Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Spawn, Dc universe, and Marvel except for my Ocs. Some of the Ocs that I used in this story belong to the fans. Sean and Tom Kruger (Dragonlord0), Fury (Jordan), Plague (Antex-Legendary Zoroak), and Bermuda Triplets (Mary).
Chapter 18 Student Becomes Teacher
It was raining, Spawn was carrying flowers Ivy had given him as he walked towards the Detroit Cemetery to pay a visit to his younger sister. As he made his way to the grave site, he saw two people standing in front of Cyan's grave. He moves towards them to get a closer look at the both of them. And to his surprise it was his parents who came to visit Cyan. Terry turned his head and smiled at the hero that he had seen on the news for the past week.
"Hey." Spawn greeted.
"What brings you here?" Wanda asked.
"Well, I figured with your children's murderers gone, maybe now was a good time to pay my respects." Spawn said as they looked back at the graves.
"It still won't bring them back, but it's what they would've wanted anyway." Terry stated.
"I'm glad those monsters are off the streets for good." Wanda said.
Spawn looked over at Terry to see him looking at his own grave, letting a tear drop onto it. "Something wrong, sir?" he asked.
"It's just… it's all my fault. If I could've done something, they both would still be alive." Terry said tearfully as Wanda placed her hand on his shoulder to ease his pain.
That was when Alvin noticed something he never saw before. Even though he preferred his real father over Terry in his first life, he knew his stepfather truly loved him just as much as his real dad did, and he began to regret all the things that he had done. He was about to say something about their son being alive but he stopped himself. If he unmasked himself right now it would just open up some old wounds. He looked at the sky for moment and knew that it was time for him to leave.
"Sean's worried about you." he spoke up, causing Wanda and Terry to perk up at the mention of their son's friend.
"He worries too much." Terry said with a small smile.
"It's been three years since the incident. Your kids wouldn't want you to keep on grieving for them. They'd want you to earn something from this. There are probably other people who lost loved ones to freaks like the Joker and still haven't moved on even after he's dead. Do the same thing Sean's been doing: help others move on from things like this." Spawn insisted.
"I don't know if we can." Wanda said with uncertainty in her voice.
"Yes, you can. The Justice League has failed countless times to bring your kids' murderers to justice, and other people have suffered from this for too long until now. You can prove them wrong about their sense of morality and get the people to stand up for themselves against these injustices. Lastly, I promise if there's someone deciding to fill in for the Joker, I'll make sure they'll meet the same fate as he did. I promise you they'll never hurt you or anyone else ever again." Spawn vowed.
Wanda and Terry smiled at Spawn's resolve, now filled with the same emotion of finding others who suffered just as they did.
"Thank you. And I hope you keep on making the world safer." Wanda said as Terry escorted her back to the car as Spawn looked on.
"And thank you for everything." he muttered.
Wanda gasped as she turned around to see that Spawn was gone. That was when she got the strange feeling that he sounded familiar, but she shook it off and got in the car with Terry and drove off.
Later
'City's been quietly lately. Maybe tonight will be a quiet night.' Spawn thought to himself as he stood on the edge of a rooftop.
He was about to teleport back his mansion when he looked down towards the ground to see a woman in a hooded purple cloak running down the street, but the moment he saw her, he felt something strange coming off of her.
He continued to see the girl running until he saw she was about to enter a dark alleyway, and saw a trio of men staring at her intently that he narrowed his eyes and decided to act.
The girl continued to walk down the alley until something grabbed her from behind and put a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. She struggled to break free as the three thugs licked their lips perversely, with the leader ripping open her unitard and looking at her chest.
"Ohhh, we're going to have some fun right, boys?"
"You said it, boss."
They started laughing as they were to unbuckle their belts, but suddenly a chain wrapped itself around the leader's neck, which pulled him backwards until he was knocked down with a right hook to the face. Everyone turned their attention to see Spawn standing in the shadows as the boss started to get back up on his feet while rubbing his face.
"You know, when I killed the Joker and burned down Arkham, I expected you scum to go straight and run away to some paradise." Spawn said in a calm tone that masked his fury. "Instead, I find you here, preying on lost girls like a pack of hungry wolves. Now I'm going to have to make pelts out of every one of you to make my message clearer."
"We're not afraid of you, chickenshit!" the lead thug shouted before turning to his men. "Get that fucker!"
They all charged at him, but Spawn dodged their attacks and caught one of the goons' hands, applying pressure until the guy's hand snapped and his fingers pointed in every direction. The goon could only scream in pain as Spawn sucker punched him, sending him tumbling to the ground, and pathetically crawling for safety. Spawn simply walked up to him and caught him by the head and began to rapidly slam his head onto the concrete until his whole face turned to mush. The young girl looked on in shock as her savior beat the goon to death. Then the other goon grabbed a trash can and hit Spawn in the back.
Spawn slowly turned around with a glare to look at the goon who looked scared out of his mind at his failed attack. He clicked his tongue and shook his head while wagging his finger… before shoving said finger into the goon's right eye, causing the goon to scream in pain before Spawn grabbed and twisted his neck. The lead thug could do nothing but watch how his men were mercilessly beaten to death or torn apart. He grabbed the girl and pulled out a knife which he pointed at the poor girl's neck.
"Don't take another step or I'm going to gut this bitch!" he shouted in a shaky voice.
"Do that, and I'll gut you." Spawn retorted darkly as he slowly drew out his sword.
The thug moved his arm as he was getting ready to stab the young girl whose eyes open to show they've gone completely white. Then a dark aura appeared on the thug's arm which the young girl moved her arm as to break the thug's entire arm. He screamed out in pain as he let go of the young girl, but suddenly the girl's hand had another dark aura around it, which she then moved in a slice formation which cut the thug's head clean off.
Through it all, Spawn could only look in wide-eyed shock at this display of power, now knowing that the girl wasn't as defenseless as she seemed. Could she be a Hellspawn?
'If she were one, she would have some armor or weapon.' Alvin thought as he looked on at the girl.
She was panting as she looked at the dead body in front of her and she started to faint only for Spawn to rush to her and catch her before she could hit her head on the hard concrete. He looked over the young girl's body to see she was covered from head to toe with bandages.
"Gotta get you out of this hellhole." Spawn said silently.
He used his cape to teleport the both of them out of the scene. Leaving the corpses of the dead thugs for the local rats to scavenge until the police would eventually come to investigate, as evident by the sirens going off in the distance.
Later
Spawn arrived to his house and placed the young girl in one of the spare rooms of the house. He retracted his armor into his body and began to patch the girl up with Talia's help. Then they both placed her in bed where she could rest. Alvin looked back at the girl and let out a sigh.
"Now, we wait." Alvin said.
Talia nodded her head as they closed the door behind them before they went off to bed themselves.
The Next Day
It was morning, and Alvin was awake as he got out of bed with a yawn before he walked into the kitchen. He knew that this was going to be another long day for him. Lois looked at him and smiled as she got up and gave him a morning kiss as Alvin rubbed his eyes.
"Are you supposed to be at work?" Alvin asked.
"It's my day off. And I really needed it." Lois said.
He sat down and saw the woman that he had saved last night. He was relieved to see that the woman had made a full recovery as Diana handed her a plate of pancakes and eggs. She looked at Alvin for a moment before she kissed him on the cheek as she sat down next to him. The young girl took a moment to look at the occupants of the household, more specifically Alvin. She sensed some sort of dark aura radiating from within him, but she knew he meant well since he saved her and nursed her back to health like the old man who had found her first did.
"So, young sister, do you have a home?" Diana asked, prompting Alvin to elbow her for being rude. The young woman just sighed with a sad look on her face.
"I don't have one. It's gone." she answered.
"Well, you can stay here with us. We got plenty of rooms." Alvin offered. "Got a name?"
The woman replied with a grateful smile, "Rachel. Rachel Roth."
"Good name. I'm Alvin. It's nice to meet you." Alvin greeted. "Anyway, what was that back there? How'd you do that?"
"I was born with these powers. It's more complicated than you think." Rachel told him.
She stared hard at the young man who saved her as she tried to get a better reading on his emotions… and found some deep scars inside of him, born from unfathomable despair and anger, which she found were the result of a happy life abruptly taken from him and his younger sister by a cackling pale man sporting a wicked grin. She could tell… he had suffered immensely. Possibly even more than herself.
But all those feelings were swept away by a small ray of cheerfulness as Alvin laughed off Diana's scolding him for elbowing her, causing a small smile to form on Rachel's face.
"Well, I better be heading out." Alvin said.
"Right now? Can't you eat before you go?" Lois asked.
"Sorry babe, but I got to go check with someone about something." Alvin said.
He kissed her on her head and kissed the rest of the girls except for Talia before running out the door, leaving Rachel alone with the other girls. She felt a little bit uneasy about being alone with a lot of people.
Meanwhile at the Church
After arriving at the church, Alvin noticed that Cagliostro was sitting outside with his book. He looked at Alvin for a moment and smiled at him before letting Alvin inside. Alvin sat down at the table and Cagliostro went to get them both some tea. It took about three minutes until Cagliostro came back with the two cups of tea, which he placed in front of Alvin and himself before they both took a sip.
"So, what do I owe this visit?" Cagliostro said.
"I just thought I'd stop by and have a little chat." Alvin said before noticing that something was off about Cagliostro, and he could sense he was worried about something.
"Everything alright, old man?" Alvin asked.
"Hm? Oh yes, everything is fine." Cagliostro said.
"Wanna talk about it?" Alvin suggested.
Cagliostro just sighed, knowing that Alvin isn't the type of person to let things rest.
"Yesterday I was doing my usual chores when a girl crashed in the middle of the street, right next to the church here." Cagliostro explained.
"Crashed?" Alvin asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, almost as if she came from the sky like a meteor. I took her in and waited for her to recover. One minute she was on the bed, and suddenly she disappeared." Cagliostro continued.
Alvin began putting the pieces together once he figured out who Cagliostro was referring to.
"Did she happen to have grey skin, a purple cloak, and was covered in bandages?" he asked rhetorically, making Cagliostro look at him in surprise, which then turned into relief as he knew the girl was safe and sound. "Yeah, I found her in an alleyway. Her name's Rachel Roth. She was being hounded by some thugs who thought it was a good idea to keep prowling the streets even with a murderous vigilante on the loose, but I showed them how wrong they were. But here's the strange part. When the leader held his knife at her neck, she twisted the guy's arm with some kind of black aura and then cut his head clean off."
Up until this point, Cagliostro had been paying attention to how Alvin had saved the girl, when he suddenly looked surprised to hear that the girl had some unique powers of her own. He knew he should look upon this later.
It was Alvin's turn to tell his story on things that had been happening to him lately. He first told Cagliostro of his meeting with the League of Shadows, then he went on to tell him of his meeting with Hellboy and his team, which was followed by another demon invasion caused by the arrival of the Hellspawn Bermuda.
Unbeknownst to Alvin, Cagliostro had heard of the League of Shadows beforehand, along with their undead master, but kept his knowledge of the organization silent. And this Hellboy from what Alvin described sounded similar to the horned demon he saw in Lady Death's vision.
What he also knew was that his student's gaining new allies had allowed him to grow into his powers, and that was when he knew that there isn't more that he can teach him about them.
"That was quite a busy day you had." Cagliostro commented as he took another sip of his tea.
"Yeah, and it isn't going to stop. There's got to be more of them out there. Trust me, I'm going to need more help if I want to stop this." Alvin said.
Cagliostro chuckled at the statement but he knew that sooner or later the truth will come out. He placed his cup of tea down on the table and looked at Alvin with a serious look on his face.
"Anyway, is there a way for me to help Rachel with her powers?" Alvin asked.
"I think that it's time for you to continue your training on your own." Cagliostro answered.
"Who's that?" Alvin asked.
"Your allies are growing in numbers, and so have your powers, and now it seems you have what it takes to be a teacher if you find another Hellspawn in need of your guidance. It's time for the student to become the teacher." Cagliostro said.
"Why are you talking like you're getting ready to die?" Alvin asked with concern. Cagliostro just smiled to ease Alvin's worries.
"That's something that I would like you to hear from me." Cagliostro said jokingly.
Alvin got up and walked out of the church while Cagliostro watched him leave. As soon as he was gone, he then got up and walked towards a hidden room where he began making the ancient Hellspawn communication circle. He used a match to set it on fire, which began to rise up as a dark figure appeared until it transformed into Lady Death. Cagliostro bowed to her while at the same time sensing that something was amiss.
"Lady Death, is everything alright?" Cagliostro asked.
"My confrontation with the leader of the Legion didn't go exactly as planned. He was too strong, but he let me go for some strange reason. It seems he is saving his energy for someone else." Lady Death said.
"I need more answers. The Hellspawn Bermuda have found the next Hand of Armageddon. In the form of this Hellboy my pupil had told me about who helped repel them." Cagliostro said, causing Lady Death's eyes to widen at the mention of the Hellspawn Bermuda, and also at the mention of Hellboy, but she knew him by another name.
"Anung un-Rama." Lady Death whispered, causing Cagliostro to look at her in confusion. "The creature that helped Spawn fend off the Hellspawn Bermuda was Anung un-Rama, the one called Hellboy."
Cagliostro's eyes widened as soon as Lady Death revealed her knowledge of Hellboy and his true name, and knew it was time to learn how much she knew about him, "How do you know of him? What part does he play in all of this?"
Lady Death answered by raising her hands and sending flames into Cagliostro's head. He first began to see an island in the middle of the sea, where a thunderstorm was raging as rain fell heavily from the night sky.
"October 9th, 1944, on an island off the coast of Scotland, and deep within the ruins of Trondham Abbey. World War II was coming to an end. Germany was all but defeated. But the Nazis had one last trick up their sleeve." Lady Death began.
The next image showed some ruins somewhere on the island, where a group of armed men, the Nazis no doubt, as evident by many of the flags with a winged serpent with their logo on it, gathered around a large machine in the center of the ruins, with two figures among the audience being a blonde woman and a man wearing a gas mask and a black trench coat, and standing in front of the machine was a bald, bearded man in a black robe wearing a gauntlet-like device on his right arm that was connected to the machine through a long cable.
"They turned to the infamous mystic Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin to invoke an ancient occult ritual that would awaken the Ogdru Jahad, the Seven Gods of Chaos, and turn the tide of war back in Germany's favor. To achieve this, they created a machine that would open a portal to the coldest regions of space, where the Ogdru Jahad drift afloat in their crystal prison, waiting to be released."
"Ragnarok… anung… la… anung…!" Rasputin chanted, his voice straining before the gauntlet sent electric currents and a large pulse through the ground, which activated the machine as its ring-like mechanisms began to spin wildly as Rasputin continued to send currents through the machine until a blue light exploded into a huge portal that led to space.
What Cagliostro saw next nearly stopped his heart. It was a large rock with seven massive crystals, and within them were large tentacled creatures with several eyes and small crustacean-like arms, growling loudly as they were disturbed from their slumber.
They were no doubt the Ogdru Jahad, the Seven Gods of Chaos.
"But their plans did not go unnoticed by their enemy. For the Allies knew the Nazis would not back down so easily."
"Granate! Granate!" Cagliostro heard one of the scientists scream in their German language, which he knew it meant-
BOOM!
-grenade. Which caused an explosion that sent the scientist flying and crashing behind the portal, which dissolved his entire body along with his skeleton until there was nothing left, while the pillar the grenades exploded next to toppled over another scientist and crushed him and the generator he was controlling, before another large group of armed men, along with an unarmed young man, came out of their hiding places and opened fire on the Nazis, who began returning fire as they scrambled to both kill their enemies and to protect the portal.
"They sent a small team guided by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, advisor and paranormal investigator to President Roosevelt, to stop the Nazis from unleashing this evil."
Cagliostro continued to watch the carnage unfold, taking notice of the masked man gunning down several Allies with only a single shot from his Luger for each one, only shooting the Professor in the right leg. When he ran out of bullets, the man spread his arms out, and a pair of blades popped out from under his sleeves on top of his wrists, which he then used to stab and slash a few incoming Allies.
Cagliostro watched as Broom slowly crawled towards a dead soldier who had a grenade belt around him, while the masked man slowly advanced on him with his blades out, ready to finish the Professor off as he took a grenade from the belt, until another soldier shot four bullets at the masked man, who looked unfazed as he casually inspected where the bullets hit him.
"Though a few were lost, the Allies prevailed." Lady Death continued.
Cagliostro watched as Broom used the distraction to toss the grenade into the machine, right under the ring-like mechanisms that kept the malfunctioning portal open, prompting the masked man to retract his blades and run over and reach for it, but the mechanisms spun so wildly that they shredded his fingers from his left hand.
The soldier that shot the masked man jumped on top of Broom to cover both of them as the grenade finally exploded, blowing the masked man's entire hand off and sending him flying and crashing into a column. The blast also sent pieces of the machine flying everywhere, while a long metal rod was flung straight into the masked man's chest and out through the column, pinning the man against it.
The malfunctioning portal began sucking in globs of Rasputin's flesh, and all the mystic could do was scream as he too was dragged into the closing portal, his screams fading as the portal finally shrunk and faded into nothing.
Cagliostro took a moment to observe the damage around the ruins: several soldiers, Allies and Nazis alike dead, pieces of the damaged machine lying everywhere, and the woman and the masked man, who had somehow slipped from the rod, nowhere to be seen. He knew for one thing that the Allies had won.
"However, the portal had been open for too long, but instead of the Ogdru Jahad, the Nazis brought forth something else." Lady Death continued.
The image changed to inside one of the temples, where Broom and another soldier took shelter from the rain as the former was tending to his wounded leg, when they heard a noise coming from the other side of the room. The soldier shone his flashlight at the source of the sound and quickly shot a few rounds from his gun, but the creature was too fast and quickly leapt onto a small ledge on the wall, and Cagliostro's eyes widened in surprise at what it was.
A small red creature with tiny horns on its forehead and a stone gauntlet on its right hand that squeaked in fear as it backed up against the wall. The shots attracted the other soldiers to their location, and they all stared in awe at the small creature.
However, Broom took out a chocolate bar, removed the wrapper and slowly put it within the tiny creature's reach, and the infant slowly reached out for the candy before quickly snatching it and devouring it before looking back with a smile, and Cagliostro smiled as the young Professor earned the small creature's trust.
Finally, the image changed to the morning after, where the soldiers and Broom, along with the infant demon, gathered in front of the camera before the soldier holding it took their picture, and the image finally faded as Cagliostro found himself and Lady Death back in the room in the church.
"Over the next sixty years, Hellboy was raised by the Professor and was taught honor, kindness, and a sense of right, and was later trained to become the greatest paranormal investigator for a special division of the American government known as the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense." Lady Death continued as her expression darkened. "However, there still remains a darkness in his soul that could overwhelm him if given the chance, but he refuses to allow that to happen. And now that Spawn's alliance with Hellboy is sealed, the Legion may be one step away from starting Armageddon."
Cagliostro stood silent as he took this all in. He knew that Hellboy is trying hard to avoid his destiny as Anung un-Rama, but he also knew that the Legion would use this to their advantage if given the chance.
"Still, there's no doubt the Hellspawn Bermuda have already informed the Legion about this. Speaking of which, have you gotten anything on their plans?" he asked.
"I do not know of their plans yet. Perhaps they are planning to start the war with Heaven sooner than expected." Lady Death said. "What I do know is this: Spawn and Hellboy must protect everything they know from the Legion at all costs, and combine their strengths to destroy this evil."
Cagliostro looked at her for a moment as he knew he couldn't find the right answers that he needed. The flame died down and Cagliostro stood alone once again in the hidden chamber.
At Alvin's house
Alvin entered the mansion, he saw that Rachel was getting along with the other girls, smiling as he saw her making new friends so quickly. He was about to say something until Bud and Lou tackled him to the ground and licked him rapidly.
"Ah! Boys, get off!" Alvin said in amusement.
Rachel looked over at the hyenas giving him love and smiled as she watched as Alvin struggled to get the animals off of him, but couldn't since they bared their weight down on him. He knew only one thing can keep them entertained: a bone that he pulled out and tossed across the room. The hyenas heard and ran towards it, playing a game of tug-of-war with the bone as Alvin wiped their saliva off his face.
"Don't know how Harley does it, but they seem to like their new daddy a lot." Alvin commented.
"I see that." Rachel agreed.
"Anyway, could you follow me to the gym room?" Alvin asked.
Rachel looked at him with a confused look on her face, but she complied and followed Alvin to the gym room where Harley was having a good work out. She was wearing a tank top and short shorts, and was running on a treadmill when she looked over at Alvin and Rachel entering the room. She squealed as she saw Alvin return, stopping the machine so she could run over to Alvin and jump into his arms before kissing him.
"Hey Puddin', ya here for a workout with me?" Harley asked with a wink.
"Sorry babe, but I got to teach Rachel here something else." Alvin said.
Rachel looked on confused at what he meant. Harley looked at her and smiled before she kissed Alvin on the cheek, then did the same to Rachel, much to the grey skinned girl's surprise before the blonde exited the gym, leaving Alvin and Rachel by themselves.
"Harley is… bright." Rachel said.
"Yeah, even after she's given up her old criminal life, she still has this shine to her that you'll find amusing." Alvin said. "You know, you're lucky I found you before the Justice League did."
"You mean the group of superpowered people the others told me about? Diana and Kara said they were part of that group. What do you think is bad about them finding me first?" Rachel asked.
"Believe me. If the League had found you first, they would have trained you to hold yourself back and let people die and causing many to hate and blame you for it. They go by this code that stops them from killing criminals, more specifically the more deranged ones, which only lets them keep breaking out of jail even after they've killed so many innocents while they keep believing that they're trying to be better than the criminals they fight. Do you really think that it's okay to sacrifice human lives, just to maintain some lofty 'No killing' code?" he asked her, earning a questioning look from her.
"Lemme break it down for you, between the loss of human life, and property damage left in the wake of supervillains, many of which use tech or powers to cause mass destruction, does it really help anyone to put these kinds of crooks behind bars? Would it not, in the long run of things, save far more lives to snuff out criminals like murderers, rapists, human traffickers or anyone else like that?" he asked her, making her consider his words for a few moments.
"I think I get it, but how did you come to believe in this?" she asked him.
"There's a few people I can name that drove me into becoming a demonic vigilante that hunts and kills criminals. My first three kills? Jason Wynn, Jessica Priest, and the Joker. Lemme tell you a little something about them. Wynn was the head of a government agency that gathered intel on any terrorist groups and neutralized them, but decided to use his power to smuggle weapons to said enemies instead. My dad, Al Simmons, worked for him, though he didn't know about it back then. Priest was Wynn's right-hand bitch who carried out hits on people he didn't like, and she left a trail of widows, widowers, orphans, or none at all without any guilt. Last but not least, the Joker. Every murder he committed, he did it with a smile on his face, all because he thought it was funny in the end. Harley worked for him, and he treated her as nothing more than some toy that was constantly broken and put back together, until I opened her eyes to see what kind of a monster he truly was."
As Alvin described these people, Rachel could sense deep hatred coming off of him, guessing that these people had something to do with his suffering.
"Anyway, my dad was sent to raid a biochemical weapons plant in Korea, but it was really a trap set by Wynn and Priest, who set the place on fire and blew it up with him still in it, all because my dad was becoming too soft, and also because he feared he would be onto him. The news spread, and I knew Wynn was behind it, because who else would have the knowledge to be able to kill a skilled soldier? Unfortunately, he knew not everyone would buy his story of my dad being reckless and causing his own death along with millions. So, you want to know what he did? He hired the Joker to kill anyone who knew of his involvement in my dad's murder. My sister and I were first on his list."
Rachel could sense the guilt growing inside of him, as she knew that he couldn't stop what happened to him and his sister in time.
"You know what Batman and his crew did after that? Locked the Joker away… again. The Joker should have been sent to the gas chambers or the chair for that. Instead, he was sent to Arkham Asylum, where the guards were dirty and the staff were ignorant, which let psychos like him escape every month or so. And Wynn used his influence over the agency to clear the charges against him for what happened in Korea, and more people continued to suffer for three years. Where's the justice in that? Did my father, my sister or all the innocents Wynn, Priest, or the Joker's killed over the years get their justice? I don't think so, not while they lived and breathed. That's why I returned from the grave and butchered them all, to bring true peace to the many innocents they've slaughtered, something the League keeps on failing at." Alvin ranted on for a short while, his words deeply moving Rachel and making her think on the logistics of imprisoning versus killing criminals. And… he made a lot of sense actually. But something still troubled her.
"But… why keep going after killing your father and sister's killers?" she asked him, staring deeply into his eyes.
"I know for a fact that there are other psychopaths being thrown back on the streets to cause more suffering like how Wynn, Priest and the Joker did, either because they have the best lawyers or are bribing the local judges into releasing them. So, I made it my goal to clean this world of filth like them, so that the people they've hurt get the closure they've been wanting for so long." He replied. Rachel could only nod in understanding, sensing a certain kinship to him and so far, she could sense that he had been completely honest with her.
"That's why I want to teach you how to protect others from what almost happened to you last night, then teach them to protect themselves, and finally to protect yourself from these kinds of situations again. People might question our methods, but they'll learn that they'll be much safer under our watch." Alvin finished and Rachel pondered his words for a moment.
"But how am I supposed to know right and wrong in this war you're fighting in?" Rachel asked.
"If we're going to take down all crime our way, there's got to be rules on how to take down the worst of the worst only. Murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists, psychos, and sadists should be tortured and then torn apart in the worst ways imaginable. Abusers should be crippled, traumatized and jailed for life begging for death every night in their hospital beds or cells. The only ones who deserve to walk away with a slap on the wrist are just pickpockets or thieves who are trying to help their families." Alvin listed off. "The Justice League has always preached that nobody has the right to decide who lives and who dies, yet they decide to let mass murderers live and cause more suffering and try to force the very people they've protected to follow their rules. But not us. We get to decide who deserves a second chance and who deserves to die. I've watched people suffer for too long without justice. Never again. Right now, I need you to give me your answer. Are you ready to use your gifts to help others so they won't be defenseless?"
Rachel stood silent as she thought about Alvin's offer. She could use her powers to help innocents like how Alvin had saved her last night. Plus, if Alvin wasn't there that night, she would've been scarred for life, and she would've felt firsthand how innocent people suffer from that type of ordeal. So, she finally gave her answer, "Yes."
"You won't regret this, Rachel." Alvin said with a smile as he walked towards the exit.
"So…when do we start?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow as she saw Alvin suddenly stopping in his tracks, and at the same time she could sense anticipation in his emotions.
"Lesson 1." Alvin said as his eyes glowed green. "Expect the unexpected."
Without warning, he summoned his chains and swung them at Rachel, but before they could reach her, she shot her hands out as the auras appeared, causing the chains to turn black and stop in mid-air.
"Aw, damn." Alvin said in a mild tone, knowing what was coming next.
Rachel spun her arms around, Alvin's chains imitating her motions as they wrapped around Alvin, who struggled to get out of his binds before Rachel, causing the chains to unwrap him and spin him across the room until he fell to the ground dizzy.
Alvin regained his footing and summoned his cape, wrapping it around himself and teleporting behind Rachel to dropkick her, but it seemed that Rachel sensed him coming and a black hole appeared behind her, causing Alvin to jump into it as Rachel opened up another hole from the floor and Alvin flew out of it.
He only had time to see Rachel use her powers to levitate all the barbells around her, and he could only look with a defeated expression.
"Azareth Metreon Zinthos!" she shouted as she sent all the barbells flying towards him, finally pinning him down. Rachel visibly cringed, hoping she didn't do much harm to Alvin.
"Yup. You're ready." Alvin groaned as he lifted the barbells and slowly got up, while Rachel smiled at having passed her first lesson, while also relieved that he wasn't hurt.
"So… what's the next step?" she asked.
Alvin was about to answer when his phone rang, which he pulled out of his pocket to see Sean calling him, and he quickly answered, "Hello?"
"Al, there's a bank just three blocks from Global Tech in the middle of being robbed. Crooks are using heavy artillery, several hostages are trapped inside, and the cops need more backup. Think you can get there?" Sean asked in a rushed tone.
"Yeah, I'll get there ASAP. Oh, and make sure you turn on your TV. I'm about to introduce some special company today." Alvin said.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked in confusion, and Alvin silently smiled at Rachel in response.
The Bank, Metropolis
The quick police cars flipped off their sirens and lights as they gracefully stopped in front of the large bank. Eight police officers showed up in total to scope the banks, as the group slowly walked up the bank's large marble steps.
A strong cop kicked the door open as the group rushed in, guns out in defense as the whole bank had scared civilians on the ground at the mercy of over ten masked gunmen.
"Hahaha! Look, it's the police!" A mercenary holding a rocket propelled gun cackled with a cocky demeanor as he aimed his missile straight at the cops who had just entered into the bank through its entrance.
"Give 'em hell, Randy!" the mercenary in front of him shouted with glee.
The only response he got was a weapon dropping to the ground.
Confused, the mercenary looked to where Randy was, only finding the gun laying on the floor.
"Dammit, Randy! Why you got to bail on our big payday?!" The mercenary complained as he picked up the gun.
And soon his hand was caught by a loop of chains shooting from the ceiling, and he didn't have time to look up as he was dragged into the air screaming.
This of course brought everyone's attention as they looked up to the screaming thug, he was suddenly dropped down from the ceiling by the chains, letting him fall to the floor with a loud thud.
"Hurry up! We got to bail!" A mercenary with a rifle shouted as he aimed his weapon at the police officers and began to fire off several rounds. The officers took cover as the loud bursts caused civilians outside to scream and run in terror.
A half a minute later the man smirked and stopped firing his weapon, "How many of ya survived that?!" As soon as those words left the criminal's mouth, another chain shot from a darker corner of the room as it wrapped around the man's gun and pulled it away, the mercenary slightly panicking at his weapon stolen, "W-What the fuck was that?!"
A mercenary holding a pistol looked around with wide eyes as he guarded several bankers, "Aw shit, not HIM again!"
The questions of the confused mercenaries and cops about what was going on were quickly answered, as a dark figure jumped from out of a dark corner in the ceiling, and landed in between the cops and mercenaries.
"Yup. You guessed it." Spawn introduced.
"You aren't got no chance against us, Spawn!" one of the thugs said arrogantly. "There's ten of us left and one of you!"
"Up until this point, I was used to the whole lone wolf act. But then I thought I needed to start… cooperating." Spawn said, just as a black hole opened from the floor next to him, as Rachel emerged from it in her purple cloak.
"Who the hell is this bitch?!" A mercenary shouted out as he aimed his machine gun at the mystery woman.
"Yeah, we're still thinking of names. Trust me, Magic Purple Cloaked Grey-Skinned Girl takes way too long." Spawn said mildly, and Rachel cracked a small smile as she sensed humor from within him.
They didn't have any more time for more chatter as the thugs fired their guns at the two, but Spawn used his cape to shield them from the incoming hail of bullets, while Rachel's eyes turned white as the auras formed on her hands before she raised them, causing the guns of two thugs to turn black before they were snatched from their hands by the dark force.
"Don't know you, don't like you." Rachel said darkly before aiming her hands at the two thugs, and two black auras lifted them from the ground and bashed them together before dropping them.
Another goon charged at her from behind, but a black hole opened up and he ran straight into it, as Rachel opened up another portal from the ceiling, causing the thug to fall out of it screaming before landing on the ground hard.
The other thugs opened fire on Spawn, but nothing seemed to faze him as he chained three of them and spun them around before throwing them across the room.
A couple of shots from behind prompted Spawn to turn around to see one of the mercenaries on the second floor aiming his gun at him with a panicked expression as the Hellspawn looked up at him with a glare before shooting out two chains, which sprouted four gripping claws that latched onto the man's shoulders, causing him to scream out in pain.
"Get over here!" Spawn shouted as the chains pulled the screaming thug towards him before he punched his lights out.
He dodged an over the head attack from another attacker with a stun baton and quickly grabbed the wrist holding the weapon and shoved it into the man's chest, making him scream as the volts of electricity coursed through him before Spawn tossed him out into the open.
The two remaining crooks charged at Rachel from both sides, only for her to spread her arms out and causing a huge black bird-like aura to erupt and spread its wings with a loud caw, sending them flying into the wall and knocking them out.
Spawn stood in shock at Rachel's power, almost as if the way she had fought was like a crow.
No… a raven.
The raven-like aura disappeared as Rachel panted from exhaustion. She took a moment to see the stunned expressions on the hostages before turning to Spawn, who was equally stunned.
"So… how was that?" Rachel asked sheepishly, breaking Spawn out of his shock.
"Badass." he breathed out, earning him a smile from Rachel. Then they heard clapping coming from the freed hostages and the cops, with one of them, a blonde woman wearing a brown coat over a black shirt, walking up to them.
"Can we help you?" Spawn asked.
"Maggie Sawyer. Head of Special Crimes Unit." the woman introduced as she focused her attention on Spawn. "There was an arrest warrant for you a week ago, but it just expired now that you're working with the guys at Global Tech."
"Yeah, same can't be said for the JL." Spawn said, knowing that this fiasco would attract the Justice League.
Sawyer turned her attention to Rachel, "And who's this? Sidekick? Girlfriend? Both?"
Rachel blushed at the mention of being Spawn's girlfriend, and she opened her mouth to say something, but caught herself as she still hadn't come up with a name for her alter-ego. Luckily, Spawn answered for her.
"Raven." he said. "Her name's Raven. She's new to this, but she did good today."
"Raven… I like it." Rachel said with a smile, taking a liking to her new name.
And with that, Spawn wrapped his cape around Raven and himself before they vanished from the scene as the police began to check up on the hostages and collect the thugs.
Meanwhile, Spawn and Raven watched the cops take away the thugs from a rooftop, as the former looked over to the latter.
'You were right, Cagliostro. The student has become the teacher.' he thought before he wrapped his cape around both himself and Raven once more before teleporting both of them out of there.