Disclaimer: This story is fiction. There are two celebrities who will appear from time-to-time. The other characters are fictitious. Any similarities to persons living or dead are completely coincidental.
In this story, I have continued the adventures of Batman, my Batman, which his story first began in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight" in the Boy Band section of this archive. It spanned 250 chapters. You will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this.
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.
Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros.
X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered.
I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. I do hope that you enjoy it!!!
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Chapter 46 House of Peril
Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and J'onn descended the stairs to the top floor of the building. Moving through the hallway, the team was met with their first trap. A wire was tripped which opened two small boxes. A black cloud emerged from each box and converged ahead of them. It coalesced into a 10-foot monster with horns, claws and tail. The demon was noncorporeal as its limbs and head passed easily through the walls and ceiling.
"Just a parlor trick," Superman said as he walked toward in an attempt to walk through it. The demon, however, had a different idea. It backhanded Superman and knocked him back down the hallway into the wall.
The three standing took up defensive stances. GL shot green energy bolts at the demon hoping it would do some damage. It didn't have much of an effect.
"Containment might be the only answer," Diana stated. Pulling off her lasso, she hurled it around the creature.
Green Lantern used her ring and created chains around.
J'onn ran over to Superman to make sure he was okay.
"Nothing has been able to hurt me like that," the boy of steel stated.
"Let's hope we encounter few things that do," J'onn replied.
Huntress, Black Canary, Aquaman and Flash entered the first floor of the building. Once the door closed, they heard a lock. When they turned around to try and open it, they found the door was gone. Looking around, no windows were found either.
"Looks like we have to see this through," Huntress stated. "Be very alert."
The hallway before them was large. A grand staircase lay to the left of them with several doors along the sides.
"This looks familiar to me," Black Canary stated.
"Have you ever seen the movie `Clue'?" Huntress asked.
"That's right. This looks just like the first floor of the house. I always thought that was a gorgeous house."
The doors opened and several dead people came out.
"Zombies," Huntress stated.
"Zombies exist?" Canary asked. "We never went over zombies in our training."
"Go for the head and limbs," Huntress answered.
"I can take care of this," Flash stated. He ran around the room at super speed punching the heads of the zombies. The force the speed provided caused the heads to pop clean off the bodies. He stopped next to his group and gave them a smile, although only his eyes belayed his gesture.
"That works," Huntress stated. "Let's head upstairs."
"Let me check to see if there is any danger," he replied and went up first. As he climbed the steps, a hole in the middle opened and he dropped down.
"Flash!" Aquaman exclaimed as he ran to the staircase. He reached the edge and looked over trying to see where the Flash fell to. All he saw below was darkness. "I can't see him," he said as he glanced back at the two Slayers.
Without warning, a tentacle shot up over the edge of the steps and wrapped around his neck. With a tug, the tentacle pulled him into the hole, which sealed up behind him.
Canary ran over to it and tried to pry it open with no avail. Turning back to Huntress, she said, "What do we do? We can't just leave them."
The hallway doors opened up again and more zombies.
"Looks like we're not going very far any way," Huntress stated.
The shadow demon struggled against the chains and snapped the green energy off its body. Then, it took the magic lasso and pulled it off, as it is unbreakable. Using it, the demon threw Wonder Woman from side to side smashing her into the walls. It reached for Green Lantern, who created an energy shield around her. The demon punched it several times, causing her to slide backwards. Once she was up against the wall, she couldn't go anywhere, yet the demon continued to pound. The energy shield buckled underneath the pressure and shattered. The impact pushed Ella into the wall where she slumped down exhausted from the strain.
J'onn changed shape into a creature almost as large as the demon in front of him and leapt at the creature. He tackled the demon and the two tumbled down the hallway and around the corner.
"Looks like J'onn is taking care of that thing," Superman said as he stood up and offered a hand to Green Lantern.
Wonder Woman wrapped up her lasso and attached it to her belt as she approached the other two. "What about J'onn?"
"Let's offer him a hand," GL said as two beams of energy emerged and created two large fists.
The three ran off down the hall and around the corner to assist their Martian friend.
The Flash reached down and helped Aquaman up. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"That was a large fall. Do you think we are in the basement?"
"This place hasn't acted like a normal house ever since we entered."
"Perhaps the hole in the stairs was a dimensional portal."
"You mean like the one when we met you?"
Aquaman nodded.
"Aw, shit. I hated that place."
"At the moment, we don't have much choice." Aquaman got to his feet and looked around. "Did you see where the creature that pulled me here went?"
"Creature?"
"It had tentacles."
"Damn, why do I end up fighting the strangest assed creatures when I'm around you? First it was the two sea monsters; now it's God-knows-what."
"Relax. Panicking does not help the situation."
From the darkness rang a loud shriek.
"I think the situation calls for panicking now."
"I agree," Aquaman stated.
Canary swung a floor-standing candlestick as if it were a quarterstaff. She thrust forward and hit a zombie in the chest, knocking it against the wall. She spun the other end around and decapitated the zombie.
Huntress backhanded a zombie in the face. Then she ducked as a zombie tried to grab her. She spun around swinging her leg out. Her leg connected with the zombie's mid-section and the creature was split in half at the waist. A zombie grabbed her from behind. She grabbed its wrists, tried to duck underneath and spin around. The creature's arms broke off from the rest of the body. She pulled its arms off her shoulders and swung them at the zombie's head causing it to come clean off.
J'onn, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern stood catching their breath. The beast they faced had finally been slain, though it was no small task.
"If this is what we must face at the beginning of our incursion," J'onn said. "I can only imagine what lies before us as we near our target."
"It isn't our job to get to the target unless absolutely necessary," Lantern replied. "That's the job of Sarah and the others. Our job is to work our way through the building, trigger any traps that we encounter and keep the attention of the vampire on us."
"The demon packed quite a punch," Superman stated. "The more I experience, the more I wonder if I'm vulnerable to magic and the supernatural."
"We could quiz you using my magic lasso," Wonder Woman offered. "However, I don't think now would be a good time."
"Let's keep going." Lantern stood and walked to the doorway leading to the stairs. Turning on her ring and using the energy as a flashlight, she entered. The three others followed her into the darkness.
"How do you propose we see to get out of here?" Flash asked. "At the moment, we can't see more than a few feet in front of us."
Aquaman felt around on the ground. "Here is a piece of wood." He handed the large stick to Flash.
"This I can work with." Flash rubbed his hand over the end of it at super speeds. In less than a second, the end burst into flame due to the friction he created. "Voila! Instant torch!"
Aquaman smiled. He reached his hands up and felt the pull of water. His body naturally reacts to water as it is the source of his strength. "We are in the basement. The water supply is in symmetrical positions consistent with locations of water pipes in a house."
"And now that we can see where we are going, we can get out of this place."
The loud shriek heard earlier by the two heroes became louder. They could also feel the movements it made through the floor.
"Here it comes," Aquaman said. "Get ready."
Two tentacles flew out of the darkness. The Flash dodged to the left as it passed. Aquaman ducked as the second tentacle flew overhead. Grabbing the tentacle, Flash brought the torch down on it. The creature squealed in pain.
"I think it hates fire," Flash stated.
"That's a weakness we can exploit."
"Sure thing. The only problem is, we don't have anything down here to catch fire."
The tentacles lashed out again. The men dodged the attacks. Then the sound of creaking pips caught their attention.
"I think it's trying to break the pipes."
"Keep the torch lit," Aquaman said. "I can handle this thing."
Snapping of lead was heard and the water rushed into the room. The Flash ran in a circle creating a dry space for the torch while the rest of the room filled with water. It wasn't long before Aquaman was completely submerged under the water and swimming freely. He moved toward the creature, which tried to grab him. Attempts to communicate with the creature were to no avail.
`It must have some block on my telepathy,' the prince of the seas thought.
A tentacle wrapped around him and pulled him toward the creature's waiting maw. Aquaman pulled the tentacle off of him easily as the water gave him his strength. He pulled the creature toward him and punched it in the eye. His fist went into the eye and he blinded the creature. It let out a tremendous shriek. Then it grabbed him by the arms and legs and began to pull hoping to tear the young man apart.
"Aquaman?" Flash called out hoping the blonde youth could hear him. When no response came, he believed it was up to him to silence the creature. He reached out and grabbed the torch. Then he tossed it to the ceiling of the basement and wedged it between several pipes as the room was not completely filled with water. Taking a deep breath, he stopped running and dove into the water kicking rapidly. He headed in the direction Aquaman went and found the creature attempting to pull the youth apart. He zeroed in on the center of the creature and kicked. The speed with which he moved propelled him through the water at a tremendous rate. The Flash shot completely through the creature and it let out another tremendous cry. Its tentacles relaxed around Aquaman and he freed himself.
"The water provided a way for us to get out the way we came in," Flash said to Aquaman as the two surfaced. "The hole is kind of far up, though, and there isn't anything for us to grab on to."
"Leave that to me."
Aquaman used his mystical powers and caused the water to thicken around them and lift them up the shaft. Flash looked around at what was going on. Then some of the water rose around them and splashed onto the Atlantean. He brought his fist back and smashed it into the underside of the stairs. The trap door blew off its hinges and the two climbed out to see Huntress and Canary finishing off the zombies.
"You're okay!" Canary exclaimed as she ran over to check on her friends.
"We're fine."
"Now that we've cleared this floor..." Huntress began.
"And the basement," Flash interjected.
"...we can continue up."
The four team members climbed the stairs to the second floor.
To Be Continued...