"Give in monster. You can not defeat me. Your body will be my new host."

"Hulk not give in. Hulk is strongest one. Hulk smash."

For a brief moment Wayne saw flames burst around the Hulk's head, but they disappeared so quickly that he wondered if he had imagined them. When the Hulk grabbed the car and lifted if as though it were made of paper, Wayne scooted away further. He watched in amazement as the monster brought the vehicle down on his own head. Pieces of metal and plastic exploded in all directions and Wayne was forced to roll into a ball to protect himself again. One of the wheels slammed into his side, and pain exploded through him.

Around the stabbing pain, he looked up again it was to see the Hulk pounding his skull with his fists, over and over, while continuing to roar his defiance.

Wayne could hear the other voice taunting the Hulk, and wished that he could not. The voice scared him more than the Hulk It reminded him of all the bad things he had done. It spoke of fear and pain. He stuck his fingers in his ears trying to block it out, but that only served to turn the Hulk's roar into a shout. The other voice continued to rake icy nails over

 

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his soul.

He opened eyes he had not realized he had closed to see two enormous legs standing over him. Looking up, he saw the Hulk standing over him. The madness that had been in his eyes was gone. As was the skin of his head, leaving only the bones of his skull. A skull that was surrounded by flames.

---

Amanda Sefton, Magick, followed along in the wake that Ghost Rider had created through the house. With Blade behind her, she felt secure enough to cast several warding spells, and a seeking spell. A small wisp of light, a dull red in color, appeared before her and then darted off. It was quickly lost to sight behind Noble Kale's broad figure.

She was no stranger to the damage the strongest heroes could create given her time spent with the X-Men. However, the utterly silent march of the Ghost Rider was unnerving her. She had already passed two bodies, one male the other female, and neither would be moving again soon - even though both were obviously vampires. Ghost Rider's fist had smashed through the head of the man, while his chain had punctured the chest of the other.

 

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As he plowed through the next doorway following a course he alone seemed to know, multiple figures launched themselves at him. With an economy of movement he drove his elbow into the face of the first, resulting in a spray of blood and scream as the attacker fell away. Ghost Rider's arm straightened and swept two more out of his path. With a snap of his other wrist, the enchanted chain that hand been coiled there, snapped outwards. The tip imbedded itself in an attacker's forehead. He collapsed and Ghost Rider strode onwards. It had all happened before she had been able to get off a spell. Magick lengthened her stride, in part to keep up, but also to put more distance between herself and the sounds of sword on bone coming from behind her.

 

---

As the other group moved through the rear of the house they could hear screams and chanting coming from in front of them. Firestar had blasted her way through the rear door and led the group. Drake brought up the rear, watching the shadows carefully for something the other two might have missed. In his mind, they were too anxious to march ahead

 

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and did not fully understand the nature of their enemy.

Firestar allowed the anger she was feeling to erupt in the microwave blasts she poured from her hands. She had reined in her temper enough to stop from killing anyone, or thing, but she could feel herself walking a very thin tightrope. As a large bat flew up in front of her, she instinctively reacted by blasting it. With a thud it hit the floor and turned back into a young boy. He has brown hair, the same color as Vance, her numb mind thought. Her face reflected her shock and she would have taken a swipe of claws across her face if Moon Knight had not brought his staff up and blocked it. Twisting out of the way of the retaliatory strike he withdrew the staff, twisted it and jammed the end into the creature's crotch.

"Keep your mind on the job," he snapped as he moved to take the lead.

Firestar's eyes blazed, literally, at the put down, even though she knew she deserved it for her lapsed concentration. She surged over Moon Knights head and blasted the next door into cinders. The room they entered had been altered by the cultists. The floor remained only to create a balcony around the edges. In the center it dropped down to

 

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the basement. Similar steps had been taken with the ceiling and it had been removed all the way to the roof of the house two floors above.

Firestar increased her radiance so they could see what was in the shadows below, lit only by several flickering candles. Her face showed her horror at what she saw. She barely flinched when the door on the opposite wall crashed open and the other half of the group stepped through.

She thought she saw Ghost Rider's bony jaw clench at the scene below, where bodies lay everywhere. Firestar estimated there had to be hundreds of bodies down there. In the center of them all, a tall man stood over a wooden table. A middle aged woman was strapped to it and before any of the heroes could react he plunged a knife into her chest.

Firestar did not recognize the scream of rage as her own, but it was drowned out by the roaring storm that erupted above them. Looking up the heroes saw a blood red and inky blue whirlpool spinning in place, getting large by the second. In its depths they could make out a monstrous shadow moving.

---

 

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"Who are you and what is this place?"

Jennifer was not sure how she managed to talk so calmly, given that she still could not make out the figure sitting in the chair in the hidden room in the basement.

"Easy doll, I'm just here to help you out. You're one of the more stubborn bunches I've had to deal with over the years. You lot keep arguing like you have been and Fannin's job is going to be much easier."

There was a snap from the chair that Jennifer did well not to jump at, and lights all around the room burst into light. She cursed as her eyes struggled to compensate for the sudden brightness. When they did she took in the figure sitting in the chair.

He was a solidly built man, dressed in jeans and a denim shirt. His hair was cut short in a military crew-cut, and there was something wrong with his eyes. They were completely black and seemed to be sucking in the light.

"Who. Are. You?" Jen asked again.

The man stood and stuck large hands into his pants pockets. "John Kowalski," he answered. "I was with the last group of Seekers during the big one. I was the best choice for being around to gather the next

 

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group, and get them here."

Jen relaxed fractionally, although her next question was still snapped out. "How do I know you aren't some trick of Fannin's?"

"You already tried a spell to check the area, so if you'd stop and use the brains God gave you, you'd already know the answer to..."

He stopped in mid-sentence and cocked his head to one side as though listening to something. Jen watched him carefully. When he focused on her again, it was with a very worried expression.

"Doll, you got a problem you need to get on right now. Zarathos has taken over the Hulk."

 

Next: Jennifer tackles the Zarathos possessed Hulk with John Blaze's help. Down in New Orleans, the team have to stop the ritual before the creature can enter Earth.

 

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