Part 3
(Avengers Mansion)
Daniel Drumm, twin brother to the now-dead former Sorcerer Supreme Brother Voodoo, stands at the hole of the mansion he made when he threw Luke Cage out in the body of Spider-Man. He was not sure what to make of what happened. Back in the astral plane when he attacked Victoria Hand and Spider-Man put himself between her and the attack, Drumm somehow wound up being sucked into the hero. His attack was meant to kill, the heart in his hand was how he possessed and killed his victims, but instead of killing Spider-Man, he found himself trapped inside him. He doesn't know why but he did feel a rush of power.
And seeing as how he was able to not only easily handle Ms. Marvel but also Luke Cage, he can see why that might be the case.
"Interesting." He says as he looks down at the gloved hands of the hero he is possessing. "Such power in an unexpected source."
One thing he is finding to be annoying is how it's not a complete possession. Years ago, when Papa Jambo cast a voodoo spell to bind Daniel's loa to his brother, Daniel discovered he could possess others, displacing their consciousness for his own. Essentially putting them to sleep inside their minds while he poses as them. In doing so they are not aware he is inside them, but he is more than aware of them. He can see inside their minds. Memories, personality, and even how they feel.
Yet he cannot do that now. He can't peer inside the mind of the hero he is in. No memories or personality. And even more annoying is that he can feel the mind struggling to gain back control of his own body. And the struggle is becoming more irksome than it should be. But there is something more to this body. He can feel something inside it. Something primordial. Powerful.
"Daniel." He hears Strange call out to him and he turns around to see the doctor is on his feet. Beside the doctor, Director Hill still pointing the gun at him and Ms. Hand looking at him cautiously, "I am sorry for what happened to Jericho. Please do not do this."
He can hear the fear in the man's voice. Fear for his friend. Good. That's what he wants. He wants the Doctor to suffer. Killing him would be too simple. Death would be a relief from the torment he deserves. For all the good the Doctor has done in his tenure as Sorcerer Supreme, he often made mistakes and hardly paid for them.
Well, Daniel will make sure the Doctor knows the consequences for his actions.
"Oh, Strange." He gives a menacing look, "Not yet you're not."
He jumps out the window and lands on the ground. He then quickly charges at Luke Cage, who just pulled himself out of the collapsed gate bars, and punches him hard as he can. Or at least tried to, as he felt himself holding back.
But he was still able to punch hard enough to propel the bulletproof man into a news van, causing it to cave in. He looks down at the hands again and clenches and unclenches them. He can feel he has control but not completely. Like the body itself is fighting him for control. How odd.
"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
He hears one of the officers shout at him. He looks up and sees they all have their weapons pointed at him. He does not understand why they think such things would be effective against these heroes. Their weapons could hurt some of them perhaps, but the majority could certainly walk away without any sign of harm. But from what he peered inside of Hand's mind, Spider-Man does not have that benefit.
His eyes light up. Well now, to have this hero be gunned down would certainly hurt Strange.
He is about to respond to provoke the officers to shoot him but stops when he feels a tingling sensation in the back of his skull. The world slows to a crawl and he feels the need to move. He assumes it's this vessel trying to regain control, so he fights the urge to let it guide him.
THWACK!
The world resumes to its normal pace and he is struck brutally on his, or rather the body's, cheek. He is launched and crashes through a tree, toppling it over. He stops once he hits the gates and is surprised at the amount of pain he is in. Possessing Victoria Hand did not make him feel what she felt to this degree. It was more akin to having a layer of protection over himself. Like cardboard over his skin. There was a phantom feeling of pressure and pain, or sometime the idea of pain, but it was fleeting. Not like now.
The pain subsides and he lifts his head up to see who hit him. A familiar figure flies up in front of him with her arms powered up with photon energy and points them at him. Behind her, the rest of the team, Thing, Daredevil, Mockingbird, and Iron Fist stand at the ready to back her up if needed.
"Get out of him now. I won't be as gentle next time."
(X)
Doctor Strange watches from up in the opening the possessed Spider-Man made when he tossed Luke out. Carol and the others came back into the room after they recovered and asked why Spider-Man attacked them.
Strange quickly explained to them that Spider-Man was being possessed by Daniel Drumm and he was wreaking havoc to get back at Strange. At first, they didn't know what to do, attacking their friend wasn't something they wanted to do. But after Strange said all they had to do was keep him from harming anyone else until he came back with help, Carol immediately flew out of the hole and attacked him after another moment of hesitation and the others followed suit.
"I need to go." He says to Hill who is standing behind him, "I need to find a way to remove Daniel from Spider-Man."
Hill regards him for a moment before she focuses back down on the battle below, "You still need to answer some questions."
Stephen begins to wave his hands around for casting a spell, "I will answer as much as I can when I return."
He struggles to focus on where he wants to go but is able to cast the teleportation spell he needs. He no longer finds himself at the Avengers mansion but instead above the rooftop of an apartment in New Orleans.
Ten feet above it.
"Oof!" Strange lands unceremoniously on the ground.
He breathes heavily as he clutches his chest in the hopes of calming his heart. He didn't escape completely unscathed from Daniels' attack back in the astral plane. When Drumm thrust his hand forward to kill Victoria and Spider-Man got in the way, Strange was close enough to receive a glancing blow. The heart in Drumm's hand was a spectral heart that when used would kill whoever it passes through. A dark and powerful spell that some dream walkers used to make seem like a victim died of natural causes in their sleep.
It may have been a glancing blow, but the hit still had severe effects on him.
"Don't have a heart attack." He says breathlessly to himself as he picks himself off the ground, "Please, don't have a heart attack."
He goes to the entrance on the roof and travels down slowly but with some haste. He still can't move too quickly with his current condition. Hopefully, he will find a solution to both problems in this apartment.
He reaches his destination and enters the top-floor apartment. He opens the door and doesn't bother to knock since the occupant would know who it is by sensing his spell. The moment he enters he sees a recognizable figure sitting at a desk with his small flatscreen television on, playing the news.
"Daimon." He calls out dejectedly to his satanic friend, "I'm sorry to come to you like this."
He fully enters the apartment and forgets to close the door behind him. As he walks to his friend, who has yet to acknowledge his presence, he takes in the numerous bookshelves that surround the room with dozens of books and artifacts scattered all across the room. And the only sources of light, besides the television, are the two candles that are on the desk and the five candles on the floor that are on top of a painted five-pointed star.
'He must have been in the middle of a ritual,' Stephen thinks to himself as he enters the room.
"We are coming to you live at the Avengers mansion where Mayor Jameson is finally being proven right about Spider-Man!" Strange hears the news and feels dread for his friend as the newsman continues, "Moments after an FBI agent had been forced to commit suicide in front of the mansion, Spider-Man attacked Luke Cage when Harlem's hero attempted to apprehend him inside!"
"As you can see it's a very serious situation," Stephen slowly approaches his friend from behind, "If it was a trifling matter, then I would not bother you with it. I came to not only warn you but also to ask for your help."
He finally reaches his friend and recoils in shock, "Oh god."
Instead of a healthy-looking man, he finds the mummified corpse of his friend. His hair looks like dried hay, his eye sockets don't have eyeballs, his lips are sunken inwards, and his tongue is like a raisin.
"It looks like it's already too late." He whips around with a spell in hand and turns to see Maria Hill with some agents with her. Not one of them raises their weapons at him in retaliation.
The magic user looks at her in bewilderment, "How did you get here?"
She raises an eyebrow in challenge, "You're not the only one with secrets."
He concedes to that. She probably has more than him.
"How did you know to come here?" Strange lowers his hands while Hill walks over to the corpse and inspects it, "I wouldn't do that."
Hill stops her hands and looks the doctor in the eye, "Anonymous tip. Got here a few moments before you did." She looks back at the corpse. "My guess is this was supposed to be a setup. We get here after you and assume you did this."
Strange looks back to the corpse and after a moment he shuts his eyes in frustration, "Damnit," he turns his head away from his friend's corpse, "After I heard you mention Jennifer Kale, I should've known he'd deal with Daimon before coming after me directly."
"Why?" Hill inquires, "Did you need Hellstrom's help?"
Strange sighs, "Yes and no." He goes to the desk, picks up a scroll, and unfurls it, "There are spells that can stop Drumm." He sets it down and picks up a book, "But they are dark spells and it would have been better if Daimon performed them."
Hill, though not too familiar with magic, understands that dark spells would be a taboo practice for the Doctor. She is aware of why he is no longer sorcerer supreme and it has to do with him using dark magic back when the Hulk invaded the earth. The man nearly killed so many civilians in the process that it took the Hulk to save them.
"Is there nobody else that can do it?" She questions him as he picks another book.
Stephen looks away from the book but doesn't look at her and then refocuses on the book, "Many can. But as I've stated they are dark rituals. Very few could or would perform the spells necessary to fight against Daniel as he is now."
Hill wishes that there were some magic users in SHIELD or at least wishes she knew more.
"What do they do?" Hill asks.
"Do you need to sacrifice some goats or humans or something?"
They both turn their attention to a SHIELD agent that decided to be a part of the conversation. And while Director Hill gives the young agent a hard look that told him to shut up, Strange looks a little amused.
To him, it's a funny thing when someone who is not familiar with magic assumes all dark magic requires sacrifices. Granted there are some foul rituals that require such things, but the majority of dark magic really only needs is for someone to be resilient against the magic itself. Or rather the energy to power the magic.
Stephen shakes his head at the agent's question, "No nothing like that. The spells are relatively simple enough. With them, I can not only trap Daniel, or rather Spider-Mans body, in a single space but I can also perform another spell to eradicate Daniel." His face becomes serious as he continues to explain, "However, they draw power from dark and hellish places that could leave lasting damage to the caster if not careful. Daimon would have been the exception from such things due to his nature of being the son of Satan."
The same agent becomes alarmed, "Say what?"
Seeing this Stephen reassures him, "Not the actual fallen angel. His father was Marduk Kurios. Another demon lord who often falsely took the title to gain more power and followers."
"Oh." The agent says in relief.
"Can we get back on track here?" Hill says as she glares at her subordinate before she shifts her focus on the doctor, "What kind of damage could be done to the one who casts this spell?"
Strange waves his hand to make several books and scrolls float to him before he plucks one from the air, "I'm familiar with a few but I'll need to check to be sure."
As he peruses through the magical material, Hill looks to be in deep thought as well, but in actuality, she is not even in the room anymore.
(Avengers Mansion)
Daniel stays still as he keeps his eyes on the blond heroine in front of him. He felt the blow she gave him. He shouldn't have felt it but he did. And what's even stranger is that he can't hop out of this body and into hers as he did before. Almost as if he's trapped inside of it. Bound in it. Why is that? The vessel would know, but he can't access the memories. He doesn't even know who Spider-Man is underneath the mask. Such a basic thing and yet it eludes him.
"Ca-Carol." He feels the hero he's possessing say somehow, "Y-you ne-need t-to r-run."
She looks shocked and worried at his words and that is the opening that Daniel needs. He springs back to his feet and punches her on her stomach. He feels the hand go deep before she is propelled back to the mansion and she crashes through a pillar before she breaks through a wall of the home.
Daniel smirks as he looks at the direction she went, "Heh, thank you for that."
He is of course thanking the hero he is possessing but does not get a response.
The rest of the heroes look at him in shock as Mockingbird voice their question, "Since when is he that strong?!"
The Thing smashes his fist into his palm as he steps forward, "Don't matter ta me! Strange said some spooky mook is inside my pal and I aims to beat it out of him!"
Daniel crouches low, "Give it your best shot."
Thing charges at him and Daniel leaps over him. He feels the tingling sensation again and once more resists the urge to follow it. He is then hit on the nose by a baton courtesy of Daredevil and he clenches his eyes shut in pain. The moment he closes his eyes he is struck by Iron Fist and is launched into the open arms of The Thing. The large rock man catches him and holds him as tightly as he can without hurting too much.
The heroes breathe a sigh of relief as Daniel struggles in the grip of the strong man of the Fantastic Four.
(X)
Peter cannot believe his luck. Well, he could, but moments like this make him think he is cursed. How many average people can say they got possessed and attacked their friends and are not just spitting bull poop. None he could think of, that's how many. His bad situations are always so unique in that way.
Then again he was told that a cosmic big head is responsible for the bad moments in his life.
He feels his body try to worm its way out of Ben's grip, "Quit squirming around!" Thing glares at him, well Drumm really, "Ya ain't getting free till ya get out of my pal!
Spider-Man feels Drumm return the glare, "Believe me, I would want nothing more!"
So would Spidey. It's such a bizarre and frightening experience for him. It's like he's watching from a VR headset and he barely has any control over his actions. He was able to restrain himself from hitting Luke too hard, but only so much. He can still feel everything his body goes through and can feel Drumm's intentions. None of which feel good.
"Don't let go, Ben." He hears Bobbi say and feels his head turn to her, "Just hold him until we can figure out what to do."
Spider-Man feels Drumm get agitated at that and gets worried. Drumm doesn't know what Spider-Man's body can do yet. Spidey got an understanding of how much better he is during the whole Kree invasion when Johnny came back. And now so does everyone else since he just punched both Luke and Carol, who he's seen take hits from Hulk-level sources.
He doesn't think he's on that level, the surprise was the real advantage, but he does know he can seriously hurt them. Especially if Drumm finds out about-
Shkt! Shkt!
"The hell are those?!"
Crap! Too late!
His head is angled down to look at the stingers that popped out of his wrists. He discovered those back against the Kree. He didn't kill any of them, but he did severely hurt them. He can feel the surprise Drumm has from the unexpected ability. And he can see everyone else wasn't expecting this either.
Fortunately, Drumm's surprise lets him regain enough control to say, "R-run."
The control is promptly lost and his hands are jabbed into the Things rock skin, chipping it.
"Ah!" Ben flinches enough to loosen his arms and Drumm capitalizes on it by slipping out of his grip. He then grabs Grimm by the arms and tosses him to the gathered heroes. They all dodge but Carol, who was just coming out of the new hole in the mansion. She looks up in time to have Thing crash into her and once more they smash through the mansion. And though he can't see, he assumes from the sounds that at least a few more things got broken.
He hopes Luke doesn't hold him accountable for the damages done to his home.
His Spider-Sense triggers and he feels his head lean back to avoid Iron Fists fist then avoids a follow-up attack from his other fist, "Hey! Watch where you swing that thing!"
His eyes widen in surprise at the ease he is getting from gaining back control. Danny is also surprised but both go away when Drumm gains back control and kicks the Kung Fu master in the chest.
As he does, Matt and Bobbi charge at him with their weapons in hand aiming for his head. Drumm catches both by the wrist and then they use their free hands to strike him in the face. It connects and Drumm lets go of them and they continue their assault.
Mockingbird hits him in the legs and sends him to his knees before DD kicks him in the face. He feels his body roll with the blow and spring back to his feet. He leans to the side to avoid a pole jab from Bobbi and then his leg is lifted to avoid a leg sweep. He gets struck in the back of his head by DD's baton when Drumm again ignored his spider-sense. Drumm tries to attack back but Spidey concentrates as hard as he can to tense his muscles and it's making it feel like their fighting in water.
Argh! He is so frustrated with this! Why is Drumm inside him?! Why can't he get him out?! What the hell happened back in that limbo realm?!
And why is it that sometimes he can easily gain back control but most of the time he's struggling?!
He feels his spider-sense again and then he feels Drumm relinquish control so he leaps out of the way as a rain of bullets hit his and his friend's position. They manage to avoid the fire as he vaults and flips until he is behind a fountain where the bullets continue to pelt it and chip pieces of stone off.
"Hold your fire!"
He feels himself look over at the first hole he made and sees Maria Hill shout at the soldiers that are firing at him.
"Stand down!" Hill glares at the soldiers who ignore her, "Cease fire! That's an order!"
He can see the irritation on her face. She clearly doesn't like how everyone seems to be ignoring all her commands today.
"Hill!" Spider-Man shouts, "You need to get them out of here! I can't stop him!"
Hill looks over to him in bewilderment as Drumm clenches his mouth shut and he feels himself gain back control over the body. Peter can feel the irritation from the spirit.
And he's starting to get an idea of how he's been gaining back control on occasion.
(X)
How is this hero resistant to his possession?! He didn't even struggle again that time?! And what is that tingling sensation he feels in the back of the skull?
He feels it once more, but again resists the urge to heed it.
BOOM!
The fountain explodes and the shockwave blows him away. He quickly adjusts himself in the air, surprised he can do so, and lands on his feet. Though the pain is significant, it is also fleeting. He looks at the destroyed fountain and sees there is a smoke trail.
"Reload!"
He turns his attention to the other end of the trail and sees two of the soldiers reloading a rocket launcher. He bolts to them and grabs them by the throat.
"That was rude." He says as he tries to squeeze the life out of them, but finds himself unable.
He tries to force the hands to squeeze with all their might, but they feel locked in place. As if the fingers are just stuck! He grits his teeth in frustration as he continues to force the hands to close.
He feels a tap on the shoulder and turns to look at Luke Cage with his fist cocked back.
The large man nods his head at him, "Sup." He punches him in the face and as Drumm launches he drops the two soldiers in hand. He crashes through a pillar but stops when he cracks against the wall. Drumm rubs the broken nose underneath the mask and pulls his hand back to see some blood leaked through. Luke hit him hard but not hard enough.
He looks at the bulletproof man in disdain, "And here I thought you would be more inclined to see your wife and child to safety."
"They're all right." Luke cracks his knuckles and neck, "Besides, Jess would never forgive me if I didn't do my part in saving our friend."
Daniel pops out the stingers again and jabs them into Cage, breaking skin but Luke stops them from going any deeper. The man grunts in pain before he grabs the vessel by the wrists and proceeds to swing him around like a ragdoll. First, he slams him into the ground, then against the wall, the ground two more times, and finally swings him around and tosses him across the yard.
Daniel impacts roughly on the ground before he springs back up. Its very fortunate this body is so durable and recovers fast enough. The sound of guns being cocked makes him turn his attention away from the man in front of him to some troops standing beside him.
"Put your hands up now!"
"Stand down dammit!" Hill shouts from above.
Drumm narrows his eyes in annoyance before they widen as he remembers an idea that popped into his head earlier. He will likely feel the pain, but it will also result in him getting expunged from the body. And the bonus of killing a friend of Stephen is also a nice benefit.
He menacingly stalks toward the troops as they continue to warn him to stop his advancement. Strange's friend is labeled as a villain as he is gunned down in front of the Avengers mansion, oh that will certainly torment him.
"Don't make threats you can't carry out." He feels that tingle again but resists it and the world slows once more.
He sees the flashes of the guns firing the bullets and he could easily avoid them but he chooses not to. He is starting to figure out what this tingle is. A very useful danger sense. It has been warning him of attacks before they happen. And when he allows it to guide him, it somehow gives back control to Spider-Man.
Such a useful ability. Shame it will be wiped away.
"Do not fire! I repeat, do not fire!"
Ratatatatatatataatatatatatatatatatat!
"No!"
(X)
Spider-Man is in agonizing pain. His body is riddled with bullet holes courtesy of a group of soldiers because Drumm was hoping to kill him so that he can get out of his body. But that didn't work and now they're both in pain. However, the pain starts to subside as he watches bullets get pushed out of his body and the holes close up.
His healing factor has never been able to do that.
His vision is a bit blurry but he is still able to see enough to see the soldiers drop gun clips and load in new ones. He tries to move his body but is unable to. Drumm is still more in control than him. Even though the man/spirit isn't paying as much attention right now. Spidey doesn't think Drumm has ever been in this much pain.
The wall-crawler has been, however.
He is saved when Carol flies out in front of him and tanks the next round of bullets that the soldiers fired at him. Seeing as how they aren't stopping even though it's not doing them any good, she then claps her hands together with her hands energized with photon energy and unleashes a blast wave. The soldiers get scattered all across the mansion's yard and it seems none are killed.
Carol turns around and her face is etched with concern as she looks at him. The blonde heroine steps closer to him but seems hesitant to get too close. He wants to say something. Anything. But he can feel the evil spirit inside him starting to regain his senses.
"AAAGGGHHH!" Drumm shouts through him in anger and pain as the stingers pop out again.
Before he can charge at the Kree-hybrid, the wind picks up and he looks up to the source. The Avengers Quinjet flies low before the hanger door opens and out come some very welcome faces.
Captain America jumps out and lands on the ground with the rest of his teammates. His team consists of Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Vision, Spider-Woman, and Red Hulk.
Oh, man is Spider-Man in trouble. He hopes Strange gets done with whatever he's doing quick.
(New Orleans)
"Cap and his team showed up," Hill relays the information to the doctor.
Still levitating in a meditative position with books floating around him, Strange feels some of the tension in his body leave as he sighs, "Good. They can help contain the situation."
So far the good doctor has had his mind split from his research and his friend. He tried to focus on the research and read as fast as he can but with the circumstances, he had trouble doing so. He is worried about what will happen if and/or when Daniel discovers what is inside of Spider-Man. He could potentially expose his secret and that will lead to all manner of problems that he and the rest of the Illuminati, barring Namor, are not ready for.
Hell, Strange hasn't even done research on Spider-Man's secret request. It's one that even Strange is a bit reluctant to discuss. When the rest of the members asked, he did not divulge anything. It wasn't for any practical reasons, it was more towards the fact they couldn't do anything to help.
Well maybe. Like he said he hasn't done any research on it yet.
"Strange," he is brought out of his thoughts as he hears Hill call out to him, "How thorough is the possession?
Stephen raises an eyebrow at her question, "From what I've seen of Victoria, it should be completely thorough. Why?"
Hill seems to get a befuddled expression as she looks away from him, "Because either this Drumm guy is screwing with us or Spider-Man is fighting for control."
He feels even more relief now, "If that's the case then he might be able to help."
Hill looks at him curiously, maybe expecting him to elaborate, but he goes back to reading the infernal book in his hand.
He can't tell her anymore. He knows the kind of person Hill is. She is not a power-hungry person, but she is controlling. She can't stand the thought of anything that does not fall under her authority or jurisdiction. She was and still is an avid supporter of the Superhuman Registration Act.
She truly believes the registration was a brilliant idea. She didn't even bother to acknowledge the problems that arose until it was too late. One example was when people like Norman Osborn were put in charge. The madman tried to lay a siege on Asgard of all places for more power. Tried to arrest the Fantastic Four in their own home. And tried to kill Richard's children to do it all.
What's worse is that she thinks if she had been in charge, she would have made sure that chaos like that would have been avoided. As if she herself wouldn't have had superiors to answer to.
After a few more books he finds what he finds looking for, "Here it is." He takes the book in hand and sets it on the table next to his decomposing friend, "This is the last spell we need."
Hill goes over to look at what he is, but he pulls the book away from her, "I'm sorry Director Hill, but the infernal text can leave serious damage to one's mind if not properly warded."
She raises an eyebrow but doesn't push the matter, "Fine now what?"
Strange sighs as he rubs his head, "I'll have to perform the spells myself."
Hill hears the reluctance in the good doctor's voice, "How bad are the consequences?"
"It's not the consequences I'm worried about." He says not looking at the woman.
She raises an eyebrow at him, "Then what is it."
He stays silent for a moment as he sets the book in hand down and looks at it in shame, "These are spells that I would never have performed as Sorcerer Supreme," 'Unless I was desperate,' he adds as an afterthought, "Spells that I know could lead to all manner of problems if I was. I had to hold myself to a higher standard than all other mystics out there to prove that I was worthy of the title."
He still can't forgive himself for what he did when he fought Banner.
Hill decides to point out the obvious, "But you're not Sorcerer Supreme anymore."
Strange stops short as those words sink in. It's true he's no longer Sorcerer Supreme, he gave that title up after so many mistakes he made, but he's still more or less holding himself to the same standard as he did when he carried that title. He tried to make sure his actions reflected the man he used to be. Except he had to relearn the lesson he forgot when he started out.
It's not about him.
His ego has always been a problem. He didn't and still doesn't think anyone else can do the job or at least do it as well as he can and that's what lead to so many stupid decisions in his tenure as Sorcerer Supreme. That's what lead to so many stupid decisions with the Illuminati. They thought they knew better and look at the results. So much pain and suffering from their actions that they thought were right.
Not a bright idea to form a group with other men who have ego problems like him.
"Good afternoon, Doctor."
The good doctor is roused out of his thoughts as Hill and her men immediately point their weapons at the man suddenly in the room. The good doctor on the other hand merely looks at the intruder suspiciously. He looks to be an average man with slick black hair in a black suit and white shirt. However, he can sense something about him that isn't right. That is telling him to run and not look back.
Meanwhile, the intruder is not at all bothered by the fact he has guns pointed at him. If anything he seems to be amused by the action. As if it's like they are children pointing squirt guns at him.
"Who the hell are you?!" Hill inquires aggressively.
The stranger casts a smug side glance at her, "Is that any way to treat a guest? Then again you are more of an intruder here than I am."
Hill narrows her eyes as she and her men step closer to the man, "I won't ask again."
The man rolls his eyes before he looks around the room, "I believe the halfbreed spawn had something to help in these kinds of situations," he stops as he finally finds what he's looking for and gestures to it, "Ah, that there."
While Hill and her men don't look away from the man, Strange looks in the direction the man points to and sees a crystal of some kind. One that he's never seen before but can assume it has some sort of infernal connection to it.
"Would you be so kind as to use that on me, doctor?"
The doctor looks at him suspiciously, wondering why the man would ask him to do such a thing and how he knows about the crystal when he doesn't, but instead of voicing his questions he goes over to the crystal and picks it up.
"Merely look through it," the man explains, and sill not bothered by Hill and her men.
Stephen does so warily and once he does, his eyes widen in shock before they narrow, "Mephistopheles."
The revealed demon lord slightly bows, "Guilty," he then turns his condescending eyes to the SHIELD Director who still has a gun pointed at him but now has hints of fear underneath the weariness, "Do you think that will do you any good?"
She tries to hide her fear, "It doesn't hurt does it?"
"It doesn't hurt me if that's what you mean?" Mephisto points out blandly, "You and your men on the other hand."
"Leave them be," Strange warns him with a glare.
Mephisto waves his hand dismissively, "Oh very well," he steps by them into the apartment but gives them a side glance, "I will see them soon enough."
The vocal SHIELD agent gets concerned, "What?"
"Don't listen to a word he says," Strange tells them while he keeps his eyes on the demon lord.
Mephisto's smug smile does not wane as he sits on an empty chair, "Why shouldn't they?"
Strange gives the vile being a condescending look that makes him sort of proud, "Considering you're most famously known as the Master of Lies, it should be obvious."
The demon gives an impish expression, "You say that as if it were a bad thing. However, Interestingly enough that is connected to what I'm here for."
"What are you talking about?"
The demon lord leans forward as he gives the magic man a sinister look, "I'm here to offer you a deal."
(Avenger Mansion)
Steve Rogers looks at the bloody form of Spider-Man with great worry. He received a call from SHIELD that Maria Hill needed his help because there was a situation at the Avengers mansion. As a response, he immediately gathered any and all available Avengers and got here as quickly as they could. He consulted with Tony and they both agreed that it must be something massive of Director Hill called in for help. Because if it was something she and her people couldn't handle then they would need to call in the big guns.
And boy is he happy that he did.
Captain America keeps a weary eye on the bloody form of Spider-Man as he asks Captain Marvel, "What's going on here Carol?"
The blonde heroine also keeps her eyes on the possessed hero, "He's being possessed."
Steve's blood turns cold. His mind immediately went to the worst case that the Phoenix is in control. This was not meant to happen yet. Last week when Reed, Tony, and Hank were running tests on the revived hero, both Spider-Man and Dr. Strange assured them they had plenty of time before the Phoenix became a problem again. There was no definite timetable, but Stephen did say that it would be a few months or at least weeks before they had to worry about it.
He looks over at Tony to see the man has his faceplate up and is showing the same amount of concern he is. They both discussed what would happen if and when the time came. If the Phoenix force is a problem, then they will have to deal with it accordingly. If they show favoritism then any possible resolution with X-Men that is in the works is out the window, they would have to answer for some serious crimes against humanity, and not to mention explaining everything to everyone. The secret deal Spider-Man made with the devil to the cosmic trial that it resulted.
Daredevil steps next to the recently arrived group with Luke and Mockingbird as he says, "Dr. Strange said it was the spirit of someone named Daniel Drumm. He said all we had to do was try to contain Spider-Man, but it's proven to be a bigger pain than expected."
Cap releases a breath he didn't realize he was holding before Hawkeye scoffs, "Seriously? You guys are having trouble containing ole webhead there?"
From above Carol gives him a dirty look for being dismissive, "Considering he punched me and Luke hard enough to launch us and knock the wind out of me, I'd say we have good reason to be having trouble."
And she is not exaggerating. Luke did get the wind knocked out of him. The pain wasn't much, but still, he can tank blows that could level buildings well enogh. Spider-Man has never shown anything close to that level.
Everyone looks surprised at that before Tony comments, "Well when we ran tests on him after he came back to life, we did find out how much stronger and overall better he was than before."
Morse gives him a side look, "And none of you mentioned this before, why?"
"I'm sorry I didn't think you'd be fighting him because he was being possessed."
Well, not this soon at least.
"Alright enough," Steve calls with authority to let them know who is in charge right now, "Listen up, all we have to do is subdue and contain him until Doctor Strange comes back and that's what we'll do," he assesses the situation, "It seems he can take plenty of damage so hit him hard but do not go overboard. This is still our friend."
Red Hulk smirks as he cracks his knuckles and steps forward, "So you're giving us persimmon to wail on the guy? And I thought this was gonna be a bad day."
(X)
Spidey does not like the look in the big red monster's eye. It's the same one he's seen too often in his enemies when they are about to hurt him and in his friends when they enjoy his misfortune. And it's one he sees right now in Hawkeye's eye too.
These two jerks are gonna enjoy this! On some level, he can understand their eagerness. But they can at least show some sign of remorse.
"Attacking me harms your friend more than it does me."
Well, that is a bald-faced lie. And it seems that they don't believe him. Or they don't care. Hard to tell.
Before the fight even starts, a spear flies past him and becomes embedded into the ground in front of the possessed Spider-Man. Drumm blinks and suddenly presence appears by the spear.
Before he could contemplate on this more he is stuck in the stomach by the blunt end of the spear and as he doubles over, kneed in the face. He falls backward in a daze and tries to get up quickly but finds a sword at his throat courtesy of the new assailant. He looks at the face and sees it's a woman he doesn't recognize.
But inside, Spider-Man does. And he is shocked beyond belief.
It's a woman he has not seen in a long time. Wavy red hair that is bountiful and billowing in the wind with fierce emerald eyes that are currently aimed at him. A chainmail bikini that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination and is probably turning some straight women and a fair amount of gay men to her side of the field. And a sword that he wished he gave to Strange to lock up somewhere.
"I will only warn you once, foul spirit," the woman glares as she points her sword at the possessed Spider-Man, "Remove yourself my love's body and I will destroy you quickly," she positions her sword so that it's parallel to her head, "or do not and your death will be agonizing."
Everyone present becomes shocked at her words. The heroes who were ready to attack, the soldiers still on the lawn, Maria Hill, who finally got down from the hole of the mansion, and the civilians and newspeople watching from the other side of the fence and behind the vehicles. All of them are stunned silent by what is in front of them.
Carol voices everyone's thoughts, "The f$%#k?"
And once more Drumm is surprised enough to let Peter have enough control to utter, "Sonja?"