Hellboy #2

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Hellboy #2
The Forgotten Tomb, Part 2

Written by Mike Bowen
Edited by Daniel Dyer

Hellboy stood face to face with the advancing members of the strange cult he had discovered on the small island off the coast of Italy. They didn’t react at all to his strange appearance, or his sudden entrance at their supposedly secret ceremony. “Nobody ever laughs at my jokes any more,” he sighed as he shrugged off his overcoat and cracked his neck. “Alright, ya’ buncha pansies, bring it on.”

The strange-looking man that seemed to be leading the ritual gave a low guttural growl in some unknown language. Immediately the two members on Hellboy’s right launched themselves at him in a frenzy.

It didn’t take him long to sweep the unarmed men away with a mighty swing of his huge right hand. But even that didn’t stop them. The two continued to claw at Hellboy despite what had to be several broken bones.

The ritual leader howled once again and two more cult members sprinted towards Hellboy, wild looks in their eye. The pair came in low and took Hellboy’s legs out from under him, causing him to land flat on his back. The B.P.R.D. agent was immediately swallowed up by the other members.

With Hellboy out of his hair for a while Klaus Hommen went back to chanting the ancient incantations that are supposed to open the Tomb of Athalon. “Jawhere, incantada, simposo,” he cried, waving his hands in elaborate patterns. “Athalon, risento, newvious.”

Hommen reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew an amulet. The crimson stone began to glow as he thrust it skyward.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Director Stevenson was in a panic. He’d lost contact with Hellboy almost 10 minutes ago and now his electronic tracking device had gone out.

The strange turn of events even had the normally calm Bruttenholm at his side.

“Get me a ŒB’ team ready to go, I want them launched in 10 minutes,” Stevenson called into the comm on his computer. “I want Agent Sherman to be point, taking a squad of six.”

“Liz is not here, August,” Bruttenholm said, regaining his composure. “Neither is Abe or any of our other more experienced field agents. Besides, if Hommen has released Athalon, I wouldn’t want to send in any of our more... ah... fragile agents into battle.”

Stevenson scowled at the Professor. “Just what does that book of yours say about Athalon. What exactly is in that tomb?”

Bruttenholm adjusted his glasses. “It is not something you want under the control of a madman like Hommen.”

“Then who do you suggest we send in?”

“I would think the answer would be obvious, August. We send Roger.”

Stevenson flew out of his chair at the suggestion, his face turning red with anger. “Absolutely not!” he bellowed. “That... that creature murdered an agent and nearly killed Agent Sherman as well. The only reason that he’s not been dissected and studied now is your fish-man woke him up again. I’ve read the files Professor.”

Bruttenholm remained calm. “You’ve read the files, but you have not been the head of the B.P.R.D. for long, August. Roger has become one of our most trusted agents. And don’t forget the device you had attached to him when you took over.”

“Fine,” Stevenson relented. “But if something goes wrong, he’s going down. Is that understood.”

Bruttenholm nodded, a slight smile creeping over his face. “Perfectly.”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

From under a swarm of bodies, a giant red hand shot to the sky. Hellboy began throwing unconscious cult members left and right, trying to extract himself from their impromptu dog pile. “Ladies, ladies,” he said. “There’s enough of Hellboy to go around. No need to be greedy.” He finished climbing out of the pile and started towards Hommen, who was still facing the stones. “Hey, crazy cult guy!” Hellboy shouted. “I’m talking to you!”

“We really need to talk. You’d be a killer on the motivational speaker circuit. I mean those guys,” he jabbed a thumb back to the strewn bodies of the cult members, “they bought right into your little speech. Whatdaya say you put that stone down and we work this out like... like... uh... you’re not a crazy undead Nazi and I’m not a big red demon.”

Hommen turned slowly, his hood falling back to reveal his face. He didn’t look like a zombie, or extremely old, but the bullet wound from the sniper’s shot back in the 40's was very prevalent over his left eye. In fact, Hellboy could see the stones behind him through it.

“Whoa...” Hellboy said. “You better put something on that before it gets infected.”

“Why are you here, demon?” Hommen said with a deep German accent. “Why are you interfering with my releasing of Athalon?”

Hellboy’s left hand was slowly creeping towards the holster on his left side that held his gun, the Samaritan. “You got it all wrong Klaus,” Hellboy started. “Me and Athalon go way back and I’m here to see him.”

Hommen growled and produced a luger from under his robes and pointed it at Hellboy. But the B.P.R.D. agent was expecting that and already had the Samaritan pointed at Hommen’s head.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Hellboy said. “Mine’s bigger. You’ve proven you can take a bullet pretty well, but trust me when I say this thing will leave you a mess.”

Hommen looked as if he was about to give up and surrender.

“That’s it,” Hellboy said. “Just put down the gun and we’ll all go have a beer and a bratwhurst.”

But in a flash, the luger’s shot rang out, striking Hellboy in the head, knocking the B.P.R.D. agent flat on his back, the Samaritan spinning off to his left. “Now,” Hommen said, putting the luger back in its holster. “I can get back to more important matters.” He turned back towards the rocks and thrust the stone into the sky. “Jaweh Athalon, jaweh!” he hollered.

The stone began to glow and a low rumble started to build throughout the area. The stone that sealed off the tomb began to quiver as the rumble grew louder and the ground started to shake.

There was a loud crack like thunder and the stone split in two, revealing a passageway deep within the earth. Two torches burned with an unearthly blue flame marking the entrance to the tomb.

Hommen tossed the stone aside, pulled his hood up over his head and headed into the tomb, disappearing into the darkness on the other side of the torches.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Hellboy fought against the trio of imps with all his might, but the three little creatures were just too fast. One would be on his back, the other on his legs and the third tormenting him by staying just out of his reach.

“Come on guys,” Hellboy said. “Can’t we all just get a long.”

At that moment one of the imps sank his sharp teeth into Hellboy’s calf, bringing an intense amount of pain.

At that moment Hellboy woke up to find a large, gray wolf clamped down on his leg, trying to drag him off into the wood. He shook his leg, only to find the wolf bit down harder. “Hey,” he said finally shaking the wolf loose. “Do I look like a chew toy to you.”

The wolf stood nearby for a few minutes before disappearing into the forest west of the Tomb.

“Strange,” Hellboy said getting to his feet. “There’s not supposed to be any wolves in this area of the world.”

Suddenly he remembered what had happened and his hand went to his head, feeling the chip taken out of his left horn where the bullet must have hit him.

“Hey! What gives shooting me in the face like that,” he yelled, wheeling a circle looking for Hommen. But the man was gone. But the Tomb of Athalon was opened, its bright blue torches lighting up the grassy knoll amidst the thick forest covering most of the island.

“Well I’ll be,” Hellboy muttered. As he walked around the area to find the Samaritan and also the stone that Hommen had used to open the tomb. “Might as well keep this. Father will probably like to put it on display.”

He walked over to the entrance of the Tomb and peered down into the darkness. “Hellllloooooooo!” he hollered down and his echo answered him. “Hellllllooooooooooooo.”

The torches’ light didn’t go far, but he could make out the start of a steep stairway that led down into the inky blackness.

“And me without my nightlight,” he sighed as he started down the stairs. He had just gauged the drop on the steps when he reached the limit of the torch light, plunging him into pitch black. He continued on for several more minutes, one hand on the rough-hewn stone wall, the other holding his gun out in front of him.

After what seemed like several hours, but in reality was around 45 minutes, Hellboy reached the bottom of the staircase, finding another pair of blue torches lit. The torches illuminated a roughly circular chamber with several alcoves carved into the wall. Each contained a small urn, but Hellboy was more interested in the heavy wooden door and portcullis that stood open.

He stopped and listened but could discern no sounds coming from beyond it. “I’ll take door No. 1 Monty,” he said as he slipped under the teeth of the portcullis and into the adjacent chamber.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The matte gray plane took off and Professor Bruttenholm and B.P.R.D. Director Stevenson watched from the control room. “I hope you know what you are doing Trevor,” Stevenson said as the plane disappeared into the dark sky.

“As do I, August, but I am sure Roger will perform admirably.”

Stevenson started to turn away from the window and then turned back to the Professor. “Just what is in that tomb Trevor?” he asked.

The Professor sighed, resigning to the fact that he would have to inform the Director sooner or later. “Athalon was, or I should say is, one of the world’s first werewolves,” Bruttenholm said matter-of-factly. “He was imprisoned in that stone tomb back in medieval times, where he has been ever since. Only the stone of Rickashu, a ancient mystic rock could open the tomb and keep Athalon under some semblance of control.”

“What do you mean control?” August asked.

“He was the most bloodthirsty werewolf ever to walk the Earth, slaughtering scores more than any that came after him and he was only loose for three to four months tops.”

The Director’s face went pale. “And you think this Hommen has released him?”

“I believe that was his plan, August. But let’s just hope he has the stone of Rickashu...”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Hellboy stumbled into the antechamber to find it completely empty save for a small bed and the body of Klaus Hommen on the floor, his chest slashed to bloody ribbons. “Ohhhh, Klaus, whatva done,” he said as he knelt by the body. “All that work to get down here only to get yourself killed. You’d think you would have had a better plan than this.”

Hellboy glanced around the room noticing piles of bones scattered here and there. In fact the room was literally covered with bones, almost all of them human.

“I don’t know what you let out, buddy, but now I’ve got to put it back,” he said giving the body a kick. “Thanks a lot.”

Just then Hellboy’s musings were interrupted by a deep wolf howl, the torches illuminating the inner chambers immediately went black.

To be continued...