Las Vegas is completely unregainable. Garfield remembered when this city had a certain atmosphere that gave people a sense of wonder, joy, delirium and awe, he remembered that this place used to have casinos on every street, loud music playing from bars, and lights so bright that it would be impossible to tell if it was day or night. There was just something special about it that makes Las Vegas so iconic.
Now Las Vegas was quite simply in complete and utter ruin. Everything was at the point of looking as if it would collapse at any moment. Garfield saw bridges that were broken up making them look like weird incomplete statues, every single building looked damaged in someway, and there was a large assortment of people that were each doing something so bizarre that Garfield couldn't comprehend what he is witnessing.
He saw several people wearing tacky superhero cosplays Garfield saw an old man who could have passed off as Control Freak's obese twin brother wearing a Superman costume that was too small for him, while he was making advancements on a woman that looked as if she wanted to die on the spot. He saw a middle aged woman in a very convincing Wonder Woman costume, but he was sure that Wonder Woman would be insulted by that fact that she was running around screaming bloody murder while whipping every person she passes and he saw a Batman person who was an auctioneer on a black market, and he had just sold what appeared to be a box willed with weapons. And the sign that used to read "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas" now reads "Welcome to Lantern Falls" that was graffitied on with green paint.
Then there were the markets. Tents lined up the streets selling everything imaginable, old phones, clockwork birds, postcards, giant bags of seeds, giant piles of food, bottles of water so big that it could have contained all the water in the ocean, glasses, exotic looking animals screaming in cages (Garfield winced at this), computers that still worked, weapons similar to what he saw the naked 9 – year – old boy use when in the traffic jam, organs that came with a free operation, slaves and so on.
"Sometimes I feel insulted that they didn't kill me." Nightwing said to Garfield, who was still examining what used to be Las Vegas "Like I was so insignificant that they didn't need to worry"
"What do you mean?" Garfield asked who was sucked back into reality by this remark
"Well. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Lanterns, they were targeted and taken down in the first few hours. But the bad guys basically ignored me."
Nightwing looked as if he had been wanting to say this for decades and now he had decided that now was the ideal time to let it all out "Was it because they thought that one of the Robins used to be one of them? If so then they got the name's mixed up. Or is it because they thought that I was a joke because I have no powers? But if that's true then why kill Batman and the Robins? Anyway, you saw how much I can still kick butt. Even with the Glaucoma and me being blind I can still take care of myself…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're still a regular badass Dick, now where do all these crowds come from?"
Nightwing sighed heavily "We are at the place where Professor Zoom, and some red and violet lanterns finished off our last green hope. You have never been this far before?"
"No" Garfield said a bit too bluntly
"Well." Nightwing said as if trying to find the right words to describe something "This is where they come to pray that the Superheroes come back. You know…like the old days where almost every year where they die and then they just rise from the dead a couple of weeks or months later with some cool new costume and maybe a boost to their power?"
"Ain't goanna happen" Garfield said looking around him. The markets had all changed in what they were selling the further down the road they came. Now they were selling superhero merchandise. Dolls of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and more were all on display, then there were replicas of superhero weapons from rows upon rows of convincing looking Green Lantern rings, to crude looking Batterangs, he even saw someone in a costume of himself that was so convincing that for a moment Garfield thought for a moment that he was looking into a mirror that looked back in time into his younger naive self.
"Don't I know it" Nightwing responded "But it's futile telling them that. Even when I announced who I was and delivered this they still refused to give up believing. The human spirit dies without a hope in their coffee."
"So…" Garfield said casually "Who's in charge of this place? Does Nevada fall under Stone's jurisdiction?" He said his old friends name with a hint of resentment, that Nightwing notice. It was futile speaking about what happened to Cyborg, as there was no need to talk about how they felt. "Nah." Nightwing said as if unsure how to respond to Garfield's subtle remark "Penguin's the landlord around these parts, man. Cyborg has just got California, Oregon, and parts of Washington state and a bit of Mexico and Arizona."
"So…" Garfield said looking around at all the Superhero merchandise "What's with all the trinkets, statues and dress up? I doubt that the President would be amused with all of this superhero memorabilia."
"Ahhhh" Nightwing said sounding like a wise old mentor in one of those old movies "Nut he turns a blind eye when there is money to be made. Las Vegas, or what some call it 'Lantern Falls'" he said gesturing towards all the markets, which were Garfield realised all were selling large green lanterns "…is the number one tourist attraction in America. And we are approaching a sacred area"
They have arrived at what used to be the entrance patio to a half destroyed 5 star hotel, and right on top of the large magnificent fountain, was a large green lantern, that used to belong to one of the Green Lanterns, and there was a large crowd of people, all of various ages, shapes, sizes and ethnicities, and all of whom were wearing green, were all bowing and kneeling at the lantern. Garfield looked on at this as the people continued to bow down and pray as if they were peasants in the middle ages and the lantern was their king. Monks, all wearing green robes were muttering the green lantern oath in every known language in the world and all the people were echoing the monks words.
Garfield continued to observe this scene, then Nightwing drove off going down towards a large almost empty street.
That was when Garfield saw it. Something or someone he thought he would never see again. A medium sized robot was standing in the middle of the street as if expecting them, the robot looked simple enough, with a simple silver metal body and wearing a large oversized trench coat, and where it's head should be was a large jar, with what looked to be a skull printed on it, with a giant brain inside. Garfield looked at it's head with displeasure, even though it has been over 40 years, the only thing that seemed to have change was the bright green number 4 on the skull's head and it's weak looking body.
"Nightwing!" The robot cried as Nightwing hit on the brakes when he heard the voice "Thank goodness you're here! It's me Brain number 4. Did you get the message? The message from Wendy?"
"Excuse me?" Nightwing said, highly confused on what the robot was saying.
Garfield looked at the Brain with visible dislike. The last time that the two had fought, he had nearly succeeded in taking down almost every teen superhero almost eliminating an entire generation of new heroes and Justice League members, had it not been for him and several other honorary Titans they would have won, and god knows how that would effect this horrific future. Perhaps it would move it ahead of schedule.
Nightwing seemed to have read Garfield's mind and he whispered into Garfield's ear "To put it simply, he had reformed, and he thinks killing them is a step too far."
Garfield nodded, but the scowl on his face didn't leave. He gripped his Titan's phone in his pocket as a small reminder on what Brain had done.
"No, we are just passing through Brain. My friend and I are heading to Metropolis, man. We only stopped here for a Coke and some Chips"
"Incredible!" Brain said "This is the town where miracles happen."
He started to gesture at them like a tour guide and Nightwing gestured that they should follow. Garfield got out of the car and followed Brain reluctantly with Nightwing following next to hm and the Bat – Jeep following them like a donkey on a rope.
"Come on!" Brain said sounding like an over – enthusiastic tour guide in an amusement park "Wendy's over in the garage!"
"Who's Wendy?" Garfield asked Nightwing curiously
"Ex – wife number four" Nightwing said, making it clear that this is a subject that shouldn't be discussed "I never tell you about this one? She's Guy Gardener's oldest daughter. She has a really great sense of humour"
Wendy's garage looked like any normal garage, with tools all over the place, one of those hydraulics machines that lifts up cars, the smell of oil that murdered the nose, the ground so sticky that it could have been a glue and all that. Working on what looked to be a fusion between a steam train and a large RV was a large tall woman with hair so short that she was practically bald, with bright blue eyes, and a resting serious face.
She was wearing a large, oversized orange and yellow uniform that had every known stain scattered all over it. She looked up from the RV – Train to see Brain number 4, Garfield and Nightwing approaching her. She threw down the filthy rag into an overflowing tool box and scowled "Well, it was only a matter of time, wasn't it? Filling her head with all your nonsense…" She shouted at Nightwing like a cop interrogating a suspect.
"Excuse me?" Nightwing said, looking at the other direction almost deliberately, as if he knew what the answer was.
"Well!" Wendy said standing in front of Nightwing like how a parent would stand over their teenage kid who had decided to go on a joyride in their car "Ashly and her friends formed a super – team, Dick, and they said that they didn't like the way Penguin ran this place, and they were headin' north to take the big man down."
"All three of them were captured, boys. They say he plans to execute them first thing in the morning." Brain number 4 said with no emotion in his voice whatsoever.
"Couldn't you tell her your drug – dealer stories? At least THAT way she would be earning a LIVING!" Wendy cried looking at the old Nightwing with a stare so fierce that even the blind Nightwing felt it. But Wendy sounded like what she was saying would do no good on what is about to happen.
Garfield looked on at this scene, unsure on how to react or what to say. Then he said "I don't understand. Who are we even talking about here?"
Nightwing and Wendy didn't even look at Garfield. Instead they simply bowed their sorry heads down as if in prayer.
"She's talking about Ashly man…our daughter"