The War begins. The City is overrun by Werewolves (Batman's Part)

Meanwhile in the Batcave…

He was ready this time. Throwing his cloak over his shoulders and pulling his mask over his face, Batman filled his belt and clicked it tight around his waist. The others stood nearby watching him walk towards the rotating platform where a new Batmobile stood, lighting up to his presence. The moment he sat in the control consul and gripped the steering wheel, the metal hull of the machine gave off a lol thrum that made everyone shudder. “What do you intend to do my love?” Asked Poison Ivy, holding her night gown tightly as she and the others stood behind her.

“It’s nightfall… You were right, there are probably dozens of mindless werewolves in the city turning MY streets into a charnel house, I’m putting a stop to it now!”

“Will you need any he…” Before she could finish her sentence, the smooth roof slipped over the cockpit and the hiss of an airtight seal squeaked shut before a low roar of the engine made the women clasp their hands over their ears when the turbo engine breathed fire behind the Batmobile. Like a fighter jet, the pitch-black vehicle shot out of the cave, trailing streaks of red lights behind it before disappearing. Flying out of the cave and grinding through the asphalt towards the city, the Batmobile had been redesigned from the ground up. He did not know how long it would take him to deal with the vampires or the werewolves plaguing his city, but now he had a machine that could fight that battle. The chassis was more bulbous than the previous designs; a smooth black pod in the shape of a dagger, held aloft by four sets of independent suspensions like the limbs of some crouching predator, armoured in the same smooth plated armor that melded with the central hull seamlessly. All eight of its custom wheels squealed and hissed as he made a sharp turn out of the freeway and into the heart of the city, the rocket engine at the back roared again, pushing the already overpowered machine forward with the thrust of a charging locomotive.

As soon as the tree line fell back, and the looming stonework of the city streets came into view, Batman’s eyes narrowed. They were already swarming the city. Dozens of massive wolves rushed through the streets, either fighting each other in blind bloodlust or chasing those not turned by the near full moon. Seeing a woman fleeing for her life against three wolves, each the size of an automobile, Bruce slammed his foot to the gas pedal. He didn’t need to know the impact crushed bone as the monsters were flung over the roof of the Batmobile, one had found a grip on the roof and tried to hold on. In seconds the animal whined and leapt off the vehicle, burning and rotting from contacting the Batmobile’s hull. 2-centimeter-thick plates of silver nitrate and carbon fiber comprised the body of the new Batmobile; bullet proof, heat resistant, and toxic upon contact to werewolves. Slamming the brakes and spinning in place, Batman flicked a control over the dashboard, the four separate suspension systems splayed out and elevated the central hull a half foot off the ground, looking less like a creature in mid run and more like a beast ready to fight.

Ignoring the woman who by now had gotten back to her feet and ran, the other two wolves got up and made to attack the offending machine. One lunged for the Batmobile, its claws splayed out and its jaws open, neither wolf had a chance to react when Batman fired a pair of steel nets at the animals. Collapsing to the ground, the two monsters whined and screamed, smoke steaming off their flesh as the silver laced netting bound them tight. The third wolf found its footing again, the silver poisoning still burning its flesh but slowly healing over. Looking over to a mangled car, the beast tore off a bumper and trunk and flung them at the Batmobile. Near instantly the black vehicle darted to the left, its four sets of wheel pairs swivelling and strafing out of the way, keeping its forward weapons trained on the creature. Roaring with rage, the wounded werewolf lifted the ruined car over its head and threw it at the Batmobile. Thinking quick, a tow cable fired off behind the Batmobile, piercing the stonework of the building behind it 5 stories up. Squealing with dirt and smoke, the Batmobile drove backwards and was hoisted up onto the wall of the building like a spider, narrowly escaping the hulk of metal that landed where it originally stood. Repositioning its body, the Batmobile fired a dart from its forward-facing guns. Rearing back from the impact, the wolf looked over to the feather tipped tranquilizer dart filled with a grimy fluid and began to stagger. The wolfsbane laced chemical finally taking the animal down.

“Time to call the packs.” Flicking a switch overhead at the control panel over his head, Batman winced as the exterior sound system fired off a sub-frequency noise, one that could not be heard from human ears, but to anything else it was a dog whistle. Rolling down the wall of the building and twisting itself back into a car shape, the Batmobile roared its rear jet engine and flew past the city streets. For over a mile in every direction the sub-frequency sound could be heard from all the werewolves, causing them to pause in their actions, their ears perking back in pain before their attention focused on the source of the noise. Almost as one, the massive animals began to charge towards where the Batmobile raced by, their group growing as they chased the Batmobile through the streets.

Inside the vehicle, Batman was suffering migraines, his heightened senses and hearing were reacting badly to the high pitch sound, but he had to hold on for now. Looking into the camera feed of the horde of wolves chasing him, he had no doubt that he had nearly a hundred werewolves chasing him. He wasn’t sure if that was all of them or just those that reacted to the dog whistle, but for now it was enough. Changing lanes, Batman made his way towards the Gotham stadium. Slamming through the fenced gate and into one of the sub walkways that led into the playing field, Batman set the Batmobile back into its attack mode, splaying out its wheels and increasing its mobility. It didn’t take long for the wolves to flood into the playing field and try to continue chasing the Dark Knight. Once he had enough of them inside the field, Batman used the small artillery fire at the entrances, sealing off the exits and keeping the hundred or so wolves trained on him without a means of escape. Stopping in the middle of the field, Batman turned off the stereo system and gasped in relief, gripping his steering wheel with a steel grip after enduring the intense pain.

The wolves collided with the Batmobile, whining and howling in pain as any contact with the surface caused their flesh to scorch. “Now… phase two…” Flicking another switch off the control board, the vehicle fired off metallic cylinders into the air. Tear gas containers filled with silver nitrate sprayed the entire playing field of the stadium, enveloping the packs of werewolves in a grey cloud of smoke that burned on contact. Dazed and in pain, Batman fired as many silver nettings as he could, bundling scores of the monsters up around the Batmobile. When the mist cleared, the cockpit to the vehicle opened and Bruce stepped out.

His eyes narrowed at the sight, he didn’t get them all, but he got most of them. Stepping off the Batmobile and onto the AstroTurf, he quickly counted the number of Lycanthropes he now had contained. “Eighty-three…” Reaching for the small command buttons to his gauntlet, he typed a command for three of his Batwings to arrive to his location and retrieve his catch, just like before. It wasn’t enough, he knew there were others still roaming the city and risked turning others like them… Like him. Returning to the Batmobile to return to the cave, Bruce winced when he heard a bellowing roar, something that could be heard from across the city. Looking over to the horizon of the city, his eyes widened when he spotted what could only be described as a dragon take to the air in the slum section of the city. Jumping back into the Batmobile and burning a circle into the fake grass underneath, the Dark Knight smashed through the rubble of one of the exits he cut off, flying out the tunnel and back out into the city.

He didn’t look back to see the three harrier Batwings arrive to pick up the captured werewolves, he had a bigger priority now.

Taking only minutes to reach the other end of the city, Batman slammed the brakes and pressed the eject button, the roof of the cockpit sliding back and launching Batman into the air, spreading his cloak to glide the rest of the way to land in the rubble and ruins of what used to be the narrows. Landing on his feet and reaching behind his back to the batarangs at his belt, Batman hesitate briefly when he found himself in front of the rapidly dissolving corpse of killer croc, his body slowly taking up less space and turning to dust while his severed head lay meters away, crumbling to dust before his eyes.

“You arrive too late Mr. Wayne… The beast is slain.”

Slowly rising from his crouched position, Batman looked over to the red armored vampire count, then turned his attention to Talia Ghul and Zatanna. Returning his attention to Dracula, Batman’s hand never left his back, his body obscured by his pitch-black cloak. “I still see one left in my city.”

“Indeed.” Slowly making his way towards the Dark Knight, Count Dracula stood before Batman, his sword gripped blade down with both hands. “The last one I seek is the one wearing the face of a man… behind the mask of a bat.”

“I’ve rounded up the werewolves in my city, you aren’t welcome here anymore.”

“I never arrived because I was ‘welcomed’, I arrived because you are a plague Mr. Wayne, and I intend to see that plague scourged.”

“I intend to cure them, and myself… THEM too!” Batman answered, his eyes falling back to the two women sneering back at him with glowing red eyes.

The pale vampire count chuckled at the proclamation. “One cannot ‘cure’ a curse Mr. Wayne, curses run their course until they are complete, they are a punishment to the wicked and an omen to the virtuous, I intend to see this curse complete.”

“Batman.” Raising an eyebrow with a smirk, Dracula was amused by the Dark Knight’s response. “Call me Batman.”

Turning his blade up in his grip, Dracula eyed the man in front of him, his hands obscured by the full body cloak wrapped around him, he would not be made a fool again. “As you wish… Batman.” To Bruce’s surprise, Dracula turned and walked away, returning to his two brides who looked on equally shocked.

“Know this… Batman, it takes a man to kill a monster, and tomorrow is the full moon at its peak! If you turn… WHEN you turn, you shall be mine to slay.” Snapping his armored fingers, the Count and his brides exploded int oa swarm of bats and fled the narrows. Keeping his hand at a batarang until he could no longer hear the swarm, Batman pressed a button on his gauntlet to call the Batmobile to his position. He needed to return to the cave, he was going to have quite a few guests now that they were contained.