A/N: I'll be shooting out a few chapters today for this story to make up for the long hiatus! Get ready!
-DMC-
"How do I get myself into these messes?"
Dante scratched his head as he walked the streets of Gotham, "Shithole city, long way from home, men in tights all over the place, and still broke as all hell… heh, story of my life." he smirked. But his brow furrowed as he arranged things in his mind.
'First thing's first, find out where the hell I am. Second goal, get comfortable… no cash and no ride, it looks like I'll be here a while. Third goal, find out how I'm getting home… if possible.' he shrugged, "I've been through worse. If I can break out of hell, I can get out of this dump."
As he walked past an electronics shop, TV's present in the window showed a news broadcast,
"GCN…" Dante mumbled as he read one of the screens, "Gotham City… New Jersey…"
He immediately turned to a lady walking closely past him, "Hey babe," he stopped her, the woman turning to him. Dante noticed she was of moderate height and athletically built, with lightly tanned skin and short black hair. Her eyes were green and almost catlike, "you know where Limbo City is?"
"Limbo City…" she said, voice almost naturally smokey, "sorry to say, but that name doesn't ring any bells, handsome."
"Crap." Dante sighed, "Thanks anyway."
"Don't mention it." the woman said as she turned to walk away.
"Wallet's empty, by the way."
She stopped, turning back to Dante, the devil hunter smirking at her. Although her expression was plain, she was surprised someone caught her.
"I may look like a million bucks, but I probably owe somewhere around that much at this point." Dante finished with a slight chuckle.
Selina smirked at the man, "Mmmh, shame." she reached into her pocket and tossed Dante his wallet back, the son of Sparda casually catching it. She turned to continue walking away, "Thanks for saving me the disappointment."
"Don't mention it, babe." Dante said as he too turned to continue walking.
"Speaking of my wallet, I'll need to get some money in my pocket if I'm gonna get a roof over my head and some wheels."
He walked past a hospital, getting an idea, "Hmmm… I could sell blood and semen… but I don't know what my blood would do to someone, and the fewer unchecked Sparda kids running around in the world, the better." He sighed, "Guess I gotta stick to something that requires my talents… kickin' ass."
He walked past a newspaper dispenser, his peripherals catching sight of a flyer taped to the glass window.
Dante snatched it up and read it over, his eyebrow raising as he smirked, "This… can work for me..."
XXX
Batman and Robin stood atop one of Gotham's tallest buildings that night, the vigilante's listening in on Gotham's radio for any signs of trouble.
"Patrolling later than usual, I see."
Only Robin turned to see the new arrival who had appeared on the rooftop… a young man dressed in a skintight black and blue suit, two escrima sticks attached to either side of his thighs.
"What are you doing out of Bloodhaven, Nightwing?" the Boy Wonder replied.
"Can't check in on my two favorite people?" Nightwing asked. The former first Robin looked to the Dark Knight, "Still having trouble finding him?"
Batman's gaze never left the Gotham skyline, "Those people he killed, weren't human. I need to find out what he killed that night. I need to know if it means trouble for Gotham."
"Fair enough." Nightwing said. He too looked to the Gotham skyline, "I don't think Tim and the Titans are busy. Want me to give'em a ring? Get some extra eyes out here?"
"No." Batman said firmly, "Coast City isn't much better than Gotham as far as security is concerned. It doesn't need to be left unprotected, not for this matter."
"Makes sense." Nightwing said, "I'm turning in for the night. Caught sight of Huntress on the way over, but she managed to give me the slip."
"Did she give you the slip?" Damien asked, "Or did you bump into her and realize you couldn't keep your hormones in check or your pants on?"
"You know, kid…" Nightwing said as he turned, walking to the edge of the rooftop, "Sometimes you have a bigger mouth than me."
XXX
Cheers and shouts came from a rec-center near Gotham's uptown, people waiting in line to gain entrance to an event for the night.
"LAAAAAADIES AND GENTLEMEEEEEN, WELCOME TO FIGHT NIGHT GOTHAM! WE'LL BE KICKING THIS SHINDIG OFF WITH AMATEUR HOUR, WHERE OUR WANNABE SUPERSTARS WILL BE GOING TO WAR IN A SHORT TOURNY FOR A PRIZE POT OF THREE… FRIGGIN GRAAAAND!"
The crowd cheered, the announcer pointing to the ring, "Up first, we have the white-haired bad boy from, where he calls 'Up the road aways' DANTEEEEEE." the shirtless half-devil got cheers and shouts, "He'll be throwing down with the humble father of three, the Gotham native, the stone-cold killer, Nick Millerrrrrr"
Dante cracked his tape wrapped knuckles, the man he was facing stepping out of his corner of the ring. Nick was a man who had to be in his early-mid thirties; eyes that held years of stress and brown hair that was cut in a way that kept him clean for a front office job.
'Someone's got a side hustle.' Dante thought, the hunter standing face to face with his opponent, the ref the only thing between them. There were several dozen fighters aiming to take part in this event, meaning the administrators had to hold numerous preliminary matches to narrow this thing down to a manageable tournament. Suffice to say, Dante had no issue getting here, and he expected an easy payday.
The ref between them was a short balding man in typical striped wear, "I want a good clean fight here boys. You know the rules, no biting, no scratching, no nut shots." the ref said as he dropped his hand, "Throw down!" both fighters hopping back into fighting stances.
Dante bounced on his toes, arms cocked and positioned defensively in front of his face. His opponent stood strong, legs locked tightly with his arms held at an angle in front of him.
The son of Sparda lunged in fast, his speed catching his opponent off guard. He nailed him with a hard elbow to the ribs before pivoting behind him to sweep his back leg, chopping off his balance.
The man dived forward into a roll to keep from falling on his face. Nick hopped back up to his feet, taking a deep breath to refill his lungs and steady his swirling head.
"Gotta be quicker than that, buttercup!" Dante taunted, shifting back into his fighting stance.
Nick moved in, throwing a combination of punches and kicks at his opponent. Dante casually blocked and parried the fists and feet before countering, swatting one of Miller's kicks before countering with a hard roundhouse to the stomach that sent him back across the ring.
Miller broke into a fit of heaves and coughs as he tried to refill his lungs.
Dante nodded, satisfied. He could've ended this fight in an instant. But, he did wanna enjoy himself, at least a little bit. On top of that, it would be just a tad bit foul to humiliate this man with a one-hit knockout.
Just when Dante opened his mouth to talk shit, he heard something within' the crowd that caught his interest.
"Dad!"
"Come on dad!"
"Get up Nick! You can win this!"
Dante's head turned to his right, peering into the stands. He saw a family of three in the stands. Wife. Two boys, one a teenager and the other a child.
"Oh great..." Dante grumbled.
Nick struggled up to his knees, another man from outside of the ring running up to talk to him.
"Nick! Nick! Come on man, why are we here? Why are you here? You here to win this fight? Huh?! This is three months of mortgage on the line, man. Your family up there, they're counting on you to keep a roof over their heads, you know that right?! You don't take this guy out, you lose the fight. Understand? You lose the fight, you lose this tourney, you lose this, you and that family of yours don't have a home!"
"Ah… shit…" Dante grumbled again. 'Underdog story.'
The family man got back up to his feet, fiery determination in his eyes. Dante sighed and started bouncing on his toes again, waiting for the bull to charge. The instant Miller moved at him, throwing a hard elbow that Dante weaved, the hunter stepped in, and hit the man with a backfist that knocked him out cold.
The crowd quieted down, the ref running up to the fallen fighter. After checking his pulse, his fingers held up an 'ok' sign, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BAD BOY TAKES THE W!" the announcer hollered as Dante casually walked off of the ring, hopping the ropes as the next two fighters made their way into the ring.
The son of Sparda stood in the hall of the Rec Center, leaned against the wall with his arms folded.
He listened to the echoes of the roaring crowd from various wins and losses.
"You're good... for an amateur."
Dante turned to the voice. He saw a blonde bombshell of a woman standing by the water fountain, arms crossed. She wore a leather jacket with a leather skirt and a black tank top. She had ocean blue eyes and a choker, fishnet stockings hugging her legs. Needless to say, she was-
'Hot…' Dante thought. He smiled at the lady, "Ya' don't say. Am I good, or did my opponent just suck?"
"Hm, ya know, that thought would've crossed my mind… if I didn't see the way you racked up money for your entrance fee."
XXX
Dante waited in line behind three meatheads registering for the tourney. He sighed in boredom,
"Whoever invented the concept of 'lines' needs their ass kicked."
Several agonizing minutes later, and he was at the desk. The person working it didn't seem like the type of person who'd work for a rec center. Very overweight, greasy black hair, coke bottle glasses, bad acne, weird smell. Seemed like the type who'd work at a comic book shop or your local Gamestop.
The teenager glanced at Dante, before sighing after having done this half a dozen times, "Alright sir, identification please."
Dante whipped his out and put it on the table. The teen read it over, before asking,
"Tony Redgrave, huh. Where the hell's Limbo City?"
"Mexico." Was Dante's immediate reply.
"Huh… well okay then." He handed the I.D back to Dante, before continuing lazily, "You do know Gotham Rec's not responsible for any injuries you can and most certainly will accumulate during your matches?"
"Psh, I couldn't afford a lawyer regardless."
"Great. Entry fee's 35 bucks." the teen said.
"You're telling me I gotta spend money to make money?" Dante growled.
"Welcome to America." the teen said sarcastically, "No fee no fights."
"Yeah but I don't-"
"No fee no fights."
"Come on, I'm gonna w-"
"No fee no fights."
As soon as Dante opened his mouth, several of the patrons from behind spoke up,
"Yo Brokeback, get a move on already!"
"Yeah Cowboy, why don't you take those fruity chaps and hit the dude ranch! Hear they're hiring!"
"You know what, screw the money." Dante grinned evilly as he turned to the people behind him, "Reckon I'm gonna join just so I can kick your asses." He stepped out of the line.
Dante stepped into an alleyway behind the building, looking through trashcans for anything he could sell or pawn off. He lifted the lid to one, scrounging through. He smiled when he saw a set of used white hand wraps,
"That'll come in handy." he smiled, pocketing the wraps. He could hear the scraping of footsteps against the alley floor, prompting him to turn around.
Three thugs, one with a bat, one with knives, one with a gun blocking the way out.
"You look lost, emo boy." the thug in the middle said.
Dante eyed the dirty looking men dressed in ratty clothes, "Now that you mention it, I could use some directions to Piss Off Falls. Maybe you guys could help? I hear they give baths, you gentlemen could use one."
One of the thugs snickered, "I see you got jokes, funny man. For that, maybe we don't kill you after you run us your wallet and jacket."
"You say to the man holding the six-foot sword." Dante said expressionless. "I'm digging through garbage cans. Why does everyone think I have money?"
"We got guns, you got a sword." the leader said, the three men sauntering forward, "None too bright are ya'?"
"Got guns too." Dante shrugged, opening his jacket a bit for the men to see, the men just feet away from him.
The leader grinned psychotically, as he clicked the hammer on his revolver. "Unless you got some Clint Eastwood draw I don't think you're winnin' this. Just make it easy, yeah?"
Dante smirked, "But easy's never fun."
The thug fired three rounds from his gun, Dante casually weaving the bullets to the bandit's astonishment, before picking up a lid from a nearby trash can, and flinging it like a frisbee.
*CRACK!*
The metal hit home at the center of the gunner's face, breaking his nose with a satisfying 'clang'. The force of impact sent the thug flying back into a bloody unconscious heap on the alleyway floor.
"Jesus!" One of the men said as they turned to their comatosed friend.
"Not quite but close enough!"
The remaining two thugs turned to the man in red already closing in on them. Dante caught the wrist swinging a knife for his face, quickly locking the arm under his own tight enough to break it, before grabbing the thug by his face and throwing him into the brick building wall.
The last thug dropped his bat, "Wait, hold up-!"
Dante silenced him with a roundhouse kick to the jaw.
Shaking his head, Dante walked up to the thug he threw into the wall, the man barely conscious and spitting teeth onto the ground, "Find a new hustle boys, renegade lifestyle just doesn't seem to suit you." He reached into the thugs pocket and pulled his wallet, "Mind if I borrow this?"
"Uggghhhh." the thug moaned painfully before he passed out unconscious.
"Thanks!" Dante said as he walked out of the alleyway. He opened the leather wallet, noticing four crisp 20's pocketed inside. "That'll do."
XXX
"Oh, you mean that? That wasn't much." Dante said smugly, "Stick around and I can show you something a bit more impressive."
"Hm, maybe when I'm single." the blonde said as she stepped away from the wall. She walked to the exit door at the end of the hall. A man with blonde hair and a green jacket met her at the door, the man holding the door open for her.
Dante asked her as she walked out, "What's your name?"
The blonde exited the rec center, "Names Dinah."
Dante watched her leave, the half-devil letting out a breath, "Why can't I get lucky in anything besides demon hunting?" he shook his head before heading back to the ring.
XXX
The rest of the fights went about as well as expected… for Dante at least.
Dante stood against the corner of the ring, facing his last opponent for the night, a mountain of muscle of a man who lacked a single hair on his head. The man was older than Dante, thick beard and veins pulsing visibly through his arms, "AAAAAND NOW, LAAAADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE OUR FIIIINAL BOUT!" the announcer called, the crowd cheering, "NOW WE HAVE THE WHITE-HAIRED BAD BOY, DANTE UP AGAINST THE BIGMAN, THE TANK WITH LEGS, TOMMY BELL!" the crowd roared as the two men stepped up to each other, the ref inbetween them.
Tommy grinned eagerly down at his opponent, hand wraps stained with blood, "Surprised a pretty boy like you lasted this long. Hope you got some dough saved up to get your face re-arranged."
The ref expected a remark from Dante, the man having passed one to all of his opponents thus far. He was surprised to not hear one at all. The ref turn to the white haired half-devil, Dante staring at the hulk across from him with a blank expression.
"Pretty boy…" Dante repeated with a nod.
(two and a half minutes later…)
The audience watched breathless as medical personnel carted away an unconscious, beaten, and bloodied pulp of a man on a stretcher.
Dante unwrapped his bloody hand wraps, the half-devil in a good mood, "I'll be taking my winnings now." he said to the awestruck announcer and horrified ref.
"Uh… yeah." the now meek announcer held a shaky finger in the direction of the promoter office.
"Appreciate it. You boys take care now." Dante said as he exited the ring, leaving behind a shocked audience as he left the arena. One of the two starring fighters of the night, who'd seen the fight, hugged the wall as Dante passed.
XXX
Dante whistled as he left the rec center, manilla folder stuffed with money in his hand. He turned to the rec center parking lot, the devil hearing the sound of chatter from a couple.
"I'll work something out, baby. We still have some time." Nick Miller said as he strapped his youngest in his family's suv.
"We aren't gonna sell that house in three months, Nick." his wife said, voice full of disappointment, "Even if we did, this is Gotham, there is no equity. After tonight, I don't think you'll be making much money from fights." she touched the shiner that was his right eye
"I know." Nick said, "Look, all I need is the time. If I can land a penny-any and borrow some money from-"
At this, the woman cut him off, "Its bad enough we can't pay for Susie's medical bills, what you think we can afford you getting your legs smashed by some gangster loan shark?!"
"I'll do what I have to to-"
"Hey, family man."
Nick turned, reflexes acting to catch a manilla folder tossed to him. He looked to the folder in his hands before looking to the white haired man standing across from him.
"Look, I had to win that fight on principle, but I ain't letting your family go homeless." Dante said, "Keep it."
Nick's wife looked at him curiously. This was Gotham, no one did favors for nothing in return, "What's the catch?"
"Nothin'." Dante said, turning on his heel, "We all fall on hard times. Take it and pay some bills, or don't. Burn it. I don't care."
The Miller's looked to each other before looking to the white haired man walking way from them, "Th-Thanks… You're a good man, Dante."
The half-demon huffed, "A part of me hates that about myself."
XXX
A woman donning a leather cat outfit leaped up to the side of a building, climbing it briskly before reaching its rooftop.
She pulled a diamond the size of a fist out of her waist pouch, her clawed glove coming up to lift her orange goggles from her green eyes. She looked at the diamond fondly, "Thing of beauty." she purred.
"So predictable."
She turned to the deep voice that came from behind her, the woman smiling at the dark knight and his sidekick, "Me? Predictable?" she said with mock offense in her tone, "I'll have you know I was on my way to return this."
Batman walked up to the cat dressed woman, "You've been walking in the opposite direction of the jewelry store. Since you're lost, you won't mind if I return this for you." he took the diamond from her.
"Maybe I don't want you taking my credit." the catwoman said with a pout to her voice and a hand on her hip.
"That's a shame." Batman said, he and the boy wonder walking past her.
"Why are you picking on me?" Catwoman asked, stepping up behind Batman "Don't you have any other playmates? I heard Zsasz and Calender Man snuck out of Arkham last night."
"They've been dealt with." Robin answered for Batman.
"Well excuse me." Catwoman said as she stood at the edge of the rooftop with Batman. She noticed the look in his eye as he held up his forearm, a holographic map of Gotham appearing.
"Who is this mystery person you're looking for?" Catwoman asked as Batman crossed out another section of the city from the map, a sign he was breaking down his search.
"A man in red." Batman said, "He'd killed something that wasn't human last night. And I need to find out what."
Catwoman thought for a moment, "Man in red, huh. Did he happen to have white hair?"
Batman and Robin immediately turned to her.
"I regret saying that." Catwoman sighed.
"Where and when?!" Batman ordered, steel to his voice.
"Midtown, when I was passing through Hinckley earlier this afternoon." Catwoman said, "Tried robbing him, but he's a bit of a bum. Shame."
"What was he doing?" Robin asked her.
"He needed directions. Some place called Limbo City." Catwoman shrugged.
"Limbo City." Batman repeated, he looked down as he thought, "There is no such place."
"Ooh, mysterious." Catwoman said as she walked to the roof's edge, before free falling off.
"Well that just opened up a lot more questions." Robin said, the boy folding his arms.
"You're right about that." Batman said, "We know for a fact he's been through Midtown. Chances are, he wouldn't travel far."
The two vigilante's pulled their grapple hooks.
XXX
The son of Sparda was on the outskirts of Gotham, Dante getting a big whiff of the Gotham river and the sounds of honking boat horns cruising along the water.
"You spend a whole day going forward just to get nowhere at all." Dante sighed, rubbing his hand through his scalp. He looked to the Gotham skyline, a nice view he had to admit. "On the brightside," Dante folded his arms behind his head as he walked the asphalt, "I get a decent view." he looked up at the moonlit sky above.
An odd smell caught the man's nose, Dante turning to his right to see what looked like an old warehouse coming up. Whatever that smell was, it was floral, and strong considering the distance of the building.
He knew an out of the ordinary picture when he saw one.
He approached, and upon closer viewing noticed vines and other plants sticking to the building's outside walls, some pouring through the cracked windows even.
"Heh, adventure time." Dante said as he approached the warehouse doors. He tried opening the door, but something was sealing it shut. Taking a calm step back from the door, Dante gave it a hard kick, bursting the door in. The building's inside was unlit, but the moon and city lights gave the man enough sight into the building.
Suffice to say, he knew exactly where that strong aroma was coming from.
"Well someone's got a hell of a green thumb." Dante said to himself. The room was filled with plants, moss, and other vegetation, from the floors, to the walls, to the ceiling. The vegetation was thickest toward the back of the warehouse, vines as thick as oaktrees bundling up and stretching through the cracked ceiling. Dante noticed the massive venus fly traps hanging around the place, crocodile-like teeth lining their saliva dripping maws, almost as if they were sentient and anticipating snatching him up. He proceeded through the building, Dante's boots squishing leaves and flowers in his treck.
"You shouldn't have come here." a legionesque voice said. Dante could hear it from all around him, the white haired monster hunter casually glancing around to find the source. Where the plants were thickest, the vines moved and shifted, revealing a bush that served as a curtain.
The curtain separated, revealing to the demon-slayer a surprisingly beautiful woman, with light green skin, long thick rose-red hair, and a leaf-formed corset to cover her modesty.
It was her only article of clothing.
Her green eyes glared at Dante, an expression of irritation and fury.
Dante was the first of them to speak out, "Damn! Super babes, Bird people, and now mutant vegans! This place has it all!" he rambled on, "I knew a vegan lifestyle was nothing but trouble. You know my friend Trish was trying out that vegan crap, even tried getting me in on it. You are what you eat I always sa-"
*CHOMP!*
The woman smiled as her monstrous Venus Flytrap snatched up Dante, chewing the devil hunter up before swallowing him.
"Me, a vegan." her sultry voice said, a slight chuckle escaping her throat. She caressed one of her nearby vines, "Not likely. I prefer my sustenance from other means." the tip of the vine coiled around her finger, the green skinned woman whispering to it, "He is only the first of many. Soon all of humanity will nourish the green."
Ivy gasped as her venus fly trap suddenly shuddered, a bulge appearing at the base of its root. The mutant fly trap gave a pained scream as a blade pierced out of it's root, the sword slicing upward as Dante stepped out, covered in green slime.
"Ugh, nasty." he said as he whipped the saliva out of his hair, "What little shop of horrors did you pull this thing out of?"
Ivy's eyes watered as she watched the venus fly trap wither and die, "My baby…" she sniffled before she roared at Dante, "you horrible HORRIBLE man!"
"Ooh, you're breakin' my heart red." Dante said as he dropped his shoulders, putting a hand to his chest and another to his eyes, as a mock act of crying. With a quick spin he had Ebony and Ivory aimed directly at Ivy, arrogant smirk crossing his face, "How bout we kiss and make up?"
The eco-terrorist stared down the demon-slayer, hatred in her eyes. With no command from her, an array of vines came to her defense, pointed straight at Dante like a set of spears. Dante held his stance as the floor around him trembled, a set of pods rising from the greenery around him. Each of the pods opened, revealing a humanoid being with flesh formed of bark and a head of a flower, sharp barbs creeping out of the ovaries like vicious snakes.
"You'll be food for mother earth before the night's over." Ivy said smoothly.
"Then let's dance." Dante grinned, "I don't garden... but I know what to do with unwanted plants."
Ivy's brow furrowed with restrained anger, the woman picking up on his diss, "I… am not… a weed…"
Dante clicked the hammer on Ebony, "You're still gonna get smoked."
XXX
A/N: Heh, well, I think we all know how this is gonna go down. And for anyone concerned, NO! Dante won't be channeling the Punisher or Ghost Rider in this story. He also won't be doing that lame-ass 'beat the shit out of every male bad guy and go easy on the "vulnerable" female' cliche. He's equal opportunity.
While he is capable of killing human beings who are evil enough, he's only innately homicidal towards demons. When he targets a human for 'execution', it will be when he's come to view them as just as bad as the demons he fights.
So, anyone even slightly familiar with the DC, or more specifically, Batman mythos, can think of at least one character who could qualify…
For those familiar with DmC: Devil May Cry, 'Limbo City' is a throwback to the city that was the main setting of that game. There aren't too many named cities in the DMC world, so I figured why not.
As far as Poison Ivy goes, her appearance can honestly be based on whatever incarnation you prefer. My preferred incarnation of Ivy is her Assault on Arkham portrayal.
But that's just me.
Another update coming up.
