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"...so the warrior swung his mighty hammer and SNAP! went the beast's neck! But, when the warrior looked at his arm, he saw that it was covered in fur! So the curse continues on..." Thor said with a spooky tone as he flicked the flashlight off. "Thor, that was pretty good..for a kid's story!" Tony laughed as he finished off his glowing green punch. "What?! ''Tis not a children's tale!" the God of Thunder snarled. "That is one of the scariest stories ever to grace the halls of Asgard!" "Sure it is. It might be a little scarier if someone was telling it who wasn't dressed as Pikachu" Tony smirked. That made everyone laugh.
Tony thought it was quite nice to hear everyone laugh again. The so called "Civil War" had torn the team apart 4 years ago, but the two sides had to join together once again to stop the Mad Titan Thanos. Now the Avengers, old and new, were gathered together for some fun on Halloween, telling their scariest stories to one another. "Well, I don't think anyone can beat MY horror stories" Bucky said as he leaned back into the plush couch. " Nothing beats vampire Nazis." Yes, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was fully healed and now an Avenger. While in cryosleep he had been freed from the HYDRA mind conditioning with the help of BARF. Now he was sitting in the common room of the Avengers compound with his friends, all done up in a Halloween costume.
"I think I can tell a story scarier than vampire Nazis" a deep voice said from the shadows. All of the Avengers turned around, weapons at the ready as they searched for the source of the voice. "Woah, I'm not here to kill anybody! I'm an Avenger too!" Stephen Strange said as he slowly stepped out of the shadows. Everyone exhaled the breaths that they didn't know they had been holding. "Stephen! You know you don't sneak up on people on Halloween!" Tony groaned as he tried to calm his racing heart. Stephen shrugged as he plopped down onto an empty chair. "Sorry, couldn't help it." "So, you were saying that you could beat Bucky's spooky story?" Steve inquired as he leaned forward. "Yeah, yeah!" everyone cheered. "Are you sure? It might be a little too scary for some in this room" Stephen smiled as he looked at Peter. "Hey! I'm not a kid! I'm an adult!" Peter squealed. "Alright, alright, I'm just kidding!" Stephen chuckled. "Now lights out!"
He flicked his hand and the lights in the compound all shut off. Another flick and candles appeared, their burning wicks casting dancing shadows on the walls. An otherworldly light lit up Stephen's face as it rested in the palm of Stephen's hand. He cleared his throat and began his tale.
"Our tale begins in a town, deep deep within a dark forest. Shadows danced in the gloomy light of the streetlights as people hurried to their homes after a long day of work. But work was not done for one man. For you see, this town was home to the great doctor Anthony Starkenstein. He was a great scientist and a brilliant inventor, though he was shunned and laughed at by the people of the town. He made robots of brilliant designs for the lord of the town, but he could never impress the lord. He would always say 'What use is a robot that can't even think for itself when a human could do its job with much more ease?' No matter how hard the inventor tried, the lord would just sniff and turn him away.
As Doctor Starkenstein walked dejectedly through the town once again, he began to formulate a terrible, awful plan. He would gain the respect of the lord and the people by bringing someone back to life!" Stephen jumped up as he said that, and thunder rang in everyone's ears. "C'mon, get to the spooky part already!" Clint groaned as Stephen sat back down. "Okay, I'll continue. So, where were we?" "The evil plan?" Tony said. "Oh yes, so Dr.Starkenstein knew just who he would bring back to life. His good friend Dr.Bannerson! He had died a few years before in a tragic lab incident which only served to hurt Starkenstein's reputation even more.
So, Starkenstein set out to build a bigger, more powerful body for his deceased friend. He took his friend's preserved brain and placed it in this new, horrific body and strapped the body to an operating table. He threw a switch and electricity coursed through the body, but to no avail. The doctor kept trying, but again and again he failed. Deeply saddened, he prepared to give up on his invention when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. Thinking his creature had come to life, he whirled around and came face-to-face with a ghoul. The doctor screamed and jumped away as the thing laughed. It's long hair was made of fire, draping down onto it's shoulders. Fiery orange eyes stared at him as fire escaped the ghoul's fang-filled jaws. The ghoul was clad in all black, a great cape with a large collar resting on it's shoulders, drawn together with a snarling jack-o-lantern pendant. What surprised Starkenstein the most was that the creature's left arm seemed to be made of metal, which had glowing orange cracks in it.
He asked the ghoul why it was there, and the ghoul replied that he had come to help the distraught doctor. He told Starkenstein that he was once a friend of the lord's, but that he had died many years before defending him. He wished to punish the lord for his foolishness and his inability to see the good in anything but himself. He thought Starkenstein could put the lord in his place by creating new life. The doctor asked the ghoul how he was going to help him, and the ghoul replied by leaping on to his spectral horse and extending a hand to the inventor. Dr.Starkenstein was at first very nervous about going with this spectre, but the idea of being able to create new life was too tantalizing to turn down. He hopped on to the nightmarish horse and the two rode off into the shadows of the night. "Now this is sounding like a cheesy romance novel." "Clint shut up!"
"As I was saying, the two rode off, Dr. Starkenstein secretly terrified of what lay ahead. As they rode on, Starkenstein discovered that he was no longer in the realm of the living, but the realm of the supernatural. Terrible creatures cackled and groaned within the shadows of the dead trees, but stayed away from the ghoul's hellish fire. As Dr. Starkenstein was contemplating his life choices, he found himself staring at a huge, decrepit castle. Roaring gargoyles stood as guards at every point of the castle walls, staring at the terrified doctor with hungry eyes. One gargoyle with the wings of a falcon swooped down to snatch Starkenstein up, but the ghoul shot a burst of fire from his metallic hand at the creature, scaring it away. The doctor asked who the gargoyle was, and the ghoul told him that the beast was a friend.
As the horse trotted on, the massive gates swung open, revealing a dark passageway that led to the throne room of the demonic castle. The clip of the horse's hooves was lost amid the sound of screeching bats flying overhead, and the moaning of monsters from who knows where. At last, the two came to a great doorway guarded by a beast trapped in a black and grey metal prison. The thing garbled a question from its mangled mouth, and the ghoul replied in the same horrible tongue. The metal behemoth pushed the door open with its warped claws, giving the two travellers passage into the throne room. Before they entered, the ghoul hopped down from his horse and thanked the guard before nodding at the shivering doctor to follow suit. He did, and so the two entered the throne room.
What greeted Dr. Starkenstein was like no other thing he had ever seen before. Blood red walls gleamed in the crimson light that emanated from the floating candles hovering near the walls. Tapestries depicting monsters of old adorned the walls, and a carpet of black stretched up to the throne, which in itself was a monstrosity. From the terrible throne, four eyes glared at the doctor, their menacing yellow glow seeming to search through Starkenstein's soul. Those four eyes sat in a heavily scarred face which bore a terrifying grin, showing off sharp, yellowing fangs. Salt-and-pepper hair sat atop this demon's head, giving way to two horns, whose sharp edges shone in the red light. Large wings sat on the creature's back, with a blood red cape flowing over the thing's shoulders. It wore deep blue robes, almost black with a black rope belt around it's middle. Armoured boots glowed a sinister red as it's equally armoured claws tapped the throne's armrest. Starkenstein was so petrified that he couldn't even move. The thing laughed, a deep and powerful thing that snapped the doctor out of his stupor.
The thing introduced itself as the Demon King and asked why the doctor would come to a realm such as his. Starkenstein replied that he was searching for the essence of life so he could bring his creature to life. The King nodded and and turned to the ghoul, asking him why he brought Starkenstein to a realm not meant for humans. He told him of his desires and how he wished to punish the stubborn lord, and that the creature was the perfect way to do it. The King loved torturing the weak humans of the living realm, so he decided to aid Starkenstein. He said that he would give the doctor the essence of life, so long as the doctor did him a favour. Dr. Starkenstein, not realizing that the favour could be anything, hastily accepted, shaking the Demon King's hand. Without the doctor knowing, the King burned a mark into Starkenstein's skin, sealing the deal forever.
Using his dark magic, he crafted a crystal that glowed an eerie blue, which contained the essence of life. He gave it to the doctor, then teleported him back to his lab. Starkenstein immediately set out on improving his machines, prepping them for the experiment. Finally, when the machines were finished, he strapped the life crystal to a unibeam, and fired it up. The beam struck his creation's body, shaking it as it worked its dark magic. Finally, when it was done, Starkenstein looked in awe as the creature smashed it's restraints and snapped the table on which it lay in half. It roared in fury, beating it's chest as it looked around. Starkenstein foolishly approached the creature, calling out to his friend inside. The beast didn't listen as it struck out, throwing the doctor across his lab.
The beast tore through the lab walls, running out into the town below. As Starkenstein lay dying in his lab, he listened to his creation tear apart the town. He heard the terrified shrieks of the people and the angry bellows of his creature. As he began to close his eyes, he saw a winged silhouette walk towards him, thinking it was an angel, sent to take him to heaven. But, little did he know, the Demon King had returned for his favour. The Demon King reached down to Starkenstein and pulled his soul from his body. He placed it in a small pouch on his belt, then turned to watch the destruction below. No one knows where the beast went after the rampage, or if it is still alive, but some say that if you go to the abandoned village on Halloween night, the beast will appear to wreak havoc on the village once again."
Th lights flickered back on as Stephen sank back into his chair. He smiled as he took a long swig of punch, looking around at the terrified Avengers. "Oh, and just to let you know, the Demon King is said to have placed a curse on the Starkenstein family, since he couldn't take the favour from Dr. Starkenstein all those years ago. He is said to have cast a curse that causes the unfortunate Starkenstein to create a problem, monster or not monster, which kills them." Stephen said, relishing in the way Tony squeaked and shrank into the pillows. "B-b-but I'm a Stark!" he squeaked out as he clutched a pillow tight to his chest. "You never know" Stephen shrugged. "Oh, look at the time, I'm supposed to meet Wong in 30 minutes. Well, I had fun! Goodbye!" Stephen waved as he conjured a portal to the Kamar-Taj library, leaving the shaking Avengers behind. "Did you tell them that story again?" Wong said as he stepped out from behind a bookshelf. "What? It's a classic!" Stephen smiled. "Anyways" he said as his eyes began to glow yellow. "Who am I to deny them a piece of history?"