The Owl House
"Ma'am… let's talk."
Spawn held his hands up as if surrendering to Eda, showing he had no hostile intentions, nor any weapons on him besides what came with his little parasite of a costume. He would at least hope that maybe she would think things through…
From her hair, Eda pulled out a light glyph and activated it, flashing the Hellspawn.
It seemed she wouldn't.
She charged, turning into her harpy form faster than she ever had before and lashed forward a fist to strike…
Only for a hand to grab her own in a vice grip, stopping it in its place. She looked to see Spawn, his eyes forming a slightly annoyed expression as he held her arm in place.
"Ma'am…" he said, voice dripping with fatigue and indifference, "I really don't want to do this again."
He let her go, forcing her back a couple steps, "let's act civilized, here."
"NO ONE HURTS MY FRIENDS!"
A rather high pitched voice that sounded like a cartoon mouse cried out before something emerging from the front door of the house stuck its head through the ground and surfaced right in front of him and wrapped its serpentine body around him, trapping him in a surprisingly strong grip.
Al got a good look at the… thing. 'Thing' was the only word that could describe it, really. It was a tube… something… that vaguely looked like an owl.
Al teleported out of its grip, looking at the thing with something he never felt in a long time: Abject horror.
"What. The. FUCK!?" He said, confused and horrified at such a thing.
It responded, "Hi, I'm Hooty!" Its tone then went from joyous to sinister, "AND I WILL BE YOUR UNMAKER!"
It charged at Spawn, who simply responded by throwing a punch at it, sending the body flying back towards the house, impacing against the wall hard enough to crack it, as the rest of it flopped down on the ground like a wet noodle, "OW!"
Eda turned to see Hooty rise up groggily with one nasty black eye, "I'm ok!"
"What the actual hell is that thing supposed to be!?" Spawn asked rhetorically, getting the witch's attention once again.
With gritted teeth she swiped at his face, which he dodged rather nonchalantly, followed by a flurry of other swipes and punches that he also avoided. He dodged the last punch with a simple act of teleporting behind her, "enough of this, ma'am!" He called out, "stop this nonsense before you get hurt!"
"Like you're about to be?"
A voice called from behind. He turned to see nothing before looking down and seeing Eda's dog thing with two legs looking at him beneath his skull mask.
"WEEEEEEEEEEH!" It cried out in a voice that could shatter glass and crack the ground, a shockwave following the scream and sending him flying to the trees.
"Nice job, King!" Eda cheered.
"Yeah!" Hooty said, popping near him, his black eye still present.
Their cheering was cut short as they all saw Spawn's form rise up from the trees like a fired up rocket and rush to the center of them, creating a big dust cloud that blinded their vision.
They all then felt cold metal wrap around them, they looked down to see chains emerging from green portals. When the dust settled, they saw the Hellspawn's hands glowing green as the chains that emerged from his belt multiplied into many pairs and were sticking into the original green portals.
"You try to be nice…" he said, voice dripping with barely contained anger, "and this is how you are received…"
"STOP!"
A voice said, forcing him to look at the source of it: The young girl, Luz, ran up to him, glyphs in her hands, and a look of fear plastered on her face. Instantly, his face lowered at the sight of her.
"Kid…" he muttered.
"Al, don't!" She pleaded.
Spawn stared at Luz for a while before closing his eyes, letting the chains retract back into his belt, the portals dissipating away as the glow of the Necroplasm wisped away as his arms were brought down.
The sudden change in his mood did not go unnoticed by the other three, but they thought little of it as Hooty wrapped his body around Spawn again, trapping him in a vice grip.
"Wait, don't hurt him!" Luz exclaimed.
"He attacked us!" King responded.
"Only because you attacked first!" she retorted, feeling a sense of deja vu.
"Enough!" Eda yelled, "the only thing that matters now is finding out why he's here…"
The harpy glared daggers at the Hellspawn, who seemed to have no particular reaction to anything they were saying. She went in front of him, something he actually seemed to acknowledge, "alright, you freak." She said with venom in her voice, "how did you find us!?"
Spawn blinked before settling for an answer, "I know a guy."
The harpy scoffed, her wings flaring up and down, "you think you're funny, don't you?"
King jumped up on his shoulder, practically yelling in his ear and putting on his gruffest voice, "who sent you!? Who do you work for!?"
Spawn just turned his head, "are you trying to scare me, little doggie?" He chuckled, "it's almost adorable."
"How dare you call me that!?" King replied, offended at his nicknames, "The King of Demons is to be feared!"
Al raised a brow, "You? King of Demons?"
"Correct! You better bow!"
In response to his boasting and claims, Spawn chuckled, then the chuckle became a laugh, the sinister tone in it disturbed everyone present, "now that's the funniest thing I've heard in a while."
"It is no joke!" King retorted, slightly shaking from his laugh.
"Whatever you say, doggie."
King growled at that before Hooty went right up to the Hellspawn's face, "Hey! You show my friend some respect around here!"
BAM!
"Ow!" the tube exclaimed as the Hellspawn headbutted him, giving him a second black eye.
Spawn clenched his teeth, "If you get up in my face again, I will rip you inside out from whatever you call an asshole, fuckface!"
"Whoa!" Everyone exclaimed, sans Hooty since he was groaning over his newly made shiner.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" King asked to no answer.
Luz watched all of this with a saddened expression. Both her friends and Al were just making fools out of themselves while she was just wondering why he was here. He tapped Eda and King's shoulders.
"Huddle up," she said.
Instantly, the self-proclaimed king and the harpy huddled together, their whispers just barely audible from the Hellspawn.
Luz sighed, "guys, let me talk to him."
"What!?" Both King and Eda simultaneously said, which did not go unnoticed by Spawn or Hooty, the latter of which stretched his head towards the huddle center. "What did I miss?"
"Luz wants to talk to the freak," Eda answered, much to Hooty's shock,
"He's not a freak!" Luz retorted, "He's just lonely and sad!"
"Lonely and sad people don't murder other people."
Luz groaned, "but-"
"Kid, don't try to reason with this guy. He's bad news." Eda interrupted, "I say we just chain him up and throw him in the Boiling Seas."
"Yeah!" King and Hooty simultaneously said, much to the teen's horror.
"No!" Luz protested.
Eda grew frustrated, "This guy has been slaughtering people left and right and now he's come for us! You know what I've said about him, you know what he can do!"
"Then why didn't he kill me when I met him!?"
A pause.
No answer. Only a confused stare. Eda looked at King, who looked at Hooty, who was looking back at Eda. None of them had any answer to this seemingly simple question.
"Just let me talk to him. Please…"
"Kiddo, don't-"
Luz gave Eda a look of pleading eyes. Pleading eyes she hated because she just can't resist them… Damn it.
Eventually, she conceded, "ok… But if this doesn't work, don't act surprised."
They pulled away from the huddle and turned to the Hellspawn, who just stared at the party as if nothing was happening.
On Eda's command, Hooty released him… slowly. But all eyes were locked on him and all of them were ready for any sudden movement from him.
Spawn didn't move at all in spite of Hooty's body moving away. His eyes were firmly on the teenager. He kneeled when she got closer. His gruff, rude demeanor completely changed in an instant. "Hello, Luz," he softly said.
Her expression remained unchanged, "Hi, Al."
"Are you alright?"
She nodded.
Spawn looked away, "sorry things got ugly earlier. One thing led to another and…"
Luz interrupted, "it's ok." she softly said.
Al just grunted with a nod.
She put on a soft smile, but it was somewhat forced. The entire situation was just awkward with her three friends just staring him down and her basically being the one thing that kept everything from falling apart. She decided to cut to the chase, "why are you here?"
"I'm here to protect you," Al answered, "from very bad people."
"I'm not five, Al," she chuckled, but a bit concerned by his words, "you can be a bit more honest. Who are these 'bad people'?"
Al didn't hold back much, "real scumbags. Murderers, drug dealers, and worse. They already managed to track down Lilith-"
"Wait, what!?" Luz interrupted, his words also not unheard by the other three.
"What was that about my sister!?" Eda said, both confused and offended that the name of her sibling was uttered by that freak's mouth.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO LULU!?" Hooty howled.
"One at a time, dammit!" Spawn yelled before continuing, "this group of criminals tracked down Lilith and I had to fend them off for her."
He looked to the side, "with some help, of course. But regardless, the fact of the matter is, if they can track down your own sister, they can most certainly track down all of you."
Hearing all this, Eda gritted her teeth and balled her fists so hard, her knuckles popped. That damn bastard was no doubt the reason why her sister - her own flesh and blood - was even tracked down.
"Wh-what are we gonna do!?" King's voice interrupted her anger. She looked down to see him hugging her leg, "what do they want with us!?"
Spawn answered, "they likely targeted you in a way to bring me out. This… Syndicate operates similarly to other crime families I've dealt with. Doesn't matter who the targets are, the intent is always the same."
Eda widened her eyes, her wings drooping down, "the Syndicate?" She whispered.
"Yes. That's what they call themselves." Al answered.
"Who's the Syndicate?" Luz asked.
Eda didn't hesitate to answer, "some of the most dangerous people in the Boiling Isles. They control almost every aspect of crime here, from petty thievery to assassination attempts." She glared at the Hellspawn, her wings flaring out, "and this bastard might have just led them to our doorstep!"
Spawn growled, "that's why I'm here! To protect your asses in case they do!"
"Protect!? You shouldn't have even come here! You'll attract them like moths to a flame!"
"Or flies to a corpse…" Spawn said as he finally stepped up, shocking everyone and making everyone take a step back. He was looking at Eda straight into her eyes. Even in her harpy form, his almost seven foot frame was taller than her by a few inches, not that she was deterred by this. He continued speaking, "... and corpses is exactly what all of you will be if you don't have me by your side."
Eda gritted her teeth so hard, they nearly cracked, "we were doing just fine without you."
Spawn gritted back, "well, you'll just to suck it up with me being here, lady. " The last word dripped with contempt.
"No thanks," Eda sneered, "I'd rather not be killed in my sleep."
Spawn growled at this, "lady, if I wanted you all dead, you'd all be laying in a puddle of viscera by now! If I wanted your sister dead, I would have let the mob kill her! If I wanted Luz dead, she wouldn't be here right now!"
"Keep both my sister and my kid's name out of your mouth!"
"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!"
The scream of Luz forced them to look downwards to see her pushing them away, her weak nerd arms barely budging them both. They both decided to back away, Eda reverting back to her Witch form and Spawn letting his cape cover his body.
Luz huffed in annoyance, "first of all, how dare you two make me the voice of reason for this!?" She incredulously asked, "second, let's all just take a deep breath and figure something out."
Judging by their blank stares, they weren't. Luz groaned, turning to Eda first, "Eda, you're right. No one here in their right mind should trust this guy, me included."
"Now you're talking some sense." Eda snarked as Al rolled his green eyes - a gesture he had to exaggerate as he had no visible iris'.
Luz held up a finger, "but…"
Eda froze. 'Oh, dammit, I should have seen that coming,' she thought.
"If what Al says is true, then what other choice do we have? We already have the Emperor's Coven breathing down our backs at every turn. The only reason they don't try to stop us now is because they don't see us as a notable threat. We need the extra manpower."
Eda grimaced before looking to the side.
Luz turned to Spawn, "and you…"
Al looked down, awaiting his own verbal lecture with a neutral expression.
"If you're really gonna be protecting us, stop acting like such a jerk!" Luz yelled, feeling like a mother scolding a child, "whatever beef you and Eda have, knock it off!"
Al narrowed his eyes a bit before softening them and nodding, "Alright." he softly responded.
Luz turned to Eda and sighed, "I know none of us are gonna really get along, but we have to. We need all the help we can get."
Eda sighed, knowing nothing she said was going to dissuade her. "Ok…" she said before narrowing her eyes and pointing at Al, "but if he tries anything funny, Hooty will have my permission to eat him!"
"Duly noted!" Hooty excitedly said, suddenly getting close to Al, "I'll be watching you, pal. I have eyes everywhere!"
Spawn growled, "do you remember what I said I'd do to you if you ever got close to me again?"
"Stop it, Al," Luz commented, receiving a 'hmph' from him.
With that, the human stayed close to him as she escorted him inside the house, everyone else staying behind him just in case he tries to pull something funny.
Al then turned to Hooty and did the universal "I'm watching you," gesture, which greatly offended him.
"That's not fair! I can't do that to you!" he cried out, "I have no arms! NO ARMS!"
Castle Orlok
Reynolds opened the coffin that his master slept in and escorted him in. The other vampires had already retreated into their own coffins to sleep out the day.
"Rest, Master! Regain your strength!" the sycophant said, earning an annoyed glare from the vampire.
"Be quiet," he said with a cough as he got in.
Then, a sudden flash in the center of the room interrupted them all. It was brief, but blinding and when it dissipated, there stood the decaying figure of Draven, his Palisman broadsword in his hand and an angered expression in what remained of his face.
Reynolds stepped towards the necromancer, "Master is not expecting visitors at this time-"
SHNK!
The lich impaled his blade into the servant's chest with extreme prejudice, then using his free arm to grip his neck, choking what remained of his life, before opening his maw and draining his very soul with a ghastly inhale.
The process of soul draining actually healed his body somewhat. Now he had slightly more flesh on his body, forming a much more distinct face on his skull. He took the blade out of the fool's chest, letting it collapse and spill out what little wet blood remained in his now dried out husk of a body.
Orlok stared at the corpse of his servant, "what a waste of good blood." was all he had to say as he looked back at Draven, "why are you here?" his voice dripping with annoyance.
Draven pointed his blade at the vampire, "I am here because of your failure!" he yelled.
Orlok's face hardened, "I told your little pet, ergo you, not to interfere." the vampire stated, already knowing what he was referring to, "and if it wasn't for an unexpected interference, I would have had that Hellspawn's head on a pike by now!"
"The Mighty Orlok, felled by rats and roaches," Draven snarked, the contempt on his face being much more identifiable, "and on top of you failing to kill the Hellspawn, you have exposed our group's name!"
"I had him in my-"
"NO!" The necromancer cut him short, "there are no excuses for such a brazen act of stupidity like what you did last night!" his free hand then listed off things with his fingers, "killing scores of homeless, AKA buyers of our drugs. Massacring an entire squadron of officers - many of which were on our payroll - and the unauthorized attempted killing of a special target, a job reserved for our assassins and hitmen!"
"The Clawthornes have been nuisances for a long time!" the blood sucker retorted, "someone had to try to kill them!"
"And that someone shouldn't be a family head!"
Orlok grinded his sharp teeth at Draven's words, seemingly dulling them. In spite of his obvious anger, the lich carried on, "and for what reason have you done all this, Orlok? So you could relieve the feeling of your antediluvian glory days?"
The vampire froze.
"Yes, I figured it out, didn't I?" Draven remarked, "it was quite the simple deduction, really."
The lich unclasped a cape buckle and moved some of his tattered robes away, revealing his decaying chest, the yellowed skin being almost transparent. If one were to look closely, they could see a barely beating blackened heart, "you're not the only one who's rotting away, remember?"
The lich clasped back the buckle as Orlok attempted to rebut, but Draven didn't give him the time, "now, because of your reckless behavior, the Hellspawn is no doubt finding more information about us as we speak. It won't be long before he comes knocking at our doors…"
The lich then turned around, digging the blade to the ground and making a teleportation glyph back to the crypt, "I recommend you and what remains of your vampires to find a more secure location to hide in." he said to as he kept tracing circles, "your current hideout isn't exactly the most discreet and something tells me the Hellspawn will be looking for things that are… unusual."
Orlok's face hardened at his continued words, gritting his teeth… He could do it now while his back was turned. Just swipe off his head in one clean motion…
"Don't bother." Draven said, which made the vampire's ears twitch in confusion, "I know you're thinking of killing me. I'll have you know that even in my weakened state, I could still take away your pathetic excuse of a soul with ease. Plus, it would be quite bad for business for coworkers to kill each other, no?"
Orlok was too shocked to be enraged at his statements. The lich then stepped on the finalized glyphs and turned around, "I'll be seeing you soon…" he said, tapping the patterns with his blade, letting it be engulfed in light before said light disappeared, taking Draven with it.
The vampire then slammed his fist on the wall behind him, cracking it and shaking it, growling like an animal at everything that had just happened.
He swore to himself that when all of this was done, he would kill the Hellspawn first… Then he will kill Draven. He will mount both their heads on spikes adorning his castle walls…
The Streets
It took him a while, but Steve finally managed to find his house. From his cloak, he pulled out a key and opened the door. He closed the door behind him and immediately plopped down on the couch, legs sore from constant walking, and body aching from the hits he took last night.
"Steve?" a voice said, interrupting his potential sleep. He looked up from the couch to see his little brother, Matt, rubbing his tired eyes, "what are you doing here so early, let alone at all?"
Steve got up from the couch, failing to notice the disarray his robes were in, but his brother most certainly didn't.
"What is that on your outfit?" he asked, before widening his eyes, "is that blood!?"
"What?" Steve asked before looking down to see the dried bloodstains and freaking out, "oh, Titan!" He said as he licked his thumb to rub some off to no avail.
He looked at Matt before smiling sheepishly, "ok, yeah, it's blood, yeah… Apple blood." He saved face, "a homeless guy splashed some on me."
Matt didn't really buy it, but he shrugged nonetheless, "well, it's red on white. That stuff'll never come off."
His brother removed his robes, wrapping them around his mask. Beneath his robes, was a yellow t-shirt with a red logo that said 'STEVE' in white letters, "they can still be salvaged," he meekishly said.
His brother scoffed, "No way. Just toss them in the trash."
Toss them in the trash… A lightbulb went over Steve's head.
"Yeah… I think I will," he said with a smile before he kneeled down gave his little brother a big hug. A hug so tight, Matt was losing his breath.
"What are you doing!?" He asked, his voice strained.
Steve just smiled, continuing the hug. "Just showing appreciation, little man."
"You're embarrassing me!"
"In front of who? Me?" Steve laughed as he pulled away and stood up, "how about I make you some breakfast?"
Matt just adjusted himself after the hug, trying to maintain his 'cool guy' charade, "uh, yeah, sure. I'd like that."
His older sibling smiled, "alright, then. Just let me throw this away."
Matt nodded, and Steve went outside to the trash can. He looked around to make sure no one saw him before he lifted the lid and stuffed the outfit inside before slamming the lid back down.
He felt… a heck of a lot better, now. As if a massive burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
He took a deep breath in and went back inside, excited to know he was no longer shackled and what future possibilities awaited him…
