Lazarus Gray stood outside the church and tried to imagine it in better times. This city was so much like him in that both had held such promise. He had been a brilliant student, for whom the whole world seemed to beckon. Sovereign had been a port city that could have become the very best of America.
But then Lazarus had fallen prey to The Illuminati and corruption had threatened to overwhelm him, just as Sovereign had become a breeding ground for those who would use their power for abuse.
It had taken death and resurrection for the man known as Richard Winthrop to become Lazarus Gray. What would it take for Sovereign to rise phoenix-like into a new and better form?
Lazarus looked up at the sky and a drop of water struck him in the forehead. It felt as if the city herself was about to cry. Gray hurried toward the doors of the church and was unsurprised when they opened of their own accord at his approach. He had kept his end of the bargain, arriving alone but he was far from unarmed. Beneath his jacket he wore two guns holstered over each breast, a knife at his hip and a police baton strapped to his right calf. He wasn’t sure any of those things would help against The Claw but he was willing to give them all a try.
Nearly two-dozen candles, arranged throughout, illuminated the interior of the church. Many pews remained though almost all had been turned over or shattered. The smells of mildew, urine and rotten wood filled Gray’s nostrils but he ignored everything except the sight above the pulpit. Kelly Emerson hung upside down, her arms and legs tied securely to an inverted cross. A gag was clenched tightly in her open mouth and her face was crimson, from the strain of her position and from the fear she obviously felt. There were no bruises or marks on her, though her shirt had been torn during the affair, revealing her white brassiere and heaving bosom. Her eyes widened when she saw her former lover and Gray could sense sudden hope springing forth from her.
Addressing her, Lazarus said, "I’m going to get you down from there, Kelly. Trust me."
The girl nodded quickly, indicating that she did.
"Enticing you here proved ludicrously easy."
Gray jerked his head around at the sudden intrusion. The Claw was stepping from the shadows to his left, looking monstrous. The villain held his arms in front of him, his hands clasped within voluminous robes. "If you wanted to face me, you could have at any point," Gray said. "You proved that when you broke into my home. So why kidnap Kelly? Why kill all those innocent children?"
"You know the answer to that," The Claw responded. "I did those things because I enjoyed them."
Gray took a deep breath, not enjoying this confrontation at all. He was on someone else’s home field with a loved one in danger. And the creature behind it all was insane enough that he was capable of anything. "Let her go and we can settle this."
The God of Hate laughed and in that bubbling sound there was no mirth, only promises of pain and death. "I think not. Don’t you want her to see your heroism as you seek to stop me? I’m sure it will warm the embers of romance within her breast."
Lazarus had heard enough. He reached into his jacket and pulled out one of his pistols, firing it in the same motion. He snapped off four quick shots and all of the bullets hit home, striking The Claw between his neck and stomach. The villain jerked wildly before toppling backwards, his body vanishing as it fell over a church pew.
Gray did not pretend to think that this was the end of his opponent. Even as Kelly began to scream into her gag, wanting him to cut her down, he slowly began to approach the spot where he’d last seen The Claw. As he moved within a few feet, he caught a brief glimpse of the monster’s robe on the floor. He sprang forward, leaping over the pew. He landed directly atop the robe but found that it was empty, having obviously been discarded. A sudden flurry of movement from behind him was coupled by another scream from Kelly. He realized that she was trying to warn him but in truth, she was doing more harm than good: with her making so much noise, he was unable to hear The Claw with any effectiveness.
Still, he managed to turn his body just in time to see the villain rushing toward him, claws extended. Gray ducked under one swipe of the deadly knives but the second caught him on the left shoulder, slicing through fabric and skin easily enough. Gray dropped his gun deliberately at this point, the weapon clattering at his feet. He used both hands to grab hold of The Claw’s arm and yanked him forward. The motion took The God of Hate by surprise and he nearly lost his footing. Gray drove a hard punch into The Claw’s chin and the villain’s sharp teeth bit through a section of his own bottom lip, causing blood to flow freely.
The Claw jerked away, anger clouding his eyes. He roared like a trapped lion and swiped out with his claws again, narrowly missing taking off Gray’s head.
Gray bent to retrieve his pistol and charged forward, lowering his shoulder and slamming it hard into The Claw’s midsection, lifting the villain off his feet. Gray drove him back into the wall and plaster rained down on them both. Lazarus began pummeling the villain’s body with punches, slamming them home with all the strength of a desperate man.
The Claw seemed shocked by the way the combat was going and he angrily shoved Gray away from him, giving him just enough time to indulge in one of his most useful spells: before Gray’s shocked eyes, The Claw began to grow in size, his entire body expanding until he was so tall that his head scraped against the high vaulted ceiling. He looked down at Gray and laughed at the man’s expression. "Do you see now? Do you now grasp what it is you face? I am no mere goon for you to batter with your fists! I am a force of nature! I am Hate personified!"
Before Gray could respond, The Claw reached out with one of his hands and swiped at Kelly’s back like he was swatting a fly. The inverted cross that held her aloft snapped in two and she was sent hurtling to the floor. Lazarus burst into action, throwing himself toward her. He made it just in time, slowing the woman’s impact by literally placing his body between her and the floor. Gray screamed in pain as a shard of the cross buried itself in his midsection, pinning him to the floor. His hands were free and, despite the pain, he quickly undid Kelly’s bonds as The Claw stomped toward them.
"Get out of here," he wheezed.
Kelly looked indecisive. Her eyes kept flitting back to the mammoth horror that was now towering over them but she was obviously hesitant to leave Lazarus. "Maybe I can get you free," she said.
"No." Lazarus gripped her arm painfully hard. "If you stay here, you’ll get hurt. I need you to get out of here."
"The argument is moot," The Claw stated. "Because there is no freedom to be had for either of you." The villain raised his foot, obviously intending to grind both Kelly and Gray into paste. Before he could do so, however, a powerful spear-like object passed through his chest, entering from the back and exiting in the front. The object, which upon closer inspection Kelly recognized as a harpoon, imbedded itself in the wall. Blood spurted from The Claw’s wound and he whirled about to see where the attack had come from.
Eun Jiwon stood in the doorway of the church, quickly pushing another slender harpoon into a handheld variant of the device so common on whaling vessels. It was one of the group’s many emergency weapons and upon first seeing it, Eun had wondered when they would have ever have cause to use it. Now, he knew. "It’s a good thing Lazarus has friends, huh?" he taunted.
Gray wasn’t sure whether he should be pleased or angry. "What are you doing here?" he shouted.
"Ignoring your orders," Eun answered, pointing the weapon back toward The Claw. "Samantha and I figured that you’d need the help so we decided to split up." Eun pulled the trigger and another harpoon shot forth, this one catching The Claw in the throat. It hung there and the monster began to shrink almost immediately, using most of his energy to try and heal his wounds.