PREVIOUSLY IN DAREDEVIL: Three months ago, Matt Murdock regained control of his life by toppling the Kingpin. Allied with the formerly demonic Hellspawn, Matt has returned to his law practice. Hellspawn, bearing features closely resembling Matt's, has adopted the identity of Mike Murdock, his law partner and brother. After months of success, Matt's life was turned upside down by a phone call from his dead girlfriend, Karen Page. Now aware that Karen's last 'resurrection' was a stunt staged by the Kingpin and the mutant Vanessa Carlysle (aka Copycat), Matt has journeyed to San Francisco to find her. Meanwhile, Hellspawn has begun wearing an old armored variant of the Daredevil uniform and is busy tracking down the woman behind his own return from the dead: the Voodoo priestess Calypso.
Hell's Kitchen
Hellspawn drove another fist into the scum's face, shattering two teeth and leaving a thin trail of blood running from the corners of the man's face. They were the only two people left conscious in this seedy little dive of a bar, with everyone else having either fled or already out cold.
"One more time, Allston." Hellspawn knelt over the bleeding man and tilted his head upwards. "Have you seen a woman named Calypso?"
"Why are you doin' this, man?" Allston asked, barely able to speak through the haze of alcohol and pain.
"Because word is you like to dabble in the occult. And Calypso is very occult." Hellspawn leaned so close that Allston could barely hear him. "Besides, I can smell her on you."
Allston shivered, staring into the slightly glowing eyes of the man he thought was Daredevil. "I met her, okay? 'Bout a week ago. I was at a place called the Demon Pit. It's a club, kinda. You gotta get invited to get in. Mostly a bunch of guys and sluts who like playing at witchcraft, you know? But then she walked in and everybody in the place knew she was the real deal. We talked for awhile and she asked me to get some stuff for her -- cloth dolls, some chicken blood, really creepy crap. So I did. That's it! Haven't seen her since! I swear it!" When Hellspawn drew back his fist for another blow, he choked out, "She's still hanging out there! A friend told me that! But I ain't been back! I ain't!"
Hellspawn let the man fall to the ground, wiping his blood-soaked knuckles off on the front of his armored uniform. "You're going to give me details about where the Demon Pit is. And if I find out that you've lied to me or that you've bothered calling ahead to warn them that I'm coming... I'm going to find you. And all this," he gestured around at the bodies on the floor. "Will seem like a warm-up for what I'll do to you."
# # # # #
San Francisco
San Francisco had once been home for Matt Murdock during one of his romances with the Black Widow. Natasha had ended the relationship when her fears about being nothing more than Daredevil's "sidekick" had begun to drive a wedge between the lovers. Matt had returned to his familiar stomping grounds in Hell's Kitchen shortly thereafter but a part of himself had always remained on the West Coast. It was a different vibe and mindset, one that he found somewhat appealing given the hell he'd endured over the last few years.
The Man Without Fear rode atop a city bus, enjoying the feel of the wind on his face. The smells and sounds of the nighttime city rushed past, so different from the sensations he was used to back home. He hesitated to classify them as 'better,' but they were certainly lacking some of the grittiness that he'd come to expect.
When his radar sense began to pick out certain familiar landmarks, he sprang from the top of the moving bus, gracefully landing atop a passing tractor trailer truck. He extended a swing line from his billy club, hooking it around a lamp post and then swung over to the side of the street. As he landed, a small crowd of onlookers began to move forward.
"It's one of the Avengers West Coast!" someone whispered.
"No, it's not -- that's Daredevil!"
"I thought it was Spider-Man, the way he was swinging!"
"Has anyone signed you for a TV deal yet?"
Matt moved past the group, shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm here on business." The red-garbed hero found his target: a small cafe with a red and white sign hanging in the window. The sign clearly read "Closed" but Daredevil ignored it. Though blind, his super-senses allowed him to recognize patterns and shapes, making his movements seem to be those of a sighted individual. He pushed his way into the cafe, letting the door close behind him.
He stood there for a moment, soaking in his environment. He caught a distinctive whiff of grilled cheese from the kitchen area, along with the sweet aroma of a diet cherry cola. A woman was eating, the soft munching of her teeth and mouth crystal clear to Daredevil's hypersensitive ears. She no longer smelled like Karen, no longer having the vial of perfume given her by the Kingpin, but Matt recognized her nonetheless. She was wearing Karen's face and body which both enticed him and provoked a strong sense of rage.
"Stop it," he said aloud.
The mutant named Copycat stopped eating and rose from the table, leaving the kitchen to enter the main part of the cafe. She looked at Daredevil, noting how tense he was. "I thought you'd prefer this," she said. "You missed her a lot and--"
Daredevil had his billy club in his hand so quickly that Copycat blinked in amazement. He pointed it towards her and lowered his voice even more. "You're not Karen. You used her memory to torment me... and I want it to stop."
Copycat shifted her form until her natural blue-skinned, white-haired appearance came to the fore. "Is that better?"
"Why did you call me?" he asked, ignoring the question. "You said you needed help. Why not call the Kingpin?"
"I worked for Fisk on a contract, Daredevil. Once it was over, our relationship went with it. For the record, though, I did try calling him. As soon as I mentioned you, he hung up on me. Didn't want to discuss you at all. Weird, huh?"
Matt said nothing, though he did move closer to her. He put his billy club away and relaxed somewhat.
"Anyway," she continued, "I need protection."
"And you think I'd help you? Not only did you pretend to be my dead girlfriend, you made me think she'd betrayed me and then that she'd died again*!"
(*A pretty fair summation of the first ten issues of this series!)
"You're a good man. One of the best I've ever met. Believe me, I didn't have to fake much when I was with you--"
"Get on with it." Daredevil held up a hand to stop her. "No. First... tell me your name. The real one."
"Vanessa Carlysle. But most of the time, I go by Copycat."
"All right, Vanessa. Now I'm ready to hear the rest."
Copycat sat down at a table, waiting for Daredevil to join her. When he didn't, she let out a sigh and continued. "I was hired to infiltrate a splinter group of the Hand that's active in San Francisco--"
"Who hired you?"
"A man named Hiro. His daughter had run away from home and he'd heard she was a part of the group. So I was to go inside and find her."
"Did you?"
"She's dead. I learned that she was offed in some sort of ceremony celebrating something called the Beast. This whole group of the Hand is much more mystical than the usual group from what I've gathered. They were experimenting with ways to open up doorways to other realities."
"I'm familiar with the Beast," Daredevil commented. He tried to ignore the rhythm of her breathing and the smell of her natural scent. It was different than Karen's but not so far off that he wasn't constantly reminded of the fact that he'd shared his bed with this woman.
"Well, I was watching from the shadows when one of their ceremonies went a little out of control. They were using something called a 'time displacer ray' to open up a rift into Limbo--"
Daredevil sat up. He knew that device... and furthermore, he knew what it was capable of. "It was unstable, just like in the original designs," he guessed aloud. "It blew up, didn't it?"
"Yes," she answered, feeling immense relief. She had called the right man, she realized. Matt had struck her as the heroic ideal that she'd always read about... nothing like her old flame, Deadpool. "The local leader of the Hand was bathed in its energies. It turned his skin chalk white and--"
"He's got the same powers as Philip Wallace Sterling, the original Death-Stalker*," Daredevil finished for her.
(*This classic DD baddie first appeared in Daredevil vol. 1 # 39 as the Exterminator. He became Death-Stalker in issue 113 and died in issue 157!)
"You're mostly right. But the old guy used killer gloves or something, right? The new Death-Stalker doesn't need them. He has a similar ability to drain the life from people he touches -- without any gadgets."
"Why is he after you?"
"Because I saw him. I watched him kill everyone else at the meeting... and I know that he claims he's in contact with the ghost of the original Death-Stalker." Copycat reached out and touched Daredevil's cheek. He flinched but didn't pull away. "Don't let him kill me, Matt. Please."
Daredevil listened to the beating of her heart, sensing her fear. "I'll protect you, Vanessa... but when it's all over with, you and I are going to settle things between us."
# # # # #
Nagaharu pulled on the blue-tinted overcoat and then reached up to adjust the brim of his hat. With the gloves he had on his hands, he was now completely covered, his features lost in a mysterious shadow beneath the hat. "Do you like it?" he asked in Japanese.
The voice of Philip Sterling came to him as if from very far away. "You look the part," he agreed. "I have to leave."
"Why?" Nagaharu asked. "We still have too much to do." The new Death-Stalker turned away from the mirror in his apartment, staring into the empty air as if he could make out the form of a man.
"When you touched the outer planes, I was able to find you with my spirit... but I'm not a ghost, not in the traditional sense. When I died, a part of me was cast adrift in Limbo. I can only interface with the Earthly plane for brief periods of time."
"Will I see you again?" Nagaharu inquired, hoping that he would. Before his mind had touched Sterling's, he had lived a barren existence. He'd joined the Hand and risen in their ranks because it gave him an outlet for his sadism. But now... now he was something far greater. He was like the living embodiment of death itself, choosing who could live and die with the barest of touches. He sported an erection just thinking about it.
"I'm not sure," Philip replied. "Even though I just said I'm not a traditional ghost, I still have the ability to see into the nether-realms. Bad things are coming. Very bad things. I'm talking end of the world kind of armageddon. Truth be told, I'm not sure I want to be on Earth when it happens."
"I will never forget you," Nagaharu said earnestly. "You have given me the greatest gift of all."
Philip laughed hollowly. "You get off on this, don't you?"
"Choosing who lives and who dies is an awesome responsibility," Nagaharu said. "I don't take it lightly."
"Then get started, why don't you? Go and find that little whore who spied on us. Kill her. And then your secret will be safe from any enemies who might pop up later on...."
# # # # #
The Demon Pit didn't look like much from the outside. With boarded up windows and no sign hanging over the door, it looked like an abandoned building. But Hellspawn spent over an hour watching the place, noting that during that time half a dozen men and women came and went. They were shifty, furtive-looking people, each of them stinking of sin.
The being who called himself Mike Murdock finally decided he'd waited long enough. He moved towards one of the boarded up windows and then threw himself against it with all his might. Though he mimicked Matt Murdock in almost every way, he was not a human being at all and his strength level was far greater. He landed in a crouch inside the club, his entire body tensed for battle.
The men and women inside were seated in various booths, staring at him in surprise. Several of them were in various states of dress and one of the women was lying across a table with her shirt off, another female dripping hot wax across her breasts. As Hellspawn watched, another warm bubble of wax landed atop her left breast.
"Calypso!" he shouted, aware that all of them thought him to be Daredevil. The press was full of stories about how active the Man Without Fear had been lately, never suspecting that two different men were fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen. "Come out and show yourself!"
"Looking for me, are you?"
Hellspawn turned to his left, where the beautiful brown-skinned woman was standing up from her seat. At her side was a bald man holding a long python. The snake was coiling itself around his arm and torso, tongue flicking back and forth. "We need to talk," Hellspawn hissed.
"These are my friends. Anything you have to say to me, you can say to them." Calypso laughed. "But look at you! Walking and talking like you're a human being. You've done well for youself."
"Why did you bring me back?" he asked, ignoring her taunts. "What made you think I wouldn't break your hold over me?"
"You still haven't, you stupid little demon! You think just because you didn't kill Daredevil, it makes you a free thing?"
"No. No, I don't think I'm free. That's why I'm here. I want to stop worrying about what you're up to. About what you really wanted me for."
"Poor little thing," she purred, moving towards him with swinging hips. "Let momma calm your fears."
As she approached, many of the club's other members began to rise, their forms shifting to things dark and loathsome. They were reptilian in nature, half-breeds between devils and humanity. Hellspawn sensed a trap had just been sprung and he drew out his fighting staff, telescoping it out to its full length. "I'll kill you if I have to," he warned.
"You couldn't if you tried, my little devil." Calypso leaped towards him with the grace of a dancer. Her foot slammed into Hellspawn's chin, knocking him backwards. He tried to strike back but found himself unable to do so. Instead, she hit him twice more, driving him to his knees. "You think I'd bring you back just so you could turn against me? Please."
Hellspawn looked up at her, fury radiating from him. "I'm going to skin you alive, you skank."
Calypso motioned to the others in the club. "Tie him up. It's time for some payback."
# # # # #
Mary Wilson closed the door to her son's room, smiling softly. Thomas was a good boy, always willing to help his mom with chores and an excellent student. Mary felt extremely grateful to God that he'd given her such a wonderful child.
She moved through her small apartment until she crashed on the couch in the living room. She kicked off her slippers and loosened her robe, barely watching Letterman on the TV. She was tired and knew she should be in bed but lately sleep had been elusive. It wasn't work that was stressing her out -- after the shock of Foggy Nelson's murder and then all the craziness with Matt Murdock's legal woes, things had finally settled down at the firm. Murdock & Murdock, as it was now called, had returned to prominence with both Matt and Mike at the helm. Mary liked to think that as their secretary, she played a role in the ongoing success.
She liked them both, but particularly Mike, who was the more outgoing and daring of the two. He was out on the town practically every night and gossip said he had a ravenous sexual appetite. A friend of hers who'd gone out with him had said he was a demon in bed....
A knock at the front door made her jump. She cast an eye over to the clock on the wall, which read 12:10 A.M. After taking a moment to compose herself and her clothing, she moved to the door and peered through the peep hole. She saw an old man with a bald, liver-spotted head. He smiled at her, obviously sensing what she was up to. "Can I help you?" she asked through the door.
"You work for Murdock & Murdock?" he asked, his voice quavering with age.
"Yes...."
"I'm sorry to bother you at home, my dear. But this is urgent. I need legal assistance."
"You'll have to try at the office, sir. I'm sorry."
"I need you to talk to them first, my dear. If I go in there now, all they'll do is usher me to the door. I have a lengthy criminal record, you see."
"I'm sure they'd both be willing to listen to you." Mary started to wonder if she should call the police. What if he was some kind of rapist weirdo?
"You don't understand. I'm not just any criminal." The old man smiled again. "My name is Albert Malik. I'm the Red Skull*!"
(*Albert Malik was the "Communist Red Skull" of the 1950s. He was also responsible for the deaths of Peter Parker's parents. He was apparently murdered in Captain America # 347... but reports of his demise were obviously greatly exaggerated!)
# # # # #
Matt stood on the balcony, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Vanessa was asleep in the room behind him, continuing to play her damsel-in-distress role to the hilt. He knew enough to realize that she was a deadly woman quite capable of taking care of herself. He didn't doubt that she was truly afraid of this Death-Stalker but he still couldn't fathom why she had called him.
She'd made it quite clear that she was willing to share her bed with him but he'd politely refused, preferring to stand watch instead. She'd lied to him. Deceived him. Why put those things aside for the sake of physical gratification?
It's been a long time, he thought to himself. She was the last, even though I thought it was Karen at the time. Those moments alone with her should have clued me in. She and Karen were very different lovers. Karen was more pliant, more submissive in many ways. Vanessa, though, was a different kind of woman. Aggressive about what she wanted and how she needed it.
"Matt?" Vanessa said from the darkness behind him. Matt could smell the shampoo in her hair, the soap on her skin. She'd showered just before bed.
"I'm in costume. Call me Daredevil."
"I'm not talking to Daredevil. I'm talking to Matt."
Turning towards her, he said "What do you want?"
"Aren't you cold out there?"
"No."
"Look, I'm sorry I hurt you. I was on a job. I felt awful about hurting you in the end."
"You're lying. You might regret it now but you didn't then. You made me believe the woman I loved wasn't dead. That she was playing me for a fool!"
Vanessa rose from the bed, moving into the moonlight. She was naked and Matt's radar sense outlined a body that was hard from years of physical exertion but still soft enough to arouse feelings within him. "All my life, I've known men who were users and killers. The more I thought about you after I took my paycheck from the Kingpin, the more I realized you were different. You're the closest thing I ever had to something that was real..."
"It wasn't real." Daredevil felt her hands reach out and touch his face. Her fingers felt warm against his skin.
"Let's make it real," she teased. As she leaned forward to kiss him, a rustle of fabric caught Daredevil's attention. He seized her wrists, surprising her, and pulled her to the side.
"He's here," Daredevil whispered.
In the shadows, the new Death-Stalker materialized.
# # # # #
In the stygian depths, a rumble of laughter bubbled forth from the Lord of Lies. Mephisto turned away from the images that floated in the flames before him, showing the looming battle between the new Death-Stalker and Daredevil. He'd come to despise Matt Murdock, for slights both real and imagined, and this little shadow-play would prove amusing, he was sure.
The spirit of Philip Wallace Sterling was not to command -- someday, perhaps, but not now. The new Death-Stalker had been caught up in a web of deceit fashioned by Mephisto, all so that Daredevil could find himself confronted with a horror from the past.
"If you only knew what I have in store for you later on," Mephisto said, thinking of Murdock's reaction to the devil's latest 'acquisition.' Surrounded by a pocket of red-yellow flame was the spiritual essence of the woman named Karen Page....
TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT ISSUE: "The Devil's Playground" continues! Can Daredevil and Copycat defeat the all-new, all-deadly Death-Stalker? Can Hellspawn overcome the occult powers of Calypso? And what's up with the Communist Red Skull?!
Hell's Kitchen
Hellspawn drove another fist into the scum's face, shattering two teeth and leaving a thin trail of blood running from the corners of the man's face. They were the only two people left conscious in this seedy little dive of a bar, with everyone else having either fled or already out cold.
"One more time, Allston." Hellspawn knelt over the bleeding man and tilted his head upwards. "Have you seen a woman named Calypso?"
"Why are you doin' this, man?" Allston asked, barely able to speak through the haze of alcohol and pain.
"Because word is you like to dabble in the occult. And Calypso is very occult." Hellspawn leaned so close that Allston could barely hear him. "Besides, I can smell her on you."
Allston shivered, staring into the slightly glowing eyes of the man he thought was Daredevil. "I met her, okay? 'Bout a week ago. I was at a place called the Demon Pit. It's a club, kinda. You gotta get invited to get in. Mostly a bunch of guys and sluts who like playing at witchcraft, you know? But then she walked in and everybody in the place knew she was the real deal. We talked for awhile and she asked me to get some stuff for her -- cloth dolls, some chicken blood, really creepy crap. So I did. That's it! Haven't seen her since! I swear it!" When Hellspawn drew back his fist for another blow, he choked out, "She's still hanging out there! A friend told me that! But I ain't been back! I ain't!"
Hellspawn let the man fall to the ground, wiping his blood-soaked knuckles off on the front of his armored uniform. "You're going to give me details about where the Demon Pit is. And if I find out that you've lied to me or that you've bothered calling ahead to warn them that I'm coming... I'm going to find you. And all this," he gestured around at the bodies on the floor. "Will seem like a warm-up for what I'll do to you."
# # # # #
San Francisco
San Francisco had once been home for Matt Murdock during one of his romances with the Black Widow. Natasha had ended the relationship when her fears about being nothing more than Daredevil's "sidekick" had begun to drive a wedge between the lovers. Matt had returned to his familiar stomping grounds in Hell's Kitchen shortly thereafter but a part of himself had always remained on the West Coast. It was a different vibe and mindset, one that he found somewhat appealing given the hell he'd endured over the last few years.
The Man Without Fear rode atop a city bus, enjoying the feel of the wind on his face. The smells and sounds of the nighttime city rushed past, so different from the sensations he was used to back home. He hesitated to classify them as 'better,' but they were certainly lacking some of the grittiness that he'd come to expect.
When his radar sense began to pick out certain familiar landmarks, he sprang from the top of the moving bus, gracefully landing atop a passing tractor trailer truck. He extended a swing line from his billy club, hooking it around a lamp post and then swung over to the side of the street. As he landed, a small crowd of onlookers began to move forward.
"It's one of the Avengers West Coast!" someone whispered.
"No, it's not -- that's Daredevil!"
"I thought it was Spider-Man, the way he was swinging!"
"Has anyone signed you for a TV deal yet?"
Matt moved past the group, shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm here on business." The red-garbed hero found his target: a small cafe with a red and white sign hanging in the window. The sign clearly read "Closed" but Daredevil ignored it. Though blind, his super-senses allowed him to recognize patterns and shapes, making his movements seem to be those of a sighted individual. He pushed his way into the cafe, letting the door close behind him.
He stood there for a moment, soaking in his environment. He caught a distinctive whiff of grilled cheese from the kitchen area, along with the sweet aroma of a diet cherry cola. A woman was eating, the soft munching of her teeth and mouth crystal clear to Daredevil's hypersensitive ears. She no longer smelled like Karen, no longer having the vial of perfume given her by the Kingpin, but Matt recognized her nonetheless. She was wearing Karen's face and body which both enticed him and provoked a strong sense of rage.
"Stop it," he said aloud.
The mutant named Copycat stopped eating and rose from the table, leaving the kitchen to enter the main part of the cafe. She looked at Daredevil, noting how tense he was. "I thought you'd prefer this," she said. "You missed her a lot and--"
Daredevil had his billy club in his hand so quickly that Copycat blinked in amazement. He pointed it towards her and lowered his voice even more. "You're not Karen. You used her memory to torment me... and I want it to stop."
Copycat shifted her form until her natural blue-skinned, white-haired appearance came to the fore. "Is that better?"
"Why did you call me?" he asked, ignoring the question. "You said you needed help. Why not call the Kingpin?"
"I worked for Fisk on a contract, Daredevil. Once it was over, our relationship went with it. For the record, though, I did try calling him. As soon as I mentioned you, he hung up on me. Didn't want to discuss you at all. Weird, huh?"
Matt said nothing, though he did move closer to her. He put his billy club away and relaxed somewhat.
"Anyway," she continued, "I need protection."
"And you think I'd help you? Not only did you pretend to be my dead girlfriend, you made me think she'd betrayed me and then that she'd died again*!"
(*A pretty fair summation of the first ten issues of this series!)
"You're a good man. One of the best I've ever met. Believe me, I didn't have to fake much when I was with you--"
"Get on with it." Daredevil held up a hand to stop her. "No. First... tell me your name. The real one."
"Vanessa Carlysle. But most of the time, I go by Copycat."
"All right, Vanessa. Now I'm ready to hear the rest."
Copycat sat down at a table, waiting for Daredevil to join her. When he didn't, she let out a sigh and continued. "I was hired to infiltrate a splinter group of the Hand that's active in San Francisco--"
"Who hired you?"
"A man named Hiro. His daughter had run away from home and he'd heard she was a part of the group. So I was to go inside and find her."
"Did you?"
"She's dead. I learned that she was offed in some sort of ceremony celebrating something called the Beast. This whole group of the Hand is much more mystical than the usual group from what I've gathered. They were experimenting with ways to open up doorways to other realities."
"I'm familiar with the Beast," Daredevil commented. He tried to ignore the rhythm of her breathing and the smell of her natural scent. It was different than Karen's but not so far off that he wasn't constantly reminded of the fact that he'd shared his bed with this woman.
"Well, I was watching from the shadows when one of their ceremonies went a little out of control. They were using something called a 'time displacer ray' to open up a rift into Limbo--"
Daredevil sat up. He knew that device... and furthermore, he knew what it was capable of. "It was unstable, just like in the original designs," he guessed aloud. "It blew up, didn't it?"
"Yes," she answered, feeling immense relief. She had called the right man, she realized. Matt had struck her as the heroic ideal that she'd always read about... nothing like her old flame, Deadpool. "The local leader of the Hand was bathed in its energies. It turned his skin chalk white and--"
"He's got the same powers as Philip Wallace Sterling, the original Death-Stalker*," Daredevil finished for her.
(*This classic DD baddie first appeared in Daredevil vol. 1 # 39 as the Exterminator. He became Death-Stalker in issue 113 and died in issue 157!)
"You're mostly right. But the old guy used killer gloves or something, right? The new Death-Stalker doesn't need them. He has a similar ability to drain the life from people he touches -- without any gadgets."
"Why is he after you?"
"Because I saw him. I watched him kill everyone else at the meeting... and I know that he claims he's in contact with the ghost of the original Death-Stalker." Copycat reached out and touched Daredevil's cheek. He flinched but didn't pull away. "Don't let him kill me, Matt. Please."
Daredevil listened to the beating of her heart, sensing her fear. "I'll protect you, Vanessa... but when it's all over with, you and I are going to settle things between us."
# # # # #
Nagaharu pulled on the blue-tinted overcoat and then reached up to adjust the brim of his hat. With the gloves he had on his hands, he was now completely covered, his features lost in a mysterious shadow beneath the hat. "Do you like it?" he asked in Japanese.
The voice of Philip Sterling came to him as if from very far away. "You look the part," he agreed. "I have to leave."
"Why?" Nagaharu asked. "We still have too much to do." The new Death-Stalker turned away from the mirror in his apartment, staring into the empty air as if he could make out the form of a man.
"When you touched the outer planes, I was able to find you with my spirit... but I'm not a ghost, not in the traditional sense. When I died, a part of me was cast adrift in Limbo. I can only interface with the Earthly plane for brief periods of time."
"Will I see you again?" Nagaharu inquired, hoping that he would. Before his mind had touched Sterling's, he had lived a barren existence. He'd joined the Hand and risen in their ranks because it gave him an outlet for his sadism. But now... now he was something far greater. He was like the living embodiment of death itself, choosing who could live and die with the barest of touches. He sported an erection just thinking about it.
"I'm not sure," Philip replied. "Even though I just said I'm not a traditional ghost, I still have the ability to see into the nether-realms. Bad things are coming. Very bad things. I'm talking end of the world kind of armageddon. Truth be told, I'm not sure I want to be on Earth when it happens."
"I will never forget you," Nagaharu said earnestly. "You have given me the greatest gift of all."
Philip laughed hollowly. "You get off on this, don't you?"
"Choosing who lives and who dies is an awesome responsibility," Nagaharu said. "I don't take it lightly."
"Then get started, why don't you? Go and find that little whore who spied on us. Kill her. And then your secret will be safe from any enemies who might pop up later on...."
# # # # #
The Demon Pit didn't look like much from the outside. With boarded up windows and no sign hanging over the door, it looked like an abandoned building. But Hellspawn spent over an hour watching the place, noting that during that time half a dozen men and women came and went. They were shifty, furtive-looking people, each of them stinking of sin.
The being who called himself Mike Murdock finally decided he'd waited long enough. He moved towards one of the boarded up windows and then threw himself against it with all his might. Though he mimicked Matt Murdock in almost every way, he was not a human being at all and his strength level was far greater. He landed in a crouch inside the club, his entire body tensed for battle.
The men and women inside were seated in various booths, staring at him in surprise. Several of them were in various states of dress and one of the women was lying across a table with her shirt off, another female dripping hot wax across her breasts. As Hellspawn watched, another warm bubble of wax landed atop her left breast.
"Calypso!" he shouted, aware that all of them thought him to be Daredevil. The press was full of stories about how active the Man Without Fear had been lately, never suspecting that two different men were fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen. "Come out and show yourself!"
"Looking for me, are you?"
Hellspawn turned to his left, where the beautiful brown-skinned woman was standing up from her seat. At her side was a bald man holding a long python. The snake was coiling itself around his arm and torso, tongue flicking back and forth. "We need to talk," Hellspawn hissed.
"These are my friends. Anything you have to say to me, you can say to them." Calypso laughed. "But look at you! Walking and talking like you're a human being. You've done well for youself."
"Why did you bring me back?" he asked, ignoring her taunts. "What made you think I wouldn't break your hold over me?"
"You still haven't, you stupid little demon! You think just because you didn't kill Daredevil, it makes you a free thing?"
"No. No, I don't think I'm free. That's why I'm here. I want to stop worrying about what you're up to. About what you really wanted me for."
"Poor little thing," she purred, moving towards him with swinging hips. "Let momma calm your fears."
As she approached, many of the club's other members began to rise, their forms shifting to things dark and loathsome. They were reptilian in nature, half-breeds between devils and humanity. Hellspawn sensed a trap had just been sprung and he drew out his fighting staff, telescoping it out to its full length. "I'll kill you if I have to," he warned.
"You couldn't if you tried, my little devil." Calypso leaped towards him with the grace of a dancer. Her foot slammed into Hellspawn's chin, knocking him backwards. He tried to strike back but found himself unable to do so. Instead, she hit him twice more, driving him to his knees. "You think I'd bring you back just so you could turn against me? Please."
Hellspawn looked up at her, fury radiating from him. "I'm going to skin you alive, you skank."
Calypso motioned to the others in the club. "Tie him up. It's time for some payback."
# # # # #
Mary Wilson closed the door to her son's room, smiling softly. Thomas was a good boy, always willing to help his mom with chores and an excellent student. Mary felt extremely grateful to God that he'd given her such a wonderful child.
She moved through her small apartment until she crashed on the couch in the living room. She kicked off her slippers and loosened her robe, barely watching Letterman on the TV. She was tired and knew she should be in bed but lately sleep had been elusive. It wasn't work that was stressing her out -- after the shock of Foggy Nelson's murder and then all the craziness with Matt Murdock's legal woes, things had finally settled down at the firm. Murdock & Murdock, as it was now called, had returned to prominence with both Matt and Mike at the helm. Mary liked to think that as their secretary, she played a role in the ongoing success.
She liked them both, but particularly Mike, who was the more outgoing and daring of the two. He was out on the town practically every night and gossip said he had a ravenous sexual appetite. A friend of hers who'd gone out with him had said he was a demon in bed....
A knock at the front door made her jump. She cast an eye over to the clock on the wall, which read 12:10 A.M. After taking a moment to compose herself and her clothing, she moved to the door and peered through the peep hole. She saw an old man with a bald, liver-spotted head. He smiled at her, obviously sensing what she was up to. "Can I help you?" she asked through the door.
"You work for Murdock & Murdock?" he asked, his voice quavering with age.
"Yes...."
"I'm sorry to bother you at home, my dear. But this is urgent. I need legal assistance."
"You'll have to try at the office, sir. I'm sorry."
"I need you to talk to them first, my dear. If I go in there now, all they'll do is usher me to the door. I have a lengthy criminal record, you see."
"I'm sure they'd both be willing to listen to you." Mary started to wonder if she should call the police. What if he was some kind of rapist weirdo?
"You don't understand. I'm not just any criminal." The old man smiled again. "My name is Albert Malik. I'm the Red Skull*!"
(*Albert Malik was the "Communist Red Skull" of the 1950s. He was also responsible for the deaths of Peter Parker's parents. He was apparently murdered in Captain America # 347... but reports of his demise were obviously greatly exaggerated!)
# # # # #
Matt stood on the balcony, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Vanessa was asleep in the room behind him, continuing to play her damsel-in-distress role to the hilt. He knew enough to realize that she was a deadly woman quite capable of taking care of herself. He didn't doubt that she was truly afraid of this Death-Stalker but he still couldn't fathom why she had called him.
She'd made it quite clear that she was willing to share her bed with him but he'd politely refused, preferring to stand watch instead. She'd lied to him. Deceived him. Why put those things aside for the sake of physical gratification?
It's been a long time, he thought to himself. She was the last, even though I thought it was Karen at the time. Those moments alone with her should have clued me in. She and Karen were very different lovers. Karen was more pliant, more submissive in many ways. Vanessa, though, was a different kind of woman. Aggressive about what she wanted and how she needed it.
"Matt?" Vanessa said from the darkness behind him. Matt could smell the shampoo in her hair, the soap on her skin. She'd showered just before bed.
"I'm in costume. Call me Daredevil."
"I'm not talking to Daredevil. I'm talking to Matt."
Turning towards her, he said "What do you want?"
"Aren't you cold out there?"
"No."
"Look, I'm sorry I hurt you. I was on a job. I felt awful about hurting you in the end."
"You're lying. You might regret it now but you didn't then. You made me believe the woman I loved wasn't dead. That she was playing me for a fool!"
Vanessa rose from the bed, moving into the moonlight. She was naked and Matt's radar sense outlined a body that was hard from years of physical exertion but still soft enough to arouse feelings within him. "All my life, I've known men who were users and killers. The more I thought about you after I took my paycheck from the Kingpin, the more I realized you were different. You're the closest thing I ever had to something that was real..."
"It wasn't real." Daredevil felt her hands reach out and touch his face. Her fingers felt warm against his skin.
"Let's make it real," she teased. As she leaned forward to kiss him, a rustle of fabric caught Daredevil's attention. He seized her wrists, surprising her, and pulled her to the side.
"He's here," Daredevil whispered.
In the shadows, the new Death-Stalker materialized.
# # # # #
In the stygian depths, a rumble of laughter bubbled forth from the Lord of Lies. Mephisto turned away from the images that floated in the flames before him, showing the looming battle between the new Death-Stalker and Daredevil. He'd come to despise Matt Murdock, for slights both real and imagined, and this little shadow-play would prove amusing, he was sure.
The spirit of Philip Wallace Sterling was not to command -- someday, perhaps, but not now. The new Death-Stalker had been caught up in a web of deceit fashioned by Mephisto, all so that Daredevil could find himself confronted with a horror from the past.
"If you only knew what I have in store for you later on," Mephisto said, thinking of Murdock's reaction to the devil's latest 'acquisition.' Surrounded by a pocket of red-yellow flame was the spiritual essence of the woman named Karen Page....
TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT ISSUE: "The Devil's Playground" continues! Can Daredevil and Copycat defeat the all-new, all-deadly Death-Stalker? Can Hellspawn overcome the occult powers of Calypso? And what's up with the Communist Red Skull?!