Chapter 8: Escape And Conquer
The United Nations had received satellite footage of the newly mutated Conservatives escaping Denver. The mutants were scattering like cockroaches. Wild Bill had ordered them to separate, telling half of them to head towards Canada, and the other half to head towards Mexico. Now that his army couldn't be killed, he figured they would be able to take over most of the Western hemisphere within a week.
Wild Bill wasn't the only one that had established an army. Anthony Holmes had also recruited millions of people from all over the world to combat the mutant creatures before they could get to the borders. Batman had supplied Anthony with as much advanced body armor as he could supply. The armor could stop the sharp claws and the sharp fangs from penetrating it. But, it wouldn't help much to combat the sheer strength of the mutants. Fighter pilots had also joined the cause to stop the mutants from taking over. But, as they shot down at the mutants, it seemed as if the bullets would either bounce off of them or barely do any damage. They couldn't fire off any nuclear missiles because that would only make the mutants stronger. Despite having fighter jets, tanks, and other armored vehicles, Anthony's army wasn't able to slow the mutants down much. Many people from Canada and Mexico had to flee their homes as the mutants began to enter their land after managing to penetrate Anthony's army.
Finally a miracle seemed to be occurring. The further out of America the mutants got, the weaker they started to appear to get. Apparently, the radioactive land in the United States gave them their indestructible strength, and the further away they got from that, the weaker they would become. Finally, they could bleed. This allowed for the United Nations to destroy many of the mutants as the mutants tried to advance further. As long as they didn't use nuclear weapons, the mutants could be killed.
Wild Bill had finally realized that his army of mutants were getting weaker the further they made it away from the United States. He would need more nuclear radiation if he was going to advance any further. Wild Bill and his pack of mutants made their way to a nuclear facility in Canada. Little did they know, Anthony Holmes and his army was close on their tail. After Wild Bill and his pack of mutants made it to the nuclear power plant they looked for the nuclear waste containers because the containers would be holding the most radiation. Wild Bill was going to blow a huge hole in them, which would allow the waste and radiation to spew out onto them, but before Wild Bill could destroy the container, he was confronted by Anthony's men. Wild Bill and his pack of mutants stood ready to fight in front of the waste containers. One of Anthony's men fired their weapon at Wild Bill. The bullet missed Wild Bill and stuck into the wall of the waste container.
Anthony quickly piped up. "Wait! Don't shoot! If we start putting holes in those containers, Wild Bill will get stronger and the rest of us would die within minutes of radiation poisoning! We are going to have to fight them with our swords!" He declared as he drew out his sword and then pointed it in Wild Bill's direction.
Wild Bill was not impressed. "Anthony Holmes! I have been waiting for this day ever since the nuclear bombs went off!" He exclaimed as he leapt towards Anthony.
Anthony swung his sword, managing to cut part of Wild Bill's arm. The other mutants began attacking Anthony's men. Anthony's men put up a good fight, but the mutants were just too strong. The swords were only doing minimal damage. Finally, one of Anthony's men decided that in order to survive, he would have to use his machine gun.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The machine gun went off hitting several of the mutants.
Wild Bill was still sparring with Anthony when the bullets went off. He had pinned Anthony to the ground and was planning to sink his teeth into his neck.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Two bullets hit Wild Bill causing Wild Bill to fall off of Anthony.
Wild Bill had an idea. He began running towards the waste container as the soldier shot at him.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! More bullets rang out hitting Bill causing him to fall to the ground.
TING! TING! TING! The sound of the bullets hitting the waste containers.
"Wait! Stop shooting! He wants you to fire! Stop!" Anthony demanded.
Suddenly, there was a creaking noise coming from the waste container. Wild Bill looked up at Anthony with a huge smile as the waste containers bursted open releasing all the nuclear waste. Anthony and what was left of his men began retreating as the nuclear waste poured out all over Wild Bill and his pack of mutants.
"We've got to hurry! We've been exposed to radiation and we need to find clean water before we die of radiation poisoning!"
But, Wild Bill and his pack of mutants had been regenerated, and they chased down Anthony's men one by one. Anthony was the last survivor. He hid behind a wall trying to hold his breath for as long as he could. Suddenly, Wild Bill dropped down on top of Anthony and pinned him to the ground. The other mutants had finished off all of Anthony's men, and then made their way to Wild Bill. Wild Bill sat there toying with Anthony. He knew it wouldn't be much longer before Anthony would die of radiation poisoning. The mutants stood laughing as they watched Anthony suffer.
"What's wrong Anthony? Are you finding it hard to breathe?" Wild Bill asked as he stuck his nose in the air and took a huge whiff of the radiation in the air.
Suddenly, CRASH! bright lights of a vehicle came bursting through the nuclear power plant walls, and started firing off a machine gun weapon.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The bullets began hitting Wild Bill and his pack of mutants causing them to fall to the ground. Wild Bill looked around at his pack. They were all dying.
"That's impossible! We just regenerated! Bullets shouldn't be able to penetrate us!" Wild Bill proclaimed.
He looked down, and then pulled out one of the bullets that hit his arm. It looked like it was made out of diamonds. Apparently they were sharp enough to penetrate the skin of the mutants. Then he watched as the vehicle came closer. It was the Batmobile. Batman stopped the car and then launched himself out of it landing just in front of Wild Bill. Batman looked down at Wild Bill with disdain. But, suddenly he heard Anthony cough. He quickly made his way to Anthony, and then picked him up so that he could put him in the Batmobile.
"You'll be safe from the radiation in here! But, you are still going to die. Unless-,"
STAB! Batman injected Anthony with the X-1 Serum.
"No!" Anthony screamed. "I don't want to be one of those things!"
Batman grabbed a hold of Anthony. "It's not the same thing. You won't mutate! This dose will only save you from radiation poisoning. You will be back to your old self in no time." Batman declared just as Anthony was passing out.
Batman exited the Batmobile. He was going to confront Wild Bill again, but Wild Bill was gone. The only ones that were left were the corpses of Anthony's men and a few of Wild Bill's dead mutants. Batman stood there inhaling the radiation. It caused him to get bigger and stronger than before. But, he knew where Wild Bill would be heading to next. He called the United Nations and told them to stand guard at every nuclear power plant in the western hemisphere. If Wild Bill couldn't get in, he would be forced to go back to the United States.
Batman traveled back to the Batcave, and he brought Anthony with him. When he got there, he took Anthony out of the Batmobile, and then laid him on a cot. As Batman looked around, something seemed amiss. Several papers had been scattered about the place. He realised that there must have been an intruder. He went up the stairs heading towards the Study of Wayne Manor. Just as he opened the bookshelf, he noticed someone sitting in his chair at the desk. He was turned away from Batman.
"I like your work on the X-1 Serum. It looks like you found a way to stop the mutation." The voice from behind the chair said.
Then, the chair turned around. "But, have you figured out a way to reverse it on those that have already been infected?"
Batman couldn't believe his eyes. It was Robert Kirkland Langstrom, A.K.A., Man Bat. He wasn't fully in his human form or fully in his Man Bat form. His deformities were more hideous than those that had mutated fully.
Batman spoke up. "How can this be? How have you started to transform back?"
Robert stood up. "Its because, I am the cure, Bruce!" he proclaimed. "You see, the radiation has had a different effect on me. When I was injecting the X-Serum, it was making me bigger and stronger, but ever since I have been exposed to the radiation, I have been slowly transforming back into my human self. It appears as if the chemical makeup of my body is now rejecting the X-1 Serum. Almost as if the radiation is giving me cancer treatments. It must have come from the compound of the serum that originally transformed me into Man Bat. I will tell you what. I am completely understanding why people experiment on bats so much. We seem to create some of the greatest diseases and some of the greatest cures." He explained.
"So, what are you saying, that you have the antibodies that could reverse this whole mess?" Batman asked.
"Not quite. I'm dying!" Robert said as he fell over onto the floor.
Batman quickly rushed over to pick him up.
Robert was very weak. "I need a shot of the X-1 Serum. Its the only thing that has been slowing down the deterioration of my body. I wasn't sure how to stop it until I saw what you had done with the new X-1 doses. Perhaps, if we could find a way to combine my DNA, and your advanced formula, maybe, just maybe we could truly find a way to stop this mess." He said right before passing out in Batman's arms.
Days later, Robert woke up. He found himself strapped to an examination table. He could tell that his body had become more human-like and not so much bat-like. He looked around. He could see Batman working at his computer desk.
"How am I not dead?" Robert yelled out.
Batman turned his chair around in Robert's direction. He was holding a needle. "You're not dead because of this!" Batman said as he walked over to Robert and injected him with the needle.
"What is that?" Robert asked.
"Its not a cure, but its keeping you alive. I've been working on it for the last few days." Batman replied while revealing several vials, which contained samples of Robert's blood.
"I seem to be getting closer, but I figured you might have better luck at discovering a cure… seeing that you are the scientist and all." He proclaimed as he released Robert from the straps.
Robert rubbed his wrists where the straps once were. "Wow! You had those strapped tight!" He complained.
"I wasn't taking a chance that you might resort back into your other self. I would apologize,... but I'm not sorry." Batman replied.
"Well, I guess I deserve that. We haven't had the best history together, have we Bats?" Robert playfully asked.
"Hmmm…" Batman scoffed as if he wasn't amused.
Robert could tell that Batman was serious about finding a cure. "What are your plans if you do find a cure. Do you really want those mutant monsters to live after what they've done?"
Batman abruptly walked up to Robert. "Who said I was going to save them!?"