Chapter 2: Purgatorio
With his eyes closed, Eric concentrated as a wavy gray image appeared in his sight. A show from his pet crow who was on a window seal two floors down. The show was of a couple in bed, and the man was trying to get the crow to come to him.
The boy dropped down and swung into the window, and stepped inside the room where the two were. Whistling the same unsettling tune he used with Tin Tin, he waltzed into the room–his whistling causing the two inside the room to shiver as he approached.
And as Eric came into the light, he recognized the man immediately, it was the same albino son of a bitch that raped his mother.
With a crazed look in his eye, he rubbed his face against the single lightbulb in the room like a curious bird, creeping out the two who were looking at him.
"Here, Funboy." He said.
"Who the fuck are you?" The man questioned. The boy didn't say anything, opting to instead drag his guitar pick across his ax's strings, rushing at the two and scared the man. "Gah! You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack!" He snapped.
"Shhh. It's okay." The woman said as the boy put his guitar on a coat rack.
"I think it's time you took your bird and left." The man said as he got a revolver from somewhere on the nightstand beside him, and pulled the hammer back, pointing it at the boy. He was paid no mind as the third person in the room, who pulled up a chair to sit in front of him as he put his palm on the barrel.
"Take your shot, funboy, ya got me dead bang." The pale faced lad taunted.
"You are seriously fucked up. Like seriously, you need professional help." The blonde man said as he shot a hole clean through the boy's hand.
The raven haired boy yelled slightly in pain as his aggressor hooped and hollered, only for his expression to go 'that didn't really hurt at all' and then to excitement as he turned around.
"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he held up his hand where the hole was—only for it to seal up seconds later without so much as a scratch! "Yeah! That's how it's done!" He exclaimed.
"Jesus Fucking Christ…" The man gasped in shock.
"Jesus Christ." The boy nodded. "Stop me if you've heard this one: Jesus Christ walks into a hotel—." He began before the guy shot him in the gut. "Ow… He hands the innkeeper three nails and he asks—." He continued before he was shot again.
"Don't you ever fuckin' die?!" The blondie snapped as he cocked the hammer of his gun again.
"Can you set me up for the night?" The boy finished before knocking the man down, causing him to shoot himself in the leg. The woman that was Sarah's mother, Darla, quickly ran into the bathroom and shut the door. "Oh I'm sorry, did that hurt?" He asked.
"Yes that fucking hurt! Look what you've done to my sheets you—you—oh shit." The blonde goon gasped as he finally recognized the boy in front of him as Edgar landed on said figure's shoulder.
"Finally remember, Fun Boy?" The pale bird lover jeered.
"You—you're supposed to be dead!" Funboy snapped.
"Grim Reapers can't die, shit for brains." The boy stated as he twirled the man's gun. "Now, I'm going to ask you a question. Don't answer me…" He continued as he shot the guy in his left testicle, causing him to yell. "I put a bullet in the other one, got it?" He questioned.
The delinquent (at heart) was going to answer anyway, but he was cut off by his other testicle getting shot. This made his screams grow in volume.
"Where is the guy called T-Bird?" The boy questioned. Funboy let out a small gasp, and then Edgar translated it into his ear as the man passed out. "... Not here. Shame, I was hoping to finally wrap up the last loose end tonight." He sighed before he started dragging the now unconscious man to the bathroom.
There, Darla whimpered and grabbed a razor blade as she watched the gothic teen put Funboy's body in the tub and turn on the shower. Then he turnd to look at her before he approached and grabbed her.
"NO!" She yelled in fear, trying to swing the shaving razor at him, only for it to be tossed on the floor. Eric held her in front of the mirror while he squeezed the morphine out of where it was injected.
"Look!" He told her firmly, causing the woman to look in the mirror. "Drugs are bad for you." He lectured. "Mother is the name of God written on every child's lips. Your daughter is out there on the streets, waiting for you." He continued. "Go to her." He added as he let her run away.
The now psychopomp sighed as he stood up and looked at the now unconscious Fun Boy.
"Now as for you." He growled as he grabbed needles of morphine in his hand.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, downstairs in the Heap, Gideon was busy trying to drown his pain in alcohol, with little success.
"If I want it filled with ice, I'll tell you!" He snapped, getting rid of his ice and slamming his glass on the counter. "Now fill it up!" He demanded as the bartender put a whole bottle of whiskey in front of him.
"Fill it up yourself, macho man." He retorted before going to tend to something else.
"I really need this." The former pawn store owner sighed as he grabbed the bottle, only for someone else to grab it, causing him to look and see Grange standing there.
"Heard about what happened to your store." Grange said as he poured Gideon more liquor. "The boss did too. Seems the guy responsible has been going on a particularly costly rampage lately." He added.
"And now I'm a fuckin' victim of his." Gideon grunted as he downed his glass.
It was at this point that Darla came running out of the top floor, clearly spooked by something, prompting everyone to look at her and watch her leave.
"Good night, Darla!" The bartender called mockingly, but was ignored as the woman hastily left. Grange frowned as he got the feeling something was wrong, and decided to investigate.
"Stay here." He told Gideon as he put his fedora on the man's head and left to see what happened to Funboy.
As he did so, he entered the room that the morphine addict was currently in, and turned when he heard something at the window—seeing Eric about to jump out of said window.
"Shh…" He hissed before he fell out and disappeared.
The mob enforcer rushed to the window to find him, only to discover that he'd vanished and could faintly hear him chuckling maniacally. Deciding to save that for later, he went and examined Funboy, who had several morphine syringes in his heart with their contents injected… And a crow painted on him in blood.
"This ain't right…" He muttered to himself.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Darryl was currently in the process of doing his laundry while looking over a case file that was lent to him by the police Captain Hook. His parents were out at the moment, so he was home alone.
Needless to say, he had little doubts now, the guy he saw at Gideon's pawnshop was Eric Draven. No two ways around it.
"How the hell did he come back…?" He wondered to himself as he walked into his living room.
"Why don't you ask me yourself?" A voice said, causing the teen to jump while turning to see Eric in his living room, a long black trench coat that previously belonged to Tin Tin on him—he was leaning against the door frame.
"Don't fucking do that!" The Seer told the previously dead teen.
"What can I say? I like to make an entrance." Eric shrugged as he walked up to the file on the table and had a look at it. "Nice likeness." He noted as he looked at the pictures.
"Dude, you were dead. I saw you get buried." Darryl stated, still reeling from before.
"Yes. I'm aware." Eric replied as Edgar flew in and landed on his shoulder.
"Holy shit… What the fuck is going on here?" The African teen groaned as he rested his head in his hands while Eric went to the fridge and got out some sparkling apple cider. "What are you, some… some kind of ghost?" He questioned.
"Boo." He chuckled as he handed the drink to the teen. "I don't know what I am. I'm hoping you can tell me what happened to us that night." He added.
"You took a three story swan dive and landed on a car hood neck first, died instantly. You're pops met a similar fate, his body was basically street pizza." The seer explained. "Your girl, she was beaten, raped and left bleeding. She survived three hours of surgery before kicking it. Your mom? She was triple teamed by Tin Tin and his cronies, she suffered anal, oral and vaginal tearing before she was killed by being kicked down the stairs, snapping a rib in half that punctured her lung." He added.
"Edward, Caroline and Shelly." The boy told him. "Those are their names." He added.
"Thanks for sharing…" Darryl sighed as he got up along with Eric, who placed his hands on his head and went through his memories. He saw his mother and girlfriend in intensive care, and both were in great pain. There was something else about the memories, though.
There were a couple of instances where he saw the insides of them through their skin, and the damage that was done to them.
This experience sent Eric tumbling to the ground, trying to process everything he'd just experienced. Darryl quickly came to his aid, but Eric waved him off.
"Don't touch me!" He barked. Darryl kept his distance as Eric recovered. "You stayed with them the whole time… And you saw through their bodies, saw the damage they took." He breathed, causing Darryl to sigh.
"Yeah." The teen nodded as he removed his goggles, showing his eyes. "My dad says that I'm part of a rare subspecies of humans called Homo superior, or more commonly known as mutants." He explained. "We have an extra chromosome in our genetic code called the X-Gene—named after the man who discovered it, a Dr. Essex—which can give an individual a myriad of superpowers." He added.
"And you're one of 'em. Huh. Fancy that." Eric mused. Looking at a pile of unsmoked cigarettes, he held one up. You really shouldn't smoke these. They'll kill you." He added.
"This coming from a dead man…" The Seer chuckled. "Tell that to my dad. He's the smoker here." Darryl corrected with a scoff.
"Noted." Eric nodded.
"You gonna vanish into thin air again?" He questioned as the psychopomp got up.
"I was planning on using your front door." The boy replied.
Darryl was silent as he mused over this whole ordeal. paying no mind to Eric walking out the door.
"Hey." He called. "I'm sorry, about what happened to you all." He told the last Draven.
"I know." Eric nodded, opening the door. "And thank you, for being there for Sarah… And Shelly." He told him.
"My pleasure." The seer nodded.
(Elsewhere)
Back at Top Dollar's clubhouse, the mob boss was having a meeting with Gideon.
"I got stabbed through the hand! I shot the son of a bitch—and watched the wound close itself up!" Gideon yelled, clearly irate. "This guy, he ain't human!" He added.
"Not human, you say?" TD questioned as he laced his fingers together.
"Yeah, he's some kind of freak! Like a ghost, or something!" The pawn store owner replied angrily.
"Might be true. He winked at me before dropping out of a four story window like he had wings." Grange nodded.
"Wings…" The mob boss hummed. "You didn't see anything else?" He questioned.
"What can I say? He looked pretty young, was fuckin' armed to the teeth, and set my livelihood up in flames!" The man snapped.
TD was silent for a moment before he leaned forward.
"Not everything." He told the fat man before he grabbed something. "Catch." He added, throwing the object at Gideon, who caught it… and dropped it when he saw that it was an eyeball.
"Gah, what the fuck?!" The pawn star gasped as he dropped the ball.
"A gift from the last guy who held out on me." The man said, getting up and walking over to some sort of cabinet. "Now, I assume after he started asking questions, you started answering?" He questioned.
"You're right out of you're fucking mind! Ya hear me?!" Gideon yelled as TD opened the cabinet… revealing a variety of different swords.
"My sister there, Myca. She tells me that your visitor had something with him. A few of her girls told us." The man continued, picking up a basket handed rapier.
"Th-That's your sister?!" Gideon blinked, looking at Myca. "I thought that was just a rumor." He added.
"Can't see the resemblance?" TD questioned. "She's my father's daughter." He added, pointing his sword at the man. "Now. From the top." He added.
"H-He had makeup on his face—or at least I think it was makeup." The pawn store owner gulped. "And he had a guitar with him." He continued. "And—And a bird! A crow! Damn thing nearly pecked my eyes out." He added.
"A guitar…" Grange scoffed disdainfully. "Fucker even winked at me before he jumped out of the window." He added.
"Musicians…" TD grunted with a roll of his eyes. "This guy have a name?" He questioned.
"He told me to tell T-Bird that death was coming—whatever the fuck that means—that the Crow sends his regards." Gideon told him, causing TD to finally start connecting the dots.
"He's killing off everyone who was there." He realized. "He's systematically killing them off one by one." He continued.
"There? There where?" Gideon questioned.
"I guess I can tell you." TD shrugged, lowering his sword. "One year ago, T-Bird and his crew went to address someone who sent complaints about a tenant relocation program that was running, and it turned into a complete mess with a family of three with a plus one all getting killed." He explained.
"So, what? He's a fucking ghost who's pissed that your boys killed him, his girlfriend and his parents?" Gideon scoffed.
"Not a ghost. A shade." Myca corrected, flipping through a Swedish translation of Polish folklore. "The Crow is his connection between the land of the living and the dead. Giving him immense power." She added.
"So kill the crow…" Grange trailed off.
"You kill the man." TD finished in understanding. "Alright then. Let's do it." He nodded as he stepped away from Gideon—before turning around and shooting him in the head.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back at the apartment of Sarah and Darla, the girl was listening to a recording while the storm still raged on, when all of a sudden–she heard what sounded like a guitar come through over the dripping precipitation.
"What the…?" Sarah muttered, wondering just who would play their guitar in the rain like that as she looked out the window.
Then she saw it. Crouching on the overhang on the roof of his apartment, sitting while still dressed in his costume–sans hood–Eric was playing his ax, and he was playing what sounded like a sort of tribute solo.
As she watched him play, Gabriel the cat came to the window and saw where she was looking. If the two goth girls were being honest, Eric was a really good guitar player… And then he suddenly started smashing it for seemingly no reason after going into a full half minute riff, which made them feel concerned.
"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRHHHH!" The boy howled as lightning crashed around him, causing Edgar to squawk on his shoulder–while he hurled what was left of his instrument down to the ground below.
Sarah exchanged glances with Gabriel and silently agreed that they were both concerned. With that, they decided to check on him and see what was wrong as he went back into his apartment.
(Later)
Meanwhile in a different part of town, T-Bird and his friend Skank were pulling up to a convenience store, with the latter of two going inside to get some stuff.
However, while T-Bird was waiting outside and lighting himself a cigar, he heard an ominous whistling sound reach his ears.
"What the fuck…?" He uttered in confusion, looking around to see if he could find the source… Right before Eric popped in out of nowhere and held a hidden blade to his throat, forcing him to stop pulling out his gun mid draw.
"Get in the car, and drive." The boy told him as he kept his blade at the man's neck.
"Yeah, yeah, sure!" The speed junkie gulped as he got in the driver's seat while Eric got in the shotgun seat.
As this was going on, Skank tried to run them down, only to not be able to keep up—and get similarly run over by a car speeding down the road at the same time.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" The driver of the new car cursed, picking up the thug. "You fucking wrecked my windshield, you asshole!" He growled, only for Skank to punch him to the ground and steal his ride to catch up with T-Bird's car.
Back with Eric, T-Bird tried to get Eric to speak, but the boy was dead silent as he continued to hold his blade at the man's throat, all the while prompting the man to drive faster—flying past two cops in the process.
This resulted in a chase through the streets that led all the way to the docks. Somewhere along the way, Skank managed to catch up, but ended up having the police car collide with him.
Around twenty minutes later, T-Bird woke up to find himself being duct taped into his car.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" The man questioned nervously. Eric didn't reply as he filled the car with explosives and kept wrapping him with duct tape.
After a minute he spoke. "You and your friends broke into a house on devils night a year ago, you raped a woman and a young girl before you killed her husband before killing her, and their only son." He stated as he looked at the man in the eyes, pulling off another piece of tape. "Remember?" He questioned. T-Bird frowned before his eyes widened.
"Y-you… I thought I knew you. I knew I knew you." He uttered. "But you're not you. You can't be you. We threw you through that window. You couldn't have come back from that." He continued.
Eric didn't say a word as he wrapped the last piece of duct tape around the man's head, forcing his eyes open so he would have to watch himself die, before taking a grenade and showing it to the doomed goon.
"There ain't no coming back, this can't be right, there ain't no coming back!" T-Bird yelled as the inevitability of his situation hit him.
The Crow said nothing before he looked at the man darkly before pulling the pin and trigger before dropping it in his lap and seeing the car's transmission to drive. As the car drove along, Eric waved goodbye as he took out a bottle of lighter fluid and started making something on the ground with it.
"Avast the devil says, and see how bad goodness is…" T-Bird bawled as the car exploded and the fire ignited the fluid, creating a crow on the ground as Edgar landed on Eric's shoulder.
"One. More. Left." He said darkly as he walked off.
"Not bad." A new voice spoke, causing Eric to tense. Turning, he saw a man standing there in red and purple armor with a helmet that had a purple M on it and a purple cape.
"Hey buddy, the opera's six blocks down, you need a map or something?" The boy questioned as he discreetly grabbed one of his throwing knives.
"I saw what you did to that man. You got revenge on the ones who wronged you so drastically, and made your presence felt." The man noted. "I applaud you." He added.
"Thanks, but I don't remember asking your opinion." The Psychopomp said, feeling that the guy had no intention of letting him leave. "So buzz off!" He yelled as he threw his knife at the man. Right as it was about to hit its target, it stopped mid-air, shocking the boy.
"Now, now, no need for violence." He said in a scolding tone.
"Who… are you?" Eric asked with wide eyes.
"I am Magneto, young Crow. The master of Magnetism." The man replied as he floated the boy's knife back to him. "I will let you go unbothered by the authorities on one condition. Are you willing to hear it?" He asked.
"... Alright. What's the condition?" Eric sighed, really not wanting to be bothered by the cops right now.
"Join my Brotherhood of Mutants." The man replied. "All of us have been wronged by humanity in ways that resulted in us feeling vengeance like yourself. Humanity will tremble before us." He continued. Had it been some other person, it would've worked to convince them. "Such as I was when I was inturned from my homeland of Poland into Auschwitz—when my mother was killed in front of me to get me to use my abilities for them." He added.
Eric, however, was a whole other case—as he seemed to be ignoring Magneto as he lit another cigarillo before puffing on it and looking at the man.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was that supposed to change my mind?" The boy questioned sarcastically, exhaling rum scented smoke. "Well too bad, so sad. I don't work that way." He continued, taking another drag. "You lost your mom to a Nazi shooting her cuz you couldn't move a fucking coin? Boo hoo, cry me a river, why don't you?" He sneered, stepping on a car hood, flicking his hidden blade idly. "I know what this is, you want me to sympathize with you so that I'll join your little group. And ya know what? That ain't happening and it will never happen. You know why?" He added, taking a long drag from his small cigar before flicking it at Magneto, causing it to singe his armor. "Because I see right through you, you want me to join you so that you can use me." He added, Edgar landing on his shoulder and squawking at the man. "And guess what 'Magneto' I ain't gonna be no one's pawn. Especially someone who's no better than the Nazis he so fiercely hates." He concluded, arms crossed.
"You dare?!" Magneto growled angrily at being compared to the Nazis.
"Oh, I dare, and I'll continue to do so since I'm already dead." Eric retorted. "Now, either you get out of my way, or the next person I kill, is going to be you." He warned, deploying his blades in a threatening manner.
"I hope you're content with knowing you've made a dangerous enemy." Magneto told him before taking his leave.
"Master of Magnetism vs The Grim Reaper." Eric mused as he retracted his blades and drew his sword, examining it. "I think I like my odds." He added coolly, before disappearing through a space between reality.
Dragon Emperor0: And that's part 2 of 3 down. And as you can see, just like I said, we are reusing scenes from the original story in this reboot. Just in a different manner, a manner I'm already feeling better about.
ThermalsniperN7: And we made some hopefully good changes, including Eric going to Darryl's apartment and finding out about his X-Gene. This includes a ton of other stuff, too.
Dragon Emperor0: Next chapter will be the third and final part to this introductory 'Divine Comedy', and after that, the story proper will begin in earnest. And when it gets started–you guys are gonna love it. Trust me.
ThermalsniperN7: The conclusion of which will definitely throw you guys for a loop. See you in the finale!
