP HERO OF HELL'S KITCHEN IS BLIND LAWYER".
He walked his way. "So you're the famous Matt Murdock..." he said, about to light up.
"There's no smoking here Mr. Constantine..." He said matter-of-factly. Constantine looked around and saw said sign...then he looked at Murdock....very closely. He put the cigs back in his front pocket.
"Right then...so I guess your gonna introduce me to the good lieutenant" Constantine said, still extremely eager for a cigarette.
"No....you and I will be working on the case together..." He said starting toward the front entrance. John followed a few steps behind him, giving Matt his space.
"Now why would a high-profile lawyer help with a police investigation of the Occult." John said with faint sarcasm.
" I volunteered to help anyway I can......and I know Hell's Kitchen better than anyone Mr. Constantine." He said, his voice very professional John could tell he'd been a lawyer for quite a time now. They had reached the front entrance and had stepped out onto the sidewalk. Matt started to hail a cab.
"If we're gonna be partners...we better bloody start out as partners." Constantine said, holding out his hand. Matt turned and faced John. "I mean shake hands..." He clarified.
Matt cocked an eyebrow..."Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I don't understand you..." He quipped, taking John's hand. He muttered a few words and images of Daredevil and Daredevil's turbulent past filled his head. John shook them off and grunted.
"You ok Mr. Constantine?" Murdock asked. John rubbed his head.
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine....and its John....or just Constantine...I can't said that sodding 'Mr' stuff...ok mate?" He said, holding out his hand for a cab.
"Right..." He muttered, feeling weird after the handshake as if someone was swimming around in his head. A cab screeched to a halt beside them and Matt opened the door and climbed in, John followed suit. He slammed the door and took out his cigs and lit up, quicker than he had ever lit up. He took a long drag and smiled.
"Christ I needed that.....so...I bet the police are real glad they have a hero helping them out." He breathed though the smoke. Matt cocked an eyebrow and they sped off from the airport.
Ten minutes later in a local pub.
Constantine had some what been explaining his line of work every since they got there. "And I used a spell to prove what they were spreading about you in the rags..." He said puffing on his 7'th cig of the night. Matt sipped at his beer and tried to process the information John had been spewing.
"So....you know about....everything?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah...but what interests me.....is the parts about that building in The Kitchen." He said intensely. John picked up one of the full shot glasses in front of him and drained it.
"I was hoping you could help me with this symbol....see it's a,". A scream erupts from the front of the bar. Constantine and Matt wheeled around.
A human like monster, that looked like a zombie with jutted claws, and two vampires had entered th bar. The zombie stepped forward and a large chunk of flesh fell and splattered against the wood floor.
"I'm looking for Constantine." It snarled. When it talked Constantine could see the tendons in its jaw move.
"Look no further mate," He drained another shot "You found him...". Matt had gotten to his feet and was about to attack "Hold up slick...I'll take care of it."
Constantine stood up and faced the demon.
"Good....KILL HIM!!!" He demon screamed. The vamps ran at Constantine. Matt caught one under the chin with his walking stick. The other kept coming and John smashed a bottle of Holy Water on his head.
With all the sound waves bouncing around, Matt caught a glimpse of the creature....His mind flashed to the night before. "The beast who killed the girl." he felt a white hot anger well up inside of him. He side kicked the demon out of the door and ran after him.
Constantine took a pool cue off and near by rack and broke it over a table. He staked one "I fucking hate," He staked the other "Vampires."
He made his way to the door but the stunned patrons of the bar were silent. He looked over them..and waved his hand. They all went back to what they were doing before the walking spoiled meat bucket walked in. John went outside to see Matt in a alley across the street beating nine kinds of hell out of the demon.
"You...killed an INNOCENT GIRL!!!!" He screamed as he punched him, chunks of flesh were sticking to his fist as he punched it.
John just looked on and lit up another cigarette.
The demon's breathing (if that's what you call it.) was getting very labored.
"Your...both gonna die....your both gonna suffer....your both gonna feel the most-" his sentence was stopped by Murdock's fist entering his stomach. The demon doubled over and spewed out blood and maggots all over Matt's shoes.
"Tell us who your working for..." Matt said intensely...
"Fuck you hero..." it spat. Matt reared back his foot and kicked its head off. The head splattered against the outside of the bar across the street.
Matt, panting, wiped his hands on his suit jacket and looked at Constantine.
"I guess I've some more to tell you...."
Chapter Four: Crash Course
"You've most likely seen vampires and demons before," Constantine said though another long drag of his trusty trademark "But you've never seen the real demons....". Matt had been following John ever since the altercation in the alley and he had been listening intently to everything he had to say....he was, after all, the expert.
"So what is it your going to show me?" Matt asked, tapping his cane on the cold sidewalk in front of him. Constantine suddenly stopped.
"The reality of unreality." He murmured, serious as a heart attack. He opened a door and walked in. Murdock followed and was greeted by the overwhelming smell of alcohol and sweat. He tapped his cane and saw that they had entered a kind of club. The dance floor was crowded with bewitched men, dancing and fulfilling every whim of the girls doing the bewitching.
"Stay close mate....it gets kinda dodgy in here." Constantine yelled over the machine-gun techno being pumped over the club's sound system. They pushed there way across the dance floor and made there way up to a balcony overlooking the club. Murdock gripped his walking stick.
"What are we doing here John?" he said intently.
"I'm here to show you what its really like....demons aren't just what the Bible says they are....there much worse. There becoming more human every day," He said grimly "And that scares the piss outta me....see there?" He pointed to a horned, mutilated creature talking on a cell phone. Matt focused his radar sense...
"Yeah...what is it?" he asked, concentrating on the picture in his head.
"That is a Sluggor demon...making a call to his broker....to check the stocks of sex slaves and condemned souls...I'm hope you got faith mate....cause we're gonna need every bit of it." Constantine, with a touch of hope.
Matt gripped his walking stick and bit back the rising anger. "I've given up on God..." He stated with no emotion.
"Hm...let us hope he hasn't given up on us...." John said. He started toward a door marked "VIP"..."C'mon then...I need information."
They entered the large, crystal laden room lined with comfortable chairs. With every step, Matt saw New York's elite, Government officials, movie stars, and public figures, engaging in Pagan rituals and doing many things that the public would cringe at.
"From a lawyers standpoint, I could have a field day..." Matt whispered.
"Leave 'em be suit....they'll get there's." Constantine muttered back.
They walked to the end of the cathedral-like VIP room to a single man sitting on a large crystal chair, the chair is covered in blood and body fragments...sacrifices.
"CONSTANTINE!!!....I knew you had balls...but I didn't know you could summon up a enough fortitude to walk into the throne room of the very demon you screwed over and sent back to Hell" The thing boomed. To Matt he looked just like a regular human being...but way he made Matt feel told him otherwise. 'Who's this...new Angel muscle?" He quipped.
"Nope....just a regular man like me....I need a favor V..." John said, shoving his hands in his trenchcoat.
The man (V)....started laughing....but it wasn't a human laugh. It was a deep booming laugh that sounded evil...just like the thing that produced it.
"That's rich....The famous angel-killer John Constantine is coming to ask me, a humble demon trying to stay off of Hell's radar, a favor....I should kill you and piss on your decapitated head." V snarled.
"I'll make you a deal...." Constantine produced a newspaper from the coat, it had a picture of a young girl on it...she was 19, attractive and headed to Yale because she had won a scholarship form the newspaper. "You can have her body...which will hide you from Hell and Heaven for as long as you keep the strumpet....savvy?" He said, trying to sell the deal.
Matt felt the white hot anger from before and slammed a hand on John's shoulder..."What in God's name are you doing Constantine!?!?" He demanded.
John looked at the hand "For someone with no faith....you sure do like to use the name a lot..." John shot a The Man Without Fear. This stung Matt deeply he spun around and walked out, hating the world of humans and hellspawn alike.
Ten minutes later...
John walked out of the club, puffing a fresh cigarette. He looked around and saw Matthew Murdock, a former devout Catholic now a confused and angry man, leaning against the wall of the club. John walked over and leaned beside him.
"I got some information..." He said cooly.
"Your no different from him Constantine." Matt spat, his voice filled with disdain, almost loathing.
"I thought as a hero," He took a drag "You'd be able to see the big picture here."
"I see the big picture and its not about sacrificing girls for information!!!" He shouted.
"Excuse the buggering fuck outta me...I'm trying to solve a series of brutal murders and stop a very sick man...I didn't know the famous Daredevil had such a firm grip on good and evil." John countered, his voice also filling with rage. Matt reared back and punched Constantine, sending him to the sidewalk.
"At least I have a side...and I don't do evil things in the name of 'Good'." Matt screamed, his voice cracking from the rage building up inside. John just laid rubbing his jaw....He sighed.
"He said someone very powerful is summoning some of Hell's chief badasses...if we're gonna stop whoever it is....we have to work together and that means that we have to accept each others methods." He said....searching for his cig.
Matt ran a hand through his hair and tapped his walking stick thoughtfully on the ground. He nodded and helped Constantine to his feet.
"You got an angel killed..." He thought out loud...
"I'll tell you the story later...." John said lighting up again.
"You're a bastard Constantine..."
"How the bloody hell do you think I survived this long?"
"The arrival of Constantine was expected...but The Devil was unforseen..." The Necromancer mused...he waved his hands and two of the five pentagrams started to glow a deep purple. A portal emerged from the siguls and two figures stepped from the vortexes. One was tall, skinny, he wore a long tan trenchcoat...and his face was cover in oozing boils and sores. His hands were long and his fingers were tipped in claws. It reached into it's coat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. It shook one out and lit up.
"My life for you...' It snarled through the smoke.
The other wore a cloak of red leather...and he wore a skin tight red body suit. His face was masked...but from the eye and mouth holes....red smoke billowed out. On its chest it had half of a pentagram and two dots. The Necromancer smiled and rased his hands.
"My Generals....You have come at a time of an ascension...MY ascension.....The time has come. Kill Constantine and The Devil. Go....Put in your sickle and reap the souls of the righteous." He laughed. He waved his hands and the pentagrams started to activate....portals to infinite unholy worlds were being opened and The Generals were being summoned.
War had been declared.