PREVIOUSLY IN DAREDEVIL: Daredevil has relocated to San Francisco, leaving Hell's Kitchen under the protection of his 'brother," Hellspawn. As Daredevil pondered accepting an invitation to join the Avengers West Coast organization, he began an uncertain relationship with the mutant known as Copycat. Unfortunately, all that has been put on hold as his old enemy, the Owl, has been manipulated by Mephisto into creating a spell that has altered certain portions of the world's history. Now Daredevil must battle the Owl in the pits of Hell, with the stakes incredibly high: should the Owl win, his twisted new reality will remain; should Daredevil win, the soul of Karen Page will be freed!
Matt Murdock felt like his world was toppling over into pure madness. Months ago, the woman he'd loved more than life itself had been brutally murdered by the killer known as Bullseye. Not long after, a mutant calling herself Copycat had pretended to be Karen Page in a bid to destroy Matt's psyche. Matt had overcome it all and begun to gain a measure of peace, of acceptance that Karen was gone...
But now she was floating in the air before him, perfectly outlined by his radar sense. He could smell her, could almost taste her... she was real. And she was being dangled in front of him by the prince of evil.
Rather than attack the Owl, who still stood in shock nearby, the Man Without Fear hurled his billy club at Mephisto, the blunt end of the weapon striking the devil hard in the chin. Mephisto's head flew backwards and dark blackish-red blood spurted in the air. Mephisto snarled like a jungle cat, wiping at his wound with the back of a hand. He grabbed the billy club and ignited it in the palm of his hand. "Now, Matthew... is that any way to treat the man who offers you the return of your true love?"
"That's not really her. It can't be," Matt whispered, though he knew the truth of the matter: that was Karen, through and through.
Mephisto threw his head back and laughed. "Why would I need to make a false version of her, Matthew? Why, when it's far more painful for you to realize that she was a damned soul. That her sins were so great that she ended up here, in my clutches! And oh what fun we've had together, she and I! She learned many things during her days as an 'actress,' let me tell you...."
Daredevil roared, throwing himself at the devil. They went down together and Daredevil began raining down blows on the villain's face, feeling bones and flesh giving way until the demon's face was lost in a wave of red.
Mephisto hurled Daredevil away with the flick of a wrist, calling upon the mystic powers at his disposal. Though he could have easily healed the damage that Daredevil had done to his physical vessel, the demon chose not to do so. Instead, he rose to his feet and snapped his fingers. "Do you want to see her suffer, Matthew? Is that what you really want?"
Karen suddenly snapped to life, her eyes flying open as her body began to contort in pain. She gripped her midsection and screamed like someone had just stuck her with a knife and begun to twist it horribly.
Daredevil felt his heart clench in emphatic pain. "Stop it!" he yelled.
Karen heard his voice and found him with her eyes. She screamed his name and tried to reach for him but the pain overwhelmed her again, causing her to black out. She hung in the air like a limp rag doll, her breathing erratic.
"You understand now?" Mephisto asked. "If you don't play my little game, I'll just destroy her soul outright."
Daredevil paused, anger seething within him. He didn't want to give the devil the satisfaction of playing in this farce... but he couldn't lose Karen. Not again.
From behind him, he sensed movement. The Owl had extended his claws and was approaching, heartbeat racing. "I'm ready to play," Leland Owlsley whispered. "I want to keep my world."
Matt turned to face him, not seeing the somewhat heavy Owlsey of the past. This version was sleek and dangerous, the result of having rewritten his own history. "You think Mephisto really means to let you keep all the changes you've made? Why would he do that? What would he have to gain? Because in the end that's all that matters to him."
The Owl glanced over at Mephisto, who shrugged expansively. The devil spoke with confidence, as if he had no fear of what might come of his words. "I will gain quite a bit by your actions, Owlsley. You took part in an elaborate spell that netted me many souls and greatly weakened Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, though he does not know it yet. So I would very much like to keep your changes in effect. As for whether or not I'll undo them if you lose... yes. Because I can't stand failures and that's what you'll be if you lose to Daredevil. Again."
"Don't be a pawn," Daredevil whispered.
The Owl sneered at his old foe and lunged for him, claws slashing. "I'm not going to be a pawn, Daredevil. I'm going to be a winner."
# # # # #
Copycat stepped outside the Avengers Compound, wondering what was keeping Matt. He'd gone outside to think for awhile but that had been nearly thirty minutes ago. A small giggle escaped her lips as she realized that she felt concern for him. This whole relationship was absolutely bizarre. Was she really falling in love with a guy who was nothing like her? She'd shared his bed for weeks as part of a plot to drive him crazy... and now she was hoping to share it again, for reasons that were much less sinister.
As soon as Vanessa was beneath the nighttime stars, however, she knew something was wrong. A veteran of far too many fights recognized the way the grass was disturbed, the odd cast of the footprints... there had been an attack here.
She shifted to a form more suitable for violence -- a larger framed female body that resembled the model and actress Grace Jones. "Matt?" she asked aloud, fearful that there would be no response.
There wasn't.
Just as she started to rush back into the Avengers Compound, she heard a man clearing his voice from behind her. Without looking, she spun about, fist outstretched. She struck the side of the stranger's head, knocking him off-balance.
Immediately, she regretted her actions.
Standing there was Stephen Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He'd come in response to Matt's request for aid... but he was now dripping blood from a torn lower lip. He waved a glove hand and effortlessly sealed the wound, though he regarded Vanessa warily.
"Sorry," she muttered, shifting back into her normal blue-skinned form. "I didn't know who you were."
"I would advise against greeting strangers in that manner," Strange remarked. He looked tired and though he did not share the reasons why with Copycat, his mind turned back to the horrible battle that had taken place at his home recently*. He'd worked long and hard to find a cure for Daniel Ketch and the search was taking a lot out of him.
(*See issue three of the M2K Ghost Rider series)
"I said I was sorry," Copycat repeated. "I think something's happened to Daredevil." Silently, she praised herself for having remembered to use Matt's costumed identity instead of his real name.
Strange looked around, eyes narrowing. "Yes. There's a familiar stench to the scene. I believe that we may have uncovered the true evil behind the curtain."
"I thought the Owl had done all this."
"The Owl is but a small figure in a much larger tableau. I believe that our true enemy is the Lord of Lies -- Mephisto."
# # # # #
Hellspawn sprinted through the night, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He wore his full demonic form, massive horns protruding from his head and his blood-red skin gleaming in the moonlight. He was nude, enjoying the night air on his skin. His forked tail swished back and forth as he spotted his quarry.
She was young, no more than fourteen, but life on the streets had hardened her greatly. Her short black hair was spiky and dirty, her eyes carried bags under them and her skirt was so short that Hellspawn could see the bottom of her tattered underwear.
He sniffed the air as she walked back and forth in front of the alley, looking for a john. He could smell her fear and her sex, intermingled with the drugs that coursed through her veins. Flush with excitement, he jumped for her, tackling her in the middle of the sidewalk. He tore at her with his teeth and claws, moaning his appreciation the entire time.
Mike Murdock woke up with a start, sweat covering his body. The pert young redhead in the bed next to him moved slightly, her arm sliding across his chest. He couldn't quite remember her name and it didn't matter in the end. As he closed his eyes again, he couldn't help but wonder what was happening to him.
Somewhere, the woman named Calypso laughed.
# # # # #
The Owl fought like a man possessed. Daredevil managed to evade most of his attacks but several got through his defenses, leaving bloody gashes across his chest and stomach. "Leland," Matt whispered, straining all his senses to detect which way his foe was lunging towards. "We can find a way out of this together."
"A way out?" the Owl laughed, madness in his eyes. His body shape was different to Matt's radar sense, more ruggedly cut and far less 'soft' than in the past. "If you win, you get that skirt back... good for you. But what do I get if I don't play the devil's game, hero? I go back to being a joke! I was NEVER MEANT TO BE A JOKE! I had power! I had women! And I lost it all because of people like you!"
Matt ducked under another slash of the Owl's claws and delivered a powerful rabbit punch to the man's midsection that took his breath away. Daredevil then swept the Owl's legs out from under him, knocking him to his back. The Owl roared in anger as Daredevil stood over him.
"You choose to be the kind of man you are," Daredevil said. "Don't let someone else dictate that for you!"
"Easy for you to say!" the Owl spat out, kicking the red-garbed hero in the shin. When Daredevil backed away, the Owl reached up and grabbed hold of the man's waist. He managed to pull the vigilante to his knees and the two men began exchanging powerful blows to each other's face. The Owl's nose shattered just before two of Matt's teeth were knocked askew.
Realizing that the Owl was too far gone to listen to reason, Daredevil gripped his foe by the sides of his head and drove the older man down to the ground, slamming his skull repeatedly against the hard rock.
Mephisto watched this from afar, a mirthless grin on his face. This was all going better than he'd anticipated. Truthfully, he had no intention of keeping his word to the Owl -- the spell that had affected the memories of the world would fade with time. His main goal here today was to either witness Daredevil's death -- in which case, one of the few mortals who had ever bested him would be removed as a threat -- or else Daredevil would slay his opponent in order to win the hand of his lady, which would damn Murdock's soul forever. It wasn't that murder was always a cardinal sin, no matter what the church might say -- there would times when killing another was a good thing, not something to condemn one to hell. But in Murdock's case, he would never be free of the guilt. He would damn himself.
So enraptured by the battle was he that Mephisto did not notice the flash of light to his right. Dr. Strange shimmered into view, Copycat at his side. He was holding the West Coast Avengers in reserve, ready to summon them at a moment's notice -- but he wanted to try a stealthy approach first. Though the Avengers were mighty indeed, they were not well suited to spiritual battles -- and Strange wasn't sure he could trust Hawkeye to follow his instructions. The bowman's wife had been killed by Mephisto years before* and the Avenger harbored great anger towards the demon as a result.
(*Back in the classic Avengers West Coast # 100)
Copycat, on the other hand, was an emotional anchor that Strange could use to locate Daredevil. It had worked to perfection, as they materialized very close to Matt's battle. "There he is!" she whispered, starting to move towards Daredevil and the Owl, both of whom were now bleeding profusely. As she watched, the Owl nearly gutted Matt, burying his claws deep in the hero's belly.
Strange held her firmly by the arm, however. "Don't rush off. This is not the realm of mortals. In a second, you could be transported to places I could never locate!"
"We have to help him!"
Strange looked upwards, spotting Karen Page. "Do you know her?" he asked.
Vanessa followed his gaze and felt her heart begin to pound wildly. "That's Matt's old girlfriend... Karen."
"She must be part of some greater scheme of the demon's," Strange said with a shake of his head. "I shall free her -- go to her and make sure that she is well. I will help Daredevil against the devil."
Vanessa nodded, moving towards Karen. Strange freed her easily enough and the blonde woman dropped to the ground. Copycat managed to catch her and lower her safely. Karen felt so fragile but Vanessa knew every line of the woman's face. She'd worn that face for quite a long time, after all*.
(*If you're new to the series, you really need to check out the first nine issues!)
"Matt...?" Karen murmured, barely opening her eyes.
Copycat looked over to see Strange floating towards the battle still being raged. She felt how vulnerable Karen was now and she knew that this was her moment of truth. Kill her and take her place... Matt would believe it. But Strange knew she'd been with him, that might lead to some suspicion on Matt's part. I could fool him, she thought. He wants to believe. But is that what I really want to do? Matt's so good and honest... and I'd be lying to him. I'd have killed his girlfriend and would be living a lie forever as a result. What I'd really like is for Matt to treasure me the way he does her.
As the mutant strained to make her decision, Dr. Strange pointed his hands at Mephisto and unleashed one of the most powerful spells in his arsenal. The Ebony Horns of Ta'bothos slammed into the demon's side, the force of the blow echoing across multiple planes of reality.
Daredevil looked towards the noise, surprised to see Strange but pleased beyond words. He was hurting, bad, and the pain got worse when the Owl took advantage of his distraction by slamming an elbow into the side of Matt's head. His ears rung and he fell to his side.
The Owl raised his bloodied claws, eager to finish him. "I've waited a long time for this, Daredevil. Today's the day I start earning back the respect I've lost!"
The villain's claws started their downward motion but the blow missed it mark as someone kicked him in the back at the final moment. The Owl tumbled off the hero and rolled over to see Karen Page standing there, a jagged rock in her hand.
"Get the hell away from my man," she whispered, looking like she'd just crawled from the grave. Before the Owl could respond, she drove the rock down against his forehead. A satisfying crack filled the air and the Owl moved no more. Swaying on her feet, Karen finally succumbed to her weakness and fell to her knees. "Oh, Matt...."
Daredevil pulled her against him, reveling in the feel of her against him. "Karen... how?"
"A woman was helping me. The demons... they attacked her."
Matt looked around with his radar sense and suddenly cried out Vanessa's name. There was indeed a pack of dog-like demons in the vicinity. They were pulling the dismembered corpse of a woman to pieces. Her flesh was so bloodied and riddled with bites that it was impossible to see much of anything other than the pair of shoes on her feet: the same boots that Copycat had worn earlier. For Daredevil, whose radar sense outlined things in block style, the shape of the body and the presence of the distinctive footwear was proof enough.
Karen held him tighter. "Was she important to you?" she asked, obviously fearful of the answer but mostly just concerned for him.
"I... she was a friend. Maybe a better one than I thought at the time." Matt squeezed Karen hard. "I'm not leaving without you." Those words took on more meaning as the ground beneath them began to rumble and split open.
A look at Mephisto told the reasons why. Strange was engaging him in a multi-pronged assault that threatened to destroy the demon's realm.
"How dare you?!" the lord of lies bellowed. "This is my domain!"
Strange kept up his attack, not giving the demon any quarter. "Matthew!" he yelled, raising his voice over the din of battle. "Get your companions together!"
Daredevil started after Vanessa's body, not wanting to leave it behind but Karen stopped him. "She's dead, Matt... you'll only risk yourself!"
Matt cursed under his breath, knowing she was right. Instead, he reached out and grabbed hold of the Owl's arm. Leland had already reverted to his true appearance, making it quite clear that the spell caused by Mephisto and "King Solomon's Frogs" was over.
As Matt felt the world around him begin to twist and change, he thought again of Vanessa. The young girl had wanted to change... he had felt it. And now she was dead, having sacrificed herself so that Karen might live.
He'd never forget her. Not ever.
# # # # #
The man stood on the rooftop of one of San Francisco's tallest buildings -- or at least, one of the tallest left standing after the recent Equinox attack*. He felt a flush of excitement and smiled broadly. On his head he wore a helmet that was shaped like that of the villain known as the Wizard, though it was colored a deep black. Three flight discs lined the front of his uniform and a belt lined with various traps and adhesives completed the upper portion of his attire. His gloves were capable of generating a powerful electric current, the result of much up-close study of Electro's abilities and a large glue-projecting gun rested in a holster on his left hip.
(*See recent issues of M2K's Avengers West Coast)
The study hadn't been done by him, of course. All of his equipment came courtesy of the Frightful Four, though he had proudly shifted the colors to black and gray. He'd only recently come into possession of the entire array of weapons* but he'd mastered them already and was eager to put them to use.
(*In our 19th issue!)
He threw himself off the roof and laughed aloud as the flight discs activated, allowing him to soar over the unimportant men and women below. The city, decimated though it was, would soon be his.
"Prepare yourself, San Francisco," he said to himself. "Amalgam is coming for you...."
# # # # #
Matt and Karen -- along with the unconscious Owl -- materialized inside the Compound, startling the Wasp, who was on duty in the monitor room.
"DD?" the Wasp asked, buzzing about his head. "Where's Doc and Copycat?"
"I... am here." Strange collapsed out of a ragged looking rip in the, landing hard on the floor. "And I am sorry, Matthew. Was Vanessa lost to us?"
Matt nodded, still holding on to Karen like a life preserver. "Yes. But we got one back today, Strange. We got one back."
Karen lifted her chin and kissed him. And it was like the years of pain and heartache were washed away in one shining, wonderful moment.
She was back.
NEXT ISSUE: "Law and Order" features the two Murdocks actively involved in legal cases. Matt takes on a crusade to help the evacuees of the recent horrors in San Francisco while Mike goes toe to toe with the United States government on the behalf of the Communist Red Skull!
Author's Note
Wow! Karen's back... and Matt's life seems to be taking a turn for the better. Next issue, we'll see Matt getting his feet fully on the ground in San Francisco as he gets back into the legal business. And are wedding bells going to ring down the line....? Stay tuned.
Look for more excitement in the months to come, as a villain who's never faced Daredevil pops up and we build towards a shocker in # 25!
Matt Murdock felt like his world was toppling over into pure madness. Months ago, the woman he'd loved more than life itself had been brutally murdered by the killer known as Bullseye. Not long after, a mutant calling herself Copycat had pretended to be Karen Page in a bid to destroy Matt's psyche. Matt had overcome it all and begun to gain a measure of peace, of acceptance that Karen was gone...
But now she was floating in the air before him, perfectly outlined by his radar sense. He could smell her, could almost taste her... she was real. And she was being dangled in front of him by the prince of evil.
Rather than attack the Owl, who still stood in shock nearby, the Man Without Fear hurled his billy club at Mephisto, the blunt end of the weapon striking the devil hard in the chin. Mephisto's head flew backwards and dark blackish-red blood spurted in the air. Mephisto snarled like a jungle cat, wiping at his wound with the back of a hand. He grabbed the billy club and ignited it in the palm of his hand. "Now, Matthew... is that any way to treat the man who offers you the return of your true love?"
"That's not really her. It can't be," Matt whispered, though he knew the truth of the matter: that was Karen, through and through.
Mephisto threw his head back and laughed. "Why would I need to make a false version of her, Matthew? Why, when it's far more painful for you to realize that she was a damned soul. That her sins were so great that she ended up here, in my clutches! And oh what fun we've had together, she and I! She learned many things during her days as an 'actress,' let me tell you...."
Daredevil roared, throwing himself at the devil. They went down together and Daredevil began raining down blows on the villain's face, feeling bones and flesh giving way until the demon's face was lost in a wave of red.
Mephisto hurled Daredevil away with the flick of a wrist, calling upon the mystic powers at his disposal. Though he could have easily healed the damage that Daredevil had done to his physical vessel, the demon chose not to do so. Instead, he rose to his feet and snapped his fingers. "Do you want to see her suffer, Matthew? Is that what you really want?"
Karen suddenly snapped to life, her eyes flying open as her body began to contort in pain. She gripped her midsection and screamed like someone had just stuck her with a knife and begun to twist it horribly.
Daredevil felt his heart clench in emphatic pain. "Stop it!" he yelled.
Karen heard his voice and found him with her eyes. She screamed his name and tried to reach for him but the pain overwhelmed her again, causing her to black out. She hung in the air like a limp rag doll, her breathing erratic.
"You understand now?" Mephisto asked. "If you don't play my little game, I'll just destroy her soul outright."
Daredevil paused, anger seething within him. He didn't want to give the devil the satisfaction of playing in this farce... but he couldn't lose Karen. Not again.
From behind him, he sensed movement. The Owl had extended his claws and was approaching, heartbeat racing. "I'm ready to play," Leland Owlsley whispered. "I want to keep my world."
Matt turned to face him, not seeing the somewhat heavy Owlsey of the past. This version was sleek and dangerous, the result of having rewritten his own history. "You think Mephisto really means to let you keep all the changes you've made? Why would he do that? What would he have to gain? Because in the end that's all that matters to him."
The Owl glanced over at Mephisto, who shrugged expansively. The devil spoke with confidence, as if he had no fear of what might come of his words. "I will gain quite a bit by your actions, Owlsley. You took part in an elaborate spell that netted me many souls and greatly weakened Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, though he does not know it yet. So I would very much like to keep your changes in effect. As for whether or not I'll undo them if you lose... yes. Because I can't stand failures and that's what you'll be if you lose to Daredevil. Again."
"Don't be a pawn," Daredevil whispered.
The Owl sneered at his old foe and lunged for him, claws slashing. "I'm not going to be a pawn, Daredevil. I'm going to be a winner."
# # # # #
Copycat stepped outside the Avengers Compound, wondering what was keeping Matt. He'd gone outside to think for awhile but that had been nearly thirty minutes ago. A small giggle escaped her lips as she realized that she felt concern for him. This whole relationship was absolutely bizarre. Was she really falling in love with a guy who was nothing like her? She'd shared his bed for weeks as part of a plot to drive him crazy... and now she was hoping to share it again, for reasons that were much less sinister.
As soon as Vanessa was beneath the nighttime stars, however, she knew something was wrong. A veteran of far too many fights recognized the way the grass was disturbed, the odd cast of the footprints... there had been an attack here.
She shifted to a form more suitable for violence -- a larger framed female body that resembled the model and actress Grace Jones. "Matt?" she asked aloud, fearful that there would be no response.
There wasn't.
Just as she started to rush back into the Avengers Compound, she heard a man clearing his voice from behind her. Without looking, she spun about, fist outstretched. She struck the side of the stranger's head, knocking him off-balance.
Immediately, she regretted her actions.
Standing there was Stephen Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He'd come in response to Matt's request for aid... but he was now dripping blood from a torn lower lip. He waved a glove hand and effortlessly sealed the wound, though he regarded Vanessa warily.
"Sorry," she muttered, shifting back into her normal blue-skinned form. "I didn't know who you were."
"I would advise against greeting strangers in that manner," Strange remarked. He looked tired and though he did not share the reasons why with Copycat, his mind turned back to the horrible battle that had taken place at his home recently*. He'd worked long and hard to find a cure for Daniel Ketch and the search was taking a lot out of him.
(*See issue three of the M2K Ghost Rider series)
"I said I was sorry," Copycat repeated. "I think something's happened to Daredevil." Silently, she praised herself for having remembered to use Matt's costumed identity instead of his real name.
Strange looked around, eyes narrowing. "Yes. There's a familiar stench to the scene. I believe that we may have uncovered the true evil behind the curtain."
"I thought the Owl had done all this."
"The Owl is but a small figure in a much larger tableau. I believe that our true enemy is the Lord of Lies -- Mephisto."
# # # # #
Hellspawn sprinted through the night, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He wore his full demonic form, massive horns protruding from his head and his blood-red skin gleaming in the moonlight. He was nude, enjoying the night air on his skin. His forked tail swished back and forth as he spotted his quarry.
She was young, no more than fourteen, but life on the streets had hardened her greatly. Her short black hair was spiky and dirty, her eyes carried bags under them and her skirt was so short that Hellspawn could see the bottom of her tattered underwear.
He sniffed the air as she walked back and forth in front of the alley, looking for a john. He could smell her fear and her sex, intermingled with the drugs that coursed through her veins. Flush with excitement, he jumped for her, tackling her in the middle of the sidewalk. He tore at her with his teeth and claws, moaning his appreciation the entire time.
Mike Murdock woke up with a start, sweat covering his body. The pert young redhead in the bed next to him moved slightly, her arm sliding across his chest. He couldn't quite remember her name and it didn't matter in the end. As he closed his eyes again, he couldn't help but wonder what was happening to him.
Somewhere, the woman named Calypso laughed.
# # # # #
The Owl fought like a man possessed. Daredevil managed to evade most of his attacks but several got through his defenses, leaving bloody gashes across his chest and stomach. "Leland," Matt whispered, straining all his senses to detect which way his foe was lunging towards. "We can find a way out of this together."
"A way out?" the Owl laughed, madness in his eyes. His body shape was different to Matt's radar sense, more ruggedly cut and far less 'soft' than in the past. "If you win, you get that skirt back... good for you. But what do I get if I don't play the devil's game, hero? I go back to being a joke! I was NEVER MEANT TO BE A JOKE! I had power! I had women! And I lost it all because of people like you!"
Matt ducked under another slash of the Owl's claws and delivered a powerful rabbit punch to the man's midsection that took his breath away. Daredevil then swept the Owl's legs out from under him, knocking him to his back. The Owl roared in anger as Daredevil stood over him.
"You choose to be the kind of man you are," Daredevil said. "Don't let someone else dictate that for you!"
"Easy for you to say!" the Owl spat out, kicking the red-garbed hero in the shin. When Daredevil backed away, the Owl reached up and grabbed hold of the man's waist. He managed to pull the vigilante to his knees and the two men began exchanging powerful blows to each other's face. The Owl's nose shattered just before two of Matt's teeth were knocked askew.
Realizing that the Owl was too far gone to listen to reason, Daredevil gripped his foe by the sides of his head and drove the older man down to the ground, slamming his skull repeatedly against the hard rock.
Mephisto watched this from afar, a mirthless grin on his face. This was all going better than he'd anticipated. Truthfully, he had no intention of keeping his word to the Owl -- the spell that had affected the memories of the world would fade with time. His main goal here today was to either witness Daredevil's death -- in which case, one of the few mortals who had ever bested him would be removed as a threat -- or else Daredevil would slay his opponent in order to win the hand of his lady, which would damn Murdock's soul forever. It wasn't that murder was always a cardinal sin, no matter what the church might say -- there would times when killing another was a good thing, not something to condemn one to hell. But in Murdock's case, he would never be free of the guilt. He would damn himself.
So enraptured by the battle was he that Mephisto did not notice the flash of light to his right. Dr. Strange shimmered into view, Copycat at his side. He was holding the West Coast Avengers in reserve, ready to summon them at a moment's notice -- but he wanted to try a stealthy approach first. Though the Avengers were mighty indeed, they were not well suited to spiritual battles -- and Strange wasn't sure he could trust Hawkeye to follow his instructions. The bowman's wife had been killed by Mephisto years before* and the Avenger harbored great anger towards the demon as a result.
(*Back in the classic Avengers West Coast # 100)
Copycat, on the other hand, was an emotional anchor that Strange could use to locate Daredevil. It had worked to perfection, as they materialized very close to Matt's battle. "There he is!" she whispered, starting to move towards Daredevil and the Owl, both of whom were now bleeding profusely. As she watched, the Owl nearly gutted Matt, burying his claws deep in the hero's belly.
Strange held her firmly by the arm, however. "Don't rush off. This is not the realm of mortals. In a second, you could be transported to places I could never locate!"
"We have to help him!"
Strange looked upwards, spotting Karen Page. "Do you know her?" he asked.
Vanessa followed his gaze and felt her heart begin to pound wildly. "That's Matt's old girlfriend... Karen."
"She must be part of some greater scheme of the demon's," Strange said with a shake of his head. "I shall free her -- go to her and make sure that she is well. I will help Daredevil against the devil."
Vanessa nodded, moving towards Karen. Strange freed her easily enough and the blonde woman dropped to the ground. Copycat managed to catch her and lower her safely. Karen felt so fragile but Vanessa knew every line of the woman's face. She'd worn that face for quite a long time, after all*.
(*If you're new to the series, you really need to check out the first nine issues!)
"Matt...?" Karen murmured, barely opening her eyes.
Copycat looked over to see Strange floating towards the battle still being raged. She felt how vulnerable Karen was now and she knew that this was her moment of truth. Kill her and take her place... Matt would believe it. But Strange knew she'd been with him, that might lead to some suspicion on Matt's part. I could fool him, she thought. He wants to believe. But is that what I really want to do? Matt's so good and honest... and I'd be lying to him. I'd have killed his girlfriend and would be living a lie forever as a result. What I'd really like is for Matt to treasure me the way he does her.
As the mutant strained to make her decision, Dr. Strange pointed his hands at Mephisto and unleashed one of the most powerful spells in his arsenal. The Ebony Horns of Ta'bothos slammed into the demon's side, the force of the blow echoing across multiple planes of reality.
Daredevil looked towards the noise, surprised to see Strange but pleased beyond words. He was hurting, bad, and the pain got worse when the Owl took advantage of his distraction by slamming an elbow into the side of Matt's head. His ears rung and he fell to his side.
The Owl raised his bloodied claws, eager to finish him. "I've waited a long time for this, Daredevil. Today's the day I start earning back the respect I've lost!"
The villain's claws started their downward motion but the blow missed it mark as someone kicked him in the back at the final moment. The Owl tumbled off the hero and rolled over to see Karen Page standing there, a jagged rock in her hand.
"Get the hell away from my man," she whispered, looking like she'd just crawled from the grave. Before the Owl could respond, she drove the rock down against his forehead. A satisfying crack filled the air and the Owl moved no more. Swaying on her feet, Karen finally succumbed to her weakness and fell to her knees. "Oh, Matt...."
Daredevil pulled her against him, reveling in the feel of her against him. "Karen... how?"
"A woman was helping me. The demons... they attacked her."
Matt looked around with his radar sense and suddenly cried out Vanessa's name. There was indeed a pack of dog-like demons in the vicinity. They were pulling the dismembered corpse of a woman to pieces. Her flesh was so bloodied and riddled with bites that it was impossible to see much of anything other than the pair of shoes on her feet: the same boots that Copycat had worn earlier. For Daredevil, whose radar sense outlined things in block style, the shape of the body and the presence of the distinctive footwear was proof enough.
Karen held him tighter. "Was she important to you?" she asked, obviously fearful of the answer but mostly just concerned for him.
"I... she was a friend. Maybe a better one than I thought at the time." Matt squeezed Karen hard. "I'm not leaving without you." Those words took on more meaning as the ground beneath them began to rumble and split open.
A look at Mephisto told the reasons why. Strange was engaging him in a multi-pronged assault that threatened to destroy the demon's realm.
"How dare you?!" the lord of lies bellowed. "This is my domain!"
Strange kept up his attack, not giving the demon any quarter. "Matthew!" he yelled, raising his voice over the din of battle. "Get your companions together!"
Daredevil started after Vanessa's body, not wanting to leave it behind but Karen stopped him. "She's dead, Matt... you'll only risk yourself!"
Matt cursed under his breath, knowing she was right. Instead, he reached out and grabbed hold of the Owl's arm. Leland had already reverted to his true appearance, making it quite clear that the spell caused by Mephisto and "King Solomon's Frogs" was over.
As Matt felt the world around him begin to twist and change, he thought again of Vanessa. The young girl had wanted to change... he had felt it. And now she was dead, having sacrificed herself so that Karen might live.
He'd never forget her. Not ever.
# # # # #
The man stood on the rooftop of one of San Francisco's tallest buildings -- or at least, one of the tallest left standing after the recent Equinox attack*. He felt a flush of excitement and smiled broadly. On his head he wore a helmet that was shaped like that of the villain known as the Wizard, though it was colored a deep black. Three flight discs lined the front of his uniform and a belt lined with various traps and adhesives completed the upper portion of his attire. His gloves were capable of generating a powerful electric current, the result of much up-close study of Electro's abilities and a large glue-projecting gun rested in a holster on his left hip.
(*See recent issues of M2K's Avengers West Coast)
The study hadn't been done by him, of course. All of his equipment came courtesy of the Frightful Four, though he had proudly shifted the colors to black and gray. He'd only recently come into possession of the entire array of weapons* but he'd mastered them already and was eager to put them to use.
(*In our 19th issue!)
He threw himself off the roof and laughed aloud as the flight discs activated, allowing him to soar over the unimportant men and women below. The city, decimated though it was, would soon be his.
"Prepare yourself, San Francisco," he said to himself. "Amalgam is coming for you...."
# # # # #
Matt and Karen -- along with the unconscious Owl -- materialized inside the Compound, startling the Wasp, who was on duty in the monitor room.
"DD?" the Wasp asked, buzzing about his head. "Where's Doc and Copycat?"
"I... am here." Strange collapsed out of a ragged looking rip in the, landing hard on the floor. "And I am sorry, Matthew. Was Vanessa lost to us?"
Matt nodded, still holding on to Karen like a life preserver. "Yes. But we got one back today, Strange. We got one back."
Karen lifted her chin and kissed him. And it was like the years of pain and heartache were washed away in one shining, wonderful moment.
She was back.
NEXT ISSUE: "Law and Order" features the two Murdocks actively involved in legal cases. Matt takes on a crusade to help the evacuees of the recent horrors in San Francisco while Mike goes toe to toe with the United States government on the behalf of the Communist Red Skull!
Author's Note
Wow! Karen's back... and Matt's life seems to be taking a turn for the better. Next issue, we'll see Matt getting his feet fully on the ground in San Francisco as he gets back into the legal business. And are wedding bells going to ring down the line....? Stay tuned.
Look for more excitement in the months to come, as a villain who's never faced Daredevil pops up and we build towards a shocker in # 25!