Zemogeist (Open to Avengers)

[ngm_foes]

It had been so long since he had felt the sensation of physical flesh and blood. In fact he had no idea just how long it had been. Time in Mephisto's Hell blurred as one torment seemed to melt into another in an endless cycle of pain and depravity. It came to the point where he could barely remember his own living past. Through all the torment he did remember a few things, his name, that he had been someone of importance, and an undying hatred of Captain America. These facts somehow kept his soul from completely breaking under the pain. It seemed his stubborn refusal to simply be just another broken soul caught Mephisto's attention, and the Hell-Lord had made him a singular offer. In exchange for a new, demonic life upon Earth once more, Zemo had to destroy the Avengers within a years time. If successful, Heinrich would be reborn as a human in the prime of his life. Failure would mean complete annihilation. In the end it was really no choice at all. Heinrich accepted, and using his newfound powers, returned to the Earthly plane. To Zemo's surprise more time had passed than he had imagined, a new group of striplings now made up the Avengers. As much as he desired vengeance on Captain America, he had to fulfill his contract with Mephisto first. That meant that these children had to die. Zemo was no fool and knew arrogance had led to his death and would not underestimate his opponents again.

His transformation into a demon had not just been physical, but also mental. Zemo learned that he now had a much greater affinity for dark magicks. While a man of science in life, Zemo would use any tool he had to to gain what he desired. Converting his body into raw, demonic essence, he moved through the night sky unseen by the humans below until he came to the headquarters of the Avengers. He moved towards it, his essence expanding and bonding with the building, an action completely unnoticeable to those on the street. When finished, all reality within the building was his to manipulate. Time to see just what these modern-day wunderkind could do.

Comments

[comic_awareness]

Bruce looked up from his reading.

"...We have a Arc-Reactor powered generator. How is that possible?"

He set his papers down and got up slowly.

[ngm_foes]

The light continued to flicker, then the television came on by itself.

[comic_awareness]

"What the hell?"

He brought up a hand, willing some of his energy into it to cast a light on the darkened room.

[ngm_foes]

The television's static suddenly changed in sound, almost like..words?

[comic_awareness]

Bruce pressed his lips into a thin line. "Is someone there?"

[ngm_foes]

Suddenly it became slightly audible.

"Cl..os..er."

[comic_awareness]

Okay, he'd seen enough horror movies to know this was probably a bad idea. But it might still have been someone in need of help...

He cautiously approached.

[ngm_foes]

When Bruce was close enough, a large, demonic hand shot out to grab his face.

[comic_awareness]

"Yaaah!" Bruce took a step back, sharply, tripping and landing on his butt.

[ngm_foes]

As more of the hand came out, it seemed to grow bigger and longer. The claws lifted up and came down at Bruce's prone position.

[comic_awareness]

"Okay, just remember," Bruce growled, "you asked for it."

Both hands snapped forward as he tapped into more of his energy stores, blasting at the claw with a photonic blast.

[ngm_foes]

The blasts connected against the hand, but it only seemed to drive it back a moment. A demonic chuckle reverberated around the room.

"I will be sure to remember that as your epithet." The voice had an eerie German accent to it. "Or perhaps I will carve it into your skin when I drop your corpse before your father."

The arm shot forth again, though this time the palm shifted into a fanged maw of rows of serrated teeth.

[comic_awareness]

A shimmering disk of energy sprang up between Bruce and the maw, concentrated solid photons.

[ngm_foes]

The hand shrieked, seemingly to materialize back through the tv. Meanwhile a more human-sized figure seemed to to slowly emerge from the floor behind Bruce. The hands reached for Bruce's neck.

[comic_awareness]

One of Bruce's few true vulnerabilities was a need for oxygen. As the hands wrapped around his neck, he struggled to breathe, struggled to dislodge them.

[ngm_foes]

"I must admit a fondness for strangulation," Zemo mused as he continued to choke Bruce. "I possess vast power, but there is a joy in the technique's simplicity."

[comic_awareness]

Bruce's brain fought to function, as his lungs fought for air. Slowly, a force field began to shimmer into place around his body, sheathed to his skin, pushing against the hands.

[ngm_foes]

Zemo didn't notice at first, but then felt the invisible push against his claws.

"What in-!?" He growled in frustration as he tried to power his way back around Bruce's neck.

[comic_awareness]

Bruce concentrated, and the force field increased in brightness as he did. He slowly began forcing the hands back.