PART TEN

The Earth trembled as the righteous force struck the ground, leveling the land above for miles. Deep within the subterranean compound the united forces of Great Britain's round table, under the command of Hellsing's retainer, Walter C. Dornez, were shaken by the blow and were paused when the lights shorted out. They sat patiently, waiting for the emergency generators to activate. After half a minute it was evident that was not going to happen.

"Leftenant?"

"Yes, sir," came a nearby response from the pitch black.

"Assemble a team and see to the power," Walter ordered impatiently. "You are also to take immediate command and should you come across anyone of higher rank you are to relinquish that command to them. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes, sir," came his stuttered reply. He hesitated in asking his next question. "Sir, what should I tell him when I do relinquish command?"

"Tell them that I have more important things to do than fiddle around in the dark." His voice was distant. He was already halfway across the room towards the exit when he gave the order.

Walter's heart was racing. With the power out the machines maintaining Integra's life support wouldn't be active. He couldn't just leave her that way, alone to die. She needed him by her side whether she realised he was there or not.

Half a lifetime of hunting and fighting in the dark made his navigation easier. The halls were committed to his memory the very moment he'd stepped through them, from their length, width to their very smell.

As he approached his master's room he was given pause: the ground was slippery. He sniffed the air and took in the familiar odour while he knelt down and placed a finger in the warm pool at his feet. Suddenly Walter was overcome with horror. "Blood."

It was at that moment that the emergency lights came on, washing the path in a dim red light. Before him lay the bodies of a number of soldiers, their meat picked clean from their bones in much the same way they would be left after a zombie attack. Quickly recomposing himself he looked to the trail of wet, glistening footprints on the ground.

Walter charged down the hall, the fear making him more dangerous than ever. The life of Sir Integra had already been threatened once that night and he would not allow for it to happen again. He had seen her into this world and would not allow her to leave it while he drew breathe.

His heart sank when he arrived at the doorway. What he saw he could hardly believe. There lay Integra Wingates Hellsing, her body torn to pieces and her bones discarded across the room. Sitting on her knees in his master's bed was a girl in a tight costume belonging to the X-Men. She held Integra's head by her long, flowing blonde hair and bit away at chunks of flesh from her neck upwards.

The butler choked at the sight and almost lost his footing. The proud woman he'd raised for half of her life, whom he'd almost come to love as a daughter, whom he'd cared for day and night was now a meager meal for a savage beast. He couldn't help but see the look on his master's face, her mouth hanging open helplessly. She'd laid there that entire time and never even had the chance to open her eyes.

Kitty Pride looked back, only then just noticing Walter. She dropped the head and wore a guilty expression over her bloodstained lips as if she were a small child caught stealing a raspberry tart. Perhaps it was that her hunger had for a time been sated or that she still hadn't come to terms with her new nature, but the young agent of Excalibur looked to him with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped.

"No," Walter said defiantly in complete disbelief. Aggression boiled and steamed inside him as the hair-thin razor wires he had concealed fell to his side. He seethed at her, "Though you will be soon enough."

"Master! Orders! Master!"

Once there stood the city of London, an old place full of stories and history. It was a landmark on the British map and boasted a unique world of culture. Alucard stood where it once was, but now was nothing.

"Master!" He cried out feebly. Where was she? She couldn't feel him in his mind. Their connection had been cut. She was all their was that gave him direction in this mad place. "Master! I need orders!"

The sky was blackened with smoke and ash fell like snow. What were once buildings were completely broken. Beams had snapped and burned, girders had melted and brick was pulverised to dust. Any trace of the great city was but a memory and a graveyard for those who mightn't have escaped.

Alucard shuffled his feet through the thin, sandy blanket coating the scorched Earth. No longer did he have the strength to lift them or to hold his head up high. Had his greatest nightmare come true? Had everybody died and left him alone to wander? He'd stated several times that there was nothing immortal in this world, but his sadness had forced him to reconsider.

His thoughts drifted to the missile. Somewhere a man with a button pressed down, releasing blighted death on this place. He wondered, "Is it really so terrible that you would end everything just to escape your fear?" The thought made him sick. Such weakness: why then would God show them such favour?

From under the debris came another survivor. Luke Cage threw the dirt and rocks to one side and fought his way through the tattered yellow remains of his shirt. He growled at first, then began spitting out mouthfuls of sand. Laughing like a maniac he celebrated. "I'm... alive! Yeah!" It took him a moment to realise Alucard was across the clearing in plain view. "Aww, hell no..."

"He won't hurt you," She-Hulk spat. Clutching at her stomach she breathed heavily, trying to hold back the hunger pains. The blast had done enough to shake her back into her senses for the time being, so she stood next to Cage and watched the aching vampire. "He's just shuffling about aimlessly and calling for orders. I don't think he has any free will of his own."

Cage heard his own stomach turn. The two of them alone wouldn't stand a chance against him if there were a rematch. "Come on. Let's get out of here while he's distracted."

"You're not going anywhere," said Alucard calmly. The rage wasn't in his voice anymore, it was a mere statement of fact. Gone from him was all of the drive that made him such a fearsome warrior.

The former Hero-for-Hire was halted, unsure of what to do next, but She-Hulk was frustrated beyond belief. "What are you going to do? Kill us?" The silence between them hung like an axe. "Think about it. We're not the only zombies walking around out there. The rest have probably already taken the other continents. Chances are we're all that's left on this whole stinking planet."

"Maybe," said Alucard agreeably. He knew he could never reach the other nations in time to save them, regardless of his powers. Though he still had his pride. "Even if humankind is gone and I have no master to serve I still hate filth like you."

"Then go ahead," she chided as she turned her back. Luke Cage followed with a huff and they strolled away. "Go ahead and kill us if you can stand being alone forever."

Something strange happened then to Alucard which he wasn't sure he'd ever felt. The kill lay before him, but he hesitated. He didn't know what to do. The Jackal was drawn out from his coat and aimed at the jade giantess' head, but he didn't have the will to pull the trigger. Was this because Integra was not there to balance his morality? For the moment he felt the pangs of loneliness and the sadness that came with her loss. What would you have of me, Master? He searched his soul and then came upon another thought: it occurred to him what eternity would be like were he forced to share it with zombies.

The explosion from the gun's barrel propelled a heavy bullet through her skull, splattering it in every direction. In the brief moment Luke Cage turned back to see the gun was his own face destroyed, annihilated by a 13 mm armour piercing, explosive round. Alucard strolled to their headless corpses and prodded them with his foot.

"What I have given you is a great gift," he said in retrospect. "To walk this world forever: that is a cruel fate. Be glad and accept that which I cannot take for myself."

As a gentle breeze blew and lifted warm flakes to the air Alucard began to shift once more. Perhaps he would search out his coffin and rest. At least that way he could pretend to be dead. If it were quiet he might even be fortunate enough to sleep until the end.

"Where am I?" The sound of his voice was lost in the endless chasm: there weren't even walls off of which they could echo. It was completely absent, even of the flow of air. The silence was maddening. How had he come to be there? "Somebody answer me! Right now!"

He was once known as Captain America, later promoted to Colonel. He was a soldier, hero, President of the United States, Avenger and finally, monster. A disease of alien origin had taken over his body, driving him to insanity and giving him the insatiable hunger for human flesh. Once he had fought to protect life and then he hungered for it. What a cruel, ironic end it was.

The Colonel searched his surroundings, certain of it's familiarity. He had visited the void before. Was this where he came when he'd died? Remembering was difficult, it was a rushed process. His body hadn't yet fallen before he became a walking corpse. Perhaps his soul hadn't yet had the chance to escape and remained a prisoner while it was forced to watch the terrible things his flesh was compelled to do.

Frantically he searched his mind. How had he come to be in such a place? There was a battle in London. The Avengers faced the Hellsing Organisation and in the final moments of battle mankind dropped the bomb. Of course they did: it was their equaliser. What else he remembered was only in fragments. During the final battle he was so overcome by the nature of his curse.

In this place he felt calm and still. The hunger still lingered within him, but it was different now. It was both a part of him and separate: he had room to be with his thoughts, the space to reflect on all that he had done and weigh it against the need that had taken him.

Perhaps this place was Hell. Given what had happened it seemed likely. The faces of men and women, children and animals of all kinds flashed by his mind's eye, each one of them transfixed on him with expressions of panic, fear and the sting of betrayal. He was Colonel America. He was their hero and he'd eaten them.

"Please," he begged the solitary vacuum. "I want someone to be there. Don't leave me alone in this place." As much as he yearned for company he felt in his heart of hearts that he didn't deserve it. If anyone appeared before them he would probably try and eat them too.

Though as fate would have it he was not alone. Something else lurked in the undarkness and it was all around him. It had countless eyes not so much seen as they were felt: assessing, estimating, judging. Alucard was all around him and was the jailer in this supernatural prison. He appeared before the Colonel both small like a flea and high as a mountain.

"Alucard," he gasped upon realisation. Colonel America stared up, eyes wide with sorrow and regret. Stripped of his power and parted from his disease there was nothing left of the monster in him. All of that time it was only a mask he'd adorned so that he could feed with a clear conscience and that only served to make him more pathetic.

"Were you a man or the hero you were proclaimed to be you would have rejected such a fate, even at the cost of your own life," the vampire began. "Instead you wore your curse and proclaimed yourself a monster..."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Silence!" His deep tone was thunderous, ominous and almost seemed to take shape in this abstract place. Most of it was confusing and all of it terrifying, reflecting Alucard's unpleasant mood. "Were you a monster you would not be sniveling before me as you do now! You are but a worm, Colonel, and I have crushed you."

The super-soldier was quiet, knowing exactly what he was told to be the truth. Humility had been forced down his neck with a spear and he was completely at Alucard's mercy. There was nothing left to be said, no ear to which he could possibly appeal. He had caused worlds of suffering and next to expressing his regret the least he could do was thank God it was over.

"You will not be alone," Alucard informed him, thought they were words not intended for comfort. Like him the vampire king had been stripped of purpose and meaning. All he had now was his hate and a target on whom he could inflict it. "You will bow to me as your lord and master, and while I walk the Earth so shall you, bound to servitude."

"How..." Colonel America was weak as his soul had been mined barren. Why did he have to carry on? "How long... will that be?"

Alucard smiled. He was glad that he could carry this knowledge with at least some satisfaction, knowing that it would make Colonel America suffer. "For as long as there is an Earth to walk."

SHIELD Helicarrier
Over Zurich, Switzlerland

"Spider-Man. Alias: Parker, Peter. Status: confirmed deceased."

"Next."

"Daredevil. Alias: Murdock, Matthew. Status: confirmed deceased."

"Next." It was a long job cataloguing the dead. The zombies tirade left a bodycount in the billions. Finding the names of every single of them would be impossible. All Nick Fury could do was go through the SHIELD archives, marking which heroes had fallen. There were a lot of them and he didn't want to leave any loose ends.

"Iron Fist. Alias: Rand, Daniel," said the computer's synthesised female voice. "Status: confirmed deceased."

"Next." The old war veteran was wrought with guilt. It was finally over, but at a cost. That things should have gone so very wrong in the first place was almost more than he could bare. The heroes held so much power and were turned against the world so easily. They had to be stopped. Many of them he considered friends and now he had to bury them all.

"Power Man. Alias: Cage, Luke," it continued. "Status: unknown. Presumed deceased."

"Mark file: pending investigation. Raise priority flags. Mark files of affiliation: Avengers and affiliation: Excalibur," he ordered the machine coldly. The straight bourbon in his hand didn't seem to have the effect on him that he was hoping for. It only make things heavier, less stable, as if the bottom would of him would fall out from underneath at any second. "We dropped the bomb on them. That should have done the trick, but we can't be sure until we've seen the bodies." With a heavy sigh he collapsed into his chair. "Continue program."

"Ghost Rider. Alias: Blaze, Johnathan. Status: confirmed deceased."

The cycle of names went on. Black Bolt, Namor, Silverclaw, Cyclops: nearly every hero he'd ever heard of had either fallen victim or been slaughtered in the mad bloodlust. The villains weren't immune either. The Scorpion, Magneto, the Wizard, Doctor Doom, Mister Sinister: the list of corpses seemed to never end.

"Speedball. Alias: Baldwin, Robert. Status: unknown. Presumed deceased. Nova. Alias: Rider, Richard. Status: unknown. Presumed deceased."

Of course Fury was immediately suspicious and saw to the matter immediately, dispatching agents back to the United States to investigate further. Though since the outbreak there'd been no reports of any of the New Warriors or, for that matter, the Great Lakes Avengers having turned. In all likelihood they were probably consumed by more able heroes. Sickened at the thought Fury had another drink and continued to catalogue.

"Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Benjamin Grimm and Johnny Storm," he crudely spat as he came upon the entries. The Fantastic Four: they'd been turned on his very own helicarrier after the initial outbreak when Mr Fantastic went mad, praising the monsters as the next step in human evolution. Since their transformation none of them had been seen anywhere over the world. Knowing Reed the matter would require his full attention.

"Get this crate back to Manhattan and take me to the Baxter Building," he barked toward the nearest subordinate as he charged into the hall. "We've still got a war to fight, people!"

Vladivostok, Russia

Of the many locations scattered around the globe Russia was one of the very few nations that did not feel the sting of the zombie infestation. At short notice the former Soviet Union had prepared itself, sealing off it's borders to refugees lest they carry the zombie contagion, but at the same time keeping the citizens sealed within. A state of high emergency had risen and though word had come that the Avengers had fallen in London it would be quite some time before it was lowered.

On the grassy hilltops of Mount Kholodilnik a black portal appeared and through it stepped a number of 'heroes': Night Thrasher, Dinah Soar, Justice, Big Bertha, Firestar, Nova, Flatman, Namorita, Speedball clutching in his hand the decomposing head of Squirrel Girl and finally Doorman, a teleporter whose powers were greatly amplified since becoming the servant of Oblivion. Each of them held a piece of flesh wrapped in a shred of red and blue costume: a bite for the road.

"This was a great idea, Night Thrasher," said Nova as he chewed on the bloody body part before him. "Why didn't anybody else think of that? We eat Mr. Immortal and he keeps coming back!"

"We did, until you guys decided to come and help yourselves to a piece as well," mumbled Big Bertha with a full mouth, a splatter of red spraying over her rolls of fat.

"It kept us alive and sane, didn't it?" Night Thrasher pulled his mask from his face and took in the chilled air. He could almost smell the meat below. "We hid, let the Avengers take out the big guns after us and now we get the pickings."

Speedball stepped up to the edge of the mound and looked over the town. He held the head of Squirrel Girl in his arms and sighed. With one hand he raised it to his lips and kissed her hollow cheek with cold, dry, flaking lips. "Come on. What's say you and me go and paint the town red?"

"I get first dibs on the screaming rugrats," called Dinah Soar as she flapped her wings and took to the air. "Young meat tastes the best!"

Following her lead the New Warriors and the Great Lakes Avengers fell into line and charged to the waiting town, each of them drooling and hissing. There would be no safe place to run.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And there we have it, folks. Hellsing vs Marvel Zombies COMPLETED! Just a quick thank you to everyone who has reviewed me as I've been writing this and a quick hint to anyone who's yet to review me, "flattery will get you everywhere". Basically I'm a whore for feedback, even if it's just to tell me that you liked it. It means a lot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and continue reading my other works.

Jack Midnight