Judith Strikes!
Wraithkiller
by Richard Lobinske
Lawndale, unidentified Earth within the Lost Ringbearer Interdict Zone
"Sorry, Ian, but don't worry. You and Anastasia are going to appreciate getting your old rings back in the future," Judith said as she removed a tarnished, copper ring from the severed hand she held. "And you'll be happy little Ringwraiths."
The woman in the red cloak kicked the bloody body that the hand had belonged to. Then, she tilted her head up and said, "I love the smell of paradox in the morning. It smells like vengeance."
The ancient locket hanging at Judith's neck flashed blue-white. She glanced down with a smile. "So the Green-Jacketed, Snot-Nosed Bitch is in town. Not only will those Agency assholes be pissed off at me being here, snuffing her out will be a bonus. Plus and plus."
Only a touch of will form her told the locket to transport Judith to near her alternate's location. She vanished in a blue flash and reappeared near a cluster of wrecked Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. Dead soldiers were spread on the ground in and around the vehicle remains. "Damn, looks like I missed part of the fun."
Judith jumped up onto the back deck of a Bradley and surveyed the area. Finally, she spotted her target: a young woman with close-cropped, auburn hair and firearm safety glasses wearing an olive-drab jumpsuit and field jacket. "A bit of a change, but you've still got a green jacket."
Hand resting on a katana stored in an extra-dimensional pocket inside the cloak, Judith sped herself up relative to normal time and strode over to her target. Drawing the blade, she smirked, walked behind the woman and slashed low to hamstring her.
The Vengeance Ring on the finger of the Daria Morgendorffer known as Wraithkiller warned her of the danger. Instantaneously, she put up both the force field from the ring and a telekinetic shield while diving to the side and away from the yet unseen attacker.
"You snot-nosed bitch!" Judith yelled as she returned to normal time.
Rising to her feet, Daria calmly and slowly said, "Bitch? You have no idea.
"Yes, I do," Judith said, lowering the cowl of her cloak to reveal her face. A face that perfectly mirrored Daria's."
"I'm supposed to be impressed that a Ringwraith gave you a glamour ability?"
"You think…" For the slightest moment, Judith's eyes betrayed her surprise. "You're Wraithkiller."
"In the flesh. I suppose this is your handiwork," Daria said, indicating the dead soldiers while slowly circling and watching.
Judith shook her head. "Nah. Far too messy and random for my taste. Besides, I'm here gathering Vengeance Rings just like you."
When Judith cracked open her non-causality box, Daria hesitated as she realized that Judith had spoken the truth about that detail. Which was exactly what Judith had hoped. Knowing the vulnerability of the rings to certain technological weapons, she reached into one of the cloak pockets and drew a high-powered laser pistol, swiftly aiming it at Daria's knee. Judith enjoyed hobbling her opponents so that she could toy with them.
Thanks to the experience from her lonely and desperate quest, Daria wasn't so distracted as to let down her guard. She created a tiny disk of polished silver at the muzzle of the pistol and backed it with a force field. When Judith fired the weapon, the light was reflected back inside with dramatic results.
Judith stumbled back, holding her burned and bleeding right hand and feeling the sting of shrapnel cuts on her face. "Now I'm mad!"
Silent, Daria advanced. With the wave of her hand, a tornado-like blast of wind hit Judith, knocking her off her feet and as she tumbled, forced her to roll up within her cloak for protection.
When Judith stopped rolling, she opened the cloak and dove away from her location as the spot was flooded with a blast of pure quintessence. Judith had to force her mind to ignore the pain from her hand as she planned her next move. Using the power of her locket, Judith caused local time to stutter, creating enough disruption for her to reach Daria with a drawn Point Force Transference blade in her left hand.
The stolen PFT weapon was designed to bypass force fields and by the same token, was not slowed by Daria's telekinetic shield on its way into her kidney.
Judith's grin of triumph was momentary. Daria telekinetically clamped down on Judith's good hand and with crushing force, pulled the blade free while breaking every bone in the process.
Almost screaming from the agony, it was at that moment that Judith looked into Daria's eyes.
Loss. Grief. Anger. Hate. Vengeance. Those eyes chilled Judith's soul. Judith had heard the rumor of Beta Sol and now believed it. She was looking into the eyes of someone driven deeper into darkness than she.
She had met a Daria that was truly frightening.
In a single, blue flash, Judith dimension-hopped away and thus, left Daria Wraithkiller alone.
Sensing the danger gone, Daria slumped to her knees as her ring healed the wound in her side. "I need to be careful. They're starting to get more creative."
On another Earth, one that she didn't even bother to note, Judith sat down and gingerly got a hand healer from her cloak. Though painful, her right hand was still usable, so she used it to hold the stolen device and heal her useless left hand. That done, she switched the device to the left to heal her right hand and then her face.
She stood, used the locket to get her inter-dimensional bearings and said, "Time to get these rings to my Ringwraith friends Ian and Anastasia. After all, a deal's a deal." She allowed herself a smug grin. "Especially when you're screwing a pair of arrogant asses over in the process."