by GoozX, thedoctor and Grimm
In the Castle of Crossed Destinies, a foot stepped onto the marble floor, followed by a second one, both cracking the very surface below, leaving the imprint for times to come. A shiny metallic armor covered the foot, a red tint over a golden exterior. The armor etched into the very flesh of the man, combining both to create a new creature. His right arm fell to his side, a sword grown from the elbow down, almost touching the floor. His left arm was an axe, held high above his head, a body hanging by the threads of a shirt on it.
"BROTHER!"
In the distance, two flashes of light chased each other, one red, the other blue. The blue one stopped and changed course. In an instant it was in front of the Red Scorpion.
"I have defeated this Animal Man, brother. Yet you have defeated none!"
The Blue Scorpion's eyes turned to anger as he stepped toward his brother; both shared an equal height. Danny Hearn hung motionless, his hands shaped as claws and his mouth looking different.
"Brother, I almost had the fast one. If not for you stopping me, I would have!"
"You are weak, brother! Must I do everything? Hold this one for me."
The Red Scorpion held Danny toward the Blue Scorpion.
"No! I can do it! I can!" The Blue Scorpion whined to his brother.
Danny was less than a foot away from the Blue Scorpion's face, and his eyes shot open. "Dope!"
Danny spat a green mist into the Blue Scorpion's face. His claws followed around, slicing through the warrior's chest. Danny then jumped behind the Red Scorpion, who proceeded to pound his brother with the side of his axe.
The Blue Scorpion staggered back and was met full force by Tobias Christopher. Like a rocket, the Blue Scorpion shot through the air and pounded into the side of the castle, bringing stone down over his unconscious body.
"I can't believe that worked," Sam Dawson said as he shifted back into his normal form.
"Yeah, I thought the height thing was a dead giveaway," Danny threw back at him.
"Who's next?" Tobias asked.
The world had been a void. For how long? Dirk Bell couldn't tell. He remembered being flung backward by the giant lizard, but that was where his memory ended.
Pain had conquered every part of his body. Organs that he didn't even know existed cried out in pain at him. He tried to lift his body up off the floor. His head pounded like a tone-deaf drummer in the high school marching band. His equilibrium failed him as his knees collapsed under his own weight.
The sight of Grimm still wrestling with that damn lizard finally registered in his mind. Though it felt as though it was an instantaneous action, the removal of his .38 took way too long. Had it been a one-on-one showdown, Dirk would have been dead before his hand hit the butt of the gun. The barrel pointed in the general direction of the conflict. It swayed back and forth, up and down. His thumb popped as it fought to pull back the hammer. As his finger forced itself against the trigger, all things in front of Dirk's eyes blurred together to form one big, multicolored blob. The gun dropped to the floor.
Christ, no! Not now! This can't happen now. There's way too much left to do, Dirk said to himself as he felt the blackness come for him again.
Danny and Sam made their way to the injured gunslinger. His eyes were closed, but his voice kept going as his mind fought off the onslaught from the concussion he gained. "Too much to do," he said. "To much to do to get them ready."
"What is he talking about?" Sam asked. Danny just shrugged his shoulders.
Grimm and the lizardlike Dr. Zachary Knell continued to struggle with one another as a multitude of different worlds appeared and vanished in the distance behind them. Both men were products of black science and blacker magic. One was a killer seeking some form of redemption, a purpose, and the other a scientist, lost in the madness of his own obsessions.
A rippling shockwave of force had burst them apart during Turkish Stringfellow's battle with Aurochs. The two men/monsters were flung twenty feet from each other, crashing into more segments of the bridge. In the blink of an eye, they were back on their feet and racing back toward each other. Everything else was gone; they only saw an enemy to fight, to kill, to destroy.
Knell's tail whipped out, lightning fast, and slammed into the segment of bridge Grimm had been standing on. Grimm had quickly sidestepped and readied his axe. Though he had not possessed it long, he was becoming very proficient in its use. The axe sliced down and cut right through Knell's tail, instantly separating it from his body, and striking into the bridge.
The lizard man screamed out in pain and anger. He struck out with his claws, only to miss again as Grimm readied another axe blow. This time, Knell was cut across his abdomen. The creature screamed again, and began to run toward the side of the bridge. Knell's tail was still wriggling on the ground as Grimm picked it up and began swinging it bolo style. He flung the tail toward Knell and struck him dead in the back, knocking the creature/scientist over.
Grimm advanced toward the being, slowly at first, then more rapidly, gaining speed as his legs carried him further along the now-battle-scarred bridge.
The Knell creature pulled itself to its feet and hissed violently. "Ssstop..."
The creature swung out toward Grimm and connected square on the jaw with a left hook. Grimm staggered back slightly, then looked up at his opponent. If he could have smiled, he would have. Knell swung again, but this time Grimm was ready for him. Another axe blow cut off Knell's right arm. The creature screamed again and slashed out at Grimm's torso. The lizard's claws cut into Grimm's chest, tearing several slash marks down the front of it. A viscuous black muck oozed out from Grimm's wounds.
Knell peered down at his hand. The muck seemed to be hurting him. His pain was already overwhelming, even though his severed tail already seemed to be regenerating.
Grimm looked down at the wound on his chest. He seemed more aggravated than injured. A low scream of rage began building in his throat as he gripped his axe in both hands. "RRRAAAUUUGGGHHH!
He charged forward and caught Knell square in the face with the weapon, but the axe was turned wrong, and the blow merely knocked the lizard man over the side of the bridge.
He screamed as he fell over toward what he took to be his doom. However, he vanished into a circle of violet-hued light about halfway down.
Grimm, his mind racing, peered over the edge, and wondered, "What the fuck?"