Some time later, Shuttershock arrived. As I was battling a horde of living dead, he blasted the entire group, surrounding me with a powerful light beam, exploding them to puddles of soupy mess. He landed next to me, and as he did I stomped the head of a crawling zombie right before it bit my partner’s ankle. He thanked me, and I instructed him to aim for the heads as destroying their brains was the only way to kill the zombies. He complied, and we moved on to the next group.

Side-by-side we fought. I was bashing zombie skulls in while Shuttershock used light beams to explode their heads. We were incredibly efficient, cleaning out areas by the dozen and saving people in droves. We even crossed paths with other heroes, joining up for brief moments to combat the deceased slaves of Sarcophagus. At one point, the samurai superhero Musashi fought near us. Without skipping a beat, he sliced and diced zombie brains while in perfect sync with Shuttershock and me. We nodded at one another and commenced protecting the city. Musashi was even making a game out of the battle. He called my attention, then, he began severing zombie heads at the necks with great force, causing them to pop high into the air. While they were floating, he would kick them over to me and yell out a boxing instruction. I evaporated the heads with powerful right hooks, jabs and uppercuts. Next, Musashi called Shuttershock. This time, he would slice off the zombie heads, kick them in the air, and yell the word “pull” like in skeet shooting. Shuttershock would track the flying corpse head and blast it to bits with a burst of light energy. After ten minutes or so of this, Musashi bid us farewell and continued on fighting his way through, presumably back towards New Japan.

For hours, Shuttershock and I raged against the zombies, and though we grew more tired, our mission became easier. Sarcophagus was able to reanimate dead civilians once his zombies killed them, replenishing his numbers. However, as time passed, we were able to help more and more people to safety. Plus, the zombies were not able to infect the living, so if someone was bit or scratched, they would not turn. A fact that helped us greatly. Thus, eventually there were no innocent bystanders on the streets. It was simply heroes, the police and the National Guard, picking off the living dead one by one. Sarcophagus had lost control and was losing the battle. Therefore, I told Shuttershock to split up and find the mummy master before he escaped.

I flew over the city and looked down on the streets, but could not see Sarcophagus anywhere. All there was were seas of blood and dead bodies. And the heroes and brave civilians continued slaying the remaining hordes of zombies with ease. However, all was not safe, as I spotted a mother, her three kids and a man cornered by a group of living dead.

I was about to fly down and kill the zombies to save the family, until I noticed the particulars of the situation. The mother, a blonde woman, and her three children were being protected by the man who I would come to know as Frequency. I had heard of him, and knew him by his given name, Martin Bland, for he was well-known throughout southern Platinum City as a civil rights activist and mentor to young African-American kids. But on this day, he was fighting against something a little different than inequality; he was fighting against the walking dead and he apparently had hyper-abilities!

As I approached the scene to lend a helping hand, I suddenly noticed all the zombies around them falling to their knees, their heads caved in. The people were safe. So, I flew down and introduced myself to the hero, then asked how he managed to pound the heads of the zombies in when I did not see him strike them once. He told me his power was the ability to hit a target once, and then use his mind to frequently inflict the same damage over and over again at a much higher degree. Thus, he punched each zombie, and then used his mental powers to inflict the same damage repeatedly while amplifying the effect. It was as if the zombies were frequently being pounded in the face with great force. I never heard of any hero having that ability, and told Frequency I was quite impressed.

He replied he was just trying to get on my level, called me “big bro”, and said it was his job to help do some good. We both laughed and exchanged a firm, zombie-gut-covered handshake. I noticed his wedding band and asked him if his wife approved of his vigilante hero work. He replied that he hoped one of my powers was the ability to keep a secret. He laughed again before assuring me that his wife Tamara and his two kids were safe in Philadelphia visiting family. I commented that I would keep his secret, while also assuring him that I would look into ways of helping his social justice causes. He thanked me profusely, then let me know that he had this sector of the city under control. I instructed the mom and her children to find a safe place to lay low, then lifted off and began to depart.

Unfortunately, I should’ve stayed, because that was when tragedy struck.

As I flew away, I turned back at the sound of sirens and screeching tires in the distance. It was a pair of Platinum City Police Force squad cars pulling up to the scene. Three officers jumped out with their guns drawn and shouted for Frequency not to move. I watched, appalled at what was taking place, but not surprised. I’m certainly no stranger to the fact that some PCPF police are known to harass and profile minorities. I figured they would ultimately realize Frequency had saved the family and move on, especially with so much still needing to be done with killing zombies.

Then I saw Frequency put his hands up slowly and tell the officers he was only helping the family. They replied that he needed to keep quiet, put his hands on his head and walk backwards slowly towards them. The mother of the kids spoke up next, yelling at the officers that Frequency saved her and her children and they needed to leave him alone. The cops, however, continued to yell at the man with their guns raised. I had had enough of what I was witnessing, so I began flying back to set them straight. That was when I overheard a man screaming for help just below me. He was trapped between a fence and a zombie in an alley. I did not want to leave Frequency, but I had to go to the aid of the civilian. With lightning speed I swooped down, smashed the head of the zombie, saving the man, and continued on my way to the hero.

When I was close to the scene, I heard Frequency say he was going to turn around slowly with his hands up so they could see he meant no harm. He did so. The officers then asked what he had stuffed inside his vest. He replied it was his headphones and reached to show them. The officers screamed and opened fire. I made a beeline, but it was too late – Frequency was hit nearly twenty times before I was able to swoop in and grab him.

I held him in my arms, as the officers repeatedly swore they thought he was reaching for a weapon. I angrily jumped to my feet, grabbed the guns from the officers, smashed them, then forcefully pressed the three of them against the side of a squad car, shattering the windows and windshield. I balled up a fist and was seconds away from doing something I would have regretted, when I heard the mother scream and cover the eyes of her children. I unballed my fist, and yelled at the officers for their ignorant, absurdly ridiculous actions. They had nothing to say. They knew they were wrong, and they knew they messed up big time. I could not finish berating them, however, for another civilian was in danger. So, I took their badges in order to follow up with legal action after everything with the zombies was resolved, and left.
Meanwhile, Sarcophagus was watching the entire situation from the shadows nearby. He emerged after my departure and reanimated Frequency’s corpse. He now had a super zombie! I know this because as I was flying away, I heard the mother scream. I turned to see what was happening and witnessed Sarcophagus whispering in Frequency’s ear and pointing to the officers. Frequency went after them. The cops grabbed at their own waists looking for their firearms, but they had none, for I had destroyed them. They were defenseless when zombie-Frequency grabbed them and began clawing and chewing them up!

I began flying back while yelling at Sarcophagus to stop. The zombie master waved his hand, increasing his influence over Frequency. The fallen-but-not-fallen hero began moving much faster than any of the other zombies. He was tearing the officers apart limb from limb. It was a horrendous sight. I had to stop it!

But alas, before I could grab Sarcophagus and Frequency, the teleporting book ninja Cliché appeared out of thin air, directly in my path. I halted my flight abruptly, and realized what was about to happen. Before I could escape, a flash of light engulfed me and I was whisked back to Sir Vellichor‘s Grand Library…

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