AN: I have a favor to ask of you guys reading this. I'm going to begin writing another story to submit for publishing and would like for you to tell me what my weaknesses are. So if it's not a problem, please tell me in a PM or as a review how my character development, action, settings, descriptions, and romance come across. I really want to improve and this would be a big help.
4.
Watchtower
July 09
22:31 UTC
"Any coffee left?"
"None whatsoever. Now anyways."
"You drank the last cup?"
"Two actually."
"You could have at least shared, Dinah."
"Sorry, Ollie, first come, first drink."
Searching the cupboards in the Watchtower break room, Ollie desperately hoped to find any brand of instant coffee. In typical office fashion, those he came across had such a small amount left, they were basically empty, unless he were the size of Atom that is. Three plastic coffee containers were tossed on the counter over the sink with a fourth being pulled from the back of the highest shelf.
"Decaf," Ollie muttered as he read the label. "Drink decaf, you might as well be drinking water."
Closing the cupboard door, a paper sign flapped downward with a message reading, 'Please throw away all empties.' with an 'S' shield scribbled on the bottom. Apparently, no one paid Superman's memo any mind as they still left empty containers behind. That, or they were just trying to annoy him as he was thinking of others since he had no use for coffee himself.
"What are you doing?" Sitting at a small, round white table, Dinah took a sip of her piping hot cup of instant energy as she watched her husband fiddle around with spoons, a cup, and the coffee containers.
"Doing what any desperate man would do to get a full cup of coffee, my queen."
Dinah smirked at the double usage of her last name she shared with the archer.
"Original, classic roast, extra dark, and that crappy decaf make just enough for a cup." Adding the mixture to the dispenser, the goateed hero waited for the water to heat up and dispense his beverage. Less than a minute later, steaming hot water shot into a Batman mug with his drink, filling it to the top.
"A little creamer, sugar, and here we go." After stirring the contents of his mug, Ollie gave his wife a wink then took a sip. A second later, his face scrunched up before he rushed to the sink and spit out his creation while Dinah laughed at his expense.
"Something wrong, Ollie?" she questioned through her laughter.
"I think the decaf was bad." Looking on the label, he saw the coffee was best used before August nineteenth, August nineteenth of two years ago. "With people leaving bad coffee around, who needs enemies?"
Getting up and walking over to him, Dinah held out her cup. "Here, you suffered enough."
Taking the fresh coffee, Oliver smirked as he looked into the blonde's blue eyes.
"And you owe me one for that," she said while lightly tugging his goatee.
"Attention available League personnel," Red Tornado's voice echoed over the intercom system. "Emergency in Gotham.
"Red?" Oliver asked as he and Dinah looked up to the speaker and camera set over the door to the break room. "We're still here. What's the problem?"
"I have received an emergency signal from Robin indicating trouble at the abandoned Gotham Heights Hotel in Crime Alley. He has activated his emergency beacon. Batman should also be on the way."
"He had a mission?" Oliver asked.
"We're there," Dinah said as she and Oliver headed out of the room. "Just have to grab our gear and we're out."
"But we don't have any Zeta platforms near there," Oliver pointed out. "The closest one's over twenty minutes away."
"We will be using the new Zeta teleportation tags Atom has devised. It is deemed safe enough to use," Red Tornado informed them.
"Safe enough?" Dinah said as she turned into the locker room down the hall with Oliver doing the same on the other side of the hallway. "How safe?"
"About ninety nine point thirteen percent."
"Really don't like that point thirteen in there," Oliver said as he disappeared around the corner to don his gear.
Gotham City
July 09
22:33 UTC
"Get out of my way!"
Forming a large bumper out of his hands, Blue Beetle charged forward through nine of the homeless people seeking to take him down. All fell hard to the ground or were bashed into the wall, but none stayed down. As if nothing had hit them, they all stood back up a moment after they were flown into. Their blank faces showed no sign of pain as they got back to their feet, even stepping on each other in an attempt to grab the teen hero.
Inhuman moans filled the hall as the group charged forward, arms extended as the armored teen entered the stairwell. Ripping the railing off, he fired several staples into the wall to create a barrier. No sooner had he finished his make-shift wall when one of the homeless people reached out in an attempt to grab hold of him. It came as a shock to him how strong the person's grip was as he fought to break the hold he had on his shoulder. Bringing up his arm, Blue Beetle smashed his elbow down on his attacker's arm and broke the hold.
"Jeez, man! These things won't stop!"
On the contrary, Jamie Reyes. These 'things' as you refer to them as have been stopped.
"So the barricade will hold?"
Affirmative. However, there are several more of these humans behind you.
Turning around, Blue Beetle looked down the stairwell and saw six more running up to his position. Not only were they strong, but they were incredibly fast and did not slow down in the slightest. A well placed shot with his pulse cannon separated the group from the bottom floors, leaving them the only option of going up.
"Have you scanned these guys by any chance?"
Indeed I have. According to your belief of them being the fictional beings known as 'zombies', they do not fit the description you have given me. They are alive, not dead and do not seek to devour your flesh.
"Then what's wrong with them?" Diving over the edge of the stairs he was on, Blue Beetle fell past the incoming group while firing several staples to pin them to the wall should they do something suicidal like dive after him.
According to my scanners, they are very much alive and in deep REM cycles.
"They're sleepwalking?"
In a way.
"Then who's controlling them?"
I have yet to find that out at this time.
Downstairs in the main lobby, Robin and Static found themselves surrounded. At least two dozen of the homeless people filled the hallways and were closing in on the two. Still not wanting to hurt the horde attacking them, both teens tried to incapacitate as best they could. Static grappled with the closest ones and sent an electrical shock through them, leaving them momentarily paralyzed. Robin would then tie them up with his plastic zip-cuffs. No matter how strong they were, the homeless people could not break free of their new restraints. It was just a matter of finding an opening to apply their plan, but with the numbers against them, and them being forced to hold back, the black ops members were fighting up a very steep hill.
Sliding through a rather tall man's legs, Robin kicked his knees out from behind then soundly whacked him across the neck and shoulder area. He had no time to subdue him when he was attacked form behind. A headbutt later, and he managed to slip free, flipping over a stumbling homeless woman before mule kicking her into the first man.
Static was just across from him, taking out his foes with a combination of arm drags and and leg sweeps. A quick electrical shock had them spasming out, waiting for the Boy Wonder to zip tie them. As he stood, another homeless person shoved their shoulder into his stomach. Knowing what to do, the teen boy fell to the ground and flipped them over.
"Man, these guys just won't stop!" Static shouted as he was attacked by two more homeless people. " He slammed his elbow into the back of one then delivered a gut kick to the other before shoving him away.
"They don't stop, we don't stop." Taking out a Bird-A-Rang, Robin hurled it above him, it's trajectory taking it to one of the burned out chandeliers and cutting it down.
The light fixture landed between the two and several other homeless people, buying them time to rest for a few seconds against the unstopping horde attacking them when a loud thud slammed into the large dining room door nearby. Dust flew off the doors from the force of the hit when another one occurred, followed by a long scraping along the wall.
"What the-" Before Robin or Static could seek an answer, three flash bang arrows struck the ground and detonated behind the horde of homeless people. None reacted to them as they only continued to attack the two teen heroes.
"What's going on here?" Knocking another arrow, Green Arrow fired a net tipped trick arrow and ensnared three of the mindless people. Dragging them back, he saw his wife, Back Canary leap past him and dropkicked two other men before moving on to some more.
"Calvary's here kids." Performing a sweep kick, the blonde heroine dropped another homeless person then slammed a flying knee into the chin of another.
Behind her, Green Arrow used his bow to slam one homeless person to the side then used it as a jabbing weapon to force another to double over and flipped over him.
"Long story," Static said as he shocked four more of the attacking people. All were stunned and fell to the floor, giving him time to use the bundle of plastic ties Robin had given him. "Light electrical shocks stun them for a time."
"It's the only way we can stop them." Firing his tazor, Robin brought another down. "Tie them up afterwards or they'll get back up."
"Anyone else with you?" Pulling back the string to his bow, Green Arrow fired a gel impact arrow at the downed group of mindless people and encased them.
"Blue, Kid, and Vibe."
With a loud 'crash', Blue Beetle burst through the doors leading to the stairwell, coming to a sliding landing in the lobby. "Dios Mio, down here too?!" He then went about firing his staples to pin a few homeless to the walls.
"You ran into them too?" Static asked while deflecting an attacker.
"There's more on the upper floors, place must be crawling with them!"
With a momentary break, Black Canary backed up to Robin who had his bo staff ready for any more incoming threats, which just so happened to be coming down the hallway from the indoor pool area.
"Where are the others?" Black Canary asked.
"Last I heard, they were in the dining room."
Loading another arrow, the green archer launched another gel impact arrow down the hall, cutting them off from the rest of the horde.
"Scarab says they're in deep sleep," Blue Beetle commented. "Something's controlling them."
"We'll worry about the who later," Green Arrow said. "We need to get the others out no-"
A violent explosion shook the building, creating a hole in the lobby's side where the dining room was. Dust filled the air as the heroes coughed then a loud, piercing scream ripped into their eardrums.
"Dinah?" Green Arrow asked while shaking his head to regain his hearing.
"Not...me."
Moving to the hole in the wall, Blue Beetle saw Silver Banshee floating over a downed Vibe. As he struggled to get back to his feet, the woman flicked her sharpened fingers in readiness to use them on the teen. The moment she rose her hand into the air, Blue Beetle struck her from behind with his pulse cannon.
"Vibe?" the armored teen yelled, hoping he was not to late. "Vibe?!"
"Kid," Vibe yelled as he struggled to catch his breath. "Check Kid Flash!"
"Ye be challenging the wrong woman, children." Rising back into the air from the wall indent she was blasted into, Silver Banshee flashed an evil smile as she inhaled.
"Cover your ears!" Vibe yelled while doing what he suggested.
That was all the warning Blue Beetle received as Silver Banshee unleashed her shriek. The sound she created was so intense, she managed to cause the tiled floor to explode as her attack shot at the blue teen hero. Flying backwards, Blue Beetle went back trough the hole and landed in the lobby.
"Any more challengers?" Silver Banshee asked. She then wiped some stray spittle from the corner of her mouth.
"Just one." Stepping into the dining room through the hole, Black Canary stood ready to attack with the others behind her.
"As I said before, deary," Silver Banshee said with a laugh, "no one can escape the shriek of the banshee."
"Funny," the female League member said with a grin. "Same can be said for the cry of a canary."