The War begins. The City is overrun by Werwolves (Dracula´s Part)

Dracula had followed the media closely over the last few days. It was interesting to see what influence this television had. It was impressive how this tool of human science could influence people's opinions without any kind of magic. However, he also understood the purpose of Vickies approach. She wanted to take away Bruce's trust from the city so that he had to fight not only the criminals but also the guards of the city. This was a clever move. Unfortunately this move seemed to cause less amusement among his other wives. They were both in favour of a more active approach and right now they were sitting on the second floor of the lounge having a debate about what you would do now. The next full moon was that night after all.

"We should attack the property today! Then we rip out the root and eradicate this plague once and for all" Talia smiled and her presence in the lounge had ensured that Dracula had been left alone. Everyone knew exactly who your father was and only a few in the room would dare to challenge him for no reason.

"Don't let your vengeance on Him dazzle you. First of all you should know that he is very well able to defeat you both on his ground. Besides, we don't know if he won't have called for more help." Said Dracula thoughtfully, thinking primarily of the beings they called Kryptonians. Maybe he should have enslaved this woman, but his instinct had warned him against such a step back then.

"No, my love! I've learned that the Justice League has issued a kind of quarantine over the city on Batman's advice." Said Zatanna and smiled. So far only few knew that she had fallen and therefore she still had certain contacts within the league.

"Why would he do that? Does he want to prevent the others from stopping him or doesn't he want to risk that I take control over them" said Dracula more to himself as Talia grumbled something grudgingly to herself. "What did you say Talia?"

"Nothing Master" she said, caught and waved at, but after Dracula asked again, she had to answer. "I don't like to admit it... but maybe you underestimate the willpower of Batman. I'm not sure he's just a wild beast."

"And I think you overestimate this mortal Talia. He's nothing more than a will-less wandering idiot waiting to transform."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with my beloved Talia Master." Zatanna jumped to her side. "Bruce Wayne is anything but a willless idiot. I just don't like to remind you that you've underestimated him once before, my love."

Dracula wanted to get angry for a moment but unfortunately had to acknowledge the truth of those words. He had got used to listening to the opinions of his mates a long time ago. And if he should be completely honest there was something to what she said. He remembered well the first fight against Bruce. In the beginning the fight had been extremely one-sided and just as Dracula had expected. How could a beast have imagined defeating him. But then something had changed. He had often thought about it after the fight what exactly happened there. But he couldn't forget the werewolf's eyes.

"Maybe both of you are right. Maybe I should take him more seriously," Dracula said as he looked at his right glove. On the snow-white glove one could see the blood-red pentagram exactly. Both women followed his gaze and while Talia couldn't start anything with the rune, Zatanna had at least a rough idea what it was. However, this spell Rune surpassed everything she had ever seen.

"The seal you mentioned" Talia asked curiously and Dracula nodded briefly. "What does it do? You've only mentioned it briefly so far?"

"That is not important, my dear ones. But maybe I will have to open it again. Maybe this Bruce Wayne is a true incarnation."

"My love. Forgive our ignorance but none of us has your millennia of experience. Would you please share your wisdom with us?" resounded the voice of Vicky just approaching the table. No one in the room seemed to notice her. After a long deep kiss, she sat down at the table and smiled at the two women who also greeted her warmly. Even though the women all courted the favor of their beloved, they were all connected and knew that they were stronger together.

"You have chosen your words wisely as always, my love." Dracula smiled and nodded. "I think it's time I told you about this rune. But I don't think we have the time now." He suddenly said as he rose. "We have to go! Immediately" he said all of a sudden quite confident. As soon as he said that, he got up and grabbed his red coat. With quick steps he left the building and his three wives followed him in a hurry.

"What happened Master?" Talia asked anxiously. You had never seen him so serious before.

"Vicky. You will not accompany us. But come to the Narrows... There's a story waiting for you." He only said while he was giving Zatanna a sign that she should open a portal.

"As you command Lord Tepes." Nodded Vicky and turned around on the spot.

As the three stepped out of the portal, they could see the remains of the Narrows in front of them. Still, much of the neighborhood was in ruins from the fight between Power Girl and Dracula.

"Heaven. You raged here, though." Talia laughed and looked around. What immediately struck her, however, were the 20 or so people who had gathered in front of one of the collapsed warehouses and stood there without a word. "Something is not right here Master" she finally said and pulled a Katana.

Alarmed by this fact Zatanna reached into a ball of blood in front of her and pulled out a long whip of blood. Dracula nodded calmly and looked at the crowd as well, but then slowly up to the sky where the moon slowly advanced behind the clouds.

"Get ready. The war has begun," he said calmly and seemed to concentrate.

As soon as the full moon shone in its full glory, the humans looked up and their driftless movements seemed to be filled with life and energy. Dracula and his 2 brides could watch as one after the other crouch in pain. But this time it was a whole horde of werewolves. Dracula looked around and spotted two more groups crawling along the walls of the house. Zatanna opened her eyes in horror. She remembered the power and violence of Bruce in this form. Even though he was a much more powerful being than those wolves there, there were lots of them. When she realized that another troop came from her left side and Talia pointed to a group on her right, she felt queasy. But a look to Dracula calmed her down.

There he stood. A few meters in front of his two wives. His long red cape blew in a wind that seemed to exist only around him. But it wasn't the frightening amount of magical energy emanating from Him that calmed Zatanna, but the absolute tranquility he radiated.

"You take care of the smaller groups. I take care of them there," he said calmly, pointing to the largest group of werewolves.

"Dearest... shouldn't we fight together? We are outnumbered here 10 to 1." Asked Zatanna nevertheless worried but it was Talia who answered for her beloved.

"Don't worry Zatanna. Those are no enemies for him. I know exactly how well he can fight and if necessary I'll help you" she laughed and pulled the second Katana as well. She herself was aware of her abilities and her self-confidence had no problems with such a balance of power to her disadvantage but these werewolves had an aura of fear. There was something supernatural in the air.

"Take care of yourselves, my brides," Dracula said and jumped into the pack of werewolves with a huge leap. With the first sentence he could ram his fist into the skull of a wolf and beat the massive skull to pud. Even though their self-healing abilities were immense, they could not heal such fatal injuries. Immediately Dracula whirled around and rammed his foot into the chest of another wolf. The roundhouse kick hit the beast exactly as desired and Dracula roared as he put all his strength into the foot. Like a cannonball, the werewolf's body was thrown into 5 others. Even if this kick had hardly been fatal the wolf would need some seconds until the wound would have healed. The remaining 25 wolves roared angrily and now orbited Dracula. They instinctively felt that here was a predator among them that was more dangerous than a pack of werewolves. That's why Dracula could take a quick look at his two brides. Zatanna jumped elegantly and flexibly over the cars to keep the werewolves at a distance in front of her. He could see that one of the wolves was already lying on the ground and was in pain as his whole body seemed to boil from the inside. Zatanna clearly had the advantage of the range and thanks to the blood magic also the greater damage potential. However, her fighting abilities were limited. Yet she skillfully exploited her teleportation powers.

Talia, on the other hand, did not have this problem. She was little more than a shadow scurrying back and forth between the wolves. Even for Dracula it was hard to see her exactly. The wolves were incapable of targeting or attacking her. Whenever one of them raised his claws against her she was already gone. Her katana were barely able to inflict long-term damage on the wolves, but her tactical sense and killer instincts were strong enough to bring her into a favorable position again and again. And any favorable position for Talia meant the death of a werewolf. Dracula was satisfied with the choice of his two brides. However, the choice of his opponents was not quite so well made. These werewolves were primitive savages who were hardly more than wild rabid dogs. When one of the wolves came too close to him he backslapped him in the face. The jaw of the werewolf was torn cleanly from the skull and the wolf howled with fear and pain. Dracula had neither the desire nor the time to deal with such primitive creatures and yet he felt his neck hairs stand up. A feeling he hadn't felt since time immemorial overwhelmed him.

Fear.

"ZATANNA! I NEED PLACE HERE" he roared angrily and Zatanna reacted immediately to the voice of her great love.

"Talia I need a few seconds to prepare the spell" Zatanna shouted who could hardly do more than dodge at the moment. But Talia was immediately on the spot. Knowing that she was a rival in the favor of Dracula's lust but there was also a close bond between the brides of Dracula. And she would do a devil to let Zatanna get hurt. Just as one of the wolves was about to crash down on Zatanna from above, Talia appeared right in his trajectory and with a quick clean and precise blow his head fell in front of Zatanna's legs.

"Don't worry Zatanna. I won't let one of them touch you." She called out to her and whirled around her like a tornado of steel and shadow. For the first time since the fight began, Zatanna felt confident enough to cast a larger spell. The spell formula was extremely complex, so it took her a few seconds to complete the spell, but the effect was immediate. Many of the werewolves simply exploded like wandering bombs and the few that still stood gave way to the unknown Force. The whole fight had lasted maybe 5 minutes but of the 40 werewolves only 8 were still alive.

Zatanna sank almost unconscious to the ground when she finished the spell and bled from her ears and eyes. So far she hadn't cast such a big spell in her new form and the power she had channelled through her body had been exhausting. However, she could rely on the Talia to protect her from her stand.

"WHERE DO YOU ARE?" Dracula yelled all of a sudden. Even after the wolves exploded around him, he couldn't shake off the feeling. Something approached. Something dangerous. Something that wasn't a werewolf.

"My Love?" asked Zatanna exhausted.

"Arm yourselves! I feel a terrible omen," he hissed and raised his hand. The blood of the werewolves gathered in ever greater pools and flowed slowly in his direction. However, he did not absorb the cursed blood but formed a kind of pentagram under his feet. Talia looked confused as the moon darkened. Looking up, she could see thick clouds moving in front of the moon and it became noticeably cooler.

"Zatanna" she asked quietly.

"He prepares a spell. But I have no idea what it could do." She said quietly. However, the two noticed that the remaining wolves were moving away from Dracula.

Then it happened. Without any warning a gully lid flew out of its anchorage and crashed to the ground a few dozen meters further. Then the concrete around the hole broke from bottom to top and slowly and threateningly Killer Croc rose out of the hole. Even Dracula, who had already fought against legions of werewolves and demons, dropped his jaw as he saw the 4-meter reptilian creature. Zatanna and Talia cursed quietly as they recognized him.

Killer Croc had always been a giant, but over the years his mutation had continued to assert itself. What had previously been a giant human with scaly skin could now only be described as a crocodile on 2 legs. There was hardly anything left of his human face. He had even grown a real tail and his entire skin was covered with thick scales.

"My brides! WHAT IS THAT FOR A BIRTH OF FANCE?" Dracula hissed furiously. Were there any other Were-creatures now? Was it supposed to be some kind of were-crocodile? Weren't the werewolves enough?

Talia slowly stepped next to him and nodded to him. "This being is called Killer Croc. It is a person with a special disease. But he's not a shape-shifter!"

"I don't want to see this thing anymore" he hissed angrily and pointed with his left hand at Killer Croc. Talia just nodded and tensed her muscles. She jumped forward with all her might. Trusting in her superior speed, she made the first mistake in this fight. She ran straight towards him and suddenly saw him spinning and was unable to avoid the attack of the long tail. All she had left was to raise her arms and block. And yet it was like throwing a building after her. Her eyes widened as the scaly tail hit her forearms. The bones in her body were immediately turned into dust and then the tail hit her chest. The pain almost robbed her of her senses as she was torn from her legs. Her own speed plus the force of the blow was enough to catapult her through several walls. Dracula and Zatanna had to watch stunned as Talia's body crashed against a wall of houses and smashed through. The sounds you could hear from the inside indicated that it shouldn't stay with this one wall.

"YOU MONSTER! What DID YOU DO?" Dracula screamed angrily and now rushed forward as well. However, he could give Killer Croc a hit that hit the chest directly. The impact created a shock wave that swept through the street. Killer Croc was torn from his legs and slipped across the road before he could ram his claws into the concrete to slow his flight. Yet he was now almost 50 yards from Dracula, spitting blood. However, he stood up again and Dracula felt that oppressive feeling again. Something about this killer Croc was terrifying. If only he knew what it was exactly.

"Master! The MOON" screamed Zatanna as the clouds shifted and the full moon released again. Killer Croc now looked to the sky and began to tremble.

"This... is going to be bad" growled Dracula and took a few steps back. He now knew what was going on. This creature was infected! And the thought of what would come out if such a monster became a werewolf was understandably frightening. A look towards the hole in the wall was obvious. Talia wouldn't be able to help this fight anymore and Zatanna had already used up most of her magic.

"Master? stammered Zatanna as she stood in front of him, ready to protect him with her life but Dracula gently pushed her aside.

"This is my fight. Take care of Talia!"

Then the metamorphosis began with Killer Croc. He roared furiously as he gained not only size but also muscle mass. If his facial features had been at least rudimentarily human before, there was nothing more to be seen of it now. Dracula had to watch Killer Croc grow inexorably and he had to swallow when he saw what he had become. In front of him stood a 6 metre high crocodile monster that made his tail beat furiously on the street. That would be an interesting fight. Dracula ran towards him and jumped off. He did not intend to engage in a longer fight and planned a direct attack on the head. However, he realized that the creature was amazingly agile despite its size and mass. The fact that he was in the air made another evasive maneuver difficult. However, unlike Talia, he also possessed magical powers. When he saw the creature's claws coming on him, he turned into a swarm of bats and escaped the blow. When he turned into a human again on one of the rooftops he could see that the creature was about to bite a werewolf into two parts.

"No loyalty... No pack... So you're a real monster!"

Since he could now attack from the blind spot, it was easy for him to strike a devastating blow. At least he thought so. Unfortunately this time bad luck came in between. One of the werewolves grabbed Killer Croc and turned his head slightly to react to the attack. This made it impossible for Dracula to land a perfect blow right between his eyes. His fist crashed thunderously into Killer Croc's neck as the force of the blow rammed him into the concrete. Even if the blow hadn't been fatal, it was enough to bring the huge monster to its knees. Dracula landed on part of his back and used the momentum to hurl himself away from him. With an elegant somersault he landed on a lantern and folded his arms in front of his chest. He wanted to see how long it would take for this monster to heal all his wounds.

But what he saw made him look confused for a second. His eyebrow raised as he watched parts of Killer Croc inflate. It almost looked as if his body would continue to grow. The right claw of the being grew abruptly and the rest of the body slowly developed further. Dracula could watch as the thick scales became thicker and tougher and the huge muscles inflated. The creature in front of him was now almost 10 metres tall and opened his mouth furiously to roar. The scream had nothing human or animal about it anymore. That was pure ferocity. Dracula could not afford to stay here any longer. This fight began to attract a level of attention that was too much for him at the time.

But whatever he did... it seemed to be without any effect. Over a dozen times he had hit the huge creature and each time it had only become stronger and bigger. The last hit had been exactly where he had suspected the heart to be, and yet he hadn't fallen for it. Now he had to retreat first as Killer Croc continued his training. But what he saw now let the blood freeze in his veins. Pale as chalk he staggered back and stumbled over a fallen lantern.

"That... that's impossible" he stammered and Zatanna and the recovered Talia looked stunned at the changes Killer Croc was going through. Due to his own size it was no longer possible for him to stand on 2 legs. His whole body fell over to the front and his front limbs receded, just like the back ones. His body repositioned the bones and muscles to make Killer Croc run on 4 legs. But that wasn't what shocked the three... 2 more limbs grew out of his shoulders. But what first looked like another pair of arms quickly turned out to be 2 huge wings. The whole creature now looked more like a crocodile with wings and Zatanna stared at it stunned. She was the first to say what all those present thought.

"A ... dragon!"

When Dracula had finally caught himself he stood up again and looked at the huge body in front of him. Killer Croc had a length, if you include the tail, of about 30 meters and his wings had almost twice the span. However, he could not unfold them here and so they lay close to the body. Dracula stared at the mighty dragon that stood in front of him and whose tail had just collapsed a building.

"FINALLY!" Dracula laughed brightly as he tore his coat off his body. Zatanna and Talia looked at him confused. "I AM VLAD TEPES. I AM THE DRÂCULEA" Dracula shouted towards the monster. "FACE ME! FACE THE TRUE SON OF THE DRAGON YOU MISERABLE MONSTER!" As he screamed it, and a blood red armour formed on his body and a cape of blood grew on his shoulders. In his right hand a European longsword appeared while on his left hand a tower shield appeared.

"Did you know he could do that?" Talia asked amusedly.

"Sure! Everyone knows," Zatanna joked and continued to support Talia. Both were not much help in this fight anymore. "So that's what he looked like in the old days."

"I can't wait to rip his armor off" Talia grinned as they watched Killer Croc move towards him on all fours.

For a creature this big, he was incredibly fast. He pushed his huge body through the street and with his mouth wide open he tried to eat Dracula. However, he swerved to the side and pulled the sword through one of the back claws with a wide swinging movement. As hard as the scales might be against the magically invoked blade, they were completely ineffective. The blade easily penetrated the skin and cut the bone just as easily. Out of balance and unable to catch himself due to his own speed, Killer Croc fell to the ground and slid across the floor until an old warehouse slowed his fall. Dracula immediately launched a new attack but Killer Croc was far from defeated. His long tail lifted high into the air only to then drive down to the spot where Dracula was straight. As the dust and debris had dissipated, one could see the Bloodred Knight running over the back of the tail. Like an elf he jumped from shed to shed to get into the neck of the dragon. However Dracula noticed that this resolution was doomed to failure as he could see from the corner of his eye that the wound he had inflicted on him was already healing. In a matter of seconds he changed his plan and jumped off his back at shoulder level. He swung the sword over his head and had calculated his jump exactly.

The moment Killer Croc rose, Dracula was at the right spot. The shoulder of the wing was directly in his path. A quick powerful blow with the sword and Dracula landed kneeling on the ground next to Killer Croc. Only seconds later the entire left wing crashed to the ground next to him. Talia and Zatanna cheered loudly for this action and could see the grin on Dracula's face. But then Killer Croc counterattacked. Despite the pain, the gigantic dragon still had the strength to hit him with a claw. Dracula pulled up the tower shield and could block the claw. The force made him jump over the ground like a pebble and with a loud scream he rammed the sword into the ground. Despite the brake that offered him this, he needed 5 meters to come to a stop. A look at the shield showed him that it was broken in the middle. He had never faced such a force before. That was pure irrepressible strength. Far above anything a normal werewolf could ever achieve. Even stronger than what he could ever achieve himself.

"Yes, that's good killer Croc! I will honour your name! But now it's time to put an end to it!"

"Look closely at Talia. Now we see him killing a dragon" Zatanna laughed and indeed a blood red shadow shot through the street and pulled a contrail behind him that looked almost like Flash. The next thing to see was Killer Croc's head falling to the ground and his whole body slowly turning back. Dracula stood in front of the head that began to shrink and gradually turned back into something human-like. As he did, Dracula could see a smile forming on Killer Croc's face. He had finally found peace.

Dracula raised the sword in front of his chest as if to salute and nodded as the head of his enemy turned to ashes and was blown away by the wind.