The Twice Dead Man Part Five

Part 5: Journey Into the Laboratory of Hades

An hour later, the undead man stood outside the secret lab that brought him back to life alongside the Green Lama. The building seemed to be nothing more than an old warehouse, abandoned years before, yet beneath the rust and dust lied a state of the art laboratory that would have made even Dr. Frankenstein salivate.

“Dhargey, I wanted to thank you for your help, I may never get to remember my old life completely, but...” he paused, unsure how a monster like him could possibly express the right emotion.

The Green Lama quickly moved his hand to comfort, “There is no need to thank me my friend, my life's duty is to help lost souls like you. We shall ensure that no such evil shall be caused by those who harmed you.” He lifted the hood on his robe, transforming once more, “And please my friend, while we are inside only refer to me as the Green Lama.”

The undead man smiled and nodded, “Of course, and thank you.”

Green Lama lifted two fingers up and spoke a spell softly, jolts of electricity pulsed from the fingertips all around him. Two sparks landed onto the ground to the left of him and turned into an imprint of his fingers. He then pulled out a piece of white chalk and drew a large rectangle upon the ground and knocked on the ground three times. After taking a few steps back the shape slowly dropped downward and where once stood solid ground now laid a stairwell down to the lab.

The undead man cocked his head to the side and in anticipation Green Lama said, “It is the Chalk of Hades, able to take the user to any destination beneath the Earth as long as they know the right place to draw with it. Down those stairs we shall find where you were brought back and hopefully more about who you were.”

The duo made their way down the stairs, Green Lama leading the way with purpose as the purple hued undead man followed with some hesitation, not fully trusting stairs that appeared from nothing. As he worked down the stairs the area around him went from dark soil to concrete to finally the insides of a laboratory. Upon setting both feet upon the lab floor both the stairs and the opening disappeared as if they never existed.

“Yours is a very interesting life Dhar....Green Lama.”

Green Lama smiled beneath the shadows of his hood and motioned towards the giant computer in front of him, the screen was as tall as a person and three times as wide with a hard drive as large as a car “hopefully we can find some answers on this super computer about who you were before hand, and we can find out who is behind this all as well.”

Just as Green Lama had started fumbling with the huge computer a sinister voice boomed all around them, “Not so fast you meddling marvel, even if you knew what you were looking for it would take you days to find the files you seek in my super computer! It is good to see that our city's very own hero was kind enough to return my test subject and Subject 17, I am so glad to see you are still in one piece.”

“What have you done to me!?!?! Show yourself now!”

Behind the duo a large metal door slid open and a man in a long white lab coat covering blue pants and a shirt with black rubber gloves, over sized protective goggles, and a large metal cylindrical helmet stepped forward. In his gloved hand he held an over sized metal remote with two large red buttons on it.

“I brought you back to life you dolt, you may have been our first real success, but you were not the last! I figured eventually you would either break free of my control or be destroyed, there was so little I knew about controlling the reanimated dead when we made you, but you have served your purpose and now you bring a meddlesome hero in our midsts, so he will be killed with you.”

The mad scientist laughed and lifted up a remote in his hand, clicking the giant button on the front. Eight giant panels in the walls appeared and opened, each revealing four glowing undead monstrous foes. The poor controlled souls surrounded Green Lama and the Purple Zombie as the mad scientist continued to laugh maniacally.

“Each of these monsters are not only more powerful then you, but thanks to the helmet I wear, they are all under my control and will stop at nothing to kill you again! Don't worry though, I will bring you back to life and under my thrall again!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

The Twice Dead Man Part Four

Part 4: Times Gone Past

The man ran down the street, fighting to not stumble as he was too exhausted from the chase. Two men had started herding him through the alleys and streets. He had been out too late, drank too much, and these men were skilled. The man jerked his head back, trying to see if he happened to have lost the men. He hadn't seen them for a few minutes now, so many twists and turns had him so lost, hopefully they were just as confused and lost, the man hoped. The man stopped and pressed against a brick wall, taking a much needed breather. It took a few seconds before he felt the warmth of the blood seeping against his skin, soaking his shirt. He never felt the sharp blade, he thought that very odd.

He awoke sometime later, tied down to a metal table with leather straps pinning down his arms and legs. His chest throbbed in pain, a purple hue shimmered where his chest should have been.

A man in a lab coat peered into view with a smile. “You have awoken finally, don't worry the worst of it is already over. The radioactive compound in your chest succeeded in bringing you back and should give you a nice long second life, 100 years at least. Now this next bit may hurt a bit, I'm not sure if you feel pain anymore,” the man then pulled out a bone saw and his patient passed out before the blade ever touched his skin.

The next time the man woke up he was walking through the streets and wrapped in a trench coat. He lurched forward and was unable to control his extremities. He launched himself into a giant wooden door, turning it into splinters, a man was in the house who jumped to his feet in terror and tried to run away. He didn't make it far before the purple hued man killed him with his bare hands. It wasn't until he left the home before he could feel the warm blood on his fingers. He still couldn't control his movement, heading back towards the lab he was sure, but no clue how he knew where it was.

This continued for several nights, he would be tested upon in the lab and then with no control over himself he would go about wreaking havoc upon some stranger. One night while he was eliminating another stranger, a burst of electricity ran threw him, granting for a few short moments control over his body. He was so disoriented it took him nearly the whole fleeting time to actually take a few steps on his way outside and to freedom. A painful surge went down from the top of his spine on down and control was taken away from him once again.

“I'm afraid I don't know much else Dhargey, the nights out are dream like, I can barely remember any particulars, just my time there in the lab.... Wait I remember something else, behind the smiling man in the lab coat stood someone, standing far behind him. Watching intently and without expression, I only saw his face once, it looked inhuman, like some horrible accident had torn into his face.”

The Green Lama nodded, “it is alright my friend, that is enough. We shall go after these men, and stop the evil they are committing.”

The Twice Dead Man Part Three

Part 3: The Strength of the Green Lama

Two giant hands slammed against the Green Lama's cloaked head, hammering him into the ground. Before he could pull himself together he was slammed into again as the purple hued creature shoved its weight into him sending him flying back again.

While Dhargey had spent most of his life learning the ways of Buddhism and the mystical arts, he still had little experience in physical combat. He usually abhorred the use of violence, and only went to it as an absolute last resort, knowing sometimes he had to make such sacrifices for the greater good. Nonetheless, he had learned that his increased strength whenever his strikes did land stopped fights easily. It also helped that he could fly.

He flew up into the air, above where the inhuman thing could possibly reach him. The Green Lama then quickly turned and flew down into the creature, knocking him hard through the fence and into a wooden pole. The thing quickly jumped up and leapt towards the Green Lama who flew up again and then slammed his feet and body downwards.

The crash to the ground shook everything around where it landed causing the wooden pole behind it to crack and break. The power line it held up fell to the ground, creating giant sparks to fly across the ground. The Green Lama lowered into sight of the creature, electricity streaking behind his cape.

The creature let out a shriek of terror, it took a second for the Green Lama to realize it was the leaping sparks that frightened the beast. Calmly, he spoke to the creature, “I won't let it hurt you anymore, just let me help you...please.”

The purple light seemed to dim around the creature as it visibly shook, “hurt... ” it muttered.

Then a pulse seemed to hit it, knocking its head to the side forcing it to its feet. The creature slowly moved towards the Green Lama, its pace quickened to a mild jog which was easily dodged. The ground moved as the creature and the power line met, electricity surging through the frightened thing. A few seconds later the power line, the creature, and the city around them had gown quiet and still. The Green Lama moved towards the now pale creature he once thought was a revenant with a gloom look on his face.

The creature now looked all too human and laying breathless softly spoke, “Help me, please.”

Green Lama looked down upon the creature with pity and guilt, “Of course my friend, let's get you out of here before the police arrive. You can explain what is going on, and who has been hurting you and forcing you to kill.”

The man like creature slowly nodded, “they killed me and brought me back...forced me to murder for them...they must be stopped.”

The Twice Dead Man Part Two

Part 2: The Glowing Monster of the Streets

Dhargey stood over his small bed and looked over the sprawled out items that covered his sheets. Collected on the meager bed were magical items collected over the many incarnations of his past lives. From the Gauntlets of the Whispering Monk to the Horn of Ajuna, many items had come into the possession of the Protector of Buddhism. Through each life, he strives to help others find enlightenment and protect the innocent from the external evils that threatened them. Tonight that evil was a revenant.

Morris Klaw had been the one to surmise the creature's identity and how to track it. Morris had found Dhargey on his twelfth birthday, the day he found out that he was the reincarnation of the Green Lama, the anonymous defender of the people, so called for the green prayer robe he wore while taking on the various evils that faced Tibet and the world, especially those of the supernatural kind.

Dhargey collected the items he would need, and put them into the pouches on his belt making sure to carefully check each one closed properly. Soft whispers of a long dead language passed his lips, once he finished speaking the words the spell was complete, concealing his face in shadows from any who may wish him harm. He then put on his green cloak and slid the hood over his head. Finally after speaking the prayer, “om mani padme hum,” which grants him the ability to fly and gains superhuman strength, Dhargey had completed his transformation into the Green Lama. Slowly lifting off the ground, the Green Lama flew out Dhargey's apartment window and focused on the locater spell Morris Klaw had cast so the revenant could be found.

There were a few common tactics to stop a revenant, try to reconnect it with its humanity so you can reason with the creature's soul, encircle it with salt and then use the proper rites to release the soul from the revenant, or burn the remains when it is docile. The Green Lama had brought a bag of salt to trap the beast if reason would not work. To help him reach the creature's human soul, he had put on a bracelet composed entirely hairs of a conclave of priests called the Grinning Confiders. While very fragile, the accessory has been known to help calm down anyone who hears the wearer speak.

The creature was wearing a trench coat and a hat as it approached a large, quiet house. Landing between the creature and the gate, the Green Lama spoke gently.
“Listen to me. I know you are a bit confused, and angry, whatever these people did to you was wrong and you have suffered. But, I can't let you hurt anymore people.”
The revenant paused and blinked at the Green Lama, it gazed upon him in a perplexed manner.

The Green Lama gave the revenant a soothing smile and continued, “Just listen to my words. You were a person before, just because you were forced from this life does not mean you must seek vengeance. You can talk to me, and we can make sure whatever evil thing these people did is brought to light. There can still be justice without any more...”

The revenant convulsed until words fought there way from its mouth, “They made me.... into this... help me....”.

The creature grabbed its head and let out a loud scream, knocking the hat from its head. It hunched down in pain, then suddenly it sprung upright and gave a look of pure hate. The revenant lunged forward, the Green Lama quickly leapt backwards knocking against the black iron gate behind him.

The Green Lama grabbed a pouch from his belt and poured salt across the ground in front of him. Since reason seemed to fail, he would just trap the revenant and help its soul gain peace using other means.

The revenant neared the salt and easily stepped over it, shoving its whole entire mass into a single punch that sent the Green Lama right through the iron cast gate.

The Green Lama's cloak was enchanted to protect the wearer from a hit as mighty as a kick of the strongest horse from the Mongolian Steppes, yet he had felt the creature's punch. Desperately trying to catch his breath as he stood up the Green Lama was sure of two things, whatever the creature in front of him was, it wasn't a revenant, and it was about to hit him again...

The Twice Dead Man Part One

Part One: In Which Moris Klaw Awakes to a Bloody Murder

Daniel Tapert grabbed the brandy from the shelf and walked over to his desk. He was positive he was next, they should have left well enough alone. But Samuel was convinced that they could get more money with his plan. Why had he listened? He couldn't go to the police, they were just as likely to throw him in jail as they were to laugh at his insane story. Not that the police could help, not with what the papers were saying had happened to Samuel and Bruce... No, Daniel was doing the right thing running away.

As soon as Thomas arrived with the money, the papers, and the car, he would be leaving California for good. Maybe he would go to Europe, there was that château in France his parents use to take him when he was young, it was long past time he should visit.

The door creaked open behind Daniel, he turned around, relieved that Thomas finally arrived, the brandy glass still in hand.

“It took you long enough Thomas, do you have all the papers I asked for? Thomas?”

Inside the open door stood a large hulking man in a trench coat and a hat, a slight purple hue softly shimmers off his skin. The man methodically lurked towards Daniel.

“I...no, you don't need to be here. I am leaving! You can tell him I am going away. I won't be any trouble at all. It was Samuel who came up with the plan. He and Bruce forced me to do it.... I please, I will give you anything you want....”

The glowing man continued forward, unphased by Daniel's pleading.

“Please! Just.... leave me be!” Daniel drops to his knees, begging for his life.

The man's hands fit around each side of Daniel's head, in one quick motion he twists Daniel's head around, killing him instantly.

****************************************************************************

Moris Klaw's eyes sprung open as the dream ended. His head rested on a small velvet pillow in the library where Daniel Tapert's maimed body had been found. Moris' long gray hair and grayer shaggy beard stuck to his skin from the hot sweat of the dream. Even after having dreamt of thousands of murders, Moris could not keep himself from sweating. The body heat of the victim just rose too much for it to be stopped, especially when the victim was such a coward as Mr. Tapert.

The police officer who stood over him started to question him with impatiance in his voice. “What did you see Mister Klaw? Do you know who has been committing these murders?”

Moris scowled at the young man, “There was once a time that men of justice and power respected the seers, Agias of Sparta was never rushed and he had to deal with a Spartan general. Kindly let an old man reconnect with things before interrogating him. If my daughter were here she would not take kindly to such insults, be glad you only have to deal with an old man like myself.”

Moris lifted his head from the sterilized pillow on the floor and motioned for his black cane. The police officer quickly moved to grab the cane from the desk and handed it to the old man. Moris Klaw slowly stood up, his old bones creaked and cracked until he stood completely upright then moved to a slouching position resting on the cane.

“A purple glow gives away your man. But he is well beyond the care of any police. I will give your case to an old friend of mine who specializes in such matters.”

“Your friend commonly deals with glowing men?” the grinning officer asked.

Moris hit the officer's fingers with the dragon head of his cane. “This is the kind of smart mouth antics that would leave you in terrible pain if my daughter were here, instead she is off on an important errand for me. She is retrieving the... ah what do you care, you don't respect your elders at all. The glowing man is too strange and strong for the police. Which means you will have to employ one of the masked men to take down the threat... You are going to need the Green Lama.”