Hey, crew!
On March 1st, my second Lost Zenith book – Escape from Atlantis City – is launching. It’s a fun, emotional romp through the multiverse that sees our hero from the first book, Ian Wilder, trying to rescue his new friends from a noirish costumed crime fighter world, without getting clobbered by a team of super villains.
Last month, we took a deeper look at Ian’s friends, both back at home and in Atlantis City. This month, we wanted to give you a bit of a prequel to the spectacle of Atlantis City, PLUS showcase the team of villains standing in their way.
The Fall of New York City
“Only when the sea and skies fell silent did the stark barb of hubris pierce our necks. For from the depths came the watery automatons of King Leviathan. With serpentine iron tendrils, their cephalopod machinations emerged from the surf and razed the great pillars of our Empire City with magma-spewing mouths. No might of air, navy or ground could stay the apocalyptic march of their clockworks. Only when Gotham lay afire in nuclear orange, did they recede beneath the pale green glow of the Atlantic, leaving not just a fiery mark on our shore, but a dark legacy forever more. For we witness the death of New York City and the rise of Atlantis City.”
—Alistair Grimwald, New York Sun Herald reporter, 1901, on the fatal blow to end The Great Germanic War on an Earth not too different from our own.
The Fall of New York City
On a faraway Earth not too different from our own, New York City fell in the Great Germanic War and renamed Atlantis City as a mark for their past mistakes. Still rebuilding, the city lives in perpetual fear of the underwater city of Lyonesse and their technology. For at any moment, with the slightest provocation, they could be under siege once again. But in the clean up after the war, scientists and opportunists plundered the leftover remains. And used these scraps to create their own heroes who could protect the city from another attack. Warriors like Captain Shield, Lazeray, Speedforce, Vortex, Flamethrower, Shadowstrike, and Deathpriest. Those were the beacons of justice in Atlantis City, before Ian and his friends brought the chaos back.
Redcrowne (A criminal mastermind, leader, and telepath)
AKA Moira Flynn, a young woman born with a powerful ability to amplify the electromagnetic field of her brain to read and control minds. Teased as a freak from an early age, Moira took to enacting embarrassing revenge plots on her childhood tormentors. As a teen, she found herself living off the streets and using her gifts to turn cons, rob banks, and break into the houses of the rich to pilfer their jewels. Donning a white, fur-lined cloak, a slim white skirt, and knee-high white boots, she took over the criminal underworld of Atlantis City and recruited a band of meta-human criminals called the Brotherhood, to take her endeavors beyond the city and into the world.
Prince Mako (Merman and prince of the underwater city of Lyonesse)
AKA Makovio Meliodas, the last blood of Tristan of Arthurian legend and ruler of Lyonesse. After the city was swallowed by the sea, his ancestors adapted to survive the depths of the ocean. Mako has always disagreed with the accords between the Lyonnesians and the humans of Atlantis City and believes to this day that the city belongs to his people. He just needed a reason to break the accords.
Dowse (Former catalog model and mutant water witch)
AKA Barbara Bevermann, two-time homecoming queen and all-around smokeshow. During puberty, her body went through a strange and horrifying transformation into a liquid state. With practice, she was able to limit her episodes and eventually control her ability to turn into a liquid form. Barbara did a stint as a catalog model for a while before realizing that her abilities were more suited for fine art theft and corporate espionage.
Needles (Catsuit knife-throwing assassin)
AKA Judith Harlen, high-school dropout, burnout, and psychopath rolled into one. Her blond hair was kept shorn short with manic tufts sticking out in different directions. She wore black combat boots and a tight black catsuit. Not because she wanted to; no, it was dreadfully uncomfortable. But in close quarters with a bunch of beefy males, it provided an advantageous distraction. With more than three dozen shining silver knives strapped around her arms, waist, and legs, she was able to take out her enemies with pinpoint accuracy.
Miles (Former marine sniper, mercenary, and distance assassin)
AKA Emilio “Miles” Renfro, known for his ability to snipe a dime at a mile, turned mercenary after his wife and daughter died in a car explosion meant for him. When not getting paid by Redcrowne, he filled his time taking revenge on the mob that killed his family. Miles opted for practical military tactical gear, pants, and boots. An eyepatch over his left eye covered a gruesome shrapnel wound.
Smith (Back-alley brawler with a very big stick)
AKA Bob Smith, a former junkyard worker who survived a meteor strike while trucking scrap. He salvaged an impossibly light, yet unbreakable alien meteorite and fashioned it into the Dreaded Sledge, a hammer that could cave in a city street if used right. Not one for corny fashion like the others, Smith sported brown slacks, work boots, and a white tank undershirt. He shaved his head and face smooth every morning but left his signature bushy strong-man mustache over his sneering smile.
Wonder Boy (A teenage cyborg wasteland)
AKA Barry Grayson, a 15-year-old train wreck survivor who underwent $6 million of emergency surgery and implants for automaton arms and legs. Inspired by vintage comic books, he wore a wrestling unitard to show off his metallic arms and legs and a Lone Ranger style mask to hide his identity, even though everyone knew who he was anyway.
Juicebox (A reanimated zombie corpse of a dozen long-dead villains stitched together)
AKA who knows? Legend has it, Redcrowne assembled Juicebox from fallen friends and partners in a psychotic attempt to make them immortal. Unfortunately, Redcrowne focused only on the body and not on the brains. With an IQ of a rotting cabbage, Juicebox was a mindless enforcer who could absorb electricity and cast it when needed. With no need for fashion, Juicebox’s stitched, stapled and jigsawed corpse was completely visible, much to the horror of their enemies.
Wowzers.
Ian and friends have a steep hill to climb, if they want to save their friends and the city. I hope everything goes their way. If you want to find out, check out Escape from Atlantis City, available now!
The Ghost of the Wicked Crow
Book 1 of The Lost Zenith series. Multiverse, high school, trauma, pirates!
Escape from Atlantis City
Book 2 of The Lost Zenith series. Multiverse, mental health, superheroes!
Catch you all on the flippity-flip!
Scott R. Welvaert 
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