Star City has changed a lot the last time Garfield had visited, once it was a thriving city, filled with thousands if not millions of people. There used to be entire districts, streets and city blocks filled with stores that never closed, restaurants and hole – in – the – wall establishments that served world class food and so many other stuff from bars that always had a party in it to clubs where people can relax and say nothing.
Now Star City looked as if it had been through a war, which in a matter of speaking it had. Every single building bigger than 4 stories tall stood in a tremendous wreak as if it had been bombarded, shells that used to be cars and trucks laid scattered all over the place like if a giant toddler had a tantrum and had thrown all the cars all over the place.
Nothing lived in the tremendous wreak that was Star City. The last inhabitants had packed their bags over thirty years ago.
Darkness had engulfed Star City, everything from the wreak of skyscrapers to a half broken car was covered in shadow, the only source of light came from the dim half-moon and the bright lights that came from the Bat – Jeep.
Garfield found that navigating through the maze of wreaks was difficult at first, epically at what used to be the central areas, however that area was long behind them.
"So..." Garfield said finally breaking the question that was lingering in his mind ever since he got into the Bat – Jeep. "This cargo that we are moving to Metropolis. I gotta ask…is it drugs you got back there? Or is it some kind of weapon?"
Nightwing looked as if he dreaded this very question, his face looked grim as he gripped the steering wheel so tightly that Garfield was surprised that it didn't break. "Don't ask me stuff like that, man…please?" he said, his voice sounding like he was on the brink of crying "I don't need reminding how far I've fallen"
There was a long pause as Garfield and Nightwing sat in silence as the Bat – Jeep drove slowly down the dirt road "Beast Boy…just let me know if we drive past a supermarket or a warehouse or something like that. I think we may need to stock up on supplies."
Garfield looked around him, complying with Nightwing's request. There were a couple of barren skyscrapers, several collapsed store fronts, and piles and piles of car shells, but nothing what Nightwing had described. Then they passed a large collection of skyscrapers that looked to have collapsed like dominoes when Garfield saw it.
The building looked like any oversized supermarket, with too many shelves, too many windows and too much space available for parking. However half of the building seemed to be underground, which makes the building look to be in a strange angle.
"Wha the?" Garfield muttered observing the strange sight in front of him
"Do you see what looks to be a supermarket, with half of it appearing to be sinking underground?" Nightwing said casually as if it was an ordinary thing to see
"Yep" Garfield replied "What…"
That was when Garfield saw the most oddest thing in the world. What looks to be an overgrown mole, with an ugly orange fur, strange looking hands that looked to be a cross between a giant scooper and a drill, warts the size of baseballs, and eyes bigger as big as basketballs. It looked up at Garfield only to close it's overgrown eyes as if the Bat – Jeeps lights was torturing it. It then scampered away into the darkness before Garfield had time to even fully comprehend what he had just witnessed.
"Molloids" Nightwing said trying to locate where it had gone as if he can sense it's movement in the air.
"What?" Garfield said in confusion
"They are an underground race. Little orange guys who go blind in the light. Some folks believe that they are the planet's immune system" Nightwing said, sounding like a bored low budget documentary presenter. "They were resting down for god knows how many years, but the moment the population hit 8.5 billion people, the planet released the, to thin us all out. They had a feast in Asia, occasionally hitting Africa and only once or twice they hit Europe. Star City is the only place they attacked."
Garfield paused as if trying to take everything that he heard in "So…they sink entire cities?"
"Yes. Right beneath the ground. That supermarket over there was at the very edge of 'the blast range'"
They had now driven into the abandoned parking lot, which had nothing except for an armada of abandoned shopping carts, the burnt out remains of what used to be a gas station and the occasional car shell and crate pile.
"So, what now?" Garfield asked Nightwing looking at him as he directed him to stop in a spot not far front of the dark store entrance.
"We grab some food and go. The Molloids won't hurt us as they dislike human food." Nightwing replied stepping out of the Bat – Jeep.
Garfield followed him as they both set foot into the store. The coldness hit Garfield like a wreaking ball. The air was ice and he can feel the coldness infecting every single cell in his body making him shake uncontrollably. The smell of rotten food all from the meat section murdered Garfield's nose making him wanting to vomit everything. Piles of food, from canned goods, to opened cereal boxes to content of shattered bottles of every liquid from cheap soda to world class olive oil flooded the floor.
"Just get some canned goods, some drinks and some of the fruits and vegetables. They are genetically altered by Luthor as a sign of 'good will' after killing Superman. They never rot, which doesn't quite make up for him taking over the world, but…whatever"
"I see" Garfield said, picking up a half damp tote bag with a faded picture of what appeared to be Supergirl and started picking up foods from the produce isle, as well as grabbing several canned soup and beans, while Nightwing did the same with other stuff.
"Done?" Nightwing said after a while.
Garfield nodded. He had got enough food for himself to last the entire trip. Nightwing gave a thumbs up "I think we might encounter a gang or two when getting out of here. Thank god that I have got my Big, Bad Beast Boy here for protection!"
Garfield's face turned cold as he repeated something that he had said to Nightwing several times in the trip.
"The name is Garfield. Nightwing"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Nightwing replied, in a voice that clearly showed that he hadn't. "You're just a simple farmer helping me out for some rent dough right? Anyway, your wife and kids are back in the next state, man. You ain't gotta pretend anymore"
They have stepped back into the parking lot, which gave Garfield a considerable amount of whiplash, stepping from the cold damp supermarket and into the hot and dry outside.
That was when Garfield heard it a loud roaring sound, he turned and to his absolute horror he saw something that sent his hear to his mouth. Atomic Skull Riders. Four of them, all of them riding large motorbikes with wheels of blue fire, all of them brandishing weapons. One of them was carrying a long chain with a bloody looking anchor, another was carrying a large samurai sword, another was carrying an African spear and another was carrying a giant baseball bat. A trail mark of blue fire was made with every move that their bikes made, and all of them were hollering bloody murder. All of them looked the same, with the white and blue war paint, eyes that looked as if it had never rested and far too many piercings that wouldn't look out of place in a rock concert. They were all wearing the same leather uniform that showed random pictures of skulls and bones and random symbols.
The one with the samurai sword flew up into the air and struck Nightwing in the face with his giant boot. "Ugh!" Nightwing cried as blood came flying out of his now broken nose. The samurai sword wielding Atomic skull started to circle around Nightwing like how a vulture circles around its prey, leaving a circle of fire around him.
"Keep 'em away from the Bat – Jeep man! Don't let 'em touch the Cargo!" Nightwing screemed at Garfield, but Garfield didn't need to be told. He was already running towards the Bat – Jeep as fast as his old man legs can carry him. The one with the chain and anchor was hot on Garfield's heels, and as if he was in a cowboy movie he threw that chain and before Garfield realised what had happened he was on the ground swallowing dust into his chest and lungs with a giant chain wrapped around his feet.
"Whats the matter pig?" The chain welding atomic skull screamed at Garfield "Stand up!"
He lashed out practically whipping Garfield's front side like a whip "Fight back! What the hell's wrong with you man!?"
White hot pain seared though out Garfield's body, blood came pouring out through many parts of his body. Yet he didn't even lift so much as a pinkie finger to defend himself.
"I will never hurt…another living soul…to not turn into anything…you can do to me what you like boy…but I refuse to strike you back!" He said as a response to each blow delivered.
"Well that's pretty stupid!" The baseball batt wielding Atomic skull cries as he struck Garfield in the head, blood came cascading out of his face. The spear wielding atomic skull threw a spear almost going straight through his chest.
All 4 atomic skulls headed towards the Bat – Jeep laughing to themselves
"Now lets see what they got in here!" one of them said opening the boot of the Bat – Jeep
"it's drugs man!" another said "The blind guys a courier. I heard about a shipment on its way east and…"
But that was all it managed to say when a batterang flew out of the night and into the neck of the atomic skull.
The other atomic skulls panicked looking into the darkness, looking for their attacker. Garfield could almost hear Nightwing smiling "That's right bitches. Just keep making noises"
A hail of batterangs came flying all of them severing the necks of all the Atomic skulls in seconds. All of them collapsed in a pool of their own blood, coming out of their twitching, jelly like bodies like a squirting fountain of blood.
Garfield looked down at himself. The beating wasn't too severe, true his healing factor had helped but he still looked like a Frankenstein of his older self and his younger self, with the older part still having some dominance over the younger, but something in Garfield's mind told him that this won't last for long.
"Nightwing?" Garfield said looking stunned at his old friend "What have you done?"
"What have I done?" Nightwing cried almost sarcastically stepping over the corpse of the samurai sword wielding Atomic Skull. "Oh don't you start! I am pissed off with you as it is!"
He sounded like a father who was telling of his kids for doing something illegal. "You have taken an oath not to turn into any animal!? All of a sudden your this…this beautiful pacifist!?"
Garfield looked at Nightwing with a small glare "I have been telling you that ever since we were in Oregon"
"Yeah!" Nightwing practically screamed so loud that Garfield was sure that Black Canary would be proud "But I didn't think that you meant it!"
Nightwing seemed to pull himself together, and after some heavy breaths he whispered "What the hell did they do to you man?"
Garfield blinked, and then he was back in the battle of Titans Tower. He saw Blackfire coming flying up to him with bloody murder in her eyes. He saw her eyes glow as he turned himself into a wolf and he pounced at her, flying in the air and he slashed at her neck. He saw, felt, and smelt the blood as it came flying out of her neck. He saw how her body twitched, and how it laid still at his paws as he came crashing down onto the floor. His senses and mind were overwhelmed when he examined the scene around him. He saw other villains too. And they were all surrounding him. He saw what looked to be a tiny version of Trigon, 'his son perhaps' seemed to be relaxing on Raven's favourite chair, with Raven herself a bloody pulp on the floor, and he was using her as if she was a footrest, not taking notice of his dying half sister. He saw what appeared to be a strange goo like alien he never seen or heard of before holding the corpse of Blue Beetle, and him looking as if he was about to devour him whole. He saw the body of Starfire, almost lifeless and on the brink of death, blood flooding out of giant holes in her chest. He saw several other villains, he saw Ocean Master beating up Aqualad, what appeared to be two evil speedsters one, one was Professor Zoom, the other he didn't recognize both of whom was destroying the speedster Mexican twins, and front and centre of it all was Slade, who was holding the limp body of Robin, Damian Wayne, like a trophy.
Garfield pulled himself out of the memory. He wanted to forget it. He wanted to forget it ever happened. He wanted it expelled and destroyed from his mind. But his mind seemed determined to play the memory, over and over and over again, whenever Garfield closes his eyes, he can feel the blood of Blackfire going down his arm, whenever Garfield was asleep he saw himself attacking the alien as a large green dragon, remembering his expression of horror as Garfield wrapped around him like a snake and he felt and heard ever bone in its body break. Whenever his mind is left to wander, he remembered how he disembowelled Slade, as he attempts to use the body of Robin like some makeshift shield, remembering how each drop of blood flew into the air, and how each single organ flew up into the air like a firework, and the image of his battle with the Trigon's son and how he turned into a phoenix to fight him off, and resulted in him unleashing an inferno that fried it to a crisp.
Garfield looked into Nightwing's eyes hoping that all of his memories can be seen through his eyes. "They broke me bub." He said "Only reason I'm still alive"