#10 - Picking up the Pieces

by Des Davies

Previously... Jennifer Kale managed to complete the ritual to close the portal, while Ghost Rider, Blaze and Magick appeared to have defeated the Zarathos-possessed Hulk.

The wail of sirens filled the air as police cars converged on the section of highway that had seen a battle royal, and the death of a mortal man who had gotten in the way.

John Blaze stepped towards the unconscious form of Bruce Banner, his shotgun aimed directly at the man's head. Nearby, Noble Kale levered himself to his feet. He pressed a hand to his skull, feeling the bones with his fingers. Magick spared him a glance.

"You okay?"

"I will be," Noble said. His voice carried a slurring. "Is the monster gone?"

"He appears to be. That's Banner isn't it?"

Ghost Rider looked at the prostrate form, but Blaze answered first. "Yeah, that's the Doc. Looks like your spell did the trick."

"I will rest then." With that, the form of the Ghost Rider shrank and changed, leaving Dan Kale standing in his stead.

"Doing okay Dan?" Blaze asked without looking up.

"Fine. Noble's not doing so good though. Those last few hits Zarathos got in did some damage. I'm going to try to avoid calling him to help." He looked up to see the flashing blue of the police lights approaching. "Should we get out of here?"

"Probably for the best. If you gather everyone together, we'll head back to New York." He turned to Magick. "You ready to take us there?"

"Yeah. Let's get out of here." She had to dig deep for the energy to open the portal.

Meanwhile Dan Kale dragged the obviously dead body of John Kowalski over to Banner and stood waiting for the portal to stabilize.

"Where's the other kid?" Blaze asked.

"What other kid?"

"The one Zarathos was going to kill when we got here. Kowalski told him to run after he stuck him with the knife."

Blaze's attention had been wandering to check out the area, but it snapped back to the man he was covering when he heard him groan.

"Easy John. If this is Banner we don't need to freak him out and have the Hulk turn up." Dan said, laying a hand on his brother's arm.

Blaze nodded and let the barrel of the shotgun dip towards the floor.

Dan knelt next to Banner and said quietly, "Doctor Banner? Can you hear me?" He was relieved when his eyes flickered open and they were a normal golden brown.

Banner pushed himself into a sitting position, gratefully taking Dan's arm when he offered it. He looked around, then spoke. "Where's Wayne?"

"Who? Oh, you mean the other kid that was here?" Dan asked.

"No, I mean the milkman. Of course I mean the kid who was here. Where is he?"

Blaze's eyes narrowed. That had not sounded anything like the Bruce Banner he remembered, and he tilted the shotgun back up. "Who are you?"

Banner looked up and met Blaze's glare with one of his own. "Right now I'm John Kowalski. That's not going to last long though, as it's way too crowed in here. Get Wayne, let's get back to the office and I'll see if I can explain before I get kicked out."

He added as an after-thought, "And don't make me angry. You really won't like me when I'm angry."

Blaze shook his head, ignoring the grin, and turned to search the darkness for the other boy.

Magick was the one to spot him. "He's curled up over there," she said pointing. "Near the copse of trees. Hurry it up, I can't hold this for too long."

"I'll go," Dan offered then trotted away.

It seemed to take forever, but Dan eventually managed to convince Wayne to get back to his feet and join the others near the portal that was glowing red.

"Let's go," Blaze said gesturing towards the portal with his gun.

"But…" Wayne began.

"Don't want to hear it," Blaze said and pushed Wayne through. "We'll hear all the gory details soon enough, and I don't want to explain this to the police." He stepped through, leaving the others to follow.

In the ruined house, Marc Spector got slowly to his feet. He felt as though he had run three marathons back to back. He leant against the basement wall, willing his strength to return. His eyes narrowed, as he felt exactly that happen. In moments, he felt strong enough to look through the debris for his team mates.

He shook his head as he considered the strange abilities that Khonsu had given him. Time itself had seemed to stand still around him as the house had collapsed. He had moved through the falling debris, avoiding it with ease. Now, his strength was returning just as he thought about it. Was this why he said this will be my last life, as it's going to be harder to kill me this time, he wondered.

He looked down at the unconscious form of Firestar. He had grabbed her in his mad dance through the debris, but she had been hit several times before he had gotten her to this point. A large gash marred her forehead. He grunted and turned back to the room and moved to the areas he had last seen his companions. It took some time, but he uncovered Magick, Blade and Drake. However, there was no sign of Jennifer Kale.

Jennifer Kale groaned. Her arm was twisted underneath her, and it hurt. Badly. She tried to twist but the weight on her shoulder stopped her. Her hips also hurt where the creature had grabbed her, and she felt sore all over. But it was her arm that worried her most. Especially as it was her right arm. She tried to call out, but it came out as a croak. She spat the dust from her mouth and tried again.

"Anyone there? Moon Knight? Blade? Anyone?"

She tried to remember what had happened after the reversal spell had been completed. She remembered the explosion was the portal was snapped shut. Her eyes widened as she remembered being caught in the outer edges of the magic.

She pushed a little with her back and felt the weight on her give a little, but the effort cost her as her bruised body complained bitterly. She managed to pull her good arm free and wove a spell that illuminated an area some twenty feet wide. She suppressed a groan at what she saw around her, which turned into a hiss of disgust as she worked out what was lying on top of her - the tentacle of the monstrosity that had grabbed her. It was enough impetus for her to ignore the pain and she scrambled out from underneath it.

She sat breathing hard, her lips curled back as she looked at the thing. It was almost two dozen feet long, and was as thick around as an old oak. When it moved, she scurried backwards, putting more distance between them.

"Well look what dropped in?" someone said behind her.

Jennifer jumped and turned enough to look at the new threat. The sight of the tall, thin, white-faced man with ink-black hair caused her to groan as she figured out where she must be - the Nightmare Dimension.

Next: The Seekers all return to their headquarters, except for Jennifer who must deal with the Lord of Nightmares. Although that might be easier than dealing with the changes in Bruce Banner.

To be continued...