DC/Marvel: Access Denied
Chapter 13
By Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by either DC Comics Inc. or Marvel Entertainment Group and are used without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
Earth-CA …Kid Flash fell back and struck the ground hard. He was quick to bring his hand up to rub his jaw. "You're gonna pay for that, Wayne!"
Bruce Wayne, naked, jumped and landed on top of Kid Flash, who began protesting strongly. "Get dressed, please!" the speedster called out, but the younger man was not listening. He was filled with a rage that just did not match his personality. Yes, Bruce Wayne had a soul that was wounded and bruised from the tragedies he had faced during his life, but Kid Flash had always found him so quiet and introverted.
A good solid right to his gut broke him from his thoughts and Kid Flash head-butted Bruce. Were he fighting the Bruce Wayne that was the Batman, such a blow would not have phased him, but the truth was that this particular version of the Dark Knight Detective was not as tough as he could be. The years he had spent in Limbo had softened him in comparison to Kid Flash.
Kid Flash was up on his feet in the blink of an eye and he quickly scanned the room for signs of Batgirl. His head was hurting, like he had been out drinking and he was starting to feel like his old self again. "Premarital sex is okay with me," he said to himself, gauging his own reaction. His stomach did not twist. "What the hell is the matter with me? Ow!" He kicked out and Bruce went flying across the room. Kid Flash looked down at his leg to see a bloody bite mark. "You snotty little bastard!"
Bruce rolled over, a large welt forming on his forehead. "I don't feel good," he announced before throwing up.
"Oh yeah, that's what I do after sex," Kid Flash said, shaking his head. "You need to get dressed so we can find Batgirl. Our recall has been activated and we have about twenty minutes before we're out of here."
Bruce coughed and wiped the blood and vomit from his mouth. He tried to speak when the entire building shook. His eyes went wide and both men were very quiet as another shockwave vibrated the area a few seconds later. "Something's coming," Bruce announced.
"Something big," Kid Flash agreed.
The far side of the building exploded and a red and blue missile passed through the building and kept on going after it exited through the wall. Then there was another shockwave and Kid Flash reached down for a pair of boxer shorts. "Put 'em on, tiny," he said.
Bruce threw him a dark look but complied. There was no time to even get shoes as Kid Flash scooped up Bruce and ran out of the building. It was just in time because the Hulk, roaring and throwing curses, crashed through the remains of the building's roof. Kid Flash kept running until they reached a safe distance. He put Bruce down and the younger man smacked him in the shoulder and pointed back at the building.
Godzilla stomped forward again, his massive foot shaking the entire island of Manhattan as it came down and crushed concrete. The monster roared a high-pitched scream and blew out with radioactive breath. The green blast completely melted what had been an insurance building.
"This is getting dangerous," Bruce said quietly.
Kid Flash rubbed his sore leg. "And strange." He looked to the left. "I think that was Shyla who went through the building."
"Shouldn't we check on her?"
"Look at your costume there, Boxer Boy; you aren't going anywhere…"
Bruce shook his head. "What about Batgirl?"
Kid Flash threw his arms up and then checked his watch under his gauntlet. "Okay, this is what we're going to do…"
Batgirl's head hurt but not as much as her pride. She could not believe she had thrown herself at Bruce and then had practically had raped him. It violated all of the principles and ideals that she had lived her life by. She finished zipping her costume up and pulled her mask down.
She could see the giant monster that was tearing up Manhattan and she was actually a little more shocked that she did not see eight million New Yorkers running for their lives. It was an eerie feeling and she had to pause to collect herself.
She knew that she needed to get back to Kid Flash and Bruce, but simple embarrassment was keeping her rooted in place. She again looked up at Godzilla and was slightly surprised to see the Hulk jumping up to deliver a punch to the monster's jaw. Godzilla actually stepped back slightly, a testament to the Hulk's power. Batgirl was quite familiar with the history and abilities of the Hulk, as he had been required reading when she had first started training under the Batman.
Her heart started to ache slightly as she remembered her dead mentor. He had been strong, so strong in fact that she knew that her recent activities were simply a response to what she saw as the perfect man. The forces of darkness in Gotham City, though, rallied against the Masked Manhunter and his allies. Only Batgirl was able to escape and that had only been through Spider-Man's intervention. He had gone to Gotham City to enlist the Batman's aid in reclaiming New York.
She wondered where Spider-Man was.
Super-Woman tried to stand up but couldn't. She took a deep breath and tried to levitate off of the ground, but she felt too heavy. She knew what it was: Kryptonite poisoning.
Different realities actually had different versions of green Kryptonite. On a quantum level, they were all different and they had slightly different effects on Kryptonians like her. If she were exposed to some from her home dimension, then it would rob her of her powers and eventually kill her. It appeared that the Kryptonite from this world gave her the flu.
Kid Flash appeared next to her and she noted that his uniform was torn on the leg. It was the first time she had ever seen that; normally he was too fast to get his clothes ruined. He saw her eyes looking at his wound. "Bruce bit me," he offered as he helped her to stand. Before she could react he tapped the automatic recall device on her belt. "We've got to go; we are way under strength."
She was in no condition to argue. "How did this go so wrong so quickly?"
Kid Flash shrugged. "Its almost like there is something in the air here, something that drives you insane."
"It is possible, I suppose, that Holocaust has some sort of telepathic abilities, something we've never encountered. It could explain why this world fell into ruin so quickly." She took another deep breath to try and calm her stomach. "Of course, it could be the water."
"What about the Hulk?"
She used her telescopic vision to seek out the green behemoth and found him, surprisingly, inside Godzilla's mouth, punching teeth out. "I don't think we can help him; the rage that burns inside Bruce Banner is far too deep to be cut out. Given time, I'm sure he could be helped with therapy…"
"Drugs…"
She scowled. "I'd rather change attitude as opposed to brain chemistry, but I see your point. He does seem a little…"
"Tense?"
"Yes," she admitted. She had actually grown quite fond of Bruce Banner over the past few weeks. In him she had found a kindred spirit, or so she had thought. Shyla also had deep rooted emotional issues from her time as a super-villain or even when she had been a young, arrogant scientist on Krypton. Someone had actually died because of her. "I think this world is beyond our help; it is tearing itself apart."
"But, aren't we sworn to protect Hypertime?" Kid Flash asked, referring to the Warden's charter. "Aren't we violating our duty?"
"There is no evidence that Holocaust presents a danger to Hypertime as a whole…"
"That's bull and you know it, Shyla," Kid Flash replied. "Sure, maybe we can't save everyone's life, but Holocaust is doing something that may be affecting the Prime Reality."
She nodded in agreement but then pointed out that he had activated their recall. "Yeah, but there is a difference between giving up and falling back."
"You've got leadership potential, you know that?" she said as she put her arm around his shoulder. "Get me to Bruce and then go round up the others."
"You are gonna get pasted," The Abomination promised as he punched a ham fist into an equally massive palm.
Hawkman looked down at the body of Spider-Man and shook his head. He had seen plenty of dead bodies during the Limbo Wars, but he had never seen a dead friend. He had liked the worrisome little bug-man. "I'm going to kick your ass," Hawkman said, swinging his mace in a wide circle to loosen up his muscles. He turned his head slightly to the rear so he could address Wonder Woman and Darkseid. "You think you can carry fatty up to the top floor?" he asked.
Darkseid coughed and Wonder Woman nodded. Too many had died for her to hesitate. She scooped up Darkseid and started heading to the upper floors of the Baxter Building.
"Nyet," the Abomination said as he curled his legs to leap. His powerful muscles would easily allow him to catch the Amazon and her cargo in flight. Hawkman moved with the speed of Kid Flash and smashed the mace down on the gamma-monster's knee. It popped and the Abomination fell.
Hawkman stood over him, swinging the mace again with the arm that wasn't in a sling. "You know what your problem is, you ugly bastard? You don't understand Thanagarian honor. You killed my friend…"
"Bah! You heroes talk the talk, but I know you are cowards at heart!" The villain rolled his huge form over to get some distance and slowly started to stand up. Green blood oozed from the wound on his knee. "You make all the threats you want, chicken man…"
Hawkman threw the mace and it struck the Abomination in the nose, making it explode in a burst of rubbery green flesh and blood. "I am not that kind of hero. I'm more conservative than most. I don't believe in rehabilitation or justice; I like revenge." The Abomination back up, holding his nose and Hawkman picked up his gore-soaked mace. "You killed my friend; I'm going to make you eat your privates."
Roaring, the Abomination jumped at Hawkman, but the hero was too experienced to be taken so easily. A single flap of the wings put him above the man-monster's attack and another swing of the mace to the kidneys resulted in a howl of pain. Hawkman landed and twisted even as his adversary struck a large garbage dumpster, reducing it to a crumpled mass of metal.
"I'm going to do this very slowly, too, because your kind only understands the lessons of pain. I was taught this at the academy, you know," Hawkman said as he slowly walked to wear the Abomination had landed.
The creature shredded the remains of the dumpster, but the Winged Wonder simply deflected any shrapnel with his mace. "You're going to die," Hawkman announced.
The Abomination charged again and expected Hawkman to go up so he timed his jumped to coincide when he thought his foe would do just that. Instead, Hawkman crouched down and then jammed the mace straight up with all of his Thanagarian strength.
The people of Thanagar were stronger than Earthlings but he was not nearly as strong as the Abomination. He knew that and realized that his foe wasn't the brightest light on the Christmas tree either. His mace found a home in the crotch of the Abomination and Hawkman could not help but smile when he heard a feminine shriek come from his foe.
The Abomination felt into a fetal position and Hawkman stood up. "Earth is too liberal; on Thanagar the police punish the guilty before they are tried for their crimes, just in case they get off on a technicality." He walked over to the Abomination and listened as massive lungs struggled for air. He smashed the other knee.
"This is impossible!" the Abomination roared in frustration. Green tears were filling his eyes. "I have fought the Hulk!"
Hawkman cracked the knee again and laughed. "Yeah, but the Hulk is a pussy."
Godzilla tried again to bite down on the infuriating little creature that was holding down his tongue and knocking out his teeth. He tried using his breath to cook him, but it seemed to have no effect on the flea. After the seventh tooth was forcibly removed, Godzilla decided it was time to take care of the problem once and for all.
Holding his head up slightly, Godzilla inhaled as strong as he could and the Hulk, standing on a slippery tongue and having nothing to keep his balance, tumbled down the monster's throat. Godzilla swallowed hard twice, just to make sure the little morsel made it down to his belly.
Godzilla waited a moment; there had been times in the past he had swallowed something and it had upset his stomach. It seemed, however, that the angry little human monkey creature was now bathing in the gastric soup of the monster's belly. Happy, Godzilla actually jumped up and down, clapping his arms together in joy.
The Hulk was no longer a threat and now a whole city lay ready to be trampled!
Inside a warm and wet place, two green eyes stared out into the darkness, growing angrier with each passing moment. Hydrochloric acid tried to eat away at its skin, but the skin was able to resist far greater things than that.
The eyes squinted as the anger rose in the creature. The Hulk did not like being eaten and the Hulk knew that was what had happened. The big lizard had swallowed the Hulk instead of fighting fair.
Somewhere deep inside Godzilla, a giant chunk of highly radioactive Kryptonite generated a pleasing warmth that made the Hulk feel funny, as if he was being filled with renewed energy. The Hulk could feel himself getting stronger. And angrier.
And the angrier the Hulk got, the stronger he became. After several minutes, the Hulk smiled and reared back with his fist. With a roar of defiance, he punched down into the stomach lining of Godzilla.