Chapter 46: Denying Your Demons Part 6
Klarion's eyes locked onto Nabu's glowing hands, then dropped to his paralyzed familiar. Panic broke through his smirk. "Don't you dare!"
"Let's make a deal." Ghostfreak tightened his grip on the tiger.
"I won't bargain with a Lord of Chaos," Nabu said.
"You want him gone. He wants his cat." Ghostfreak squeezed Teekl. The tiger yowled, tail twitching against his spectral grip. "We can work something out."
Nabu's helmeted head turned. Ben waited, expecting refusal. Then: "Proceed."
Ben looked back at Klarion. He'd negotiated with Highbreed, Incurseans, stubborn Plumbers. This couldn't be worse, right? "You leave Earth and every being on it alone for an agreed timeframe. Once we settle terms, you get Teekl back. I'm thinking one thousand years." Maybe a bit of Belicus rubbed off on him. Setting the Chaos Lord on fire was also tempting during his next debate in Alien X.
Klarion's arms shot up. "Are you kidding me?! What kind of rip-off... I'm not taking another boring millennium-long deal like last time!"
Both Nabu and Ben were surprised there even was a 'last time.'
"Meow?!" Teekl's expression went flat. 'I'm not worth a thousand years?'
Klarion spun toward her, hands waving. "No! That's not what I meant! I'm saying it'll be boring for us just sitting around waiting to have fun for another thousand years..."
'You don't think we can have fun on our own?'
Klarion facepalmed hard enough that the slap echoed. "Dammit, Teekl... That's not..."
Ghostfreak watched the exchange with amusement. Even ancient chaos entities had mundane problems. "Feel free to counteroffer."
Klarion refocused, arms crossed. "A day."
Nabu stepped closer. "A year."
"A week."
"Ten months."
"Two weeks."
Ghostfreak held the tiger out toward Nabu. "One month. Final offer. Otherwise Goldie here gives him the PETA treatment." It was a bluff, but he hoped that it would work out.
Klarion counted on his fingers. He sighed. "Fine. One month."
"Acceptable," Nabu said.
"Now give her here." Klarion reached out.
"Shake on it first."
Nabu stiffened. "Pacts with Chaos need not require..."
Ghostfreak cut in. "Do you want to keep fighting him in the endless battle of Chaos versus Order, or do you want him gone for now so we can deal with the demon in Central City?"
Three seconds passed. Nabu lowered his hands and extended one gauntlet. "Accept the terms, Witch Boy."
Klarion rolled his eyes. "You're no fun at all." He grabbed the offered hand.
Red and gold energy exploded from their grip.
Nabu released the handshake and stepped back. Both wiped their hands on their pants, as if disgusted by merely touching the other.
Ghostfreak tossed Teekl forward. The tiger's body shrank mid-flight, reverting to normal cat size. She twisted and landed in Klarion's arms.
The Chaos Lord held her close, then looked up with a grin. "See you in thirty days." He and Teekl dissolved into black and red wisps, scattered to the wind.
Ghostfreak floated toward Doctor Fate, who was clearly not Kent. "Kid Flash?" Ghostfreak's single eye narrowed. "You in there?"
Inside the helmet's mindscape, Wally screamed a response.
"The child is safe," Nabu said. "His mind remains intact within the Helmet."
Ark had dealt with Zs'Skayr enough to recognize possession. "Good to know…" He looked past the sorcerer. Kent Nelson lay crumpled and unmoving. Ghostfreak phased through, turned back to human, and knelt beside him, pressing two fingers to the old man's neck. "Phew. He's breathing."
Nabu approached. "Allow me. It seems to not yet be Kent Nelson's time." He placed a glowing hand on Kent's chest.
Golden light enveloped the old man. Kent gasped, eyes flying open. He coughed once, then blinked at the sky. "How long was I out?"
"Long enough for the battle to be over." Nabu helped him sit up.
Kent's hand went to his chest, feeling for damage that was gone. "I won't lie. I thought that was the end of the line. That I'd finally be reunited with Inza."
Nabu shrugged. "It seems Fate had other plans."
#
Wally cheered, pumping his fists in the cramped golden void. The fight was done. Klarion was gone, Kent was okay, and any second now Nabu would take off the helmet and...
He waited.
And waited.
"Uhh... it's over, right?" His voice echoed. "Why isn't Nabu taking off the helmet?" Worry crept in. "Hello? Anyone?"
#
Ark turned toward the armored figure. "Okay, Nabu, before you let Kid Flash go, we still need to handle Kadabra and deal with a demon."
Nabu tilted his head but said nothing about releasing his host. "I am aware of the false sorcerer. But a demon?"
"Yeah. Name's Karkull, holed up behind a magical barrier in downtown Central City doing who-knows-what to the civilians trapped inside."
Kent's expression darkened. "I sealed that creature myself. Nearly a century ago."
Ben thought for a second. "Wait. How old are you again?"
Kent crossed his arms. "Older than you think. As Doctor Fate, my body aged much slower over time."
"I see. Anyways, that matches what we found in Zatara's reference books. So, can you help us?"
Nabu nodded. "It is my duty as a Lord of Order to contain such demonic entities."
Ben reached out and patted the armored shoulder. "Don't worry, Kid. We're almost done for today. Hang in there a little longer."
Kent stood to the side with a pensive look. He watched the Lord of Order inhabit another young body. His stomach twisted. Now that Nabu had a host again, it would be hard to convince him to relinquish control.
Ark nodded. "The rest of the Team is still down in the artifact vault, dealing with Kadabra."
Nabu raised one hand. Magic gathered in his palm. "I shall render assistance."
Artifact Vault - Moments Earlier
The Team cried out as Kadabra's lightning cages pumped voltage through the energy bars. The futuristic villain raised his wand, preparing to deliver what he clearly considered a witty one-liner.
The Ankh of Order blazed into existence directly behind him, ten feet tall and burning with golden fire.
Kadabra's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?!"
His futuristic suit disintegrated, leaving him shivering in his boxer shorts. The wand tore itself from his grip and clattered against the far wall. "Wha?!" He crossed his arms over his bare chest.
The lightning cages flickered and died.
Superboy smashed through the weakened energy bars and stood to his full height. "Show's over." His fist connected with Kadabra's jaw. The villain's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
Stone manacles erupted from the floor, binding his wrists and ankles. Golden light swallowed the room, and the Team, along with their prisoner, teleported to the rooftop.
The golden light faded, and Team blinked against the brightness.
Superboy dropped the unconscious magician. Kadabra's head lolled to one side.
Artemis' eyes landed on a figure in blue and gold. She froze as she saw Kent, Ark, and a figure wearing the Helmet. By the logic of deduction, it could only be one person wearing the helmet. 'Wally?' "You actually put it on?"
The figure turned his head to her. "The boy you know is safe."
Artemis may have her disagreements with Kid Flash, but this was weird.
"Kid Flash's soul isn't controlling his body anymore." Kent stepped forward with his hand outstretched. He set it on Wally's shoulder. "He's inside the Helmet now."
"Then who is controlling his body?" M'gann hovered slightly off the ground.
"Nabu." Kent gave the shoulder a light pat. "The true Doctor Fate. One of the Lords of Order I told you about earlier. This is why I hadn't put on the helmet in sixty-five years."
Inside the Helmet of Fate
Wally pounded his fists against the golden interior screen.
"What?! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He kicked the wall. "I'm a terrible host! I'll be annoying! I'll hum pop songs in here 24/7! I swear it! PLEASE!" Wally screamed to no avail.
Rooftop of the Tower of Fate
Ben clapped his hands once. "Alright, quick debrief. Klarion agreed to a one-month non-aggression pact."
"How'd you manage that?" Superboy asked.
"He wanted his cat back more than he wanted to fight."
Kaldur stepped forward. "And I see that Fate took care of Abra Kadabra."
"Yup." Ben nodded toward the unconscious figure still bound in stone manacles. "Thanks for that."
Nabu turned his helmeted head toward the Team. "Your contribution was significant in my return."
"In any case, we're not done." Ben's voice cut through. "There's still a demon in with civilians trapped. Nabu needs to handle that. Kent and I are going with him." He met each of their eyes. "You've been through enough today. Time to head home."
M'gann frowned. "What about Wally?"
"Once we stop the demon, he'll be back to his normal confrontative self."
Kent's mouth tightened.
Nabu raised one hand. Golden light gathered around the Team. "I shall return you to your base. Stand ready."
"Wait..." Artemis reached toward the helmeted figure.
When it cleared, the Team stood in Mount Justice's mission room. Abra Kadabra's unconscious form hit the containment area floor a second later.
On the tower's rooftop, the three remained. "The demon grows stronger with each passing moment," Nabu said. "We must act immediately."
Ark nodded. "Agreed."
Kent grabbed his cane. "Then let's move."
The Ankh of Order blazed beneath their feet, and golden light consumed the rooftop.
Central City - Inside the Barrier
The transit station reeked of sulfur.
Karkull stood at the center of the platform as he chanted. Roughly forty civilians huddled at the edges. Some pressed against the barrier, searching for weakness. Others just sat.
A middle-aged man in a torn business suit paced the perimeter. "We've searched everywhere. Vents, maintenance tunnels. There's no way out." He glanced back. "Is he still..."
A woman in jogging clothes sat against a pillar, arms wrapped around her knees. "Like a house guest."
Karkull's chanting crescendoed. His arms thrust downward.
The concrete platform split apart. Tiles and foundation exploded outward. Hellfire erupted from the widening chasm.
The civilians scrambled back.
"Holy..." the businessman started.
"Bad choice of words!" The woman pulled him away.
The hole kept growing. Thirty feet across with no bottom visible.
Then the demons came. They poured from the abyss, semi-transparent and shadow-black.
One broke from the swarm and dove toward a young man near the ticket machines. The demon phased into him.
The man's scream was immediate. He clutched his head, fingers digging into his scalp. "GET IT OUT! GET..." His jaw dislocated with a wet pop. His clothes tore as his body changed. Skin darkening to black, muscles bulging, tentacles erupting from his spine. Within seconds, another demon stood there, similar to Karkull.
More demons poured out.
A security guard tried to run but wasn't fast enough. Her screams echoed as the transformation took her.
An elderly man swung his cane at an approaching shadow. The weapon passed through. The demon dove into his chest and he collapsed.
"RUN!" The businessman grabbed the jogger and pulled her toward the far end. Others followed. More demons gave chase.
The possessed regrouped around Karkull. Already a dozen with more being created every few seconds.
Central City - Outside the Barrier
The station was shielded by sickly green hell-magic.
Since last time, more Police had established a perimeter blocks back.
Flash stood at the closest approach point. He'd tried phasing through twice. Both times the barrier threw him back hard.
Suddenly, a golden ankh manifested ten feet away.
Flash's head snapped around. "Finally!"
Ark, Kent, and Doctor Fate stepped out.
Flash took note of the green eyes behind the helmet now that Kent was in view. Flash's eyes widened. "Kid's in there?"
"Indeed," Nabu said.
"We'll deal with it after," Kent said.
Flash processed that and nodded. "Right. Demon first." He gestured at the barrier.
Nabu approached, examining it. "Third-circle binding. Anchored to the foundations and the ley line intersection." He tilted his head. "Crude but effective."
Ark stepped closer. "I was tempted to use an alien to absorb the energy."
Nabu's head turned sharply. "You did well avoiding that. Hell magic is corrupted. Absorption would have infected you, possibly irreversibly."
"Good to know."
"So what's the plan?" Flash asked.
Nabu raised one hand. Golden light gathered. When it faded, he held crystalline charms shaped like ankhs. Glowing yellow and red.
He distributed them. One to Flash, one to Ark, one to Kent. Kept the fourth.
Flash turned the charm over. "What's this do?"
"You will see." Kent stepped forward without hesitation, charm in hand. As he approached, the green light retreated. A gap large enough to walk through formed.
Flash grinned. "Ah, I see!"
A SWAT officer jogged up. "Flash, should we follow? We've got people ready..."
Flash glanced at Ark, who shook his head.
"Appreciate it." Flash clapped the officer's shoulder. "But we need you out here in case anything slips past. You're the safety net."
The officer nodded. "Understood…"
Nabu walked toward the barrier, and the gap widened. Flash and Ark followed.
The moment they crossed the threshold, heat hit them.
Central City Train Station - Inside the Barrier
The man and woman sprinted through overturned benches and shattered kiosks. Behind them, demons swooped and dove.
"Keep moving!" The man grabbed the woman's arm.
A demon descended directly in their path. The man hurled a metal trash, but it passed through like nothing. "Oh, you've gotta be..."
The demon lunged and phased into his chest.
His scream cut off. Eyes rolled back. He convulsed before going rigid. His clothes split as dark corruption spread across his skin. Muscles reformed, and tentacles erupted from his spine.
The woman skidded to a halt. "No... no no..."
Shadows coalesced at her feet, solidifying into tentacles that wrapped around her ankles. A demon descended from above. "Please..." It dove into her.
#
At the end, forty-three possessed humans stood in a semicircle around Karkull.
Karkull stood at the hell pit's edge, arms spread wide. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
More demons poured from the chasm.
"Soon, this city will fall. Then the world."
Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the north barrier.
Three figures stepped through. He was familiar with the red one, but the other two were new. However, the old man seemed familiar.
Karkull's lipless mouth twisted. "I don't remember sending invitations." He gestured toward them. "Kill them."
The possessed surged forward.
Kent slammed his cane down. Golden light exploded outward, forming a barrier around himself. Claws scraped against the shield. His free hand traced symbols. "Aegis minor. Celer. Dura." Two streaks of golden light shot toward Ark and Flash, wrapping around them before solidifying into translucent armor.
Flash glanced down at the faint shimmer. "Is this..."
"Minor shielding," Kent said, already weaving another spell. "Won't stop everything."
Green light flared as the Omnitrix activated. Diamondhead stepped forward, putting himself between Kent and the horde. "Appreciate it."
The first possessed civilian lunged with its tentacles. Diamondhead grabbed the appendages and hurled it into three others.
"Careful now." Karkull's voice dripped mock concern. He gestured and three larger demons stepped forward, hellfire crackling between their claws. "It could be someone you know. A neighbor. A friend."
The enhanced demons hurled spheres of hellfire.
Diamondhead slammed both fists into the ground. A crystalline wall erupted upward, intercepting the first two fireballs. The third arced over and Flash blurred past, grabbing Kent and repositioning him before it connected.
"These people are still in there, right?" Flash vibrated faster to avoid another attack. "We can save them once we take down the big guy?"
"Unknown." Kent's barrier flared as a demon slammed into it. "Possession this deep... the mind may already be gone."
"That's not a no." Diamondhead advanced, crystalline spikes forming along his forearms. He forced the demons to cluster. Better to control the engagement zone than let them spread and flank.
Karkull tilted his head. "Fascinating. You fight with restraint." He raised one hand.
The station shifted.
Support pillars twisted, warping into organic shapes covered in pulsing veins. Rail lines tore free and reformed into spiked barricades. Walls rippled, demonic faces pressing against the surface.
Flash stumbled as the floor buckled. "Okay, that's just wrong..."
Tentacles erupted from the ground, wrapping around his legs and torso. He started to vibrate to escape, but more tentacles emerged. Within seconds, Flash was pinned.
"You continue to surprise me." Karkull walked closer, stepping over debris. "But you don't have the tools to defeat me. Not here. Not in my domain." He gestured toward the hell pit. "Surrender, and your deaths will be swift."
Golden light blazed above them.
A massive Ankh materialized. Doctor Fate descended through it, cape billowing. He touched down between Karkull and Flash, one hand already raised.
"Solvere."
The tentacles disintegrated. Flash scrambled up, putting distance between himself and the corrupted floor.
Karkull's expression shifted. Surprise, then recognition. "Fate." Old hatred layered his voice. "I thought our dealings had ended. You sealed me. Bound me in that prison for decades."
Nabu's helmeted head tilted. "No such luck."
"And yet here you stand, in my lair, at the height of my power." Karkull spread his arms. "What magic do you possess that's powerful enough to defeat me here?"
Nabu raised one hand. Golden light coalesced.
When it faded, he held a small stone tablet. Ancient, covered in symbols that predated written language. The surface glowed soft blue.
Karkull recoiled.
"The Artifact of Lorta?" His voice rose. "No. I destroyed it!"
Nabu's voice was calm. "What has been made can never truly be unmade."
The hell pit churned. A fresh wave of demons poured out. Dozens.
Flash blurred into motion, running vertically up a warped pillar. He kicked off, phased through three demons mid-air, and landed on a suspended rail line twisted into a bridge. "Diamondhead! Incoming!"
Diamondhead widened his stance. Crystal shards shot from his palms to slow the demon advance. "Kent! How long can your barrier hold?"
"Long enough!" Sweat already beaded on Kent's forehead.
Nabu moved to Kent's position, reinforcing the barrier with layered wards. "The protection will not hold indefinitely. But it will suffice."
He held the tablet in both hands and began to chant, making the tablet glow brighter.
Karkull's eyes widened. "No. NO!"
He gestured sharply. Five demons broke off. Larger, faster, wreathed in hellfire hot enough to warp the air.
They ignored Diamondhead and Flash entirely, sprinting toward Kent and Nabu.
Flash intercepted the first two, clotheslining one and sweeping the other's legs. They crashed down but were already getting back up.
The remaining three kept advancing.
Diamondhead planted himself in their path, arms spread. Crystalline armor thickened across his torso. "Not happening."
The lead demon lunged. Diamondhead caught the wrist, twisted, drove his elbow into the creature's temple. Crystal spikes erupted from the point of impact. It staggered. He followed with a kick that sent it flying backward into its companions.
But they didn't stop. Karkull's will drove them forward.
Nabu's chanting grew louder, the tablet blazing. The symbols were forming a binding array that would trap Karkull and sever his connection to the hell pit.
Karkull snarled. He raised both hands, and raw hell-magic gathered between his palms before hurling it at Nabu. It struck Nabu mid-incantation, the impact shaking the station.
Nabu's hands flew apart. The stone tablet tore from his grasp.
"No!" Nabu's voice echoed with genuine alarm.
The tablet skidded across the warped floor, bounced once, twice.
Dropped cleanly into the hell pit.
It vanished into darkness.
The hell pit roared. The chasm widened explosively. Hellfire geysered upward, and the temperature spiked another twenty degrees.
Demons poured out.
Nabu staggered back. "The artifact!" He turned toward Flash. "It's the only power that can trap him! Get it!"
Flash's eyes went wide. "But you..."
"Go!"
Flash blurred toward the hell pit. A wall of hellfire erupted in his path. He skidded to a halt, forced back by searing heat. "Can't get through!"
Diamondhead looked at the pit, then at Nabu, then at the advancing army.
He didn't hesitate. The moment the tablet vanished, he was moving. His legs coiled and launched him forward in a full sprint toward the void.
Diamondhead jumped. In a flash of green light he became Jetray. He accelerated past terminal velocity as he chased the falling tablet.
He'd expected maybe a few hundred feet, but this seemed endless. The walls blurred past. Rough stone gave way to smooth obsidian.
Temperature spiked. Air grew thick with sulfur and ash. Red-orange light bloomed below, growing brighter with every second.
Molten magma came into view. Vast rivers of it, flowing through channels carved into scorched black rock. The walls opened up into something far larger, and Ben understood with cold certainty that he'd passed beyond Karkull's domain. This was one of the Inner Pits. A classical circle of Hell itself. 'God damn… Literally.'
Ben set those thoughts aside and locked onto the tablet. It tumbled end-over-end, seconds from impact. Jetray's clawed hand shot out and caught the tablet just before it struck the ground. He soon hovered, clutching the artifact against his chest.
Just as he was about to leave, a heavy thud shook the ground. Then another. And another. Footsteps. Massive ones.
Ben turned toward the source.
A Hell Titan approached. It towered a hundred feet tall, carved from living obsidian. Massive chains wrapped around its torso and limbs.
The titan looked past Ben, up toward the distant hole leading back to Earth. The tear in reality Karkull had created. Recognition flashed in those burning eyes. A chance to bring Hell to the mortal realm.
But first, it had to deal with the intruder.
The Hell Titan raised one massive foot, and it stomped down.
Green light exploded beneath the descending foot.
Something massive surged upward, catching the titan's foot mid-stomp. The Hell Titan was thrown backward.
Way Big emerged from the transformation, standing at his full height. One hundred feet of To'kustar might. A gray humanoid with large red fins on his head and forearms, white markings across his body. Much like his clothes, the artifact was dematerialized and saved in the Omnitrix.
The Hell Titan pulled itself from the rubble and charged.
Way Big got into a defensive stance as the titan swung a massive fist wreathed in hellfire.
Way Big redirected the blow past his shoulder with one hand. Way Big's other hand shot out, gripping the titan's extended arm. He pivoted and executed a perfect judo throw. Those lessons with Gwen weren't for nothing.
The Hell Titan slammed into the ground hard.
Before it could rise, Way Big's foot came down on its chest. He raised his fist, but a roar came from his left.
Way Big's head snapped around. Two more Hell Titans emerged from the molten rock itself. Both larger than the first. One wielded a jagged obsidian blade. The other's chains had broken free, whipping through the air.
The pinned titan grabbed Way Big's ankle with both hands to affect his balance.
Way Big drove his elbow down into the pinned titan's head. Once. Twice. The third made the body dissolve into ash.
The sword-wielding titan closed the distance.
Way Big crossed his arms in front of his face. The obsidian blade crashed down. The impact drove Way Big back a step.
The chained titan circled to his right. The chains wrapped around Way Big's leg and pulled.
Way Big twisted with the pull instead of resisting, spinning into a full rotation. His free leg came around in a devastating roundhouse kick that caught the sword titan across the jaw. The creature's head snapped to the side, and it staggered.
The chains tried to topple him.
Way Big reached down, grabbed the chains with both hands, and pulled.
The chained titan was yanked off its feet. Way Big swung it in a wide arc and released the creature toward the sword titan and collided.
Way Big planted his feet, arms coming up to cross in an L-shape in front of his chest. Blue-white energy began to gather, cosmic power condensing into a single point.
The sword titan emerged first with its blade and charged.
Way Big tracked its approach. Three seconds. Two. He fired.
The Cosmic Ray erupted from his crossed arms. A beam of pure annihilation that struck the charging titan center-mass. The creature's forward momentum stopped instantly. For a fraction of a second, it remained frozen.
Then it ceased to exist.
The beam didn't stop there. It carved through the bedrock beyond, burning a perfectly straight line through the Inner Pit for miles. Everything in its path vaporized at the atomic level.
The chained titan pulled itself from the magma, saw the devastation, and hesitated.
Way Big lowered his arms. Steam rose from his forearms where the cosmic energy had channeled through.
Looking to the horizon, three more titans advancing from different directions, drawn by the combat. And all three were converging on his position... and the opening to the mortal realm.
The chained titan in front of him roared, rallying itself for another assault.
Way Big determined that it would be more affective to get back to Fate and close this hole ASAP. Time to leave.
Green light flashed. Jetray replaced Way Big.
The chained titan's fist smashed into empty air where Way Big had stood a moment before.
Jetray accelerated toward the pinpoint of light far above, leaving Hell and its titans behind.
#
Jetray exploded from the hell pit's opening as he rocketed upward into the chaos. He banked hard, avoiding a column of hellfire. "Fate! I got it!"
The station had descended further into nightmare. Demons swarmed everywhere. Possessed civilians stumbling through smoke and flame. Hell-magic corrupting the architecture into grotesque organic growth. Flash was a blur, desperately running interference, but even his speed was starting to flag.
Nabu's helmeted head snapped toward Ark, golden eyes blazing. "Do not let it go! Guard it with your life!"
Ark moved toward Kent's position.
Kent had repositioned during Ben's absence, creating a circle on the only patch of floor not yet corrupted. "Place it in the center!" Kent shouted back.
Flash blurred past, clotheslining a demon that had broken through.
Karkull stood at the hell pit's edge, arms spread wide, drawing power directly from the abyss. His form had grown larger, more defined, fed by the flood of demonic energy. "I am ETERNAL! I am…"
Nabu appeared directly in front of Karkull in a flash of golden light and backhanded the demon hard enough to send him staggering.
"Silencio."
Karkull's mouth snapped shut.
"Begin the sealing. I will keep him occupied."
Kent nodded and moved to the circle's edge. Ark placed the stone tablet carefully in the center, exactly where Kent indicated.
The moment the tablet touched the floor, it began to glow.
Nabu raised both hands and began to chant.
The tablet flared to life, symbols igniting across its surface in rapid succession.
The magic was pulling at Karkull, latching onto his infernal essence. "No..." The word escaped despite the silence spell, barely a whisper. "Not again..." He collapsed forward onto both hands.
Nabu's chant reached its finale.
The symbols above the tablet blazed, and the pull became irresistible.
Karkull screamed. The demon was ripped free of the possessed host in a violent surge of light. The civilian he'd been inhabiting collapsed behind the extracting demon, unconscious but breathing.
Then Karkull was dragged into the tablet. His scream cut off abruptly the moment he disappeared inside.
Ark pivoted immediately. He raised the tablet toward the swarm of remaining demons, angling it like a weapon.
The tablet flared to life again.
The pull extended outward, a gravitational force that targeted only demonic essence. The possessed civilians throughout the station jerked to a halt mid-movement, their bodies seizing as the binding magic latched onto the entities controlling them.
One by one, the demons were ripped free.
Shadow-forms tore away from their hosts with violent force, dragged screaming toward the tablet. The tablet consumed them all.
The possessed civilians reverted back to human. They were naked in most cases as their clothes shredded during the initial transformation.
The hell pit in the center of the station flashed with brilliant white light and was sealed along with the rest of the building, which returned to normal. The oppressive heat vanished.
They crumbled like ash, evaporating into nothing. Within moments, the train station looked almost normal again. Scorched, yes. Damaged, certainly. But normal.
The barriers fell.
Police rushed in through every entrance, SWAT teams moving with weapons raised, paramedics following with stretchers and medical bags.
"Civilians down! We need medics here!"
"Secure the area!"
"Someone get these people blankets!"
Kent slumped. He would have collapsed if Nabu hadn't materialized beside him, steadying him.
"Easy. You performed admirably."
"Feels like I just ran a marathon while carrying a piano..."
Ark, Flash, Nabu, and Kent pulled back from the center as emergency responders swarmed the area.
Nabu gave the tablet one final glance, then waved his hand. Golden light enveloped the artifact, and it vanished. Sent somewhere safe.
Emergency responders moved among the fallen civilians. With the immediate situation contained, Nabu raised one hand and traced a portal into existence. The golden ankh symbol blazed in the air. The four of them stepped through.
Meanwhile in Hell
The throne room had black stone walls and molten seams. At the chamber's center, sat the throne. It was carved from a single piece of meteorite that predated Earth. There sat Lord Satan, a being of pale skin and horns, wearing crimson robes.
Before the dais, a lesser demon knelt with its forehead pressed against the obsidian floor and trembled.
"Speak."
The demon's voice cracked. "My lord... I bring word from the mortal incursion."
Satan's fingers drummed once against the throne's armrest.
"Karkull returned and opened a direct conduit to the inner pits."
"And?"
The demon flinched. "Reinforcements were deployed. Hell Titans from the Fifth Circle responded to the breach. Infrastructure was committed. The operation was positioned for success."
Silence.
The lesser demon's claws scraped against the floor. "It collapsed, my lord."
Satan's eyes opened fully. The temperature in the chamber dropped.
"Mortal defenders sealed the breach. Karkull was bound again. The access point to Earth is lost."
"Lost."
Satan repeated the word as if tasting poison. He leaned forward. The throne's shadow stretched across the kneeling figure.
"And the Titans?"
The demon's voice became a whisper. "Destroyed, my lord."
"How many?"
"Three confirmed. Possibly more in the aftermath."
Satan's hand stilled. "Elaborate."
The demon hesitated. "There was a giant. Unlike anything in our records. Not angelic. Not infernal. Not fae or elemental. It appeared during the engagement and annihilated the first Titan in single combat. Then it vaporized the second Titan and carved through hundreds of miles of theFifth Circle's foundation. The damage is catastrophic."
Satan said nothing and rose. Satan descended the dais. "Since the Morningstar abandoned this realm, Hell has fractured. Circles war among themselves."
His gaze swept the chamber as if addressing invisible witnesses.
"We have grown weak."
The demon did not dare look up.
"Trigon carves his own dominion across dimensional boundaries, building a power base that rivals many. Neron hoards souls like currency, playing merchant. Etrigan roams free, bound to mortal whims."
Satan's hands clasped behind his back. "If Hell is to reclaim its rightful foothold in Creation, then dominion requires a more direct hand."
The demon risked a glance upward. "My lord... what would you have us do?"
Satan's lips curved. "Karkull failed because he was reckless, but his ambition was sound." He turned, pacing slowly around the trembling figure. He stopped, facing the throne once more. "Perhaps it is time to implement SABBAC."
Central City
They appeared on a rooftop overlooking downtown.
Flash was the first to break the silence. He turned toward Nabu with visible relief, already reaching up toward his own head in a mimicking gesture. "Okay, crisis averted, demon sealed, civilians saved. Time to give Wally his body back, right? Kid's probably going crazy in there."
Ark nodded, turning toward Nabu. "Yeah. He did his part. More than his part. Let him out."
Both clearly expected the helmet to come off.
Nabu crossed his arms.
"Who said anything about giving up my host?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Flash's grin faltered. "What?"
"The balance of the world has shifted," Nabu stated plainly. No malice, no cruelty. Just absolute certainty. "Chaos stirs. The Light operates in shadows. Alien invasions loom. Demons breach containment." He gestured toward the train station. "And Kent Nelson has retired."
Kent closed his eyes and facepalmed. "I knew it. The moment I stepped away, I knew this would happen."
"The Lords of Order require a new anchor," Nabu continued. "A permanent host capable of channeling our power and maintaining balance against the rising tide of Chaos."
He turned slightly, the helmet's golden eyes settling on the two heroes before him.
"The world needs a new Doctor Fate. And I have found him."
Ark and Flash looked at Nabu with expressions of utter betrayal.
"What the hell, man?!" Flash's voice cracked.
Ark's hands clenched into fists. "Dude, he's sixteen!" Ark shouted.
The boy should have know the risks when he chose to wear it," Nabu replied.
Inside the Helmet of Fate
Wally pounded his fists against the golden viewing portal.
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTTTTTT!"
He kicked the wall. Punched it. Threw his shoulder against it.
Nothing.
Wally collapsed to his knees, tears of frustration streaming down his face.
"Please… Please, I just want to go home..."
#
Omnitrix DNA Entry
Name: Way Big
Species: To'kustar
Home World: Cosmic Storms
Powers and Abilities:
To'kustar are powerful aliens able to shoot cosmic rays from their hands. They possess immense strength, hand-to-hand combat skills, durability, quick reflexes, enhanced speed, and the ability to jump high. They can survive in the vacuum of space and are resistant to the Codon Stream that flows through Primus.