<center>

Tag Team Terror!
Although little is known about The Hellions, they're about to get some notice in this match! But facing the nigh-unbeatable Darkness, fresh off a tough win over Titanium Insomniac, aligned with a refreshed Acid Misfit, former 411 World Champion, will The Hellions get their notoriety as great victors or as a bloody mess??</center>

Sweat poured off his body. His hair hung in lank, black strands across his face and his chest heaved with exertion.

But he felt good.

Better than he had in years, maybe the best since he'd come here. He felt vindicated after the last six months of walking the line between redemption and damnation, not because he had made the right decision, but because he had come to the understanding that making such a decision was anathema to everything he sought to achieve.

He was Darkness, and he had found his destiny.

He brushed the hair from his eyes and slowly cracked his neck. The backstage area was quiet after his match, and he knew that many of TCW's employees would have been watching on monitors, transfixed by the action.

Privately, he felt a rush of pride and elation. Since his treatment at the hands of Drakus he had wondered if the backstage gossip was correct. At the start of the Majestic Cup tourney it had been almost inconceivable that anyone else would emerge victorious, but he had ended up a footnote in another man's story. It was not a position he was used to occupying.

Savouring his latest and hardest victory, Darkness almost didn't sense the figure approaching him. He turned his eyes to catch those of the man walking into his view. He had expected this confrontation after the two of them had last spoke.

"Did you think about what I said?" Darkness asked him.

Misfit shrugged noncommittally before brushing his vibrant green hair from his eyes. "Yeah...I thought about it..."

"And...?"

He shrugged again. "I told you about what I saw..."

"That was just a dream."

"Seemed pretty real to me." He paused. "Look, I'm not saying any of that really happened or really will happen, just that it's hard to shake such a vivid...vision...out of my mind."

"I'm not the creature you saw. You know that."

"Yeah - but what worries me most about your reaction to me telling you about this is that you didn't immediately take a step back and say it was ludicrous." Misfit looked hard at Darkness as he spoke, "You took it in like being told I saw you as an insane vampire was something that might really happen, rather than the kind of crazy shit your mind makes up when it's in the condition that mine was."

"I understand your concerns..."

"Do you? Do you?" Misfit took a step closer to Darkness, "Cos I have my doubts. You run around calling yourselves the New Hellfire Club, you walk around with a sword strapped to your back and sometimes I wonder where the gimmick ends and the man begins."

"There is no gimmick, Gideon."

"That's what I was afraid of, Darkness," he nodded, "And I know you're the fearless hero in your own mind - or maybe in real life for all I know - but I'm just a regular guy. You might have saved my life, and I'm grateful for that, but when you start making offers like the one you made me and not telling me the whole story, I start to wonder if I'm getting involved in something I shouldn't, you know?"

Darkness took in his words, mulling them over and wondering how best to deal with this situation. He and Dante had created their alliance for a specific purpose to which they were intimately related. Acolyte was an important part of it, but he had made it clear that he wasn't prepared to deal with some of the things that Dante and Darkness knew. But Misfit...Darkness had sought him out for a very specific purpose and, unlike Aco, he was not the kind of man who would simply go along with something like this. He needed answers, or they'd lose this opportunity.

"Misfit," Darkness began, measuring his words carefully, "I cannot tell you everything that I know, not here and not now. You must trust me that I, Dante, and Acolyte - along with many others - are fighting for something far bigger than this wrestling federation. I asked you to be a part of it because I believe that not only are you a warrior of rare talent, but also because of the faith that makes you strong..."

He pointed to the rosary beads that hung from Misfit's studded belt as if to demonstrate his point to the younger man.

"You want a Catholic in the New Hellfire Club?" Misfit looked doubtful, but there was a strange glint in his eye.

"Yes...I mean..." Darkness felt strangely disarmed by the question, "It's more complex that that..."

Misfit grinned, "I know. But the thing is that, despite all my doubts about this, and despite the fact that when I look at you I keep expecting you to grow fangs and start burning down a church, you did save me and you've always kept your word to your friends as far as I know."

"So you trust me?"

"Yeah, I trust you. Hell, I even kinda like you. You're a little bit...stiff...but I bet you've got a soft side buried under all that face-paint, am I right?"

Darkness raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not the biggest fan of the company you keep though, and, like I say, I wonder what I'm about to get myself into..."

Darkness cocked his head, "So...?"

"So," Misfit slipped his jacket off his shoulders and showed the new tattoo on his bicep to Darkness, "I don't want this fella to go to waste."

Darkness smiled. "We might need you tonight, Gideon."

"Figures. I'll be there. I guess that'll be a nice surprise for Hammer and his pals, won't it?"

"I would certainly imagine so."

* * *

"This is unexpected."

The voice came from the shadows, far from where anyone save one could ever hear it.

There was a pause.

"But we can deal with it..."

The only listener to the cold voice remained silent.

"I had hoped we could preserve them for a little longer."

"You think they will fail...?" the listener finally asked, his voice sounding hollow and bleak in the blackness.

"Against these two? Your pawns could come against them tenfold in numbers, size, or skill and still they would be defeated."

"I think that..."

"You are wrong. Always so wrong. I have seen what the Nightwalker is capable of, for one. No, your servants will serve to garner us information however. Even with their deaths they may prove of some use."

The listener said nothing in reply. After some time he sensed that his companion had vanished and he wondered how best to proceed.

Boredom, the bane of all men was something Spike hated. After having lost to the MVC chumps, The Hellions a team that in their own opinions should be feared and revered had taken what Spike referred to a time out from wrestling to as he put it get their bearings and get their focus back.

With that in mind we see a newly refocused (but bored) Spike and an as always nearly stoic Thorne enter the Kolnarena looking for some news on what is going on and who they will face now that they have been in some ways "reborn" as a team. As they approach Valerie Stern's office Spike looks at Throne with an aghast look and says.

"No, we can't do that!"

"Why? Because if we do we're going to be out of here quicker then a rat with his arse on fire in a gunpowder factory that's why."

Thorne sends a puzzled and surprised look at his team mate and raises his eyebrow to which Spike laughs and says.

"Don't worry big man, I haven't lost it. "Spike grins "Not all of it at least."

Without even bothering to knock on the door, Spike followed by the large tank of a man Thorne enter Stern's office and find the Commissioner sitting at her desk reading some it would seem reports. As the man dressed in City cameo pants, a T-Shirt so well worn it's almost grey rather then it's original black and what seems like an old bomber jacket stops at the other side of her desk with a grin like a hungry shark's on his face, she looks up from her papers and looks at him.

"Yes?" She asks in a tone that clearly shows displeasure.

"Well, we 'ave been told to go see ya about some kind a match for the next show 'ere in Cologne." Spike replies in a fashion that would make Johnny Rotten pat his back.

Valerie Stern looks at the "punk" in front of her desk and then at the lumbering giant behind him.

"You two would be the Hellions, am I right?"

"That we would be, that would be us." Spike replies in a language that would make professors commit suicide.

Thorne rolls his eyes as his partner speaks, but says nothing and does nothing else. Stern gives both men a long and thorough seeing to and then sighs.

"Talk to the enforcer, he has your match."

Spike grins again in a way that makes Stern wish she had been able to bring a gun to Germany.

"And where 'bout would this enforcer be?"

"He would be right here." A voice muffled by the latest issue of Playboy Germany says.

Spike looks to his right and sees a man laying on a couch with said magazine over his face. As the punk looks at the man dressed as if he had stolen Michaels Madsen's part from "Kill Bill" gets up from his rest. As he puts his feet on the carpeted floor he puts his hat on and looks at Spike and Throne with a smile.
"You two have something of a special coming up, you're going to face two old "friends" of mine"

Spike looks taken back by this man and what he has done and who he has been aligned with.

"And what would that be...Bruce?" Spike says the name as if he was not used to saying it or if it was poisonous.

Bruce smiles a broad smile.

"You will face a kind of new team, the wrestlers aren't new in any way but the team is." Bruce adds a pause for a completely wasted drama. Given Spike's expression and Throne's normal stoic calm he sighs and says.

"Ok, you'll face Darkness and Acid Misfit."

The smile that cracks up on Spike's face surprises the enforcer.

"YES!"

Throne, Stern and Bruce all look at him with surprise on their faces. Spike gets up face to face with Bruce and spits out.

"Straight to the top, 'eh? What do we get for offing those two wankers?"

Bruce has by now washed the surprise away and calmly says.

"The win, any other spoils we can leave until you actually do win...don't you agree?"

Spike nods.

"Yeah, Naturally."

Spike storms off with a puzzled and seemingly annoyed Throne in tow as Valerie Stern and Bruce stare at them as they leave. As the door closes behind Throne Sterns says "They don't have a chance, do they?"

Bruce laughs.

"Not even a snowballs chance in hell...Darkness and Misfit will make those two hurt in ways they had no idea they could hurt in."

They both shake their heads at the Hellions.

*****

"Have you grown accustomed to using your charges as sacrificial goats?"

The voice came from the shadows and sounded as hollow and bleak as before.

"Yes, Master" Came the reply.

"Good, these two have become greater a thorn in our sides them I expected, we must learn all we can about the opposing warriors."

The other person bows and says.

"We will learn master, and should my charges die we will learn from that as well."

"I am glad to hear this, the time to unveil the truth has come, do not waste it."

"I will not waste it master."

*****
"No I 'ave already told ya, I 'aven't gone mad."

...

"Yeah, I do like 'aving that match."

...

"Why? Well..."

Spike opened the door to the hotel room the fed had registered to them in Cologne.

"..because I think we deserve that chance to beat someone that's actually, ya know good."

Spike took off his jacket and threw it over the back of a nearby sofa. He jumped over the same sofa and dropped back first onto it and took a deep breath.

"Be a bro an' turn the light on will ya?"

Throne walked over to the light switch and flicked the lights on.

"EEK!"

Spike let out the distressed expression as he saw that him and Throne were far from alone in the room. In the sofa across from his own a woman sat looking at them. Her hair was short and spiked in some strange fashion and looked as if they had run out of skin colour when she was born and had to use milk instead. A strange smile played on his black lips as she moved her as Spike saw it attractive body in the couch. Her skirt was a strange mix of classy and slutty and showed a great deal of her well formed and shapely legs. She took a look at Spike and Throne and at that point, Spike's love of his own voice took over.

"Well 'ello there Miss."

"Hello Spike." Was the reply and it was followed up with a nod in Throne's direction. A nod Throne replied to with a bow.

Spike looked at Throne and then at the woman. Suddenly all sexual lust was gone from his face and his eyes had taken on a narrow and smart (well as smart as Spike could ever get.) There was a slight shudder in his voice as he asked the next question.

"Who are you?"
The woman smiled and took out a small box from her pocket and held it in front of her mouth.

"Does this answer your question, Spike?" said the now male voice.

"Fuckin' 'ell! Thorne...she is the Boss!"

Throne nodded and Silently hoped he could tell Spike that he already knew.

"So why have you come 'ere? I mean this is nowhere..."

The woman lit a cigarette and took a deep breath.

"You have a very important job to take care of, you have a very hard match in front of you. I wanted to take care of you two and make sure you did your best."

"Well we 'ere plannin' on doin' that anyway."

The woman exhaled a puff of smoke.

"I'm so glad to hear that Spike." She said with out any real enthusiasm.

Spike sat there looking like a moron before he found something to say.

"So do you have a name or do you want me to call you boss?"

"Would that be a problem for you?"

"Well sounds a bit dumb when I shout it in bed, dunn it?"

To Spike's surprise the woman smiled and said "Yes, it does." She got up from her sofa and walked around to Spike and Throne's side of the room and said.

"I'm Razor and you boys and me are going to shock the TCW dead."

Spike laughed and Throne smirked.

"I like the sound a that."

After a few more seconds of self-congratulatory smiling, Razor said "But first we have a few things to change, we have some shopping to do gentlemen."

They both looked at Razor in surprise.

*****

Darkness sat back after having come out of the shower and looked at the NHFC locker room, it was a mixture of cheers and pouting, Dante was in no condition to cheer and Acolyte had lost to Freya but the group still felt they had won something major this day.

Misfit now officially a NHFC member sat at the computer and was reading the Internet reaction, Darkness was relaxing after a shower and a hard match against the Insomniac, Acolyte was reading something and Dante was getting stitches from his journeys through the mesh of the "Cell" as Selenia watched the doctor make the stitches. Over all they were all quiet but happy. Dante thanked the doctor and walked over to Darkness with a slight limp.

"So we did well then?" he asked Darkness.

"Yes, I'd say we did. I won, you won and we got Misfit introduced as one of us."

Misfit looked up from the computer and with a face that was filled with faked comfort and joy he said."

"I'd call that good."

Dante looked at him and saw the look of near hatred he threw at the albino.

In whispered tone quiet enough to make Misfit unable to hear Darkness said.

"You'll have to take care of that."

Dante nodded.

"I know and I will...I just need to catch my breath."

Darkness was about to say something that was cut off by Misfit asking.

"Hellions? Who the hell are they?"

Dante looked at his new team mate and replied.

"Some team that debuted a while ago, I think they have left again...why?"

Misfit smirked.

"Because Darkness and I are booked against them at friction."

Darkness looked up at Misfit and then at Dante with a surprised look on his face. Dante shrugged and Darkness walked over to Misfit to see the e-mail Bruce had sent. Dante joined him and saw that Misfit seemed to move involuntarily as he approached. Dante decided to do something about that right now.

*****

In the centre of Cologne's shopping district Razor leaves one of the designer boutiques with Spike and Throne in tow. Throne looks much the same but Spike looks like a new man, he still retain his strange hairdo but the city cameo pants and washed up T-Shirt has been replaced with a suit that cost more then all the clothes he has ever owned cost.

He is surprised that he likes his new wardrobe but he does and as he puts his hands into his pockets he looks at Razor who is lighting a new cigarette and he asks.

"So afta the new threads, what do we do?"

"That's simply my dear Spike. "Razor replies with a smile "We go hellfire hunting."

Darkness stood in the gym, arms folded, trying to relax. He liked Misfit, in spite of his difficulties in handling him, but he was beginning to get frustrated nonetheless. Even his most wild and uncontrollable former companions - the swashbuckling Jack Dane came immediately to mind - were capable of switching off the shenanigans when things started getting serious.

Of course, Jack Dane was a Shadow Slayer, he reminded himself. It was unfair - or unrealistic, more to the point - to hold all men up to the same standards as members of their Order. Misfit was an accomplished wrestler, and clearly a talented warrior, but he wasn't trained in the same way that Darkness was; to exercise discipline in the manner that other men exercised breathing. No, Misfit was just a guy, not a soldier, not a demon fighter. And yet Darkness had never pushed him into taking up the mantle of an NHFC-member, a role that implicitly involved arduous and dangerous duties.

The Acid Misfit had volunteered, and that meant that he was the right man for this job. He had seen, Darkness knew, some important vision. Darkness knew the value of visions in their war.

But still, he knew that forming a team with such a man would be a difficult undertaking. Both men were of similar size and build, but the similarities ended there. Darkness had live a life of ascetic discipline, learning skills that no one but his immediate circle of acquaintances believed were necessary outside of a comic book, while Misfit had been a pro. wrestler, with all the baggage that came with it.

He glanced at the clock. One minute to nine.

Duck Hero and Rodent King still lounged in the ring, evidently in deep conversation. Darkness strained to hear their words, but they were either too quiet or for some reason unintelligible to him. He saw Rodent King's sword propped up against the apron.

"Nice sword," he noted, thinking it rude to invite two of his co-workers to train with them without making any kind of conversation. Rodent King shot him a glance, but then turned immediately back to Duck Hero and continued his discussion.

"Fine..."

The clock on the gym wall struck nine and Darkness immediately looked to the door. He himself was always unfailingly punctual, and he knew Dante was much the same. It was one of many things the two former enemies shared.

The door of the gym opened and, wearing an impeccable white suit, open at the collar and a pair of dark shades to protect his sensitive eyes from the bright winter daylight, in walked Jason Dante. He smiled upon seeing Darkness waiting for him, but the former Shadow Slayer didn't return the expression.

"What?"

Darkness turned to the two bizarrely dressed wrestlers in the ring. "Do you think you two could give us a moment alone?"

Duck Hero and Rodent King seemed to consider it for a minute before both shrugging and leaving the ring to retire to the opposite end of the gym. They appeared to still be engrossed in their unintelligible conversation.

"Weird guys," Dante observed, "But then - we can hardly talk, can we?"

He laughed slightly at his own joke, but trailed off under Darkness's implacable scrutiny. "Funny," the black-clad warrior observed, "Misfit said something similar."

Dante's face immediately clouded over at the mention of their newest stable mate. "I'm glad you asked me here actually," he said, "Because I wanted to discuss that with you..."

"Discuss what?" Darkness knew what Jason was about to say, but he kept his composure and let the albino talk, unwittingly digging himself into a deeper hole.

"Misfit. Look, I respect your opinion, Darkness - you know that - but I really wish you'd consulted me before bringing him in. He and I don't exactly have a history of cooperation and I honestly don't think he's going to fit in. Perhaps it's best to let him go his own way? He's had his run here and I don't see what use a drunken, drug-addicted punk is to us anyway..."

The strength of Dante's conviction, even though his words were carefully measured, shocked Darkness. As a Shadow Slayer, Darkness was used to the idea of being stronger, faster, wiser and better trained than the vast, vast majority of humanity. The greatest challenge a Slayer faces, he had been told and had told in turn to Tenth Circle Neophytes in the past, was reconciling their great power over ordinary humans with the need to protect them. It was too tempting to believe that humanity weren't worth saving once you understood how much more a man could become with the right training and equipment. Slayers had no room in their lives for arrogance or condescension. They were defenders, not masters.

"How quickly you forget, Jason..."

"What?"

"I know you dislike being reminded of it," Darkness continued, taking a step towards the World's Heavyweight Champion, "But a year ago you lured me to a rooftop in Dayton and goaded me into beating you almost to death."

Dante actually paled, if it were even possible given his complexion, at Darkness's words.

"Prior to that you had kidnapped me and injected me with a serum that eroded my discipline and self-control, but also carried with it a second agent that infected my body with the essence of a demon. By surrendering to my anger, I unleashed that second serum and, as a result, harboured - and continue to harbour - a demon within me."

Dante was unsure how to react to this. He had seen, several months before and on the mesa, the ultimate results of his actions in Dayton. Darkness's newfound demon-hood brought him abilities that may have saved the world, but he suspected that it was best not to bring that up.

"What's your point, Darkness?" he finally asked.

"Your problems with Misfit are understandable, but I imagine whatever the two of you have been through it pales in comparison to your treatment of me and my subsequent attempt to murder you."

"Probably..."

"And if we can put our differences aside for the sake of a higher calling, do you not think you and Misfit can do the same?"

Dante seemed to consider Darkness's words. In the mind of the half-demon, he replayed the scenario that his stable-mate had reminded him of over in his head. It seemed like a thousand years ago now, but Darkness was correct that it had only been twelve months before. So much had happened since then, and they had both come so far, that it was sometimes easy to forget that they had once been mortal enemies.

All the same, it was not as if Dante and Darkness had simply forgiven one another and become friends overnight. Their alliance was born of a mutual respect forged in the crucible of battle and of no longer being able to deny the spiritual connection the two shared. Both men were two parts of a single destiny, born to fight together, maybe to die together.

There had been no option but for them to join forces. Had they decided not to, everything would have been lost. What they had was not about personal feelings, or even uniting against a common foe; it was simply a matter of life and death. For everyone.

"It's different..." Dante muttered.

"How so?"

Fire flashed in the albino's eyes as he took off his shades, "Because he isn't one of us. He doesn't know what we know - he can't. You and I are a unique case, but Misfit and I go way back. We may never have tried to kill each other, but we've been at each other's throats since day one. I was deceived by Seth into fighting against you, Darkness, and you quite rightly opposed my actions on general principle, but with Misfit and I, it's a personal issue - I don't like him and he doesn't like me. It's always been that way and, given that he's just a human, I don't see why I should have to put that aside for the ‘greater good' in this situation. Exactly what do we need with a no-hoper like him? Answer me that!"

Dante's voice had increase in volume throughout his tirade, and it was quite clear that he felt very strongly about this situation, and was allowing his personal feelings of intense anger to show. Well two could play at that game.

Grabbing Dante by the lapels, Darkness unhesitatingly hauled him off his feet and up into the air. Though the two men were evenly matched in a combat situation, when it came to raw strength, Darkness had the edge on Dante. The world champion gaped at his companion as Darkness's furious eyes burned into him.

"Enough. I haven't been fighting this war for twenty years to have my work undone by a hybrid with an attitude problem who can't get the concept of having a duty to a higher cause into his pale skull."

Dante twisted in Darkness's grip, even lashing at him with one fist.

"Listen!" Darkness bellowed, his voice reverberating through the gym and causing Duck Hero and Rodent King to twist their heads to look at the two men. He hurled Dante roughly to the ground and advanced on him.

"I wonder how much you can be trusted to do the right thing when this war begins in earnest. Do you think the wrestling ring will always be our battlefield? One day you will have to rely on people who are ‘just humans', one day you may have to die for them. I wonder if you can be counted on to fulfil the destiny that has been set for you if you have become so far removed from what you once were. It was not so long ago that you counted yourself ‘just human', Jason Dante. It was not so long ago that you vomited forth the only thing that still tied you to the supernatural world and declared yourself at last free from the influence of Bleeder and Bruce. Strange how you didn't hesitate to return to that world when the opportunity arose and you thought it to your advantage to do so. And now you have the gall to patronise a man like Gideon Flint? I thought that I had shown you enough to make you understand humility and decency. Or did you learn nothing on the mesa?"

Dante stared at Darkness as he absorbed the man's harsh words. Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet. "You've changed, Darkness..."

"That's your influence on me, Jason," Darkness replied, more calmly now, "We each took something from the other at Endgame - it's time you started showing some of what I gave you."

Dante nodded silently and, after a few moments, allowed his friend to help him to his feet.

"You're right," he admitted, "It's time I learned to be a little more mature. It's...unbecoming...for me to vent my spleen on Misfit like I have."

Darkness nodded, "There's a time and a place for anger, Jason - I was taught that recently - I don't expect you and Gideon to ever be friends, but I knew what I was doing when I recruited him, and you have to respect that."

"I will."

"Good. Maybe you could talk to him as you leave too."

"Talk to him?" A frown creased Dante's face.

"Yes. I believe he's outside smoking..."

Dante glanced behind him at the gym's doors. "There was no one outside when I came in, Darkness."

"But he..."

A dozen scenarios ran through Darkness's head. One of them, which his pride would rather he didn't consider, was that Misfit had lied to him and fled at the first opportunity. Maybe Dante had been right after all.

But no. That didn't fit with anything he knew about Misfit. Despite his flaws, Gideon Flint was an honest, decent man. He had been open with Darkness about his intention to return to Oregon, and to simply cut and run without telling him seemed highly out of character.

"Jason, what are you doing today?"

"I have to attend some goddamn meeting about this DVD they're releasing."

Darkness winced. He had been subjected to similar meetings when "Darkness: Rookie Sensation" had been about to hit the shelves. Unfortunate title aside, it had been a rather complete retrospective of his first year in the 411fed and ECF, as it was then, though in Darkness's opinion it had only told the tiniest fraction of the real story of that insane twelve months.

"Can't you get out of it?"

"Tried. Not happening."

"Okay, I'll handle this myself then..."

* * *

They were in a smoky bar - or pub, Misfit mentally corrected himself. Germany was one of the few European countries not to have introduced the draconian anti-smoking laws that were prevalent almost everywhere now it seemed.

"Civilised fucking country," Misfit nodded as he handed another cigarette to the woman who had introduced herself as Razor and took another one out of the pack for himself.

The woman was intoxicating. Exactly his type, plus she seemed like a real bitch, which he always thought was fun. He'd forgotten all about Darkness, training, wrestling and, well, everything. She was that kind of girl.

"So tell me about yourself, Gideon."

He sipped his beer. Bottled this time, because it wasn't really a tourist pub, and thought about how to answer the question. "What you wanna know, honey?"

She rolled her eyes at him. They were strange; dark as midnight, but they seemed to give off an inner light all the same. It was a little disturbing, but aren't women who scare you just a little bit a lot more fun, Misfit thought to himself.

"I don't know. Start at the beginning or something."

He laughed. "Jesus...uh...well, born and raised in Oregon."

"Portland area?"

"Yeah, more or less. You know it?"

"I've passed through a few times. What did your father do?"

Her questions were quick and to the point, but Misfit found himself so at ease around this strange woman that he answered almost automatically.

"A wrestler. Amateur I mean, not pro."

"Why would I think you meant pro.?"

Misfit chuckled to himself. "And here I thought you'd recognised me or somethin' - guess maybe I have some charm of my own after all."

Razor looked confused, but her bewitching smile soon returned. "Are you famous or something?"

"Well...kinda...if you ask the right people. I'm a wrestler."

"Amateur?"

"Nope, pro. Hence me saying that about my dad."

"Isn't that fake?" her expression was playful, but there wasn't the usual condescension in her eyes, just genuine interest.

"It's...complicated..."

It was her turn to laugh now. She sipped from her own bottle and shifted herself closer to him. Her leg pushed against his own and he grinned in response. His heart was beating fast, the way it does when you just know that you have chemistry with a person. The anticipation, the dancing around the thing you both know is there but are still playing the game where you pretend you don't. It was as intoxicating as her.

"Do you maybe want to go somewhere a little more...private...Gideon?" she asked softly.

His face was very close to hers and he could smell her sweetly scented breath. For just a moment, there was a faint suggestion of something else beneath the perfume...something dark and rancid...something dead...but whatever doubts he had were immediately suppressed by the earlier aroma.

"I think that'd be cool..." he murmured in reply.

* * *

Darkness walked through the streets of Cologne as midday approached. There had been no sign of Misfit outside the gym and his enquiries elsewhere had only resulted in blank looks and shrugs.

He had fairly shamelessly broken into Misfit's hotel suite too in order to ascertain whether he'd caught a plane to Oregon like he'd threatened, but his bags, plane tickets and passport were all still in the room. It had been easy to find them too, given that all of Misfit's possessions were simply strewn across the bed.

So now he was searching blind, simply hoping to run into his would-be tag partner. Cologne was a big city though, and he had little hope of simply stumbling into a man like Misfit. Bars had seemed like a good place to start, but that hardly narrowed it down. Having poked his head in over a dozen and so far finding nothing, he was starting to become frustrated.

What could have made Gideon just disappear like that? He suspected the influence of one of his many enemies, but that wasn't very helpful either. Something very strange was going on.

It was at that point that Darkness sensed he was being followed. The mass of humanity in Germany's fourth-largest city made it hard to pick out individuals but for some time he'd detected the presence of two individuals following his path. Having taken a few side-streets where possible, he'd ascertained that them tracing the same movements as himself could not be a coincidence.

He could guess who they were.

Turning into an alley, he waited for the inevitable ‘surprise attack' that they were surely planning. He crouched in the shadows and held his breath till he saw two silhouettes framed in the clear winter sky. One was much larger than the other.

Darkness stepped out into the alley, and the two figures looked slightly surprised. He nodded to them.

"Care to introduce yourselves, gentlemen?"

The smaller of the two stepped forward and grinned. He looked like someone whose dalliance with popular culture began and ended in 1977 but he was inexplicably encased in an Armani suit. His large friend was likewise attired. They looked odd.

"Me? I'm the fuckin' devil, mate," he jabbed a thumb at his companion, "'An this ‘ere's my friend Beelzebub, alright?"

Their choice of names made Darkness smile for all the wrong reasons. "You're not the devil," he told the strange figure, "You're just practice..."

"Oh man...wha...?"

Words wouldn't form properly in Misfit's mouth as he rolled his head this way and that, trying to look for a pillow that wasn't there. He had the mother of all hangovers and his mouth tasted like someone had been gassing cockroaches in it.

Slowly his eyes opened, letting just a crack of daylight hit his aching retinas.

"Ow...fuck."

Okay, maybe keep them closed for a bit.

He could hear some people moving about around him. That was usually not good news in a situation like this; being alone was about a thousand times more preferable. Plus if there were multiple people milling around that suggested he had passed out in a public place.

Let's see.

Still dry, so not a fountain or swimming pool: score one for Acid Misfit.

No sound of vehicles, so not a street.

No sound of trains, so not a railroad, which was always good to know.

On the other hand...

He tried to move one arm and found that he couldn't. Panic pulsed through him for a second and desperately he tried to wiggle his fingers. They definitely moved and, if he remembered anything from high-school biology, that meant his arm was probably at least still attached.

So...he guessed that meant he was tied up. He could feel his head, so he wasn't upside down...hmmm... Experimentally he flexed his biceps, straining against the bonds. They felt rigid, like plastic. They didn't feel too tight; just enough to hold him in place.

"Well at least they're not...uh...tourni...tourna...uh..." he mumbled to himself.

"Tourniquets."

"That's the one."

He knew that voice. Something in his memory associated it with a sort of giddy, happy feeling in his stomach, but something in his mind right then associated it with something really fucking scary.

Slowly, Acid Misfit tried to open his eyes again.

"Gah!"

A face was positioned immediately in front of his own, sickly pale with black lips that looked less like alluring make-up as they did something that belonged on a corpse. Dark, mysterious eyes that now scared the ever-loving shit out of him bored into him.

"You looked a lot hotter last night..." he murmured.

Razor drew her face away and laughed a hoarse, broken laugh. She folder her arms across her chest and smirked at him. "I thought you'd be made of sterner stuff, Gideon."

"Yeah...well..." Now accustomed to the light in the dingy room he looked around and saw two figures lurking in the shadows and recognised them as his opponents at Friction, the ones who called themselves The Hellions. That answered a few questions then. He glanced down at himself. As he had ascertained moments earlier, he was indeed fastened to a chair by plastic straps of the kind used to secure bits of things in factories and workshops to bigger things.

Yeah. You know the ones.

He looked back at Razor. "Now, I know I definitely didn't agree to this..."

She laughed again. "You seem pretty chipper for someone who just woke up tied to a chair in a strange place with a head that feels like it's made out of glass."

"Eh...I've woken up in worse situations."

Razor cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Well. More or less."

"More or less?"

"Well, this one is probably the worst per se, but so far I don't think either of us have all the information regarding this situation."

"I couldn't agree more."

Razor stepped to one side and picked up a cell phone. Misfit recognised it as his own and frowned. "Hey, don't read my text messages...there's a couple of racy ones in there..."

"I doubt you could even think of anything that would shock me, Gideon," she chided, "But that really isn't what I'm interested in with this device."

"Device? What are you from the eighteenth century or something?"

"Not quite."

Razor pressed a few buttons, looking intently at the small screen of the cell. "No doubt," she began to tell him, "You're little comment about the ‘information regarding this situation' is an allusion to your partner and the advantages that having him on his side gives you."

"Hey, for a girl who gets her kicks from tying up drunk wrestlers you're pretty smart..."

Her predatory grin did not reassure him. "What you have not taken into account is that this situation has been contrived for the express purpose of bringing him here. What you have also not taken into account is the exact nature of your predicament."

Misfit followed her gaze to where a fuse trailed away from his chair. He glanced around, looking for the explosives.

"Do you know anything about polystyrene, Gideon?"

"Um." He considered making another witty comment, but he couldn't think of anything funny to say about polystyrene. "No."

She gestured to the plastic bonds that held him in place. "It's a very versatile polymer, you'd be amazed just how many places you find it. And, you may be interested to learn, your government is still investigating just how dangerous it is."

Misfit was not very interested to learn this. "Oh yeah? Great."

"There are suspicions it may be a carcinogenic if it gets into food, but it's also rather explosive."

"It is?"

"Yes. Simple polystyrene beads caused the Channel Tunnel fire in 1996 and, earlier than year, seventeen people died in a similar accident at Düsseldorf International Airport."

"Wow. How about that, huh?"

"How about that indeed."

She placed the phone to her ear and waited for a few seconds for whoever was on the other end to pick up. "I have your partner in a room opposite the church on Merhemier Street. In five minutes, the polymer bonds that hold him will be ignited, causing him to explode - quite fatally, as I'm sure you can imagine. The police will not get here in time and, even if they arrive after his death, they'll find no evidence that can lead them to anyone thanks to my chosen method of execution. I suggest you move fast, Darkness."

Razor smiled sweetly at Misfit as she closed the phone and returned it to the desk from which she had first picked it up. She nodded curtly at the two hulking figures of the Hellions and they left quickly.

"Pretty smart..." he acknowledged as she held a lighter to the fuse.

* * *

Spike and Thorne trudged through the streets of Cologne once more. Both now attired in their regular clothes, they moved with a dejected kind of purpose.

"I ain't ‘appy about this...I really ain't..."

Thorne looked at his smaller partner and Spike shook his head. "No, I'll tell you why. Personally, I'm off the opin'n that we can ‘andle this twat quite ‘appliy given the right circumstances."

Thorne nodded sagely.

"Exactly. But the fing is, if the Boss is givin' ‘im the chance like this, puttin' ‘im on the spot, like...."

Another sage nod.

"Yeah. Puts us at a bit of a disadvantage, don't it?"

Thorne stopped in his tracks and pointed up at the skyline. There, silhouetted against the bright winter sky moved a dark figure.

"Ever get the feelin' we're bein' treated like cannon fodder?"

Thorne shrugged and Spike sighed heavily, leading his large friend towards a fire escape that they could use to scale the building nearby.

* * *

Darkness's boots pounded against the concrete as he pelted across a rooftop. Pausing for a second to scan his surroundings, he shrugged off his coat, letting his weapons fall to the floor. He'd find them later; there were more important things to deal with now.

His gaze flitted from roof to roof, assessing the quickest route across the city. He had only a little over four minutes now and this environment was largely unfamiliar to him. Moving on a gut instinct he darted to his left, increasing the pace of his sprint as he rapidly approached the edge of the roof. With a grunt of exertion he pushed off into the air, spreading his arms as he flew though space, landing on a fire escape on the opposite side of the backstreet. Immediately Darkness scaled the metal rungs of the escape, his gloves finding purchase even on the icy surface.

He rolled to his feet on the next rooftop, only to find two figures waiting for him.

"You again?"

Spike grinned. "'Oo else?"

"You're not going to stop me..."

"Stop you? We ain't tryin' to do that, you daft cunt, but if we slow you down for jus' a minute...well...that ain't gonna be too nice for your mate, is it?"

"Alright then."

Darkness broke into a run again, charging directly at the two men.

* * *

Razor glanced down at her watch. "I guess maybe your friend isn't that concerned about you after all..."

"Hey, Darkness is all heart," Misfit replied, trying not to look at the approaching fuse, "Probably ran into your goons."

"I expect so."

"So...uh...Razor...let me just get things straight in my head here..."

"Don't let me stop you."

"No...I mean...I want to get things straight by talking about them...

"Oh right." She turned to him. "I'm all ears."

"So..." he began again, "You set me up to get exploded, then give Darkness five minutes to get here."

"Correct."

"Because you want to lure him here, right?"

"Yes."

"So why send Tweedledee and Tweedledum after him? If he's late I get blown up - along with you unless you start making tracks - and you get nothing."

"You're very simple-minded, Gideon," she mocked, "You underestimate your partner too - Spike and Thorne will just be a distraction to him on the way here. He'll make it in time, I'm confident of that, but with some luck my little henchmen will give him a few extra bruises that'll make it that much easier for me to get what I want."

"Ah. And what is that exactly?"

"What every woman wants from every man, Gideon," she smiled. Slowly, she moved behind the chair to which he was bound and moved her lips to his ear. For just a second, the seductive scent of the previous evening returned and Misfit felt strange emotions begin to stir.

"Vengenace."

"Speeding Darkness"

This time it was Darkness who flung himself at Spike and Throne, the larger men both braced themselves for the incoming Slayer As he was within Throne's reach, the British former champion dodged Throne's hay maker and threw a short and powerful punch at Spike's midriff that caused the punk to double over and gasp for air. Throne looked at his partner who was standing on one knee and the stormed after Darkness.

Darkness scrambled down a series of fire escapes to the lower roof next door, he jumped up on the railing of the fire escape and leapt over to the next house. He took a few seconds to find the path and the stormed off again. Seconds later a pair of fairly huge feet hit the concrete where Darkness had stood only seconds before, Throne was on the trail of the ex-slayer.

Darkness had been trained and had his "other side" abilities to use and thus he dashed across the roof top in a way that made him seem to float across it rather then like he was actually running. He jumped and grabbed hold of a pipe and swung himself across to another section of the roof, as Darkness feet touched the concrete, a dull thud of someone large landing behind him caught his attention. He turned around and was met with a hard punch to the stomach by Throne, he managed to avoid harm but this left him open to a second blow that landed like a tonne of bricks on him. Seconds later, the ringing in his head subsided and he heard a voice he had learned to know and hate.

"'Ello mate rememba me?" Darkness turned to the direction the blow had come from and saw the grinning Spike sitting there, his Doc Martens having done their job. Darkness saw that his situation was bad, neither Throne nor Spike were great fighters by an stretch of imagination, but Throne had the strength of a locomotive and Spike was as fast as a buttered up eel, The punks wolf's grin had begun to annoy the slayer, who to his surprise shot a similar grin back and again took of running.

"What the fuck are ya waitin' for? go get 'em ya fuckin' prick!" Spike yelled to throne who shot back with a hostile stare and the took off at a speed men his size weren't supposed to be able to reach. Through gritted teeth Darkness let out a curse as he saw the huge man keep up with him, Darkness reached the end of the roof and saw his way across to the next one in a steel girder sticking out and only leaving him with a 4 foot jump. He picked up his speed to get some distance between him and Thorne, he dashed across the roof in a mad dash to reach Misfit, he felt Spike and Throne being on his heels and Darkness didn't like that stress at all, he gritted his teeth and leapt over a number of barrels that had for some strange reason been left on the roof top, a few seconds later a muffled cruse and the sound of drums falling over informed him that Spike was back in the chase. Darkness leap across another narrow chasm between roofs and as his feet left the ground he heard and felt the swish of a large fist swinging out and missing him narrowly. He exhaled as he landed, former slayer or not, that blow would have swept him off the roof. Again, Throne followed him across the narrow roof section, in front of him darkness saw what he knew was his goal looming, but more worrying was the roof that was his launch pad for the last dash to get to Misfit.

The roof tops he had passed thus far had been flat and easy to traverse, the last part of his mad dash wasn't as easy at all, the roof was a typical old fashioned roof that was made up of two sides at an angle to each other, in other words he would have to make his final charge across the narrow top of the building. Darkness let himself a few seconds to relax and the shot off again as Thorne was airborne and incoming. Darkness heard as Throne closed in on him, he had let himself pause for too long, the hulk of a man was bearing down on him and threatening to get hold of him, now he understood the plan, they weren't there to stop him or hurt him, that was just a bonus...Spike and Throne were obstacles in the right meaning of the word, they were there to delay him and to force him to watch his partner get blown up. Darkness added a bit more power to each step to reach the last piece of roof before Thorne could get hold of him, with a last desperate leap he landed on the tiled roof and almost fell off as a few tiles came loose and fell towards the ground, Throne leap after him and found himself in the middle of a landslide of roof tiles, the large man couldn't keep his balance and he slid slowly off the roof with a look on his face that could best be described as furious. A few seconds later he hit the concrete of a top floor balcony back first.

As Darkness dashed on he heard an tirade of curses emanate from Spike as their prey had escaped, As the slayer approached the end of the roof, he leap as he approached the window he was aiming for he saw a man bound to a chair and a woman standing in front of him.

"Sympathy for Lady Vengeance"

Razor grinned, the way she looked at this point made this something Misfit rather not would want to see, her face was still alluring and her figure dashing, but the strange colour of her skin and the inhuman eyes made her seem a monster in the body of a beautiful woman.

"You partner must have given up on you." She said with a strange tone in her voice.

Misfit looked up at her and grinned.

"I doubt that..."

"Oh and why would you do that?" Razor asked in a voice that made Gideon Flint feel dizzy.

"He put too much time into dragging me out of my own hell, he spend too much time to get me to wake up to just leave me to die." Misfit said trying to sound a bit smug.

Razor shook her head. She walked up to him and leaned in close so he would see her perfectly formed mouth spell out each word to him.

"Gideon, Darkness isn't the Santa Claus you think he is, he just like me does what he has to. He would sacrifice you and everything to get to his goal...he doesn't care about you at all, you just like anyone he and his associate Dante keeps close are kept close so they can use you."

She kissed him and licked her lips afterwards.

"And I don't think you like being used Gideon...am I right?"

Misfit's face was twisted into a vicious snarl.

"Yes...Yes you are right."

She leaned in closer and ran her fingers across the outline of his face.

"I knew I was right Gideon..." She purred.

She rose from her half crouch and seconds later the crash of glass being shattered she had been expecting came as darkness crashed through the panorama window of her suite. She looked at the former slayer as he stood there in her suite, shards of glass stuck in his hair and cuts all over his body. She smiled.

"Darkness...so nice of you to finally join us."
The Slayer looked at the vile woman in front of him.

"Release Misfit...now."

Razor smiled again.

"Ah the direct approach. I admire that in a man wearing face paint."

"release him...Now."

"Is that all you can say? Honestly i expected more of you Darkness, I know that battle training wasn't the only thing the Slayers gave you...At least i hoped Dante had taught you a bit more class" she said with a tone that she wanted to spit when she said the name Dante.

Darkness looked at her and a puzzled look shot across his face.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Razor and so is my wit" She replied. "I know all about you Darkness, you strengths your weaknesses you great victories and your failings. I could write a book on your soul and the torture life has been to you, I know you as well as I know myself."

She smiled.

"Of course, the good old Goth-chick Razor wouldn't know you that well would she? She would be too busy to cut herself with razors and listen to bad poetry, at least that's what she did when i found her and stole the useless whore's body."

Darkness looked a her, he knew what name the woman in front of him had once held, he knew who she had been, but he couldn't even bring himself to let the name pass through his mind.

She smiled again.

"Had I known that my beloved work was so much better in a real woman's body i would have done this years ago." She said while she started to grind and let out guttural groans.

"You have no idea how it feels when a man's energy is drained out of him while he thinks he is in control, while he thinks it's him who uses me...You would love it Darkness...and i would love feeing your mighty energy drain into me." She continued amidst a series of groans that made Darkness feel slightly sick.

"How could you resist me Darkness, I demoness in a woman's body...Dante couldn't resist, that's why he took that harlot Selenia as his whore...he loves the feeling of himself inside her...Let go Darkness come with me, join me...join Lillith's crusade!"

The name killed her last remote chance at getting to him, the name was like a shock of 10.000 volts through his body, between gritted teeth he spat out.

"Join you? Join you?! I would rather die a million times then join forces with a simple lust driven whore of hell!"

Razor looked at him with huge eyes and smiled.

"You say that as if it was and thing Darkness...I invented prostitution and I love every nuance of the degradation and shame, every last drip of lust and forbidden longings." She said in a voice that was dripping with honey.

"Save it demoness. I'm immune to your charms...as is Dante."

"Ah yes, this foolish real love. I never understood why you cared about this fleeting fancy, Selenia won't live forever and neither did you beloved little Anna, did she?"

Darkness was on the verge of letting his rage take over, how dared this bitch degrade Anna's name like this.

Razor sighed and the the woman known as Lillith said.

"Well, well i offered you love forever more and you declined...you do know you forced my hand here don't you Darkness, if you wouldn't join us, we will have to destroy you."

She spun the chair Misfit was sitting in around, the plastic straps weren't lit any more, but the Acid Misfit's eyes were aflame with a boiling hatred Darkness had never seen in his eyes before, She caressed his cheek and in a calm tone gave her order.

"Gideon, honey...would you be so kind as to kill Darkness?"

With a roar Misfit left the chair and charged Darkness, as Misfit's hands closed around his throat, Darkness saw Lillith leave and blow him a kiss.

"I hope you enjoy the Abyss." She said. "I sure do." She concluded with her lustful voice.

Misfit was far stronger the Darkness remembered from their match, he couldn't get the former world champions hands away from his throat and he felt a slight panic enter his mind as the oxygen was getting low. Desperate he struck out and floored his partner. As Misfit was struggling to get to his feet darkness leap on him and locked him in a Full nelson.

Desperate for help Darkness called out, he let his thought stretch out till he found the man he was looking for.

"Darkness?"

"Yes, it's hardly Little Bo peep now is it?"

"Easy, easy bro, what is going on? I'm a bit surprised you took direct contact like this."

"I have my reasons...Misfit mainly."

"Ah...I told you he would be trouble, the guy is fucking living..."

"Not now Jason, he's been poisoned by something and I need to get it out of him...and my arms are busy stopping him from you know killing me."

"Ok, I see"

"Could you please hurry up a bit, we are at..."

"Darkness, I know where you are."

Darkness felt Dante's mind get dimmer in his own and then disappear. As he struggled against the enraged and poisoned Misfit, he thought that Dante had sounded differently. Minutes felt like years as Darkness waited for his fellow NHFcer to arrive. The sound of the door being opened a few eternally long minutes later was a relief as that signalled Dante's arrival.

"What the fuck happened here?" was Dante first words after entering.

"She got to him in some way..."

"What she? Darkness women in general don't cause..."

"It was Lillith in a stolen body!" Darkness screamed to get Dante to take action.

"Lillith?"

"Yes, You underestimated her Jason..."

"I know..." To himself Jason Dante made a vow to decapitate her next time he saw the demonic hellbitch, he had been to kind to her.

"Can we handle the Hollywood tough guy garbage later?" Darkness asked "this guy is getting annoying."

Dante walked up to the two men on the floor and said.

"Rag'harr Atruchat mechg'arrz?!"

The groan Misfit let out was far from human.

"What the hell was that about?" Darkness asked.

"A drone."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, we need to get it out now. You have any idea if she bit him or if they had sex or anything like that?"

"I have no idea...wait...they must have kissed."

Dante nodded and grabbed Misfit's face and bent his mouth open.

"It's in there." Dante said and grabbed a knife from out of his pocket. With a look of concentration on his face be stuck the knife into Misfit's mouth and with a cut he severed the drone and struck his fellow NHFCer on the throat to make him spit it out. As the phlegm of blood and Drone tissue left Misfit's mouth his muscles relaxed and he stopped struggling against Darkness.

Through deep and tired breaths he tried to regain his composure as Darkness let him go. Misfit rolled over on his stomach and got to his knees and vomited out the rest of the drone tissue.

Dante sat down on a couch and Darkness did the same on the nearby bed.

"Our meetings are always fun, aren't they Darkness?" Dante asked.

"Well, they could be less violent if you ask me."

"Defiantly."

Misfit got to his feet and stared at the albino and his tag team partner with a thousand questions visible in his face.

Dante cut him off.

"Can that wait?"

Misfit shrugged.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Gideon, I was actually looking for you." Dante said and got strange look from Misfit.

"I'm tired of this bullshit and the old bitterness, I doubt you and i will ever like each other but as long as we both have this." Dante showed his NHFC tattoo "I think we should at least act civil."

Misfit looked at Dante with the same disgust as he had always felt for the ghost faced man as he got up from his seat.

"I'm not here to start a new war with you Gideon, I'm not here to say "I told you so"."

"Then why the fuck are you here?" came the reply.

Dante sighed and as he extended his hand he told him.

"I came here to apologise to you."