Chapter 15: A new kind of hero

This was it, all these years have lead up to this moment. Carrie was stood there, looking over Sue, the girl who wanted to save her but never knew how. She was dead, she had been poisoned so that they could take the baby and turn it into a weapon. Carrie looked at the baby and picked it up, it started to cry and so did she, she didn't know what to do but as she walked out of the room she started to feel empty.

"She died...You failed her." Alex said. He wanted to child to join the Damned, a child that would be brought up from the start to serve the Damned and be their soldier, their ghost story, their symbol.

"I didn't fail her." Carrie said. She felt bad for Sue, she was angry that she was gone but there was nothing she could do.

"No, you've just failed….There's no going back, every time you go galavanting as a hero, you create these monsters...You're the problem." Alex explained. Carrie looked at him and sighed heavily.

"You're right." Carrie said as she flicked her wrist and snapped Alex's neck. It felt weird this time, she had taken lives before but always in the heat of the moment, this was a full on execution, she wasn't sure on how she felt about it, she didn't really feel much but then again, he was her enemy. Dave tried to stand up but couldn't, he was in too much pain.

"So how do we get out of here?" Dave asked.

Carrie tried to think for a moment, their boat had been destroyed by the storm and she couldn't fly them both out of there, they'd all be killed. Just as Carrie started to think, a flash of blue light appeared and the three found themselves back in their base.

X

Nastavnik was once the leader of the Fraternity, a leader of a group of assassins and one of the greatest fighters to have ever walked the earth. He was a survivor, he would do anything to make sure that he came out ontop. He had allied himself with Magician and Valerie after the Damned had taken over the hotel, he was going to try and rebuild himself that was until they were attacked.

The Damned soldiers were running throughout Magicians lair where Valerie had recruited an army of homeless soldiers. They were no match for an actual army, the Damned soldiers cut them down like dogs. The homeless soldiers ran around, firing the cheap guns that they had but everywhere they turned they ended up with several bullets in them.

Nastavnik had a blade, it wasn't enough but it would have to do. He ran towards a group of three soldiers, plunging his sword into one of them and punching another, he took his gun and smacked him with it before shooting the other one. Two other soldiers ran towards him, Nastavnik had to run and shoot, taking down one of them. He waited until he was out of ammo before he leaped towards him, using his elbow to push the gun down and unclipping a grenade on his belt. He kicked him back into a pillar and waited for the explosion.

Nastavnik took his sword out of the dead soldier and threw it at a group of soldiers running towards him, he tried running to the side but another one appeared and pushed him back, Nastavnik punched him twice in the stomach but before he could unleash another blow, a soldier pulled him to the ground. Nastavnik pushed him back and jumped up but he got overwhelmed by the soldiers keeping him down.

Just as Nastavnik tried to push them back, Paul threw a molotov cocktail at them, Nastavnik pushed back and got out of the soldiers. They started to scream as they burnt whilst Nastavnik removed him burning jacket, he looked up at Paul who was shooting them but the man in the red suit pushed him off the balcony which he was stood on. The man in the red suit had bright blue eyes, they were burning him from the inside but it just made him stronger.

He jumped off and landed in front of Paul, he was holding two metallic swords and was about to plunge one into him but Nastavnik shot him several times but the wounds heal after blue energy pours out of him. Valerie ran towards him with a molotov cocktail and threw it at him, setting the man on fire. The man just stood there, not making a single sound. The flames quickly disappeared and he was consumed in blue energy that fixed him.

He ran towards Valerie and swung his swords, she jumped back and Paul shot him with one of the soldiers guns. The man threw a sword at Paul, scarring his face as he dropped the gun. Nastavnik picked up the sword and ran towards the man. He swung several times but the man blocked it, he swung the sword to the side and drove it through Nastavnik. He was old, weaker than he used to be, he wasn't as fast as he should have been and now he's paid the price. The man pushed him down to the ground, he had lost...He watched Paul run away, trying to get escape so he can start again as a survivor.

Valerie slashes the man's throat with a small knife but he punched her in the chest. As he went to finish her off, he started to feel funny...The blue energy started to pour out of him, he started to scream as his insides started to feel like they were burning. He screamed out in pain as the blue energy tore him apart, blowing up the building. Danny was controlling him, keeping him going with the magic of the hotel and when he was ready, he destroyed the last of the Damned.

X

Danny was stood in some void, it was insane, like standing in the ocean, walking in any direction that you see fit. He watched the explosion from there, he felt like he was standing in it, observing it like a god or a devil, he wasn't sure which just yet.. Kathleen was stood by him, watching him as he watched the world.

"Why did you kill them?" Kathleen asked.

"Nastavnik abused the Overlooks power, he hurt it...He got what he deserved." Danny explained as he looked at Nastavniks last moments, listening to his last thoughts as he accepted his fate but refused to admit that what he had done was wrong, he thought he was right till the end.

"And the others?" Kathleen asked

"Magician believed that no man is without sin...Especially his followers unfortunately our Magician has escaped once again." Danny said as he turned his head to see Paul escaping.

"Are you going to kill him?"

"We'll see." Danny said as he watched Paul crawl through the dirt as he watched the building go up in flames. He debated whether it was worth killing him, he knew that he deserved it, of course he did but...Death isn't always the right punishment.

X

As Paul crawled through the dirt, trying to obtain his bearings he couldn't help but feel cold, he saw the blue energy dance around his fingertips, he looked in fear as they stretched down to his hand and then pounced at his face, knocking him out. He woke up in the middle of a police station, the blue energy had left him but detective Marcus was stood in front of him.

"Marcus?" Paul said, he knew him, they hadn't met that many times but he they did know each other. Marcus looked at him, he looked around and the other detectives nodded.

"This is for Mindy." Marcus said as he kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

X

"Is that true justice? After all of his crimes?" Kathleen asked. She was wondering why Danny didn't kill him for he certainly deserved it.

"Maybe, maybe not but there are punishments far worse than death." Danny explained as Paul was taken into custody.

"So can you bring people back?" Kathleen asked as she looked at Danny change Paul, he became weaker and less agile, all of the life was taken from him.

"In a sense." Danny replied. He flooded Paul with the pain that he had inflicted on others, making his already broken mind hell, filling in the cracks with more pain.

"...Can you bring Mindy back please?" Kathleen finally asked. Danny stopped what he was doing and looked at her in the eyes.

"...No."

"Why?" Kathleen screamed, Danny kept looking at her in the eyes and then pointed to Carrie holding the baby.

"Because I have another task for you." Danny said. Kathleen looked at Carrie holding the baby, Dave was trying to patch himself up. Carrie tried to help but she was panicking as the baby started to cry.

"You want me to look after the baby?" Kathleen asked.

"I'm offering you a second chance...Start again." Danny said as he started to heal Dave.

"It's not that easy." Kathleen protested.

"It never is." Danny said as he and Kathleen found themselves at the base with Carrie and Dave. Dave was healing because of Danny, confused by what was happening until Danny appeared.

"Danny?" Carrie asked as she walked towards him. Kathleen walked towards Carrie and took the baby so Carrie could hug Danny.

Danny explained everything to them, it was weird but it did make sense to them. Kathleen agreed to take the child and raise it, it was older than she thought but she would take care of the child nonetheless.

"We need to talk." Danny whispered to Carrie. They then found themselves on a rooftop in Manhattan.

"It's good to see you again Carrie." Danny said. He was stood behind her, he looked like his older self but wearing an expensive suit. He seemed more relaxed and cleaner, she didn't think she had ever seen him with a clean shave and short hair.

"What's going on Danny?" Carrie asked. Her head was in pieces, she didn't know what to do, Alex had gotten under her skin and she wasn't sure what she should do.

"Kathleen will raise the child...Paul is in custody." Danny explained.

"He's still alive?" Carrie interrupted.

"Everyone else is dead but not him and for a reason….Paul had it similar to you, he was a child beaten by life until breaking point...He followed a lunatic whilst you followed a vigilante, you need that reminder." Danny explained.

"To stay on the right track?" Carrie asked.

"To do your job properly. I want you to recruit a team, a team of people who will fight the good fight. There were a lot more test subjects, find them and bring them to the light." Danny explained. Carrie had tried to be her own hero but she never had much luck but this time she would have Danny guiding her, making sure she did the right thing.

"So stick with the superhero business?" Carrie asked.

"Yeah but this time be different. Don't be the vigilante like Mindy was….Be their hero, give them something to root for, you're not defined by the prom." Danny said. Carrie nodded and the two hugged, she need to hear it, she needed someone to push her to be the good guy.

3 months later

It had taken a long time but Carrie had got her team together. This time they would stay together, they would fight together and have each others backs. Carrie was walking through a dark warehouse, the lights were flickering and the place was covered in weapons and blood. In the centre of the place was a beaten Pennywise. Dave was stood behind him with Charlie in the corner and several other heroes.

Carrie and Dave took Pennywise outside whilst the other heroes went back to their base. Marcus was stood outside of the warehouse with several policemen and a large, armoured van.

"Finally got him." Marcus said as the policemen took Pennywise and placed him inside of the van.

"Finally got him." Carrie replied as the two shook hands. They hadn't really spoke much lately, it was mainly Dave who spoke to Marcus but even then it was difficult after everything that happened in Mindy.

"They found the body, what do you want done with it?" Marcus asked, he was referencing Stephens body that had been lost in the snow.

"Bury it, I don't care...He doesn't control me anymore." Carrie said. She had gone looking for him but she assumed it had been lost in the snow

"You know after everything that happened with Mindy, all the problems that we went through, you still kept fighting...Mindy would be proud." Marcus said. He looked at her new outfit, it was similar to Stephens except this time it was red and without the hood, more of a motorcycle outfit than anything.

"Thanks….I'm sorry." Carrie said as she looked down at the ground.

"Doesn't matter, what's done is done...What matters is, is that you don't end up like your father." Marcus explained. Carrie hugged Marcus before flying off into the sunset, Dave was stood there, a little confused.

"So...Any inspirational words for me?" Dave asked as he pulled off his mask.

"Change your outfit...It's old." Marcus said as he started to laugh, Dave smiled and looked down at his outfit, accepting that it was time to finally hang up the uniform.

Epilogue.

Carrie was stood at Mindy's grave with Danny by her side. Danny was still wearing the metal suit to cover him up since he was practically energy now, he made himself look like the younger man that he was. They looked over Mindy's grave and took a deep breath, it was over...All of it.

Kathleen had taken the child and started to raise it as her own, making sure it was safe from the dangers of the world. The child was healthy but nobody quite knew what Alex had done to it, whether or not he gave the child powers or not but that wasn't a priority at the moment. Dave had finally given up and joined the police force with Marcus so that he could assist the rising superhero community. Magician, Pennywise and Motherfucker were all in custody and were going to stay that way. A lot of people wanted them executed but Carrie put them in a place where nobody would ever touch them...The Overlook Hotel so that Danny could keep hold of them.

He didn't want them dead, he wanted to remind people that if they went off the rails, if they went bad...That's where they're going. Carrie didn't argue, she was done. She spent the next few years training the heroes to fight, letting her brother Charlie who Danny had helped recover from the brainwashing to lead them against whatever villains came their way.

It was over, all of it but Carrie didn't want to accept it as she looked over her cousin's grave. She could still feel her father's shadow behind her with the Fraternity pulling their strings but Danny reassured her that he was gone. Later that night, Carrie would return home and look at his armour that she had put on display similar to what Mindy did with her father's. She kept it to remind her that nobody controlled her, that her past wasn't going to define her future that she had to be the hero that Stephen never was.

Well I hope you enjoyed it so please review. Did you like this ending? I don't really plan on writing anymore so this is the actual ending, do you have any questions? There won't be a next time so have fun.