The stealth vehicle slowed as it approached a dead end. There was only a sign leaning on its sunken rotten post.
Gotham sewage station #10
The bat exited the armored car in one swift motion. He reached behind the seat and produced a nylon cable with a steel clip on the end. He clipped the line to his utility belt and turned for the sewer access shed, line in tow.
In the darkness Batman dropped into two feet of rancid sewage. he immediately heard the cries, deep throaty bellows he had only heard on few occasion in his nocturnal career. Also, there were other noises, monotone low moans.
Before he could explore further a mob of undead corpse spilled around corner. But there was something else. A roar ripped through the back of the flesh hungry mob. A green-gray steak tore through the crowd Thick reptilian hands with jagged claws threw aside the undead, cutting down only those that were an obstacle to its pray. The beast came into the Batman's view. It was the face of killer Croc, yet all of what was that individual was gone. The half reptilian brutes eyes had gone dead and white with cloudy cataract film developing on the surface. He grabbed a compact respiration from his belt immediately considering the risk of diseases. Killer Croc tore towards the Dark Knight.
The Daily planets offices were abuzz. The phone were ringing constantly with increasing frequency. Weird reports ere coming in. Must just be a full moon or something. Lois at sat her desk typing locked in deep focus. Clark was off-world on a scientific exploration. She had only one goal, deadline.
Increased reports of violence and cannibalism just since daybreak. Perhaps its just an effect of tonight's full moon, certainly not he end of the world.
Her concentration finally broke as someone shouted 'sweet lord look in street. There is some sort of riot or fight or something.
A class of 20 or so school children crossed the busy metropolis street. Miss Rosen's Fifth grade Metropolis field trip- Fawcett city elementary. They were determined even the unusually hot day wasn't going to slow them don none. Billy Batson was wide eyed with excitement, although Fawcett city had plenty of stuff to do it was cool to come to the big city. They were to embark on a whirl wind museum tour, Metropolis had enough to occupy them for two days. The only trouble was they would never make it.
A yellow cab wildly flew from around corner, the tire skidded sideways and the car violent impacted with a light post. There was immediately fire from under the smashed up hood. The driver a man in a turbine leaped out of the vehicle foaming at the mouth eyes rabid. The school kids shrieks erupted and the unnatural sight of the dead man who was moving, staring at them with this hungry look. The driver raced toward the nearest child, 12 year old Matthew Kern lifted the 85 lbs boys face to his mouth.
The thing looked all mad ravenous and vacant at the same time. the teachers were screaming crying out for help but it was too late for Matthew. In the back of the cab a professional couple in grey business attire are thrashing trying to get out there bleeding on the glass smeared on from their fists.
The turban wearing driver bit down deep on the bridge of the kids nose, his teeth sunk right down through cheeks and sinuses deeper still. The child went white and convulsed as the blood drenched cannibal dug deeper into the boys head.
A large man that had been passing by grabbed the creature's shoulder. He was the blue-collar short buzz-cut, stilling wearing a back brace from work hanging loosely on his shoulders. Matthew fell to the side walk forcing a large quantity of blood out of the gapping mortal would in the boy's face. The driver slipped in close on the larger man out maneuvering him some how in his spastic desperate efforts, a mere second later the creature had torn out the workers throat and crouched over the warm corpse feasting on the soft tissues.
The two other creatures had escaped from the back of the cab and were chasing after the other children, most of the crowd had scattered. One teacher lay dead already and the other missing completely. Billy had to stop this whatever it was. To many people stared in his direction. He ran towards the daily planet.
Lois was in the lobby watching outside, she didn't recognize Billy. she was on the phone with the police. Billy was beginning to feel desperate, he dint want any one to see him but now what difference would it make. He'd already lost at least a dozen friends this morning. He sprinted for the spinning metal and glass door with his best speed. Billy uttered the Word, "Shazam." Lighting burst down from the clear sky, the glass of the doors shattered and there was a blinding flash. Then suddenly captain Marvel was out there by the wrecked cab.
A terrible epidemic.. grotesque mutilations in the street. Police are saying stay indoors and try to ignore the horrible things in the street. Heroes are on the scene already maybe things will calm down soon. Clark and the Justice League always sort it out. Its just that those damned things are spreading so fast.
At this point most of the kids have fled but the throatless worker and young dead Matthew were up and lashing out of people who were trying to get away. The other 4 or five other victims started to rise from the ground.
Loosely wrapped in a terry cloth bathrobe and pajama bottoms. Wally west opened to door to his suburban cookie cutter house in his monotonous neighbor hood. The morning paper hadn't arrived yet but the paper boy walked up the drive.
"Ah, just on cue" Wally laughed. The boy wore a ball cap that hung low over his eyes his head was down at a strange angle. He seemed clumsy maybe drunk or something he was nearly stumbling. The boy reached Wally without ever responding. Wally tried to wave his hand in front of the kids eyes. The boy snapped out and caught a fingertip with his teeth, tearing half of his index finger off. Wally gasp nearly fainting. He reached to for the brass doorknob but his grip was slippery from the blood. Finally, the speed force kicked in and he had the door closed in the dead paperboy's face. He put his back to the door and slumped sliding down to the wood floor, all the while starring at his missing finger tip. He was losing blood fast from such a relatively small wound. Wally started wondering what to do next when his sight went dim.
Hal Jordan and Ray Palmer surfed parallel universes as giant light constructs on infinitely large dimensional membranes that housed the universes themselves. Solid Light feet larger that multiple galaxies dug into the surface of the 11th dimensional structures. The membranes were like bubbles in an unfathomable ocean. They were thin translucent with a pale blue glow and texture not unlike the contents of a lava lamp. Each membrane jostling around in the larger ocean like space of the multiverse contained an individual universe. Parallel worlds, some superficially similar but no two alike. The giant light contract forms of the Green Lantern and the Atom began to flicker as the massive power flow needed to project their consciousness from earth began to fade. Back on earth the GL and the Atom unplugged from the consciousness projecting devices and found themselves back in their more mundane forms.
"Outrageous." Hal exclaimed struggling out of the neural interface harness.
"Even with the power of your ring we couldn't hope to explore such realms as that without the machine. One day i hope it will benefit mankind."
"And that's it? Just leave it on a shelf to collect dust. After all that work."
"There are always new things to build, Hal. Oh yeah, and thanks for the help, flyboy."
Hal shook his head at rays mild essentricism but for all he knew this device as others had it the past saved the world time and time again.
Not bothering to change to civilian attire the two heroes left Palmers private labs and walked out into the hot summer dry streets of Phoenix. "So, why the desert Ray?"
"I don't know what it is about this place, maybe just the relative quiet but here i experience a clarity of mind like no other." Ray seemed happier than he had been in months.
Just then a Justice League distress alarm sounded from the atoms belt, the lantern ring surged to life at the same time, a coherent green beam snaked its way in between Hal's masked eyes. His eyes went wide in shock. "My god! What have we missed?"
Just then the Phoenix emergency alarm system boomed out original design for cold war fears it easily broadcasted across the city warning citizens of a strike. But this strike was already here, a slow and steady invasion that by the time you know you are under attack it is already too late.
The Amazon princess, Emissary of Peace descended from the azure Italian sky down to the city of Rome. The structure was a massive prison complex on a small island surrounded with monolithic jagged spires. Her mission in the world of man was Ambassador of Peace, despite her war like image in the media. she took it upon her self to visit the imprisoned to ensure their welfare and rehabilitation. but on this scheduled visit something was amiss. At first sight she noticed the guard towers were unmanned.
She landed in the courtyard seemingly unnoticed. A door to a ladder well was ajar. A maintenance route which should have been locked at all times. Diana descended into the darkness. The emergency lighting was dim and flickered, the prison was old. A fort by design it had been retrofitted in the early 1900's. One hundred year old plus wiring and the endless seepage of the tide didn't mix well. The steps were narrow, winding and slippery.
She heard the moans and growls and hurried her pace down the stairs. She expected to land in the middle of a riot at this points. The wails and cries of human pain were getting hard to handle. Diana rounded the corner and gasped at what she saw.
A rotted creature in full riot gear munch on a disembodied arm with a prisoners uniform sleeve still stuck to it. The guards had been transformed into some sort of ghoulish entities they were clawing and trying to force their way past he iron bars to the living prisoners inside.
The caged men cried out in Italian. "Please, goddess save us!" "They ate my cellmate's throat out and now he's getting up!" "Wonder Woman! Help us!" the guards continued to claw at the prisoners and devour flesh they had already taken.
"Hey! What's wrong with you!" Diana demanded. "What in Hades?..." All the undead outside the cells suddenly dashed for her as if they just took notice. They dog piled her, a mass of decomposing flesh three meters high. There were at least 40 of them on her chest. The smell was beyond comprehension. She exploded her back arching. The undead men were blown away from her with such force that they bounced off the ceiling. After smelling them up close any reservations about these only being "infected people" disappeared replaced with the certainty that these people were lost. She showed little mercy beating them down with her fist and heels, she was far to swift and aware for the sluggish former guards to contact her. Princess Diana rounding them all up into her magic lasso. She pulled the golden rope snug to hold them.
After she freed the prisoners to escort them away from the island to safety, one of the convicts decided to inflict some revenge by stabbing on of the creatures in the temple with a shack. The dead thing cease to move and slumped against the lassos hold. However the careless prisoner had gotten too close and another undead tore his ear off with its blood clot stained teeth.
The Themysicarian princess had gotten all the prisoners back to the mainland by caring them on a large sheet of tin. They landed on the beach. In this distance smoke coiled up in the horizon. They heard calls from nearby. A mob of dead Italians stumbled over a dune spitting body fluids and groaning.
The champion of Shazam the wizard rocketed down the sidewalk. There were too many attacks all at once. He found his attempts containing the infected to be near impossible and even with the wisdom of Solomon at his disposal he didn't thing he could harm these people. Somewhere he had to draw a line, marvel could see the infection spreading like wildfire through metropolis. this was no disease.
Things seem bleak indeed. The hospitals are all full. Over a quarter of the police force is already missing. Who did this to us? Was it a terrorist attack? How much longer Clark? Why did you have to leave? I guess now my fate is in the hands of this boy.
Lois lane was cornered ahead. captain marvel didn't want to be the one to tell Superman that they'd lost Lois. He once already warned her to stay in the dp office. he flew around her at great speed creating an outward tornado effect blowing the undead away from Lois at least temporarily. Once clear he grabbed her and bolted off, a scarlet streak disappearing into a setting sun. "Where are you taking me?"
"I'm sorry, its not safe. I need to go back to Fawcett city to make sure everything is alright. Where's Clark?"
"Away, far away." There is a silence.
"Maybe I should keep you with me just until he returns"
"I want to stay in Metropolis.." Lois had this lost look in her eye.
I need to check back at home, I'm sorry I just need to know my home is still safe." but it wasn't and he knew it even as he spoke the words.
The Dark Knight was fighting a losing battle for his life. The undead Croc continued to slash at and beat the man. What really scared Bruce was Croc's attempts a biting him. Despite the criminals name he had never known him to fight that way and he could only think of the rapid look in the beasts eyes. The dead thing gurgled and then roared its scaly face was already going colorless waxy and peeling from the structure of the skull. Every standard attack he designed for Croc failed, it wasn't responded to pain or stuns. Bruce was getting desperate he felt in the pit of his stomach this was all about to go very wrong.
Batman's leathery grip clutched a piece of corroded rebar he had managed to snag when the Croc was dragging him through the rotten waters. In a fluid last resort effort he jammed the rod through Killer Croc's dead eye socket and twisted. The beast twitched once and ceased to move.
The mob closed in without the unliving creature to fend them away. The wore and beaten batman knocked some away but they closed in too fast. What had once been a young woman sunk her teeth into the inside of his forearm tearing through the fabric. He saw the dead woman chewing on a bit of him and felt dizzy and weakened. The dead lunged for him smelling his blood in the dank air. He activated a control on his belt and instantly he was being pulled away at 90 miles an hour. A wench purred in the backseat of the Batmobile and the engine roared to life from the auto start command as the bat was dragged back through sewer entrance out all the way up to the car. He stumbled in and was almost instantly a dark silhouette speeding away towards the sweltering sunset..
END CHAPTER ONE