Chapter Twelve: Night of the Demon, Part Two

Benji looked out into hell, viewing it as the link was reestablished. A glow appeared against the red walls of hell before expanding. A large gate formed before the demons, forming and spreading out. The translucent glow showed the skyline of Boston before him.

Benji looked out into the portal and he saw Elliot walk away from the soon to be war zone. Benji stayed calm knowing that rushing out won't help him with the biggest problem, closing the link down. While the death of comedy stood behind him laughing at his problems.

“Now then demons, find your inner power. Pass through the portal and let the rays of Earth empower your body, let the dead replace the living and soon when all are dead on Earth, death shall become life and life shall be forever." Greg said into a microphone alerting the demons to their so called the “destiny".

Benji stood back as he saw the demons walked forward, the first walked into the portal and as they were bathed in the atmosphere in the Earth; their dead bodies gaining superpowers and flying away from hell and into the sky.

“And isn't it beautiful watching the age of immortality begin, once they all inhabit the Earth and souls are dead, I can reboot the system and make them immortal, but to do so I have to shift them back into hell and this trophy can do that." Greg said explaining his plan.

“Ha, now Benji knows your plan. He can probably defuse this with a paper clip, a sword and a battery." Absalom said standing up for Benji and trying to speak as a badass on his behalf. Looking forward Greg looked at Benji and knew what the shark was going to do, he was wrapped around his finger.

“Please Benji, you won't do anything you've made your choice and both of you are free but I know now how you'll react to this. You and Lucifer know while you can make a dent in my plan perhaps a large or a small dent but either way the dent will slowly expand before being enclosed by immortality." Greg said as he stood up looking at Benji and Lucifer, snapping his fingers and letting them go of their bounds.

“Now then with control over life and death as well as hell herself, I'd have to say you can call me the devil now." Greg said as he smiled and Benji would have sworn that horns raised out of his head. Standing up Benji looked at Greg, knowing the challenge he was facing and everything that was wrong with this.

“Well then who the devil are you?" Benji said hoping he could go out in a blaze of glory, he formed a large sword in his hand pointed it at Greg and smiled. Quickly he swung the sword around and pointed it at his body, stabbing himself. Benji continued to smile, and didn't cry out in pain.

Behind him the portal closed, he was still a part of the link and his death would shut it down. Perhaps only temporally or long enough that Absalom and Lucifer could do something to change the tide in his favor, so long as he could keep the link attached on to himself the longer he could play out a long game.

Falling to the floor, Benji heard the sound of the portal closing and Greg running over to the window as he tried to figure out the obvious. Closing his eyes and feeling the blood running against his shirt, he felt the joyful song of his heart stop and all the blood in his body finally paused.       

Falling to the floor, Benji was dead. The sword his powers provided covered in blood as it was knocked out of his chest. Blood spurted out of his chest in copious amounts but as the portal closed and the demons looked confused, no one mourned for Benji, not Greg, Absalom or the Devil for they all knew the powerful force on the other side of Benji's death and they were afraid.

…

Benji woke up in a cell, typical of being dead for ten to twenty minutes that someone would drag your dead body to a more for him but less for Benji, strategic place. Standing up the bars glowed with the fires of hell as the shark walked forward and formed a drill in his hand.

As he brought it close to the blazing bar of metal before him, placing the drill bit on the bar, it started to melt. Its metallic bond dropped, the energy being replaced by the fires of hell. Instead the metallic solid turned into a liquid, dripping onto the floor and forming a puddle.

Backing up, Benji wondered how fast his body was regenerating his skin and muscles it if was that hot in here. Standing back he was encapsulated in a roaring heat cell, while obvious not designed for torture, with his living body it felt like he was. And Greg probably knew that a hundred percent. 

Sitting down on the ground Benji enclosed his head in his arms and let out. Groaning a bit he waited, he waited for Greg to come and taunt him because when he saw that horrible demon he would pull him so close against the bars, no he wouldn't Greg had the devil's powers, he probably couldn't burn. 

Standing up he formed in his hand a bar of pure tungsten with a diamond tip, two of the supposedly most not-meltestist material on this side of the periodic table. Striking it against the bar, most of it remained besides a flew splashes off the top. Benji realized that he was back in the game and continued to strike against the bar.

Slowly but surely he chipped away at the bar, knowing the link was active he counted down from five minutes. And when that five minutes was up despite the progress he made, he turned the bar against himself and struck himself. Benji was screaming internally with pain as the hot metal pierced his heart and nearly cauterized the entire front half of his body before managing to cool off enough to do damage.

Blood fell out of his back as he pulled the bar out of his body, his incoming death causing the bar to return as energy. Blood splashed out and landed against the hot surface of hell, quickly boiling and leaving the always nice smell of evaporated blood in the air.

Benji died and the link was shut down again, he knew what this all had to be leading up to. IN his mind there was only one way to shut down the link in a permanent enough way, either his permanent death or Greg's permanent death. That was the only way to do it, one could live while the other could die. It seemed ironic but thematically secure and as at least five or ten maybe twenty minutes later he could make that choice.

He would be easy enough to kill forever, just find a way to remove himself from the hell bypass system, and perhaps Greg would be as easy to do but with his original powers and the power of the devil following him as well, that was a question best left to ponder over alcohol.

Standing up again, Benji grabbed the now stabilized tungsten diamond bar and continued to knock it into the flaming jail bar. Hopefully Greg had no idea what he was doing and if he didn't he had all the ideas of what he was doing. Yet he continued to chip away, knocking it down slowly would at least mean that he might be able to escape in a day.

And counting down, when five minutes were up he pointed the bar at his chest again and prepared to strike himself down. Closing his eyes once again he placed the diamond against his heart and pulled back.

“Are you sure you want to do that now?" Benji heard something making him stop, in front of the cell was Martin. Not the shitty apparition he was joined by before, but a full color version that had to be his dead self. While first thinking that it was Greg trying to manipulate him, he looking at him, he knew that it was the real thing.

“No, I'm not. Sounds like wasted time, when all I could be doing is escape and piss Greg further off. Plus who knows what he could do when I'm dead." Benji said starting banter with Martin. “I miss you, I wish I could go back and change the past."

“Don't we all sometimes, yet my death is a massive pimple on time's face. There is no way you could pop that without someone noticing, and even so why not just give me immortality?" Martin said smiling, knowing he was forcing Benji to challenge his ideas and decide if he was really right. 

“Because you said not to reduce your death, if you were brought back to life…" Benji said as he tried to explain to Martin his own reasoning for not agreeing with the age of immortality. “Because it would have lessened your death, you would have not had that last moment, I would have taken that away from you."

“But doesn't this as well, you're talking here to me. And it's like I've barely died, you could visit me whenever you want, I don't expect you to do so often but if you miss me you can always come here and say hi." Martin agreed as he validated another point, that in the long wrong his death wouldn't even matter.  

“Because, I am the Harbinger of Death, I have control of my life and death and while it might end today, I still view my own condition as wrong. Every single second, I can't bear to imagine the future of my never ending life." Benji said as Martin managed to sort out his reasoning and his condition, and what was pushing him into the future or lack there off.

“If I died in that construct site, I would have been happy but now there are loose ends, people treating me like I am their savior or their devil; trying to pull one up on me, it makes me so mad!" Benji picked up the tungsten bar and smashed it into the cell, breaking it into pieces.

Standing up Benji nodded at Martin's ghost, knowing that he had something to work towards his own death and the day he would be reunited with Martin would be one for the records book. Walking out of the cell, the shark looked around as he tried to make sure Greg wasn't chasing him.

“Ok, then first things first, need to get back to Earth in a time conserving way." Benji said as he concentrated, he remembered that Greg said something along the line of his body was still on Earth and he was in two physical bodies. And that was how the link formed, between two physical objects between a physical and spiritual world.

He wondered if he could transfer his soul through a link on his own body. Focusing on where his body was placed before, presumably still on the electric cage back in the BOO base. Focusing he felt the link connect and with a boost of energy, landing back in the real world he smiled.

He was back, back on Earth and out of hell. For now, walking forward he did as he should have and formed a metal bar, without electric shocks to tell him no he smashed it into the bar and like in hell broke his prison. Now free in both dimensions he realized he was in more trouble in the other, and decided to fix that problem.
Flashing back to hell, he looked around the hot walls and found a closet. Somehow hell had a closet but anyway he shoved himself into the storage area and closed the door, knowing that he wouldn't be out in the open made him feel better and with that he flashed back.

“Ok, enough flashes, Lost is getting jealous of us." Benji said as he stood up and stabilized himself on the ground. Simple enough he looked around and found the door that Elliot must have squished him in through. Walking forward, he didn't look to his left he was too afraid. Not of what he would see but what he would do once he saw that.

He walked forward, and exited the room looking around he waited and saw that Alex had somehow escaped from his own cage, he wouldn't ask it'd probably make him feel cleaver. Walking forward Benji looked around and figured that the base was emptied and that BOO agents would be leading the charge.

Somehow he figured they were the heroes here, they were the ones who went out and dealt with the massive invading force that came every week or so. They were the cannon fodder that was reduced every week but kept on moving on. Yet they accepted that, Benji accepted that and so did the Outsiders, he felt a bit dirty so doing so.

“So then Greg, I back, the bitch is back on his home court. So then what are you going to do?" Benji said as he tried to drag Greg out from hell and move back into the home court where physics worked the way it was supposed to. Looking around the clouds gathered over the city and a large red sphere had gathered over the Hancock Building.

Walking forward, Benji took his jacket off and hung it over his shoulder as he walked back towards Boston. Finding himself on the inside he found a tent and knew that as Bright's apothecary. When the alternate dimension shark kept his paranoia down and wasn't quick to end the world he was pretty cool to hang out with.

Standing up Benji looked into the tent and walked in he figured Bright might have a few words to say, or perhaps his Kagen powers could help them now. Looking into the tent, a layer of smoke was floating through the tent and inhaling Benji felt a bit relaxed. Perhaps a conversation with Bright would help him.

“Ah good you've arrived, once again my reincarnation we are troubled by the demon threat. Back in my universe we only had to deal with petty god's egos." Bright said as he breathed in smoke from a burning herb on the desk. It smelt nice and as Benji took it in he felt relaxed.

“It is interesting, how happy would I have been to never have my powers, to be reincarnated and never know it. Perhaps I would have been blasted out of this universe and met one of my reincarnations." Benji said as he walked in taking a seat on the consumer's side of the desk.      

“In my case, we the Kagens are born with powers and some even get to be gods. My idiotic bother got to be one and tried to defend you stupid humans… Nevermind about that." Bright said before catching himself and saving. “The point is I grew up with my powers, yet I never knew how breakable you were because I was surrounded by people as powerful as I."

“I get what you're saying, I know my limits. I can see the damage I cause, and this smoke is great. I love it." Benji said as he breathed it in and out and made sure it was following.

“Thanks, it calms me. Makes me slightly less psychopathic." Bright said as his mind wandered through the smoke, he couldn't focus but that was perhaps the best thing for him. Not to focus about what was happening in this world. “However, I was wondering if I could contact the Kagens of this timeline, see what made them less psychopathic."

“Interesting, so the exile of Kagens from the Earth is ultimately a fixed point in both time lines I've heard about, unless the Kagens want to attack here." Benji said really summing up everything he's heard about the mysterious race, he wondered what the Kagen gods would think of him.

“Don't worry, I'll make sure this plane is protected, but I can hear it right now. Slowly but surely more and more of those demons are coming through the portal, their interfering with my mental scanning. We can't procrastinate much longer, you are the link?" Bright said as he cleared out the smoke and stood up.

“Yep, I am most definitely the link. I not ready to die nor do I want to, much worse getting into hell and making sure I can might be out of the books now." Benji said as he walked forward, Bright following him out of the smoke filled tent. “Can we call in another group; the New York Outsiders might be inclined to help us."

“Nah, maybe next time. If you can get the trophy on this side of the void and take it to hell and join them together or you can link the demons and drag them with you." Bright said as he looked at the hellish portal above him. “Yeah that is a problem, does MIT or any of the colleges have something that could close this?"

“Yeah I don't think so, they might have been able to close a dimensional portal but a multiverse one, I don't think so. Do you think they have other options?" Benji said as he looked up at the portal, trying to think of something that could close it

“What about Blades of Disorder?" Bright said, Benji wondered how long he was stuck in the Philadelphian cell; surely he could have been here for the first superheroes. That would have been two hundred year ago. “The Disorganizer's weapon, he was one of the founding Outsider members."

“I am fresh in the subject, didn't his blades have the ability to separate anything they touch into their base components?" Benji asked wondering if that could help them with the portal.

“Yeah, maybe we could break down the edge of the portal, collapse it on itself and then close it." Bright suggested as he walked into the streets of Boston, they would need to get to the Hancock building quick, the amount of demons about to rain down was massive.

…

Elliot stood up and looked at the portal, she viewed it with shame knowing that for Isen and Blake she dammed the entire human race. She ducked her head and walked down to the highest floor from the observation deck. Closing the door and making sure she locked it, she perhaps would take safety in the ruins of the old base, a mile below sea level.

There were probably a few patches of air that she, Isen and Blake could live off of until the end of time. So long as they were safe then she'd be fine. Maybe the world would go to hell or perhaps Benji would find a way out of hell and save everyone.

She was afraid of that, he would no doubt get revenge and Martin's nearly next to last words would have no effect on his spiraling revenge. She was most likely a target and perhaps with her decree of death to the human race, she would have deserved it.

Looking away, she was suddenly shocked to see Benji walk up to her. He looked angry, very angry and as she tried to make peace with the world Benji looked more like he was about to start a war. The shark made a cocky grin and from his hand, he formed a sword, then a massive hammer, then a war hammer and that was the point where his arms gave out.

Switching that up he instead formed a piece of dynamite and a lighter in his hand, ready to blow both of them up. Obviously Benji would have found a way to survive this, as he nearly always did. Elliot backed up against the door, she'd rather throw herself off the top of the building then face Benji and his tortuous tactics.

“Are you sorry?" Benji asked as he held the lighter over the dynamite, any advantage or disadvantage was gone, it was just Benji wanting to do something to get revenge and Elliot could see it in his eyes. Fire raged and anger flared in his body, she could see what he wanted to do.

“Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I never meant for him to die, only you were. Greg forced my hand, I had to protect Blake and Isen." Elliot said nearly crying as he balled up against the wall, leading her feelings and her shame go as she confessed to Benji.

“Well then, I forgive you." Benji said as his body flashed and it disappeared. Elliot stood up and looked confused, as the real Benji walked out of the shadows, holding a tiny square box in his hand.

“A hologram projector, why did you need a hologram projector?" Elliot asked as she stood up and feel slightly less in danger, more less she was as endangered when Benji was around her. He flicked the projector and it turned on, another Benji appearing.

“Neat little thing, I wanted to see if I myself could summon it, I'd call that a success." Benji said as he revealed his urge to multitask in this situation. Walking up to Elliot, he pushed her aside quite rudely if she could say so herself and then he placed his ears against the door.

“Oh, sounds like you have a demon infestation, don't worry we handle these all the time. And the best part is it will only cost; 49.99 plus the cost of materials." Benji said as he formed a large mini-gun in his hands, Elliot backed up as she saw the amount of bullets loaded behind him.

“Now then, I'll just use my patented Demon Hunting kit, while you grab the trophy but make sure you aren't seen." Benji kicked open the door and pointed his gun upwards, pulling down on the trigger as the gun barrel started to spin. Waiting for it to warm up, Elliot stayed back for a second waiting for Benji to decimate the demon forces.

And then the battle started, liquid metal bullets were shot out of minigun and into the flying crowd of demons, Elliot would need to be quick to get the trophy as the demons could quickly go through the now open hell. Demons were hit with the bullets and they fell to the ground, as Elliot ducked and walked up the steps staying out of the bullet's paths.

Demons convened on Benji all trying to push down against the bullet steam and like a wave of water, Benji was the dam to hold them back. Covering Elliot, Benji walked forward a bit and climbed up the steps as he saw Elliot run up into observation deck.

Elliot looked around and ran at the trophy. None off the demons noticed her as she picked it up from the pedestal. She quickly ran back as she ducked under the bullet stream and ran into the room again. Benji backed up and continued on the stream of demons. Disappearing into the room, only flashes of red lit up the room.

Benji stopped and quickly ran at the door, slamming it shut he held against it as demon's piled up against it. Trading the minigun for a massive cabinet he placed it front of the door and smiled as he heard the demons pile up.

“Ok, we have the trophy what do we do now?" Elliot asked as she looked at the copper and gold metal, she rubbed it hoping that it would shark information with them. Shutting it down might be a tedious task and she had no idea how to do so.

“Good question, I don't know. I am the link on the hell side, so maybe if I touch it here then it will cancel out my influence on that side." Benji said as he walked forward and placed his hands on the trophy. He stayed still as he tried to sense the other side of the link and with that, suddenly he was frozen in place.

“Greg's grabbed his end, we only strengthened the link and made us apart of it in the physical sense." Benji said as he shook and tried to break his bonding with the trophy. He couldn't let go and was frozen in place. Waiting for something to happen, he saw Greg standing before him as a hologram to be simple.

“So then try to break the chain, but you only made it stronger. The link of this universe to hell is becoming stronger, the longer we do this the closer we are to immortality." Greg said as Elliot reacted to him, she grabbed a bar and slashed at him only to see that he was untouchable in this area.

“Yeah no, just as I can see Benji only this side on universe, we are intangible on each other's home court." Greg explained as he waited for Benji to say something witty or sarcastic.

“I've got nothing, their surely must be a way to defeat you, that I haven't thought of yet, and by that I already have, hold on for me Elliot, I'll be back in a few seconds." Benji said as Greg suddenly looked a bit discomforted and he knew that Benji often had wacky enough ideas that it could work.

“You see you and all your demons, all of you, have forgotten that there is the revolutionary dimension. Now I'm not a betting man but I'd say that all these demons are linked to the trophy as well as you, so let's drag you along." Benji said as he pulled out his phone and opened the app, holding his button over the shift he knew how dangerous this was.

“NO! You can't destroy all I've worked for, it's not fair." Greg yelled out, confirming to Benji that it was what he needed to do. Pushing down on button, Benji's eyes flashed as he passed through the portal, dragging the demons with him as well as Greg.

…

“Oh, well hello to you, you bastard." Elliot said as Greg suddenly took Benji's spot, he was stuck to the trophy as well and certainly going to fight Benji's punishment. Walking over to him, she reached in to his pocket and grabbed his phone so that he couldn't shift to counter him.

Walking away, she held out his phone to taunt him and he fell over with the trophy stuck in his hand. She smiled knowing that she helped redeem herself in Benji's mind.

“And this is for Martin." Elliot suddenly ran back and slammed her foot into Greg's body. Greg screamed out as his body was held in place by the trophy.

…

“Ok, in revolutionary era can't leave the demons here but might be able to leave Greg here, he just needed his masks and his power." Benji said to himself as he opened his phone again, he needed to get them to hell and like with that, he wondered if he could drill through his universe and into the bowels of the abyss itself.

Opening his phone he set a destination, one not regular for himself and transported. The phone made a few beeps in objection but did as he asked and then it was as red hellish dimension he was trapped in before. Placing the trophy on the pedestal, the link shut down and the portal closed.

With most of the demons back where they needed to be, he placed the trophy away and looked at Lucifer. He still needed his powers back. Benji quickly transported back to the revolutionary era, something a bit simpler without a billion demons being dragged along.

Landing back without dragging Greg, he found himself next to him as he teleported in. Greg turned around and looked at him. They were in the early Boston Commons, the two looked at each other it was thesis against anti-thesis; Benji was surprised they didn't cancel each other out.

“So then, this is what you wanted. You take my hell away from me, go place everything back to normal and expect to get away from it all. Too bad you will never get Martin back." Greg said as he dropped the trophy, it was useless anymore.

Martin grinned knowing that Greg was pushing his anger and so then he released his tranquil fury. Not summoning a weapon or using a mask, he ran up to Greg and placed his hand around the man's neck. Lifting him up, Greg started to choke as Benji placed pressure on his windpipe.

“I'm sorry but Greg as it appears now I believe in an eye for an eye. So then I blame you." Benji said as he squished down, Greg was too big a threat to let him live. No one would disagree with him more so after the events of the day. Greg formed the wendigo mask in his hands and placed it on his head.

“Oh so you want to get away, not on my watch." Benji said as he reached up with other hand and grabbed the mask. It pulled away from Greg's face and into his hand, it trusted him more. And as Benji took the wendigo mask for himself, he crushed Greg's windpipe, claiming the death in Martin's name.

Greg fell to the ground and Benji walked away, he grabbed the trophy and transported himself to hell once again taking everything he had, just as Greg had done to him. Teleporting once again into hell's offices, the look returned to normal the same flow had been picked up by the demons and reincarnation was once again the norm.                   

“Ah, good destroy those links. Place them together and they'll cancel each other out." Lucifer said as he regained his powers as rightfully as they were his. His body glowed and he escaped from his bonds, standing up he looked down on hell. Benji grabbed the other trophy and held them apart.

They attracted at each other and disappeared as the other touched, canceling the other out. Benji had a sigh of relief knowing that it was mostly over. As it seemed Greg was gone for now and even know the devil couldn't bring him back and know he had a trusty wendigo mask.

“Yeah, give me the wendigo mask." The devil said as he turned towards Benji, his hands glowed and without even getting conformation from Benji, the wendigo mask appeared in his hands. “This needs to stay here, this is how Greg defected and got here the first time, and don't expect to get back in with your phone."

Lucifer's hand glowed and teleported Benji away, before the shark could say anything witty or sarcastic back to him. Benji looked wide eyed as he took all of that information in, shaking his head he walked off going back to what he was doing.

…

“So what happens now?" Benji asked as he walked down the street, his hands in his pocket and woefully mourning after the hour of the demons. Bright was next to him, the hippy shark joining him as they decided to pay their respects to Martin.

“I'm not sure, maybe this continues or maybe we give up. Who knows what happens next, maybe we'll be forever frozen in time and never knows what happens next, all depends on what you want to do Benji?" Bright said as they found themselves at an intersection, a nice metaphor. However, their choice was suddenly interrupted.

Cars severed off the road and crashed into the local buildings around the common. Benji held still as he waited for something to appear, grimacing as he turned around and braced for something worse. He looked at it and a massive rip in the space time continuum had decided to open for the second time that day.

“Come on boys, time to conquer the next universe." A deep Australian accent rang throughout Boston, as the edges of the portal glowed. Looking at them it appeared to be a group of five or six walking through. They looked ragged and dirty.

They were led by a shark and he looked strange, familiar but different. Like he had seen him before, which could have been true considering that they stated they hopped universe to universe.

“Now then allow me to introduce myself, I am Koji, and only Koji but you can call me and my group the Outsiders." Koji presented his group, there was him, then an orca and a large crocodile, next to them, was another shark and a dragon and lastly a toucan.

“Now then we've been looking for a universe to plunder and I have to say we've found a nice one."