#10 - "Demon Seed"

The factory was now deserted, save the sword-swinging Avenger and his companion, the incomparable Enchantress.

"I know you wanted to get to know us better after the get together last night, Gwen," Muskateer teased as he turned to observe his crimson clad teammate, "but this isn't much of a date."

"Wait until you get to know me, Mr. Harper," the sorceress said with a sly smile. "I can be all kinds of fun on a date." Gwen continued to concentrate on her task, her hands making mystical gestures, her mouth speaking arcane words.

"Uhm, yeah..." Muskateer could have said more, but decided not to stick his foot in his mouth. He was thankful he wore a full-face mask at times like these. "Anyway, what are you looking for?"

The Enchantress had contacted Muskateer less than an hour ago, asking if he would accompany her on something she wanted to investigate. Never one to say no to a beautiful lady, he agreed and wound up back at the factory where the Avengers had just encountered the Morbanes and the Crystal.

"It came to me last night when I was cleaning up. One of the first things Black Diamond had me do was check out the Mansion for traces of magic. Unfortunately, what traces did exist were already several weeks old."

"Sort of like footprints in the mud fading over time?"

"Essentially. It occurred to me that I now have a golden opportunity to run my detections on relatively fresh magical traces. Not only from the Crystal, but from our favorite Morbanes as well."

"And using these traces you might be able to track them down!", Muskateer said, becoming more excited about the project.

"Precisely. I brought you along just in case of trouble." The Enchantress moved about the observation deck and stared intently at things beyond Muskateer's ability to see. "This is very interesting..."

"Just what are you looking at anyway?"

Gwen turned to face him. "Would you like to see?"

Muskateer considered for a moment. "Sure. Why not?"

The Enchantress brought a new spell into effect and finished by passing her hand over Muskateer's eyes. The spell momentarily blinded the swordsman, but a few blinks cleared his vision. The factory itself remained the same, but odd colors now played before his eyes.

"Wow..." Muskateer waved his hand through what appeared to be a stationary, translucent bank of fog. Whatever it was, it made him uncomfortable to observe. It was so alien that his mind had difficultly putting it into comprehendible patterns. "So this is techno-polka, huh?"

"Pretty weird isn't it?"

"Yeah..." There were multiple fog patches, each of them, Muskateer guessed, to be in an outline of the effect that was magically induced. Each magical trace seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Inexplicably, they seemed to shrink and fade ever so slightly.

"Wondrous is it not?"

"What am I seeing?"

"These patches are the residue of the magic cast in this area by the Crystal," the Enchantress explained. "The traces are slowly fading. In spite of that, these traces are much, much stronger than the ones I found at the Mansion."

Muskateer walked around the observation deck, eyeing each of the magical traces. There must be some way to do this technologically he surmised. These patches did exist, so they had to be detectable by scientific methods. There were multiple patches in the rough outline of a body. Several other patches just appeared as basketball sized spheres hanging in mid-air. The most complex trace began as a human outline, continued to a sphere, and then down off the platform towards the area where Firestar and the Enchantress made their sudden entry into the building.

"Can you make sense out of this?", Muskateer asked.

"I have been trained to do so. As I explained earlier, different types of magic leave different types of traces. Subtle variations in the traces can be used to determine the spell caster."

Muskateer followed the magical trace from the spot where Firestar was attacked all the way back to the humanoid shape. "Unless I miss my guess, this is where the second beam from the Crystal was going? To a person?"

"Yes. What transpired here went something like this:" The Enchantress moved towards a particular sphere. It seemed to be slightly darker than the other traces. "This is the Crystal's entry point, the residue from its teleport spell."

"It's the oldest, so it's the faintest?"

"That's right," Gwen said with a smile. "You catch on quickly."

"Problem solving is my forte, milady."

"I would guess that the Crystal was made whole by now. It then used its energy on these humanoid shapes, one at a time."

"We didn't see these people when we got the drop on the Morbanes. Where did they come from? Did it teleport them in?"

"It did more than that," the Enchantress responded. "This isn't a simple Spell of Transport residue. It's extra-dimensional."

"You're telling me that the Crystal summoned those guys from another dimension?"

"That is exactly what I am telling you." The Enchantress considered for a moment. "Based on what the Avengers have learned and my contacts with the Circle, I have been able to put together a theory."

"Well, don't leave me hanging, pretty lady."

"The Crystal arrives on Earth in shards to avoid being detected as a great source of magic. DEMON gets wind of the shards and tries to gather them. I would postulate that they collected four of the shards and tried to join them. Perhaps this caused the Crystal to 'awaken', for lack of a better term."

"So you think that those Morbanes that fought for the Crystal, Lord Shadow and Lady Zee, were the ones who originally put the shards together?"

"Yes. Based on the evidence here, I would say that the Crystal absorbed them into itself-- maybe even transporting them to its home dimension."

"Why would it do that?", Muskateer replied.

"Intelligence gathering, perhaps. I do know that Shadow and Zee were the masters of the local DEMON Base until a few months ago."

"That's when Evil and Darkness took over... Because the previous bosses were missing?"

The Enchantress turned to face Muskateer. "That is the most likely theory. The Dreadknight is a magical construct, probably in their employ. Had there been time, I could have tried to take control of it."

"Okay, so that explains where three of the four who attacked us were and where they came from. What about Ghost Fire?"

"Indeed." Gwen walked to the one end of the observation deck. "I can only guess, but I would say that the Crystal had absorbed a fourth being at some point. The magic trace begins at Firestar, passes through the Crystal, and ends where I would guess Ghost Fire materialized."

"You think that the Crystal drained Firestar's powers and transferred them to Ghost Fire?"

"In a fashion. Your blade disrupted the attack and Ghost Fire used fiery weapons. It could also explain why Firestar was so exhausted."

Muskateer rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Yeah, that it would."

"Fortunately, you interrupted the process before serious harm could come to Cassie."

"Throwing monkey wrenches into people's plans is part of my job description," Muskateer proudly stated. "More importantly, can you trace the Crystal?"

"I don't know. Its signature has changed, becoming more in tune with magical traces from this plane. I would say that it is consciously trying to avoid detection. I will put several detection spells into operation. Hopefully, we'll get lucky."

"That take care of everything on this end then?"

The Enchantress nodded and he made his way to the stairs and the ground floor of the factory. Gwen trailed after her teammate. "Let's see what sort of traces the Morbanes left for us to follow."

Muskateer led the way through the factory back towards the bay where the battle with the Morbanes originally took place. He slowed his stride to allow the Enchantress to keep pace.

"So, Gwen, how long will this sight you gave me last? It's pretty weird to get used to."

"I can remove it now, if you wish. Otherwise it will wear off in about an hour."

"Hmmm, might as well leave it then." The pair continued on in silence for a time. They passed through several man-doors, past the sand blast area, and neared the eastern side of the factory.

Unexpectedly, Gwen asked, "Are you doing anything this Saturday night?"

The question caught Muskateer off guard. "Uhm, no...," he stammered. "What did you have in mind?"

Turning to face her companion, the Enchantress explained, "I have a pair of invitations to a charity costume ball next Saturday. I was curious if you would like to join me."

"The one at the Madigans?"

Now it was Gwen's turn to be surprised. "You know about Karrie's party? I wasn't aware that you paid attention to social events."

"Hey, I'm full of surprises, pretty lady," Muskateer responded with a grin. He liked being able to catch people off guard. Spending an evening with a lady as gorgeous as the Enchantress was definitely something to look forward to! "I'd love to accompany you. Guess I'll have to come up with a costume to wear."

"Glad to hear it. I hope it will be an enjoyable evening."

The east side of the factory was pretty much the way the Avengers left it a few nights ago. Several traces of magic existed in the bay. The first two were the now familiar spherical patches. One was slightly brighter than the other.

"Let me guess, Crystal entry and exit?" The Enchantress nodded in agreement and continued on. It was the traces of the Morbanes that interested her right now.

To Muskateer's altered vision, the magic residue made by the Morbanes made more sense than the Crystal's. It had the same foggy light quality, but his mind could form it into patterns. "These ones aren't so weird..."

"Not at all," Gwen said in agreement. "Pretty standard. At least to myself." She moved about the bay, closely examining each patch.

"If that Stone Crown is a powerful magic item, shouldn't there be a trace of it?" Muskateer looked about, but none of the patches seemed to suggest a power caused by the demonic artifact. Not that he could be sure, but...

"That's the problem with Artifacts... they can freely ignore the rules." Seeing Muskateer's confusion, the Enchantress explained further. "The Crown resists detection. It removes traces of its actions."

"Meaning that you can't track it?"

"Exactly. That's why we turned it over to PRIMUS. Who would think to look for a magical artifact at a PRIMUS base? Additionally, it only works for those who use magic or are telepathic."

"I can see your point. So we can't track the Morbanes?" Muskateer was beginning to think that this whole trip was going to be for nothing.

"I cannot track effects generated by the Crown itself, but the artifact is not the source of all the Morbanes' magic. Now this is interesting..."

Muskateer moved alongside the Enchantress. "What is it?"

"The Morbanes teleported away separately."

"And your point would be...?"

"The Crown masks Lady Darkness' spells, but not Lord Evil's."

"So, if they left separately, than you should be able to track Lord Evil's teleport," Muskateer reasoned. He looked around for some sort of trace that he could see. Finally he spotted a very faint wispy line leading out of the factory.

"That is correct."

"Great! Let's follow the yellow brick road and see if we end up in Morbane Land!" Muskateer made his way towards the exit, keeping an eye on the trail floating in mid-air. The path continued to rise higher into the air, making it all the more difficult for the hero to spot. "This isn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be."

The Enchantress followed as best as she could behind Muskateer. "It appears that an alternative mode of transportation would be most expeditious."

"What did you have in mind, Gwen? It's not like you can carry me, like Di can."

"Why, my dear Muskateer," the Enchantress said with a flourish. "You should know by now that many things are possible with magic." The sorceress began spell casting and ended by touching a leery Muskateer on the shoulder.

"What did you do to me now?"

Gwen offered her hand. "Take my hand and I will show you."

"But that would leave you with one."

The comment caught the Enchantress so off guard that she broke out in laughter. "Do you take anything seriously?"

"Of course I do, my dear Enchantress. Just not deadly serious." After a pause to consider, Muskateer accepted the Enchantress' hand. "What do I have to do?"

"Not a thing." The Enchantress rose into the air, pulling Muskateer along with her.

"Hey! We're flying!"

"Of course. The most practical mode of transportation in this particular instance. Now it's your turn to go solo!"

Gwen unexpectedly let go of Muskateer's hand! "What are you doing?!" Much to his surprise, Muskateer didn't fall to the ground and continued to fly alongside his teammate. "You could've at least warned me!" Muskateer waved his arms wildly at first, but slowly got into the feeling of flying.

"I could have-- but where's the fun in that?" The Enchantress grinned widely as Muskateer tried to adjust to his magical gift.

"This is pretty cool!"

Turning back to the task at hand, the Enchantress picked up the magical trail and followed it, accelerating as she went along. Muskateer followed as best he could.

The pair landed four blocks away from the factory at a spot along the side of the road. The trail came to an abrupt end at this location.

"So this is it?" Muskateer was not happy. He had hoped the trail would lead them right to the Morbanes, instead it ended here.

"I am afraid so." Gwen was not pleased with this turn of events either.

Muskateer gave the site the once over. "Look at this, 'Tress." Bending down, the sword-wielding Avenger noted tire impressions in the earth. "Whatever was sitting here was large. A truck perhaps. Maybe a van."

"Unfortunately, that is not any great help, Muskateer."

"No, but I seem to remember that there was something here when the Huntress and I drove past." Muskateer wracked his brain, trying to come up with the fleeting image he spotted a few nights earlier. "Hmmm, now what was it?" Several more minutes of contemplation failed to produce any results.

"We have reached an impasse," the Enchantress concluded. "Let us return to the Mansion." Muskateer nodded in agreement and the pair teleported away a moment later.

"Working on a lead, Muskateer?"

Steven looked up from the keyboard. Standing in the doorway to the office was Black Diamond. "Hi, Di. Yeah, I'm trying to come up with something that might lead us to DEMON." Muskateer proceeded to recap the events at the factory earlier in the day.

Black Diamond moved behind the desk to a point where she could view the monitor. "So you are cross-referencing DEMON with known vehicles?" On the screen were scenes from the security cameras that covered the front of the Mansion. Numerous reporters and PRIMUS agents filled the screen.

"I tried that. Our database is rather poor on DEMON, and things magical in general."

"We'll have to get Gwen in here to fill in some of the missing details," Black Diamond said.

"Sounds like a plan, BD. In the meantime, I think I may have an answer."

"What do you have?"

"It occurred to me that if DEMON orchestrated what went on here, they must have been watching the Mansion. At the very least to make sure that the bogus Lightburst arrived on cue," Muskateer explained. Pointing to the screen he added, "and I think I just nailed them."

Black Diamond could make out a large step-van parked across the street. It bore the logo for 'Angel Communications'.

"That's the truck I saw on the way to the factory. I'd lay money on it. The Huntress can verify that, since she was there too."

"Great! At least we know where to look for them. Unfortunately, the team is not exactly up to full strength right now."

"You can say that again, Di," Muskateer agreed. Lightburst was still missing, Nightingale was on a leave of absence, and just how effective Black Diamond and Firestar would be in a battle was debatable.

"The point is: if we're going to attack a DEMON base, we're going to need assistance."

"We could always ask Huntress and her friend in the black costume."

"Night Owl?", Black Diamond said. "I wouldn't have thought of her, but she could be of help after all. I'll put in a call to the Freedom League also."

"Yeah, they're down a few members themselves I hear," Muskateer added. Resonator and Silver Arrow had both been apprehended by villains in recent weeks. "Gwen could always ask some of her friends at the Circle. From what she said, they'd pretty much drop everything to get a chance to stomp DEMON butt."

"The question now," Black Diamond stated, "is how do we find out if it actually is a DEMON base?"

"Leave that to me..."

Outside the Long Island offices of Angel Communications, an unmarked van sat inconspicuously. Hidden behind the tinted windows were Muskateer and the Enchantress. The soundtrack to the movie Metropolis, the 1984 re-released version, played over the van's speaker system. Muskateer was operating a portable console with two joysticks, a trackball and a number of buttons. A pair of video screens showed the interior of the Angel offices.

"I find it somewhat ironic that we seem to be using DEMON's own tactics against them," the Enchantress offered. The music playing wasn't her normal preference, but it wasn't too bad.

"Hey, what goes around, comes around." Muskateer swiveled the trackball a bit and one of the camera views panned the room. "I'm just glad that Hunter had left a few of these little guys around. I came across them one night playing around in the Electronics lab."

"No doubt designed for the very task it is performing."

"No doubt. I never met Hunter, but the man had some very cool toys."

Inside the complex, a small multi-legged robot was crawling along the ceiling of the offices. The few employees here on a Sunday afternoon never even noticed the invading pest. It made its way down a hallway and into a deserted room beyond. A small pivoting camera on either end showed views ahead and behind it, giving almost total pictures of its surroundings

The robot stopped for a moment and then crawled down a wall and using one of it legs, flicked what appeared to be a light switch. A false wall slid away and behind it was revealed a row of large bulky armored suits.

In the van outside, the Enchantress immediately recognized them as "Demonspawn!" The armored suits were dull gray in color. An emblem of a DEMON skull was emblazoned on the upper left-hand corner of the chest plates.

"We have a winner," Muskateer said, as he continued to work the controls. "You getting all this back there, Di?"

Back at the Avengers Mansion in the team's Meeting Room, the dual camera feeds were being transmitted to video screens for those assembled to see. "Loud and clear," Black Diamond's voice came over the speaker.

While Muskateer and the Enchantress had begun the surveillance operation, the assistance that Black Diamond had recruited had arrived. (Editor's Note: See Huntress #9 for more details)

"According to the sewer records and building plans, the Demon Base can't be co-located with Angel Communications," a female voice could be heard to say.

"In all likelihood, the operation is just a front," a male voice, also unknown to Muskateer, added. "It would give them the ability to move around and operate unnoticed and unhindered."

"That makes perfect sense," the Huntress agreed. "The financial records seem to be in order, except that there's a disturbing trend involving their 'customers'. I have yet to locate a single name that actually resides anywhere in the state!"

Muskateer and the Enchantress listened closely to the remote conversation. Since the DEMON base was not located here, they would have no problem infiltrating this place directly. "If that's the case, then we're gonna try and find out where the real base is."

"How do you propose to do that?", Black Diamond asked over the connection.

"Well, I figure I'll knock on the front door and ask politely. If that doesn't work, then I'll punch their lights out," was Muskateer's response. That was more for Night Owl's benefit than anyone else.

"Muskateer, I have only one thing to say...," Black Diamond began.

Back at the van, Muskateer pulled off the headset and replaced his hat. By now, he had maneuvered the robotic infiltrator back out of the complex. It was skittering across the street even now. "Di says that you're supposed to keep me out of trouble," Muskateer said to his partner.

"Lucky me. Why do I get all the thankless jobs?" Muskateer gave her a playful swat on the shoulder, then retrieved the fist-sized probe.

"If you're done complaining, we could use an entrance to that place," Muskateer said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.

"I have just the thing." The Enchantress made a familiar gesture and the two Avengers disappeared from the van.

A split-second later, the Enchantress and Muskateer appeared in the deserted room with the DEMON armor. "I knew I brought you along for a reason," Muskateer said, as he looked around.

"And here I thought you simply enjoyed my company," Gwen responded with a smile. "Do you have a plan?"

"Sure," Muskateer said simply, as he led the way down the hallway. Voices could be heard from the room at the end of the hall.

"Care to let me in on it?", Gwen whispered quietly.

"Beat up the bad guys?" Muskateer slowly pulled his sabre from its scabbard and soundlessly crept closer to the slightly ajar door. From what he could make out, a card game was in progress.

Signaling to the Enchantress to wait, he peered into the room, seeing five men around a table in the middle of the room. Each of them were armed with handguns. A laser rifle sat propped against a wall nearby.

The sword-wielding Avenger considered for a moment and then flung the door wide open. "Surprise! You're on Candid Camera!" Firing a taser beam from his sword, Muskateer sent two of the DEMON Agents sprawling before they even realized what was going on.

As the agents pulled their weapons, Muskateer cartwheeled into the room and crashed into one of the men, as he vainly fired at the agile hero. "Hey, watch where you're firing that thing! You could hit somebody!"

The remaining two agents started to run in opposite directions. One grabbed the laser rifle that was nearby, while the other headed for the door. He stopped for a moment and fired again. This time Muskateer simply reflected the energy beams back at the man. The blasters sent him smashing through the door and crashing to the ground. "See, I told you."

Turning to the last agent, Muskateer leapt into the air to avoid the blaster fire. It passed harmlessly below him, but exploded the soda machine it hit, sending fizzing, sticky liquid everywhere. The agent and hero were both drenched, the fluid staining Muskateer's cape with nasty shades of brown and orange and green. Muskateer looked from the man to his cape and back.

"Now, you did it!" Muskateer advanced forward. The agent backed away while firing, but Muskateer deflected the blasts away. Stepping forward, he sliced the barrel of the rifle in two. Another swipe smashed the weapon from the man's hands. Holding the point of his blade at the DEMON Agent's throat, Muskateer stared at him. "This cape cost me over six hundred bucks! It's ruined!"

"I never knew you were so fashion conscious," the Enchantress said with a grin as she walked into the room.

"We have to look good for the cameras."

"I thought you didn't like the press?"

"Well, they are parasites, but I'd rather be presentable on the front page."

Gwen walked up alongside Muskateer and regarded the agent. "You didn't have to do this all by yourself. I could have assisted. That's what being teammates is all about."

"Yeah, you may have a point there, pretty lady, but sometimes, the wrecking ball approach is much easier. 'Sides, I think you'll get plenty of chances when this dirt ball tells us where the base is."

"I'll never talk," the man said defiantly.

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," the Enchantress said with a menacing smile. "I can assure you that you will talk and you will tell me everything that I wish to know."

The exchange took Muskateer back a bit. In this particular partnership, he never would have imagined that he would be the good guy in a good hero/bad hero routine.

Sometime later, an Angel Communications van exited the complex and turned down the street, heading for Manhattan. Inside were Muskateer and the Enchantress.

"That guy spilled his guts easily enough," Muskateer said.

"Yes, you are not the only one with a charming personality."

"You know, you're starting to get pretty good with that sarcasm stuff," Muskateer said, looking over at his lovely companion. Gwen had cast a Spell of Persuasion to get the DEMON agent to tell them what they needed to know. The back of the van was now loaded with DEMON equipment and armor.

The Enchantress just smiled her charming smile in response. Then she said, "Now we take the fight to DEMON's doorstep." A fire burned in her eyes whenever she spoke about her primary nemesis.

"Got that right, pretty lady. We've been on our heels and getting knocked around for awhile now. It's payback time, Avengers style!"