Chapter 2: Minor Adjustment
…
"Why the fuck did I become a giant skeletal pterosaur with a fur collar and a fabulous purple bird wings!"
…
Masak Mavdil, Hell
There was a saying in hell about an endless pit no demon dared to wander.
"Masak Mavdil's darkling mist arises, cloaking all that hell despises.
All the hell scorned, reviled. Rejected, ejected, and exiled."
A hell within the hell itself.
…
A giant winged demon soared in the sky of the Masak Mavdil. An unholy storm blew every time its wings flapped. All its denizens of hell knew it was not wise to stay within its path.
All its denizens knew that to go again this demon was to go against death itself.
Its name was Abaddon. The Destroyer. One of the Satanic Triumvirate.
Apollyon awoke finding himself changed into this weak and frail duplicate when he arrived here. He was not happy about it.
The fallen angel found this body nothing but a complete mockery. A fake. A weakling.
Lucky for the fallen angel. He still had his divinity and all his power from the higher realm of existence. And he intended to do something about it.
…
Tower of Dis, Dis (Hell's Capital)
On the throne sat a serpent queen. Her large serpentine body towered all her courtiers. Her face was an emotionless death mask that could make a seasoned warrior shivered in fear.
Her name was Ran Va Daath.
Once, she was merely a demon ruler over the land west of river Acheron. A mere small region compares to the endless landscape of hell. Once, she waged a war with Archduke Belial. A war that ended in a mountain of corpses where they used as a bed to copulate. She sired him a son, Etrigan the Demon.
The old saying in hell still rang true. "Beware who you are fighting with, for an enemy always make a good bedfellow."
But that was the past. Because at the moment she, along with her son, was a Satanic Triumvirate.
She was a sole ruler of hell considering that Etrigan was merged with Jason Blood once again and Abaddon want nothing but circling the sky of Masak Mavdil.
Speaking of Masak Mavdil…
It was a normal day of her court until an earthquake of a titanic proportion shook the entire plane. All nine provinces of hell felt it wrath as the hell itself turned on its denizens. News traveled from all god-forsaken corners about the devastation it caused.
This incident didn't bode well with the Serpent Queen. She knew that someone was responsible. Someone that could challenge her rule.
Someone that needed to be disposed of immediately.
All the clue led to Masak Mavdil. The Serpent queen didn't hesitate for a second to march her army there. There was no need for an investigation. All the denizens of Masak Mavdil were those who were exiled from the nine provinces.
Failed Usurpers. Usurped demon lords. Her late husband, Belial, included.
For the record, he was on the top of her list of perpetrators. Not that the rank on the list was important or held any values. She aimed to purge them all.
When she arrived at Masak Mavdil she only found it in ruin. Well, more ruined than usual. Everything there was dead aside from one thing.
Abaddon.
The winged demon landed in front of the serpent queen. The ground shook as two triumvirate met face to face. The sky cracked as the lesser demon scrambled for safety. A battle of a titanic proportion was likely to go down.
"Abaddon." She called his name.
"Close but not quite." The winged demon glowed. He radiated a divine light that made all demon covered in fear. The serpent queen included.
As the light died down, the winged demon disappeared. What was left was a small Asian man with black hairs and eyes. He wore a deep purple waistcoat over a light pink shirt and a matching pants. He might not be as fashionable as Lucifer, but he was not that far off.
"I prefer to be called by my Greek name. Apollyon."
"Charmed. Quite a choice of attire there, love. But you were much better looking before you transformed into this puny mortal form."
"I know why you're here Ran. Yes, I unleashed the quake. I just want your attention."
The Serpent queen gave him a dismissive glance. That were bold words from such a small and puny-looking man. Yet, he was still Abaddon, her equal in the Triumvirate. There was no one better in hell that could unleash a devastation of that magnitude. Still, she couldn't think of the reason for him to do it. He was already the ruler of hell, along with her.
And she knew he had no desire to rule alone. In fact, the blind bastard had no desire to do anything except flying around Masak Mavdil.
"Well. You now have it, love. What do you want?"
The serpent queen saw no need to be indirect about it. She could not show any weakness here, especially in front of her equal. Least she wanted to give her minions an idea that rebellion was an okay thing to do.
"Just to say goodbye, actually. I have been offered a job elsewhere. I'm relinquishing all my claim of Hell to you."
Ran didn't believe what she heard. Had Abaddon gone mad? Because it seemed he does. How can anyone escape hell without a retribution? Still, she would like to entertain the idea.
"So where are you going?"
"Don't know yet. Maybe, earth. That should be a good start."
Yep. He was completely mad. She was sure of it.
"An invasion?"
"More like a vacation actually. Adios, bitches."
Apollyon snapped his fingers and disappeared with a shining beam of divine light. The light tore through the sky of Hell and destroy everything in its path. After the smoke cleared, the serpent queen was left alone.
…
Washington D.C., Earth
1941 A.D.
The fallen angel found himself in the world of man. With a limited knowledge of this universe he gained from the body of his demon duplicate, he knew he had arrived on earth. It seemed that his gift from Dad was still working as no one seemed to have noticed a man popping out of nowhere in the middle of the street. So, he took his time to observe the humanity.
He knew Dad sent him here for a season. He needed to figure out why. Maybe being in this lower realm of existence had some problem that Dad want him to fix. Raphael mentioned that this universe always has an interdimensional crisis every few decades. Maybe Dad want him to fix that too?
"Dad. You know the job would be much easier if you tell me what you want, right?"
As if it was fated to happen, his rant was interrupted by a bright light in the shape of an ankh. People scattered as they see a man came out of it.
"Go back to the pit you came from, demon. Your existence disturbed the very order of the universe."
Apollyon turned. He saw a man in blue wearing a golden helmet and a gold cape. He radiated quite a respectable amount of power.
Still, he was nothing compared to the fallen angel. Apollyon was sure he could obliterate him with a thought.
The man was in a stance to unleash his magic. His hand glowed with power. The power Apollyon somehow recognized.
"Nabu. And its host, Dr. Fate. What a surprise."
Dr. Fate blasted him with his power. An ankh-shape light darted across space and hit the fallen angel right at the center of his chest. He felt nothing. Not even a tickle.
"What pleasure do I owe the lord of order? Hmm." He continued.
Seeing that the first attack had no effect. Dr. Fate blasted him in the face.
"Hey. Hey. Hey. I'm talking to you!"
Once again, he was interrupted by a loud thud behind his back. He turned around to look, ignoring a blast from Dr. Fate that kept hitting him with no effect. The magician weaved a spell that bound him in a chain of light that meant to reveal and restrict him. A bound that he could get out of anytime.
What he saw was a woman clad in red and gold armor, a gold diadem with a red star, silver bracelets on her wrist, and two red star earrings. Her long straight hair was black. Her light blue eyes were beautifully gleaming like a starlight. Her lips were red like a rose fleshly prepared for a lover.
Apollyon had to admit he was stunned by the wonderful woman in front of him.
Until she punched him right across his jaw. It didn't hurt him physically, but it was not a good impression either.
Unless you were the angel of destruction like him. Then it was a textbook definition of love at first sight.
"What with this barbarity? Can't we discuss it in a more civil manner?"
"What's is there to discuss, demon?"
She spoke. Her voice was deep and demanding. Lovely, he thought. It was a music to his ears.
"Demon?"
He raised his brow and shrugged his shoulder. The binding spell was broken in an instant. Fearing the woman would no longer see him, he decloaked himself.
"How can anything but an angel be this perfect?"
He sprouted two giant wings from his back. It spanned over 7 meters long. The wings coverts were grey while the rest of the feathers were light purple. The pair gleamed with power that could entrance any mortal in awe. On the top of his head hovered a silver halo crown, emanating an aura of dread.
He gave her an alluring smile. She didn't buy it.
"What sort of angel would escape from hell?" She threw her lasso at him. He caught it with his right hand. It glowed with its enchanted power.
"The best one. And probably the one you go to the bed with." He entertainingly answered. "Holy shit. The lasso that force one to tell the truth? Interesting. I want one."
The woman and the magician looked at each other. Then she looked back at the fallen angel with confusing eyes, then back at the magician.
"Can we talk now?" Asked the fallen angel.
…
3 hours later
It turned out that the lovely woman he was punched by was an Amazon, a powerful race of female warriors blessed by Greek gods. Apollyon was surprised that his Dad allowed these puny entities to sully his title. Well, if his Dad was okay with it then there was no reason for him to do anything. Aside from that issue, he liked it when he knew she was called Wonder Woman. It was a fitting name.
Apollyon wondered what sort of wonder she could show him.
'Geeze. Did I just turn into Lucifer? Gross.' Another thought came into his mind. Weird. It had never happened before.
Apollyon discovered that he arose to earth when its denizens were having a big war. Well, as big as a third-degree backward civilization in a black water planet could have. The war was not unknown to him though. He remembered an influx of damned souls flooded hell after about 1940 years his younger brother, Jesus, was born as a mortal in the universe he came from.
'Then this means Dad sent me back in time too. Interesting.' Thought the fallen angel.
Apart from Dr. Fate and Wonder Woman, he noticed more of these so-called superheroes surrounding him. They used to call themselves Justice Society of America. A group of costume individual who vowed to fight crime and injustice. Since they fought the war for something called the alliance, whatever that means, the changed the group name into All-Star Squadron.
Silly them. For there was no justice involved in a war. Nor any star in that matter.
The team debated among themselves about what to do with him. Apparently, Dr. Fate changed his mind when he knew Apollyon was an angel while Wonder Woman still insisted that he was dangerous.
Oh, how adorable these mortals thought they were. Did they not know that they were as threatening to him as a bunch of little penguins?
A penguin with a machete in the case of Wonder Woman.
…
"So. Let me get this straight. You are an angel? Like angel, angel? The messenger of God?" A man that the others call Flash asked. Apparently, he was a speedster.
"Yes. But not from this level of existence." Apollyon casually answered. Seeing the confusion in the room, he continued. "Are you familiar with a multiverse theory? The existence of many parallel universes? Well. Let's say I came from the one above all of you."
Everyone has a look of WTF on their face.
"It's okay if you are confused. A new idea always brings awe and confusion. Yesterday, I had been introduced to emoji myself. It was riveting. You know. How every conversation could be condensed into a series of specific pictures."
"What's an emoji? Is it some sort of Hieroglyph?" Asked Dr. Fate.
It seemed the fallen angel forgot he was sent into the past too. Emoji wasn't supposed to exist until 1999 A.D.
"Yeah. Err. Forget about it. It doesn't matter."
He hoped the knowledge of emoji ahead of time would not destroy the universe.
…
The debated went on. And on. And on. And on.
Come on. Don't you know what this means?" Flash spoke. "He is an angel. God is on our side. The war is as good as won."
'What a foolish man. Dad never takes sides.' The thought made the fallen angel smiled. 'He didn't even pay attention to us. His own family. Why do you think he would care about you?'
"Don't get too much ahead of yourself Mr. Garrick. I have neither intention nor capability to assist in this war of yours."
Tensing his muscle, Apollyon broke all the restraint that had been put on him.
"A being like me is forbidden from interfering with mortal affairs. There is a law that even I must follow. The reason for me to be here is my own. There are things that are much more important than your puny war."
He channeled his power. His body levitated as it unleashed a miasma of darkness.
"I might not be able to meddle in the affair of you mortals. But I wish all of you the best. When all seems lost you know who to pray to. Who knows. Maybe my father would let me do some … let say a divine intervention."
His words stunned the Everyone in the room. Well, all but the Amazon Princess.
"It's nice knowing you all. Gentlemen." He sexily smiled. "And lovely lady such as you too. Mrs. Prince. Maybe after the war, I will see you around."
He vanished after finishing his speech.
…
"Well. He seemed to like you, Wonder Woman." Said the speedster.
"Shut up." Replied the Amazon princess.
…
Unknown, Unknown
After Apollyon left the mortals to their own fate, he felt a calling. This calling was unique. Certain powerful beings wanted to have an audience with him. An idea he also wanted to entertain.
The fallen angel appeared in a metaphysical realm that housed six individuals. Each of them was an integral part of the multiverse as a manifestation of its driving force. If all of them combine their power, they could even rival his own.
Well. If all seven of them combined their power. By missing one, Apollyon had nothing to fear.
"The Endless, I presume? What pleasure do I have for this calling?" Asked the fallen angel.
The Endless. A dysfunctional family not different from his own. All of them represent each aspect of the multiverse. Destiny, Dream, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, Delirium. Each was perfect and flaw in their own ways.
They reminded Apollyon of his own dysfunctional family. Yes, he was already homesick.
"I liked him already. Can he be our new third brother?" Asked the third youngest, Desire. This one was mischievous. Not much different from his twin sister, Azrael.
"Nonsense. No one can replace Destruction. Our brother will come back. He just needs some alone time." Jabbed the youngest sister, Delirium. She took the form of a little girl. If the said girl was absolutely crazy and wise at the same time.
The banter. Oh, how he missed his family.
From the memory of his demon shell, Apollyon recalled that Destruction abandoned his post around the 17th century on earth. Yet, even without doing his jobs properly, destruction still occurred. Something he would take note on. He might need to bring it up when he had time to contemplate about his duty.
"What do you want?" He asked. "I already have one messed up family. I do not intend to be in another one."
"We wouldn't think of it, O' Great One." Destiny spoke. "It was just that someone wants to meet you. Someone that want us to be here too when you two meets."
"Who?"
"The Presence." All six siblings uttered the name at the same time.
"Dad?" Asked the fallen angel as he noticed another entity behind him. This one was far more powerful. To compare himself to this entity was akin to a firefly tried to outshine the sun.
"Just a part that this level of existence can contain, My son." The entity that called the Presence answered.
The Presence assumed the form of an old man with a white hair and a gentleman mustache. He wore a small top hat and a cane. He dressed in an ashen gray suit and a brown shoe. A good fashion sense ran in his family after all.
"Right. It's about time you show up. Dad." Apollyon gave his father's presence a right hook to the jaw. "You Bastard!"
…
The next chapter would be a collection of Apollyon dicking around. Then the story will involve a character from Young Justice (Sidekick team) in the chapter that follows.