A/N: Hey faithful readers, sorry about the incredibly long delay, I got a new job so my writing time was cut short, but I'm back and with a new installment of Sorceress's adventures, this time with Justice League. We see some familiar faces like Batman and Robin, and maybe even Jack. But Sorceress gets to hang with the big leagues.
To recap the first part, Detective Karen Larsing was working a serial murder case, got obsessed, met Batman, got captured, got powers from being captured, teamed up with Batman, then she "died" and decided that she was better off dead and changed her name to Sorceress and went to travel the world in search of Torment the reason she has powers.
Got it? Well ready or not . . .
The street was quiet, almost too quiet for Gotham, a rare occasion with only papers rustlings the pavement as those in the buildings surrounding slept soundly. But the peace didn't last as a flash of brilliant light lit the buildings up like a flash of lightening.
If anyone had peeked out their curtains they would have wondered if they were hallucinating. Or assumed it was just some weird dream, because on what was once a quiet street stood a woman with blindingly white hair, glowing with an inner light, wearing an outfit straight out of a fantasy novel. And as if that wasn't inconspicuous enough a huge albino wolf stood at her side sniffing the asphalt disdainfully, its golden eyes looking at the woman with an intelligence that defied the laws of nature.
"Don't look at me like that Luna" the woman whispered sternly. "we need his help."
The wolf snuffled and padded down the street a ways then hunched and growled down the alley.
"What is it" the woman asked, moving silently and more gracefully than any human had a right to be.
The wolf continued to growl her eyes trained down the alley.
"I see them" The woman's silvereyes narrowed into slits, a look of anger and disdain shadowing her features. Pulling up the hood of her cloak she crouched low and made her way down the alley with the wolf at her side stalking toward the other street.
The woman watched from the shadows the two teenagers, kids really, as they broke the glass of a small pawn shop and unlocked the door. They went in with pillowcases and with her enhanced senses, the young woman could hear them stumbling around and soon the beams of flashlights were flipped on.
"Come on Luna" she said quietly and she crossed the street, keeping to the shadows. Slipping in she watched quietly as the two boys rummaged around on the shelves, trying not to laugh as they swept up diamonds and jewelry and electronics, while leaving the eighty thousand dollar 12th century illustrated text in the glass case and the priceless Ming Dynasty vase.
After a few moments the woman cleared her throat and the boys whirled one pulling a knife the other pulling a small gun out of the front of her pants.
"Now boys" The woman admonished as though she had caught them getting into a cookie jar "why don't you put all that back and put your pillowcases on your pillows and get some shut eye instead of robbing hard working people who have enough to worry about"
"and what are you" the kid sneered "you a cop"
"no" the woman said smirking as if the thought was amusing "but if you don't do as I say you'll be seeing plenty of them"
"she's threatenin' us" the taller one said indignantly
"yes I am" the woman said
"Bitch you got a death wish" the one with the gun said
The woman laughed quietly
"a death wish" she murmured "you should be a comedian kid"
Luna the wolf growled and the kid with the gun pointed it at her and the woman stepped in the path of it.
"Don't be stupid boy" the woman said coldly "shoot her and you'll find that Batman himself is not your worst nightmare."
The boy's face hardened and pointed the gun at her chest.
The shot rang through the night like the death it brought, but the bullet never reached its target as the woman's eyes glowed white and the bullet stopped in mid air between them. as it fell the woman lunged and grabbed the wrist of the boy that shot at her and there was a quiet crack as she broke it, then before he could scream she hit the kid with a well placed rap to the temple and he crumpled.
The other kid's jaw dropped but she soon had him in a choke hold before he could so much as move. As his body stilled she released him and picked up the pillow case and started putting things back. Luna stood guard over the unconscious forms of the misguided youths.
As she placed an emerald necklace into it's case a yelp made her whirl around and she watched as Luna flew toward her. Instead of ducking she absorbed Luna's weight, throwing her back over the counter. Landing on her feet the woman set the wolf down, glaring at the attacker.
"last I checked wolves didn't roam Gotham" a cocky man in red said "and last I checked it wasn't Halloween"
"you should talk" she said "Last I checked the Flash was in Central City."
"maybe this is my new vacation spot"
The woman was about to answer when a dark shadow stepped up behind.
"Sorceress" Batman said and Luna snarled at him as she regained her bearings.
"Luna it's alright" Sorceress said quietly putting a hand on her shoulder. "Bats, as sullen as I remember and just as direct."
"Flash" Batman said "Tell others it was a false alarm."
"Got it" Flash said "and I'll be back for your number" he winked at Sorceress who rolled her eyes.
"Dumbass" she muttered when he was gone.
"the wolf?" Batman asked
"Luna. I found her abandoned in Canada" Sorceress said "had I not kept her around she would look like an ordinary gray wolf. But I'm afraid my little gifts are contagious to little wolf cubs"
Luna nuzzled into Sorceress's stomach, still watching Batman wearily.
"you didn't come very quietly" Batman stated
"I didn't intend to" Sorceress said "I knew you would have scans set up after that alien invasion last year. I just made myself as conspicuous as possible"
With a casual wave of her hand she bound the two young would be robbers in a band of glowing magic that swiftly changed into rope.
"I need your help Bats" Sorceress said quietly "as you know, I've been tracking Torment for the better part of two years"
"you can't find him" Batman said and Sorceress laughed.
"No I found him" she said "but I'm afraid he's up to his old tricks again"
"he's draining magic" batman asked
"Yes" Sorceress said and Luna snarled, though not at Batman and Sorceress received an image from the she-wolf of the dark villain. "But there is not a reason for it; he shouldn't need his reserves replenished for some time yet. It means he's planning something, something that's going to require a lot of power. And he's not alone"
"who is working with him?" Flash asked as he zoomed into view "and who's him"
"Does he know?" Sorceress asked Batman who shook his head "Do any of them?"
Batman said nothing and Sorceress snorted
"Fantastic" she said "shall we go to your place or find somewhere else to talk . . . like an orbiting space station, maybe?"
Batman's eyes narrowed even more and she smiled smugly, even if she knew that he couldn't see it.
It had been two years since Sorceress had shed her former identity of Detective Karen Larsing and had taken up a life of a hero, tracking down the man that had become an obsession for her months before she had taken up her name. Since then Batman had become something of a team player and joined with several of the other power houses, forming the Justice League only a few months after she had left Gotham. The Earth had been invaded by newcomers from space. Something that Sorceress had found incredibly irritating, and at the time had been new to her magic and unable to locate the source of the infestation.
But she was glad she hadn't, because she at the time had still been getting used to the idea of outliving her entire generation and quite possibly the next two after that.
"Know what" Flash asked "you know about the Batcave"
"Duh" Sorceress said and Flash frowned "Now . . . Bats?"
"Take us to my place" Batman said and turned to Flash "I hope you had a light lunch"
Without waiting for him to answer Sorceress reached out and gripped a line of magic and pulled. The roar ripped into Sorceress's eardrums and suddenly they were in the Batcave. Flash stumbled and sat down quickly while Luna looked at the red clad man in disdain.
"Whoa what a ride" Flash muttered
Batman went over to the super computer and hit a button.
"Come back to the Batcave, Clark, Diana, J'onn" Batman said
"Understood" a masculine voice said that Sorceress had only heard at a distance.
"as you wish" a very deep rich voice said
"If I may ask why" a female voice asked
"patrol turned something up" Batman said vaguely
"on our way" the female voice said
"Show and Tell Bruce?" Sorceress asked throwing back her hood and pulling down the cloth that covered the bottom half of her face. "that's not like you"
Batman didn't answer and simply looked at her.
"your eyes are silver now" he said
"Comes with the power" Sorceress said "working with magic as closely as I do it bleaches the color in my eyes and hair. That's why Luna's twice the size of normal wolves, because I raised her and worked spells with her in close proximity"
Batman said nothing as footsteps sounded on the stair case.
"Ah Mistress Larsing, so nice to see you again" Alfred Pennyworth said as he appeared and surveyed the scene before him.
"Alfred" Sorceress said grinning in greeting.
"Okay back up" Flash said "How does she know you, Bats, how does she know Alfred and what in the hell just happened?"
"Magic user, old case, her choice" Batman said shortly as he pushed a slide under his microscope. "Karen, this is a sample of the DNA of one of the victims. I've been keeping tabs on her. Anything unusual that I'm not seeing?"
"You're afraid she'll turn out like me" Sorceress said coming to the microscope and peering in "with my limited knowledge of cellular structure as far as I can tell in that aspect nothing out of the ordinary . . .let me try something"
Sorceress pulled the slide out and laid it in her hand flat. The slide rose until it hovered an inch in front of her face. Her eyes glowed with her power as she probed the sample for magical residue. It took only a few moments.
"Nothing" Sorceress said "he drained her of most of her magic, and with what was left still unused it dissipated. She'll be normal her entire life Bats as will the other one"
"the third victim died a few months ago" Batman said and Sorceress's face became expressionless mask.
"Of cancer" Batman said and Sorceress sighed and a single tear fell, but she did not wipe it away.
"So be it" she said
"Oh hey here come the others" Flash said suddenly as a ghost like green man floated through the wall.
"Batman, why have you brought another here?" he asked as he solidified, landing gracefully on the platform.
"I'll explain later, J'onn, when the others are here" Batman said as he typed a few things into his computer.
There was a few moments silence that was filled with awkwardness until Flash spoke up.
"Anyone see the Sox's game last week" he asked and Sorceress smiled.
Sorceress was about to answer when she felt a presence inside her mind, cautiously inching forward and she slammed every barrier she had down and clamped them tightly pushing out the invading presence. She bare had the time to panic when she saw Martin Manhunter blink in surprise and she glared at him.
"Don't ever read my mind without permission" Sorceress snapped "Ever"
J'onn bowed deeply and looked truly apoplectic
"Forgive me, I had not wished to intrude" the martin said
" you have no right to do so" Sorceress bridled
"No, and I apologize, it is very rare that Batman allows someone into his home" J'onn said "I simply wished to measure the person that held such trust."
"since when does Bruce trust anyone?" Superman said as he flew in.
Batman glared at all of them in his silent brooding way but unless Sorceresses eyes weren't working right his gaze lingered just a little bit longer on Wonder Woman who was eyeing Sorceress with the eye of a warrior.
"Bruce is this what patrol turned up?" Wonder Woman asked.
Sorceress smiled and snapped her fingers, her costume changing into normal clothes and Luna curled up at her feet.
Everyone but Batman and Superman blinked in shock. Superman looked at Batman with a grimace.
"Magic?" he asked and Batman nodded "Figures"
"Oh don't worry Mr. Kent, I won't use it on you" Sorceress said and Clark looked surprised "we've met you know. In Metropolis, you were a reporter on that missing girl story. I cast an illusion to question you and Lane about it."
Clark Kent looked pale and the others looked at each other.
"Cyborg to Cave, where you at Bats?"
"Here, what's going on?" Bruce said as he hit a button on the console.
"after that energy spike I got another reading" Cyborg said "but it's not like before, it bottomed out into the negative side, like something sucked it in"
Sorceress sighed.
"he's hounding me" she muttered "fan-flipping-tastic"
"Torment" Batman muttered
"Hounding you?" Wonder woman asked
"Old arch enemy, vampire like powers, and he can now create these creatures out of his victims" Sorceress muttered as she snapped her fingers and was again in her costume. Pulling up her face cover she closed her eyes "he uses them to harass me, to keep me busy. Which means I was right and he is on the east coast."
"Wait" Batman said but Sorceress had already disappeared.
She appeared in the alley she had arrived in and began her trace.
She could feel the poor woman's twisted form down the street and she heard it snarl. This one was larger, more muscular, bred to hunt to fight and to kill.
"Luna?" Sorceress said and Luna snapped her teeth in assent then turned and went down the alley and around the corner to keep people away from the area.
Sorceress climbed the fire escape and sensed a presence on the rooftop.
"Superman" Sorceress greeted "Wonder Woman."
"You have not given all the answers we require" Wonder Woman said and Sorceress smiled.
"After I take down Big Ugly down the street 'kay?"Sorceress said and she held out her hand and summoned her sword.
It was a Celtic sword, a Scottish dirk, double edged and three feet long and an ornate grip with no guard. it looked ethereal but it was stronger than any steel that had ever been forged. Sorceress jumped over the two heroes and kept going. A couple of screams led Sorceress to the monster that had once been a woman.
It had cornered two hookers, so scantily dressed that they might as well have been naked. It was hunkering, its muzzle dog like but it's body hunched like a bear. It did not lumber but stalked and it was drooling over the two frightened girls, its mouth agape to reveal two rows of shark like teeth. It's eyes blazed a demon red as it bore down on the two girls.
Sorceress put her fingers in her mouth and gave her best taxi cab whistle. It shrieked as its sensitive ears laid back at the sound, and turned toward its source.
"Looking for me?" Sorceress in a cheerful voice, her sword held casually at her side. Looking at the two street whores Sorceress nodded "I would run"
They needed no other prompting and streaked down the street and another alley, heedless of a broken heel and their scraped knees and palms.
"Now ugly" Sorceress said "shall we dance?"
The monster rushed her with surprising speed for its bulk but she dodged easily and twisting in mid air landed a well placed kick to it s jaw, drawing a yowl from the creature. Landing on the side walk she jumped up onto a bench as the monster took a swipe at her.
"he's going to have to do much better you know" Sorceress taunted and the creature screamed in outrage.
Then a red and blue blur slammed the creature into a parked car, smashing it to a pop can.
"Superman don't" Sorceress cried as the creature slumped for a second and he went to use its heat vision on it.
"Why_" but he was cut off as the monster quick as he grabbed him by the throat and with the other claw began attempting to rend his flesh, and at first Superman's invulnerability seemed to hold but then Arianna saw blood be drawn. And Superman winced in surprise and pain. Sorceress flew at the creature and knocked it fifty feet down the street.
"it's made almost entirely of dark magic fool" Sorceress snarled as he stood from where the creature had dropped him "magic is one of your few weaknesses, and you just blindly attacked it, not to mention infused it with some of your power. Ugh, get out of the way" she shouldered past him as the monster now enraged beyond reason or command dug its razor claws into the asphalt, cracking it and gouging long furrows into it and the base beneath as it pawed the ground.
Setting herself into a bracing stance, Sorceress held the sword out toward the creature an answer to its challenge.
It charged like a bull, head down, long strides and heavy breathing and as it neared Sorceress waited . . . and waited.
But her waiting was futile for a battle cry sounded above and the creature was once again hit, though this time by an Amazon.
It flew back into an apartment building and the resulting crash had the whole neighborhood awake.
"Blast you" Sorceress cried "Get back, Wonder Woman"
"I am a warrior, witch" Wonder Woman shot back hotly "I have experience in matters such as these"
"no you do not" Sorceress said but her words went unheeded as the Greek Princess turned and shot after the beast "stop" she shouted but Wonder Woman did not listen and while the monster was still dazed she drew her own sword and thrust it into its chest.
"NO" Sorceress screamed, she had to hurry if she was to save the woman that was still inside. She had to hurry her magic wreathed her and she shot down the street and barreled into Wonder Woman who grunted.
Franticly Sorceress drew more magic outward and touched the beast.
"Don't, please don't die" she muttered as she began the tedious and labor intensive task of healing the beast and by extension the woman still trapped inside.
"Diana stand down" Batman said and Sorceress barely glanced back, as Batman stood in front of the enraged warrior. "Let her work"
"Why" Superman asked "what aren't you telling us."
"The man that created that monster used a human host to do it" Batman said "and Wonder Woman just stabbed it"
"Hera" Wonder Woman said quietly her face paling "do you mean to say"
"If you had taken the fight from her hands as you tried to you would have murdered an innocent girl" Batman said bluntly
Sorceress felt the wound begin to close but she was tiring she needed a boost
"Bats do you have adrenaline shots in that belt of yours" she asked tightly
"Yes" he said and tossed her one. She caught it without even looking and ripping the cover off the needle with her teeth she jabbed it into her thigh.
"What is she . . ." but Sorceress felt her reserves of energy bolster and her magic flared and she healed the rest of the wound.
"Now for the really hard part" she muttered as the monster opened its eyes. It started to get up but she drove her hands into its chest.
Literally her hands sank into its chest as though the monster were made of water; she heard Flash gasp and start forward but again Batman held him back.
And she felt the woman beneath the beast. And she slowly began pulling on her. The dark magic arched up her harms and she could feel it burning her. And there was a moment of stillness as two unbreakable forces pulled at each other.
Then she felt the magic give way and with a scream of pain as the dark magic seeped under her skin she pulled the woman out.
The shell that held it withered and dissipated
Sorceress laid the young woman carefully on the asphalt and then stood and staggered down the alley, falling to her knees as the dark magic ripped at her own and she felt another scream rip from her lips as she expelled it and the slimy smoky physical form it took seeped into the ground below.
And as the blackness closed in on her she saw Luna running toward her a snarl already curling her muzzle.
