Part 4
J'Onn nodded as he watched the monitors displaying the missions of a number of heros. Occasionally, he issued instructions but mostly he just watched, ensuring everything was going as smooth as could be.
Feelings of intense fear suddenly slipped into his mind, startling him and causing him to straighten up, his body tense. "J'Onn?" Mikey, the tech man next to him asked, "You okay?"
J'Onn didn't answer, his eyes glowing as he tried to find the source of the fear that he had quickly determined was somewhere on the Tower. Just seconds after he located the source, it abruptly ceased. But at least he had found it. He quickly pressed a button to get a video feed of the storage bay down below, only to find complete darkness.
"John, come in please," he said, activating the communications council.
"I hear ya, J'Onn," came the response, "what's up?"
"Something has happened down in the storage bay. Would you check it out, please?"
"On my way," John replied.
As J'Onn cut the communication, he was suddenly knocked off his feet as a terrible, dark coldness like he'd never felt before raced up the link he shared with the others and slammed into him. His defenses immediately kicked in, struggling to force the coldness away from him before it caused serious harm while startled tech's tried to find out if he was all right.
"J'Onn! J'Onn!"
He was vaguely aware of Flash kneeling next to him, having been attracted by the sudden commotion, but was unable to respond to his friend just yet. What an intense darkness this was! He was having difficulty isolating it to prevent it from hurting any of the others on his link. He would have to temporarily sever the link to protect the others while he tried to figure out what this was and why it had seemed to originate from it.
He gathered his power together, neatly severing his connection with the others while at the same time, trying to track the darkness. It wasn't as easy as it should have been considering the magnitude of it but he finally did it. Locating the source, he forced himself to pass through it, struggling to keep the awful coldness of it at bay just long enough for him to discover where on the link it had originated.
No...! "Batman!" he shouted even as horrible pain engulfed him, ripping a scream from deep within his soul...
He sat bolt upright, breathing hard and fast, sweat pouring down his face. "J'Onn!"
His head snapped to his right to find the worried eyes of Superman gazing at him.
"Easy J'Onn," the Kryptonian said, putting a firm hand on the Martian's shoulder. "Just breath deep...you're okay..."
J'Onn struggled to do as instructed, his gaze zipping around the room and discovering he was no longer in the monitor womb, but on one of the beds in the medical bay. "What..."
"You've been in some kind of trance for two hours," Superman said. "It looked like you were in trouble so we had to move you here to monitor you. J'Onn...what happened?"
J'Onn closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was having some difficulty remembering, especially with the headache he had. Slowly, it started coming back to him. "I was in the monitor womb...I started picking up on feelings of fear that I traced to the storage room. I asked John to check it out..."
"And I found the unconscious body of Jason Waters, along with a smashed light control panel," John interrupted as he appeared on the other side of J'Onn. "There are couple of needle sized holes in his neck and he's missing quite a bit of blood," he added. "We checked out the security tape but whoever or whatever attacked him stayed out of camera range until the lights were blown out."
J'Onn frowned and Superman said, "What else happened J'Onn?"
J'Onn focused back on his memories. "Something came up the link. Something very cold and very dark. I...had to sever the link to protect the rest of you while I attempted to locate the source..." J'Onn's eyes widened and he gripped Superman's arm. "Batman!" he exclaimed. "It had come from Batman's part of the link! Kal, we must locate him quickly! It is urgent that I look inside his mind!"
Superman nodded, looking up at John who immediately hurried from the room. "All right, J'Onn. We'll work on locating Batman. In the meantime, I want you to rest. It looks like that little trip you took drained a lot out of you."
J'Onn wanted to protest...wanted to help find Bruce, but knew Superman was right. He was exhausted from that search through the link and he did need rest. So he nodded and lay back down, accepting the cold compress a medic handed him and tried to fight back the after affects of his encounter with the cold darkness.
END SCENE
The Question gazed silently at the destroyed light panel, seeking any secrets it held that would aid him in discovering who or what had attacked Jason Waters. He flipped the switch off and on and, encountering resistence, took out a small flashlight and started going over every inch...every nook and cranny with extreme care, humming softly to himself as he did.
He paused the light when he caught sight of something that didn't belong. Something seemed to be wedged in between the switch holder and the switch itself. Pulling out a pair of tweezers, he reached in and pulled the object out, holding it up for closer inspection. It was the edge of something black and sharp and reminded the Question of something he had seen many times before. He searched his memory carefully and didn't particularly liked what popped up.
"Not very encouraging," he murmured, putting the object in his pocket and searching the panel again.
Finding nothing more, the Question left the supply room and headed back to the upper level where a couple of maintenance men waited for permission to fix the light panel. "All yours," he murmured as he passed them.
He headed back to his quarters, surveying the room closely to ensure that nothing was out of place and that there was nothing there that didn't belong. When he was satisfied that all was as it should be, he closed the door, locking it securely. He then moved over to a bookcase filled with books from various conspiracy theorists built into the wall. Pressing a button hidden under one of the shelves, the bookcase slide aside to reveal a display case filled with weapons and gadgets he had collected from other heros. Secretly of course.
There were various smoke and gas pellets, mini crossbows, arrows, laser and magical weapons. He zeroed in on one tool in particular, one of Batman's Batarangs that Batman had thought destroyed in a battle. Picking it up, the Question retrieved the object from his pocket and held it up for comparison. Had he a visible mouth, it would have been turned down in a frown.
"Definitely not encouraging."
3 Days Later:
Flash sighed as he gazed around the table at his teammates. "Three days and nothing," he said. "I can understand the rest of us having trouble finding him. If he doesn't want to be found, then he won't be until he's ready, but how is he staying off your radar, J'Onn?"
The Martian Manhunter shook his head. "He is being blocked from me. By what or who, I have been unable to determine."
"How can we be certain he's still on Earth?" Shayera asked. "Or even in this dimension for that matter?"
"Hmm," Superman glanced at Shayera with a nod before looking over at J'Onn. "Could that be what's blocking him from you, J'Onn?"
J'Onn considered the question for a moment before shaking his head. "If he were no longer in this dimension, he would indeed be blocked from me, but not like this. This is cold and evil. Whatever blocks him from me...I fear for his life."
"At this point, I don't think it's his life you should be afraid for." The little group looked toward the door and found the Question standing there, hands in his pockets, hat pulled low over his face.
"What do you mean?" Superman asked, unable to keep the wariness out of his voice.
The Question approached the table, one hand withdrawing from his pocket to place a black object down before them.
"What this?" Diana asked, picking it up to examine it.
"I found it lodged in the light panel down in the storage room," the Question answered. His hand returned to his pocket and pulled out another object which he placed on the table. It was one of Batman's Batarangs. "That," he said, nodding to the object Diana held, "Is a piece of a Batarang. It's likely that whoever destroyed the light panel is also responsible for attacking the boy."
"Whoa! Hold on now!" Flash exclaimed. "Why would Bats attack one of our maintenance guys? You finding a piece of his Batarang in the light panel only says that someone with a batarang broke it. That doesn't prove that Bats attacked the guy! And what about the marks on his neck and the missing blood?"
A slight smirk crossed Flash's lips. "You going to tell us Bats siphoned it out or something?"
"Flash," Superman started, but the Question held up a hand, stopping the man of steel from speaking.
"That is indeed the biggest question of all right now." He looked toward Diana and said, "You spoke with Batman the day Jason Waters was attacked, correct?"
Diana nodded. "Yes. He'd come up to speak with J'Onn. He seemed rather...distracted and a little jumpy. Not at all like himself."
The Question nodded, like he had been expecting that response. "I check all the logs for that day. Someone eliminated all traces of Batman having been up here that day." He held up a hand again to stop questions. "It gets better. I had examined Jason Waters before examining the light panel. I gathered a sample of DNA from the marks around his neck for analysis and after finding that piece of Batarang, compared it with a sample of Batman's DNA I obtained some time ago thanks to the transporter logs."
He ignored the raising of eyebrows and, after a quick pause, continued. "Traces of his DNA were present, along with another I couldn't identify. I sent it to a contact at STAR labs who was only able to determine that it wasn't human. I suggest you get the word out. Batman must be found and examined immediately. He could be a serious danger both to himself and to others."
Superman cast a worried look around the table before nodding. "We'll put an alert out right away. He may be good at hiding, but he can't hide from the entire league for long."
The Question nodded and turned to leave. "I will keep you updated on my own progress."
Once he was gone, Flash looked at Superman and said, "You don't really believe Bruce went Vampire Bat on us do you?"
"That thing of the Joker's was draining people of their blood and it bit Bruce," John said.
Superman sighed. "Right now, we need to worry about finding him. We'll cross this other bridge when we come to it. Oracle? You still there?"
"Yes," came the electronic voice as the holographic head representing the Oracle shimmered into existence. "I'll alert all my contacts and the second I hear anything, I'll let you know."
Superman nodded, standing. "Good. Lets get to work."
END SCENE
He moved soundlessly in the darkness of the warm night. More silently than he ever had before, his senses more alert than ever before. Some part of him knew he shouldn't be out...shouldn't be hunting. He should be fighting right now. But...fighting what? He couldn't remember. Hunger was all he knew right then, and satisfying it was his top priority.
The scent of death caught his attention and he turned toward it, following its call, knowing that where death was, the chances of a good feed was greatly increased. The scent led him to the aftermath of a gang war. From the rooftop, he watched paramedics sort through bodies, searching for survivors they could aid. Police worked to keep spectators at bay while at the same time questioning witnesses and arresting participators who weren't currently dead or dying.
No...there were too many people here. He would have to hunt elsewhere this night. He turned to leave, pausing when a shout rang out. He turned back and watched as one of the wounded broke through the crowd, running swiftly down the street, a couple of cops chasing after him.
A smile touched his lips and he set off after the runners, easily keeping pace. The wounded man was surprisingly fast considering his condition and the cops were beginning to fall behind. Anticipating where the boy was going, he increased his own speed, getting ahead and dropping down into an alley.
As his prey started passing by, he reached out and snatched the boy's arm, yanking him into the darkness of the alley and slamming him up against the wall. His prey let out a surprised yell that turned to fear and pain as he sank his fangs into the soft neck and proceeded to feed.
The boy's struggles slowed as what was left of his life blood was drained from him and when there was nothing left, he stepped back, allowing the body to fall lifelessly to the ground. Hearing the approach of the boy's pursuers, he headed to the roof and watched as the cops stopped, spotting the body laying half in half out of the alley.
He licked the bit of blood from his lips as he watched one of the cops check to see if the boy was still alive while the other called it in. There had been a kick to the life source that he had enjoyed. Perhaps it was the adrenalin rushing through the boy's system that had caused it. Or maybe the narcotics he had used earlier that day. Or perhaps both.
A smile passed his lips. New York. What a town.
END SCENE
VAMPIRES STALK NEW YORK!
A special edition of We know the truth newsletter
by Amber Grey
That's right folks! Vampires are among us and I don't mean those pitiful souls who paint their faces in black eyeliner, listen to heavy music and claim to be the sons and daughters of the legendary creatures of the night. No, I'm talking about the real deal.
According to a reliable source, bodies have been turning up in the city morgue, completely drained of blood and bearing the infamous calling card of the vampire...two needle sized holes in the side of the neck. Of course, just as they deny that bubble gum releases toxins into children that slowly mutate them and will eventually turn them into the government's own private version of the JLA, authorities are also denying what we know to be true, claiming it to be the work of regular human crackpots who will be caught and brought to justice.
I have seen the pictures ladies and gentlemen and my source has seen the bodies. This is not the work of normal human beings. We have a supernatural killer on the loose and this is a call to arms! A plea to those hunters out there who know the truth...who know that Vampires exist despite the attempted cover up. Please, free New York from the predators stalking her streets...
The Question sat back, staring thoughtfully at his computer screen. Finally! After nearly two weeks, a lead had finally turned up. And what better way for it to present itself than through the work of an acquaintance.
Turning the computer off, he stood and left his room, heading for a transporter. He set the coordinates for New York city, stepped inside and vanished.
END SCENE
Amber Grey had never liked being called paranoid. Paranoid was such an ugly word. It made her sound crazy and she was most certainly not crazy. It was those people who chose not to see what was truly going on around them there were crazy. Honestly, who in their right mind would choose to ignore the fact that the government was in complete control of weather patterns and was using it to keep the common cold circulating in order to keep bringing in the billions of dollars a year made from cold medications? Now that was crazy.
Currently, the twenty nine year old raven haired beauty was pouring through e-mails from people claiming to have information on all types of conspiracies. Those that caught her interest, she saved for further inspection later on. She was skimming through one e-mail from someone who claimed that rats were incredibly intelligent beings plotting to take over the world when there was a soft knock at her door.
Mulling over the rat theory, she answered the door and her blue eyes widened in pleased surprise behind her glasses. "Q!" she exclaimed, smiling as she opened the door further to allow her visitor to enter. "Long time no see! I guess the league has been keeping you pretty busy huh?"
"A little," the Question answered as he turned and gave her a quick hug. "It's good to see you, Amber, but I'm afraid this isn't a pleasure visit. I need your help."
"Sure," Amber answered, leading him over to sit on the couch. "What's up?"
"I read your latest newsletter concerning Vampires. I need to know everything you know."
Amber raised an eyebrow. "You've become a Vampire hunter now too?"
"No, not yet anyway. I have a missing friend who may be connected to these reports. It's imperative that I find out everything I can about what's been happening here. And I'd like to get a look at one of the bodies to gather a DNA sample."
Amber nodded and hurried over to her computer. "My source works at the city morgue. He's one of my biggest informants. He contacted me about a week ago with these."
She pulled up an e-mail, then sat back to allow him to read.
'Amber, something really bizarre is going on. A few nights ago, some casualties of a gang war were brought in. While performing autopsies, I discovered that one of the bodies had been completely drained of blood and there were two needle sized holes in the side of the neck. Considering he had been in a gang war and was a drug user, I dismissed it. However, since then, three more bodies have been brought to me in the same condition, none of them having any history of drug use. I am starting to suspect Vampires. I have sent you pics and will let you know when any more come in, which I'm sure they will.
Nick.'
Amber pulled up three pictures of the bodies mentioned with the focus being on the wounds in their necks. "He's e-mailed me every time another one comes in. So far, he's up to six."
"Can you contact him?" the Question asked. "I need to see the bodies."
Amber nodded, brining up a messenger window. 'Nick,' she typed, 'You there?'
It was a moment before a response came. 'Yes Amber, what's up?'
'Need to know if any new vamp victims have come in,' Amber typed.
'No, not since my last e-mail to you,' came Nick's response
"That was three nights ago," Amber told Question.
The Question nodded and said, "Ask him if he still has the bodies."
Amber typed in the question and received a negative in response. 'I was forced to release them for burial or cremation right away. Three guesses as to who's behind that.'
"Ask if he took any DNA samples," Question directed.
'Yeah, I have them in storage in my office. Didn't tell anyone of course.'
"Excellent. Tell him I'm on my way," Question said.
Amber nodded and typed, 'Listen Nick. I have the Question here with me. He's investigating this case and needs to see your DNA samples. He'll be there soon, give him what he needs. He's okay, he can be trusted.'
'Are you serious?' came the reply and Amber laughed softly.
'Completely,' she answered. She glanced up to find her friend had already gone. She smiled and typed, 'I have to get back to work. Let me know how it goes with Question. Later.' She signed off, pulled her e-mail back up and continued reading the rat conspiracy.
tbc