Chap. 2
City of the Damned
"Well come on, let's go!" yelled Heatstrike, as he leapt to his feet and headed for the door. Some of the others began to follow him, but then Neuron asked, "Wait, what do we do about Plasmus?" "Oh dear God, he's got to be awake now." breathed Bartman. The heroes turned to seeā¦. Plasmus's unconscious human form, still sound asleep. "No way!" gaped Beast Boy. "He actually stayed asleep through that? Scar, how big a hit did you give him?" "He must not have gone through the break." Nightstalker replied. "What do you mean?" Neuron asked. "You think this is the first time there's ever been a dimensional break? They've happened with other world more times then I can count, and there's usually a similar effect." "That still doesn't explain why we're apparently the only ones who saw it." Raven countered. "Well, normally mortals don't see it, but beings that are magic based do. And well, I think I may have, uh, rubbed off on you a little bit." "You mean I'll start growing fur?" asked Starfire. "No, but my magic might have gotten into you a bit. Not enough to do anything, but just enough to make you more sensitive to things like this." Some of the others prepared to speak, but Robin quickly silenced them. "It doesn't matter now. Besides, if we hadn't seen this, would any of us had believed him?" Not wanting for his point to be argued, he quickly left the bank, as the others followed suit. But none of them were prepared for what they saw.
The sky had turned a blood red, just like the mass inside the store. People ran for their lives in terror, mindless of anything in their path. Sadly, this included the Titans and B.R.A.T.S. The found themselves almost stampeded by the masses. "Hey.. c'mon.. let me.. out!" Beast Boy groaned as he was pushed left and right. "OK, we need a new plan!" yelled Polar, as the masses of humanity began to separate the heroes. "Starfire!" yelled Raven. The alien nodded, and quickly grabbed hold of Cyborg. She flew high into the air, holding the metal teen above the ground. Raven quickly followed suit, using her powers to levitate Neuron and Polar. Robin and Bartman threw their grapples into the air, to be caught by Nightstalker and Heatstrike, while Beast Boy morphed into a bird and flew up. Whimpernel hovered upward as well. Safely above the crowd, the heroes waited until they had past, and then floated back to the ground. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like that." said Beast Boy. "Not since my dad forgot to dress himself on the way to work." Bartman replied. "What were they all running from anyway?" asked Cyborg. "Maybe them?" said Raven, pointing to the street in front of them.
The heroes turned and stared in horror. Shambling up the street was a group of what appeared to the living dead. Their flesh was rotting and brown; their faces full of empty holes instead of living features. They moved as creatures who had forgotten how to move in a way that meant life. They stared in an absolutely dead manner, as though they had no souls. "This is what we're supposed to fight?" Polar asked. But Nightstalker shook his head. "No, these are just minions. The term for them is Re-Dead. Don't worry, they're not actual zombies, just products of bad magic." "Well, they're going right back to Hell anyway." Robin said. "No, they didn't come from there; they were left in another dimension. Another product of the good-evil ratio. But that's what's weird; they don't have the power to cross over on their own." "You mean something brought them here?" Starfire asked. "Bingo." the Elemental replied. "Well, we've still got to do something about 'em." Heatstrike said. Nightstalker nodded. "But we have to be careful. Don't let them grab you; they'll suck the life from your body." "Gee that's comforting." Raven dryly replied.
The creatures continued to shamble forward, almost mindless in their pursuit. But before they could come any closer, they were hit with a wave of pure sound. "Boo-yah!" Cyborg yelled, as he led the charge. The heroes became a whirling dervish, cutting the Re-Dead like weeds. Bartman wrapped his grapple around a pair of dead, and threw them into the fiery blasts of Heatstrike. Raven and Starfire combined their powers to form a giant wave of energy that blasted though the Re-Dead like a scythe through a cornfield. Polar used his ice to freeze a pair solid, then Cyborg blasted them apart. Within minutes, their teamwork had whittled the dead down to a field of dead soliders. As they stood over their enemies, Whimpernel remarked, "Well, that wasn't so hard." Of course, at that moment a hand wrapped around his leg. Yelping in shock, he quickly blasted it away. As he ran back to his friends, the Re-Dead slowly began to rise up again. "You had to say that, didn't you?" Raven said caustically. "I thought we dealt with these guys already." Cyborg cried.
"They're dead. They don't feel any pain." Nightstalker replied. As everyone whipped around to face him, Beast Boy voiced their thoughts; "You couldn't have told us that before?!" But before he go an answer, a sword flew past his face and into the ground behind him. As Beast Boy's skin paled, 'Stalker turned and looked in horror. Shambling past the Re-Dead was a group of large skeletons. They wore the remnants of armor over their dead forms. "Oh shit, Stalfos!" the bat cursed. Turning back, he yelled, "Robin, Cyborg, get over here! The rest of you, keep the Re-Dead busy." "Hey why can't we help?" yelled Polar, as Robin and Cyborg quickly ran to their friend's aid. "Because the only thing that can break a Stalfos' bones is steel, and we're the only ones who pack it." the Elemental yelled. As the three of them charged the monsters, Bartman quickly took charge; "Come on, we've got undead to do battle with!" "Oh that's encouraging." said Raven. But as the others charged the undead, Neuron had another plan. "Maybe I can shock those fuckers." He muttered, as he sped into the mess of Stalfos. But that proved an almost instant mistake. The creatures were actually faster then he was, and one of them wrapped it's massive hand around his head. Drawing Neuron up, it reared back it's sword and prepared to strike it through it's prey. "No!" yelled Robin, as he struggled to pass through the army in front of him. But it was an impossible task, and Neuron readied himself for the pain.
But instead, something whizzed past his face and the creature's presence vanished. Slowly, Neuron opened his eyes. All that was left was a pile of dust, with an arrow next to it. Kneeling down, he picked it up. The shaft was ordinary, but is the head that caught his attention. It was pure gold, and seemed to shine with an otherworldly light. Neuron would examined it further, but he felt a shadow drape over him. He whirled around, but it was only Nightstalker. The bat however, was staring at the arrow. Stretching his open palm, he motioned for it. Neuron handed it over. Taking a closer look, Nightstalker said, "I don't believe it. Do you know what this is?" Not waiting for his friend to respond, the bat continued. "This is a Light Arrow. There's only one being in any world who carries these. Suddenly, there was a shriek from one of the Stalfos. The tow heroes whirled around, to see a figure standing in front of the dark army. At first, they couldn't get a good look at him. But somehow a light seemed to grow from him, bringing him into focus. "Who is that guy?" asked Neuron. "The Hero." was the reply.
