THE MARVEL KNIGHTS GROUP PROUDLY PRESENTS... ISSUE #3 - "Into the Chasm: Part Three" Written by D. Golightly

“I do not think that the Ancient One would have approved, master.” Dr. Stephen Strange glared at his manservant, Wong, giving him a disapproving look of his own. “And I do not think that the Vishanti ever anticipated their Sorcerer Supreme being reduced to a mere magician,” Dr. Strange replied. “These troubled times call for adaptation, my friend.” The soft hum of energy held thick in the air. The sad and withering form of the demon they had discovered in Jester, Colorado sat between them. It huffed almost silently, and its breathing was slowing more and more as time marched on. “Aiding a demon should be not condoned,” Wong responded. “There was a time when you would be the first to say so.” “I’m sorry to say that time is past. We have other concerns now, and discovering the ailment of this Gnomth is first and foremost. No matter the consequences.” The Gnomth on the floor raised its bulbous, black head toward Strange. It tried to whisper something to him, but its strength was so lacking that it could not utter full syllables. In fact, it had not spoken audibly since issuing a warning to them and them collapsing. “I will forever be yours to command without question, my master,” Wong said. “But I do believe that I have earned an explanation by now as to the reasoning behind the sullying of the Ancient One’s teachings.” Strange sighed. Wong was his closest confidant and he did not wish to widen the gap that had already formed between them once he had lost the majority of his magical ability. The frustrations that Strange experienced on a daily basis was constantly spilling over into his relationships as a result of that loss, whether it was with his wife, Clea, or with his apprentice, Rintrath. Wong had been the most understanding in his silence, but it seemed that silence was nearly gone. “Correct as usual,” Strange said. “Gnomths have been used for eons as protectors of gateways. This particular Gnomth seems to be concerned with something called the Chasm, although I must admit that in all my studies I have no recollection of such a place. When I first journeyed to Tibet to meet the Ancient One I encountered several Gnomths and they were mighty creatures indeed. To see one reduced to such a wasted state is alarming.” “And you think our friend in the everglades can remedy what ails this beast?” Strange nodded firmly. “I truly hope so, and he may be able to shed some light into this Chasm as well. We have been deceived, Wong, of that I am certain. We were sent to remove the compulsion spell from Jester and kill this creature. Were I not a student of the Ancient One, the very man who tamed the Gnomth race and imparted a treaty to make them guardians instead of killers, I would have vanquished it without a second thought. I want to know why, and to discover that we must first heal the beast.” “This…Chasm, master. What could it be?” “We shall soon find out. For now I must concentrate on the spell I am weaving. My powers will be greatly taxed as I seek to communicate over such a vast distance. Guard us, Wong, and pray we are enough to protect this Chasm until we get our answers.” Rintrah stepped out of the elevator onto the thirteenth floor of the office building he had come to investigate, and he was instantly bombarded by the scent of black magic. His nostrils flared and the animal that was twisted with him spirit was nearly driven into a frenzy. One of the first things he had learned from the Sorcerer Supreme was how intoxicating black magic can be if you allow it to consume you, which was why he had instilled a repulsion into his nature against it. “Amagus illumus,” Rintrath whispered as he sent an effort of will into the spell. A tiny ball of white light burst to life in front of his snout and shot out into the offices. It zipped between the doors and hallways, delving deeper into the floor plan. The ball of light quickly returned and pressed directly into his mind, flooding his memory with captured images from around the floor. Rintrah sorted through imagery, picking out the useful ones. Like a mobile camera, the ball of light had recorded its surroundings that reeked of black magic and then played then back inside Rintrah’s head. He ‘saw’ that on the far side of the floor plan there was a great deal of magic seeping out from underneath the door. Like pulsating waves of evil, so was the nearly invisible power emanating from behind the door. With a wave of his muscular arms, Rintrah split the blue cloak around his body and stalked forward through the office building. Considering the pair of demons he had already vanquished since entering the lobby, he thought that the matter was best dealt with head-on immediately. Despite his master’s specific instruction to observe and report back to him only, Rintrah did not hesitate to confront the obstacle directly. After all, the master was currently under the weather, magically speaking. Was it not his duty, even as an apprentice, to handle this conflict? He was much more capable than his master for the moment. He had no doubt that Dr. Strange would regain his lost magicks eventually, but until that day he would have to pick up his master’s slack. Upon reaching the door, Rintrah summoned the correct spell and blasted the framework to bits. Shards of wood exploded into the room where the black magic seeped from, and wisps of smoke slid off of the edges of the hole he had just created. Rintrah stepped into the gaping hole, his large, green frame filling it easily. He horns just barely passed beneath the ceiling, and he prepared a shielding spell as he walked forward. His large eyes surveyed the room and he was not happy with what he saw. “Ah, it seems our visitor has finally joined us,” a stocky man with bizarre facial features said. “Bring him closer to me. Now.” A horde of demons, exactly like the ones that Rintrah had dispatched in the lobby of the building, flooded toward him. The only distinguishing feature between them were the size and placement of spikes protruding from their heads. Other than that, each had a slimy tongue that flicked out at him, shredded skin barely covering their muscles and tendons, and large fangs that dripped with dark saliva. The closest two demons stabbed into his shield spell, but were not forced back as they were supposed to be. The spell was designed to reflect kinetic energy, but the demons seemed to ignore that aspect of the shield. Their massive fists pounded and pounded against the mystic shield, shoving Rintrah back into the outer hallway. More demons leapt on top of him until their full weight was pressing down on top of the beastly apprentice. Rintrah’s knees buckled and he was forced into a kneeling position. He focused his energies to strengthen the shield, but the sheer unexpected volume of pressure took him by surprise. He hadn’t prepared properly for a welcoming like this. “Quit playing with your food,” the demons’ master commanded. “I bound all of you to my will for a reason. Crush him and bring him to me.” The demons all struck as one as their master’s will influenced their actions. Rintrah’s shield collapsed and so did the beastly apprentice. He was instantly piled on as soon as the shield fell and he began to feel teeth and claws tear into his green fur. He attempted to summon mystical energies to his defense, but found that he was overcome with nausea and couldn’t string two thoughts together easily. “The neurotoxins will undoubtedly have a hold of you by now,” the master said. “I chose these particular demons for just that reason. As bodyguards they are more than adequate, but as incapacitators that are amazing.” Rintrah felt himself being pulled to his feet and dragged by a pair of demons across the room. He desperately tried to flex his arms, to fight back, to get away, but he was completely helpless now that the poison was coursing through his veins. He was dumped in front of the man who had ordered the attack, prostrated before him. His blue cloak lay useless and ragged on his shoulders and he was set so that he was staring up into the bizarre face of the man who had captured him. Clear goggles covered his eyes and his red hair was brushed back to almost resemble wings. “You’re Strange’s servant, are you not?” he asked. “You must be. I left him enough clues to trace to Jester. I didn’t think he would send you here, however. How…lazy of him. But I’ll destroy him soon enough and pilfer the other treasures from the Chasm, along with whatever else he hides in that mansion of his.” The man flung his green trench coat away from his sides and turned to face a pedestal with a collection of torn pages on it. “I took these from his home, right out from under his nose. He is careless, you master. It’s amazing he hasn’t been killed already. What power he had sitting on a shelf, hidden in a book! Wasted power. Now it’s mine.” The man began muttering an incantation, and sigils began to glow on the floor in front of them. A pentagram formed and silver light ran along the edges of the sigil. The light quickly turned to blood red and with a push of power that was guided by the torn pages, a figure suddenly burst into the room, trapped within the pentagram. Rintrah had seen a summoning before. He had even conjured a few himself, under the guidance of Dr. Strange. Summoning demons was risky, unless you could contain them. Rintrah recognized the pentagram for what it was; a jail. The man continued reading from the pages, even after the summoning had been completed. The demon inside, who Rintrah recognized as the terrorizing Demogoblin, thrashed about wildly. Then, once the chanting had stopped, he was greatly calmed, although it was obvious that his anger was seething beneath the shrouded commands of his new master. With a wave of his hand, the man allowed the pentagram to dissipate and the Demogoblin stepped over to his side. “Do you see?” he said. “This insane creature is under my complete control. He will do my bidding, just as the rest of these demons will. Strange can banish him to the underworld as much as he wants, but he will forever be mine to control.” The man stepped up closely to Rintrah, leaning down so that their noses nearly touched. “Strange is a fool. I will kill him, take control of the Chasm, and you will help me do all of it. And the best part is that you’ll be helpless all the while, watching behind a veil of unrest as I command you to rip out your master’s throat. Then the world will belong to me…it will belong to the Owl.” Dr. Strange looked down at his inanimate body to make sure that he was still breathing. Wong stood beside him, monitoring both him and the Gnomth. From where he floated, a few feet above his own body, he could see that Wong was calm and collected as always, but knew that his friend was deeply troubled. Pushing such thoughts aside to concentrate on the task at hand, the astral form of Dr. Strange floated away from his own body and phased through the house until he was flying up over the cul de sac in Jester, Colorado. Now that the compulsion spell had been disabled he found it much easier to examine the neighborhood. The pristine houses, lawns, and fences were all like new, but there was no sign of residents to care for such things. He knew that the locals would be wandering in their direction soon once they found that they could venture into the cul de sac safely, which meant that time was of the essence. Concentrating on a specific area in the Florida everglades, Dr. Strange’s astral form began to fade away from Jester, Colorado. Astral projection was a skill he had mastered early on when studying under the Ancient One. Removing his consciousness from his own corporeal shell was simpler than it sounded, but the tricky part was maintaining that vital connection between the two over a long distance. Thousands of miles lay between Jester and the everglades, but Dr. Strange’s will was strong. Space and time folded together and the white, ghostly apparition that was Dr. Strange materialized over a murky, dank swamp. The everglades were home to much more than gators and insects. Darker things lurked here, things that burn away a man’s mind, body, and soul. He had been here many times before. His previous role as Sorcerer Supreme had demanded it. Deep within the confines of this humid swamp was the Nexus of All Realities, and it was guarded by someone he had come to trust over the years. Barely a few heartbeats had passed before he heard the monster approach. Sloshing through the dark waters of the swamp came a horrifying creature that would make most men run in fear. His body was made of ethereal plant life, and even though his appearance betrayed it, there was indeed a soul latched onto those vines and moss that comprised his form. The large, green, wet creature slumped out from behind a cracked log and stared at Dr. Strange’s ghostly apparition. The water of the swamp came up to the creature’s shins, or what passed for them. It’s blood red eyes focused directly onto Strange, which was amazing in and of itself. No normal man could hope to perceive an astral form unless Strange willed it. But the creature called the Man-Thing was anything but normal. “I’ve come for advisement, old friend,” Dr. Strange said. His voice was scattered and warbled, as if filtered. “As the keeper of the Nexus I have need of your expertise.” The Man-Thing, whose intellect had been fused with a mass of swamp material in a horrible accident years ago, simply stared at Dr. Strange. It was very difficult to communicate with the creature, but Strange had to try. The creature could not speak, but his empathic senses were highly acute. “You will recall that you once helped my teacher, the Ancient One, train the Gnomth race to be guardians like yourself. After he tamed them you helped instill in them powers similar to your own. One is now in danger, and is close to death’s door. Please, help me understand what is happening.” The Man-Thing shuffled to one side and tilted his head at Strange. The crickets of the swamp chirped quietly in the background, adding a touch of reality to this unrealistic situation. The red discs that served as the Man-Thing’s eyes blinked slowly and Dr. Strange suddenly found his senses bombarded with various emotions. “Yes,” Strange muttered. “Yes, I understand. Compassion. Very noble, my friend. And curiosity? Of course. This particular Gnomth was located in Jester, Colorado, and it claimed that the Chasm needed protecting. I have never heard of such a place.” The Man-Thing blinked again, this time holding his eyes shut for a longer period of time. While they were closed Strange felt a wave of emotions overcome him, the first and foremost of which was anxiety. The Chasm was a place that the Man-Thing was familiar with, and at its mention he was also alarmed. The Man-Thing turned away from Strange and began to shuffle back into the swamp. Dr. Strange floated after him, eager to learn the secrets that the Man-Thing possessed. They came upon a grove of bent trees, all misshapen to form a circle. The Man-Thing stood before the grove and focused his attention solely on the circle of bent branches and trunks. Within moments a white energy began to form within the circle, quickly expanding to reach the edges of the trees. Strange looked into the light and saw images begin to form. Incongruent masses of energy swirled back and forth within the vortex and Strange realized that he was looking directly into a portion of the Nexus itself. “Is this the Chasm?” Strange inquired. A feeling of confirmation came from the Man-Thing. Strange studied the swirling energies inside the vortex, recognizing the shapes that were beginning to form. A nondescript figure cast a spell, and the run off of magical energy, or low level feedback, was highlighted and mixed into the swirling vortex. This happened again and again in slightly different ways, but it always resulted in run off energy being collected by the outlying energies. “Are you showing me what the Chasm is comprised of?” Strange wondered aloud. “Yes, I see now. This Chasm is a collection of residual magicks. I assumed that the spilled magic from each spell I wove would harmlessly dissipate into the Earth’s magical fields, but apparently I was wrong. It’s akin to a single drop of water being spilt from an Olympic size swimming pool. All of that energy combined, over centuries of practice, could create an immense repository.” Dr. Strange had long studied the science of magic, having been something of a scientist in his past life as a medical doctor. He was ashamed of himself for never thinking about the possibility of something like the Chasm existing, but it did seem impossible that such a place existed. But for a place like the Chasm to function, someone would have to have been guiding it. It could never have just popped into existence on its own. It would have been created. “Who orchestrated this well of power?” The visions in the grove of trees suddenly darkened and then died off completely. The Man-Thing turned to face Strange, his expression unreadable once more. “There are no clues as to who created the Chasm? Then how did a Gnomth come to guard it? Did the Ancient One assign this Gnomth to protect it? Yes…yes, I see. You are unaware of such details. I understand, my friend. Can you discern how it came to harm then?” Emotions flooded out from the Man-Thing again, this time of betrayal. The crushing despair of someone turning against another, with the shielding of trust broken between them. “Are you telling me that another Gnomth harmed this one? Insanity. These creatures are guardians, humbled by the Ancient One himself! They would never—” Strange broke away, his thoughts being reorganized out of necessity. He felt a tug coming from behind him and new that danger was present back where his body rested. Wong would be standing guard over him, but if there was trouble and Strange’s body was in danger then Wong would be trying to force Strange’s astral form back. “I am summoned. Thank you for your help, my friend. As always you are a testament to what others aspire to but never achieve.” Feeling a stronger pull, Strange’s ghostly form was yanked back through the chaos of the swamp, leaving the horrifying Man-Thing behind. The creature watched him leave, silently standing vigilant against whatever fear might try to encroach the Nexus of All Realities. His blood red eyes watched as the white apparition faded from view and was forced to return across the country to where it truly belonged. Dr. Strange opened his eyes back in Jester, in the bowels of the house he had broken into, and saw Wong slash his swords back and forth in the air. A demon with horns poking through his skull tussled with Wong’s offense, offering its own claws as opposition to his short swords. Clearing the fog from his mind that always resulted from sending his astral form so far away, Dr. Strange leapt to his feet and hollered, “Exum!” An invisible force pelted the demon tangling with Wong, casting it back against the stone walls of the basement. Wong was on top of it instantly, stabbing his pair of swords into the demons chest. The blades dug in deep and the demon screeched in pure pain. Wong stepped back, removing the swords, and the demons fell to its knees even as it was converted to ectoplasmic goo. “Master,” Wong said with a slight bow. The manservant was breathing heavily from exertion. “I take it our reprieve here was short lived.” Strange glanced down at the Gnomth. “We need to protect him, and the Chasm, at all costs. I am not sure what exactly is happening here yet, but if someone were to gain control of the Chasm then all would be lost.” Wong nodded his understanding. Footsteps from overhead, racing along the floors above them, trampled heavily. “A quick exit would be wise, master,” Wong stated. Strange closed his eyes and recalled the particular spell he needed. “Perhaps facing them head-on would be more practical. Stay here, defend this room and our new friend. I will return shortly if all goes well.” “Be careful, master.” Strange crossed both of his hands over his chest, concentrated on gathering his magical energies, and then swept both of his hands down to his side as he unleashed the pent up power within him. Twin pillars of blue magic, solidified from the confines of his mind, quickly whirled around him and smashed together, seemingly crushing him between them. When the energy dissipated he had been removed from the basement and transported to the roof of the small domicile. He looked down into the cul de sac to see an entire legion of demons packed into the street and yards of the neighborhood. They snarled at him and defied his intentions, all of them crawling over one another to get closer to the house and to him. Strange clenched his fists and felt his magicks condense around his knuckles. Rings of power manifested, forming razor thin blades that arched over his hands. He would tear into the demons one by one if need be. He would not allow the Chasm to be drained of its collected power, especially not by someone whose intentions had yet to be proclaimed. He scanned the crowd of demons, readying himself for battle. Just as soon as his eyes locked onto one figure in particular he was blasted from his perch by a lance of white fire. Strange tumbled back off of the roof, landing onto the top of the back porch. He stabbed his weapons into the shingles of the smaller roof and kept himself from falling another twenty-five feet into the yard. The figure who had blasted him waded through the demon surge, walking around the side of the house to stand just under Dr. Strange. The former Sorcerer Supreme stared at his assailant, alarmed at his presence. “Rintrah!” Strange proclaimed. “What are you doing? Have you gone mad?” In response Rintrah raised his green, fur-covered arm and prepared another mystical blast. His eyes were glazed over and his actions were inhibited, but he was undoubtedly about to unleash a deathly attack at point blank range. “He can’t hear you, Strange!” a new voice said from above. Strange glanced up to see the Demogoblin circling the speaker on his glider. Hovering in the air was a man in a green cloak, wearing goggles. In one hand he tightly gripped a set of torn pages. “Submit to my control and I may let you live long enough to see me conquer the world.” Strange stared in surprise at the Owl, unsure of exactly how the circumstances had been laid out before him. The last time he had seen the criminal was in his own mansion in Greenwich Village. The villain had disappeared before the rampant violence had begun, but Strange had just assumed that the coward had fled the scene. Apparently he was wrong, and that inaccuracy may just cost him his life. NEXT ISSUE: The Owl’s army of demons, plus Demogoblin and a transfixed Rintrah descend on the small town of Jester, Colorado! Dr. Strange and Wong stand against them, but the true power of the Chasm has yet to be unleashed. Secrets lie in the shadows…