A.n I own Nothing
Okay everyone that's it from me...I am going to be away on Holiday for the next three weeks so there will be no updates until the end of July. For those of you who live in the USA I am headed to your country for San Diego Comic Con and I can not wait to visit.
I do have two 13hr flights to look forward too so I will try to do some writing on the way over and on the return journey but there will be no new posts until I get back.
So I guess the only thing left to do is say...Bon Voyage.
As always Please Comment
When Hawk Girl landed outside the Justice Guilds mansion, J'onn was already there with Green Lantern, and the two heroes looked at her.
"Hey how'd it go?" Green Lantern asked Hawk Girl.
"Terrible, he got away," Hawk Girl huffed "Did you get yours?"
"No, I had another dizzy spell, it was worse than the previous two," J'onn said regretfully.
"Mine got away too, turns out the magician I was chasing can use real magic," Green Lantern claimed "I hate magic,"
"You are aware that Alucard can use real magic too," J'onn stated.
"Yeah and I'm not that big of a fan of his either," Green Lantern grumbled.
"Well the days about to get even worse…I found the Justice Guilds graves," Hawk Girl said.
"Uhh…did you hit your head or something?" Green Lantern asked.
"No, I saw their graves. There up on the hill overlooking the city," Hawk Girl said.
"If what you are saying is true…then who are they?" J'onn asked and looked into the mansions window and Cat Man and Green Guardsman talking.
"I don't know, but…I think Alucard is right, something's weird about this place,"
"You're telling me you'd believe a Vampire over a group of heroes?" Green Lantern asked in anger.
"Heroes that have their own graves and don't know that there dead," Hawk Girl claimed "I don't want to believe it but…those graves were old, it's clear that they've been there for a long time,"
"No I can't believe it…I refuse to believe it," Green Lantern said angrily and flew off.
Hawk Girl and J'onn watched him go.
"He seems to be taking this rather hard," J'onn observed.
"Can you blame him?" Hawk Girl responded.
"No, I must admit that certain things in this world don't make sense," J'onn agreed.
"I know, I'll go bring him back," Hawk Girl said.
"See if you can find Alucard while you're out, Tom Turbine said he was exploring the city," J'onn said "I think it's time we listened to what he has to say,"
Hawk Girl nodded, she flew off into the sky after Green Lantern.
Sea Board City Main Street
Alucard walked down the street fowling the map he had been given, he had been to a majority of the locations on the map he had been given.
"Alucard!" a female voice called from above.
Alucard stopped and looked up, he saw Hawk Girl and Green Lantern approaching by air and he waited for them to land.
"Hawk Girl, Green Lantern," Alucard greeted.
"We need to talk," Green Lantern said "Have you seen those graves on the hill?"
Alucard looked up at the graves and then back to Green Lantern.
"Yes, they are real if that is what you are asking," Alucard said.
"We know, but if the real Justice Guild is dead who are the people helping us?" Hawk Girl asked.
"I have my suspicions but…" Alucard trailed off.
"But?" Green Lantern asked.
"But you will not like it," Alucard finished.
"Tell us," Hawk Girl encouraged.
"I…I do not believe this world is real," Alucard said.
"What?" Green Lantern asked.
"While you were out with the guild Tom Turbine suggested I explore the city. He gave me a map of popular spots, I have visited most of them," Alucard said and handed the map to Green Lantern
Green Lantern took the map and looked at it; he notices several crosses on different locations.
"You've been to all these places?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Indeed," Alucard answered "Do you know what I found?"
"What?" Green Lantern asked.
"Nothing," Alucard said.
"What's that mean?" Green Lantern demanded.
"It means there was nothing there," Alucard said.
"The Museum and Art gallery had exhibits, but there was no information on the artists or who made the exhibits. The plaques were blank," Alucard claimed.
"Blank…are you sure?" Green Lantern asked.
"Yes, it's not just there either. Tom Turbine directed me to popular family gathering places and a well know ice-cream shop. I went to them too and there was no one there either…not a single family,"
"But todays the kind of day families would go out," Hawk Girl claimed.
"Agreed, I also looked into some of the shops, you can't see in the windows. So I went in and all the shelves are bear and not one shop was selling anything and all there was no sign of any one tending to it or any currency,"
"You can't be serious," Hawk Girl said.
"I am. I maybe out of touch with humanity and the world but…this place is wrong," Alucard said.
"What about the well-known ice-cream shop?" Hawk Girl asked.
Alucard shook his head.
"The same as the others," Alucard answered.
Hawk Girl and Green Lantern stared at Alucard in surprise; they looked at each other both wondering what to make of this information. They could not argue that somethings were strange in this world, but everything seems perfectly normal to them. But the greaves they had seen told and Alucard told a completely different story.
Green Lantern sighed, it was no secret that he did not trust Alucard; he was against bringing the vampire along on any sort of mission. But right now it appeared that he was the one closest to figuring out what was going on.
"Alucard….I don't trust you, every instinct of my entire being is telling me that you're a threat," Green Lantern said.
"Your instincts are serve you well," Alucard commented.
"But given the situation…I think you might be onto something. So…do I have your word that what you just told us was the truth?"
"Yes," Alucard said.
"Alright, I'll trust you…for now," Green Lantern said.
"So where are you headed to next?" Hawk Girl asked.
"The library, I believe we will find the answers there," Alucard claimed.
Green Lantern and Hawk Girl flew of, unfortunately Alucard could not fly so Green Lantern created a bubble for him to ride in. they landed in front of the town library and went inside, however there was no one there.
"Where's the librarian?" Hawk Girl asked.
"There was no one at the museum or art gallery main entrance either," Alucard said and walked in.
He walked up to the first row of shelves and pulled out a random book. He opened it and flipped through the pages.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Green Lantern asked.
"Nothing," Alucard hissed.
"Nothing?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Yes nothing," Alucard said, he turned around and showed them the book and the pages were blank.
Green lantern and Hawk Girl stared at the book and quickly grabbed a few books themselves, however they were all blank and had nothing written in them and upon closer inspection they noticed that none of the books had titles or authors on their covers.
"There all blank," Green Lantern said annoyed.
"This is a library, let's check the archives," Hawk Girl suggested.
The three headed towards the back and found a staircase leading to the basement, Green Lantern tried the light switch but it didn't work so he used his ring as a torch. At the bottom of the stairs they found a door that had the word Archives above it, Green Lantern opened it and came face to face with a brick wall.
Hawk Girl smashed through the wall with her mace and the group found themselves in another dark area. Alucard being a vampire was easily able to see in the dark and found a master power switch, he turned the power on and the lights flickered on.
The lights revealed an old abandoned subway station, however the tracks were torn up and the line was blocked by an over turned train. It was rusted and the paint was barely visible, its windows were broken and the train was riddled with small holes that looked like it had come from a gun.
"A subway station?" Hawk Girl asked.
"It looks like it was hit by an earthquake," Green Lantern observed.
Hawk Girl walked over to the wreaked train, Alucard followed and climbed on top to see inside the cars.
"Earthquakes don't leave bullet holes, these are battle scars," Hawk Girl claimed.
Green Lantern was about to respond when Alucard called him over. Green Lantern floated up to the vampire to see what he wanted.
"There's a newspaper in here," Alucard said "can you get it with you ring?"
Green Lantern looked inside and spied the newspaper, he used his ring to get it out and Alucard took it, the vampire quickly read the first page and then went through the entire paper. His face went through a mix of emotions, shock, surprise, anger and finally sorrow.
Once he was down Alucard let out a sigh.
"What is it?" Green Lantern asked.
"Here," Alucard responded by handing the paper to him.
Green Lantern took it and read the front page article, he had the same shock that Alucard had on his face a moment earlier. Once he was done he showed Hawk Girl and she gasped; Green Lantern then turned and looked angrily at Alucard.
"You knew…you knew didn't you," Green Lantern accused.
"I had my suspicions, but yes…I knew,"
"How?"
"Do you know how vampires survive?" Alucard asked.
"Yeah you drink blood of the living," Green Lantern answered.
"Yes we are predators, our senses are enhanced to smell blood and hear heart beats. Using these we can tell a person's state of health; I told you when we arrived that the air smelled off, I was correct,"
"You said the air smelt funny," Hawk Girl claimed "and in Tom Turbines lab you said it smelt like rust,"
"I also told you that I could not smell blood form the Justice Guild…I cannot smell blood from any of the birds or animals that I have seen either. This along with the stale air made me think…however my suspicion was confirmed when I explored the town," Alucard claimed.
"Shops with nothing in them," Hawk Girl remembered.
"Museums, Art Galleries and Library's with no information," Green Lantern stated.
"And threats that require the Justice Guilds Attention constantly," Alucard said "everything here is not real, it's all one big illusion,"
Green Lantern looked at the paper again and then back at Alucard.
"We should tell the others," Green Lantern claimed.
The group headed back to the Justice Guilds Mansion and when they got there no one was there.
"Where'd everybody go?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Probably to look for Flash and Black Siren," Green Lantern said.
"I am sure they will be back soon," Alucard claimed.
Green Lantern and Hawk Girl sat down at the table and positioned themselves so when the Justice guild returned they would have their complete attention. Alucard preferred to stand and leaned against the wall near the corner behind the table.
They were not waiting long and soon the Justice Guild along with Flash and J'onn walked in, Ray was happily re-enacting the heroic battle he had just witnessed but stopped when he saw the serious looks on Green Lantern, Hawk Girl and Alucard.
"Hey guys, thanks for your help rescuing me," Flash said sarcastically "It's a good thing the Justice Guild was there,"
"There not the Justice Guild," Green Lantern said seriously.
"Say what now?" Flash asked.
"You herd me, they are not the Justice Guild," Green Lantern repeated.
"How can you say that?" Ray asked.
"This is a serious accusation, explain your selves now," The Streak demanded.
"No, you explain this," Green Lantern said and threw the newspaper onto the centre of the table.
"Justice Guild Killed In Battle," the headline read.
The occupants of the room stared at the article in shock, no one said anything. However Ray was the first to break the silence.
"That's a fake, it has to be," Ray declared.
"It's no joke, the real Tom Turbine, Green Guardsman and the Streak were killed. We've seen their graves," Hawk Girl claimed.
"That's not true, were alive and we're right here," Green Guardsman said.
"No you're not," Alucard said.
The room turned to him.
"I do not know what you are but you are most certainly not alive," Alucard claimed "You have no blood, no pulse… no heartbeat, I can't hear or smell any of it from you,"
"Just because you can't hear our hearts doesn't mean we're not real," Cat Man defended.
"He's right no human senses are that strong, how could you even smell a person's blood or hear their heart beat anyway?" Green Guardsman asked.
Alucard looked down.
"Because I am a vampire," Alucard admitted.
The Justice Guild gasped in shock.
"But…it's the middle of the day…you can't be a vampire," Tom Turbine asked.
"It's true, he is a real vampire," Flash confirmed "he's got fangs, a creepy castle and everything,"
"As a vampire my senses are enhanced to smell my pray…more speficly human blood and none of you have any blood in you," Alucard claimed.
"He can't be serious…can he?" Black Siren asked.
"I'm finding it hard to believe myself," The Streak said.
Before the discussion could continue the phone rang, the Streak picked it up and it was the police chief, apparently a monster robot was tearing up the main street
"We're not done here," Green Lantern declared.
"But Seaboard City needs us," The Streak claimed.
"No it doesn't, like you this city doesn't exist," Alucard claimed.
"Don't be ridiculous, of course it does," Ray claimed.
"Hasn't anyone noticed that nothing here makes any sense?" Green Lantern asked.
"Library Books filled with blank pages, Art galleries and museums filled with exhibits and no information on them, popular family spots with no families," Alucard tired "shops that don't have merchandise,"
"Dangers and convenient distractions that show up whenever someone gets too close to the truth or even notices that something is off," Hawk Girl added.
"What truth?" Green Guardsman asked.
"That your world is a lie," Alucard said "It's nothing more than a memory of a civilisation that was destroyed 40yrs ago…and you are all part of that lie,"
"The truth is all in this newspaper, a nuclear war started and the Justice Guild gave their lives to end it," Hawk Girl said.
"It's why they stopped publishing the comics on our earth, it wasn't because they weren't selling; it was because the Guild died. No more Justice Guild, No more comics," Green Lantern said.
"We already theorised that someone on our world had a psychic link to this world," J'onn said "A nuclear war would most defiantly sever that link,"
"So then the funny smell that Alucard has been complaining about…was the fallout from the war," Flash realised.
The Justice Guild and other two members of the Justice League looked at each other and then back at the Hawk Girl and Green Lantern.
"Yes and the smell is as strong as ever," Alucard claimed.
"It's true that there are some strange things around here," Flash admitted.
"And anytime someone notices something or starts to figure things out," Hawk Girl started.
"Nuns and Dynamite," Flash finished.
"If what you say is true why are you the only one who can smell fallout? Shouldn't we all be able to smell it too," Tom Turbine asked Alucard.
"When creating a realistic illusion you have to be able to fool all five senses," J'onn answered.
"Sight is the dominate sense that humans rely on, however it is a secondary sense for a vampire. We rely on our sense of smell and hearing before sight," Alucard explained.
"But if what you're saying is true, who or what is creating this lie?" Tom Turbine asked.
"That's…the part we haven't figured out yet," Green Lantern admitted.
"Then why don't you ask Ray," Alucard said.
"Me? I don't know anything…why would I?" Ray asked fearfully.
"Because you are the source, you created and are maintaining this illusion," Alucard claimed.
"Now hold on, your story is fantastical enough but why would Ray have anything to do with it?" The Streak asked "He's just a boy,"
"J'onn has telepathic abilities, every time Ray has gotten close to him J'onn has felt dizzy and collapsed," Alucard claimed "It's not from exuhstion it's from his mind piercing the complex illusion that is your world and seeing what really happened in Rays mind,"
"It is true, I have been seeing disturbing images whenever Ray gets close to me," J'onn agreed.
"That does not mean that Ray is the source," Black Siren defended.
"Then how about the fact that you willingly take him with you into battle," Green Lantern said "What heroes would put a child in danger like that?"
"Have you ever gone into battle without him watching and cheering on the side?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Well…no but…" Cat Man answered.
"If you wish for proof than check his pulse, you will find he is the only one out of you that has a heartbeat," Alucard stated "I can hear it from here,"
"There is another way," J'onn said as he stepped forward.
The martin walked up to Ray and the boy instinctively stepped back, J'onn put his hands on the boy's shoulders and stared into his eyes. J'onns eyes glowed yellow and after a few seconds so did Rays. Suddenly Ray
"NNNOOOOO!" Ray screamed and his form shifted from that of an average boy to a deformed large headed mutant creature.
The Justice Guild and league members gasped and stepped back in shock, as the creature that was once Ray glared at them.
"You ruined it…you ruined it all," Ray shouted and blasted J'onn with some mental energy. J'onn was blown back and Flash caught him.
Suddenly the whole room began to shake and a giant read claw came through the roof destroying it. Releveling a massive red robot like figure, the robot was not as sophisticated or advanced as the ones the Justice League fought; in fact it looked like a larger version of an old robot toy.
"The robot monster on Main Street I presume," Hawk Girl said dryly.
"That's it, I want to go home," Flash said.
"Justice Guild, attack," The Streak commanded and pointed at the robot.
"No don't," Green Lantern tired.
But it was too late as the Guild began to attack the robot. Hawk Girl was about to join them when Alucard stopped her.
"Wait, that's just another lie," Alucard claimed and then looked at Ray "He is the true threat,"
Alucard and the League turned their attention to Ray while the Justice Guild battled the robot monster outside the mansion.
"It's over Ray," Green Lantern said.
"It's been over before, but I fixed that…I fixed everything," Ray declared.
"You did nothing of the sort; all you did was create an illusion to hide behind. How is that fixing anything?" Green Lantern shot back.
"Shut up, you don't know anything," Ray yelled back.
Flash sped towards Ray however the floor beneath his feet suddenly turned into quick sand and he fell in. Hawk Girl flew above Flash in an attempt to strike from above however Ray through the one cushioned chair at her knocking her out of the sky.
Green Lantern started blasting him with short energy blasts from his ring however Ray produced a mental shield that deflected the blasts.
This is my world, I decide who wins and who loses," Ray said and he brought the rest of the roof down on top of Green Lantern and Hawk Girl, Alucard nimbly dodged out of the way.
'What I wouldn't give for my speed right now,' Alucard thought to himself.
Alucard drew his sword and charged at Ray, however Ray raised his hand and Alucard suddenly found himself hanging from the air, he could feel Ray using his powers to try and strangle him.
'Or my magic,' Alucard added as an afterthought as he hung in the air under Rays power.
J'onn having recovered phased out of the floor an came up behind Ray, he stuck his hands into Rays head and the mutant boy screamed and Alucard fell to the ground. However Ray blasted J'onn with a more powerful and intense metal blast than the first one.
It was too much for the Martian and he fell to the ground, Hawk Girl pushed the rubble off her and charged at Ray. She slammed her mace against his mental shield but Rays shield just took each blow. Ray used his powers to remove the Justices Guilds symbol from the wall and threw it onto Hawkgirls back. Hawk Girl was forced thought the air and slammed into the wall; it was enough to take her out of the fight.
Ray looked around and noticed that Alucard was getting back up, the vampire launched himself at Ray however the mutant caught Alucard with his powers and flung him hard into the wall. Alucard struggled against the boys powers but he could not break free.
Suddenly Alucards own sword flew into to his stomach piercing it and Alucard coughed up some blood.
"You…this is your fault," Ray said angrily.
"You're the one oppressing this place," Alucard said.
"Once I kill you then everything will go back to normal. I'll erase you and your friends from the Justice Guilds minds and then everything will be better,"
"If you do that this world won't ever change," Alucard claimed.
"So what? What's wrong with the way things are?" Ray shouted, he then lifted a bit of rubble over his head and it turned into iron spikes. Ray sent them flying through the air at Alucard.
Alucard winced in pain as they impaled his body, blood started to trickle down his clothes and his mouth.
"Y…You can't kill me, I'm a Vampire and that means I'm immortal," Alucard said with a smirk.
"Nothing is immortal," Ray claimed.
He sent out blasts of energy at Alucard and the vampire screamed in pain as the energy flooded his body.
Outside the Justice Guild were fighting the Robot monster but no matter what they did it the robot did not appear to take any damage form there attacks. Green Guardsman suddenly heard a loud scream and tuned to look back at the mansion. He saw the Justice League had been taken out and Alucard being tortured by Ray.
"The Justice League needs our help," Green Guardsman declared. He turned away from the robot and was about to head back to the Mansion when Tom Turbine stopped him.
"Wait, if what they claim is true…then stopping Ray would mean this whole world would cease to exist," Tom Turbine pointed out.
"Including us," Black Siren said grimly.
The guild hesitated for a moment and thought about the fact that they would no longer exist if they helped the Justice League. However Alucards screams snapped them out of their thoughts and they all made a unanimous decision.
"We died once for this world…we can do it again," the Streak said.
He then sped towards the mansion with the rest of the justice Guild following him,
"What are you doing?" Ray demanded.
"In Seaboard City, crime doesn't pay," Tom Turbine said solemnly as the Justice Guild attacked Ray.
Ray tried to defend himself but the relentless and constant attacks by the Guild left him very little opportunity to counter attack. It wasn't long before he was blown out of the mansion, all he could do against the guild was defend himself with his shield. However ti soon became apparent that he was no match for relentless attacks and combined forces of the Justice guild.
The members of the justice league watched as the Justice guild took Ray down. Once Ray was out of the fight the illusion began to fade and the once prospers Seaboard City was turned into a barren and ruined landscape.
The league stood up and looked over at the Justice Guild; they gave them a smile before they too disappeared.
"They're gone," Green Lantern said regretfully.
"They were never here to begin with," Alucard said.
Green Lantern turned to look at him and he saw that the vampires wounds were gone, he watched as Alucard pulled his sword out of his chest and the wound close up almost instantly. The rest of the League walked over to rays body.
"Is he going to be okay?" Flash asked.
"No…he's dead," Alucard claimed.
"How can you tell?" Flash asked.
Alucard just started at him in response.
"Right, Vampire. Sorry," Flash said.
"What killed him?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Maintaining the illusion and fighting the Justice Guild was too much for him," J'onn answered "the mental strain likely caused an anurisrim resulting in his death,"
"But how'd he get…so deformed?" Flash asked.
"Most likely the radiation from the war, it mutated him and gave him the power to recreate this world as he saw fit," J'onn answered.
The league stood there in silence and mourned the loss of the Justice Guild,
"So…this is what the world really looks like," Flash said "I can defiantly smell the fall out now,"
"Look," Green Lantern said and pointed to a nearby hill.
On the hill were six graves. They looked far worse off than they did in Rays world but the graves were clearly identifiable.
"Are those the Justice Guilds Graves?" Hawk Girl asked.
"I told you that they were real," Alucard stated.
"I don't get it though, if he could bend this world to his will then why didn't he hide the graves?" Green Lantern asked.
"Perhaps he wanted the real Justice Guild to be remembered," Alucard suggested "Perhaps he thought that if he did get rid of them than this world would forget the their heroes completely,"
"But why would he inset himself into their lives like that?" Hawk Girl asked.
"This world is dead, it must have been easier for him to recreate the world he knew and felt safe in than face a world with no hope," Alucard said.
"I can't say that I blame him, this place is a nightmare," Green Lantern agreed.
"Humans have a tendency to flee to safety when the world destruction is staring you in the face. But what happens if there is nowhere to run too?"
"You create your own safe place, a place that no one can hurt you, a place where you can escape and never have to face the truth," J'onn said "You create an illusion,"
Alucard nodded.
"But running solves nothing, sooner or later someone will come and shatter that illusion," Alucard claimed "then you must face the reality of the situation,"
"So, what dose this mean for us? How are we going to get home?" Flash asked.
Before anyone could answer the league heard a familiar sound, they turned to the source and saw the Ice-cream truck driving towards them. It looked broken and old and the engine was smoking and struggling to keep the truck alive.
"You were right about the engine," Green Lantern said to Alucard.
The truck stopped nearby and the
"Wait…there all real?" Hawk Girl asked in surprise.
"Yes…thank you for freeing us," the Ice-cream man said.
"We're sorry we had to destroy your world,"
"No, we did that ourselves," the man responded.
"Still…all that's left is this nightmare," Green Lantern said and looked over the ruined city.
"Being stuck in an ice-cream truck for 40yrs, that's a nightmare. Compared to that, rebuilding our world will be easy," The Ice cream man said.
There was a murmur and agreement through the crowed and the remaining survivors left to start to begin there long task. The League watched them go.
Once they were gone the League focused on the problem of returning to their own dimension, Green Lantern had an idea and they made there way down to the basement of the Justice guilds mansion. It like the rest of the world was buried and a lot of equipment was destroyed.
"What are we doing here?" Flash asked.
"Remember when Tom Turbine said he was working on a transdimensional gate way? It's possible….Yes here it is," Green Lantern said as he found the red Gateway.
It was covered in rust and a very thick layer of dust and dirt.
"I thought it didn't work," Hawk Girl said.
"Tom Turbine never found a way to power it…but maybe my ring can," Green Lantern said.
He aimed his ring ant the top and shot out a beam of energy, the gate way started to power up and the an energy felid formed in the ring.
"Go, I don't know how long this will hold, "Green Lantern waned.
The flash was the first to go through, followed by J'onn, Alucard and Hawk Girl. Once they were through Green Lantern also came through.
The Leage found themselves in a busy park, they looked around and people gave them curious glances as they passed them by.
"So…are we back?" Hawk Girl asked.
Alucard sniffed the air.
"The air smells normal," he stated.
"Green Lantern to watch tower," Green Lantern said into his com.
"Jhon….is that you?" Superman's voice responded.
"Yeah it's me," Green Lantern said relived.
"Your alri…hey!"
"Green Lantern where are you what happened?" Batman's voice came through "Are the others with you?"
"We're all here, we're in San Francisco park. Green Lantern responded.
"Stay there, Superman and I will come and get you," Batman ordered and the line went dead.
Green Lantern looked at the others.
"We're back, Superman and Batman are coming to pick us up," Green Lantern said.
"Is Bats mad?" Flash asked.
"He sounded more worried than mad," Green Lantern responded.
"I don't know which is scarier," Flash joked.
Alucard listened into the conversation for a bit before turning and walking away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Hawk Girl asked.
"Back to my Castle," Alucard answered "You may call on me if you need me,"
Black fire surrounded the vampire and he disappeared, once he was gone Green Lantern spotted an Ice-cream vendor. He stared at and thought about the other world he had just visited.
'Maybe it's time I payed a visit to my uncle,' Green Lantern thought.