A.N I own Nothing
Special thanks to icicle. for beta reading and assisting in editing this chapter
Please Review
A dark portal opened at the foyer of Castlevania, Death and Hawkgirl stepped out. Hawkgirl was carrying an unconscious Martian Manhunter over her shoulder. The castle was dark and the lights were out, indicating that Alucard had not yet returned. Once the portal closed some of the lights flickered on by themselves, not enough to illuminate the whole foyer but enough to bathe the room in dim light.
The spirit of Dracula was standing there with the Librarian.
"Welcome back Lady Shayera, Sir Death, it is good to see you in these walls once more. I have missed you these last five and a half centuries," the Liberian greeted.
"It is good to see you too Master Librarian and I cannot deny how it pleases me to be invited back to Castlevania," Death responded, he then turned his attention to the spirit of Dracula.
"Death? Is that you old friend?" Dracula asked hopefully.
Death tilted his head slightly and stared at the spirit for a moment. Studying the otherworldly Dracula before looking around the castle. As if to look for something unseen in the dark.
"Ah, I see. My, my, Lord Adrian certainly has been busy lately," Death responded. Dracula opened his mouth to say something else however Hawkgirl cut him off.
"Excuse me, but we have bigger problems," she interrupted "Is Alucard back yet?"
"My Lord has not yet returned," The Liberian confirmed "I trust your mission for My Lord was a success?"
"Hardly, Superman and Wonder Woman refused to listen and we only got J'onn because he was knocked out when we arrived and couldn't put up a fight," Hawkgirl claimed "All in all, it was a bust,"
"Ah, such a shame…still why send a mortal to do an immortal's job? I am sure my Lord will have more success," The Librarian responded.
"Buddy, you are treading on very, very, thin ice right now," Hawkgirl warned.
"You are mistaken, I am standing on the castle's floor…not ice,"
Hawkgirl dropped J'onn on the floor and took a step forward with her mace crackling with energy. However, Death stepped in before any damage could be done.
"Lady Hol, perhaps it would be wise to put Sir J'onn in one of the guest rooms until Lord Adrian returns," Death offered. Knowing that if this continued a fight would break out between the two and Death did not want to see how the Nth Metal would affect the Master Librarian…actually, he was very curious but he would also have to explain the situation to Alucard and that did not appeal to the reaper at all.
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Hawkgirl agreed.
"You heard the Lady, get to it Librarian," Death ordered.
"You hold no power over me reaper, do it yourself," the Librarian scoffed in response.
"Need I remind you that I was Right-hand man to Lord Dracula and held authority over all his servants. Including you,"
"Indeed, you did, but no longer. You held station under the former Lord, the current one appears to value me over you at present,"
"You do realise that I can erase your existence with but a single swipe,"
"I am a manifestation of Castlevania, you would have to erase the whole of the Realm of Chaos to reap me and even if you did you would gain nothing as I have no Soul for you to claim,"
"Ah so is that why you had red hair when you were first created,"
"At least I have hair,"
Hawkgirl watched the two argue and snap comments back at each other. She was having the weirdest day, not only had her friends been arrested for something that they didn't do but she'd met the Grim Reaper and said reaper was now in an argument with someone who doesn't exist.
"Um…is someone going to take J'onn to a room to lie down?" she asked. But was ignored. She let out a sigh.
"I would do it but I can't touch anything," Dracula claimed with a light shrug.
"Don't suppose you could show me where there is a spare bed?" Hawkgirl asked.
"I could…but it might not be a good idea. Adrian could have changed the layout of the castle and if he has, I would be unfamiliar with where he put the Guest Rooms," Dracula explained "However I will get these two to stop,"
Dracula stepped forward getting both the Librarians' and Deaths' attention.
"Forgive my intrusion into this riveting conversation. But I do not believe it would please my son to know that one of his close friends was left unattended while he was away," Dracula pointed out.
Death and the Librarian glared at each other before the Liberian walked over to J'onns limp form and picked the Martian up. The two disappeared in a wisp of dark energy. Once they were gone Death looked at Dracula.
"Good, now old friend, you will attend to my son's other guest," the ghost said. He then looked at Hawkgirl "While we wait for Adrian, I would very much like to know more about his activities,"
"I would not mind hearing stories of the young prince either…also I am curious as to how you became a spirit old friend," Death added "considering Castlevainas reincarnation cycle,"
"Sure but, what's a reincarnation cycle?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Has Lord Adrian not informed you?" Death asked.
"Alucard doesn't talk much about this place, other than how dangerous it can be if we're here alone without him,"
"I see, then it is safe to assume my son has not told you about the other features that lie within Castlevania," Dracula added.
"You mean there is more than just having a castle that can move and magically transport him to anywhere on earth?"
"My dear those abilities are the bare minimum of the power my son commands. However, this discussion is best had in a more comfortable setting. Shall we move this discussion to another room?" Dracula asked.
"Yes, let's," Death agreed.
Hawkgirl followed Death and the spirit of Dracula through to the sitting room. Once there the two started to catch up. She listened from the side sipping some red wine as the spirit of Dracula explained how he was from the Justice Lord world, how his version of Alucard was the one who went mad with grief and Dracula was forced to kill his only child with the last remaining member of the Belmont family and after killing his son Dracula had Trevor kill and trap his soul and subsequently his power to destroy Castlevania and prevent it from ever being a threat to humanity again.
Hawkgirl was intrigued, she knew she was out cold for the whole Justice Lords' adventure, but she knew, in the end, the League with the help of Luthor had been able to defeat them. Alternate Dracula and the Alucard she knew, their story was nearly identical, as was the outcome.
Both lost the same woman and one of them went mad and attempted genocide on the human race. Hawkgirl had seen the wound Dracula had left on Alucard and the pain of the actions that Alucard took five hundred years ago had caused him on a personal level. She wondered who had it worse, Alucard who killed his father or this version of Dracula who killed his son.
But one thing didn't make sense.
"So how are you here?" Hawkgirl asked, speaking up. Death and Dracula looked at her "I mean you died over five hundred years ago in your world, right? So how are you…you know here and in our world?"
"He is trapped in a Soul Stone," Death answered like it was obvious.
"And that is…?" Hawkgirl asked.
"A stone that can trap a soul to be used later. The trapped soul can impart the power within onto others…it is how my old friend Trevor became immortal," Dracula answered.
"Wait really?"
"Indeed Lady Hol," Death agreed "Soul stones can be a source of great power if used in the correct way,"
"I believe some of the Castle's lights are soul stones with trapped souls," Dracula claimed "not all mind you, just one or two chandeliers and I think the sconces in the throne room have a few as well,"
"Wait, Alucard is using trapped souls as a light source?"
"I am not sure, that is how it was in my castle…Death?"
"I can confirm that Lord Adrian's father did decorate his throne, lab and some other parts of the castle with filled Soul Stones," Death confirmed "if Lord Adrian is aware of this and has done anything about it, I cannot confirm,"
"Is there any way to get a soul out of a soul stone?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Unfortunately, Lady Hol, once a Soul is trapped…they are beyond even my reach," Death claimed "though a talented forge master may be able to pull it out and either use it or release it,"
"What's a forge master?" Hawkgirl asked. She'd not heard that term before or heard Alucard mention it.
"A name for a powerful class of Magicians, Forge Masters can use magic to create anything out of the basic materials. Weapons, armour, golems, buildings, you name it they can create it," Dracula answered.
"Are you serious?" Hawkgirl gasped.
"Indeed Lady Hol," Death agreed "to have even a single Forge Master is to have unlimited resources on your side. Particularly if you have an army,"
"How do you mean?"
"A Forge Master will be able to make enough weapons of war for an army in under a day…or depending on the size of the army, they could make it themselves in just a few days," Dracula explained "additionally because of how their magic works, it would be easy to replenish lost soldiers provided the Forgemaster had access to materials,"
"Sounds impressive but what about ships and transportation? No point in having an army or enough weapons to arm one without transportation," Hawkgirl pointed out.
"Lady Hol, a Forgemaster can create anything. Including vessels that can cross the stars," Death said in a serious tone "it would take mere hours to accomplish,"
"You're joking…that has to be a joke," Hawkgirl responded in shock.
"Additionally, any soldiers created would not need to eat, sleep or rest…ever," Dracula added "to gain the loyalty of a Forgemaster is to gain the power of both Creation and Destruction itself,"
Hawkgirl couldn't believe what she was hearing, if she could find such a person then…she could end the war on Thanagar. All those years of struggle on Thanagar…the losses, the death….it could all be avoided. If she could find a Forgemaster then Thanagar would have no trouble wiping out their enemies.
"How…is it possible to become a Forgemaster? Is the skill and power needed something that can be taught?" Hawkgirl asked hopefully.
"Sadly, the gift of the Forge is one of the rarest forms of magic," Dracula sighed "and exclusive only to humans,"
"And then they must undergo years of training to reach that level," Death added "besides there have been no new Forge Masters in centuries…the last ones I knew died not long after Lord Adrian defeated the former Lord Dracula in our world,"
"Oh. How did they die?" Hawkgirl asked.
"The first died nearly a year after Lord Adrian took Castlevania to where it now rests. He was in captivity of another Vampire Lord…a prisoner of war if you will and his captors were not kind to him. As for the second…he should have died ten years later but he just disappeared one day," Death explained "To a point where even I could not find him,"
"So, could that last one still be around?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Doubtful, Forge Masters are humans and they live such short lives," Dracula claimed "though if anyone could escape your grasp old friend it would be them,"
Hawkgirl nodded. She supposed that plan was out. Suddenly the door opened and Alucard walked in, he joined them by the fireplace, falling into the seat next to Hawkgirl and letting out an exhausted sigh.
"How did it go?" Hawkgirl asked.
"I was unsuccessful," Alucard admitted
"Ha, take that Librarian! Immortals can do better my ass," Hawkgirl crowed.
"Excuse me?" Alucard asked in confusion.
"Nothing you need to worry about," Hawkgirl assured, "What happened with Batman?"
"Batman refused to listen and I did not get a chance to speak to Flash as he kept evading me…did you fare better?"
"No. Wonder woman and Superman still refuse to budge," Hawk Girl huffed "I did get J'onn though,"
"I noticed he was in a guest room when I arrived…why is he sleeping?"
"I don't think it's by choice," Hawkgirl answered. She wanted to ask how Alucard knew that J'onn was in the guest room and why none of the League told her about Dracula wandering around the castle but now that he had returned, they needed to focus on the Leagues predicament "I think he's heavily sedated. He was in a lab being experimented on after all," she responded.
"Then we are no closer to solving the mystery…and we have wasted precious time," Alucard sighed.
"Maybe we should go back to Safe Haven," Hawkgirl suggested "or talk to the DEO,"
"DEO?" Alucard asked.
"It stands for Department of Extranormal Operations. They're like a defence agency that deals with threats from space or metas," Hawkgirl explained.
"I thought the Justice League dealt with those types of threats,"
"We do, but we're fairly new, they've been handling things like that for years. They let us handle the bigger threats now, the Imperium invasion was a wake-up call. The League now handles major threats and the DEO focus on issues regarding Metahumans,"
Alucard nodded in understanding.
"Would Safe Haven be something this DEO would get involved with?" Alucard asked.
"I would say so and the General I spoke to confirmed that they were there," Hawkgirl stated "Might be worth a visit,"
"We have no other leads at this time," Alucard supposed "Where is this DEO located?"
"National City, it's in Southern California," Hawkgirl answered.
"Alright, let us go talk to them," Alucard said standing up.
DEO headquarters
"I'm telling you we have to do something, we're missing 5 good pilots and I don't want to tell their families that they died and we don't have the bodies to bury," Lucy claimed.
A tall Caucasian woman with dark hair in a bun was in a large conference room sitting next to Amanda Waller who was in front of a phone. They were both on edge and sounded as frustrated as they looked.
"And what do you propose we do, Miss Lane?" Amanda Waller shot back in irritation "We have no clue on what happened there!"
"We need to talk to Superman," Lucy urged "Let me try,"
"Good luck," General Lane snorted from the phone "He and Wonder Woman just keep confessing. Hawkgirl visited them twice in the last hour already. The first time she refused to believe that Superman was capable of doing something like this, and then not thirty minutes later she came back trying to convince him no one had died,"
"Either way we're still missing our pilots. Amanda, are you sure our helicopters are in the wreckage?" Lucy asked.
"Positive, they've been ID'd," Amanda Waller claimed "What worries me that no corpses have been found yet,"
"We need our people on site," Lucy declared "Dad, any chance you can give us permission to have a team of scientists go over the wreckage?"
"I'd love to, but the army scientists have deemed the place unsafe,"
"Any reason why?" Amanda asked.
"My boys on the ground discovered there is some kind of pathogen in the area, nothing lethal but since it can't be identified they're waiting till it disperses," General Lane claimed "You're welcome to send a team down there but no one's getting to the site until the pathogen clears,"
"How long will that be?" Amanda asked.
"A week, but my boys assure me in two or three more days it will be safe enough to start primary investigations,"
"What about contacting my sister? If anyone can get the truth out of Superman it's her," Lucy suggested.
"Already tried that," General Lane said "After Superman's initial confession she was the first person I called to try and make sense of it. Offered to let Superman speak to her on the phone but he refused,"
Lucy let out a frustrated sigh.
"Any news on the rest of the League yet?" Amanda asked.
"Haven't seen any of them other than Hawkgirl, who was not keen to stay," General Lane reported.
"We've called for the Watchtower to be shut down, the League to come in for questioning, and the authorities know to contact us or the General when they do," Lucy claimed.
"Good luck, Hawkgirl broke the Martian out of the labs thirty odd minutes ago," General claimed, "The scientists said she came out of some kind of portal, picked The Manhunter up and then left the same way,"
"And no one stopped her?!" Amanda shouted.
"She's still a member of the Justice League, Amanda," Lucy pointed out "A hero in the peoples' eyes. Not surprising that the guards would be hesitant to fight her,"
"And that is the problem," Amanda scowled.
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Dad, you mentioned a portal. the League has never used such technology to get around before," Lucy claimed.
"It's concerning that they have it, I will admit," General Lane agreed "If she comes by again, I'll see if I can get anything out of Superman about it, but I doubt I will. Besides it's not like she's just going to show up out of the blue,"
Suddenly a pillar of Black flames filled the room and everyone immediately stood up. Lucy and Waller went for their weapons and pointed their handheld pistols at the pillar, as Alucard and Hawkgirl emerged.
"Whoa, whoa, we're the good guys!" Hawkgirl said with her hands raised. As soon as they appeared Death floated away from them and out of the room. Alucard watched him, curious as to where he was going.
"What the…Hawkgirl what the hell was that?!" Lucy demanded, "And what the hell are you doing here?!"
"Lucy…what happened?!" General lanes worried tone came through.
"Hawkgirl just showed up with…um, someone else…I'll call you back," Lucy said. She moved over to cut the call but didn't take her weapon off Hawkgirl.
"We came to talk to you about Safe Haven," Hawkgirl claimed "We know that no one died and wanted some help figuring out what happened to everyone,"
"What do you mean no one died?" Amanda asked with concern.
"I mean all those kids, Green Lantern, and everyone who was there is still alive," Hawkgirl claimed.
"Can you prove this?" Lucy asked.
"Well…no. That is what we need help with," Hawkgirl explained "Right Alucard?"
Alucard's head snapped back forward to pay attention. He'd been watching Death float away through a glass wall and over to a couple of vending machines that held snack items at the end of the hall. The reaper then paused to contemplate his options.
"Hmm…oh yes…that is correct," Alucard responded.
Lucy glanced at Waller and the other woman nodded. She and Amanda lowered their weapons.
"Lucy Lane, Deputy Director of the DEO," Lucy introduced "Tell me where exactly did you find this information?"
"That is…hard to explain," Alucard answered "and we do not have time to do so,"
"I'm sorry and you are?" Lucy demanded.
"This is Alucard, he's helping me find out what happened," Hawkgirl said.
"I know you," Waller said with narrowed eyes "You're the one who was fighting Brainiac in Metropolis,"
"That is correct…and you're the human who leads other humans to kill themselves," Alucard stated with a smile.
Waller narrowed her eyes.
"If you need help go see Batman, isn't he supposed to be the world's greatest detective?" Amanda scoffed "Get him to help you,"
"Batman believes himself to be responsible," Alucard added "none of the other League members is willing to listen to us either,"
"That's right and if we don't find those missing kids soon, they will die," Hawkgirl added "they only have just under two hours left.
"We'd love to help but we don't know what happened either," Lucy said "We're missing 5 of our best pilots,"
"Do you at least have some blueprints or building plans for Safe Haven?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Safe Haven was a Children's home. Those kinds of details are guarded by state law and looking at them without permission is a felony," Waller claimed.
"Surely there must be an exception," Alucard urged "Lives are at stake!"
"Well…it is an ongoing investigation into a Meta incident which means the DEO should be able to look at those blueprints," Lucy admitted.
"We need permission first and proof that it is necessary to the investigation," Waller claimed "You know that. We haven't received that permission yet and even if we had we can't show them to anyone who doesn't have the proper clearance,"
"But the League is taking the blame for a slaughter that hasn't occurred yet," Alucard urged "There is still time to find and save everyone,"
"He's right, we can't wait for permission when we can prevent those deaths from happening," Hawkgirl agreed.
"Well, that is just how the system works. Besides, unless you can give us actual physical proof of your claims then we have to run under the assumption that our missing people are dead," Waller retorted.
Alucard narrowed his eyes "You are stalling…buying time," he said in a low tone "Why?"
"I don't answer to you," Waller shot back in a threatening tone.
"This is getting us nowhere," Hawkgirl said annoyed "Either you help us or we will make you,"
Waller turned her attention to Hawkgirl "Is that a threat Hawkgirl?" Waller asked "Need I remind you, both of you are already wanted for suspicion and collusion in the Safe Haven. If it turns out you're correct I would hate for you not to be released because you did something drastic and unnecessary,"
"I wasn't even there," Hawkgirl defended "neither was Alucard,"
"Then tell me and Lucy here where you were, prove you are not involved," Waller challenged.
Neither Alucard nor Hawkgirl responded. If they did Hawkgirl's identity, her job, her home and those who helped her would come under suspicion themselves, and if Alucard told the truth, it would expose the lie the League had talked about his origins. After a moment of silence, Waller smirked.
"That's what I thought," Waller said triumphantly "Now you can either turn yourselves over to our custody or you can be escorted out of this building,"
Lucy glanced between Waller, Hawkgirl and Alucard. She could see why they were in a rush, if those pilots and children were still alive then they should do everything they can to save them and get them home to their families. But Waller also had a point to do so without permission would be breaking the law and if she did so there would be disastrous ramifications.
"Wait," Lucy spoke up "I think I have a way to help without breaking the law…let me make a call," Lucy said. She then walked out of the room, pulled out her phone and stood outside the conference room speaking on it.
She was only out of the room for a few minutes. The first call took less than a minute and once it was over, she waited and a few minutes later, her phone rang again. She spoke quickly before hanging up and walking back into the room fiddling with her phone.
"Okay, I got permission to look at the blueprints," Lucy smiled. She looked at Hawkgirl and Alucard "If you follow me to my office, I can load them up for you on my computer,"
Waller's triumphant smirk fell. "What?"
"Yep, here is the court order signed by a judge," Lucy said and held up her phone. On the screen was a document attached to her email that was signed, dated and timed to about two minutes ago. "Now there are no laws broken…shall we?"
Lucy turned and headed down the hall.
"Lane, what are you doing?" Waller demanded.
"My job," Lucy responded and then walked out. Alucard and Hawkgirl followed her. Leaving Waller alone to fume.
Lucy led them over to her office and sat down at the desk. Amanda begrudgingly followed and watched from nearby, her eyes narrowing. Lucy's desk had two screens set up with some personalisation's on the desk, there were more than a few awards and medals on display in the office along with a picture of her and her family. She then sat down and started to log in.
"Okay and…I got them," Lucy said after he had finished logging in and pulled up the blueprints "Now, what exactly are you looking for?"
"Anything, an underground safe room or escape route," Hawkgirl answered "Anything that could have been used to escape,"
Lucy filtered through the files and the blueprints but nothing stood out.
"I can't see anything out of the ordinary. There is the normal fire escapes, a pipe room underneath the compound," Lucy said "looks like there is an auxiliary access outside the compound, likely so repairs can be done,"
"Could that have been used as an escape route?" Alucard asked.
"For a few people, yeah…but 500 at once. No, not a chance," Lucy answered. She then filtered through the files some more and pulled up the other exterior. "Oh, found the outside gas tank those missiles would have hit but…wait…that can't be right…"
"What is it?" Hawkgirl asked curiously "Find something?"
"Maybe. Did Superman happen to mention what room the kids were in when the missile hit?" Lucy asked.
"They were hiding in a classroom, why?" Hawkgirl answered.
"But…that doesn't make sense," Lucy looked over her shoulder "Amanda come look at this,"
"What is it?" Amanda asked as she walked over and stood next to her.
"Look at this, these blueprints show where the gas tank that was destroyed in the fight would have been," Lucy pointed at the screen.
"So?" Waller said.
"So…The tank is too far away from the main compound," Lucy claimed. "It would be a safety hazard if they were any closer and we know that Safe Haven was up to code, minus a few air conditioning problems,"
"What are you trying to say?" Alucard asked.
"This means the explosions from the tanks shouldn't have taken the whole place out," Lucy claimed.
"Superman and Wonder Woman said that some missiles hit it, that would increase the blast range," Hawkgirl pointed out.
"Right, but even if we factor that in, anything past this point here," Lucy explained and pointed to the area where the entrance to the dorm section was and it was still a fair bit away from where the kids had been hiding "Should be still standing. The building with the dorms and classroom would have received some damage, true, but not enough to destroy it. If the kids were taking shelter in the classroom area, then the worst that would have happened would be a scorched wall and some broken windows,"
"Are you sure?" Amanda asked.
"Yes, positive. The tank was too far away from where those kids would have been," Lucy assured.
"But I do not understand…Hawkgirl and I have been to Safe Haven, we have seen the destruction and there is nothing but rubble left," Alucard pointed out "No building survived,"
"Then something else must have happened," Hawkgirl said "A well-timed secondary explosion to make it look like the first one took out the compound,"
"And it still doesn't explain where everyone who was there went," Lucy agreed.
Hawkgirl was about to respond but suddenly her com beeped in her ear. "Comm's going off," Hawkgirl said. She stepped away from Lucys' desk and touched her earpiece "Hawkgirl,"
"Shayera…it's me," Flash's voice came through, he sounded exhausted and worried.
"Flash! Flash, where are you?" Hawkgirl demanded.
"Shy…can we meet…somethings wrong I…I don't think anyone died at Safe Haven. My heads messed up and I think I'm remembering things wrong," Flash explained.
"Where are you?"
"Safe Haven,"
"Alright, we'll be there in a minute, don't run off," Hawkgirl ordered and ended the call.
She then turned to look at Alucard. "It's Flash, he's at Safe Haven, he thinks there's something wrong with him as he's remembering events differently,"
Alucard nodded.
"Where exactly was that entrance to the pipe room?" Alucard asked Lucy. She pointed it out and Alucard nodded in response. He walked over to Hawkgirl "We're leaving," he announced.
Unseen by the others, Death suddenly appeared and floated over and joined Hawk Girl and Alucard. Alucard uttered the return spell and the three disappeared in a pillar of black flames. Once they were gone Lucy turned her attention back to her computer and continued to look through the blueprints. She would need to write up a report on what she found and attach the court order to the report. Amanda headed towards the office door but stopped just before leaving.
"Lane. How did you get permission so fast?" Waller demanded.
"I called my sister," Lucy grinned "There are more than a few judges who owe her a favour,"
"I can still have you fired and arrested for giving out classified information on an ongoing operation to your sister who is a civilian and doesn't have clearance," Waller claimed.
"It's not classified if it's all over the news," Lucy pointed out "Besides, Dad even said he had told Lois about what was going on and if a three-star decorated General gives information to a reporter, then she either already has a clearance or the General didn't deem the information classified, to begin with,"
"Well played Lane," Waller huffed and walked out.
Safe Haven
The black flames pillar appeared at the remains of Safe Haven; as soon as it was gone, Alucard and Hawkgirl looked around for Flash and saw him sitting on a nearby steel beam clutching his head. Alucard and Hawkgirl carefully approached.
"Flash," Hawkgirl started.
Flash looked up at them, and gave the two a weak smile "Hey guys," he greeted "I really hope you're real and not a figment of my imagination," Flash then spotted the Death hovering behind them and frowned "Oh…so I am imagining things,"
"Flash, are you hurt?" Alucard asked.
"It's my head, I can't think straight. I keep replaying what happened over and over but…something just doesn't make sense,"
"What doesn't?"
"I don't know…I remember J'onn going to distract some tanks but…I don't recall ever seeing any,"
"What?" Hawkgirl asked.
"I also remember Mr Shepard trying to get the kids out…and fighting the blockades…I don't know which is real," Flash said "it's like I've got two different versions of events in my head,"
"That is…troubling," Alucard commented.
"And annoying," Flash agreed he looked up to see Death was still floating behind Alucard. "And now I'm seeing things too,"
"What kind of things?" Hawkgirl asked.
Flash looked away, "You'll think I'm going crazy," he said.
"We would not,"
"I think…I think I'm going to die," Flash said.
"How so?" Alucard asked. He was worried, if Flash was ill, he would smell it on him, but Alucard didn't detect any change to the speedster's health from his scent.
"I can see the Grim Reaper. People claim that you see him right before you die…I'm seeing it now," Flash admitted "That means I'm going to die soon,"
"Ah…worry not Flash, Death is here at my call," Alucard assured "You are in no danger of dying," He then looked over his shoulder at Death "Right?"
Death snapped his bony figures and an hourglass appeared, with sand running through it. The top half had more sand in it than the bottom half. Death studied it for a moment and then snapped it away.
"Correct, Lord Adrian," Death responded.
"Oh, great, now he's talking," Flash said "So where are the others?"
Alucard and Hawkgirl filled Flash in on what they had been doing, the state of the Justice League, what the government wanted from them and how they had been gathering clues and following leads to discover what really happened.
"And after looking at some blueprints you called," Hawkgirl finished.
"Wow, you guys have been busy," Flash stated, "So does this mean we're going back to Castlevania?"
"We need to search for evidence of the gas tanks and of what you and the rest of the League claimed happened here," Hawkgirl stated "Since the DEO could not confirm if there was any heavy artillery on the scene and we think we found a way that everyone escaped,"
"You did?" Flash asked hopefully.
"There is a maintenance exit that leads to a pipe room. Some people might have gotten away through that," Hawkgirl explained.
"Doubt it, those tanks were very thorough in blasting the area," Flash said, his voice becoming sad again.
"That should be simple enough to prove…we would merely need to fly over the outer perimeter," Alucard pointed out "It would be easy to see if there were tanks here as there would be tracks…one of us could do that while the other looks for entrance to the pipe room,"
"Right," Hawkgirl agreed "Flash, do you have the charm Alucard gave you?"
"I'm wearing it under my costume, why?"
"Once we are done here…We will return to my castle," Alucard added.
"I'll help," Flash said and stood up.
It was decided that Hawkgirl would fly above to try and find the access hatch. While Flash would look on the ground for any more clues with Alucard keeping an eye on him. Once Hawkgirl was gone Flash started wandering around and looking under debris. He lifted the ones he could and left the heavier chunks to Alucard. As they looked, Alucard and Flash made their way over to where the gas tanks should have been and once their Flash spied some heavy debris that was piled up and a large metal column on top of it all.
"Odd," he said and walked over to see that there was an intact gas tank underneath. Flash turned and looked towards Alucard. "Hey Al, I think there is something under here,"
Alucard walked over "Did you find something?" he asked.
"Yeah, there is an intact gas tank underneath, it might give us some clues," Flash answered "Can you clear it?"
Alucard stepped forwards and grabbed the large metal columns and lifted it off before clearing the rest of the debris away. Once the debris was clear, the tank burst open and a cloud of gas was released. The heavy remains from Safe Haven was keeping it contained and now it had been removed the gas sprayed out in both Flash and Alucard's faces.
Alucard and Flash coughed as they inhaled the gas. Alucard waved his hand to get the gas particles out of his face, while Flash zoomed out of it coughing and gasping for air. Alucard shook his head to shake any effects off, he doubted there would be lingering effects as his vampire side would take care of it. Flash however struggled to stand and Alucard went over to him to support him.
"Flash, sit down for a moment," Alucard advised. Flash nodded and contoured to cough before looking up at Alucard. He could see the vampire's face blurring and there were three of them and he couldn't quite make out what Alucard was saying as the words sounded blurry and far away.
Flash groaned and put a hand on his head. Alucard took it as a sign that he heard him. He then looked over at the tank and wandered over to check it. He examined it and found there was a pipe that headed into the ground. Alucard remembered the blueprints and recalled that a duct for the air filtering system was directly underneath this gas tank.
Alucard was confused, he was not sure why the gas tank was connected to the Air filtering system. He knew humans needed clean air to survive, that much had not changed in the centuries he had been asleep. This was especially true for children. So why was the tank connected to it?
"Flash this tank appears to be connected to…" Alucard started, however, before he could finish the sentence. Flash raced up and punched him hard in the side of his face. Alucard had not been expecting it and he was blown back across what remained of Safe Haven leaving a trail of dust behind.
"YOU BASTARD!" Flash shouted, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU STARTED THIS!"
"Flash what…" Alucard tried but was met with another attack. This time Flash raced up sending yellow lighting straight through Alucard's body. Alucard fell to the ground again as his body became momentarily paralysed.
Thanks to his vampire side, it didn't remain paralysed for long. He pushed himself up and looked up just in time to see Death suddenly appear behind Flash with his scythe raised and his pale blue flames inside the reaper's eye sockets had changed to red.
"No one harms Lord Adrian in my presence," Death declared.
"Death, stop…Don't hurt him," Alucard said as he got back to his feet.
Death lowered his scythe "As you wish,"
"Flash stop, I do not wish to harm you," Alucard said, stepping back with his hands out, trying to convey he was not a threat.
"That's fine because I want to hurt you," Flash said seriously.
With Hawkgirl
As Hawkgirl flew off, she noticed lights off in the distance and headed off to investigate, leaving Alucard to find the access panel alone. As she got closer the lights turned out to be from a military camp that had been set up not too far from where Safe Haven once stood.
Hawkgirl hovered in the air and after a moment of indecision, she headed down and landed in front of one of the tents. She was spotted immediately.
"Hey, what are…whoa, you're Hawkgirl," a female soldier gasped when she recognised the League member. "What are you doing out here?"
"I'm trying to figure out what happened here so my friends aren't locked away forever," Hawkgirl responded.
"You shouldn't be in there, it's not safe," the soldier warned.
"I think I can handle some debris," Hawkgirl assured.
"No, I mean our scientists detected some kind of foreign pathogen in the air around the Safe Haven,"
"What kind of pathogen?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Not sure, we've not seen anything like it. All we know is it's not strong enough anymore to be a real problem, but it's still not safe to go into the blast zone at the moment," the Solider explained.
Hawkgirl was about to respond when a crashing sound was heard. She whipped around to see a large amount of dust coming from the far side of Safe Haven and Flashes of red and yellow. She let out a sigh. "Flash," she muttered under her breath.
Hawkgirl took off into the sky to see what the scarlet speedster had done. As she flew over, she saw Flash running in circles around Alucard, dashing up to him, punching him several times at high speed and then backing away only to repeat the attack before Alucard could do anything to defend himself.
Hawkgirl hovered above him, looking for an opening or opportunity to help Alucard. She had no intention of getting in the way of Flash's punches, despite his easy and immature attitude, Flash was not an opponent to be taken lightly or to get between as his speed was incredibly dangerous.
"Flash stop!" Hawkgirl shouted. To her surprise Flash did indeed stop, he looked up at her and narrowed his eyes before looking over his shoulder.
"Not on my watch," Flash said and then zoomed off into the distance.
Hawkgirl took the opportunity to land and she helped Alucard up "What's going on?" she demanded.
"I do not know…Flash suddenly attacked me," Alucard responded.
"What? Why?"
"I am unsure…he found an intact gas tank that was buried. After I cleared it, he suddenly turned on me," Alucard claimed.
Suddenly Hawkgirl and Alucard heard the sound of heavy dry rock shattering. It sounded like thunder and echoed throughout the area. It was followed by the sound of gunfire for a brief moment only to be silenced seconds later.
Suddenly the speedster appeared in front of Alucard and Hawkgirl and he did not look happy "Call them off," Flash demanded.
Alucard looked at Hawkgirl for clarification on what Flash meant, however, Hawkgirl merely shrugged.
"I've taken out your tanks, the police and the reinforcements that were on their way," Flash said "Call off the airstrike,"
"Airstrike?!" Hawkgirl panicked and looked into the sky, but she didn't see or hear any sign there was an airstrike on the way. "Wait what airstrike?"
"That one," Flash said and pointed to an empty spot in the night sky. There was an oddly shaped cloud but nothing else. Hawkgirl and Alucard looked up, however, they didn't see anything, even with his enhanced vampire sight.
"Flash, the sky is empty…there is nothing there," Alucard tried. This, however, was the wrong thing to say as Flash became visibly angry, he grabbed Alucard by the collar, balled his fist, pulled it back and started to vibrate it at a high speed, preparing to punch Alucard.
"Do you know what will happen to you if I punch you while my fist is moving at a high velocity like this?" Flash asked in a deadly tone.
Alucard shook his head.
"If I punch you at high speed not only, will it hurt like hell but the vibrations from my fist will be felt through your whole body. And since it will be centred on your head or chest, your heart or brain will vibrate as well. Best case scenario? You come out of it braindead," Flash said in a tone that would make Batman proud "I won't ask again, Call. Them. Off,"
Alucard thought about his options, he could not call off the airstrike since there was none and even if there was, he wouldn't have the authority to do so. It was clear that Flash would not hesitate to go through with his threat, Alucard was unsure if he would be able to survive such an attack.
Before he could respond Hawkgirl spoke up. "Flash please, there is no airstrike," she tried.
"Liar!" Flash shouted back.
"Flash, listen to me, it's Hawkgirl and Alucard. We're your friends, don't you recognise us?" Hawkgirl continued and put her hand on his arm. The moment she did, Alucard used his own hands to grab both of them and used the return spell.
All three were engulfed in a pillar of black flames and a moment later they were in the transport room. The second they arrived dark tendrils shot out of the walls and ceiling, grabbing Flash and pulling him into the air away from Alucard. The darkness wrapped around him until he was completely bound. Flash tried to vibrate
"Stop…no stop I have to save them I HAVE TO SAVE THEM ALL!" Flash cried out as he was pulled up and away into the darkness. Hawkgirl watched in horror as he disappeared. She whipped around to Alucard.
"What the hell was that?" Hawkgirl asked.
"The castle reacting and taking care of a threat," Alucard responded and he adjusted his shirt where Flash had grabbed him.
"Flash isn't a threat,"
"At the moment he is…do not worry, no harm will come to him,"
Hawkgirl looked up at the ceiling where Flash had disappeared. "Where did those things take him,"
"Hmm…most likely the dungeon,"
"What?"
"Ironically that is the safest place for him," Alucard claimed "In fact, it could be argued that the dungeon is the safest place in the castle,"
"How is being locked in a dungeon safe?" Hawkgirl shot back.
Alucard stared at her for a moment. "Would you prefer that he be running around in the labyrinth that is my castle triggering all of its traps and defences and be unable to locate him ever again?" Alucard asked.
Hawkgirl let out a groan.
"Where's Death?" she asked.
"Right here Lady Hol," Death said, suddenly appearing from nowhere.
"Death, how much time do we have left?" Alucard asked.
"75 minutes Lord Adrian,"
"Damn it, we're no closer to figuring this out than we were an hour ago," Hawkgirl swore.
"Not true, we know there are people missing other than Green Lantern and the children," Alucard pointed out "I also discovered that the gas tank that Flash discovered was connected to the Air filtering system,"
"It was?" Hawkgirl asked "that can't be right,"
"Is that not normal in this time period?"
"No, it's incredibly dangerous," Hawkgirl claimed "Gas pipes are only connected to areas like the kitchen or furnaces. Not an air filtering system. If it was, then anyone in Safe Haven would be breathing it in,"
"Both Flash and I were exposed to some gas from the tank he found…almost immediately afterwards Flash attacked me," Alucard stated "do you think…that if the entire League breathed it in what Flash and I did…"
"Then they might have been defending from a threat that wasn't even there," Hawkgirl realised "We need to get a hold of this gas and figure it out,"
"This may also be the reason that we have yet to find any evidence of heavy artillery being at Safe Haven," Alucard added "Death, go back to Safe Haven and bring me a sample of that gas."
Death gave a bow of acknowledgement and vanished from sight.
"Come, let us head to my father's laboratory," Alucard said "We will be needing it,"
"You have a lab down here too?"
"Both my mother and father studied all manner of science, of course there is a laboratory," Alucard scoffed.
Alucard led Hawkgirl back towards the main foyer and opened the door that led into an enormous room. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were packed with books, there were at least ten long tables and benches set up, each had beakers and other scientific equipment on them. A large telescope sat at the back and pointed up to a domed window. This was impressive but it was nothing like the modern-day labs that the Watchtower had or the Hawkgirl was familiar with. The spirit of Dracula was also in the room, staring up at the telescope with a longing look.
The ghost turned when the two entered and Alucard narrowed his eyes.
"What are you doing in here?" he demanded.
"Remembering my wife and child," Dracula answered "I used to spend hours teaching both of them in here. My version of you loved to look through the telescope and held a keen interest in astronomy,"
Alucard's face softened. He was about to say something else when Death suddenly reappeared.
"Lord Adrian, I have what you asked for," Death said and held out a small glass container that held a potent green coloured gas in it. Alucard took it.
"Thank you," he acknowledged.
"I will leave you be," Dracula said, knowing that Alucard would want to use the lab. He walked past the group and headed to the door.
"Dracula," Alucard suddenly spoke up. Dracula stopped and looked at him "would you help me analyse this compound. I have not been in this room for over five hundred years and I may not be as overly familiar with some of the instruments as I should be,"
Dracula smiled. "I would be happy to help you, my son,"
The two got to work, while Hawkgirl walked around and looked at some of the older scientific instruments and pulled a book off the shelf to flip through it. Hawkgirl was surprised to find drawings and plans for blimps, lighting systems and other designs for inventions and devices that were used in the modern day. Though methods of powering them was different and involved various spells and magical apparatus. Every so often she would look over her shoulder at Alucard and Dracula but they were too engrossed in their work to notice what she was doing.
Death disappeared not long after Alucard and Dracula started working, he left the room telling Hawkgirl he would be back in when Alucard called for him. After about forty minutes of working, Dracula and Alucard finally made a breakthrough.
"Oh, I think we have something," Dracula announced. This caught Hawkgirl's attention and she put the book she was looking at down and walked over.
"You figured it out?" she asked hopefully
"Maybe…this gas appears to have hallucinatory effects," Alucard said "This must be the reason Flash suddenly turned on me…he no longer saw me as his friend but his enemy,"
"Indeed, and it is quite potent and fast acting," Dracula added.
"Can you make an antidote?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Given enough time yes," Dracula answered "but it will take more time than you have left,"
"Can't you make it sooner?"
"This formula is extremely complex and…my father and I do not fully understand it," Alucard said "also there are trace amounts of a particle I am unfamiliar with mixed in at a microscopic level,"
Suddenly the door to the lab opened and the Librarian came in, Hawkgirl, Alucard and Dracula turned to look at him.
"Forgive the intrusion My Lords and Lady Hol, but you have another guest," the Librarian informed.
"Another guest?" Alucard asked, confused. He reached out with his connection to Castlevania thinking that J'onn had woken up, but J'onn was still asleep in the guest room.
"They are waiting for you in the foyer," the Librarian informed.
Curious as to who was waiting for them, Dracula, Alucard and Hawkgirl headed to the front foyer. When they arrived, they saw Batman standing near the front door.
"Batman?" Alucard asked in surprise. Given how their last conversation went, Alucard was genuinely surprised to see Batman in the castle. The Dark Knight looked up at both Alucard and Hawkgirl "What are you doing here?" Alucard asked as he descended the grand staircase with Dracula behind him.
Hawkgirl flew down to meet him. "And how did you know we would be here?" Hawkgirl added.
"Alucard told me you two would be here," Batman answered "As for what I am doing here, someone is trying to frame the Justice League for a crime we didn't commit,"
"So, you finally believe us?"
"Yes, after our talk…" Batman started.
"You mean the one where you refused to listen and threw me out of your house?" Alucard interrupted playfully. However, Batman ignored him.
"After our talk, I started to feel different, remembering things that didn't happen," Batman continued.
"Just like Flash," Hawkgirl commented.
"So, I did a quick blood test and I found elements of Scarecrow's fear gas in my system,"
Hawkgirl's eyes widened as she put the pieces together. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes,"
"Do scarecrows emit gas now?" Alucard asked curiously.
"I would not know, I've been trapped in a stone for the last five hundred years," Dracula stated "Though I suppose if doses of the right chemical were aerosolized and set ablaze, they could produce gas toxic to humans,"
Batman looked past Hawkgirl at Dracula and Alucard and frowned. "Oh good, there's two of them now," he said flatly with annoyance.
"Once we sort this out Flash is going to be working overtime to get both of them up to date on modern terms," Hawkgirl commented.
Batman nodded in agreement. He looked at Alucard and Dracula.
"Scarecrow is a villain from Gotham who uses hallucinatory gas that makes people see their worst fears. If you don't get the antidote in time, you scare yourself to death," Batman explained "I believe the League was set up and we all inhaled Scarecrow's gas at Safe Haven,"
"How?"
"The AC unit at Safe Haven needed some repairs, I commented that the air smelled funny. We were probably breathing in Scarecrow's gas during our whole visit," Batman said.
"That would explain why the gas tank we found was connected to the air filtering system," Alucard stated.
"But Alucard and I have been to Safe Haven. Why weren't we affected?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Most of it would've burnt up when Safe Haven exploded and any remaining gas would have been dispersed by the exposed air," Batman theorised "Given the fact that it didn't take effect right away, it was likely the formula used was diluted and altered in some way,"
"But if the whole Justice League was at Safe Haven and breathed in this gas at the same time…then why is it only you and Flash who are here?" Alucard asked, "Should not the rest of the League be aware their memories are false?"
"Not necessarily, I've dealt with Scarecrow multiple times so my body already has antibodies to the fear gas and Flash's supercharged immune system would have let him recover faster,"
"That makes sense," Dracula agreed.
"Not really, Flash seems to have had a relapse," Hawkgirl pointed out "He was seeing an air strike where there was none,"
"Scarecrow's gas doesn't give relapses, once it starts working its way out of your system the only way it can affect you again is if you had a second dose," Batman pointed out.
"But that means…the gas tank Flash and I found still held some gas in it…and he inhaled it again," Alucard concluded "As did I,"
"But it didn't affect you," Hawkgirl pointed out.
"I have lived through my worst fears," Alucard said "Twice…if you count Dr. Destiny,"
"It is possible your Vampiric side neutralized the toxins before it could take effect," Dracula pointed out "Though we would need to do a more through test to determine if you can even be affected by this Scarecrow's gas,"
"We don't have time for that," Alucard stressed.
"Agreed, Flash has already been exposed to a second dose and we're nearly out of time to save John," Hawkgirl swore, "Batman please tell me you can have an antidote for the League?"
"Yes, I have the antidote and I brought enough doses for the entire Justice League," Batman confirmed.
"Then we need to get it to them immediately. Death," Alucard called out.
Death suddenly appeared in the foyer. Batman stared at the Grim Reaper and raised an eyebrow, as it appeared in front of him. Batman was no stranger to Death, after all murders in Gotham happened a lot and a good majorty of the time he wound up solving it. He'd seen bodies mutilated, examined corpses for evidence and even witnessed murders happening before his very eyes. However, he had never once considered that there would an actual Grim Reaper out there.
Death glanced at the Dark Knight.
"Hello again," he said before turning away to face Alucard and Dracula. "You called Lord Adrian,"
"You know Batman?" Alucard asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not personally, our paths crossed 25yrs ago (1) and I see him on occasion whenever I visit Gotham. I assure you Lord Adrian that this is the first time he has seen me in person," Death explained.
"Ah, tell me…when did you first meet Batman?"
"When I reaped the souls of his parents," Death said without hesitation "Do you not remember my lord, you were there,"
Batmans eyes widened momentary at this and an expression of shock appeared on his face. Alucard had witnessed his parents murder…and done nothing? Batman quickly searched his memories of that fateful night, however he didn't rember seeing Alucard there. If he was there, could he have been hiding in the shadows. That was a possibility, his 8yr old self would not know how to find him if that was the case.
"Impossible," Alucard said breaking Batman's thoughts "I was asleep at the time,"
"Indeed, you were my lord," Death agreed cryptically with the flame is his eyes flicking with amusement.
Batman remembered his parents murder well and it was this one event that led to the creation of Batman itself. However, he didn't realise that Death himself remembered him. Batman shifted his foot ever so slightly and got on guard but otherwise did his best to keep up his stoic demeanour.
"I see…" Alucard's eyes flickered to Batman, trying to judge his reaction to this. He doubted batman would apricate Alucard having this knowledge, however it could not be helped. He'd not meant to pry into Batman's past or to bring up what would likely be painful memories, but Alucard had to be sure that Death had not been cheated out of Batmans' soul in the past as it was the only way to get the reaper angry and if death was angry at something it more often than not found itself wiped from existence.
Alucard had to wonder if he had not taken his fathers place as Lord of Castlevania would Death have come after himself, Trevor and Sypha in revenge for Dracula's demise…or just Trevor for defeating the reaper in battle. (2) Additionally, how could he have been a witness to an event that happened during his centuries long rest, it didn't make sense. Besides even if he didn't know Batman at the time, he would've stepped into protect the Dark Knights parents or at least given medical aid to increase their chance of survival.
But Alucard didn't have time to ponder the implications of deaths statement. He needed to focus on Safe Haven and its missing occupants.
"Bring all members of the Justice League who are not present to my castle alive…make sure they have their protective charms," Alucard instructed.
"It shall be done," Death said and vanished.
Batman blinked a few times unsure what he had seen once the reaper had gone.
"Was that…" Batman started and looked at Hawkgirl.
"Yep, Alucard summoned him to help us," Hawkgirl answered.
"How did…"
"With a very ornate bell,"
"A bell?"
"Mm-hm,"
"Where did Alucard get a bell to summon Death from?"
"Not a clue. I was planning to ask once we cleared the League's name," Hawkgirl finished.
Batman just heaved an exasperated sigh.
(1) Batman is about 33-35 in the DCAU, although his age is not specified, this can be assumed due to his adoption of Dick aka Robin/Nightwing. Also, we have confirmation that he was 8yrs old when his parents were murdered. Thus, it has been 25yrs since that event, assuming he is 33 years old.
(2) In the Castlevania games, Death is a very difficult opponent and is the last major boss before fighting Dracula. In Castlevania 3: Dracula's curse, which is what the Anime and some of the source material is based on, Trevor fights off Death and wins in order to get to Dracula. This fight was also hinted at in the very first chapter of the story.