crossbow_bat:

Maria wasn't exactly sure what to get Marissa for her birthday, but she had to get something. It was Marissa's eighteenth birthday and that was a big one. Maria remembered hers quite fondly. It was the birthday that ended up sitting in jail cell for a few hours. The memory made her smile.

Maria had gone the safe route in terms of a gift. A certificate for the works at a great spa Maria recently found and the best Belgian truffles. The gifts were accompanied by a card and Maria urged Marissa to go raise some hell on her birthday and to have fun.

dc_holiday:

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. ~Irish Proverb

dc_misc:

It was the night of the annual Gotham Natural History Museum Gala for Charity. Which hasn’t been attack by super villains for two years a new record. All the big movers and shakers in Gotham were there and the amount of money being raised for charity and to keep the museum running was surprising.

newimprovedbat:

It had taken him awhile, but Terry had found Dana with the rest of the revived dead in Star City. After that, he had made sure that his first priority was getting her out of there, and back to Gotham City. He had gotten her a room in Wayne Manor and spent the night there, not wanting to leave her. There were things that they needed to get done, like telling her parents that she was alive again.

But for now, Terry was enjoying it just being them. He had missed her.

For the first night in a long time, Terry slept like a baby. He woke up that morning (or afternoon, he wasn't really keeping track of the hours), and rolled over in the bed, smiling at Dana, who was still sleeping. He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you," he said softly.

dc_misc:

The city of Star City looked deserted. The citizens had either fled or had been turned into black lanterns. At the heart of the city was the entity known as Nekron. Nekron used the city as his base as his black lanterns ravaged the Earth.

The black lanterns increased their numbers each day and the power levels of the black lantern battery increased with each person that died.

Soon Nekron would have enough power to obliterate all life on this planet.

dc_holiday:


I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Hath led me -- who knows how?
To thy chamber window, Sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream--
And the Champak's odours
Like sweet thoughts in a dream;
The nightingale's complaint,
It dies upon her heart,
As I must on thine,
O belovèd as thou art!

O lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast:
O press it to thine own again,
Where it will break at last!

Percy Bysshe Shelley

old_windbat:

Bruce Wayne flew over Wayne Manor and landed at the front door. He turned the knob and walked in, only to be greeted by a growling dog. Ace, the dog that stood at his side for so many years, now showed his teeth at Bruce's walking corpse. It was greeted by an uncharacteristic, cracked smile.

"Rage," Bruce commented. "It never did take much to set you off, Ace. But it’s time to heel, boy."

...

Later, down in the Bat Cave, Bruce Wayne sat in his chair and faced his large computer. Ace was at his side, covered in the shadows. Everything seemed... normal.

tiny_tornado:

Years ago, the Hall of Justice had been the Earthbound headquarters of the Justice League, the compliment to an orbiting satellite portion.  It had eventually been discontinued as a headquarters, but the museum portion remained and much of the equipment was still present, usable as a back-up location.  Located in Washington DC, where the All-Star Squadron had once had their own headquarters, it remained a popular tourist destination.

Traya had spent a lot of time here, once upon a time, when her father had been damaged and stored in the computer system.

It was to here that she and Michael had come, to get the warning out to everyone else.

The headquarters portion was dusty, but Traya whisked it all away with a couple of well placed gusts and got the computer systems running.

"This is Whirlwind of the Young Justice League, to anyone reachable by this message.  Firestorm and I have encountered a zombie version of Kid Flash.  We defeated him, but we don't... we don't know if there are more of them...   YJLA HQ is wrecked.  We are requesting anyone available converge upon the Hall of Justice... repeat..."

gotham_rogues:

Gotham City was at it's boiling point.

In the streets, the wars between the crime families had reached its breaking point, with the death of another family head that previous night. The police had their hands full with trying to break up riots.

It had taken some very careful planning on his part, but Hush had managed to break out every prisoner in Arkham Asylum. The guards were dealing with their own personal hell, as the most dangerous criminals in Gotham City were all out of their cells, and they were trying to keep them from getting out into the city.

And now...it was time to test Batman and Robin. Hush delivered a package to Terry McGinnis, with pictures of Dana Tan tied up and beaten, along with his location, a warehouse in Gotham Harbor.

Attached was a simple note:

Choose.

dc_misc:

The YJLA and the Avengers had a busy week. They had been searching the globe for signs of Kang all week, but no trace of the time-traveling conqueror could be found. The people who attacked the YJLA seemed to have disappeared into thin air as well. It had been a quiet week for both teams. Little did they know it was the calm before the storm.

The two teams met at the YJLA headquarters for a brief meeting to go over the results of their searches and to lay plans for the upcoming days. Both teams were gathered in the conference room when there was a bright flash and they were all transported to a spot some distance away from Kang's Fortress at the End of Time.

It was time to fight what should be the final battle in this adventure.

shield_maiden:

The Avengers were shown to quarters in the YJLA headquarters and given some time to get cleaned up and settle in. When the allotted time was up everyone on both sides were called to the meeting room. It would be a time to do formal introductions and figure out why the Avengers were here.

Svalin found the room without any problems and entered. It was empty and she took a seat in a chair that allowed her a good view of the door.

gotham_rogues:

He had to go away for a little while, but Hush was back in Gotham City. And he was out for blood.

Or rather, the guy who was paying him was. But he was paying him to go after a very old friend of his. Someone who he had tangled with before. Someone who this time, if he played his cards right would end up exactly how he wanted her to be-dead. Her, and if he got lucky, her friend. Batman.

But first, he had to make sure that she knew she wasn't safe. He had to get her nice and scared, so she would be easier to break.

A package arrived at Wayne Manor that afternoon for Marissa Wayne. In it, she would find several pictures of her mother, Vicki Vale, lying dead in a pool of her own blood. Attached to one of the pictures was a typewritten note.

Miss me?

dc_misc:

Reporters lined up outside of the Gotham City Police Station, filming the transport of the Artist's body from the police station into a van.  The police officers were all grumbling about being caught off guard by the assault on their station.  The, finally, the Chief of Police stood up on his podium and made his broadcast announcement.

"Robert Franklin 'Frank' Wells, otherwise known as The Artist, was murdered last night in his cell.  He was recently brought in for a string of murders of multiple women, including the local crime fighter, Red Arrow.  We have identified the culprit of this murder.  He has strong ties to the Red Arrow and has been recently seen in Gotham.  The man who murdered Robert Wells is none other than the Green Arrow." 

The Chief of Police took that moment to hold up the large bag containing a bloodied green arrow, taken from the Artist's forehead.

"The Green Arrow is now a wanted criminal.  All who see him are advised to call the police so he can be brought in for his crime."

The cameras were turned away from the Chief of Police then, and each reporter put their own shocked responses and questions to the tail ends of their reports.  The news filled the television screens all across the United States.  Word was out on the Green Arrow.

newimprovedbat:

Terry sat in the Batcave, in costume, but without his mask on. His mask, he was holding his hands, just staring at it.

Bruce was dead. Bruce had been killed by the same assassin that Terry had stopped from killing Bruce earlier that week, at the business meeting.

He hadn't been there to protect him this time, though. Last time he had been there. Last time he had stopped it.

Damnit. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He blamed himself for not being there when Bruce needed him the most, and he wouldn't hold it against her if Marissa did too.

Terry just continued to sit in the chair in front of the monitor screen, staring at his mask like it held all the answers.

dc_misc:

Bruce Wayne's secretary, Ms Jane Johnson, sat at her desk typing away furiously. She had a lot of work to get done before Mr. Wayne's one o'clock meeting with a new potential business partner. She did not know much about him, other than that he was a very young man with supposedly a lot of good ideas for Wayne Industries and the company he represented.

In between working, she looked up to see a man standing in front of her desk.

"May I help you?" She asked coolly. No one got to see Mr. Wayne without going through her first.

newimprovedbat:

Terry had been giving this a lot of thought lately.

It weighted on him heavily, keeping his "double-life" a secret from Dana. On the plus side, it kept her safe, her not knowing. The con was that constantly showing up late for dates or just not plain showing up at all really had a toll on him. He could only come up with so many excuses, and he could only ask for Maxine to cover for him so many times.

Maxine had asked him if he really wanted to do it. If he really wanted to expose Dana to that part of his life. And he had given it a lot of thought. He did. He went back and forth between telling her and not telling her a million times in his head.

It was a big risk, but he could trust Dana. He knew that he could.

He texted her to meet him at a location where he knew they'd be safe from any possible threats. In his Batman costume, he waited in the shadows for her.

dc_holiday:

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." JFK

In America today is a day for being thankful for the things in people's lives. Today was a day to celebrate family, friends, prosperity and health with food, family and friends. It is a time to reflect on what is important us and to recognize the gratitude we hold for having those things in our lives.

crossbow_bat:

Maria returned the bike she stole the night before. She had felt guilty about having to steal a bike, but it had been a long way back to Wayne Manor. Little did she know it wasn't the Wayne Manor she knew.

Talk about messed up. Waking up in a whole new world. This was going to take some getting used to.

She shoved her hands in her jacket pocket. Bruce had given her some cash for a cab back to Wayne Manor, but Maria wanted to see a little more of /this/ Gotham. She wanted to see what was the same and what was different. Maria was always a curious girl.

A light rain started to fall, but she continued to walk. Aimlessly walking was good for clearing one's head and she had a lot of clearing to do. Her parents, this world's versions, were still alive. A good portion of the night had been spent thinking about them and what they could be like. It was mind blowing to think they were alive.

She asked herself a million times already if she wanted to meet them. She honestly didn't know the answer to that. It was one of the big questions she would have to eventually answer.

Another one was what she was going to do if she couldn't go home. She had been trying to figure out what she wanted to do in that world and now she had a whole new world to learn about and figure out what to do it in if she stayed.

Maria sighed and continued to walk the streets of Gotham.

dc_baddie:

Grandma Sunshine was in the kitchen, baking goodies for her grandchildren, who were all nicely taking their naps in the little bedroom that she'd tucked them in.

She would have to leave them to run a couple of errands in a little while, and she'd arranged for some babysitters for her super-powered kiddies, but she couldn't wait to spend the whole afternoon with her new grandkids.

Meanwhile, the YJLA would find themselves waking up...and finding something was different.

dc_baddie:

Mary Lou Sunshine had always wanted grandchildren.

Unfortunately for her, her son would never leave the basement long enough to meet a nice girl and get married and lovely little babies for her to spoil.

Still, she wanted grandchildren. So she was going to get some grandchildren.

And who better to have as grandkids than those nice little boys and girls in the Justice League?

Grandma Sunshine walked right up to Young Justice League headquarters, a basket of goodies in hand. She rang the doorbell, a smile on her face.

dc_misc:

The young brunette girl sits bound to the chair, crying softly as she looks down the body of a petite blond girl, no younger than twenty-five. The blond woman wears a cowl or a hood, laying unmoving on the cold concrete. Her body is positioned in solemn rest as she lies on the floor, as though she were only sleeping rather than dead.

( Read more... )

first_son:

The Titans of myth being freed from Hades goes beyond just the YJLA. The adults are also working on it, but haven't had a lot of luck, especially with so many of their number in semi-retirement. As such, Jon moved beyond his original plan to hold a meeting of his team, and called to invite representatives of the other teams as well, calling all active roster YJLA, and inviting the other teams to send 1-3 people so things didn't get too crowded. Then they can inform their people what's going on.


"So, folks, we have a big problem. The monsters and beings that have been appearing around the world were freed from the dimension Hades. We don't know how or by who. The Olympian gods have not been forthcoming, even to the Amazons, and even very powerful mystics have been unable to pierce the mystery... though past experience has taught us that's often the case with affairs of the gods. They limit their direct interference in mortal affairs, in exchange, mortals have a very hard time dealing directly with them. Sadly, even though the original Grecian Titans don't have any such compact, to learn what happened, we'd need to get past Hades' protections. The Greek gods may be incapacitated, or may be somehow bound by the compact of the gods. Its very possible that once the original Titans reached Earth, their captors couldn't directly interfere."

He sighs. "Direct confrontation isn't the likely answer. Single gods have fought groups including my father, Wonder Woman and a handful of other senior leaguers. Many of the Titans have the power of an entire team. The Titans are more powerful still - the only reason the Greek Gods defeated them was due to greater unity and better tactics. Don't mistake me - they can be beaten, but we're going to need a good plan, and possibly more allies and greater resources. At this point, I'm open to ideas."

newimprovedbat:

Marissa didn't deserve being grounded. When she only got to see the light of day (or night, in this case), was when they went out on patrol, well...that was just torture.

Between adjusting to his classes at Gotham University, being Bruce assistant, Batman, and attempting to have SOMETHING even close to a social life, Terry really hadn't made much time to break Marissa out of her "prison".

So this was long overdue.

Bruce was out for the day, and if they did get caught (which they probably would), Terry would take full blame.

He knocked on Marissa's door.

"You decent?"

dc_monsters:

The biggest, baddest and most feared monster in all of Greek Mythology was Typhon. He was the father of all monsters with his wife Echidna.

His human upper half reached as high as the stars. His hands reached east and west and had a hundred dragon heads on each. He was feared even by the mighty gods. His bottom half was gigantic viper coils that could reach the top of his head when stretched out and made a hissing noise. His whole body was covered in wings, and fire flashed from his eyes.

In myth, the Typhon was never killed. The gods feared him and it took the lightning bolt of Zeus to hurt the thing enough for the king of the gods to imprison it under Mt. Etna in Sicily.

The Typhon would be a great distraction and a very big problem for the gods and the heroes of the world if he were unleashed.

Hyperion the titan made his way toward Mt. Etna to release Typhon.

green_lantern:

It wasn't something Dex would have thought on his own, but Maura had insisted on him meeting the Young Justice League. He had learned about the League through other green lanterns when he was on Oa and heard many stories about their bravery and actions. He had hoped to get assigned to Earth and be able to fight along side of them.

He changed into his uniform and headed over there.

He was undaunted as he approached their headquarters.

partdemon:

This had all been a complete waste of his time. Why his dad sent him to talk to the eccentric billionaire Bruce Wayne was beyond him. His dad had said to trust him so he had told him the whole thing about a group of demons appearing out of nowhere and attacking him. He had left out some of the more graphic details about how he had dealt with the problem a since he didn’t want to give the old guy a heart attack. Some people just don’t age as well as his dad.

When Mr. Wayne said there was nothing he could do to help. He had expected that but for the life of him he could not figure out why his dad had sent him there. He left the manor quite annoyed and was going to walk till he had a chance to cool off. Sometime his dad could be really cryptic and unhelpful.

in_a_snap:

(Timebendyed so anyone can be involved)

Jerry had heard that there was suppose to be an amazing meteor shower tonight and the best place to see it was in the Arches National Park in Utah. He had let dad knew he was going to spend the night there which his dad was totally fine with.

After teleporting in with some basic supplies he started looking for a good place to watch it from. Teleporting around the park he saw a mesa that looked like he could get a great view from. He snapped his fingers and appeared in a flash of green at the top of the mesa.

What he saw up there was something that he Jerry Carr had trouble believing. There was a organic looking machine with little robotic drones eating the rocks. And one charged right at him.

Quickly snapping both hands he teleported away and teleported a boulder right on top of the drone crushing it. Jerry let out a sigh of relief until he noticed that the drones were now eating the boulder and forming even more drones.

This was bad and Jerry knew he could not handle this by himself and felt that it would be smart to call in as much help as he could.

Teleporting back to his stuff away from the mesa he grabbed his cell phone and started calling all of the people he knew who were superheroes to get as much help as he could.

teamterry:

Maxine had asked Terry if he could take her to Mr. Wayne because there was something she wanted to talk to him about. She knew how to get to Wayne manor and even how to get into the bat cave but Terry and Bruce weren’t comfortable with her heading up there herself. She knew It was a secret identity thing so she didn’t complain and with what she wanted to talk to both Bruce and Terry about she want to be on very good terms with both of them. Maxine wanted to take a more active role in the whole superhero thing. Last time she had tried that with Bruce he had gotten her arrested and Terry never seem comfortable when in the past she had forced her way into helping him, but they had all come a long way since then.

dc_holiday:

Mothers are the place that we call home.
On them we rest our heads and close our eyes.
There's no one else who grants the same soft peace,
Happiness, contentment, sweet release,
Erasing nighttime tears with lullabies,
Restoring the bright sun that makes us bloom. - Anonymous

lantern_rogues:

Torgar is annoyed.

"We don't have the entire League yet. We'll need to collect the Green Lantern," he tells the others.

newimprovedbat:

Batman was on patrol by himself this evening. Which was just as good, as he was still irked over having been "assigned" a Robin.

His 'sidekick' wasn't with him tonight, though. Tonight Batman was on his own, gliding over the rooftops of Gotham.

Landing on top of a building across from Gotham's First National bank, Batman activated the night-vision on his mask. There'd been rumors of a break-in.

batdaughter:

As far as she could tell, this was all bullshit and wasn't getting any better. The transition into the care of her father was still rough. Marissa didn't know if it were safe to get to know him at all, especially after discovering that he was...had been Batman. It offered her an outlet, though. After discovering she was hell-bent on being out in the guts of the city to track down the slime who murdered Vicki, Marissa got her own cape, her own job.

Robin.

Batman's sidekick.

Except Daddy Dearest wasn't Batman. Terry was and Bruce had turned her over to him completely. This soured with Marissa. Who the hell was this...kid that he could have authority over her? That alone irritated her. The costume she was supposed to wear irritated her more. Marissa was not wearing the green-red-yellow disaster. It was ugly. And obvious. No. No way.

She had spent the better part of the past two weeks redoing the costume. Batman wore black. Okay, fine, no black. But there was nothing wrong with a blood red so deep it was almost onyx. It called up in her the sight of her mother's spilling blood. It drove her, that hue. Geared up completely save for her mask, she idly noted that she looked a touch like a red Batman with boobs. She didn't care.

But Terry might.

"I'm here."

And early for a change instead. Reporting for patrol always pissed her off.

questionthis:

Max had been tracking these low level crooks for a while ever since he let them escape from him. He could have taken them down easy but they weren’t his targets their bosses were. The police had yet to figure out that these seemingly random robberies and muggings were actually connected. It was a simple enough one to find once he started looking all of them went to the same coffee house. A guy who worked there checked people out for what they carried on them and would let the others know who good targets were. He always knew Starbucks was evil even if they weren’t related to each other this time for the crimes.

 

He was on the rooftops following the two muggers, they honestly believed that they had fought him off and escaped. Maybe he was a better actor than he thought he was and the faceless mask had to have helped, either that the guys were just complete idiots. Still this plan was to smart to be an idea from these low lives and he wanted to cut the head off of this operation as soon as possible.

 

Max was wearing a black track jacket, a white t-shirt with a black question mark on it and black sweatpants. All of that was color changing like his hair color due to a special chemical treatment that he and dad had made which changed color when treated with the same chemical gas cloud that he used to attach his mask. He also had a crossbow with blunt blots loaded into it with a couple of extra magazines and a small maghook. He was pretty well prepared to deal with typical low life criminals but he was going to case the place before he made his move.

 

It was about this time that the crooks he was chasing ran into an old warehouse which had been he had put on his list of highly likely places for their headquarters to be. From a nearby rooftop Max started to case the place.

dc_eldritch:

Out of the temple doors in the bay comes an ancient evil creature. It is Cthulu himself. He roars loudly then snatches up several cultists and eats them. The frightened screams of the others fill the air. His gaze turns to the shore and then he begins to walk.

His march towards the shore begins and he doesn't notice anything else just yet.

dc_eldritch:

It happened one day. Bombs went off across the city and suddenly people got rounded up like cattle. One look at a Cthulu spawn and they were either screaming in utter insanity or on their knees in reverence. A couple of times men and women suddenly jumped each other coupling roughly on the roof of a car.

But they stopped and started to pick up all kinds of weapons. Most of them were improvised weapons.

The numerous Cthulu spawn who had been called up from the deep joined them. This city would be theirs by nightfall. They needed to finish it tonight.

Cthulu called to them.

dc_misc:

AS different groups gathered together to put a stop to what was going to happen others assembled to make sure it happened. It was not an easy thing to break into the Warden's office. But it was easy to have him suddenly slip into madness and find that he didn't mind the idea of letting everyone have fun. Shouldn't everyone feel this free?

He giggled. Then started releasing the most dangerous in mates of Arkham. They struck attacking and fighting. One guard got his stun gun taken from him and they started to beat him to death.

Other guards tried to step in. Others tried to call for the cops. But then the lines went dead. They couldn't carry their cell phones on them while on the floor so there was very little they could do as suddenly the whole place erupted into a tapestry of violence.

gotham_rogues:

Just after their first meeting before anything can happen between Nightwing and Batman a problem crops up. There are a bunch of Jokerz right there and a creature that looks like it is made from the nightmares of Gotham herself. It stands back but gibbers something at the apparent leader of this group of Jokerz.

"Yeah, yeah I hear ya. Hold yer horses," he slicks back his hair and offers both heroes a grin. "My pal here has asked us ta get something from ya Bats. We want the diary of Randolph Carter. Hand it over or we'll take it from ya. Either way we win."

Twenty Jokerz, a Cthulu spawn, and two of Gotham's finest. This looks good.

notthegdbatman:

"B. This is D." he said. "I need Batman. Arkham's going to be a hot bed tonight and I can't handle it alone. I need your help."

Famous last words, no doubt. Dick stood on top of the agreed upon building, his back against a brick wall as he lurked in silence. He really wasn't sure what to expect - Bruce had sounded perversely amused for some reason. Dick was hoping that didn't mean he was in for one of Bruce's ideas of a joke. Usually when they had gone so long without speaking, there was a lot more tension from the old man. Strangely, Bruce didn't send up that static this time.

Dick's body ached from flying the lines, but he all but didn't feel it. Instead, he tried to use the quiet downtime to rest a bit, to let his breath steady. Dick was still in the prime of his life, but it wasn't like when he was 18. 30 years on the jumplines was still hard on the body, even when you were Dick Grayson.

When was Batman going to show? Dick let his brain switch over to Nightwing mode, and he heaved out a sigh. This was all troubling for him, and in some ways it was comforting to hear that graveled voice through the comm link again. Dick missed the old asshole, even if he was a cock and was insensitive and generally made Dick always feel like he was 8 again.

Nightwing was patient. He could wait.

dc_eldritch:

The world knew about the strange dream that had over taken the world. Some people had actually woken up with white hair though their bodies had not aged like they had in the dream. They felt very tired though and had been taken with the sudden urge to create strange images that if looked upon too closely it made even the most well grounded man feel as if something was watching him.

Then things seemed safe. For a week there were no strange dreams or mass hysteria in the night. But then it happened again.

At first it seemed so innocent. The dreamers had visions of clear skies and pleasant things that made them feel better. Other dreamers who were not quite human could smell a sweet smell in their dream that caught their attention. They couldn't help but wander away until they found themselves walking and talking together happily as they walked through a strange market place.

What was strange was the people. They spoke to the dreamers in many languages and often strange beings with tentacles over their mouths and in place of their hair kept trying to offer the dreamers shining beads and crowns of gold.

Finally they make it to a far too bright shore and they see a tower that is unnaturally white. On the tower stands a figure dressed in yellow. They are suddenly aware that this figure is far too beautiful and far too horrifying to be seen. It must never be named but from the tower it watches them with it's eerie yellow body and it does the most terrible thing that it could it does not stare at them with hatred but with amused affection.

"This will be your end if you do not stop it. Awaken dreamers, for Cthulu lies dreaming in R'lyeh." Another message is spoken to a select few.

"Read the diary of Randolph Carter if you wish to save your people," a voice whispers to the few who have the journal who are among the people who were taken into this dream.

And so anyone who is not human awakens knowing something more. This time while they are left with a sense of wrongness in the world they know they have a piece of the puzzle.

For the rest they are dragged into another horrifying night. Snakes and cultists hunt them and a terrible burning eye watches them. Some are taken to the temple and fed to the terrible thing that they have burned into their memory. Others find themselves fed strange and terrible things knowing it is a twisted form of what they used to enjoy eating and upon waking will swear off their favorite foods forever. The chants are heard and a few people wake up having written the chant down. They smile knowing their god has chosen them for a great thing. The Church of Dagon has risen once more! All fear Cthulu's might!

dc_eldritch:

No one in the world on this night escapes it. They find themselves wanting to just curl up for a few minutes for some sleep. Weather it is just a nap or actually going to bed they find themselves sleeping. They do not get to sleep well. Screams of hosts long since dead haunt them and many of the dreamers find themselves herded up like cattle by strangers in heavy robes carrying pitch forks and guns.

"Where are we going," a man asks.

One of the robed men speaks. "To see our lord. You do not know the way. We shall guide you."

A child cries that she wants her mommy as they are separated. A man is shot for trying to run away and the smell of something burning fills the air.

The world is on fire and no one can escape it. They must go with the strangers to see their lord.

The dreamers are brought to a boat that goes across a sea of blood and gore. They find themselves marched across an island and they enter a tall nd terrible temple. When they try to really look at it a few go mad and start to gibber nonsense as their hair turns white and their skin wrinkles and shrivels up. They are suddenly very old.

The chanting is heard as the dreamers enter the temple.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," the terrible chant is burned into the minds of people who are truly insane. People who are blessed or cursed with knowledge of the magical world find themselves puking both in the dreaming and the real world. For reasons they can not explain in the dreaming world they know that this place is terrible.

And then they are brought into the main chamber of the temple. A scream goes out as a great clawed hand comes down and begins to grab people by the dozens and brings them into the mouth of a terrible creature. The people who are eaten are lucky if anyone who can be called that. They wake up.

The are not so lucky. They think they are awake. They think are safe. But there are things lurking in the darkness of their dream world, waiting.

dc_misc:

Across the country several an older man climbs out of a taxi. He checks a list and gets ready to go deliver a package. It was on this exact date the packages were to be delivered into the hands of each person. In one location though two men climb out of a car.

They look eerily similar with oddly blubus eyes but one is very short and portly. In each place almost at the same time they knock on a door.

They're here to deliver a package.

newimprovedbat:

Crime doesn't sleep in Gotham City.

Since donning the cowl of Batman over a month and a half ago, Terry McGinnis has learned this quickly. He's learned a lot of things quickly. He's had to. In Gotham, crime doesn't slow down just because it's defender is new to the game.

And for about that month and a half, other than finding a way to juggle his personal life as Terry and his moonlighting at Batman, he's been on the prowl, looking to crack a drug-dealing ring that's been going out of Gotham since before he stepped into the Bat-suit.

The dealers have been quick, covering up their tracks, moving just when Terry got a lead on their location. Always one step ahead of him. Deliveries to other cities handled in broad daylight, under 'business shipments'. Broad daylight, when the Batman didn't prowl the cities, striking fear into the hearts of criminals and delivering justice.

Last night though, someone slipped up. Last night, someone told Batman where he could find the mastermind behind the drug-smuggling ring. Carlo Falcone. The mob's up-and-coming star. Of course it had to be the mob. This didn't shock Terry in the slightest. The Jokerz didn't have the brain power or the organizational skills to pull off something this big.

And Terry's poised over where his "informant" told him that he could find Falcone and his goons. Gotham pier. Third warehouse down.

He watches from the rooftops, waiting to strike.