Strength of the Mind
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Lance/Diablos, Hecate, and Bast.
Chapter 10: Hostile Takeover Part 2
"I've never seen anything like this before."
Superman had called the Big Seven and Persiana into a meeting. The lioness shook her head,
"It doesn't make any sense. When I examined Diana, there weren't any entrance or exit wounds. In fact, I didn't even smell gunpowder."
Flash scratched his head,
"Do you think it's some sort of weird magic thing?"
Wonder Woman nodded,
"Yes. I know I was hit, but I don't remember bleeding. I know I tasted blood. I also knew she fired, but I couldn't deflect the bullets."
Batman surmised,
"It was because there were never any bullets being fired from those guns."
Everyone turned to the Dark Knight. He continued,
"There's no other explanation; those guns are magic in nature."
Shayera rolled her eyes,
"Great, another lunatic with a gun."
The Martian Manhunter said,
"She said she was like us, that she wanted to unite the world."
Farrah folded her arms, growling with a trace of anger in her voice,
"The last time I heard that, Captain America had a bullet put through his chest. No thank you, I've had enough douses of lead to last a lifetime."
Diana nodded, equally angry,
"This woman Hecate murdered a very good friend of mine and took over her country. I won't stand for it."
The Fastest Man Alive shook his head,
"As much as I want to take her down, if she's using magic, we're gonna need magic of our own."
Batman smirked,
"Don't worry; I have some people that can help."
The other members of the Big Seven looked at the Dark Knight with very frightening looks. Persiana grinned,
"Bats is getting a sense of humor. My work here is done."
Shayera pointed a finger at the feline heroine and, in a horrified voice, shouted,
"MONSTER!"
The furry lioness purred,
"I love you too, Shayera."
In another part of the Watchtower…
Bast was staring out at the world. It was not uncommon for felines to curl up to windows and look down at their environment, but that was not the reason. The goddess of felines had sensed a malevolent presence on the Earth below. It was a familiar evil, one she and Diablos thought vanquished forever.
Hecate.
Bast shook her head,
"Diablos, I am glad you are not here. If you found out-."
"Found out what?"
The scimitar user turned, surprised,
"Simon, I did not see you there."
Wonder Man shook his head,
"You've been preoccupied since you joined up. Is something wrong?"
Bast sighed,
"It is…complicated. I would rather not go into it."
On the Bridge…
Mr. Terrific was monitoring the communications coming in from Kasnia. Since Hecate took over, Batman had the super-intelligent hero check on any transmissions coming or going from the small nation.
And something was being broadcasted…
The red-eyed young woman was sitting on a throne, a black hand gun in her hands. She said,
"All right, you moronic humans, listen up! I am so sick of each one of your countries at war with somebody else over some stupid detail!"
The sound of lightning crackled, and Hecate looked sternly into the camera,
"As of right now, I run things. You WILL do what I want, when I want, how I want. The first order of business is you abolish all religion and all government, and play by the rules I set."
The would-be conqueror explained,
"Two days ago, I approached the people of a small country called Khandaq. (1) I told them to unite and overthrow their leader Black Adam. He was a corrupting influence, oppressing the humans he was supposed to take care of. Guess what happened; they said I was inciting an insurrection. Me, a superior form of life, who knew what was good for them, was thrown out. I told them they wouldn't live long enough to regret it…"
Hecate pulled out a remote and pressed a button.
Mr. Terrific was running the scans when his eyes widened,
"Oh dear God."
He sounded the alarm.
The Big Seven and Persiana all arrived on the Bridge as soon as they got the message. J'onn asked,
"What is happening?"
Farrah studied the computer readings and gasped,
"This is bad."
Diana looked at the furry heroine,
"What is happening?"
Mr. Terrific said,
"Hecate just detonated a nuclear bomb."
Sure enough, if one was looking out a window, one could see a cloud rise into the atmosphere. The people on the ground that were still alive could see a big mushroom cloud erupt.
There was a stunned silence that seemed to span eternity. It was finally broken when Hecate looked back on the monitor. She looked to be enjoying herself,
"Oh, joy! Khandaq is a wasteland now. Well, it always was, but now, more so than ever!"
Flash covered his mouth and ran out of the room to throw up. Superman ordered,
"Cut into the transmission! I want to talk to her!"
The computer-minded hero did so.
On the screen Hecate looked to be getting a call,
"Oh, look, a request."
She picked up,
"Hello, Kasnia Central, the home of the unifier Hecate. What are you feeling this evening?"
Superman's voice erupted,
"YOU MURDERED INNOCENT PEOPLE!"
The would be goddess pulled the phone from her ear and smiled,
"Is this Superman? Aw, I'm actually touched that you called. I'm doing what you would want to do; unite the planet."
She tapped her chin in thought,
"Of course, my methods are a BIT more bloody, but you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, right?"
She put the phone down and readdressed her audience,
"If I am not a ruler in twenty-four hours, I will set off another nuclear bomb. Only, this time, it will be in a more…crowded area. Toddles!"
The transmission was cut off.
The League was infuriated to say the least. The Man of Steel clenched his fist,
"She's got to be stopped."
Farrah nodded,
"I'll get Doc Fate and Zatanna."
Next Chapter:
Hecate is not who she appears to be. Plus, an ally, or enemy, wants Hecate dead.
(1) Khandaq is another fictional country in the DC Universe. It is often depicted as either as a North African or Middle Eastern country (I forget which). In the comic series 52, Black Adam and the Black Marvel Family rule this country.