Heller Isn't In Hell

A distant voice reached his ears, as if traveling down a canyon muddled by thousands of echoes, the language unintelligible as he slowly opened his eyes, the sparking electrical wires lighting as if welcoming him back to the land of the living. Groaning he tried to move, but was unable to as he felt several tons pin him to the ground. Snarling he looked around trying to figure out where he was, not recognizing anything that he could see in his field of vision.

He was staring at a ceiling he recognized that much, a white plain ceiling like any generic office building in existence, except there was a gigantic hole in it. More or less shaped like him. Grunting he twisted his head to the right and saw nothing but debris and the same to the left, obscuring his vision forcing him to gaze at part a ceiling and part a hole with little else for scenery. The voice repeated itself, a bit clearer but still unintelligible.

Lying still he flexed his fingers, minute pieces of dust crumbling off the pile around him as the voice grew closer and louder ever so slowly a hint of caution evident in it despite the language. Quirking his lips he did his best to patiently wait, afraid that if he threw the debris off of himself he'd end up killing whoever it was slowly moving towards him, after all whatever they did to him wouldn't do shit. Besides hurt probably and then he'd rip their spines out of their throats.

He waited a full minute before something new edged into the very side of his vision, something like a mint-green it moving as if it was hair. Whatever it was needed to hurry up because he wasn't keen on staying motionless for the next fucking hour. He was about to talk when it fully moved into his field of vision and the noise died in his throat as he looked at his daughter's favorite show in front of his face. A fucking pastel-colored pony looking down at him with curious eyes engulfing half of its face and its small mouth set in a frown.

He stared up at it in silence as it looked down at him and twisted its head this way and that before finally saying something over its shoulder and gesturing with a hoof to come. Stunned into silence he watched as it laid down next to him, squirming to fix itself into a comfortable position shouting a few more words at some unknown person. Another object came into vision, one he was familiar with, a camera but instead of somebody walking over with it the camera floated over him.

The pony next to his head said something else and the camera floated to the right a few inches and the lens zoomed in on him. His own eyes widened as he tried to make sense of this shit the camera flashed, blinding him and making him spit out a string of curses. To which the pony next his head kicked him in the face as it ran away screaming, obviously thinking he was dead.

"What the fucking fuck is this shit." He grumbled as he ripped his arm out from under the pile of debris, a shower of dust and rocks going up into the air as he did. His left arm followed suit, then his upper torso and both his legs, his biomass running up and down his body as he tightened his knuckles.

Dusting himself off he let his gaze travel around the room he found himself in, his eyes meeting the dozens of eyes that hid behind the walls of cubicles and doors, the fear practically oozing out of them. He took an initial survey of the room and noticed nothing unusual, minus the fucking cartoon ponies his daughter watched, it was just your usual office building with hundreds of cubicles smashed together, albeit they only reached his chest not meant for a being as tall as him. Ignoring the weird parts he noticed the hole in the wall and strode towards it, this being more of his area of expertise.

Grabbing the edge of the wall he leaned out, the noticeable absence of smoke and gunpowder evident in the air. Just by that he could tell he wasn't in the New York he knew, giving the ponies another glance he knew that for a fact. No infected anywhere, no helicopters transporting fucktons of soldiers to die in a war against those they were supposed to protect, no Blackwatch fuckers aiming to weaponize a virus not even people diving off the edge of building again.

Pursing his lips he stepped back inside and turned around towards the crowd of eyes hiding behind the cubicles, every color of the fucking rainbow present and then some. "Any of you fuckers mind telling me where the hell I am?" He shouted, hoping for a response.

Instead more of the eyes disappeared around the walls as he waited for an answer. Trying again he asked a bit less forcefully, "Do any of you know where I am?" Again silence, but at least this time none of them ran away.

A thought came to him as he realized he didn't understand what one said earlier. "None of you fuckers know English do you?" Their silence answered him as he huffed in annoyance. Of course they wouldn't know English.

THEY'RE FUCKING HORSES FROM HIS DAUGHTER'S FAVORTIE CARTOON!!

Growling he plopped down on his rear and cradled his head in his arms trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. His mind flashed through several scenarios, from Blackwatch and some failed experiment to Mercer an---

Mercer.... He was still alive damn it! Shooting up from his sitting position he turned back around to hole in the wall, startling a pony that had walked closer to him as he was sitting. Ignoring that pony he stared out the hole wondering where would be the best spot to get a view of Mercer.

As his eyes settled upon a massive skyscraper in the distance, he felt something wrap around his ankle. Confused he looked down to see a tendril of glowing orange biomass wrapped around it and before he could react it jerked and flung him out the window, letting go as he exited the building. Flailing his arms he looked down at the ground, to see a swarm of ponies below and if they didn't move he'd smush them when he landed. Straightening himself in the air with a few movements of his arms he was falling bird style, arms and legs spread out to the side.

Nearing the ground he pulled his arms in and slammed into the ground, a massive plume of dust thrown up in the air as the ground shook underneath his feet. As he slowly stood up he smirked. At least he wouldn't have to look far to find Mercer again. Rotating his shoulders he turned around and calmly walked out of the crater, the literal sea of ponies parting as he walked out. Screaming into the crowds he said, "Come on out Mercer!! I know you're here! So quit being a fucking pussy and fight me!"

A few moments passed before a voice answered back right in his ear. "My my you've grown quite confident since we last met Heller."

Whipping around he punched empty air as he realized nobody was there. Growling he thrust his right arm to his side, tendrils of biomass shooting down and wrapping around his arm, a silver blade growing out of the writhing mass extending past his kneecaps and above his head. The crowd screamed at this and scattered, their little hooves making it sound as if lightning was in the air around them. "Show yourself Mercer!"

His eyes darting around he noticed one pony who wasn't running, its mouth held in a smirk as it stared at him with orange eyes. Its hair thing a blood-red seeming to pulse with otherworldly light, and its coat nothing more than a gun-metal grey as it watched him, analyzing him. The mouth moved. "Why must you forgo subtlety? I'm not asking you to be an assassin but at least try and spare the locals the little horror show we both are hmmm?"

Screaming he ran at it, blade held high in the air, it staying still as he rushed it, its head cocking to the side. Swinging the blade down he nearly tripped as the pony disappeared from sight, one second there the next gone. Slamming the blade into the ground he used it to stop himself, his momentum making him slide a good few feet before he came to a stop. He looked around to see where it had gone when he noticed it sitting on the steps to an apartment building, its hooves clapping as biomass rolled up and down its body in waves. "I suppose it's good you haven't lost your touch yet Heller, though you do seem a bit slower than last time." It paused to shrug its shoulders and shook its head. "Though what would one expect from such a brute?"

"How about you stop running you damn fuck and die like a man?" He shouted at Mercer, who had apparently consumed a pony. Mercer shrugged as another wave of biomass traveled up and down his form, turning him back into his familiar self, a white pale man in his late twenties wearing a hooded jacket, a hoodie and a long-sleeved shirt with jeans. Mercer threw his hands up in front of himself as if to surrender.

"Mainly because I'm not human. Anyways Heller I take it you're still sore about you wife dying and everything?" Mercer asked with a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Snarling at him Heller strode towards him. "The fucking hell you mean am I still mad about my wife dying! Are you just asking me to skullfuck your corpse again Mercer!" His biomass swarmed around his blade and turned it back into his arm as he lifted Mercer up into the air by his collar.

"I'm asking because I'm actually thinking it'd be beneficial for us to just keep to our separate ways you go wander off and do black people things and I'll go do my thing." His response was in the form of four sharpened claws ripping through his face. Well that was the intent anyways because Mercer disappeared again, this time in a bright flash of orange light. Whipping around again he spotted Mercer standing in the middle of the street, hands in his pockets.

"How'd you do that? Make a pact with the devil you fucker?" He growled at Mercer a sharpened claw pointed at him.

Mercer pulled a hand out of his pocket and gestured at the crowds down the street who were watching this exchange between the two. "Consume one of them you'll learn how to do it to. But truth be told Heller I made you what you are for one purpose." He said both arms making an outline of his body.

"What I made you for was something special... but here though.... here!" He exclaimed one hand held up to the sky. "The possibilities of this world are endless. I can already shape flesh and mind at my whim," Strings of biomass moving throughout his body as evidence. "But to manipulate the very skies? The earth? Time itself even! I wouldn't need to fear anyone nor bow to anyone! And you could do... well like I said whatever a black guy does." He finished with a shrug.

"You have to be fucking kidding me Mercer! Last time you did anything you fucked up all of New York and killed my wife! If you think I'm just going to let you do whatever the fucking hell you want you got another thing coming!!" Heller screamed at him as the biomass in his body started to writhe, ready to fight Mercer again.

Mercer sighed and looked away, disinterested. "So we're going to fight to the death?" He asked with air quotations at the word death.

Heller answered with a leap at him, claws shining in the setting sun's light. He rolled his eyes as he slammed his fists together, biomass jutting out of every piece of skin, wrapping around him and covering him in a steel exoskeleton, his clothes and face disappearing as it was replaced by the uniform color of grey. As Heller slashed down at him, his arms shot up and grabbed Heller's jacket and swung him a full 360 and let go, sending him crashing back into the ground, rolling several times as he did.

"If we're doing this again I'm not the one that's going to die Heller."