Ancient Evil

"What are those things?" Jubilee asked.

"The Unforgiven Dead," Magua the female Atlatean assigned to be her gaurd told her. "Unfortunately they are the reason you all weren't more warmly received."

Jubilee blinked then nodded. "Gotcha... cause Walt's a necromancer so our timing is suspicious to Atlantis even if Namor trusts him... maybe Walt's right about 'trouble'..."

Magua looked at her. "Trouble?"

Jubilee laughed. "Walt has a nack for finding it and trouble finding him. Let me guess a necromancer is behind this?"

Magua nodded. "It's possible. They were once led by Suma-Ket an powerful necromancer and worshiper of the Old One's. He was "the stuff of dark legends come to life" in the stories. In antiquity he lead the Unforgiven Dead in driving off another ancient evil, saving Atlantis but then overthrew King Kamuu and ruled over Atlantis himself harshly until the return of Kalen, grandson of Kamuu, returned, he rallied the Atlanteans against Suma-Ket's forces, and defeated them. However, the Unforgiven Dead could not be destroyed, and were instead banished by the lords of Atlantis to the Grey Waters."

"But it didn't stop there did it?" Jubilee asked.

Magua nodded. "How did you know? Indeed it's as you say. Suma-Ket returned and tried again to take Atlantis but Namor defeated him once and for all!"

Jubilee nods but also snorted. "Yeah maybe... but now you got his ancient army of evil somehow returned from a banishment of what? A thousand years?"

Magua blinked. "Closer to six thousand or so originally but the seccond appearance was much more recent and now this-"

Jubilee snorted. "Yeah, yeah... I'd say that counts as "trouble" Alright." She sighed. "I'm sorry Magua. I... don't like being sidelined much but my powers are problematic and potentially dangerous down here. It's hard just... watching, you know."

Magua nodded and smiled. "You wish to be with them." The monitors showed Gwen tying up bunches of the Foes. Jen toppling a rock formation crushing a bunch more. Namor fighting with his trident and other Atlanteans trying to drive the horde back... and Walt occasionally striking out with the bowie knife which seemed extremely effective all the while casting some ritual. "Your friends."

Jubilee nodded. "Yeah. That and so much more. I love them!"

Magua smiled and held her hand trying to be reassuring... of course that was the same moment as Walt's ritual really statted drawing power. The lights dimmed as if Atlantis was experiencing a power outage. The screens flickered and wavered... and the one on him just died inexplicably.

"No!" Jubilee shouted.

Magua tried to get the picture back on another monitor but wasn't having much luck. "The blasted cameras are down!"

"It's not surprising," said a voice. Jubilee turned and a older Atlantean had entered. Magua bowed to him saying, "Logomancer."

He pulled out an orb making mystic signs. "Mystic arts and technology do not always mix well. Walter had no time to make the two play nicely with each other... ah! All is well for now... Come see!"

They gathered around the small orb. There was a huge writhing mass that it took awhile for them to recognize as the Unforgiven Dead. The horde of wretched monstrosities streached far and wide but they no longer appeared hostile. Infact they seemed to be turning back. Their gazes turned as if drawn by a magnet converging on a single point.

The Logomancer of Atlantis smiled. "See there! He's done it!" He concentrated a bit more and they could just make out a figure in the middle of the mass. It was Walter simply walking among the creatures. The twisted nightmarish horde parted before him and followed in his wake.

---

Walt walked amoung them. Their twisted not alive and not dead bodies surrounded him. A giant leviathan was in his path. It, like the rest of the Unforgiven Dead, wasn't just dead. It wasn't even "human" or "Homo mermanus" precisely. They were alien. Things created by or twisted by corruptive influence of the "Old Ones". The Marvel universe was one of those "worlds" that had Cosmic Horrors lurking in the background. Entities that had affected beings like these, often indirectly, through things and objects or places, remnants of knowledge or servants they'd left behind in time immemorial.

The Leviathan moved itself from his path. A twisted "female" mermaid creature came aggressively charging towards him... but then slowed and stilled. Walt made passing notice of it's agressive spines, teeth and claws. It was sadly beautiful in it's own way too... just like all of them. "She" and her "sisters" passively began following along behind him too.

Many feared or hated the "undead". But he didn't. All were dangerous, even the benevolent ones. But the sad fact was most creatures stuck outside the bounds of "life" and "death" endured wretched existences and were fascinated and attracted to the very things they couldn't attain or be for themselves.

He had challenged countless underworlds, interacting with primal Entities of Life and Death itself. He had been changed also. He was one of them, yet not one of them. He attracted them like moths to a light in the darkness.

Getting their attention was easy. It was as simple as letting his power be instead of holding it in all the time. Weaving an enchantment around himself to keep from accidentally killing or disrupting life around him was hard. He was responsible for what happened with his power and how he used it. He wasn't perfect but that was no excuse to not try to be better... but not everyone would make that choice.

The attack came as he passed a large rock formation. A spear seemed to materialize right out of the shadowy nothingness aimed directly at his heart. One of the female Neriads caught it with alien quick reflexs and pulled the skeletal looking cloaked figure from the shadows. The crowd of Unforgiven Dead swarmed him and finally a Leviathan siezed his struggling form.

Walt slowly turned and looked at the oddly small "man". When Namor had called him a "Halfling" Walt had assumed he meant something else... he tilted his head a little looking at him... maybe he was half Homo mermanus once upon a time as well as short. "I take it you are the one known as Socus?"

Socus spat. "How dare you address me surfacer-gah!"

The Leviathan had squeezed, the neriads hissed and the Unforgiven Dead moved to turn on their "master" but Walt raised his hand. It was embarrassing how effective it was. *This is what so many wannabe darklords want,* he thought. *But it's not magnificent or thrilling, it's just sad and a little embarrassing.*

"You are Socus, former herald of Suma-Ket. Servant of the Old Ones and practioner of their ways. It is you who has arisen the Unforgiven Dead again, you who ultimately slew Fen, Namor's mother, as a last act of defiance after your master and his mistress Artys-Gran fell."

"I was aiming for the prince," he rasped.

Walt shook his head. "As if that makes it any better. I don't care about regicide. I don't care about your vengeance either. I care about ending this. You're unfinished business that I have to tend to otherwise these souls can never know anykind of peace. You're just a dangling thread from an old plotline that writers never finished tying up properly years ago."

"What?" Socus asked confused.

Walt shook his head. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." He waved his hand dismissively and turned continuing leading the Unforgiven Deads journey to whence they came. He'd take them "home", far from Atlantis, and finish it there. Let them finally rest. It was the least he could do for them.

[Walter Stark Penny Polendina F.R.I.D.A.Y Neopolitan Pyrrha Nikos Nora Valkyrie Yang Xiao Long Blake Belladonna Kali Belladonna Sienna Khan Willow Schnee Glynda Goodwitch Zwei Ahnassi Lifts-Her-Tail Senko Sayoko Shinozaki Roberta Cisneros Haruna Sasha Blouse Ilulu Rachel "Raven" Roth Manami "La Brava" Aiba Tsuyu "Froppy" Asui Haruhime Sanjouno Anastasia "The Baroness" Cisarovna/DeCobray Demona Mystique Pirotess Lydia Aela the Huntress Serana Mission Vao Curie Ada PAM KL-E-O Merida Gwen "Gwenom" Stacy Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee and Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters

Will Return In

Spider Time

Coming Soon]