Lord of Order: 2 of 12: Grundy's night
…..
The Louisiana bayou is home to many legends, the honey island swamp monster, the gator-man and other strange creatures. While many people have spent years searching for even glimpse of these cryptic creatures, Kent Nelson on the other hand not only knew the existence of these hidden beings, but made sure that mystic beings within this seemingly endless swamp where kept hidden from human eyes. However, among the mostly peaceful myriad of cryptids there existed a monster made of pure dark magic and fueled by rage, a being that Nelson and many other heroes had done battle with over the years and remained a serious threat throughout all that time and tonight was the night that monster might just get his final revenge.
….
In the middle of this marshy terrain a golden portal materialized, allowing the Lord of Order and his new partner to step out from it before it vanished behind them. The magical duo surveyed their new marshy moonlit surroundings, making sure they where not seen by prying eyes, however as an extra precaution; Fate created an invisibility spell around both himself and Raven. The daughter of Trigon had been living with Nelson's family for almost a week now and this was her first time on a mission with Fate and inwardly she was a tad excited to be finally working alongside with the master of the mystic arts. However, she retained her inner emotions and kept a cool demeanor while with Fate.
Raven: Everything looks clear, but I still don't understand why where out here in the first place
Dr. Fate: I received a message from an ally of mine that of a very powerful creature is rampaging through the swamp and it won't be long until he reaches a populated area
Raven 'He?'
Dr. Fate: Tell me Raven, have you ever heard of Solomon Grundy?
Raven: The Titans fought him two or three times in the past, but that was before I joined the team
Dr. Fate: That is the monster we face tonight
Like the half-demon had said, she had never fought the undead behemoth before, but she had heard stories of the monster in question. Solomon Grundy was once a gangster back in the twenties by the name of Cyrus Gold who crossed the wrong people and paid for it with his life, however it was what he did in his afterlife that truly made him infamous. While the details of his resurrection are shrouded in mystery, what is known is that after his body was dumped in the swamp; his body was reborn through dark magic as the hulking zombie now called Solomon Grundy. For many years, Grundy had done battle with almost everyone who had ever fought on the side of righteousness from Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel all the way to the current line-up of the Justice League. If this was truly who Raven and her partner where going into battle against tonight, she knew that they may not make it out alive.
Dr. Fate: I a sense a strong surge of dark magic just south of us. We shoul-urk! *falls to his knees*
Raven rushed to the sorcerer's aid and quickly helped him back to his feet, shocked that the great master of magic in such a sudden weaken state.
Raven: *helps him up* Are you alright?
Dr. Fate: *weakly as he gets to his feet* I-I'm fine, we must move on before we lose Grundy
Raven: But-
Dr. Fate: *pulls away from Raven* It's nothing! Now let's get going!
With that, the master of the mystic arts floated upwards into the sky before taking flight towards the source of the dark magic. Despite knowing that they running into without a plan of attack was bad idea, she swallowed down her fears and fallowed the clearly distressed sorcerer into battle, all the while wondering what made Fate so faint.
Kent Nelson's study, five days ago….
Kent Nelson stood before the Helm of Fate, knowing full well why the Lord of Order was angry with him.
Nabu: I warned you not to bring that girl to my tower Nelson!
Kent: And I told you that you're wrong about her
Nabu: She is a child of chaos. I will not allow her to live within these walls and I will certainly not allow the rest of your little scheme to continue any further!
Kent: She's not her farther—hell she helped stop him from destroying the earth
Nabu: After nearly helping him destroy it herself
Kent: Trigon no longer holds any power over her, she only wants to redeem herself, don't you see that!
Nabu: All I see is a foolish mortal who once again disobeyed me! But that will change now!
Kent: What do you mean?
The Lord of Order's response to that came in the form a pair of golden beams that struck the elderly man in his chest. Kent's chest and abdomen began to feel like it was engulf in flames, the pain was so great he tore open his shirt to see a tattoo of a cobra began to form on his abdomen.
Kent: *shock* Nabu—What have you don't to me?!
Nabu: I am sorry Nelson, I truly am, but this is the only way you will listen to me. Until that girl is out of my tower, that tattoo will climb higher up your body every time you put on my helmet and when it reaches your chest—you will die!
Kent: This is madness Nabu! If I die you won't have a vessel to carry out your will!
Nabu: I can always find someone else Nelson and this not madness, I am a Lord of Order and with that title comes sacrifices for the good of the entire universe itself and if that means I must find someone else to be my avatar on this plane then so be it!
Kent: You've gone too far!
Nabu: Be that as it may, but now the choice is yours: either the girl leaves my tower or you will leave this world's physical plain
And with that, the room's normal lighting returned as the helmet returned to its original place, leaving Kent with a major dilemma.
Present time…
As Raven and Fate searched the swamp for Grundy, the sense of dark magic was growing stronger; so much so that now Raven could sense it as well. Just then, Fate noticed something floating almost lifelessly in the river. The duo quickly descended down to get a better look at the victim, only to see that this was no man, but some sort of monster.
Raven: What is this thing?
Dr. Fate: it's a Swamp-Thing Raven; at least that's his name is to the world at large. I know her better as Dr. Alec Holland; he as been one of my greatest allies and was the one who alerted me of Grundy's rampage in the first place
The daughter of Trigon was surprised by what her partner had said, she had heard of a mysterious plant-like creatures roaming the swamps of Louisiana, but she had never meet him face to face until now.
Raven: Is he-
Dr. Fate: No, he is alive thankfully, but he is weakened
It was then that the hulking mass of marsh slowly came to.
Swamp-Thing: *while standing up* I see you got my message Fate
Dr. Fate: What happened Alec?
Swamp-Thing: It was Grundy; he ambushed me and nearly tore me to shreds in the process. I barley got away from him
Dr. Fate: How was he capable of surprising you? You're connected to the swamp; you should've been able to see him before he reached you
Swamp-Thing: There's something different about Grundy, he was able to stay invisible to the very swamp itself, but yet I can still sense the dark magic within him
Raven: I'm starting to sense it to, it feels like pure rage
Dr. Fate: This doesn't make any sense, there is dark magic within Grundy, but it was never this much coming from him
Raven: Wait, can you feel that it's-
Suddenly, a hulking ten-foot giant with ghost-white skin and wearing tattered cloths erupted from the trees nearby, letting out a furious roar as it charged right for the trio. To Raven this was without a doubt Solomon Grundy, however something was clearly different about him. Both the half-demon and the master of the mystic arts quickly noticed the multiple arcane markings all along the zombie's arms and chest as well as Grundy's eyes; which where glowing a dark purple color, even Grundy's very bulging muscles were pulsating with dark magic. The massive monster brought his fist down on Fate, luckily the sorcerer created a shield to block the attack before it struck him.
Dr. Fate: *while holding off Grundy* Raven, get Holland out of here now!
Raven: But what about you?!
Dr. Fate: I'll hold him off—get out of here now!
Instead of taking the guardian of The Green and leaving Fate to face the monster alone, the daughter of Trigon opened a portal in front of Swamp-Thing. Alec knew he was to fight to be any help in this battle, so he quickly entered the portal to be moved away from the fight and regain his strength and allow the duo to hopefully defeat the undead behemoth. The second Swamp-Thing was safe; Raven fired a blast of magical energy at the giant, making him stumble backwards.
Dr. Fate: I told you to leave!
Raven: I'm not letting you face Grundy alone!
Before Fate could let out a word to detest her actions, Grundy had already recoiled from the hit he took from Raven and was already rushing at the pair again. Raven and Fate both created a much stronger force-field to protect them the zombie's fists, however much their shock; the monster's blows where starting to break down the shield that held him back in a berserk fury. Before the final blow was struck, the two heroes quickly teleported out of the way of the brute's fist. The pair quickly reappeared behind him, still in awe at the creatures new found power.
Dr. Fate: We must find a way to-urk!
The pain in Kent's chest rose up once again, this time the agony was so great that it made him fall to his knees. Grundy saw this opportunity to strike, however another blast from Raven sent him backwards.
Raven: If you want him monster, you'll have to go through me!
…..
Next Issue: Raven vs. Grundy!