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Part 3

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Ras was sitting at a large computer, his head rested against his hand and one leg was over the other. Ras was flipping through some security feeds as he watched the city of metropolis in a state of panic. The people of Star City began to riot; other cities weren't much better. Everyone he looked at there was widespread panic in the streets, Ras watched all this with a grin. Suddenly he heard some of his men crying out in pain and crashing into things.

Ras spun his chair around and looked towards the door with a raised eyebrow. The sounds got louder, Ras let out a sigh and stood up, he walked over to a nearby shelf and ran his finger over it. He then studied the dust that was on, it wasn't much and it was mainly a bit of dirt. He made a mental note to ensure the shelves were properly cleaned next time.

The outside door had seized and for a moment there was quiet. Suddenly two loud thumps hit the door to the room that Ras was in and the third time the doors below were down in an explosion. As the smoke cleared Batman walked in.

"Ah, Batman," Ras said turning to face the dark knight "So good of you to join me,"

"Where are they?" Batman demanded.

Ras ignored him and walked over to a nearby window and gazed out at the moon and stars. "Only 3 and half hours," he stated and then turned to face Batman "not your best but you do have extenuating circumstances,"

"Where. Are. They?" Batman repeated.

"Always business with you, very well. I assure you what you seek is quite safe. Come on," Ras said and he walked towards Batman. Batman tensed up but Ras walked past him and headed out the way he came.

Batman followed behind the Head of the Demon.

"Tell me how is Gotham these days?" Ras asked causally "still littered with crime and the dregs of humanity?"

Batman growled in response.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ras said. He then looked over at the bodies that littered their path. "My, my you did a number on my men. Did you leave any left standing?"

"They got in my way," Batman stated. His voice was very on edge.

"It seems that they require more…extensive training," Ras said "I will ensure that they pose more of a challenge for you next time,"

They continued to walk until Ras entered a large open chamber. Apart from some banners and candles, there was nothing overly impressive about it. At the far end of the chamber was a round pool resting on an elevated platform.

"I trust you know of the Lazarus pit," Ras said and he walked over to it.

"Yes," Batman gritted his teeth. Of course, he knew of the Lazarus pit, it had been Ras's greatest and most closely targeted treasure. The waters of life that granted importantly and cured all wounds. Batman knew that Ras bathed in it regularly and he never shared the water's powers or let anyone else in it.

"Then this will save us some time. Did you know Batman, that the Lazarus pit can only extend one's life for so long and it is having less and less effect on me," Ras claimed "in a few years bathing in its waters will do nothing. In a sense, I will become mortal once more,"

"Enough stalling Ras. Tell me where my parents are," Batman shouted "or I will get the information out of you by force,"

"No need for that. They're up there," Ras said and pointed directly above the pit. Batman's head snapped upwards and above the Lazarus pit were two black coffins being held up by a metal grate.

"You see the effect of the pit on me is fading but that does not mean the pit can't still be used. In my new world, I will require brilliant minds to help keep humanity on track. Despite our personal history. You Bruce and your parents made quite a number of achievements that pushed humanity through leaps and bounds. I need such minds,"

"You can't mean you took them too…" Batman started.

"Indeed, I Ras Al Gul have decided that Tomas and Martha Wyne shall live again and all I ask in return is that you Batman, join me," Ras said.

"You can't be serious,"

"I am, think about it. Gotham city cleansed, clean and safe. You can still live there, be its protector and all you will have to do is stay here for one week to tend to your parents while they recover from their resurrection. I promise you will have all you need to take care of them and none of my assassins will set foot in Gotham once the week is done. Gotham will truly be your city," Ras offered.

Batman narrowed his eyes and shifted his attention to Ras. He had to admit it was a tempting offer, he'd dreamed of having his parents back, even for one more night. While he would never admit it, he wanted his parents to meet the League, undoubtedly his father would be fascinated with J'onn, Superman and Hawkgirl. He'd get along well with Alucard too; his mother would like Diana very much. But sadly, that was all it was. A dream.

"Had you made this offer a few weeks ago I might have considered it," Batman said "but I've seen a Gotham like the one you described and it didn't work,"

"Batman if you refuse me, I won't protect you. You will never get a chance like this again. The Lazarus pit can restore them to life. Have you not wanted to be held by your mother one more time, to play one more game with your father. To have one more family dinner?" Batmans' shoulders sagged and his posture relaxed. He reached up and pulled the cowl off his head. Batman was gone and now only Bruce Wayne was reminded. Bruce walked over to Ras and gave him a very serious look.

"I want to accept your offer Ras, I do. But I can't," Bruce said.

"Why not? Because of some misguided loyalty to the Justice League, because of your crusade? Because you feat that Batman will cease to be if your parents come back?"

"The League, Batman's crusade has nothing to do with this. The simple fact is, I wouldn't be worthy of them if I joined you," Bruce said. He then pulled his cowl back on and Batman returned "now if you'll I have real work to do,"

"Very well, I will ensure by the time you return to Gotham they will be back in their resting places," Ras assured.

Batman nodded and turned to leave.

"However, I cannot promise the same for your friends," Ras said.

Batman stopped "What do you mean?"

"I mean every member of the Justice League is dead…or soon will be. You will have to collect the bodies yourself," Ras clarified.

"They're not so easy to kill,"

"Ture, do me a favour detective," Ras said and walked over to a nearby table and picked up a book. He threw it at Batman's feet. Batman looked down at it "read the title," Ras instructed.

Batman stared at the cover of the book, however, there was no legible title. Only garbled letters and strange symbols made no sense to him.

"Is this a joke?" Batman asked.

"It's gibberish, isn't it. Do you know why it's gibberish?"

Batman didn't respond.

"It is gibberish because it's all part of my plan. You see Phase one was to get rid of the justice league using your contingents. Phase two uses a sonic wave to scramble every human's brain so it no longer perceives any form of written language," Ras declared "Phase three, launched several missiles from different parts of the world containing a pathogen that will make all spoken language incompressible and finally. Let humanity tear itself apart,"

Batman took a step back "My plans?" he whispered in horror.

"Indeed. I admit I modified them a bit, yours were never meant to kill," Ras stated "and I, of course, needed you distracted long enough for those plans to be implemented so you would be unable to counter them. However, if you hurry you might get to them in time…but if you do you will never stop the missiles," Ras pointed out "Now Batman, what will you do?"

"Your plan will fail. The League will stop you; I will stop you," Batman said.

"Oh, Batman. It's already happened," Ras said "I sent the signal to scramble written language an hour ago and as for your friends in the Justice League…each one has been dealt with,"

Batman whirled around and dashed out of the room, heading back to the Batwing as fast as he could. Ras's, laughter and voice echoed behind him.

"Run while you can Batman, you won't be running for much longer," Ras called after him.

Batman ran through the League of Assassins base until he got to a window, he leapt over the balcony and spread his cape, using it to glide down to where he had landed the Batwing. Once he was in range, he pressed a console on his utility belt that opened the cockpit and Batman dropped into it and the cockpit closed. He immediately turned the plane on however as soon as he did, he couldn't read what the screen was saying as it was all garbled up.

"Damnit. Voice override 8976G alpha. Password Fairbanks," Batman ordered.

The screen showed three dots and then it suddenly came alight, indicating that the password had worked.

"Start pre-flight plan, coordinates. Batcave," Batman commanded. The batwing acted immediately and started loading up the flight path and data. After a few minutes, Batman was able to take off and once he was in the air, he commanded the autopilot to be engaged.

"Batwing, open communications with Superman," Batman ordered.

"Superman, it's Batman, you in terrible danger respond," Batman urged. However, he didn't get a response. Batman knew that could only mean one thing; the League of Assassins had already gotten to him. Batman then tried Green Lantern and J'onn. However, the result was the same. No response.

"Watchtower comes in, Alucard do you copy?" Batman tired but once more he couldn't get thorough. Giving up on Justice League, Batman tired the one person that would always answer. If they didn't it truly meant the world was ending.

"Batman, connect communication with the Bat computer. Batman to Batcave," Batman tired.

"Master Bruce are you alright," Alfred's voice came through. Batman mentally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the old butler's voice.

"I'm fine Alfred, but things are worse than I thought. The League is in danger and I can't get a hold of Superman or anyone else," Batman said.

"Master Bruce, Superman has been shot, he's bleeding out in front of the daily planet," Alfred claimed "it's all over the news,"

"Dammit," Batman hissed "I'll call you back," He then ordered the Batwing to connect to Flash's communicator "Flash, it's Batman. Superman's been shot with kryptonite. I need you to go to Star Labs and have them make a scalpel made from kryptonite. They should have some on hand,"

"Hey Bats, I'd love to…but I've got a bomb strapped to my wrist. I can't slow down and if I stop..." Flash answered.

"It'll explode," Batman finished for him.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired and I've nearly tripped a few times. I can't keep this up much longer…maybe if I vibrate fast enough it'll come off or I could at least fool the sensor,"

"It won't work," Batman insisted.

"Then what do I do?" Flash asked.

"Keep running for now. I'll call you back when I have something," Batman assured. Once he'd ended the call Batman slammed his fist angrily against the Batwing, it appeared what Ras had said was true. The Justice League had been taken out, and Batman wondered how Ras had gained access to the Batcave and his files, he suspected it might have happened when Shaft had left him frozen. Superman is shot and likely dying, Flash forced to run until he can't run any longer, and J'onn was likely burning somewhere or trapped in a place where flames blocked his exit. Batman wasn't sure how his plans for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were altered and he honestly didn't want to think about how they could have been.

Which left Alucard, Batman wondered how the League of Assassins would have taken him out. Batman didn't have a solid plan for him yet other than using high-frequency waves to immobilise him, but that wouldn't kill him outright. Besides, Alucard was on the watchtower not on earth, the only way he'd only be on earth was if he'd left to assist one of the other league members. Batman was certain that Ras wouldn't be able to predict which member Alucard went to. Superman was a highly likely choice, but if that were the case the man of steel would not be still bleeding out in Metropolis. Flash was another strong contender, but the scarlet speedster was still running, he'd said so himself. So, it begged the question; where was Alucard.

Without access to the watchtower, Batman had one other way of tracking the vampire down. He ordered the communications open to the bat computer.

"Alfred you there, I need you to do something,"

"Of course, Master Bruce," Alfred said.

"Access the tracking program on the bat computer and use the tracking code B. Stoker," Batman instructed "then tell me exactly where Alucard is,"

The line went quiet for a moment, and after a few seconds, Alfred's voice came through again.

"I've located sir Alucard, he's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean," Alfred claimed.

"Send those exact coordinates to the Batwing," Batman ordered. The computer in front of him beeped a few times and a sting of garbled gibberish appeared. Batman shut off the communication "Batwing, change coordinates to the ones just received," Batman instructed.

The Batwing uploaded the new coordinates and then it changed course, serving and turning off. Batman wondered how Alucard got out into the ocean and whether he was on top or under it. The coordinates were nowhere near Atlantis nor any shipping lanes. Also, why had Alucard just not gone back to Castlevania?

Batman didn't have time to worry about that. Now he was on his way to pick Alucard up he would still need to be fast to save the rest of the league. He commanded communications to re-open with Flash.

"Flash you still running?" Batman asked.

"Yeah, please tell me you have an idea," Flash begged. The tone and sound of his voice were very tired.

"I do but it's risky, how far away are you from an Iceberg?"

"I'm never far from anything, but what will that do?"

"I know you don't like doing this, but if you increase your vibrations and maintain speed to go through the Iceberg, the bomb might slow down just enough for it to slip off and get stuck. It will explode but no one will be hurt," Batman explained.

"Alright, worth a try," Flash agreed.

Batman waited in tense silence. He knew would take a maximum of 7 seconds for flash to get to the artic but that was at top speed, flash was tried and likely at a fixed and set speed. He waited and four seconds later his voice once more came through the batwing.

"Approaching an Iceberg. Hey, bats, if this kills me…promise you won't let the league turn into the justice lords," Flash said with a resigned tone "and don't let Al hideaway again,"

"I promise," Batman said without hesitation.

"Great, here I go," Flash said. Batman kept the line open as he listed for anything or any sign that the plan had worked. Suddenly the sound of a very large explosion came through the batwing accompanied by a pained and shocked scream from Flash.

"Flash, Flash!" Batman shouted "Are you there? Did you make it?"

The line was quiet for a moment Batman feared the worse.

"All good Bats made it," Flash said "whoo…An Iceberg shard cut my arm and it tripped me up. I'm just going to float here for a bit and cool off,"

Batman breathed a sigh of relief. "When you're done, head to Chicago and find Green Lantern and Hawkgirl,"

"Okay," Flash said while panting and catching his breath "Didn't you say something about Star city and kryptonite?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm collecting Alucard for that," Batman assured.

Batman killed the communication and flicked on the extra thrusters to increase his speed. He was quite far from the coordinates where Alucard was supposed to be but every second counted. Batman checked in with Alfred to give him an update on Superman and to make sure Alucard hadn't moved. According to Alfred, Doctors were at the scene and were trying to remove the bullet, but they were failing as Superman's invulnerable skin prevented them from locating it and removing it.

20 minutes later Batman approached the coordinates, he slowed the batwing down and looked around for any sign of Alucard, hoping he wasn't underwater. Batman spotted a small boat with a single figure sitting on it. Alucard had pulled the hood of his coat on, likely to protect himself from the sun, he stood up and watched. Batman ordered the batwing into hover mode and hovered the plane close to the boat with part of the wing overshadowing the small dingy.

Alucard floated upwards and gently stepped on the batwings wing. The moment he was on it, he walked across the Batwing to the other side and stared down at the ocean. The boat was no longer underneath him. Alucard clicked his fingers and a small flame appeared before he snapped it away. Batman watched this in curiosity.

"You hurt?" he asked.

"No,"

"Good. Get to Metropolis, Superman's been shot," Batman instructed.

Alucard nodded and vanished in a pillar of black flames. Again, Batman wondered why he didn't just do that, to begin with. He made a mental note to ask later.

"Batwing, input new coordinates," Batman instructed the Batwing "New Destination; The Watchtower,"

The Batwing registered the course change and once Batman took it out of hover mode the plane shot off upwards into the upper atmosphere.

Metropolis

Superman lay on the ground where he'd landed with an oxygen mask over his face. No one had dared to move him, his cape and top shirt had been removed and folded neatly into a pile a few feet away, resting on the top of his clothes was the silver charm that Alucard had given him. There was a large crowd that had gathered around him and they were being held back by a police barricade. Giving Superman and the doctor who was called space and room to work, but also close enough to see what was happing.

A doctor was beside Superman on one side. Lois was on the other side holding Superman's hand, with a pained and very worried look on her face. The doctor who had been called couldn't do much, other than give the man of steel an oxygen mask to assist with his breathing. They couldn't reach the bullet as it was too deep and they couldn't break the Krypton's invulnerable skin even with the bullet inside him. Superman's physiology was preventing them from helping him and his major weakness was slowly causing him to bleed out.

She and the Doctor both knew that the man of steel was going to die. They could do nothing for him except make him comfortable and be there with him when the time came. The crowd around was greatly concerned but also respectfully quiet at the same time.

Suddenly loud gasps and short cries of shock filled the crowd. Lois and the doctor looked behind them to see a pillar of black flames suddenly appear in the waded-off area.

"What in the hell is that?" Perry gasped "Jimmy, you getting this?"

The flames vanished almost instantly after they appeared and Alucard stood there. Lois could not believe what she'd seen. Alucard's eyes fell on Superman and the scent of the Kryptonians' spilled blood assaulted his nostrils. Alucard didn't waste any time and walked over to Superman and stood just behind the doctor who was staring at him in shock.

"I am with the Justice League and have been sent to help," Alucard stated calmly "may I?"

The doctor nodded and moved out of the way, making room for Alucard. Alucard knelt his eyes critically scanning Superman's upper body. He took several deep breaths and did his best to ignore how enticing the smell of blood was and focus to find where exactly the bullet was. It only took a few short seconds for his keen smell to locate the source of the severe internal damage and blood flow.

"Can you help him?" Lois asked with near tear-filled eyes. Alucard nodded in response and he took off his right-hand glove. The Doctor immediately went to offer him a surgical rubber glove but instead of taking it, Alucard's index finger suddenly grew and the nail grew into a sharp claw-like curve.

Alucard snapped his fingers and ignited a small flame at the tip of the clawed nail. Lois watched in curiosity as the fire spread over Alucard's nail and once a good half of it was engulfed in fame Alucard leaned over Superman.

"Forgive me Superman…this will hurt," Alucard said and used the nail to carve open Superman's chest. Superman cried out in pain and his breathing became ragged and even more prominent. Lois held his hand as she watched Alucard's flaming nail create a slit around the bullet hole. The smell of searing flesh from the heat was revolting but both Lois and the doctor put up with it.

Once a small slit was made Alucard shook his hand a few times and the fire went out. He then hovered his hand over the bullet hole.

"Vino la mine, mișcă-te prin carne și urmărește calea ta înapoi spre vocea mea," Alucard chanted softly.

Superman started to wince and his face scrunched up and he twitched. Lois squeezed his hand and held onto Superman to comfort him. Whatever Alucard did was affecting Superman. After several tense seconds a green glow could be seen and a moment later the base of a Kryptonite bullet maneuvered its way out of the slit Alucard had created and hovered directly above the open wound. Lois stared at the bullet in shock, it was floating in the air and her eyes turned to Alucard in time to see the clawed nail rescinded back to a normal-looking human hand; Alucard pulled his glove back on and once it was secure, he snatched the bullet out of the air and pocketed the glowing green bullet.

With the bullet gone, Superman's breathing evened out, pain still was evident on his face as there would be lingering effects from the bullet and the fall until he was fully healed. But with the bullet out Lois knew that Superman would heal. grabbed Superman's clothes. Alucard reached over picked up the charm and put it over Superman's head. He then picked up the clothes and scooped Superman into his arms. The man of Steel's head was limp against Alucard's chest.

Alucard stood up and looked at Lois.

"You need to let him go. I will take him to where he can be healed," Alucard said.

Lois hesitated but let go, the moment she did Superman and Alucard disappeared into a pillar of black flames.

Watchtower,

Batman stood in the infirmary and stared over J'onns burnt body. After retrieving Alucard he'd headed back to the Watchtower to see if he could locate the rest of the Justice League. He'd found J'onn very quickly and programmed the medical tube to treat his severe burns. He felt guilty, burning J'onn alive to the brink of death had not been one of his plans. He had planned to trap J'onn in a ring of fire.

Batman turned in time to see the flames vanish and Alucard was standing there with a limp and injured Superman in his arms.

"Is he…" Batman asked.

"Not yet," Alucard said and he stepped over to the nearest medical tube and placed Superman inside. Batman immediately came over and immediately programmed it. Even though he could not read the garbled language he'd designed the medical tubes to be very easy to use and he knew which settings Superman would require. The moment the tube closed a yellow light filled the tube and Superman started to relax into it.

"What is that light?" Alucard asked. Wincing a bit at the proximity to the light.

"Yellow Sun Radiation," Batman answered "it will help speed up the healing process,"

Alucard nodded. "Here…I do not know what to do with this," he said and held out the kryptonite bullet.

Batman took it and put it in his utility belt, the same compartment that was lined with lead and held his piece of kryptonite. Superman visibly seemed to relax once the bullet was inside the small led pouch. Alucard placed Supermans clothes on the console in the room so he would be able to get dressed again once he was healed.

"Have you heard from the others?" Alucard asked.

Batman focused on him and shook his head. "No," He answered "But I tracked their coms, Wonder Woman is in Metropolis central park, according and Hawkgirl and Green Lantern are here on the tower. Though I can't seem to find them on the cameras,"

"I see…Batman, why does everything on the screen look like a garbled mess of illiterate symbols?" Alucard asked.

"It's Ras's plan. He's scrambled the way everyone else perceives written language. Fortunately, we can still use voice commands for the Watchtower, Javelin, and all my Bat-vehicles. But it won't help us for long as Ras plans to next scramble the way we perceive the spoken language," Batman answered "we need the League back to stop him,"

"Then we must find the others…you said Hawkgirl and Green Lantern were in the tower?"

"It will be easier to show you," Batman said and he walked out of the infirmary.

Alucard followed and Batman led Alucard down to where the sleeping quarters were. Batman didn't go into any of the rooms, instead, he stopped in the corridor.

"Supposedly they're right there," Batman said and pointed to an empty space "but as you can see, they aren't. Must be a glitch in the system,"

Alucard narrowed his eyes, he sensed magic, powerful magic and it was emitting from where Batman had pointed. He walked forward and reached out with his hand, at first, he felt nothing; Alucard waved his hand through the air until he finally found what he was looking for.

"I do not believe your machine needs fixing," Alucard said. He starched his arm out and it suddenly disappeared behind a shimmering of air "shall we see where these leads?" he asked before Alucard entered it.

Batman man followed Alucard's lead, though he hesitated for a moment looking at the invisible vail before stepping through. On the other side, Batman found himself in the busy streets of Chicago. He looked around in shock. When had he teleported? Had Alucard done this?

"It's not real," Alucard stated "this is shafts doing,"

"What do you mean?" Batman asked.

"This city…it's fake," Alucard explained.

Batman looked around. The sight, colour, smell, air and even temptation were perfect and consistent with what Chicago should be, even the lights and direction of the winds were correct. There was no way this was not Chicago.

"How can this be a fake?" Batman asked "you can't fake an entire city,"

"Yes, you can," Alucard corrected "specifically Shaft can and he can do so with ease,"

"Explain,"

Alucard looked at Batman with regret-filled eyes "Shafts' magical talents lie in recreation," the vampire claimed.

"Recreation?"

"Yes, he can recreate any environment he has seen and controls it in any way he likes. All he must do is visit a location once and then he can recreate it. Sometimes he puts those creations in a pocket dimension and sometimes he just leaves them in the open for unsuspecting people to wander in,"

"Can we get out?" Batman asked.

Alucard turned around and stuck his hand back out and it disappeared again through the rippled air.

"It appears we can," Alucard observed. He then noticed some people walk by and they stared at the two as they passed "do not worry, anyone or anything that is part of the Recreated environment cannot leave, but those who wander in can become trapped if Shaft wills it,"

Batman nodded; he was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Chicago was in the middle of the watchtower's hallway. At least it being in a pocket dimension made some sense, but the energy it would take to create such a thing and replicate an entire city inside the pocket dimension was astounding. Batman both hated and envied magic users.

"If this is a recreation and nothing here is real then that means nothing can harm Hawkgirl or green lantern," Batman concluded.

"On the contrary Batman, one can easily be hurt and killed by these…false environments," Alucard corrected.

"Of course," Batman groaned "what are the odds that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl are unable to leave?"

"I cannot be sure without finding them," Alucard said "though it is likely,"

"How do we get them out if Shaft won't allow them to leave?" Batman wondered.

"You destroy the core,"

"Core?"

"Yes, unless Shaft is physically in the environments, he creates they will fade the moment he leaves…to prevent that he uses magical cores to maintain the environment…destroying this core will cause the environment to disappear,"

"How hard are these cores to destroy?"

"Not hard at all, due to the vast amount of magic they circulate it makes them very…brittle," Alucard claimed.

"And what do they look like?"

"Large round crystal balls, very hard to miss…they will have swirling energy in them," Alucard described "and they are usually red, purple or black,"

Batman nodded.

"Right. You stay here and find Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, I'll head back to earth and get Wonder Woman," Batman ordered.

"Batman, perhaps I should be the one to retrieve Wonder Woman….I can get to Metropolis in the span of a few seconds after all,"

"No," was all Batman said and he marched back through the rippled air and out of the recreated environment.

Alucard shook his head and then turned his attention to the sky, he leapt upwards and flew through the city looking for Hawkgirl and Green Lantern. Fortunately, it did not take him long to find Green Lantern panicking in the air and reaching out for something that wasn't there. Below him, the road was all torn up and a ball of pavement sat there.

"Green Lantern," Alucard greeted. Green Lantern whipped around to face him. Alucard reeled back in shock upon seeing Green Lantern's eyes. They were completely white. He was blind. "Green Lantern, what happened to you?" he asked.

"Alucard…I…I can't see," Green Lantern panicked "where are you,"

"Here," Alucard said and he reached out and took Green Lantern by the arm "I am here,"

Green Lantern latched onto Alucard like he was a lifeline and Alucard gently led him back to solid ground.

"Green Lantern…where is Hawkgirl?" Alucard asked.

"I don't know, shaft trapped her in a shrinking ball of pavement before I lost my sight," Green lantern Answered.

Alucard looked over his shoulder at the ball of pavement, he walked over, still holding onto Green Lantern and pressing his ear against it. He couldn't hear Hawkgirl's screams anymore but he did only barely pick up the sound of shallow breaths. Alucard reeled back a punch in an attempt to break through the pavement but even with all his strength, it didn't budge. Alucard cursed, it was unlikely Shaft was still in the fake city of Chicago, but he didn't want Hawkgirl free; that meant the only way to free her would be to find the magical core and destroy it.

"Green Lantern, you will need to stay here while I find a way to free both you and Hawkgirl from this…predicament," Alucard said.

"What, no you can't leave. I can't see, I won't be able to defend myself," Green Lantern pleaded "I won't even be able to find anything to ground myself if you leave,"

Alucard gently guided Green Lanterns' hand to the ball of Tarmac and placed it there. "This is where Hawkgirl is imprisoned, stay here and you will be safe," Alucard assured "I will be back in a bit,"

Alucard then let go of Green Lantern and took off. The moment he did let go, green lantern started to panic again and as much as Alucard wanted to stay and help him; he knew that it would be better for both Hawkgirl and Green Lantern if he destroyed the magical core.

Alucard made multiple laps around the city and destroyed everything that could have been or even resembled a round large crystal ball but the fake city remained. He knew it would be well hidden, but Alucard didn't think it would take this long. His actions had attracted the local police force and Alucard was not worried about them. He viewed them as inconveniences and led them on a bit of a chase before losing them.

As he was starting to consider that Shaft might be in the city, but if the old priest was, he would have come out by now. Alucard hovered in the air the skyline, trying to work out where Shaft would have hidden the Magical Core. Alucard knew it could be anywhere or disguised as anything around. He'd been destroying everything he could see that matched the shape of a Crystal ball outside in public. Since the fake Chicago was still around him; Alucard had to assume he hadn't located the Magic Core. Either it was well hidden or it was inside.

Alucard supposed he could start destroying buildings, but there would be no guarantee the damage would destroy the core and it could endanger Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Alucard tried to think about what Shaft would do, from his memories and knowledge of the old priest he would likely hide the core in plain sight and an obvious place as a way of mocking whoever was unfortunate enough to wander into his re-created environments.

But again, Alucard had already destroyed all the round-shaped objects. So, what was left?

Alucard flew around the city some more looking for anything he might have missed. He flew over a church and stopped, the church was an older building and the colour was a much darker brown than the church should be, a small brick wall around it formed a large circle. It was too big for it to be the Magic core but worth investigating. Shaft was a Priest after all and as far as Alucard had seen, this was the only church in the city.

Alucard floated downwards and carefully stepped onto the grounds, he didn't feel the warding presence of God on the church grounds. But since the church was not real, it was not surprising. Alucard walked up to the door and pushed it open. Inside the church was very spacious and empty, it didn't have a holy feel to it but a dark feeling. As Alucard walked up to the alter between the pews he took in his surroundings. Noting all the decorations, where paintings and depictions of God, Mary and Jesus should be they had been replaced with sacrificial rituals and depictions of the grim reaper and Dracula. Instead of white candles on the walls, they were black and any lights turned on were dim.

At the there was nothing of interest, a few empty goblets and other tools used for ceremonies. There was a large book but it wasn't the bible. Alucard opened it and it was filled with various sermons and all of them praised Dracula and condemned humans. Alucard snarled and slammed it shut; he knew this place wasn't real but that didn't mean it didn't bother him. What did bother him was the Orb wasn't here.

Taking one last look around, Alucard didn't see it, a flicker of light caught his eye and he glanced behind him. Above him was a red and violet stained-glass window that depicted Dracula standing behind mass flames. His Arms spread out as if he was receiving or creating the flames himself. Above his head was an image of what looked like a large blazing fireball. Alucard recognised it as Demonic Megiddo, his father's most powerful and signature spell. Seeing it again reminded Alucard of his, Trevor and Sypha's fight against Dracula. He still wasn't sure how they had managed to survive when Dracula had unleashed that very spell upon them.

Alucard stared at the stained-glass window for a bit longer, something was off about it but he couldn't place it. Alucard levitated up to the window and got a closer look, he stared at it for a few minutes and then it hit him. Demonic Megiddo was too small.

It wasn't a large ball of burning death, it was small and the size of a large ball. Shaft worshipped Dracula like a god, there would be no way he would ever make such a mistake…unless…

Alucard drew his sword and in two quick strikes, he had shattered the stained-glass windows. As the glass fell, a red orb with swirling energy fell out of the image of Demonic Megiddo. Alucard smiled, he quickly scooped it up and landed back at the altar. Holding the magical core in his hand.

"You are Clever Shaft," Alucard complemented, sheathing his sword "But not clever enough," he then crushed the orb with both hands and it shattered into many pieces. The pieces fell to the ground and dissolved into magic whisps upon contact. Once they were all gone, the city of Chicago started to fade away and Alucard once again found himself in the Watchtowers Hall.

He immediately whipped around and saw Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Hawkgirl was unconscious and lying on the floor and Alucard ran up to them. Green Lantern had his back to Alucard and was still waving his arms around, trying to get his bearings. Alucard picked hawk girl up, intending to carry her to the infirmary.

"Alucard, you there?" Green lantern called out "what's going on? What happened to the wind and why'd it suddenly gets a bit cooler?"

"Green Lantern it is alright now…I have dispelled the environment Shaft had you trapped in," Alucard assured "you should be free of his influence now,"

Green Lantern turned to face the source of Alucard's voice and the vampire couldn't help but let out a surprised gasp at what he saw. Green Lantern's eyes were still glazed over and a pale white.

He was still blind.

(1) Vino la mine, mișcă-te prin carne și urmărește calea ta înapoi spre vocea mea - Come to me, move through the flesh and trace your path back to my voice