In Darkness Dwell
The life and dark times of Gothena, a villain in the DC Universe
Chapter 3: BFFs
Gothena and Sinestro were arguing next to the command console in the Hall of Doom. She looked at Sinestro and scoffed "Sinestro, you're only on this planet because the Society allows it. Don't push your luck." He replied, angrily, "You would dare speak to me with such insolence? I command fear itself!" The young woman laughed at this. "You command fear? No dear Sinestro, you have a little trinket that lets you pretend you control fear by giving you access to the power generated by another. I control fear. I don't need your silly little ring. Do you want a demonstration?" Sinestro's condescending expression twisted into anger. "A trinket? You call a Lantern ring a trinket?" Gothena was visibly amused now. "Aww poor little man getting angry? Is that a bit of rage I see there? That magenta skin is turning bright red. Is someone jumping ship to Atrocitus' team?" As Sinestro started to speak, Lex interjected. "You two can play who's the scariest at the next Halloween party with Scarecrow. Until then, let's stay on target. We have a mission to complete." With that, Lex tapped some buttons on the console on his wrist armor and Gothena and Sinestro along with the rest of the strike team teleported out.
The old priest spoke as he was putting the cuff around the young girl's leg. "How many times have I told you not to disobey the nuns? Now you're going to need a baptism again. You must be purified." She sat there, huddled in the middle of the cold room on a stone floor. Nothing was in the room except an iron grate in the floor that had a short chain connected to it, the other end connected to a shackle pad locked on her ankle. He left for a moment and returned dragging a water hose connected to a power washer. She screamed as the first blast hit her and tried her best to avoid the cold, painful spray but had nowhere to go and nothing to hide behind. After he was done, he locked the door and said back through the small slit on it "Think about your actions and pray for guidance child." She lay on the floor, the hard stone only making the pain worse, and cried herself to sleep.
When they materialized, they were in Metropolis near the JSA headquarters. "Good. We're finally here" said Sinestro. "When I was investigating the JSA and you assisted me in defeating Scott, I overheard him discussing some rather sensitive data with that bird woman." Gothena paused, raised an eyebrow and replied "When you were what and I what? I think you mean when you rashly charged in unprepared and with your mood ring on a low battery and got your ass handed to you by the JSA then I rallied your troops and defeated the JSA to save you." "You can't be serious. If not for those Corpsmen you brought along, any single member of the JSA would have easily defeated you but that's not the point. The point is the data. We need to retrieve it" stated Sinestro harshly. "SHUT UP" yelled Lex. "I want that data. Sinestro, this data benefits both the Society and your Corps and Gothena you are being paid well so let's focus on the mission and get it over with." "Yes daddy" Gothena remarked. "Excuse me?" Lex said. "Don't tell me you've never heard sarcasm Lex?" She quipped.
The older man looked down at the young lady. "It's okay baby. Daddy has just what you need." He pulled back the plunger and filled the needle. She smiled as he handed it to her.
The assault on the JSA headquarters went quickly and smoothly. The JSA had still not fully repaired their base after the last assault and were not prepared for another onslaught so soon, especially one involving a fully powered Lex and Sinestro and none of the JSA's major powers on site. As they breached the server room, Lex walked over to a terminal and hooked a cable from the terminal on his suit's arm panel to a USB port on the computer. Calculator's voice came over the speaker. "Connection made. Decrypting. They have a pretty good firewall but not good enough. Everything is on your suit's hard drive Lex you can get out of there."
"Once again, fear triumphs over the weaker emotions" Sinestro stated with his usual bravado. "Oh don't start that again" said Gothena. "That's it. I've had enough. You two can find your own way back to the Hall when you're done bickering." With that, Lex tapped his wrist comm and ported out with the strike team leaving the other two standing just outside the JSA. Sinestro sighed and opened a comm channel. "Ranx, we need a teleport to the Hall of Doom immediately" he said. Ranx started to reply then broke up. Then silence. Sinestro checked the communications uplink. "My signal to Ranx is being jammed." "Why do I feel like someone should be saying 'I have a bad feeling about this' right about now?" Gothena said. "Let's get out of here Sinestro I have a safehouse nearby" she said and flew off to the south along a winding path to throw off any pursuit with Sinestro following close behind.
"You'll never be anything. You'll never have anything. You're momma and poppa knew this and it's why they dumped you on our doorstep." The girl looked up at her. She was young, probably on the cusp of puberty but malnourishment and her treatment at the hands of the orphanage personnel made her look withered at times, the spark of youth and innocence long since lost. She smiled up at the old hag. The girl's eyes went almost blank and she laughed. The nun was taken aback and said "There is nothing funny here you trollip. You're a filthy little whore and you're going to be punished again for your impudence." The nun slapped her hard. The girl continued to laugh as she grabbed a nearby chair and bashed the nun over the head. As she walked out of the orphanage, the other children moved back from her and she casually walked out the door and never looked back.
As they entered the penthouse Gothena went straight to her comm panel. "Calculator, talk to me. What happened after Lex ported out?" Static. "Damn. Someone is jamming all of our frequencies" she said to Sinestro. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV and static. Every channel. She tried her cell phone. No signal. She checked her security feeds and some of them were still working but it looked like just the local closed circuit security cameras. She went through all of the feeds and everything looked normal. Pedestrian traffic outside looked like just another day in historic Metropolis.
Then, as she was looking at one of the roof feeds, she caught a glimpse of something. It wasn't much, just a quick pass of a low flying aircraft. She changed feeds and caught it again and this time got a screencap. She zoomed in and sure enough, there was the emblem for the 8th Precinct. She checked more aerial feeds and saw several more craft. "Sinestro, we have a problem. The Science Police are buzzing the area. I don't think they've found us but I bet they're the reason we can't get any outbound signals."
Sinestro was busy at a panel. "I'm trying to break through their jamming. This primitive equipment is slowing my progress." "Would you stop complainging and do something useful" she said as she was busy on another comm panel. "Any luck Sinestro?" "No. It's not elegant but they managed to block everything for the moment. It looks like they're just spamming the entire spectrum with a signal overload. I'll eventually be able to get through but it will take some time to get a carrier frequency through the signal clutter."
Gothena started towards the stairs. "I'm going to down to my study. I'll see if I can get anything from scrying." "Good idea" Sinestro said. "I'll keep trying the comm frequencies while you do that." She walked down the stairs towards the mystic room she had on the lower floor leaving Sinestro to continue trying to get a message through.
After a little while, Sinestro began to wonder why she hadn't returned so he went to the stairs and descended. The stairs and walls were covered in runes and symbols he was not familar with and as he neared the bottom of the flight of stairs, he noticed a smoky air with the smell of incense floating upward along the stairwell. As he turned the corner he saw Gothena sitting on a large pillow, back to the stairs, making no motion of any kind. She was sitting in front of a large bowl of water. "Hello Sinestro. You move quietly. I wouldn't have noticed if you handn't broken my wards."
"You're a witch?" Sinestro asked. "Where do you think my power comes from? I am the daughter of Circe, did you think my abilities were sleight of hand trickery?" she remarked. "Does that bother you?" "Not at all. I knew you had some magical ability I just didn't realize it was this prominent. I don't care where my allies draw their power as long as they remain allies. To be an enemy of the Corps is a dangerous thing" he stated. "Do you ever give that elitist attitude a rest Sinestro? All you ever do is complain about things and come off with that smug condescension. You're just another pompous asshole with a superiority complex."
At this, Sinestro's attitude went to one of annoyance. "You dare to talk to me like that? I am the leader of the yellow lanterns. I am..." she quickly cut him off. "You're a quick tempered man who isn't half as powerful as he thinks he is. I've saved your hide myself a number of times. If not for the Society, your little war with the other colors of the spectrum and the fight against the Black would have failed miserably." She was now standing in his face looking slightly down at him due to her statuesque frame and heels. "All that aside, I'm bored and you're cute." With that, she grabbed him by his hair and pulled his head back then leaned forward and kissed him.
She was nothing. She had come to accept this. She had no purpose. No power. No reason for being. The only thing that kept her going was her next fix and she'd do whatever she could to get one. She had stolen. She had sold her body. She had did things for dealers that were beyond obscene but she always got what she wanted in the end. Another fix. That changed suddenly. Something inside her snapped, just like it had when she attacked the nun. The older man was laughing at her. "Just another stupid slut. Tell you what honey, you make me happy you stupid whore and I might give you a freebie" and he started to unzip his pants. She looked at him. He reminded her of the old priest. Demeaning her. Belittling her. For what? A free drug for a piece of her ass? What he got he didn't expect. She started laughing, grabbed a knife and before he could react it was in his gut. She stabbed repeatedly and as he lay there, dying, she looked at her arms, the tracks covering them, some infected and decided then and there, she was in control of her life and would never be powerless again. After she stabbed him, her blood was boiling with rage. Years of abuse and pain came rushing out. She grabbed a board nearby on the ground ands started hitting him.
They awoke tangled together in a pile of their clothes. The sound of a beeping could be heard. "That's the comm panel we have signal again!" said Gothena as she ran, still unclothed, to the panel. She pressed the voice only button and said "Calculator. Tell me that's you." "It is indeed gorgeous. It looks like the Science Police finally gave up their hunt and returned to headquarters and deactivated their jamming equipment. The news is running stories of solar flares to try to explain why part of Metropolis went silent for a while. Is Sinestro there? Ranx hasn't stopped bothering us and is threatening to invade Metropolis looking for him. I don't think he, it, whatever that big ball of irritation is, that it cares enough to actually do it though." "Yes he's here, we'll be leaving soon. I'll be at the Hall in a little while to debrief. Gothena out."
Sinestro was also awake at this point and getting dressed. She strutted over and said "No no no I'm not done with you yet." "What we did was a mistake. You're a human and a fraction of my age. I'm old enough to be your father. I have a daughter your age" he stated pushing her away. "Well lucky for you old man I'm not looking for a daddy...or rather I'm not looking for a daddy right now." She pushed him back on the floor.
Sometime later, they were sitting together on a comfortable sofa. "You know I've really been too harsh with you Sinestro. You are a very powerful man and I must admit, sometimes I'm a bit jealous of your power. It's part of why I'm attracted to you." He looked in her eyes and replied "It's only natural my dear. No one can fault you for realizing my grandeur." Gothena asked him "Are those rings really as powerful as they say?" Sinestro, with his usual bravado, replied "These rings are the most powerful weapons in the universe and fear the most powerful among the emotional spectrum." "That's really awesome" she said, then continuing in a sweet, almost idealistic tone, "You know I already have some pretty strong fear powers. You should get me one of those and teach me to use it. I doubt I can ever be as strong as you but I bet I could be a useful addition to your Corp." Sinestro looked at her, she smiled back at him and snuggled up closer to him. "I think we might be able to manage that" he said as he pulled her onto his lap.
The gun was cold and heavy but felt good in her hand. She had never held a gun before. She felt powerful. "That's one hell of a cannon you have there missy. Sure that isn't too big? I can show you something in a smaller automatic" asked the old clerk in the pawn shop. "No. I want this one. And a lot of bullets" she said turning it over in her hands. "It's beautiful. I want it." "Whatever you say young lady. That will be 500$ and 20$ a box for the ammo and I'll need some ID." She handed him a driver's license, the picture and description not even closely matching her. He stared at her then at the ID. "I'm paying cash" she said and pulled out a roll of hundreds. He took the money and gave her back the ID. She put the hand cannon in her bag and left the store smiling.
Her cell phone rang and she took it out. "I have to take this. Yes? Okay. I'll be right there. Sinestro, you might want to come with me." With that, she went up the stairs to the main room where her assistant was looking at a security monitor. "My Lady, it looks like they might have found this location or at least be getting close. Zatanna and some Sentinels are nearby." "Well now, it looks like time for more fun" she said. "Sinestro, feel like a fight?" He looked at his ring, already glowing, and said "I'm always ready." "Yes, you are but that can wait until later right now we have a hack magician to take out."
They took the extra time to check all the cameras and feeds to make sure there were no other super powers nearby. "It's a small group with her. I don't think they're expecting us both. It doesn't look like they have the right location. Their intel isn't as good as they think." They left the penthouse through a roof entrance and came at them from above. The Sentinels put up a fight but fell pretty quickly. Zatanna was much harder to defeat and the fight lasted a short while but eventually the duo overwhelmed Zatanna and she fell unconscious to the ground. Gothena took out her phone and hit the speed dial. "Pinky, prepare the Playhouse. I have a new toy" she said. "Yes Mistress by your command" was the reply. The duo teleported out with Zatanna.
He was an idiot. He was too macho to accept he was beat. He was handcuffed, wrists and ankles, and laying on the floor. She kicked him again then slid the blade of the knife along his cheek. "You're going to stop me? Just you. I'll give you points for balls but not for brains. You should have brought an army. I want you tell everyone how this went so I'm not going to kill you but I'll leave you something to remember me by." With that, she took the knife and rammed it repeatedly into his back then put some duct tape over the wound. "You'll live most likely but your spine is toast. Every time you look at your gimped legs, every time someone has to help you get up or in and out of a wheelchair, remember me. Tell them why you're in that chair. Tell them how stupid you are. Tell them about the big bad bounty hunter that's going to catch the crazy little lady. When you are telling your kids a bedtime story, make sure to tell them that monsters are real and what happens when you catch one."
Gothena and her accomplice Pinky were standing in a dim room, several tables and walls of monitoring devices were visible. On some of the tables were seemingly random selections of tools, medical gadgets, kitchen utensils and other random items. "Mistress, did the yellow one agree to your request?" "Of course he did. He might not be human but he's as easy to manipulate as any human male. Stroke his ego a bit, stroke his...assets...a bit. He'll do whatever I want. One of those rings and the power it channels would be a great addition to my arsenal. Lets get everything ready to bring in Zatanna. I want to play with her a bit before the embedding."
She looked at the lawyer. He was just another D.A. who thought he would win another easy case. She was obviously guilty, this was no question. Hell, she'd already been in prison a number of times. This guy though, he was looking for a career advancement. He turned this into a media circus. "The man vs the monster" was his little catch phrase in interviews. Well, he caught the monster. Well, technically the monster caught him and he was at her mercy and she had no mercy to give. She made him suffer. No damage to the face or other visible places though. He had to look good for the camera. He started begging her long before most men did. She laughed. It was all a false front. He was a coward and now she owned him.
Zatanna awoke, bound on a table, mouth gagged. Gothena was looking down at her. "Poor little Zatanna. My heart feels for you it really does. We both have daddy issues. I know how that feels. We're like sisters." Zatanna struggled but couldn't move or speak. Gothena continued in her sweet tone. "This room is covered in wards. It's undetectable. It's also magic proof or at least your magic proof. No one can scry it. Your spells won't work. It's a nice little place for us to chat. Now, I'm going to take your gag off. I'm sure you'll want to try a few spells to see if I'm telling the truth so please, feel free. Save your voice though. You'll need it. Don't waste your energy trying to struggle. The drugs you were given will make most of your muscles non-responsive but will leave your nervous system fully functioning. It's a nice little cocktail I picked up from Doctor Psycho."
She removed Zatanna's gag and Zatanna tried several spells to no avail. After she seemed to give up, Gothena continued again. "I told you. Would you like a drink? I want your voice to be strong and we can't have you with a dry throat." Zatanna stared up at her. "I'll never tell you any of the secrets of the Sentinels. You can't make me talk." Gothena smiled and walked over to a table. "I don't care about the Sentinels and I don't want you to talk. I want you to scream." She picked up a drill and walked back towards Zatanna. "It's fascinating what you can find in hardware stores. This is called a spoon bit. And that is your knee a few inches away from it. My friend here, Pinky, she is a healer. She is going to keep you alive for me. We're gonna be best friends." Zatanna's screams could be heard echoing up the stairs.
The two girls had become friends. In the hell of an orphanage, friendship was one of the few things they had to survive on. The other girl's parents had been killed in a car crash and she had no family and no one to care about her so she ended up here, where the other kids with no one to care about them were dumped. The girl wasn't well though. She was in the accident and though she survived, she had injuries that never quite healed and the treatment at the orphanage made her worse. With no insurance, the struggling hospital was quick to release her to the custody of the church. She would sit by her friend's bed and hold her hand as she cried sometimes from the pain of her injuries and sometimes from her treatment at the orphanage. No matter what, no matter how they were treated, the one thing that could never be taken was their friendship. They were best friends forever. Nothing could stop that not the priest, not the nuns, not even death when the girl finally succumbed to her injuries. She cried for a long time after the death. It was the first time she encountered it and it was a crushing experience.
Several weeks later, the Sentinels finally located the penthouse and busted into it finding it empty except for a large, gift wrapped present in the middle of the main room. It had a large tag hanging from the bow that said "To Dr. Fate and the Sentinels, from Gothena with love." One of the Science Police with them ran a scanner. "There are life signs inside but they're faint." Dr. Fate approached the box and as he did, the four sides fell down to reveal a lavish bed with fine silk sheets and linens with Zatanna laying on it. Her clothes were torn and had dried blood caked on them. Her hair was dishevelled and her skin covered in wounds and scars, some old some new. She was alive though.
Dr. Fate ran over to her as well as some of the Sentinels. "Get a healer" Dr. Fate ordered. After the healers had time to get her back on her feet, she stood up, shaky but able to stand. "Zatanna...Zatanna...can you hear me?" She realized Dr. Fate was standing in front of her talking. "I'm sorry...the drugs she gave me...they're just wearing off...can I...can you take me...I want to go home."
Later at the Sentinels base, where Zatanna had been recovering, Dr. Fate went to see her. "I'm glad you're alive. We had thought you lost. We couldn't locate you in any way." Zatanna, with a weak voice, stated "The place she held me in was blocked from scrying and warded against magic. What she did...it was..." and she broke down crying. "You're safe now. You're with the Sentinels. I'm sorry to have to do this before you fully recovered but did she gain any information about us?" Sobbing deeply, she looked at Dr. Fate and said in a meek voice "She didn't even asky any questions." As Zatanna sobbed, Dr. Fate held her and she cried on his shoulder.
After Dr. Fate had gone, she sat down on the bed and took off a small gold chain that was concealed beneath her suit top. At the end of it was half of a BFF's necklace. She looked at it and in her mind, Gothena's voice echoed. "We're like sisters. Best friends forever." Zatanna, her eyes staring blankly ahead and her expression blank, mumbled "Best friends forever." She put the necklace back on and shook her head like she was waking from a dream. Then she laid back on the bed and cried herself to sleep.
Concurrently, across Metropolis, Gothena stared intently into the mirror chanting. She took half a gold pendant matching the half that Zatanna had and held it in her hands. She closed her eyes and focused then said quietly "We're like sisters. Best friends forever." The last thing she heard before she put the pendant down was a voice in her head saying "Best friends forever." She smiled and walked towards the stairs.