Chapter 2
-Hampton Court, England-
"Presenting master Richard Wayne of the Duchy of Gothame." A guard stated as the doors opened to the room.
Queen Elizabeth, white make-up on her face, sunken cheeks, wearing a red wig and looking quite aged. She wore a huge dress with a large ruff and from the style of the dress; the fact that it is low-cut, one would think that she was still proud of her aging body. And she was indeed aged, in her last days it seemed; in one hand she held a cloth into which she occasionally coughed blood. She was with two people; one was a black haired woman of what could only be called statuesque beauty, as though hers had been the face after which the statues of the Greek Goddesses had been modeled. She wore a plain black dress, but she still had an aura of authority and dignity. The other was an older man with tan skin, white hair and a beard. He wore midnight bleu robes with yellow-gold trip and a small yellow-gold cloak. He was closest to the queen, preparing a tea of some sort, the scent of herbs hung in the air. The room was not the throne room, but a sort of meeting room, swords and shields with various crests hung on the wall, as well as the portraits of the queen's predecessors. The three were gathered around a decorated, lavish looking table.
"Welcome, sir Wayne. We trust your voyage was without problems?" The queen said as she motioned for Richard to approach.
"Aside from the gloomy weather, it was not unpleasant, your majesty." Richard bowed before the queen. "Lord Wayne bade me express his regrets for not being able to attend you personally. He bade me tell you that he hopes that I will be able to accommodate you in his stead."
"We are sure that if Bruce has confidence in your ability that you shall be more than adequate for any tasks we have for you." The queen replied. Allow me to introduce you to Diana of Greece, she is touring Europe as an ambassador of peace and goodwill in these troubling times."
The lady, Diana, approached and gave a slight curtsy to Richard. She had grace as well as beauty and Richard could tell just by the way she moved that she had strength and a warrior's skill as well.
"I traveled with Bruce Wayne many years ago and consider him my friend, though we have not spoken in many years." Diana said; her English was near perfect. "I was under the impression that all of his family were deceased."
"Truth be told, I am not related to Lord Wayne by blood. I was an orphan that he adopted. However, Lord Wayne is no longer the last of his line, as his wife has recently given birth to a healthy daughter."
Was it his imagination or did Lady Diana actually seem disappointed to hear that? Perhaps she and Bruce had been more than friends?
"Well, it is good to hear such joyous news. We had wished we could attend his wedding to Lady Selina Kyle, but our health would not permit it. He has done us many favors in the past and is considered a good friend of the crown." Elizabeth said, interrupting Richard's musings. "This man is Doctor Oded Fehr, master of the queen's medicines."
The queen began to have a coughing fit and the good doctor immediately took something from a pouch on his belt and held it close to her majesty's face. Richard could smell the heavy scent of herbs from whatever it was the doctor was holding, some sort of smelling salts perhaps? Whatever it was, it helped greatly with the queen's health and her coughing subsided quickly. Oded said nothing, but nodded to Richard.
"Now cough as to the reason we have called you here; soon a ship from the new world, from our colonies shall arrive. I would like you to escort the passengers for the duration of their stay. They are three young ladies, I'm told; one of which is Virginia Dare, the first child born in the colonies and another is an Indian girl of some import." Elizabeth explained.
"Surely your majesty has other subjects who would be more able to carry out this duty?"
"No young Wayne, we dare not trust them. It has come to our attention that someone seeks to take our life and to damage relations with our colonies. We can trust very few in our kingdom with such things, that is why we sent word to Bruce; he saved our life and proved time and again he was trustworthy and if he trusts you then we shall as well."
"I understand your majesty. I shall do my utmost to ensure your trust as well as the trust of my adoptive father was not misplaced."
The doors creaked open and the trio turned.
"Presenting Lord Slade." A guard called out.
Through the doors strode a man wearing black leather clothes and an eye patch over his right eye. He had white hair, though it was apparent that he was not old, perhaps his late twenties early thirties. Richard could hear a slight sound of metal within the leather. The way he moved gave only hints at his strength and skill. Slade looked at Richard with a cold stare and it seemed as though two mortal enemies locked their gaze, prepared to battle each other to the death.
"You shall leave for London upon the morrow, young Wayne and await their ship. Now please leave us, Lord Slade, Doctor Fehr and our self have much to discuss." The queen said waving Diana and Richard away.
As soon as they had left, Elizabeth looked at the two men and took some papers, reports off the table and handed them to Slade.
"We do not believe the two of you have met before, though we are sure you know each other by reputation. Sir Slade is our intelligencer, Doctor. All plots and counterplots are his to unravel, all words whispered and knives in the dark his to employ. That we are still queen and have not been assassinated a hundred times over is his doing."
"I am proud to serve, majesty." Slade said, staring coldly at Fehr.
"Careful, Sir Slade, for pride goes before a fall." The Queen stated. "We need both of your expertise on this matter. We are sure you are both aware of the troubling news of late; the unnatural colors the sky turns, the deafening thunders and blinding lightnings, though not one drop of rain falls. The beasts grow wild and dangerous and the monsters of the night, werewolves, vampires and the like, have become far more of a plague of late. They say that even Gothame's hunter, the Batman, is unable to keep those monsters of the area in check. You have seen the reports, the earthquakes and other disasters and you have heard the words of the common folk. They say that the world is ending. So what say you Slade to that Slade?"
"I'm afraid Armageddon is rather outside my department, majesty. But, as always, I will do everything in my power to aid you." Slade said with a slight bow.
"We expect nothing less of you sir Slade. Doctor, tell Slade what you communicated to the palace this morning." She commanded.
"First, I should say that there are certain lines of communication that are open only to those who, like myself, study the mystic arts. I cannot reveal these…" Fehr began.
"Good sir doctor, I can tell you every foreigner you have spoken to in the last five years." Slade interrupted curtly.
"There are many kinds of speech, Sir Slade, and not all are privy to the ears of your spies and cutthroats." Fehr stated irate.
"Enough, Fehr. Tell him what you told me." The queen growled.
"I believe we can both agree that there is a coming crisis. If it is the End of Days, I cannot tell; no man shall no the day or the hour after all. However, I do know that there are two key items to this impending disaster; one is a book and the other is… a gem." The Doctor spoke at the last with an amount of uncertainty.
"A gem?" Slade queried.
"I am unable to say anymore about the gem as I am unable to discern its nature. However, to prevent the coming cataclysm, we only need one of the items and the book is very much attainable. It is called 'The Book of Scath' and it…"
"Is in the possession of the Countess Katherina Kamandir of Germany." Slade finished.
"Yes… We must acquire that book and ten I can find a safe way to destroy it." Fehr stated.
"Well then Sir Slade, are your agents up to the task?" The queen demanded.
"Yes, we can do that." Slade said with a sly grin.
-A village near the edge of Spain-
A peasant stood by the road just outside the village. He looked about nervously and waited. He did not need to wait long before hearing the pounding of hoves. He turned to see a small company of soldiers, paladins of the Vatican riding on horseback. The lead knight descended from his horse, a white charger and approached the villager. He was dressed in silver armor and a white tabard with a golden flame crest. He had black hair and a thin goatee. The other knights' armor was plain, and they wore white tabards with the symbol of the cross on them.
"Master Light, I-I wasn't sure you were coming…" The villager groveled.
"Cease your sniveling, half-wit. Are they here?" Light demanded.
"Y-yes lord."
"Good. Pay the wretch." Light said. "And if you're wrong, you'll be the one who burns, half-wit."
They walked through the village, spotting a robed figure in the square, attending to some of the ill and injured. The company came to a halt as Light motioned to one of his officers.
"That would be Deirdre, I can recognize her from the description I was given. Take some of the men and find her mother. The girl is dangerous, but the woman is fairly mundane and shouldn't prove to be any trouble. We'll need her as a hostage if things don't go well here. Now go and don't harm Angela Roth too much." Light ordered.
The officer took two men with him. Light took a moment to look at Deirdre; he almost admired her beauty. But the moment was short; he was a soldier and had a job to do.
"In the name of God and the Vatican, Deirdre Roth, you are hereby under arrest for heresy, witchcraft and for being an abomination under God as a child of the Devil. You are to submit yourself to us peacefully. If you do not, we will use force." Light shouted.
Deirdre looked up at the armed men then said something to the people around her, motioning them off. She stood and took several steps towards Light, but advanced no further.
"I have no wish to go with you and I do not want to cause you harm, so please, do not try to force me to go with you." Deirdre said calmly.
"TAKE HER!" Light ordered, pointing at her.
The knights unsheathed their weapons and charged. Deirdre glanced over at some barrels and motioned towards them. The barrels were incased in a dark energy and flung at the soldiers charging at her. Three fell, knocked down by the barrels, but another soldier leapt over his fallen comrades, brandishing his blade. Deirdre raised a hand and a shield of dark energy blocked the blow. She moved back, using a dark shield to block each blow with each step. Suddenly she stepped aside and used her power to pull the knight forward, hurtling him into the fountain of the square. A surprise attack from the side almost caught her off-guard and the blade nicked her, drawing blood. She motioned towards the soldier whom had cut her and he flew threw the air as though he'd been kicked by a horse. She took a moment to heal the cut and then returned to face her attackers.
"You idiots!" Light barked. "We want to capture her, not kill her!"
At the sound of heavy footsteps, Light turned to see the men he'd sent off earlier returning with Angela Roth. She was struggling against their grip but to no avail. Light smiled maliciously and grabbed Angela, holding her firmly with one arm. He took out a knife and put it to her throat; he struggles and protests did not stop, but they did become more subdued.
"ENOUGH!" Light shouted.
The soldiers stopped their attack and Deirdre looked at Light and let out a small gasp, seeing her mother prisoner.
"You will surrender yourself to us peacefully or your mother dies. You don't want that, now do you? And I'd advise against trying your witchcraft against me; one false move and her throat is slit." Light said as he pressed the dagger to Angela's throat, without cutting her.
"How do I know you won't kill her once I've surrendered?" Deirdre asked.
"I give you my word, I won't kill her. In the name of God, I swear I wont." Light assured her.
"I'm supposed to believe you?"
"I'm a man of God and in the end you have no choice, if you wish her to live."
"If I surrender, you'll release her? You won't kill her?" She asked once again.
"I swear to God, I will release her and I will not kill her."
"Deirdre, NO!" Angela cried out.
Deirdre's arms fell to her side and she seemed dejected, very much defeated.
"I surrender." She said, almost bitterly.
Two of the knights practically leapt on her as they put her in shackles, putting an ornate collar on her neck.
"The Inquisitor has been prepared for you, that collar will prevent your witchcraft. Now, get the horses, we must return soon." Light barked orders as another knight took Angela into custody.
"Wait! You said you would release my mother." Deirdre called out.
"And I will; I will release her into the care of the monks when we reach Domdaniel." Light laughed. "And then she will be burned at the stake for having fornicated with the devil and having conceived an abomination."
"You lied! You said you wouldn't kill her!"
"I am not going to kill her, the monks and the fire will do that. See? I have kept my word, to the letter." He laughed maliciously.
Author Notes: Big revelations and stuff in this chapter; we see that Slade is Queen Elizabeth's right hand man and Doctor Light is a paladin in service of the church. Nifty twists huh? As well as a cameo appearance by Wonder Woman (Diana) and a brief mention of the Batman we also have Oded Fehr. That's the name of an actual voice actor and I have my reasons for using that name. Should you happen to know who's voice he plays, I ask that you keep it to yourself for now; all shall be explained in time. And should the man in question happen to see this, I hope he has no qualms about my use of his name. Another name that has appeared is Katherina Kamandir and though you have no idea who she is now, later you will see that she has indeed appeared in the cartoon. Never fear, I'll always tell you who a person is, even if you've figured it out for yourself.