Issue #19: X, The Defiant.

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X---------------------------X

Volume 2: The Great War.

Issue #19: X, The Defiant.

(Kane's P.O.V)

Diana clung to my side with the grip of a Koala, her considerable strength threatening to turn my ribs into dust.

It was actually hard to breath. But that was the least of our worries.

"I hope you know what you're-"

She begun in a grim tone.

"I don't. Let's get that out of the way."

I cut in, staring at her nervous eyes.

"We might. No, we will surely die...but I'm gonna fight all the way to stop that from happening."

She looked at me strangely, before turning her gaze down and gulping.

"Well, if I had to pick anyone else to die with..."

The rest went unsaid. Time was up.

Below us, the chasm was now wide enough that with a resounding crack, the edges of the Coliseum collapsed from above, plunging everything into the awning pit. Us along.

"Hold on!"

The action detached the webbing I held with my left hand, the other end clinging to one of the ballistic bolts mechanisms.

It passed by us on its descent.

I let go.

For one second, I felt Diana's heart skip a beat. Then we were falling towards the green depths.

Wood, metal and chunks of rock rained down with us. Dust obscured our sight, making it hard to breathe clean air.

One last look above, showed the dome of energy close up.

Hope I have enough web for this.

I flexed my wrists and started shooting out webs, spinning them into a tight sphere around us, covering our bodies with enough of it that if we were to land at terminal velocity, most of our bones wouldn't be shattered on impact.

I could feel the drain on my web fluid, the action causing me to feel dizzy and hollow inside in a way that was foreign and strange.

The ball grew in size with us in the middle, blocking the debris raining down, while bouncing off the edges and sides of the cavern we were dropping through.

And then darkness claimed us. The only thing I could feel was Diana's tense breathing.

(General P.O.V)

In waters that could not be fully explained as they existed in boundary of the living world and the afterlife, a large ball made of webs floated calmly, hitting the banks of the river before continuing on.

This river was lifeless, yet shadows could be seen within its bluish depth, the souls of the damned. Those who had broken vows and pledges sworn by it.

The greedy who had never had enough. Now forced to drink to their fill and drown endlessly for eternity.

This was the river Styx. The River of Hate.

Some tried to sink their clawed hands into the Web sphere.

What stopped them was the almost autonomous electric charge that would zap out into the water and air, harming these dead souls with the energy of life force.

An energy that should not have existed in the Underworld, the realm of the dead.

An energy that was like a beacon to the shades that wandered along the shores of the river, yet instinctively they avoided the Styx.

For one fall inside and they would be trapped for all Eternity.

And so the ball of web continued on unassailed, drifting aimlessly down the styx until, a massive waterfall appeared to it's front.

And over the waterfall, the kingdom of the dead begun.

Stretched out as far as one's mental fortitude could allow understanding, it had no end.

Only a dreary, dry and hot wasteland with blackened vegetation, stubbornly growing amidst the fiery terrain. Numerous cracks were scattered on the soot laden floor, jutting out high geysers of lava.

And closer to the ground, a fog that consumed all light and most likely the sanity of those caught within.

The waters of the River Styx bifurcated into dozens of distributaries that fell into a massive plunge pool hundreds of feet below.

And in the middle of the pool, lay an island.

An island occupied by a single creature.

A massive three headed dog, with a serpent for a tail, and a mane of snakes, chewing on the bones of a creature bigger than itself.

Sparks of red, blue and yellow flames seemed to jump off the left, middle and right heads respectively.

This was Cerberus, the guard of the Underworld, laden with the duty to prevent the dead from escaping the land of death.

Or the living from entering it.

Sniffing the air, all three vicious heads looked up, the bone that was bigger than the trunk of an oak tree, momentarily forgotten as it sensed something approaching from above.

It snapped to attention, a low rumble escaping its huge and heavily muscled chest.

From the crest of one of the River Styx distributaries, a round object spilled over the weir, falling towards the plunge pool.

Cerberus eyes, dark pools of blue, yellow and red fire watched as the ball of web descended.

But Cerberus was not the only one to notice this strange and unfamiliar object.

In the darkened and gloomy skies of the Underworld, many a creature existed but none as ferocious as the vulture-like harpies.

A distant cousin to their variants in the world of the living, these particular ones were even more bloodthirsty and fractionally dangerous.

They were the agents of punishment. Torn gray wings blending with the gloomy atmosphere native to the Underworld.

Screeching with excitement and gleeful malice, the swarm of harpies, with beaks and claws as sharp as those of Stymphalian birds, dove towards the sphere.

Just as they were about to tear through the web ball and expose what lay within...

GROWWWLLLL!!!

A thunderous roar from Cerberus halted their advance, scaring these fearless creatures into a mad panic.

Screeching, the swarm pulled away as fast as they could, flying away from the Guardian of the Underworld.

The ball of web plunged into the pool, before resurfacing, drifting above the lake buoyantly.

It eventually found it's way onto the banks of the river, right before Cerberus.

The three heads stared unblinkingly at the round object, sniffing at it.

The left head begun to growl, as the Guardian beast rose off it's haunches, its hackles raising.

It could smell the stench of a God wafting off the ball.

The right head snapped at the left before it could bury it's fangs into the curious ball in front of it.

Before both heads could fight, the central head nipped the confrontation in the bud, with a much quieter but more intimidating growl.

Then it licked the sphere, releasing a snort at the other two.

A snort that made the left and right head reavulate the sphere before them.

Hidden within the aura of a God, was a familiar scent. Faint as it was. It was the scent of on of its own. A brethren. A descendant. The scent of a Hellhound.

"How peculiar."

A hooded figure, drifting on a lone wooden boat with a lantern on the bow, lighting it's way among the murky waters, stated.

The boat came from deeper into the kingdom of the dead; the river Styx breaking into two and carving around the small island the three headed Dog was on.

On either side of the river was a large obsidian arch way acting as a gate.

Written in bold Greek, the words, "ALL PATHS LEAD THE SAME WAY"

laid prominent on both gates.

The hooded figure padded an oar through the waters from the left, and yet reality appeared bent, for he appeared from the right as well. Each action made- a mirror of its counterpart.

"You've never been one to show favor, Cerberus."

Charon, the Ferryman stated in a whispery voice.

Cerberus sat back down on it's haunches, the left and right head going back to sleep while the central one stayed awake, watchful and vigilant. A spark of undeniable intelligence in its eyes.

Charon's boat bumped against the ball of web in the water.

Looking up, a skeleton with green orbs for eyes was revealed within the confines of his hood.

He reached out a hand, a skeletal limb with long fingers which he used to gently stroke the ball of web.

Streaks of yellow electricity jumped out at him, failing to do any damage.

"Mmmh." The Ferryman hummed in thought.

"I'll take it from here old friend."

Charon spoke, to which Cerberus' middle head huffed.

"The master seeks audience with our 'unwanted' guests."

The hooded underworld deity explained, turning his gaze to the Three Headed Hellhound.

"If you wouldn't mind?"

The Central head sniffed, before turning it's head to the ball of web.

It opened its maw and blue flames as hot as the sun surged out, disintegrating the ball of web into nothing.

"I'll be back for the next batch soon. Maybe I'll bring you another Dragon bone."

Charon said, rowing his boat, with two new occupants behind him.

(An undeterminable time later)

(Kane's P.O.V)

Ever been hit with deja vu intermixed with nostalgia, a healthy heaping of vertigo and on top of that, the worst hangover ever?

No? Really?

Well lucky you.

It fells like I went 100 rounds with Circe. And this time she took me seriously.

The world was spinning round and round enough that it took more than a few seconds to realize I was moving.

Drifting on something.

The last thing I remember is spinning more web than I had reserves for. The aim being to create a protective sphere around us, increasing our chances for survival.

A protective sphere with enough thick padding that any force or impact transferred through to us, would be a fraction of its initial value.

We would feel it but I was banking on Diana and I being durable enough to take it.

Thankfully, I was right. Though that begged the question, where was I?

My heart rate remained constant as I listened, trying to figure out exactly what was around me.

This move had helped me greatly before. You have no clue how many times I've caught a target with their guard down when they thought I was passed out.

Slowly, I begun to make out sounds.

The gentle lap of water, steady breathing, steady heart beat and the whistle of a cold breeze, ruffling against something cloth-like. The air smelled of...

That's impossible. It smelled of nothing.

I opened my eyes.

This...is most obviously not the inside of the web sphere.

The sky was dark. Not a cloudy dark, just a dark canvas with a few pinpricks of light on it, that were too dim to be stars.

And there was so much gray mist obscuring the air around me, that I couldn't see much of anything else.

Placing two hands under me, I sat up.

The vertigo immediately increased ten fold.

"Ugh...I liked it better when I was passed out."

I bemoaned, hands on either side of my head.

"Thank Hera. You're awake."

Diana said from my front, looking over her shoulder with a relieved smile.

I stared around at us.

We were on a boat sailing over a dark blue river. One with...

"Are those..."

I questioned, gaping at the shadows of people tugging at the edge of the boat from within the water.

Pale fingers grasped at the wood, only for a membrane of invisible energy to repel them.

Most had wide unblinking eyes that seemed to pull you in-and-NEVER-WANT-TO-LET-GO...

"Hmmph!"

I snorted, Releasing my killing intent.

Apart from breaking me out of the spell, it did nothing to disuade them. In fact, the action spurred them on.

"Your hands are tainted with blood."

A wheezing voice said from my front. Immediately, my guard was up.

"They're attracted to that."

The hooded figure who I had 'somehow' missed, added from the front of the boat, their voice like the breeze around us, bitingly cold.

I say 'Somehow' missed because there was no way I had. So how...

"This is Charon. The Ferryman of the underworld. He's the deity charged with transporting the souls of the dead."

Diana provided. Then she growled,

"He's also incredibly frustrating."

My eyes jumped between the two.

"How so?"

In response, Charon held up two golden coins in the air.

"You could not pay the fee. So I extracted 10 years of your life as recompese. Welcome to the Underworld."

"What? Ten years? Fee?"

I looked at the livid Diana, understanding why she was so worked up.

Still,

I cleared my throat.

"Something like that would need our express permission. And even had you asked, the answer would have been a very clear and resounding no."

"Those are the rules."

The hooded figure stated in a tone that said he didn't care whether or not we accepted it.

That wasn't goint to work for me.

"Did you-"

"Tell him that we did not come here of our own volition?"

Diana interjected.

"Yes. He told me to take it up with the boss."

"You mean Hades."

I breathed out, connecting the dots. We were in the Underworld, on a boat with Charon. I might not be a mythological expert but a few trips to Europe had made me interested in its rich culture.

The Acropolis was a wonder of architecture based on how long ago it was constructed.

But that's besides the point.

"10 years is too much."

I shook my head. As a human being, I had about 80 years in me.(Of course I had plans for immortality, that was just obvious. One of my goals was to make it to the 21st century and beyond even. But I had to make sure I had more than enough time to achieve that goal.)

"I know! I said the same thing!"

Diana yelled, throwing her hands up while looking at me over her shoulder.

I gave her a blank stare.

"What?"

She blinked my way.

"You're a demigod and an Amazon at that. If anything, your lifespan might be in the hundreds if not thousands. 10 years is nothing."

I answered dryly.

She had the grace to look sheepish.

"Look at it this way."

Charon interrupted, looking back at us, revealing his skeletal visage.

"The punishment for not paying the required one Obol coin is wandering the shores of the Styx for 100 years. I can take you back there if you so wish."

Diana and I shared a look. And we agreed, this was far from over.

The boat continued on, the mist thick at most places and thin in some. The places where it was thin, revealed sights to us that boggered and bothered the mind.

So many people. Dead spirits doing nothing but staring as we passed.

And even phantom creatures from mythology.

Like a several eyed beast with a mad gaze or a centaur whose flesh was covered by boils that dripped with hot pus. Pus that burned holes on the ground.

We even saw one or two raving Satyrs stumbling about with mournful wails.(Diana told me they were the ones who had willingly died just to look for Pan, the God of the wild in the Underworld.)

The Themiscyran princess was proving to be a treasure trove of information.

Passing by a few ghostly figures that caused the other souls to scatter in fear, she explained,

"Those are Banshees. Creatures of sorrow and lamentations. It is said, any Amazon who dies an unworthy death, becomes one. Forced to haunt the shores of the five rivers for all eternity."

So, she was most likely looking at her sisters.

I patted her shoulder, pointing at the sky when she turned to me.

"What about those flying things?"

Creatures that looked like a cross between a bat and a snake.

"Soul seekers."

She answered.

"They move through the mist ensuring no peace comes to those that fail to pay Charon's toll."

We stayed silent after that.

I was mostly occupied with the fact my wrists felt numb. And trying to produce webs left them burning something fierce.

The good thing was that now, I knew the limit of how much web I could produce.

Draining those reserves, for however long, I would be rendered ineffective web-wise.

I also pulled up the interface, curious to see if anything had changed.

And lo and behold...something had. Not.

Yeah. Just joking.

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

Spider-Man X.

MILES MORALES STRAIN: 100% d.n.a INTERGRATION.

Abilities unlocked:

Super strength.

Spider sense.

Web-creation.

Wall-crawling.

Enhanced Healing.

Enhanced Senses.

Enhanced Stamina.

Enhanced Durability.

Enhanced Flexibility.

Bio-Energy Manipulation.

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

As brief and dry as ever.

I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe the flare of blue within the venom blast had filled me with hope or something.

Nothing like that it seems.

"We've arrived."

The Ferryman said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Diana gasped. And I soon saw why.

One second we are deep in this unfathomable fog, then the next we're out.

The sky becomes red, the air gets charged and oppressively hot.

The real kingdom of the dead is displayed for ours eyes to consume.

Charon's boat hit a wooden dock where the river ended. Or rather, instead of ending, it seemed to disappear below the wooden planks of the docks, falling into a lake far below us.

And it wasn't the only one. 4 more rivers like it flowed into the lake, in a semi-circe perimeter around us.

A green river that, Diana told me was known as the Acheron or the river of pain, a yellow one called Lethe, or the river of forgetfulness, Cocytus, the grey river or river of wailing and the final one: Phlegethon, a river of fire.

The Five rivers of the Underworld, all surrounding a structure in the middle that stole our collective breath away.

You see, the docks transitioned into a short bridge, one that led to an incredible place.

Call it a castle, a mansion, a palace. It was all that and more. It's walls were obsidian with precious gemstones from diamonds to rubies, to everything imaginable.

Towers jutted out into the red sky.

It was grand. It was imposing.

It was...

"The Underworld Palace."

Diana whispered in naked awe. And I found myself agreeble with the sheer scale of its mightiness.

A palace worth the king of the Underworld.

HOWEVER, I wasn't sure the opposite was true.

For Hades dwarfed the presence of his Palace by a factor of billions.

The second my gaze landed on the King of the Underworld, I knew without a shred of doubt, this was a level of power I would never hope to reach.

It wouldn't stop me from trying though.

And the first step towards that endeavor was keeping my head held up high, even as Charon bowed in subservience.

Even as Diana prostrated herself within the boat.

Through the short distance between the boat and the head of the bridge, cool and power-vibrationary eyes met my own.

And I Defiantly gazed into the abyss.