MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...

THE STRANGE DEATH OF DANIEL KETCH
Part Two

Written by Barry Reese

What Has Come Before: Dan Ketch has suffered terribly, being transformed into a flesh-seeking zombie. Bonded to the spirit of his ancestor Noble Kale, Dan is still one half of the Ghost Rider, but his madness has begun to infect the Spirit of Vengeance, driving the Rider to killing extremes. Meanwhile, those closest to Dan are facing troubles of their own: former girlfriend Stacy Dolan has been suffering odd nightmares while his brother John Blaze is laboring under the stress of a crumbling marriage and the responsibility of caring for a newborn child of demonic origins....

The blood was so thick that it hung from Dan's chin like thick strands of spaghetti. A bit of the man's brains was still being mashed rhythmically between his teeth and tongue, sending little bursts of pleasure through his body. The hunger was so bad normally that it blotted out all rational thought but as he stumbled through the alleyways of the city, he felt a returning sense of dread and awareness.

"Oh my god," he cried. He fell to his knees in the urine-soaked mud. A drunk looked up from his stupor nearby, noted the blood and the sickly pallor of Dan's skin... and quickly retreated back into the cardboard box he called a home.

Change back, a voice whispered in his head. Change back, Daniel, before it's too late.

Dan ignored Noble's words. He stared down at his hands, dunking them in a pool of rainwater and slime to wash the blood from them. His skin reminded him of a dead fish with thick blue veins that rested far too close to the surface. Revulsion welled up inside him and he leaned forward, vomiting. Mixed in with the blood and bile were bits of gray matter and pink fleshy mounds... but all the blood belonged to his victim. Dan's blood was now an inky black sludge that oozed from the corners of his mouth.

Daniel! The longer you are like this, the worse it will be! Transform!

Dan looked up into the night sky, barely feeling the rain that fell around him. He wanted this to end, but he was afraid. He wanted to take a knife and carve out his own soul, let it rot in this alley... but something wouldn't allow him to do it. Was it cowardice? Or was it Noble's influence over him?

The hunger came again, sooner than before. It made his stomach tighten and his nostrils flare. The scent of living flesh, so close....

Dan fixed his gaze on the small, rain-battered cardboard box. Inside lay an unwashed man who made Dan's mouth water. "Noble, help me...."

Surrender to our bond, Noble urged. Become the Rider!

The bum heard Dan's moan of anguish and poked his head out of the box. He stared with widening eyes as Dan's face began to burn. The flesh sizzled and peeled away from the bone, revealing deep, empty sockets that glowed with an inner fury.

Noble Kale, the Ghost Rider, rose to his full height. The hunger that gnawed away at Dan was still present, pushing the Spirit of Vengeance towards violence. It was getting harder and harder to push back the horror that lurked within them both and Noble clenched a fist in anger. "Get back inside," he told the bum, who complied with incredible speed.

The roar of a motorcycle filled the alleyway as the Rider's mystically summoned bike came to a halt nearby. The Ghost Rider mounted the bike and tried to focus on what had led him out into the night... the killer, Blackout, had been sighted recently. He'd wanted to find the villain and punish him but Dan had lost control of his hungers and savaged an innocent. Now the stain weighed heavily on Noble's soul... and made him fear for what might come next.

"Focus on the killer," he said aloud. "Vengeance must be served!"

John Blaze had seen and done many bizarre things in his life. Having sold his soul to the devil in a vain attempt to save the life of his adopted father, Johnny had started down the slippery path to damnation while still in his teens. From there, he'd gone to numerous dark dimensions as the Ghost Rider and confronted horrors that would boggle the mind.

But nothing had prepared him for this.

He pulled the sling tighter against his chest, letting the tiny infant inside nestle in more firmly. They were on the road, the wind whipping through John's hair as his motorcycle rocketed along a lonely highway towards the city. Roxanne had given him an ultimatum: kill the horrible creature that he now carried with him or she was prepared to take the kids and run. The thought of losing them all -- again -- was almost too much to bear, but he couldn't yet bring himself to kill something that was, despite all its horror, just a baby.

As he took a ramp onto the interstate, his mind flashed back to another rainy night, some months back. It was the night that everything had started to go wrong... when his life had detoured onto a road from which there as no turning back.

Two Months Ago

John had just finished a small show on the outskirts of Houston, Texas. A nice little community called Sugarland. Roxanne had taken the kids back to the hotel and John had wandered down to the bar to unwind. After a jump on the bike, he always wanted to have some downtime to himself, allow his body and mind a chance to come back down from the highs. He wasn't drinking much -- not then. He just wanted to munch on some peanuts and watch the folks from the dark corner of a booth.

But he'd stopped just outside the bar. He'd heard something... at first he thought it was the snap-hiss of a burning ember. The sound had slowly altered into the crying of an infant and John had felt the hairs on the back of his hands slowly rise. He'd looked about in the parking lot, finally spotting a gorgeous woman watching him. She was of Native American heritage and he'd recognized her immediately.

"Linda?" he'd asked, walking towards her in confusion, feeling slightly unreal. She was a vision from the past and he'd last seen this woman being led away in handcuffs, her mind finally snapped completely. When he got closer, he'd seen that she was holding a baby against her breast.

It had been hideous, with dried beef jerky looking skin and tiny horns that protruded from its forehead. The beast began to wail again, revealing blood red gums. A hideously furred tail had danced into view, extending out from beneath its diaper. Something about the sight made Johnny want to run but he had held his ground.

"Johnny," the woman had said, choking back tears. "I have something for you." She held out the child but he had refused to take it.

"I don't understand... is that your son?"

"Please," she had wailed, pushing the infant into his arms. He was repulsed by the feel of it -- like warmed meat, fresh from the oven -- but he didn't drop it. Something about it was so pitiful.... like a dog that was so ugly you weren't sure if you should feel bad for it or if you should take a shovel to its head.

"Do you need some kind of help?" he'd asked, staring into the awful face of the baby. Its mouth opened and closed, one pudgy hand reaching upwards to claw at the air. It was so hungry, he could tell....

When Linda never answered, he tore his gaze away from the baby and looked about. She was gone. The only proof she'd ever been there at all had been the writhing little thing in Johnny's arms.

Now

Johnny increased his speed as he neared the home of the one man who might be able to help him.

"I hope to God you're up tonight, Doc," he whispered, picturing the surprisingly kind but grim features of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He felt the baby beginning to kick and fight. It needed to feed again and as he'd learned in the weeks since he'd had 'junior,' it was that only one thing could soothe its cries: human blood. He'd bled himself nearly dry, wondering why and how he'd come to feel protective of the little monster. Linda had known he'd take care of the boy -- that was the only answer for her actions.

But my time as babysitter's about to end, he swore. After tonight, things are going to be different.

Blackout stood up, enjoying the feel of blood dripping off his chin. She tasted good... really good. It was enough to almost make him forget about the sirens.

Pulling himself reluctantly away, the vampiric killer moved towards the open window of the girl's apartment. Blackout had been following her for nearly three days before he made his move. She had been a scrumptious little thing, with raven black hair and a wiggle in her walk. He'd tried to hold his desires off as long as possible, but he'd finally given in to the urges he'd felt. He'd raped her and killed her... and would have raped her again if the police hadn't begun to arrive, attracted by her screams.

He stood crouched in the window, watching as the police began swarming out of their cars down below. Several of them looked decidedly non-human, with eyes bulging with horror and their bodies cast in odd shades of red from the flashing lights.

Blackout threw himself across the open space between his window and the next rooftop. He landed smoothly, keeping himself low. Once upon a time, he'd been mostly human with just a few unique abilities -- cybernetic teeth for tearing and rending; the ability to 'black out' an area -- but since his rebirth as a Lilin a few years back, he was more than any normal man could hope to be. He was beautiful and strong and nothing could stop him. Not even death*. He'd sold his soul to the devil -- quite literally -- to come back to Earth and now he wanted to enjoy every bloody second of it.

(*Blackout died in issue 26 of the M2K Thunderbolts series. Like all good Ghost Rider villains, he's been to Hell and back!)

Nothing's going to stop me this time, he swore.

Nothing except Ghost Rider, a voice whispered in his head. He frowned at the thought, trying to push it away. He didn't even know why it had risen up. Ghost Rider had been missing for ages and the only rumors about the flame-headed vigilante on the street made it sound like he'd lost his mind. He always kicks your ass, the voice teased again.

"Shut up," Blackout hissed.

"I haven't said anything."

The man's voice, so eerily familiar, actually sent a chill down Blackout's spine. He stood up straight, resisting the urge to whirl around and confront the voice. "I figured you were dead and it was your big brother running around as Ghost Rider these days."

"I was dead. Wasn't the first time, though. You killed me once, remember? Ripped my throat out."

Blackout swallowed hard, his eyes narrowing. "Is this some trick? You think I'm going to be scared like some little punk? I'm not afraid of you, not even if you have come back from the dead."

"You should be." The young man stepped around the vampire, moving into his field of vision. Handsome, with short brown hair and eyes that seemed perpetually worried... It's him, all right, Blackout thought. The man wore tight jeans and a leather jacket, both of which looked slightly out of place on him. The spiked gloves and the chain he wore around his chest didn't help, either. He was too much of a pretty boy to carry off the tough-guy look. "Hi, Blackout. How have you been? Killed any innocent girls lately?"

Blackout growled and swiped out at the man before him. His sharp nails just missed the pretty boy's face. "I'm going to mess you up, kid. The way I've always wanted to."

Blackout's opponent smiled at that, which proved a bit worrisome to the vampire. The kid had never looked happy about being in a fight. Never. "You should have gone into the void with Lilith. Would have been a lot less painful for you." Punctuating his words with a sharp kick into the vampire's groin, the young man began to attack in earnest. He punched and slapped Blackout like a man possessed, driving the vampire backwards.

Blackout could scarcely believe it. The kid had always been Ghost Rider's weak point in the past. But now... Now he was almost savage. Driven to his knees, Blackout raised up a hand to ward off another blow. "Stop," he said, spitting out a large wad of blood and gore.

Dan Ketch stared down at the man below him. Blackout had killed his sister, Barbara. He had tormented Dan and his entire family. All because Dan had stood up to him. Humiliated him. Scarred him. 

Dan reached out and wrapped his gloved fingers in Blackout's hair. He tilted the vampire's head backwards and raised a spiked fist into the air. "Go back to hell."

Blackout sat up quickly, shivering in the night air. He looked about wildly, taking in his surroundings and anticipating an attack. He was still dirty and alone in the alleyways of the city, just where he'd been almost every night since he'd come back from the grave. He looked pitiful and shriveled, killing to try to feed the hunger within him, but never finding it enough.

The streets were quiet, with not even the sound of insects or passing cars to break the silence. Blackout forced his heart rate to slow, but the feeling of danger would not pass. 

The dream. Again.

What did it mean?

Wong had been manservant to Dr. Stephen Strange for many years, so when a knocking came at the door in the middle of the night, with a torrential downpour drenching everything outside the Greenwich Village home, he was not surprised.

He looked outside, seeing a grizzled looking man whose battered hat was heavy with water. The fellow spat something black and oily onto the pavement, while his companion smiled softly at Wong. She had jet black hair and was dressed inappropriately for the weather, wearing just a pair of cut-off blue jean shorts and a denim shirt that was tied just beneath her freely hanging breasts. An odd tattoo over one eye marred her beauty somewhat but Wong had never been one to appreciate body modification. It was a desecration of the temple, in his eyes.

"May I help you?" he asked, keeping the door mostly closed. A spell of protection surrounded the house, helping protect Wong in case of mystic assault. One could never be too careful.

"Your boss home?" the man asked, looking skywards. The sky lit up as lightning criss-crossed above them and Wong saw many scars lining the man's face.

"He is resting. Would you like to come back in the morning?"

"No," the man replied. "I wouldn't. The name's Caretaker and this is Seer. Go wake him up and tell him that a member of the Blood's here. And then you tell him that the Ghost Rider's about to go nuts in a way that's gonna scare the living crap out of the entire city."

Wong stared into the man's eyes and felt a deep connection. Here was someone who had obviously lived a very full and rich life. "You may wait inside."

Seer stepped past Wong, gratefully accepting shelter. When she and the Caretaker were alone, she whispered "Do you think we're going to be too late?"

"Maybe. I should have come here sooner," he admitted. "Damned pride got the best of me. Thought I could handle it myself. Won't be the first time I screwed up like that."

"Why not go to Jennifer Kale? She's part of the family curse. She might--"

"That's exactly why she should not be involved," Stephen Strange said. He stepped in, tying the sash of his robe. He looked wide awake and Seer felt certain that he'd been roused by the knocking and was already on his way to investigate when Wong had found him. "Caretaker," the Sorcerer Supreme said in greeting.

"Strange," the Blood replied. "We need help."

"I have felt certain disturbances that made me wonder about the Ghost Rider," Strange confirmed. "He is sick and it's begun tainting the peculiar magicks that surround him."

"If you knew all that, you should have come to me," the Caretaker grumbled.

"I am not his Keeper," Strange reminded him. "You are. Now, tell me what has happened."

The Caretaker sighed and glanced over at the lovely Seer before speaking. "It ain't a pretty story," he warned. "It has to do with a woman named Linda Littletrees...."

Blackout knelt on the rooftop, looking nothing like the beautiful angel of death that he was in his dreams. Down below, a whore was shooting up, her body looking almost as bad as Blackout's. He could smell her from here, a rotting odor that made his stomach churn even as he yearned to tear out her throat and drink her blood.

The rattle of chains made him stiffen. He sniffed the air, tasting leather and gasoline. He turned slowly, wondering if he was still in his dreams, if he would be confronted by a killer version of Dan Ketch.

Instead, he saw the flame-headed figure of the Ghost Rider, chain in hand.

"Innocent blood clings to you," the Rider hissed.

"Leave me be!" Blackout bellowed, baring his fangs. He was as skinny as a starving wolf and twice as deadly. "I need to do this now! I have to survive! Mephisto turned me
into--"

Ghost Rider threw out his chain, wrapping it around Blackout's neck. "You were a murderer already. Mephisto didn't do that."

Blackout gasped as the chain tore into his neck, much more forcefully than in the past. Before he could free himself, the Rider had yanked him towards his flaming skull. Something's wrong, he realized. The Rider looks different than before!

The Ghost Rider opened his mouth, revealing teeth that gleamed in the moonlight. Deep inside, Noble Kale screamed that he needed to stop this but he could not make himself. He was lost in the fever of madness that gripped Dan Ketch's soul. There was to be no mercy for the guilty... nor the innocent, soon enough.

There would be only murder and death.

"Vengeance must be served," the Ghost Rider said just before biting down on Blackout's neck, crunching through flesh and bone.

TO BE CONCLUDED

In Ghost Rider # 03: "The Strange Death of Daniel Ketch" comes to a shocking end as we learn the truth about Dan's condition and discover the horrifying connection it has to John's demon baby! Guest-starring Dr. Strange!

Author's Notes

A big round of applause to anyone who recognizes the Linda Littletrees character... going back a bit, I know, but one of my faves from the Ghost Rider universe.

The following review was written by Tony Thornley and posted to various mailing lists:

It used to be said that Chris Munn and Mike McGee held a monopoly for Ghost Rider in the group fanfiction community. One writer was largely forgotten- Barry Reese, fanfic's renaissance man and writer of MV1 and the Pendragon's Ghost Rider series. Followers of my reviews probably notice that I review almost anything new from Barry, barring RL insanity preventing it (such as Armageddon). That's because I enjoy his stuff. He's a lot of fun to read.

The issue opens with a chilling scene. GR has apparently lost his Penance Stare, and as such actually beats a drug dealer to death. From there Barry builds the supporting cast (especially John Blaze), presents us with some mysteries and potential sub-plots, and a literally killer cliffhanger.

The good: Great narration and description. The first few paragraphs hooked me, and drug me into the very dark place that we're finding Noble Kale and Dan Ketch. The characters were well crafted also. I'm really hoping to see a lot of Johnny Blaze, especially with the scary situation he's in.

The bad: Barry makes a lot of assumptions here. I was a bit confused as to exactly how the Blaze family got where they were, who Stacy was, and so on. It was a bit confusing for one like myself that had never followed GR.

Overall: Good issue, very fun to read and a cliffhanger and enough sub-plots that will definitely bring me back next time.

Rating: 3.5 punches thrown of 5.

Thanks for taking the time to review the issue, Tony! I'm glad you enjoyed the majority of the issue and that it's intrigued you enough to stick around. Ghost Rider's continuity is quite muddled -- and this is coming from the guy who wrote his Official Handbook entry for Marvel! I do agree that the issue might have been a bit dense for newcomers. Once I get past the opening arc, I promise "classic" Ghost Rider adventures, with the Spirit of Vengeance wreaking havoc on criminals. But this opening storyline needed to catch us up on what's happened to these characters since their last ongoing (you probably won't see many references to Hammer Lane and other things that fall after the Marvel 2000 continuity cut-off so really we're talking since the end of the Ketch series).

Next issue will wrap up our first storyline as we discover the truth about both Dan and Johnny's problems. Look for issue 4 to be a 'new reader friendly' issue.

Keep in touch,

Barry Reese