Afterlife was supposed to be a sanctuary. A hidden refuge where Inhumans could live in peace, away from the suspicious eyes of humanity. But right now, it looked more like a battlefield rehabilitation center.
Mario lowered his wand, surveying the aftermath of today's "training session." Inhumans lay scattered across the courtyard. Some were groaning, others were just staring at the sky wondering what had just happened.
"That's it for today. If anyone wants to come with me to the outside world, feel free to talk to me privately."
The Inhumans all breathed a sigh of relief.
No one knew where this maniac had come from, he was simply a monster. He dismantled every Inhuman who thought they were hot shit because they could shoot fire or read minds or whatever. It didn't matter what ability you had, he always had an answer for it. And he fought dirty, too, using those weird healing abilities of his to patch people up just enough that he could knock them down again.
Jiaying stood at the edge of the courtyard, watching Mario leave. Over a hundred Inhumans in Afterlife, and not a single one could last more than a minute against this outsider.
Back in his temporary quarters, Mario found Daisy practicing her powers while Skye observed, taking notes on her laptop.
"How's it going? Any problems with the transformation?"
Daisy was fully Inhuman now, her Terrigenesis complete. The ability to manipulate vibrations was hers to command, though "command" might be overstating it at this point. More like "barely control without breaking her own bones."
She stopped exercising and turned to face him. "It's okay, I guess. This vibration thing is harder to control than I expected. The strain on my body is intense. If I push too hard, it feels like I'm gonna shake myself apart from the inside."
Mario nodded. That was normal. The physical feedback from using vibration powers could be brutal until you developed proper control. "You'll adapt. Your body will get stronger as you learn to regulate the energy flow."
He paused, then asked, "So... you planning to stay here, or come back with us?"
Daisy hesitated, and Mario could see the conflict written across her face. She'd finally found her mother after years of searching, only to discover the woman had some serious psychological damage and a vendetta against humanity. But she was still her mother.
"I think... I'd like to stay a few more days. If that's okay."
"Yeah, that's fine. Take your time, work on your abilities. Your mother will keep you safe here. But I need you to understand something. She isn't stable. What happened to her back in the day, it broke something inside her. She's got some serious anti-human sentiment. If anything feels wrong, contact Coulson. Got it?"
Daisy nodded slowly.
Mario turned to Skye. "We're heading home."
Skye closed her laptop and stood.
Daisy glanced at Skye, and spoke, "Wait, who are you exactly? I've felt like I knew you from somewhere ever since we first met."
Skye reached up and removed the face-modification device she'd been wearing, revealing features that were identical to Daisy's own.
"You felt that way because... I am you. Just from a different dimension."
A portal opened behind them, and Mario stepped through without looking back. Skye followed, leaving Daisy staring after them.
---
Three months later, Afterlife had become something of a second home base. Mario and Skye returned regularly for training sessions, though these days Skye was the one doing most of the practicing.
Her vibration powers had grown exponentially, refined through constant practice and Mario's healing abilities allowing her to push past normal human limits without permanent damage. She was terrifyingly powerful now.
Mario watched her complete a training exercise. "Alright. Take a break."
Skye stood, breathing hard but grinning. She'd learned the hard way that overexertion led to severe dehydration from the energy expenditure. Mario was always careful to make sure she didn't push too far.
"Blade called last night," he said, tossing her a water bottle. "He needs me to come check something out. You should stay here in Afterlife for now, the environment's good for your training."
The previous night, Blade had explained the situation. A new type of vampire had appeared, one that fed on other vampires and could transform them into mindless feeding machines. Mario had recognized the description immediately. Blade II timeline. The Reapers.
"I'll come with you," Skye said immediately.
Mario shook his head. "Not this time. My methods for dealing with vampires are... not pretty. You're better off not watching."
She didn't argue. She'd learned that he always had his reasons, and honestly? She kind of liked having someone who planned everything out for her. It was a nice change from years of fending for herself.
"Rest up, then. I'll be back soon."
Mario left the room and found Kaecilius in his study, poring over the Darkhold like it was the most fascinating textbook ever written.
The Darkhold was a dangerous artifact. He had found it in Universe-2 during one of his excursions. Unfortunately, he couldn't read a single word, the book apparently showed different content to each reader based on their desires and weaknesses.
"Here." He handed Kaecilius a bucket of milk.
The sorcerer accepted it without hesitation and drank deeply.
"Without your help, I think I'd already be the Darkhold's puppet," he said, wiping his mouth.
Whenever he read the book, he would hear a voice whispering in his mind, urging him to perform dark rituals that could supposedly resurrect his family. If not for his daily bucket of milk, he would've fallen long ago.
Mario took the empty bucket back. "The Darkhold is just one path to power. Keep your mind clear and remember your real goals. Only by getting stronger can you achieve what you really want."
The Darkhold was powerful, sure. But it was also a one-way ticket to damnation.
He reached out and took the book, stuffing it into his inventory. Thanks to the milk's effects, Kaecilius showed no reluctance to part with it. He knew it would be his turn to study it again eventually, he was the only competent sorcerer in Mario's organization, after all.
"You heading out?" Kaecilius asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to meet up with Blade. Open a portal for me. Don't study the Darkhold until I get back, I don't want you losing yourself to it."
Kaecilius nodded and traced a circle in the air. Flames erupted in the shape of a doorway, and through it, Mario could see Blade's workshop.
He stepped through without hesitation.
The first thing he noticed was the fat bat hanging upside-down from the ceiling.
"Pearl."
The bat's eyes snapped open at the sound of Mario's voice.
"Mario! You're here!"
Pearl unfurled his wings and swooped down, landing on Mario's shoulder. The vampire had lost some weight, his body was more oval now than the perfect sphere it used to be.
"You've been hitting the gym. Looking good."
Pearl preened slightly. "I've been hunting vampires solo lately, so I've lost some weight."
"Solo? What happened to going out with Blade?"
At the mention of Blade, Pearl's expression soured.
"Karen got pregnant. Ever since then, he's been domestic."
Mario blinked. "Wait, what? Karen's pregnant? When did that happen?"
He'd known they were together, obviously, but pregnancy was a surprise. Blade was half-vampire, Karen was human. The fact that they could reproduce meant there was no species barrier, that vampirism really was just a transmissible condition rather than a separate race.
"Where's he now?"
Before Pearl could answer, footsteps echoed down the stairs. Blade appeared in his signature black leather. On his back were his silver sword and arm-mounted crossbow.
If you changed his gender, he could cosplay as Vayne from League of Legends with some small modifications.
"Mario. You made it."
He walked forward for a hug. Mario returned it, then immediately started giving him shit.
"So when were you planning to tell me you knocked up Karen? I had to hear it from Pearl."
Blade chuckled. "Three months ago. It didn't seem important compared to the vampire crisis."
Not important? Dude, you're about to be a father.
But Mario kept those thoughts to himself. Blade would be a good dad. Probably.
"Alright, enough catching up. Tell me about these mutant vampires."
"Follow me."
Blade led him to a spacious room filled with computer equipment and projection screens. He pressed a button, and an image appeared on the wall.
The thing barely looked like a vampire anymore. No hair, not even eyebrows. Its mouth split open vertically down to its chin, revealing rows of sharp teeth arranged in a pattern that made Mario think of a Predator's mandibles.
"This is a reaper, an Infected vampire with no intelligence, just feeding instinct."
Mario nodded slowly. Mamma Mia. You could drop this thing straight into a Resident Evil movie and skip the makeup entirely.
"Did the vampires give you this intel?"
"Yeah. A vampire faction reached out to me. They want to work together to take out these things before they spread."
Mario walked over to the console and swiped through the data. The reapers had enhanced strength compared to normal vampires, along with regenerative abilities that bordered on true immortality as long as they had blood to consume. That's why they'd started hunting vampires, easier prey with high nutritional value.
"You planning to work with the vampires?"
Blade sighed, then said, "The reapers have accelerated metabolisms. They need way more blood than normal vampires. If they infect the entire vampire population of this city, they'll turn their attention to humans next. That's what I'm trying to prevent."
Mario was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at Blade with a knowing smile.
"These reapers are being controlled by someone named Jared Nomak. He's the son of the vampire leader who wants to cooperate with you. His own father transformed him into this."
Blade stared at Mario. "Is there anything you don't know?"
Mario's smile widened. "Sure, there's stuff I don't know. For instance, I have no idea whether Karen's having a boy or a girl."
Blade actually laughed at that. "So what's our play here?"
Mario pointed at the image of the reaper. "Why choose? Whether it's vampires or reapers, I'm taking them all down. Notify all the hunters. The hunt begins."
"Got it."
The order spread through the Association network. The organization had grown significantly over the years. What had started as a handful of vampire hunters operating out of a single city now spanned multiple continents.
Within hours, nearly a hundred vampire hunters converged on Eastern Europe through Nether portal networks, gathering at the Association's regional headquarters.
The workshop had been converted into a staging area. Row after row of hunters stood in formation, all wearing identical black leather uniforms with silver crossbow emblems on their chests. They usually operated independently in different cities, only meeting during major operations or when turning in trophies for advancement.
This was the first time they'd all assembled together.
Mario stood on an elevated platform.
"Listen up!"
The murmuring stopped instantly.
"I called you here for one reason. The hunt begins tonight! Every vampire you find in this city dies! Move out!"
The hunters' faces twisted into grins. Every single one of them had lost someone to vampires. Friends, family, lovers... their motivation was personal.
They divided into five-person teams and mounted their vehicles. Within minutes, they'd dispersed into the night, spreading across the city.
Mario watched them go, then turned to Blade. "Our turn."
Blade nodded and donned his custom combat armor.
Mario pulled out his flying platform and stepped onto it. Two bats landed beside him: one was Pearl, and the other was Stacy, a "vegetarian vampire" he had once sent to Pearl for training.
"Let's go hunting."