A/N: Man, it's good to be back! Happy new year, and welcome to another chapter of Penance And Redemption! I'll admit, I had to reread some of my own works to remember all the plotlines I had laid out, but I'm going to finish this one this time!
Most of the chapter will be centered around Dredd and Riley's stay in Castle Dimitrescu, as well as Millie and Hellhound Squad helping Sam and Bucky find the Flag Smashers. Everyone else is mostly sideline for the moment. Also, a lot of the groundwork I laid out during Good Guys And Bad Girls will be mentioned here.
Have fun!
New York
Becca ran through the streets of New York, trying to find Ryan, when… she realized she had no idea where he'd be in the first place. How could she? He was a supe, after all. Not only that, a supe who had his father's, Homelander's, powers. He could be anywhere with this Brightburn. Anywhere in the world-
"Hey!"
Butcher turned around, seeing a young woman with brown hair walking towards her, the left side died pink. She wore nothing but a gray sweater over herself, but if Becca looked closely, she could see her right hand was covered in a metal gauntlet.
"You're Becca Butcher, aren't you?" the woman asked. "The Traveller's mother?"
Becca narrowed her eyes slightly, while feeling for the crowbar tucked away in her jacket.
"Yes…"
The woman seemed to detect Butcher's animosity, as she raised her hands, as if in surrender.
"Relax. I'm not here for a fight. I want to help you- and your son."
"Help?" Becca raised an eyebrow. "What can you do?"
"What did you and The Boys do to Homelander?" the woman shot back. "I can help you do that to Brightburn. Your son isn't safe around him. None of you are."
"And I suppose you have a plan?" Butcher asked, crossing her arms.
"Exactly." the woman nodded. "I know the one thing that can hurt him- to kill him."
"How can I trust you?" Becca inquired. "How do I know you're not with him?"
The woman's eyes flared with anger, before quickly dying to a sad flicker. Her gaze dropped to the ground, causing a memory to resurface in Becca's mind.
You gotta talk to me, Becks.
That was Joe, back when he was Billy Butcher. He was coaxing her to open up to him about what was wrong, trying to understand why she had closed herself off for months. Closed herself off… because Homelander had raped her. And seeing this woman now, with that thousand yard stare, just like hers?
Becca knew the same thing happened to her.
"Oh." Butcher murmured. "I'm… I'm sorry."
The woman began to rapidly blink, trying to hide the tears that shimmered in her eyes, and waved her hand away.
"It's not what you think. But he did kill my mother." she muttered, hardening her gaze. "I can help you kill Brightburn. I know his weakness."
"What do you mean?" Becca frowned. "He's not a supe on your world?"
"We don't have 'supes' on our world." the woman snorted. "He's worse. Far worse."
Butcher felt a chill go down her spine, while the woman took a small step forward.
"Who are you?"
The woman simply smiled, as she held out her hand- the one that wasn't covered in a metal gauntlet.
"Caitlyn. Caitlyn Connor."
Music: "Homelander's Speech" from The Boys Season 1 OST
Somewhere In The Atlantic
Trish Walker ran through the cold walls of the prison, her blonde hair tied back to be kept out of her face. Two hours ago, Secretary Ross arrived and announced that the prison, known only as "The Raft", was going to conduct an experiment with its prisoners. Basically, all the prisoners were let out, and for the next twelve hours, all crime, including murder, was legal. The only ones exempt was the secretary himself and Warden Riggle, the former warden of Ryker's Island.
Ross called this experiment "The Purge", citing that for the next twelve hours, all crime, including murder, would be legal. Twelve hours was too generous, as most of the prison's inhabitants had killed each other in just under an hour and a half. Obviously, the most popular crime was murder.
Trish snorted, pausing to hide behind a door. Of course this "experiment" would yield such a result. This prison was full of the worst of the worst; murderers, rapists, pedophiles… the only real difference is that aside from penitentiaries like Arkham Asylum or Iron Heights, The Raft was supposed to be a super-prison that housed enhanced individuals such as herself. Like the Avengers, when Ross branded them fugitives of the law.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the cat's cornered."
Walker looked up, seeing an African American man with a buzzcut walking towards her. Trish curled her lip in disgust, recognizing him as Willis Stryker. The man had been in The Raft longer than her, apparently sent there by his own brother, Luke Cage. Guess that's one thing they had in common: being put here because of their family members.
God, if Trish could just see Jessica again, tell her sorry for fucking up…
The blonde shook the thought of her head and slowly walked towards Stryker, balling up her fists. Having been in here for years, she knew by now that Willis' skin was nigh impenetrable, the same as his brother's. Some corrupt asshole, possibly Ross, ordered to have the accident that gave Cage his powers done Stryker, but then he got placed here, in this superpowered Alcatraz. But maybe, with her own abilities, she could still put up a fight.
"As the good book says… thou must not suffer a witch to live." Willis smirked coldly, before throwing a punch. Trish easily sidestepped, before running up the side of a wall and kicking off, smashing her own fist into Stryker's face. Walker heard a loud cracking noise, followed by pain radiating through her entire arm. Most likely, she just broke her hand.
Willis didn't even look fazed.
"Guess you forgot, I'm unstoppable now." Stryker grinned, picking up Trish by her shoulders and slamming her into the opposite wall. Trish cried out in pain, but the bulletproof man wasn't done, swinging her back into the wall she kicked off from before finally slamming her against the floor, causing her entire body to explode in agony.
Trish hazily looked from wall to wall, seeing blood marring dull gray metal. Her blood, she realized, just as Willis raised his fist above her head. Just as his hand pounded against her skull, Walker had one final thought, while a single tear rolled down her cheek.
I'm sorry, Jess.
Willis' fist slammed right through Trish's face, crushing her skull and forming a hole in her head. Stryker cruelly grinned, while looking up towards a security camera.
"Wait till I get out of here Carl! I'm coming for you, and your bitch girlfriend!"
In the control room, Secretary Ross and Warden Riggle overlooked the security cameras, having just witnessed Stryker murder Trish. In several other cameras, some of the other dangerous inmates were causing havoc, but most of them had calmed down by now.
"Amazing." Riggle, a man with graying-black hair, gasped, seeing the results of Ross' Purge. "Over eighty-five percent of The Raft's inhabitants are deceased!"
"Then the Purge's test run was a success." Thaddeus smirked to himself, before pulling out a pistol. Riggle had just enough time to look at Ross in shock, before the secretary squeezed the trigger, shooting the warden in the head and coating the wall with his blood.
"Sorry, Warden. Can't let what happened here get out." Ross murmured, as he pressed a button on the control panel. Within seconds, a lethal, dark green colored gas seeped into the prison, causing all the living prisoners, including Stryker, to cry out in horror. Some of the prisoners threw up, keeling over onto the ground, while others staggered around, trying in vain to escape. It was a useless effort, as blood began to pour from their eyes, and their skin blackened. The prisoners all began suffering violent coughing fits, before collapsing to the ground, their bodies twitching for several moments, before becoming still.
Ross sighed in content, before turning on his heel to leave The Raft. He felt a bit sorry for killing Riggle, but he was so close now to solving the overpopulation problem in the country. With heroes like the Avengers gone, and other enhanced superhumans and metas not under the government's control, this was the only way.
He couldn't afford anything to go wrong.
Romania
"Okay… alright. I'll have them make contact. You're welcome."
Chris ended his phone call and turned back towards everyone at the dining table, focusing his gaze on Riley.
"Your friend Mallory contacted me, asking for assistance in Latvia."
"Latvia?" Riley frowned. "What's in Latvia?"
"You didn't know?" Chris raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Mallory has a black ops team there, hunting a high value target. Aren't you best friends with their squad leader?"
"Yes, but…"
Riley's voice trailed off, musing over the fact that Redfield knew about what she assumed was Hellhound Squad at all, let alone that said squad was led by her best friend and sorority sister Millie.
"We haven't seen each other in a few weeks."
"Not since you guys went to Gotham and killed Zemo." Bela guessed. Riley's eyes widened, turning her gaze towards the bug woman.
"How do you know all this?" Stone questioned.
Alcina was the one to respond, having stood up from her seat at the table and slowly walked towards Bela and Chris.
"We've met them on one or two missions. Rogue supes, out of control bioweapons, the lot." Dimitrescu explained. "Your friends were graceful enough to keep our involvement a secret all this time, on account that we are all technically fugitives, in one form or another. That, and I personally have had my own problems with trust."
"What do you mean?" Riley asked, looking around the room. "Why are you all fugitives?"
Umber Eyes shifted uncomfortably in his chair, despite being the one to answer.
"Hound Wolf Squad has been off the grid ever since it was revealed the BSAA was sending out bioweapons into the field. As for everyone else…"
"If public governments knew of this village, we would all be taken into custody. Some of us would be forced to fight their battles, given our… enhancements." Alcina muttered. Riley begrudgingly nodded, knowing exactly what Alcina was talking about. For years- decades actually- the US government alone has outsourced their wars to mercenaries, private armies, and even soldiers that were deliberately mutated. Using mutants during Vietnam. Frank Castle's Cerberus Squad being off the books. Hell, Riley could argue that's exactly what Mallory was doing, sending herself and Billy here to fight that Witch Woman.
Oh God… Billy…
Riley felt that same sick feeling in her stomach, thinking of Lenz again. After everything they've been through, he was just gone. Sure their friendship started out rough, but when he saved her from Brian… helped her in destroying Hawthorne's busy to release the Dekes from the Dead Fluids' control…
Alcina saw the deadpan stare Stone had, and she cleared her throat, already getting an idea what she was thinking of.
"Miss Stone… that look. I know it well."
"What?" Riley blinked out of her gaze, widening her eyes. "You… you do?"
"I do." Alcina nodded. "I once had that look after… a man once… took me, against my will."
Dimitrescu paused for a moment, lamenting in her traumatic memory, before asking, "Did a man do that to you?"
All eyes were on Riley now, making her face begin to heat up. Bela noticed this, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Mother, please don't."
Alcina's gaze softened, and proceeded to sit down.
"I'm sorry. I apologize. I didn't mean-"
"It's okay." Riley quickly said. "His name is- was- Brian Huntley."
Alcina looked down at the table, her hands in her lap. Even now, she remembered what happened like it was yesterday. Her hands restrained above her head. She was constantly screaming out, crying against the bed. He was grinning down at her, enjoying every moment of what was happening-
"Are you alright?" Riley asked, seeing that Alcina herself was about to cry.
"I… yes." the pale woman nodded. "It's been so long ago… but feels like…"
"Like not a day has passed since it happened." Riley murmured, while turning a more scrutinizing gaze towards her. She swears she's seen Dimitrescu's face before…
Stone's mind clicked, remembering how her sorority used to listen to old records of a band from the 1940s. What was the name again? Miss D and the Pallboys? And the woman always wore a wide brimmed hat?
Riley's eyes widened, revealing Alcina's likeness to the lead singer was uncanny.
"You're Miss D." she gasped. The tall woman looked up with a grimace, but nevertheless nodded. Riley noticed the frown forming on her face, causing her to press on.
"Did… did one of the Pallboys do that to you?"
Alcina nodded again, letting out a whispered "Yes". Stone felt that queasy feeling return, as Dimitrescu recounted what happened, decades ago.
"We met through the band, and fell for each other. I could have seen a future with Jay, but…"
Lady Dimitrescu swallowed a lump in her throat, before continuing.
"One night, he forced himself on me. Claimed he was tired of waiting for me. And the rest of the band… they didn't believe me when I told them what he did. They called me a whore, a harlot."
Riley glanced down, noticing that one of Alcina's hands was curled into a fist, while the other was gripping the tablecloth.
"The next night, Jay came for me again, and I drove a knife through his heart. I knew the rest of the Pallboys would never believe me, so I fled here, to my ancestral home." Alcina continued. "This land is outside of America's laws, and I have exiled myself for over eighty years… but I am afraid of what I will see if I return."
Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela all looked at their mother in sadness, as the blonde's own mind began to connect the dots.
"Is that why you raised us the way you did?"
Alcina sadly nodded, averting her gaze.
"I projected my hatred and fear of men onto you and your sisters. If not for Mister Redfield and Mister Winters arriving years ago, I fear I would not have changed my ways."
Dimitrescu looked up, tears in her eyes, and fully addressed her daughters now.
"I am truly sorry, for twisting you three into monsters."
For what felt like an hour, everyone was stunned into silence, until Riley stood up and slowly walked over to the pale matriarch.
"I understand your distrust for men. Hell, I used to have that same distrust as well for a while." Stone revealed. "But the world has changed since then. My friend Millie helped me see that there are still good people out there. People that would have believed you, and helped you get justice."
"Is that what happened to you?" Alcina asked curiously. "Did you get justice for what this Brian did to you?"
"I… no." Riley admitted. "He made sure to have everything covered up. But my friends, Millie, Billy, they believed me, and we made sure he couldn't do it to anyone else again."
Alcina absently nodded, but still shifted her eyesight away.
"But I still taught my daughters to kill any man who ventured to this castle. Some of our maids died as well, for the smallest of infractions…"
"Mom, that was Miranda." Bela suddenly piped up. "She forced you to teach us nothing but violence and death."
"Perhaps…" Alcina mused. "But would I have been different if Miranda didn't influence us?"
"Yes." Bela quickly said. "You have to believe that. If Miranda wasn't here, things would have been better, you have to know that."
The blonde placed her hand on her mother's shoulder, who instinctively grasped it, looking up at her lovingly.
"Thank you, daughter…"
Alcina took a deep breath, before turning her gaze toward Riley.
"While we wait for Mister Wayne, shall we go find your friend Dredd, Mister Winters, and Karl?"
Riley shrugged, as she and the Dimitrescu matriarch both stood up.
"Sure, why not?" Stone grinned, as she and Lady D made their way out of the dining room.
"To be honest, I'm curious to know how you guys are connected to the Necropolis."
Music: "You're Free" from Falcon And The Winter Soldier OST
Riga, Latvia
Sam, Bucky, and the Hellhound Squad got off the private jet, looking around Riga to see nothing out of the ordinary. Just medium sized buildings, people in the streets, two individuals staring at them-
Wait. Millie squinted her eyes, seeing two people, a man and a woman, decked out in brown leather blazers, jeans, and sunglasses. While the man had an old, grizzled face with a white head of hair and a beard, the woman had short light brown hair, which almost looked as if she cut it herself. If not for her intuition, she would've assumed they were just tourists. Unfortunately, Kessler did know better, having worn similar getup for undercover missions.
The bottom line was these two people stuck out like a sore thumb.
Millie's eyes narrowed, placing her hand on her concealed sidearm, and began walking towards the pair, with the rest of her squad following close behind. Once they were within speaking distance, Millie opened her mouth, letting loose a voice she crafted to match Frank's- if he was a woman, that was.
"Who are you?" Kessler growled, giving the pair a dangerous look- a silent promise of violence if they were up to no good.
"Is that a way to treat your new friends, Kessler?" the woman asked in a thick Southern accent.
"Nah, she's right." Sam interjected, as he and Bucky caught up to the squad. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The woman took off her sunglasses, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"My name's Zoe Baker, and this here's my Uncle Joe." she introduced, pulling out a badge with the letters BSAA, making Millie's eyebrows raise in curiosity.
"Funny. I have an Uncle Joe too."
"You're meanin that Dredd guy, ain't ya?" the older man asked, his voice also laced in a Southern accent, but deeper, more gruff. "I'd like to sit down and have a beer with him sometime."
The Bakers sized Millie and her squad up and down, before Zoe broke the silence.
"Well, come on." she implored, turning around and beginning to walk away. "There's a BSAA safe house nearby."
"Whoa, hold on." Sam frowned, connecting the dots. "The BSAA is after the Power Broker too?"
"Hell yeah. Or at least, our squad is." Zoe looked over her shoulder. "Wouldn't be surprised if the European branch was in cahoots with him though. Shit, they probably got some kinda deal going on with trading bioweapons."
"Your squad?" Millie frowned.
"Oh yeah, sorry. Forgot you never met us." Zoe smiled sheepishly. "We're part of Hound Wolf Squad."
Millie chuckled, remembering the last time she met Zoe's squad. Hound Wolf Squad was their name, led by Captain Chris Redfield. She and the Hellhounds met them only a year after graduating boot camp, on a mission in Europe. After realizing they were after the same target, Redfield suggested that they work together to bring down the bioweapons dealer. In the process, she learned that Redfield himself was a bioweapon- and more importantly, a supe- who had incredible strength. Meanwhile, one of the Hound Wolves, Bela Dimitrescu, was also a bioweapon, but one who could transform into a vicious swarm of flies.
If Millie didn't know Ryan or The Boys, she probably would've tried her hardest to put them down. After all, they were dangerous bioweapons, right? Just like Homelander and the Seven.
No. Kessler shook her head at the memory, as she and the Hellhound Squad followed the Bakers. No, not all bioweapons were evil. Ryan and Starlight proved that the moment she met them. And if supes could be good… then any mutant could.
The Hellhounds, Sam, and Bucky followed Joe and Zoe through the streets of Riga, eventually coming to what looked like a rundown apartment, with an iron guard railing on the steps. To the side must have been the front entrance, appearing as an iron gate.
"Well, here we are." Zoe said humorlessly, opening the door and ushering everyone inside.
"Our little home away from home."
"Nice place." Alice whistled, as the squad looked at the interior in awe. The safehouse was much bigger than anticipated, containing fancy leather couches and chairs at one wall, and a minibar at the opposite. One opened door led to the bathroom, housing a gold trimmed tub laying in the middle of the floor, and next to the room was a spiral staircase, leading to what was most likely the bedroom. Or bedrooms. Finally, surrounding the entire safehouse was stainglass windows, mottled in almost every color imaginable.
Millie noticed Alice had gone over to sit on one of those leather couches, and she went over to join her friend, just as she pulled out a picture.
"Missing home?" Kessler asked. Pierce chuckled, shaking her head.
"Sort of. More like missing my girlfriend."
Alice showed Millie the picture, where she saw Alice from ten years ago, wearing a skin tight leather suit, with her hair completely straightened out. If her memory was correct, that was the suit the Black Widow wore when she was with the Avengers. Next to Alice was a young woman with black hair, wearing a metal bra, boots, and what looked like metallic underwear, as well as fake wings on her back, with gold makeup on her arms and face. Sienna Shaw was her name, and Millie only met her once, when she and Alice went on a double date with their significant others. It was that night that Alice and Sienna told her that on Halloween of 2018, they had battled a psychopathic clown named Art, and in the process, fell in love.
"Hey." Millie told her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll see her again. I promise you that."
Alice smiled, grabbing her friend's hand and squeezing tightly.
"So what's the next move?" Sam suddenly asked, looking over at Kessler. "After all, you killed Nagel when we could've gotten more info from him."
"You're kidding, right?" Millie cocked an eyebrow, while Bucky and Harley began looking at their phone and tablet. "You really think that piece of shit would've talked more?"
"Of course he would." Wilson nodded. "And you just straight shot the man."
"What did you want us to do, take him prisoner?" Kessler pointed out. "Give him a chance to escape so he can make more super soldiers, is that what you want?"
Sam opened his mouth to speak, but was already stunned into silence. Deep down, he did agree with what Kessler said. But before he could find his voice, Bucky interjected.
"Sam, Karli just bombed a UN supply depot."
Wilson's eyes widened, as Barnes showed him a news article.
"What? What's the damage?"
"There's eleven injured, and three dead." Harley reported. "And they got a list of demands. If they're not met, they'll keep up with the attacks."
"Jesus." Millie pinched the bridge of her nose. "We gotta stop her before her next attack."
"She's just a kid, Kessler." Sam protested.
"A kid who murdered three people." William pointed out.
"Arrow's right, she crossed a line." Millie declared. "She's already tried to steal shipments of Compound V and has begun terrorist bombings. We can't afford to to treat her like a kid anymore."
"But there has to be a way to stop her peacefully." Wilson argued. "She's radicalized, and it's warping her perception."
"Dammit, Sam, grow up." Kessler snapped. "I know you want to see some good in her. I'm betting that's what Captain Rogers would do if he was still here. But how much longer are you going to defend Karli before you realize she can't just come back from what she's done?"
Both Sam and Bucky's eyes narrowed into glares, forcing Millie to take a step back and reconsider what she said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be that harsh." she murmured. "But what she's doing, she's no better than any other terrorist now. Whatever she's trying to do, her ends do not justify the means."
What Kessler said seemed to stick, as no one dared speak after that. That was, until they all heard a sharp knocking on the front door, causing the Bakers to quickly draw their weapons.
"Were you followed?" Zoe asked, checking her BSAA issued AW pistol, complete with a flashlight on the underside and rectangular barrel.
"No." Millie frowned.
"How do you know?" Zoe pressed, only to be met with a scowl.
"Because I know when I'm being followed."
While the two women bantered, Bucky took it upon himself to stride over and open the front door, revealing two bald African American women standing in front of him, wearing black dresses and holding metal spears.
"Okoye. Ayo." Barnes nodded politely.
"James." Okoye nodded back, as she held out her hand. In her palm was a metal bead, which lit up to reveal a map of Riga. A red dot appeared, centering on what looked like a refugee camp.
"King T'Challa apologizes for not coming to personally thank you." Okoye nodded towards Millie. "After returning after ten years, he has been rather busy in securing Wakanda's defenses."
"I get it, but why would he thank me?" Millie tilted her head in confusion.
"For your role in ending Zemo. Consider this a gesture of gratitude." Ayo explained, while pointing to the bead's map. "Karli Morgenthau is there, paying her respects to Donya Madani."
Kessler nodded in gratitude, as the map faded away.
"Thank you." the leader of Hellhound Squad murmured. "We really appreciate it."
The Dora Milaje guards responded with a simple nod, before turning away, leaving the Hellhounds, Sam, Bucky, and the Bakers standing in the safehouse.
"Well… I guess we know where Karli is now."
Romania
Heisenberg and Ethan led Dredd into Castle Dimitrescu's library on the second floor, pausing to grin at the skylight in the middle of the ceiling.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Karl grinned, pointing over to a lever. "I made that one myself. The elevator too."
"Elevator?" Joe raised an eyebrow, having not remembered the contraption.
"Ah, shit. Sorry." Heisenberg mumbled, fishing out a new cigar and lighting it. "You haven't seen it yet."
The bioweapon took a moment to puff on his cigar and blew out smoke, clouding the immediate vicinity, before taking off his glasses and grinning.
"But that can wait, we got more important shit to discuss!"
Karl walked over to the vast row of bookshelves, gliding his gloved hand across dozens of spines.
"Come on, come on… where the fuck is it?" Heisenberg frowned. "Dammit, Daniela… love her and her sisters to death, but her book rearranging can drive me up a fucking wall- oh, here we are!"
Karl grinned, stopping at a large book, dark black lined with gold, and eagerly pulled it out of the shelf, showing the front cover to Dredd. The Judge nearly did a double take, seeing an octagonal shape that was divided into black and white triangles pointed inwards, with what appeared to be a chalice in the middle. At the ends of the black triangles were four peculiar images, depicting a flower with crossed swords, a horse's head in a horseshoe, a crescent moon and sun with faces, and a fish that was half curved.
"Isn't that-" Joseph was about to say, but was cut off.
"The Umbrella Corporation's logo? Yeah." Karl nodded. "Turns out their founder got inspired by that bitch Miranda."
Joe grumbled in annoyance, remembering Umbrella. Not personally, of course, but from history records in Mega City One. After the outbreak incident in Raccoon City, Umbrella served little more than a cautionary tale about letting pharmaceutical companies gain too much power in the Big Meg. In a way, they mirrored Vought, now that he thought about it…
Music: "Freaky Prologue" from Freaky OST
Joseph looked down at the giant tome, as Karl flipped through a few pages, coming to a picture of four crowned figures, all on horseback. Each had a sword in hand, but what caught Dredd's eye was that they all had distinct features.
The figure to the farthest left seemed to be on fire, accompanied by the blaze of his steed. The man next to him had a black cloak around his ebony armor, as well as a helmet that looked like bat wings. Next to him was a sickly figure, his skin green and decaying, while his horse appeared to be half rotted away. Finally, the last man was dressed in plain black armor, but covering his head was some type of skull mask, and he had no sword to carry, unlike the rest.
The image forced a memory to emerge in Joe. One that had been locked away for six years.
"Who are they?" Dredd demanded, looking over at Heisenberg.
"Oh, those assholes?" Karl grimaced. "Those were the Four Kings of this valley. Long ago, my ancestors- as well as Alcina's, Salvatore's, and Donna's- came to this land, to claim it for themselves. Legend has it that they made a deal with the fucking devil to get some weird ass powers. Fucking crazy, right?"
"No." Joe scowled, his gaze boring a hole into the book. "These kings… could one of them generate fire? Like you've never seen?"
Heisenberg frowned in confusion, but nodded his head.
"Could one of them force you to relive your worst fears?"
"Yes… or at least they did in the fucking story." Karl told him. How could he know that already?
"And could another cause you to rapidly decay just from touching you?" Joseph finally asked.
"How the fuck do you know this?" Heisenberg tilted his head.
"Because it's not some legend." Dredd grumbled. "They didn't make a deal with the devil. They made a deal with the Sisters of Death."
"Oh, you know them?" Karl raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Joe nodded. "I've faced creeps like your Four Kings before."
"What, they had the exact same powers?" Heisenberg scoffed.
"Exactly." Joseph muttered. "The perps called themselves the Dark Judges. They believed that all life was a crime, and wanted to eradicate it all in my time."
"Your time…" Ethan finally spoke, scratching his head. "In your time, were there buildings named Ezquerra, Heavenly Haven, and Peach Trees?"
"Yeah, but…" Dredd, frown deepened. "How do you know that?"
Winters' face formed into a grimace, as he paused to take a deep breath.
"A little over ten years ago, I rescued my wife from a bioweapon who could control people's minds and took the form of a little girl named Eveline. Before Chris found us, I had to kill her, and the family that she had turned into her puppets for years." Ethan revealed. "Three years later, that woman Karl mentioned, Miranda, had kidnapped my daughter. She nearly killed me, but I was saved by Eveline's spirit, or consciousness, or whatever it was.
"But when she brought me back… I was in this dreamlike state, between life and death. Limbo. I saw Eveline looking over this balcony, watching a city with these buildings burn. The city was on fire, and she told me that Miranda and the Sisters wanted to use her to initiate their Necropolis."
Dredd's eyes widened slightly, realizing that if Ethan didn't kill this Eveline, Necropolis could have begun back when he was still in New York. Grud, with his knowledge of bioweapons, it would have been even worse if Eveline was part of it.
"Well, thankfully you were able to defeat Miranda, Mister Winters."
The trio turned around, seeing Alcina and Riley enter the library.
"It seems that she and the Sisters were trying to turn us all into a second incarnation of Mister Dredd's Dark Judges."
Dredd grimly nodded, while looking over to Riley.
"Is Wayne here yet?"
"No." Stone shook her head. "But I was hoping that you could tell me more about Necropolis. Millie never spoke about it much, other than that she blames herself."
"Yeah…" Joe murmured, as he walked over to a couch next to the bookshelf and sat down.
"Where I'm from, Mega City One, there were eight hundred million citizens living there. By now, the year would be 2118."
"Well, that explains a lot!" Heisenberg laughed, slapping his hand on Joseph's shoulder. "I doubt anything other than some futuristic gun could hurt Homelander!"
Joe grimaced slightly, remembering the final battle between The Boys and Homelander, before continuing.
"The Sisters of Death, and their Dark Judge creeps, they attacked the city. They took control of the justice department, and began slaughtering everyone. Men, women, children, elders, they didn't give a drokk. They wanted to turn the Big Meg into a city of the dead- a Necropolis.
"I was too late to stop them from taking over. I was still here, fighting small time perps here or there. It wasn't until my former partner Anderson arrived when I realized the danger.
"I wasn't alone when I returned. The Boys were with me, helped me destroy the Dark Judges and cut off the Sisters' communication from our world. But the damage was done. Over sixty million citizens were dead.
Joe paused, swallowing a lump in his throat, while looking down at the floor.
"That's why I haven't been back here in years. I cannot, will not, let something like Necropolis happen again."
The entire time, Riley's jaw was dropped from hearing about the horrors Joe witnessed. Sure, Millie had mentioned what she went through, but it was never like this.
"Did Millie… did she really cause all that?"
Dredd looked over at her, at first confused, but quickly understood.
"It wasn't her fault… but yes." Joseph told her. "When she killed the Blissfirld Butcher, she freed the Sisters from their prison."
Joe sighed, stood up, and looked at Riley, who gave him a look of pity.
"I'm sorry."
The five people simply stood there, stewing in each other's loss, when Alcina suddenly heard a small buzzing in her ear.
"Adawolfa, come in! Wayne's here!"
"Adawolfa?" Riley frowned, looking at Dimitrescu in curiosity.
"My code name for Hound Wolf Squad." Alcina explained, while making her way toward the door.
"Shall we?"
"Oh fuck yeah!" Heisenberg grinned, leading Ethan, Joseph and Riley out of the library.
"I've always wanted to meet the great Batman!"
Hell
I always knew I'd end up in this place one day. Didn't think it'd be this soon. Shit, it doesn't look like what I thought it'd be either.
Frank and Doctor Strange found themselves on some kind of rocky terrain, black in color. The entire ground they walked on was some kind of black rock, with fire almost everywhere around them. Smoke filled whatever was in place for a sly, and the very air they breathed was like a fume. Even the structures in the distance, which looked similar to buildings and homes, appeared to be ruined, on fire, or utterly destroyed.
If Frank had to draw a comparison, this is what Mega City One looked like during the Necropolis.
"Harkness took Wanda here?" Castle frowned.
"Or somewhere like here." Strange noted, looking around the hellish landscape.
"There are many levels of Hell."
"Right." Frank nodded.
Of course there is. Dante's Inferno bullshit.
"Do you know which level she is then?" Frank muttered, readying his weapons.
"No, but I can track her magical signature." Strange revealed, beginning to walk forward. Seeing no other option, Castle groaned in annoyance, but nevertheless trudged along the hellscape.
Romania
As the batwing got closer and closer to Castle Dimitrescu, Bruce thought back to his relationship with the lady of the castle. Well, relationship was a bit of an exaggeration, as he only ever heard of her through his parents. The Waynes and Dimitrescu had been business partners once; with Thomas having Wayne Exports bring in Alcina's wine, Sanguinis Virginus. Virgin's Blood, as it was translated to. It wasn't until Bruce gained control of his company that he found out just how literal the name was, and cut off all business and contact with Alcina.
Bruce shook his head, as the batwing got even closer. That was well over thirty years ago. He never even gave the Dimitrescus a second thought, but now…
If Riley Stone, one of Frank Castle's surrogate daughters, was there, then hopefully, Alcina had changed from the stories he heard about her. And hopefully, she wouldn't hold a grudge for what he did.
Once the batwing was nearly directly over the castle, Bruce slowed the aerial vehicle down, relinquishing the controls.
"Initiate autopilot."
"Copy that, Bruce." Russo's voice buzzed in his ear. "I'll take it from here."
The fact that Billy Russo was offering to fly the batwing remotely instead of turning the autopilot system on was surprising, but not unwelcome. Wayne simply nodded toward the batwing's screen, wondering if Russo could see his face, and opened up the cockpit, leaping out into the cold air. The wind caused his cape to expand, allowing Bruce to safely glide down to the ground, where his feet landed only a few feet in front of the front door. Taking a moment to stand up to his full height, the Batman stepped forward, pushed the doors open with ease, and walked into the gothic castle's main hall.
No sooner than when Bruce arrived, three individual swarms of black insects glided into the hall, coalescing and forming together to form the distinct shapes of three hooded women. If he squinted his eyes, he could see they each had their own distinct hair color; one was a blonde, one brunette, one redhead.
"Ooh! It's Batman!" the redhead squealed, literally bouncing up and down with glee.
"Calm down, Daniela." the blonde scolded, before stepping forward and holding out her hand.
"Thank you for coming, Mister Wayne. Bela Dimitrescu. These are my sisters; Cassandra and Daniela."
Ah yes, the sisters. Bruce heard about them, but never actually met them. What little relationship he had with the Dimitrescu family was through Alcina herself, which wasn't much to begin with. But that's not what made him pause.
"You know who I am?" Wayne narrowed his eyes further.
"Yeah, Mom talked about you a lot!" the brunette, Cassandra, smirked. "Mostly how you backed out on your family's contract in exporting our wine-"
"Cassandra, that's enough." Bela told her sister, while deciding to lower her hand. "I believe he is wondering how we know he's Batman."
"Oh come on, that's easy!" the brunette rolled her eyes. "Your friend Riley called Bruce, and you showed up! Big mystery!"
Bruce kept his face neutral, but in the back of his mind, Cassandra was right. Batman coming here shortly after that phone call did seem obvious- too obvious.
Wayne sighed in frustration, as Bela turned on her heel and led him to the opposite end of the hall, throwing open the doors to reveal a dining room with at least a dozen faces. The first people he recognized were Riley Stone and Judge Dredd, who gave him silent nods. Some of them he knew outright from his personal files, such as Chris Redfield, his Hound Wolves, and Alcina. Others, such as Heisenberg, Moreau, and Beneviento, he took an educated guess based on their appearances. Or at least in Salvatore's case, on account that he looked nothing like Bruce thought he would, based on joint reports.
"Ah, Bruce Wayne!" Karl's face split into a shit-eating grin. "Welcome to our humble abode!"
Wayne's face took on a sour look, but he still reached up and unlocked his cowl, before pulling it off. No point in wearing it really, since everyone in the castle apparently knows.
"I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting… Mister Heisenberg."
"You're right. We haven't." Heisenberg shrugged. "But I'd love to take a look at all your toys! I'll bet I could give you a couple new ones too!"
"Maybe next time." Batman muttered, as he reached into his utility belt and pulled out the vials of Fear Toxin.
"Riley told me this could help you."
"That's right, Batsy!" Beneviento's doll Angie shouted loudly, hopping towards the Dark Knight and plucking the vials out of his hands.
"Experimenting on drugs is Donna'a specialty. Imagine if she decided to go all Breaking Bad!" Heisenberg chortled, while Beneviento cracked a small smile.
"It will take some time." Donna murmured softly, as she and Angie made their way out of the dining room.
"Tundra, Night Howl, assist Beneviento any way you can." Chris ordered, and two Hound Wolves got up to accompany Donna. The minute the trio left, Daniela stood up, beaming at Bruce.
"Mother, can I show Batman my room while we wait? Please?"
Alcina stifled a laugh, but nodded.
"Go ahead daughter. As long as Mister Wayne agrees."
Daniela grinned, but looked over to Bruce with large, puppy dog-like eyes. Bruce sighed, shaking his head in amusement.
"Sure." the Bat shrugged. Daniela squealed with joy, grabbing Wayne's arm, and quickly led him out of the dining room and towards her bedroom, much to everyone's mirthful expressions. Despite that, Dredd looked over to Riley, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Stone… you alright?"
Riley blinked a few times, looking up at the Judge with an uncertain expression.
"I just can't help but think that maybe Mallory knew what she was doing."
"By sending you and Lenz here?" Joe inquired. "You think she was trying to kill you both?"
"I don't think so." Riley shook her head, opting to stare out towards one of the dining room windows. "But I do think Mallory is hiding something."
Music: "Live Accordingly" from Falcon And The Winter Soldier OST
Latvia
Millie's squad, Sam, Bucky, and the Bakers approached the refugee camp, which turned out to be an abandoned warehouse. The entire time, Kessler looked towards Falcon, who had an uneasy look on his face.
"Maybe we should wait." Wilson suggested. "Their mother figure just died."
"This is the best chance we'll get to bringing her in." Millie countered.
"Millie's right." Bucky agreed. "The Dora Milaje gave us a golden opportunity. We shouldn't waste it."
Sam shook his head, looking at the ground, before sighing.
"Alright, then I wanna talk to her." Wilson announced. "Madani's dead, she'll be at her most vulnerable, now's the best time to reason with her."
"We are way past reasoning with her." Millie told him. "I don't know if you forgot, but she blew up a building with civilians still inside!"
"I've councilled soldiers dealing with trauma, this is in my wheelhouse!" Sam argued. "If there's a chance I can talk her down, I gotta at least try!"
Millie narrowed her eyes at the Falcon, crossing her arms.
"Fine. But I'm going with you."
"You? Why?"
"Because reasoning with her or not, going into a room with a supe, alone, is a bad fucking idea." Millie told him. "You haven't gone up against them like I have. You'll want someone watching your back."
"Besides, she might be willing to listen to Millie, since they're around the same age." Zoe added, causing everyone to give her a curious look.
"Sorry, just trying to add my two cents."
Kessler nodded, as Sam reluctantly nodded, and the two of them entered the warehouse.
"Keep watch." Millie called back to her squad. "And stay out of sight."
"You have ten minutes." Alice replied. "Then we're coming in to back you up."
The squad leader nodded in agreement, and she and Wilson ascended a staircase in the warehouse, coming to a balcony and looking down in the chamber below. The first thing Millie noticed was a crowd of people that were surrounding a casket, with an old woman having a shroud over her body. Some of the people held candles, while others wept quietly, but in the middle, right in front of the casket…
"I don't remember my mother. Or my father, or cousins, or anyone." Karli Morgenthau said sadly. "I do remember being alone, which was worse than being hungry or cold, until Mama Donya found me. She saved me, clothed me, fed me. She loved me like her own daughter."
Karli paused, looking up, and gasped softly, seeing Sam and Millie watching her. She quickly blinked, looking back down at the casket, and continued her eulogy.
"She taught me we have to help each other, because they won't. They impose struggle and hardship on us, then label us as terrorists for pushing back. But the struggle is what brings us together, because we are one world, one people. So live accordingly."
The people moved forward, placing flowers on on top of the casket, and began to leave. Sam and Millie took that as their cue to move, as then began to go back down the stairs and wade through the crowd of people leaving, entering the chamber just as the last person left. It was just Kessler, Wilson, and Morgenthau now, and if Millie was honest… she was a bit nervous. Not of Karli particularly, she's gone up against the likes of the Blissfield Butcher, Judge Death, and a cult that used the Dead Fluids. No, she was more nervous of how this… exchange would go, given how Sam Wilson seemed to be making excuse after excuse for the girl.
"I saw you back there."
Karli's voice cut through the air, making Kessler blink, as she was brought back to the present.
"We came alone." Sam told her. "We just want to talk."
"Bold of you, considering you've seen what I can do." Karli subtly threatened. Sam sighed, throwing his hands up.
"Look, I'm sorry for your loss-"
"Don't condescend to me." Karli snarled. "I'm not a child."
"I'm not, I know how it feels to lose someone."
"No you haven't." Morgenthau argued. "Not like this. Neither of you have."
Millie squinted her eyes, stepping forward.
"I watched my mother and sister get murdered right in front of me." she sneered. "Don't fucking lecture me on loss."
Karli glared at Kessler, before Sam cleared his throat.
"It doesn't have to be a war, Karli. You can still walk away from this. End the violence."
"They started the war when we got kicked out of our new homes!" Morgenthau argued. "Millions of people around the world need me!"
"Karli, I understand your frustration, your helplessness." Wilson told her. "And I'm trying to help you, trying to do what Steve would do, but this isn't the way."
"What Steve did." Karli repeated, laughing to herself. "You want me to stop because people are getting hurt, right? But what if I'm making the world a better place? What did Captain America do during the war? He killed Nazis."
"That was war, he had no choice." Wilson countered. "But when he did, he'd try to save everyone. He didn't trade lives, he never saw how killing would make things better."
"Is that what you think you're doing?" Millie asked. "Blowing up these buildings, murdering civilians, is making the world better? You think you're taking a stand?"
"Someone had to." Karli shrugged. "Those people were fascists. Forcing us out of our homes because the people who previously owned them were brought back!"
"Christ." Millie muttered, while Sam gave her a funny look. So this is what it's come to. A raging terrorist that sees her enemy as fascists.
"Those people were innocent." Sam frowned.
"No they weren't!" Morgenthau shrugged. "They and their corporations are supremacists, and I would kill them again if I had to!"
Wilson's eyes widened, taking a step back.
"Jesus, Karli."
"No, wait! I didn't mean it like that!" Karli stammered. "You tricked me into sounding like-"
"Like what?" Wilson interrupted, narrowing his eyes. "Let me ask you something… you got more of that Compound V, right?"
Karli frowned, placing a hand behind her. The act made Millie pause, wondering if that's where it was being stored.
"Yeah, so?"
"You gonna increase your army?" Sam prodded. Morgenthau suddenly glared at Wilson, before striding forward and grabbing him by the throat.
"Hey!" Millie shouted, pulling out her pistol. "Let him go!"
"Karli…" Sam strained, while gripping her wrist. "I know where you're coming from, but I can't agree with how you're fighting. And Madani wouldn't agree with you either-"
"Shut up!" Karli screamed, applying pressure to his neck. Before she could kill him though, an arrow suddenly whizzed through the air, striking her in the shoulder. Morgenthau gasped, letting go of Wilson and looked up to see William glaring down at her, nocking back another arrow.
"Karli Morgenthau, you're under arrest."
Millie looked over her shoulder, seeing Alice, Harley, Bucky, and the Bakers entering the warehouse.
"Thought I said ten minutes." Kessler joked.
"Sorry, guess I lost track of time." Alice smirked. Karli growled in frustration, ripping the arrow out of her shoulder, and threw it directly at Millie.
"Butcher, look out!"
Millie felt herself get tackled by Alice, as the arrow zipped by where her head used to be. The projectile sailed through the air, until Joe caught it and snapped the shaft with his bare hands. Seeing she was outnumbered, Morgenthau took off in a dead sprint, going back up a flight of stairs.
"I got her!" Bucky called out, leaping up to the second floor. Millie brushed herself off, giving a friendly nod to Alice, before pushing past everyone and exiting the chamber. She ran up the stairs that Karli did, going across another balcony, and burst through a door, where she paused, realizing she didn't know where to look. All around her were brick pillars, catwalks, and industrial pipes. The place was like a goddamned maze.
Millie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. One of the things that Frank taught her was to slow her breathing, keep calm, to shoot straight. But if she made her breathing quiet, she could hear sounds that were usually faint…
She heard a pair of footsteps coming from her right, and she opened her eyes, slowly walking towards the sound. Millie headed through several doors and walked across catwalks, until she saw Karli below her, catching her breath in what looked like some kind of atrium. Kessler didn't hesitate, pulling out her pistol, and shot at Morgenthau. A bullet crashed into the redhead's side, and she quickly leapt over a table, propping it on its side in a crude barrier, but in the process, a fanny pack fell off her person, scattering at least a dozen vials of blue serum.
Millie vaulted over the catwalk, quickly going over to the vials, and picked one up.
"This what I think it is?" Kessler frowned. One look was all she needed. It had to be the Compound V. Millie scoffed, dropping the vial and stomped on it, before proceeding to stomp on all the others. Unbeknownst to her, Karli got up and ran, while Millie destroyed the rest of the vials. She couldn't let it go into the wrong hands. She just couldn't.
By the time there was just one vial left, Millie raised her foot, but suddenly paused, looking down at it. For some reason, she began to have an urge, to maybe… take the serum? But where was this coming from? She's never needed it before. Not when she fought the Dark Judges, or Professor Gelson's cult. But then, she remembered, each time, she felt helpless. Hell, she watched Tek-Knight slaughter her family, and she needed Allyson to swoop in and save her. So maybe, if she took the Compound V…
It would level the playing field.
With a heavy heart, Millie picked up the vial, pocketing it just as Sam and Bucky entered the atrium, followed by the rest of her squad and the Bakers.
"Where'd she go?" Wilson asked. Millie looked back where Karli was behind the table, realizing she escaped.
"She got away." she murmured, looking up. "Still think she can be redeemed?"
Sam sighed, shaking his head.
"No."
New York
"Run this again." Becca told Caitlyn, while Anderson looked at them both. "You've been here for three weeks, and are just now trying to get ahold of us?"
"She's telling the truth." Cass told her. "When Myers brought everyone back, she, Brightburn, and several others from their world were accidentally transported here."
Connor frowned at the psi-judge, making Becca smile.
"Sorry, she can read minds."
"And you also know of a rare metal that can kill Brightburn, yes?" Anderson continued.
"That's right. But it's all on my world." Caitlyn revealed. "And I don't know how to get back."
"I think we have an idea." Becca smirked, looking over to Anderson. Cass nodded in agreement, as Butcher got up, going to the fireplace and pressing a button on the mantel. A panel swung open, revealing the temporal displacement belt she kept from her last visit to Mega City One.
"Hold on." Becca ordered, as she placed the belt on. Anderson and Caitlyn each held onto her arms, as she pressed a button, and they all vanished in a flash of blue light.
Mega City One
The light faded from Becca's eyes, and she looked around, seeing Chief Judge McGruder staring at them. A quick glance revealed Becca, Anderson, and Caitlyn were on the landing pad of Project Proteus.
"You're back." the Judge told her, eyeing Connor. "I see you brought another friend."
"We need you to find her Earth." Becca requested. "A friend told us it was Earth Negative Ten."
"Part of the Dark Multiverse." McGruder shuddered. "We'll get to work."
The Judge nodded to the Tek-Judges, who quickly pulled a few levers and switches, firing up Proteus.
"Thank you." Becca smiled, as a blue light began to illuminate around them.
"Good luck, Mrs. Butcher." McGruder told the three women, before they vanished in the light, leaving Project Proteus bare.
Latvia
"The Compound V and its source are gone." Alice listed off to the rest of the squad. After the failure to apprehend Karli, Millie took Pierce, Clayton, and Keener to a secluded area, away from the Bakers and Avengers members.
"I know it didn't work out the way Mallory wanted to, but it isn't all bad."
Millie scoffed, looking down at the table and running a hand down her face. Even though it wasn't uttered, it was quite clear at this point that Mallory wanted them to bring back the samples of Compound V. Why she wanted it, Kessler wasn't sure.
"Hey." Millie asked out loud. "If you had the chance to take the V… would you?"
"Oh hell yeah." Alice nodded, while William and Harley nodded in agreement as well.
"Really?" Millie frowned in surprise. "You wouldn't be worried about how it would… change you?"
"Well… power makes a person more of themselves, right?" William shrugged. "It would just make you more like you."
"Wouldn't that make you afraid though?" Millie asked. "Say you're a bad person, and the power would just tip you over the edge?"
"Mill, both my uncle and aunt were injected with Comound V." Alice told her friend. "And they're two of the best people I know. With Karlie Morgenthau, it exposed who she is. Steve Rogers, it turned a good man into a role model for everyone."
"And me?" Kessler prodded. Alice wore a smile, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"You're our squad leader for a reason." Pierce explained. "You consistently make the right decisions under pressure. You're a good person, Mill."
"Yeah, well…" Millie sighed, looking down. "You guys know what happened with Necropolis. What I did."
"We know you still blame yourself." William told her. "But imagine how much good you could've done if you had that V."
Millie slowly nodded, as she felt her pocket.
"You're asking us because you have one." Alice guessed. Kessler stopped, looking up with wide eyes.
"Wha-what?"
"Millie, please." Alice slowly smiled. "We're your friends. We know you."
Kessler slowly nodded, reaching into her pocket, and pulled out the vial of Compound V.
"I wanted to destroy it. All of it." Millie confessed. "But when I saw that last one, I just… I feel like I could use it, to feel less helpless."
Alice smiled mirthfully, but took her hand off Kessler's shoulder.
"You do what you have to do. But we'll support you no matter what." Pierce said. Millie smiled, looking at her squadmates- her friends- before her eyes trailed back down to the vial.
She knew what she had to do.
Romania
"And here's my room!" Daniella said enthusiastically, pulling Bruce into her chambers. Wayne's eyes widened slightly, seeing what he could only guess was a shrine to himself- or more accurately, to Batman. There was a mannequin with a crude batsuit on it in the corner, with posters, pictures, and what looked like comics of himself.
"I'm a huge fan!" the daughter wore a wide smile. "I got to meet the Batman in real life!"
"Sure… it was good to meet you." Bruce told her, blinking a few times to process what he was seeing. A bioweapon, one that could turn into a swarm of flies, was acting giddy like a little girl in front of him. The world really had gotten stranger since he left it.
While Daniella was showing Bruce her room, Dredd and Riley were led by Heisenberg back into the dungeons, where Donna and Angie were examining the vials of Fear Toxin.
"Any luck?" Joseph asked. Beneviento shook her head, turning to face them, while holding up the Fear Gas.
"There seems to be an ingredient in here that the fluid lacks." Donna explained. "That component seems to be a sample of blood that was converted into an aerosol."
"Freddy Krueger's." Riley realized, causing everyone to look at her. "When Freddy Krueger was killed and sent to Hell, HYDRA could no longer get ahold of him."
"Can you get that asshole out of Hell?" Angie asked.
"I know someone who might." Riley smiled, pulling out her phone.
Music: Constantine Main Theme
New York
Constantine and Gibb made it back to John's apartment, beginning to kick their shoes off, when he heard his phone ring.
"Bloody hell, what is it this time?" John groused, pulling out his phone.
"Who the fuck is this?"
"John, it's Riley Stone." a female voice announced. "I need your help."
"Ah, Riley." Constantine grinned. "How've you been since we brought everyone back with the Stones?"
"Not good, but I'll explain later. I need your help in getting Freddy Krueger from Hell."
"Why do you need that prick?" Gibb asked, taking the phone.
"We need him to complete the Fear Toxin that HYDRA couldn't produce." Riley revealed. "We're trying to stop this… this Witch Woman."
John sighed, shaking his head, but took his phone back.
"Alright, Stone. Where are you?"
"Dredd's with me. We're at Castle Dimitrescu, in Romania."
"Heard of the place, never actually been there." John mused. "Alright, we'll be there."
Constantine shut off his phone, turning to Gibb.
"Ready to see some old friends?"
Smith grinned, placing her hands on John's shoulders.
"Sume nome, a la Castle Dimitrescu…"
Romania
A golden light suddenly blinded Riley, but when her sight returned, she saw John standing in front of her with a redheaded woman wearing a jean jacket and red baseball cap.
"Got your message Stone." Constantine said smugly. "This here's my partner in crime, Gibb."
"Heard you're going after Krueger." Gibb smirked, just as footsteps could be heard.
"So am I."
Riley and Joe looked over their shoulders, seeing Bela approach them.
"That bitch tried to kill me, attacked the villagers? She has to pay."
"All fine and dandy." John shrugged, as he pulled out a flask and poured what looked like ashes in a wide circle. "The more the merrier, I say! Gibb, you still got some of Voorhees' blood?"
Gibb smiled, pulling out a small vial from her jacket.
"Saved it for a rainy day."
Smith uncorked the vial and took a sip, while passing it to John.
"Bottom's up." Constantine murmured, taking a sip, while passing it to Riley, who did the same. Once she gave the vial to Bela, she drank the rest, causing Constantine to look at her curiously.
"Sorry. Force of habit." the blonde murmured, licking her lips. "Tasted a little stale though."
John rolled his eyes, before flicking his lighter, and lit the ashes.
"Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh, Hades first born of Chronos, I call upon thee!"
The flames spontaneously turned blue and engulfed Riley, John, Gibb, and Bela, and in an instant, they were gone, leaving only Dredd, Heisenberg, Donna, and Angie.
"Damn, I love magic!" Karl smirked.
High above the clouds, Brightburn and Ryan flew through the sky, albeit slow enough to have a conversation.
"What's going on?" Butcher asked. "I didn't hear anyone or anything."
"You'll see." Brightburn smiled behind his mask. "Just keep up."
The two superhumans zipped through the sky, until they eventually came to a mountain top, where a woman in a tattered gray dress met them, holding onto a lasso of rope, and sported bruises and a black eye.
"My god, Achlys." Brightburn murmured, cupping her face. "Who did this to you?"
The woman, Achlys, looked into his eyes, before hanging her head in shame.
"They're at that castle- in Romania." Achlys revealed. "It was some girl and yellow man. I killed the man, but the girl had help from some blonde who could change her shape into flies."
"Flies." Brightburn repeated, taking his hand away.
"I'm sorry, Brightburn. I've failed you."
Brandon didn't say anything, and instead began to levitate in the air.
"Stay here. I'll deal with them."
Brightburn looked at Ryan expectedly, and realizing what he meant, began to fly up as well.
"Come on, I know the way." Brightburn told the Traveller, and began flying west. Butcher quickly took off after him, but a thought kept nagging at the back of his head.
Why did the girl and yellow man sound so familiar?
Latvia
"SHE WHAT?!"
That was the first thing Millie and Hellhound Squad heard when they came back to the Bakers' safehouse. That was Sam's voice, which made Kessler even more curious, as they opened the door.
"Okay, okay. Pack an overnight bag and take the kids, pay with cash only."
"What happened?" Millie asked, seeing Sam talking rapidly on the phone.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Bucky asked.
"Karli called my sister, she threatened my nephews." Sam revealed to everyone. "Okay, tell me when you arrive."
Wilson shut off his phone, looking around at everyone.
"Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number." Falcon announced. "She wants me to come alone."
"No chance in Hell." Bucky declared. "She could've killed you back at the funeral. You're not going by yourself, not now."
"Bucky's right." Millie interjected. "She threatened your family. The gloves are off."
Sam nodded, as he opened up a closet and pulled out his Falcon gear.
"Okay. The gloves are off."
Just as he finished, Wilson's phone pinged, and he saw a text with an address.
"Bucky and I will confront her." Sam announced. "Kessler, I'd appreciate you and your squad going around from the back, and the Bakers can watch from up top. Hopefully, we can surround her."
"Got it." Millie agreed. "How far's the meeting area?"
"Less than a klick away from where we are." Sam told everyone, as he got his suit on.
"Okay. Let's move out." Millie declared, exiting the safehouse with Bucky, Sam, her squad, and the Bakers. The walk to the meeting area was unremarkable, having to take mostly backroads and allies, but when they arrived, the squad split off from the two Avengers, trying to find a way around what looked like a courtyard. Meanwhile, the Falcon walked right in, Bucky not far behind, as they looked up to see Karli waiting on a balcony.
Music: "Back Into The Fray" from Falcon And The Winter Soldier OST
"KARLI!" Sam shouted, stomping up the stairs. "You're threatening my sister and nephews? Is that how we're gonna do this?"
"That was just a warning for you Sam." Karli told her. "I'm serious. Stay out of my way. Last chance."
"No, you're done." Wilson snarled, striding over to her. "I have tried to see your side, but you've tried to kill me twice, and now you've threatened my family."
"I won't hurt them if you leave us alone." Morgenthau threatened.
"And let you continue to kill innocents?" Sam clenched his fists, as he looked behind her to see Millie and Alice sneaking up on the Flag Smasher. Unfortunately, Karli noticed his eyes dart away, and she turned around, kicking Millie into Alice, before jumping off the balcony and running out of the courtyard.
"Fuck…" Kessler groaned, as Sam helped her and Pierce back up.
"Where's the other two?" Bucky asked, looking behind them.
"What?" Millie asked, looking behind her… and just now realizing that Harley and William weren't with them. Where did they go?
"And where are Zoe and Joe?" Alice frowned.
"Can you get a bird's eye view?" Millie asked Falcon.
"Sure thing."
Sam activated his jet pack and took to the skies, while Barnes, Kessler, and Pierce all took off in the direction that Karli went, climbing up a flight of stairs, then splitting off into different hallways.
"Shit." Millie murmured, drawing her pistol. She opened one door, going through what looked like a barren room, when a bolt of lightning suddenly surged at her. Kessler had just enough time to lean back, letting the bolt hit a nearby wall, as she and Alice faced a Flag Smasher, who flexed his hands to have electricity dance along the fingers. The Hellhounds quickly ran full speed at the supe, punching him both in the stomach and the face, before Alice grabbed him and bodyslammed him into the ground.
"Get clear!" Kessler yelled, pointing her pistol at the terrorist. Alice quickly moved out of the way, and Millie shot the man in the head, killing him instantly. At the same time, Zoe and Joe ran up the stairs, looking down at the Flag Smasher.
"What happened?" Zoe asked.
"I think they have William and Harley." Millie quickly told them, as she and Alice continued searching the complex. As they came to another hallway, the large Flag Smasher, the one with the fire powers, suddenly emerged, throwing fireballs in their direction. Joe held up his gauntleted arms to protect himself, but he was still knocked to the floor, while Millie ran forward and tackled him through a window. The two of them fell down a flight of stairs, causing the terrorist to pick up a nearby pipe and swing, only for Kessler to grab the rod just before it hit her. Then, using both hands, Millie bent the pipe in two, before kicking the terrorist away.
"Shit!" the Flag Smasher yelled, getting up and running away, just as Sam flew down to meet her.
"Jesus." Wilson murmured, as Alice joined them. "Kessler, what did you do?"
"No time! They have the rest of our squad!" Millie shouted. "Where are Zoe and Joe?"
"Zoe's looking after her uncle." Alice reported. Kessler sighed in frustration, before leading Pierce and Sam down the stairs and after the Flag Smasher, where they came to another open courtyard, with William and Harley tied up in the middle. The Hellhound leader heard two figures land behind them, and she turned around to see two female Flag Smashers coming at them. One of them waved their hands, causing anything metal to fly in the air, which Millie ducked and dodged, while the other one simply pulled out a pair of knives and engaged Alice and Sam.
Kessler grunted in annoyance, jerking her body to avoid the pieces of metal flying towards her, before grabbing the supe and headbutting her, disorienting her. With the terrorist off balance, Millie pulled out her knife and stabbed her in the chest, effectively killing her, and looked over to Alice, just as she was kicked to the ground. Sam tried to fly over to help, but the Flag Smasher grabbed his foot and pulled him to the floor, before stabbing the knives so deep into his wings, he was pinned. Before she could do anything else, Bucky suddenly appeared, kicking the terrorist across the courtyard, and yanked one of the knives out of Falcon's wing and threw it with deadly accuracy, piercing the Flag Smasher's throat.
"No!"
Millie looked to her right, seeing Karli standing there, her black mask over her face. She was about to approach her, when she suddenly felt someone's arms wrap around her body.
"Get- the fuck- off!" Kessler yelled, straining against the person's grip. Karli prepared to run at the soldier, but Alice suddenly got up, tackling the terrorist. Morgenthau growled, ripping Pierce's arms off herself, and punched her in the chest. Alice's body went flying into a pillar, colliding with the stone in a sickening crack, and she slumped to the ground.
Time slowed down for Millie, as she watched her friend's body collapse. She felt the person holding her slacken his grip, and she elbowed him in the gut, freeing herself and running over to Alice.
"Hey. Hey, Alice, hey." she murmured, cradling Pierce's body. "Hey, hey, I'll get you home, okay? Look, you'll see Sienna again."
Alice coughed out blood, making Millie feel the back of her head, pulling away to see something crimson and sticky on her fingers.
"No." Pierce murmured, her eyes going glassy. She reached back into her jacket, pulling out the picture of her and her girlfriend.
"Tell Sienna… tell her I… I…"
Alice's hand went limp, dropping the photograph. Millie squeezed her eyes shut, while she picked up the picture and put it in her own pocket. She began breathing heavily, and when she opened her eyes, she noticed Karli and the other Flag Smasher running away. Sam and Bucky went to follow them, but Millie stood up, running full speed towards the glass windows, and bursted out, landing on the ground with a loud crack. She looked around, seeing the terrorist that had thrown the fireball at the Bakers, just as he took off his mask.
"You." she snarled. The Smasher widened his eyes in fear, as he threw another fireball at her. Millie quickly dodged, running towards him, causing the man to turn around and run like hell. Kessler chased him through several alleyways, having to duck when the Flag Smasher threw a concrete column at her, but eventually pulled out her pistol and fired at his legs, striking the back of his legs.
"Where is she?" Millie roared, picking up the man and turning him over so she could look in his eyes.
"Please, it wasn't me!"
The terrorist began to conjure flames from his hands, but Millie grabbed his fingers and clenched her fists, crunching the bones like they were nothing. The man screamed in pain, while Millie pulled out her ka-bar.
"It wasn't me!" the Flag Smasher yelled again. Kessler paused, realzing that yes, he didn't kill Alice. And yet…
"You were there." Millie murmured. "And that's enough."
Millie stabbed her blade down again and again, coating her hands in blood. The supe feebly sturggled, but eventually the life faded from his eyes, and his body stilled. Once he took his last breath, Kessler finally stood up, wiped the blood from her knife, and looked up. What she saw made her eyes widen, as a wide crowd had gathered, all of them having their cellphones out. Most likely, they were all recording her. Recording what she did.
Millie's breathing began to pick up, as she realized the mistake she just made.
A/N: Well, there's my first chapter coming back to this fic! Hope it all worked!
I'll admit, I'm leaning hard on the Falcon and Winter Soldier show for these chapters, but the next one will have a lot more original scenes that get back to everyone. Namely, scenes of Frank, Doctor Strange, and Constantine's group in Hell. And we'll see what Brightburn is up to. And we're getting closer to find the identity of the Power Broker, because spoiler alert, it's not Sharon Carter.
That's all for now! Happy new year!