(a/n: Wow, a new chapter already? Enjoy and review!)
Ch.10: Wrath & Scorn
Dana awoke to silence. She blinked a few times till everything came into focus.
Above her was a grey ceiling that had pipes and wires exposed to her. A cold grey light spilled into the room she was in.
Dana shivered a little, pulling her blanket closer to her. She lifted her head and saw that she was in a basement of sorts.
The walls were lined with stacks of books and boxes. One wall was covered completely with newspaper clippings and photos. Dana frowned in confusion as to where she was.
She remembered Pariah injecting her with Monarch but the rest was a blur of agony.
A kind voice spoke "Ah, you're awake"
Dana looked towards the stairs and saw a middle aged man standing there. He was dressed in a priests clothing with a jacket over the top.
The priest smiled a little "Glad to see that you're awake, you worried me for a moment"
"Who are you?" asked Dana "Where am I?"
"I'm Father Guerra and this is my church" explained the man "I am also the man who treated your wounds".
The priest pulled up a chair and sat down beside Dana's bed. He stared at Dana for a moment then asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Better" said Dana "Thanks"
"No problem" said Father Guerra waving a hand "Anything for someone in need".
Dana felt a smile tug at her lips. Something about the priest made her feel safe. Father Guerra scratched his chin "I must say, it is strange to see you around here, Dana Mercer" Dana blinked in surprise.
She felt a little panicked, thinking that the priest was a BlackWatch spy.
Father Guerra noticed the look of worry on her face and said "I knew who you were from the news" "Please…I don't want trouble" stammered Dana.
The priest held up a hand and said calmly "Don't worry my child, I mean you no harm."
Dana eyed him suspiciously and saw that the priest wasn't lying. She relaxed a little.
Father Guerra smiled "How about some breakfast?"
Dana's expression brightened "Yes, please, I'm starving".
Pariah stood on the street corner in the Yellow Zone, watching BlackWatch patrols march through the streets.
He left Dana in the care of Father Guerra. Pariah sensed that the priest was a good man who would not harm her.
Pariah was a little worried about Dana but at the moment, he was trying to get his bearings on what is going on. He felt something tap his shoulder.
Pariah turned and he saw Sabrina, dressed in tattered, dirty clothes. Her face was covered in dirt and grime, making her look like she had been swimming through garbage but Pariah still recognized her.
She grinned, "Miss me?"
"Where have you been?" demanded Pariah.
Sabrina shrugged "I've been busy, doing the job you gave me." "What's the situation?" asked Pariah.
Sabrina chuckled a little "You're going to love this" she then recounted the previous evenings events. Public opinion of the Justice League had plummeted to an all time low. The army, navy and air force were on high alert. BlackWatch had doubled its security and initiated Project Orion, headed by a brainwashed Caldwell. The media all around the world were in a frenzy over Godfrey's story.
So far, Godfrey's report was being replayed all over the Internet and the world. Some media outlets were even digging up information on Alex Mercer and putting him in a more positive light.
Pariah couldn't help but grin. Everything was back on track.
Sabrina put her hands in her pockets "So…how's the girl?"
Pariah briefly explained what happened after the explosion and Sabrina winced a little "Ouch, good thing you had Monarch on you"
"Yes" said Pariah "By now, I believe she is now one of us. But there is a flaw"
"Flaw?" asked Sabrina.
Pariah nodded "The flaw is that Monarch needs something to make powers manifest. Some adrenaline, some stress".
Sabrina frowned "How are you going to do that?"
Pariah shrugged "I have no idea". The two pondered on what to do when suddenly, Sabrina got an idea. She told Pariah of the idea and he nodded "That sounds logical. It should do the trick"
"Of course it will" said Sabrina "Its how my powers manifested"
Pariah nodded, remembering the memory clearly in his mind. Pariah glanced around them and whispered to her "Do it discreetly, the Junior Justice League is still out there. I don't want any screw ups"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it personally" said Sabrina, smiling mischievously.
At the abandoned gym, the Team was busy trying to get organized. BlackWatch captured batman, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter, which was on the national news.
The remainder of the Justice League was busy with damage control, trying to keep public support.
Godfrey's editorial damaged the League's public relations.
At that moment, Captain Atom, the Flash and Green Arrow where having a press conference with the United States' Government because of the accusation of stealing government secrets.
The government was on the verge of arresting the entire league but some quick thinking on Icon's part, the league was still allowed to help contain the outbreak but they were forced to be under constant watch by the Army.
As the Team watched the proceedings, the newscaster showed footage of the attack on the League's temporary HQ.
Nightwing noticed the woman standing by Colonel Rooks. She seemed very familiar. He quickly ran a search to find out more about her and he found a lot.
Nightwing gathered Heller, Miss Martian, Kaldur and Superboy together and he shared his findings.
Nightwing spoke "In order for us to get the public and the military on our side, we have to get the truth out to the public"
"Ok, so what's the plan?" asked Superboy.
Nightwing pulled up an image of the woman from the night of the attack "This is Sabrina Galloway, President and CFO of Gentek. She's the key"
"How?" asked Miss Martian.
Nightwing explained, "Sabrina Galloway is Colonel Rooks closest advisor and she is in charge of all Gentek's projects that are currently active"
"Including the super soldier project" said Heller.
Nightwing nodded "Right. She is also in charge of intelligence, which means she has eyes and ears all over the city. If we want the public to trust us again, we got to get to Galloway and get her to tell us where Godfrey got his information"
"Sounds good" said Heller "But where do we start?"
"She has an office set up at BlackWatch HQ, we'll start there" said Nightwing.
Everyone stared at him shock. Heller said dryly "Well this is going to be fun".
Father Guerra handed Dana the bowl of cereal "Here you go, eat up"
"Thanks" she said, accepting the bowl. The priest sat down in the chair by the bed with his own bowl of cereal. Dana and Father Guerra ate in silence.
As she ate, Dana noticed a tattoo on the priest's wrist.
Father Guerra saw that she was staring and asked, "What is it?" "I don't think I've met a priest with a tattoo" said Dana.
The priest blinked and he looked down at his wrist "Oh, this old thing. I got it long ago" "Really?" said Dana in surprise.
Father Guerra nodded "Yeah. You could say that I was a hell raiser back in the day"
Dana imagined the priest getting tattoos and she chuckled a little.
Father Guerra smiled a little and laughed a little then said "I never really thought that I would end up a priest" "Really?" asked Dana.
The priest nodded "My mama and papa wanted me to be one but I wasn't really into it. Until one day, I got into some seriously messed up stuff and it was there that I decided to ditch my old life and clean up my act".
Dana listened to the priest with interest. She asked, "What made you into a hell raiser?"
"You could say that I was in a rough place at home and at school" said Father Guerra cryptically "I also got mixed up with the wrong crowd and I did some things I regret" he glanced at Dana "I think you might have an idea".
Dana sighed deeply and nodded "I do". It wasn't really easy being the sibling of the most hated person in the world. People would attack her, verbally and physically. She couldn't get a high paying job because people were afraid that she might be unstable. There were times where she would see her name getting smeared by the media.
After a moment of silence, Father Guerra spoke "I don't believe you're as bad as some would claim"
Dana looked up at the priest "Really?" he nodded "You seem like a good person. Don't let anyone say any different"
Dana smiled "Thanks".
The two continued discussing things as they ate. They passed the time telling stories from their lives. Father Guerra was unsurprised when Dana mentioned that Alex was innocent. He told her that he knew that Alex was innocent. The priest explained that he and some of his friends were in a resistance movement that fought Gentek when the second outbreak happened but they were now disbanded.
Before they broke up, the resistance stole information from Gentek and BlackWatch computers. Eventually Father Guerra discovered that Alex was innocent. He tried to get it to the media but he was blocked at every turn.
Dana was surprised and asked if he still had the information. The priest nodded and she asked if she could take it with her and give it to the media. Father Guerra agreed.
Dana felt her spirits lift. Things seemed to be going her way.
As the minutes rolled into hours, Dana and Father Guerra began telling each other jokes. When Father Guerra was in the middle of telling one, he paused and he looked up at the ceiling.
Dana looked up as well and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know" said the priest.
He got to his feet "stay here, I'll be back". Father Guerra hurried up the stairs, leaving Dana alone in the basement.
She waited in silence for a few tense moments. Dana heard faint voices and footsteps. She strained to hear what they were saying and to her surprise, she heard the voices very clearly.
The first was Father Guerra "Can I help you gentlemen?" "We're looking for this girl, have you seen her?" asked a voice.
The voice was male and Dana didn't recognize it. She heard several sets of footsteps marching around.
There was silence for a few moments, till Father Guerra said, "I'm sorry but I don't believe I have seen this girl" "Look harder" urged the stranger "She's very dangerous and anyone caught helping her will be severely punished"
Father Guerra sighed and said firmly "I have not seen her. Now, get out of my church" "Search the building" barked the stranger to somebody.
Suddenly there was a loud bang and a scream. There were some shouts and Father Guerra growled, "Like I said, Get. Out. Of my church"
"Put it down sir" ordered another voice "I said put it down!" there was another loud bang, followed by a series of gunshots.
Dana's heart began to pound away in her chest. The door opened and Father Guerra burst inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it, then placed a thick wooden board across it effectively barricading it.
The priest hurried down the stairs and Dana saw that he was holding a shotgun and his clothes were covered in spatters of blood.
Dana asked in concern "What happened? What's going on?" "BlackWatch" said Father Guerra as sweat dripped down his face "They're looking for you"
"Me?" said Dana in horror "Why?"
The priest shrugged "I don't know and I don't care. I'm not going to let them take you, I'm through with letting them get away with murder." He loaded a few more rounds into his weapon and cocked it.
There was a loud thud and the two looked towards the door. A few voices were shouting something and were slamming against the door.
Father Guerra glanced back at Dana "We don't have much time, we have to go". Dana threw her blanket off of her and she gasped. The priest looked back and he gasped as well.
Instead of finding a pair of bloody stumps, they saw that Dana's legs had miraculously returned.
Dana wriggled her toes and moved her feet a little. She looked at the priest trying to find an explanation but she couldn't. Father Guerra was just as perplexed as she was.
The priest breathed "It's a miracle"
"You said it" said Dana in amazement.
Another loud slam against the door interrupted their thoughts. Father Guerra helped Dana out of bed and he led her to the other side of the basement. He kicked aside some piles of boxes and books. The priest tore down the newspaper clippings and photos till he found an old wooden door. Father Guerra pulled a key out of his pocket and he unlocked the door.
The door sung open, revealing a hidden room "Get in and don't come out until I say so" said the priest.
Dana looked at the priest "What about you?" Father Guerra didn't answer.
Dana's eyes widened in realization "No, you can't" "There's no time to argue" said Father Guerra. He pushed her inside and he closed the door behind her.
Quickly, Father Guerra covered up the door with his desk, stacks of books and boxes.
Suddenly he heard the door to the basement give way and he heard boots stomping down the stairs.
Father Guerra took a deep breath and muttered a prayer for himself and Dana. The priest leveled his weapon towards the stairs and he began reciting passages of the Bible.
Once the first BlackWatch soldier came into his line of sight, Father Guerra growled, "Come get some you bastards" and he pulled the trigger.
Dana waited in the small, hidden room and listened to loud bangs from Father Guerra's shotgun and screams of BlackWatch's soldiers.
She her gut twist into a knot. Father Guerra was facing off against the soldiers alone, all to protect her. Dana wanted to do something but she couldn't.
What could she do against armed soldiers?
Suddenly she heard Father Guerra shout something that sounded like an insult at the soldiers and there were some machine gun fire followed by a thud and everything went eerily quiet.
Dana waited intently and she heard some voices. None of which were Father Guerra.
She felt her heart drop into her stomach. Without thinking, she opened the door effortlessly pushing aside the mountain of books and boxes that blocked it aside.
The basement was in ruins. Everything was shredded by bullets and had large bullet holes in them. Several soldiers lay dead but there were at least twice the number of soldiers left standing.
The BlackWatch soldiers saw her and aimed their weapons at her, telling her to freeze.
She didn't listen. Dana saw Father Guerra on the floor. His body was riddled with bullet holes and blood flowed freely. She dropped to her knees and felt tears running down her face.
Even though she knew him for only a day, Dana was distraught.
Father Guerra was the one of the few people in the world who was kind to her. He believed her to be a good person and he believed that Alex was innocent. The priest even gave his life to drive away the BlackWatch soldiers. Now he was dead.
The leader of the soldiers ordered Dana to get up but she looked up at him coldly.
It was their fault. It was always their fault. BlackWatch, Gentek, Humanity, they were all to blame.
Everything she had, everyone she cared about, they all get taken away and she's always left with nothing.
Dana's eyes turned gold and suddenly everything went red.
Dana stood in the middle of the basement trembling. Her hands were soaked in blood and she looked down at what she had done.
At her feet were the bodies of the BlackWatch soldiers. Every one of them was torn to shreds.
Blood covered almost every inch of the basement.
Dana didn't know how it happened. She was grieving Father Guerra's death one moment and the next, she was tearing into the soldiers like they were nothing.
They begged, they screamed and cried, trying to get her to stop. But she didn't.
Dana was horrified and strangely, she was glad she did it. They deserved it, they all did.
She looked down at the fallen priest. Dana whispered "I'm sorry" she turned and she took off running up the stairs.
Dana ran barefoot through the chapel, towards the front doors. She had to get as far away as she could before more soldiers show up.
Dana bolted out of the church then across the street and she jumped over a fence in a single bound.
On the roof the church, Sabrina watched as the new Dana ran.
Sabrina nodded in approval muttering to no one, "Welcome to the family, Dana".
End of chapter.
(a/n: What do you think? Please review!)