The appearance of an otherworldly visitor to the city sets in motion a series of horrifying visions of the dead walking the streets of New York City. But only Carter can see them, causing him to question his own sanity. Can Hawkman unravel the mystery before it consumes him?
Carter begins to see everyone as a zombie, even Emma. Suddenly, his armor begins to manifest and Carter closes his eyes. As he opens them again, the people is back to normal. Emma asks if he is okay, and Carter excuses himself. Manifesting his armor, Hawkman flies away, believing that perhaps the Nth metal is toxic, like mercury.
Meanwhile, at Digby's Rare Book Emporium, a ghost begins harassing Mr. Digby, the store's owner. The ghost says that he is interested in a book about symbols and hieroglyphics. He also says that he wants to know about the Mortis Orb. Then, the ghost grabs Digby by the neck, saying that he will decipher the book for him.
Hawkman arrives to his apartment building on the Bronx. Dissipating his armor, Carter meets up with a boy named Singh, who tells him that a girl named Emma came looking for him. Singh also expresses interest in Emma, but Carter ignores him. As he enters his apartment, he gets a call from Professor Ziegler, who has a job for him.
Meanwhile, Digby tells the mysterious ghost that he did as he asked. The ghost is pleased and says that for once in his life, Digby will make a difference.
Carter arrives at Professor Ziegler's temporary lab, and Professor Ziegler hands him an ancient text brought to him by a client who wanted it translated.
Using his translation power, Carter deciphers the book, reliving the battle between a sect of warlock and an army of resurrected corpses capable of phasing between two planes of existence. Using the Mortis Orb, the warlocks were victorious but at a heavy cost. The warlocks gave the orb to a mysterious stranger who sought to hide it forever at the ends of the Earth.
After finishing the translation, Carter asks to take the book with him, and Professor Ziegler agrees. Then, Carter asks who gave him the book, and Professor Ziegler replies that it was a man named Jim Craddock.
Later, Carter and Singh investigate Craddock, discovering that Craddock was a notorious British highwayman who lived in the 1800s and was executed. Carter asks about the image from the surveillance camera, and Singh discovers that the man who dropped off the book is named Darius Digby, the owner of a bookshop at Greenwich Village.
Suddenly, Carter sees zombies trying to break through the window. Tackling Singh to the floor, Carter tries to protect him, but the zombies disappear, revealing it was just an illusion. Excusing himself from Singh, Carter says that he is going to find Digby.
Hawkman goes to Digby's place and interrogates him about the book. Digby says that he bought the book at an estate sale years ago, and that a freakshow asked about the book. When Hawkman asks who came for the book, Digby replies that it was a gentleman who wants the Mortis Orb.
Suddenly, Hawkman is attacked by between-worlds apparitions, just like the ones described in the book. As the apparitions surround him and Digby, the ghost reveals his identity: the Gentleman Ghost.
To be continued...
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