Unbalanced: Dead Head's Oct 2010 Vignette

[Dr Archeville]

November 1st (Monday). 12:04 am.

The dead were rising in Freedom City, and coming in from all over, but in a cavern deep beneath the city, things were far worse. Hades, Greek God of the Underworld, had almost completed his mad gambit to separate his godly essence from his divine form in Tartarus and insert it into the immortal form of Daedalus, one of his most hated foes. A gathering of Freedom's defenders –- Avenger, Breakdown, Dead Head, Equinox, Freedom Angel, Fulcrum, Jack of all Blades (and Jill O'Cure), Nick Cimitiere, Ouroboros, Phantom, and Robin Cross, and a handful of others –- had gathered to stop the foul machinations, and had succeeded… with some unexpected assistance. Baron Samedi, loa of the dead, emerged from the shadows (despite having already been taken out once by Baron Cimitiere some days prior), with his own krewe of zombis, tonton macoutes (the boogeymen of Haitian voodoo), and other vile and corrupt spirits, to stop the Greek upstart. Once the mages (and Samedi) ruined the ritual, the scene devolved into a three way battle when Hades' own forces (an assortment of cultists, undead, and a few monsters such as erinyes, harpies, lamia, and a great fire-breathing hydra) swooped in to avenge their thwarted master. The Heroes had just managed to get the brainwashed Daedalus free and to a safe corner when things took yet another turn.

"Meddlesome mortals!" Hades bellowed from across the portal to Tartarus, "And you! I thought one of your brothers had taken you back to the depths?"

"Oughta be careful 'bout what rumors you listen to," the loa hissed. "Besides, it'd take more'n one'a me brothers t'take ol' Samedi down!"

"How 'bout your Papa?" a voice rang out. Incredibly, Samedi's face fell a bit at the sound of it.

The source of the voice was Dead Head, who stood in roughly the center of the chamber and was glaring at Samedi. Suddenly the super-zombie went slack as a translucent figure stepped out of him. It looked much like Baron Samedi, but more beneficent – a white tuxedo and tall top hat instead of black, and an apple in his hand instead of a skull. Many of the mystics knew who this was – Papa Ghede, the good counterpart to Baron Samedi – but he hadn’t been seen in a decade!

"No!" Samedi raged, "I saw you shredded by that Horror Malador tried to summon!"

"I was, an' if not for Burt here," Ghede gestured to Dead Head's inert form crumpled on the ground, "I'd still be lickin' me wounds. Didn't go quite as I'd hoped," he said while sneering at the glowing green worm he picked from his apple, which he dropped to the cavern floor and stomped on, "but it worked out in the end. I mean, I’m here now, right?"

Those with the proper mystical senses and knowledge realized that the worm Ghede had just squashed was the remnant of some pseudonatural creature. Perhaps something left from his battle with the Horror Samedi mentioned?

"Now, you two," Ghede glared at both Samedi and Hades, "have a lot to be answerin' for. Samedi, you been goin' too far lately, an' Cimitiere was right to carry you back to Guinee. You breakin' free an' comin' back just compounds the problem." Ghede took a large bite from his apple; as he did, the earth below the feet of Samedi and all his minions split open, revealing some very out-of-place water beneath them. Spectral chains shot up from the water and latched onto Samedi and his minions, and dragged them all into the water as the earth closed back over them.

"And as for you," Ghede continued as he spun around to face Hades, "not only are you violatin' the spirit of you imprisonment, you play a dangerous game by mixin' magics like this. I think both Zeus an' Damballah are gonna be wantin' words wit' you."

Two forms appeared behind Hades in Tartarus, and placed hands on his shoulders to drag him away. One of the hands was not a hand, but rather a serpent’s tail. As the image faded, Hades’ forces either withdrew or faded away.

"Well, I think that’s that," Ghede said as wiped his hands on his coat, "so I’ll jes' be go- oh." The loa looked down at Dead Head's still very inert form, then up to a spot a few feet above it.

[bg=#000000]What... what happened? I- oh... aw, crud! I'm dead... Dead-dead, ain't I?[/bg]

"Yeah, y'are," Ghede replied to the air, his tone a mix of compassion and finality. "But y'had a good run while I was holed up in ya. But now, it be time t'be movin' on, jes' like ye helped all them others move on. Don' worry none, I got a nice, comfy spot for ye in Guinee."

[bg=#000000]No! I don' want t'go! I got so much more I can do![/bg]

The heroes realized what was going on -- Ghede had been using Dead Head as a place to hide and heal, and now that he was whole again, he no longer needed to stay in him, which meant he would de-animate -- and most did not care for it. Breakdown and Jack of all Blades were the loudest dissenters, the former speaking of second chances, the latter praising Dead Head's dedication to protecting the innocent from monsters (and threatening a stabpunch in the face and storming Guinee if Ghede didn't leave him). Avenger, though, snuck out, not wanting to be around for discussion over who should be alive, dead, or undead.

Once all had said their piece, Ghede looked over everyone, then back to the space over Dead Head's inert form. "Looks like ya got youself a good number's friends here. I can see why you'd want t'stay."

[bg=#000000]Not just for them! For all the innocents who cannot stand against the monsters! For the children who should be allowed to enjoy their childhood! For the dead still bound to the lands of the living, or who've been forgotten![/bg]

Ghede smiled and approached Dead Head's corpse, "Yeah, I knew you'd say that. But know this, little one: if I let you stay, you won't be the same as you were. You won't have my power inside you t'draw on... but I think I might be able t'give you a few other boons in return."

Ghede knelt beside the body, and placed two fingers over his chest. The body spasmed as if struck by a powerful electrical jolt, then bolted upright. His body was partially restored; he no longer looked as rotted, though was still clearly dead (more mummy-like than zombie-like), and his eyes glowed blue instead of green. The left half of his face suddenly lifted up slightly, as if being licked by an invisible dog; those who could see such things saw that a ghostly mastiff-like hound was doing exactly that! "Whoa, what's goin' on?!"

"It be part'a me gift to you" Ghede explained as he began fading from view, "one'a Legba's hounds. This one be a fine scout, an' got one hell of a howl!"

"Yeah, but- whoa!" he began, then stopped as he saw his new appearance. This lasted only a moment, as his usual easy nature resurfaced. "Dang... all sorts'a craziness goin' on tonight."