Somehow the night has become a vast ocean through which it swims, buoyed and weightless above the swamps.
For days he has flown only by night to get here.
A search for something or someone who calls him.
A strong wanting made him leave the violence of the city.
A voice.
A dark animal on spread wings. He falls closer to the core, the only one willing to descend deeper...all consciousness washed away by the sea, lost in a trance, as he searches.
For a voice. The voice.
Inside his head, BatWing hears, "You have found the nexus. Now release your master."
He looks forward to find doors. Locked by a magical key, both guarded by the Gatekeeper, Man-Thing.
Fear...it ignites the Man-Thing. Whoever knows fear...burns at the Man-Thing's touch! Alas BatWing now under a trance from beyond has no fear. They lock in battle.
BatWing's most useful weapons of attack on humans are his sonic scream, and his claws. If there was a human inside the Man-Thing that could hear you, BatWing, he would laugh.
And do you know what he'd tell you?
"Screams and claws might strike fear in a man, but they don't even faze the Man-Thing!"
Man-Thing grabs one of BatWing's wings with one of his glimey green hands and then in a wave with the other scars and slashes it. BatWing shrieks in pain, and is tempted further by the trance to continue, and win.
With his uninjured wing and claw BatWing slashes back at one of Man-Thing's appendages. Man-Thing falters back as BatWing tastes his bloodlust rage go in effect. BatWing jumps upon Man-Thing and bites at Man-Thing's throat. Green goo gushes out as BatWing recoils in his distaste for it.
Man-Thing bounces back at BatWing by projecting a red stream of energy from his long green hands. His foe screeches and falls back in pain. Believing to have killed him, Man-thing turns his back on BatWing. A mistake.
The mistake allows BatWing to recover and an opening. BatWing jumps onto Man-thing's back, and starts slashing away at his neck.
A demon riding the crest of hell -- Too fast to evade. Too strong to resist.
The bloodlust rage continues...as BatWing has gone nights with any taste of blood. He fights the temptation and continues to slice and dice his foe open. Man-Thing grows slower, weaker as what keeps him alive oozes out more and more, Until he's at a point where it's too much and he falls. BatWing continues to claw away, but then Man-Thing's body transforms into the green ooze he's made of and slowly sinks into the swamp that spawned him.
BatWing turns his back, and takes the key that Man-thing guarded with his existence and unlocks the doors and steps back.
Meanwhile above New York city, floats an island. An island invisible to all. A premonition comes over the master of the citadel. He speaks, "The Great Evil has been released.... no one shall destroy nor rule this Earth but Kang!"
And as forces begin to prepare, the doors to the beyond open as shades of blue shine into BatWing and the swamp. Then a figure comes forth from the great beyond, imprisoned for so long, the figure comments, "I have been kept away for far too long. And now my servant the ONSLAUGHT begins!"
BatWing's dark heart POUNDS -- as the wild night shrieks louder.
Links to other sites on the Web
Back to Main Page