Legends Never Die
Chapter 9 "Sometimes you get exactly what you wish for"
(Justice League's Earth – Metrotower)
Going from what he remembered of Tom Turbine's Transdementional gateway J'onn began piecing together a sister version inside of the Metrotower. The work was hard, time consuming, and actually very rewarding. J'onn had been forced to read the Justice Guild comics in order to gain perspective into Tom's mind, and to be honest he hoped that he could meet the Justice Guilder in person. He seemed to be honest and forthright, but there was a certain degree of intelligence that J'onn rarely saw in humans. It wasn't that those around him lacked in intelligence, but it was rare to see someone who truly surpassed the norm and didn't have tremdous demons that drove him.
"I am afraid that I will have to alter your original design Mr. Turbine. Most of these parts are no longer made or too old to be effective now; however, your brilliance in creating such a device is astounding." J'onn said.
"Who are you talking to J'onn?" Came the voice of the Flash.
"To myself, and if we are lucky someone who will continue to exist after we retrieve Batman, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl." J'onn said as he connected the main console to the gateway.
(Watchtower – Founders room)
Advoiding Hippolyta was no longer a possibility. The Queen of the Amazons had started contacting the League every few days to find out information about her daughter. It seemed that Diana had given her mother a communicator and would contact her at the end of her shifts and let her know what was happening in Man's world as she called it. Since Diana had not contacted her for three days now she was upset to say the least. The decision was finally made to inform Hippolyta of what was going on. No one was really up to the task until Shayera finally stood and looked at them all.
"I'll tell her. She knows me, I'm not a man, and I can actually fly to Themyscira." Shayera said as she began to walk toward the transporters.
"It might not be a good idea to tell her that her daughter has been transported into an alternate dimension." John said as he looked at her.
"Good idea or not she deserves to know." Shayera said as she stepped onto the transporter and it sat her in Greece.
Getting her bareings she flew toward the island and hoped that Hippolyta would at least look at the unedited comic she was now holding.
(Themyscira – thirty minutes later)
Hippolyta looked at the winged woman before her. She knew Shayera Hol as one of Diana's friends and allowed her to enter the palace. Shayera bowed as a sign of respect and then picked herself up.
"I have brought news of Diana." Shayera said as she stepped forward.
"What news do you have of my daughter?" Hippolyta asked as she looked at the guest to their island.
"It may be easier to see than to hear." Shayera said as she held out the yellowing unedited Nightshade comic.
Hippolyta opened the book and saw where Diana, Batman, and a blond woman was all inside of a large cave. She continued and finally saw Diana speaking to another version of herself. When she read about what this other Diana had went through tears formed in her eyes. Her Diana had gratefully been spared the humiliation of dealing with Heracles, but this other Diana had faced him, and her innocence had been stolen by the demigod. She turned the page and looked at a grandson she had never seen before and read about him as he lead Diana, Batman, the blond girl called Supergirl, the woman called Nightshade, and another man called Tal Ghoulish into the bowels of the forgotten city.
(Guild's Earth – Lower system of the Forgotten City of Ra)
Bruce looked a head at Diana as they moved through the dimly lit halls. He wondered if she would had made the same choices as her other self here if Heracles had came after she was born. He knew that he would have found the demigod and gotten vengeance for Diana. No one touched her, no one would ever touch her.
Diana stopped as they walked when she heard something familiar. The air became still and everyone inside of the hall seemed frozen. She turned back and saw Bruce's eyes focused where her butt had been. A small smile crossed her lips and then she listened as she heard the noise again. It was faint, but the sound was unmistakable. It was the voice of one of her gods. She looked again and this time she saw him. Ares was standing a mere six feet away. A smirk crossed his lips as he looked at her.
"You are not my Diana." Ares said as he looked at the princess.
"How do you know that?" She asked.
"You still have your innocence. It is actually fits you quite well. When I heard the footsteps entering the hall I had to see for myself who was here." he said as he walked closer.
For the first time Diana saw something different about this Ares. He was still arrogant and belittling, but some of the spark that came from being a god was gone. Ares had been stripped of his godhood.
"What happened to you?" Diana asked.
"The daughter of Circe. Her name is Ali, Ali Kazam. She took the form of my Diana and came to me. Of course I gave in willingly as I truly do care for my Diana, but sorceress stole my powers and immortality. I'm here to retrieve the dagger so that I can become a god once more." Ares said as he faltered and fell against the wall.
"And you froze everyone else?" Diana asked.
"It's a simple parlor trick I learned from Hades. The effects won't last long. I don't have the energy to keep it up." Ares said as he slumped down further toward the floor.
"Why steal the dagger? Couldn't Zeus return your powers to you?" Diana asked.
"Why didn't I think of that? Oh, yes I did. Zeus said that if I was stupid enough to fall for the tricks of a witch then I deserved exactly what I have obtained." Ares said as he smirked.
Diana watched as time began to catch up with them again. She saw Ares' eyes beginning to close.
"Perhaps it's best this way. I don't want her to see me so weak." Ares said as his breath became ragged.
Time completely caught up and Ares slumped against the floor completely. Bruce stopped and looked at the fallen god, and soon so did everyone else. The only one that did anything was Hippolytus. He walked over to his father and reached down to feel his head. Once he seemed satisfied he turned and began to lead the others once again.
"Father I shall return and bring you to surface once I've ensured that the one attempting to steal the dagger is caught." Hippolytus said as he rounded a corner into a huge chamber filled with doors.
"Do not stray from the path I show you. Each of these doors enters into a different time and place. Anubis designed these doors to perform his soul reaping duties all through time and through each universe. From time to time he still uses this hall, but it is far less often now." Hippolytus said as he began walking a straight line through the hall. About half way through he stopped and turned to the right. The others followed him and walked through a door with cat engraved above it.
The doorway seemed in good shape, but the stone door lay in ruins on the other side. Bruce could tell that explosives had been used on the door, but the blast was consternated enough that it destroyed only the door and disturbed nothing else. It was as if Ra's himself had came through here. With that thought he began to think about the fact that finding this city in his own world would be a good idea. The hall they walked in now seemed in great need of repair. Sand leaked through the ceiling, and cobwebs seemed strung about. Signs of other's coming through here could be seen by the removal of cobwebs, imprints of feet in the sand, and of course the scraping of knives, swords, daggers, and guns on the sand stone walls and floor. Once they where through Bruce looked ahead to see Rene' Ghoulish standing before an open door. The woman did something unexpected and disrobed. She kicked her clothes to the side and picked up a pack she had carried down into the underside of the city. She brought out a few golden ornaments and placed them about her person. Once that was done she stepped into the room. The entire group ran forward and watched as she walked down between the legion of jackal headed guards, who was now bowing before her, toward the dagger.
"Finally I shall have true immortality. No more shall I have to worry about returning to the Lazarus pits, and no more shall I have to worry about my son finding a suitable breeding female." She said as she laid her hand on the dagger.
"By the power of Ra, by the will of Isis, and by the grace and knowledge of Anubis I release the power of this dagger. Grant me the power within. Make me eternal!" She shouted.
The Dagger began to glow and a shadow figure began to form in the far wall. His body was that of a man, but his head was that of a jackal. He was soon joined by a woman whose body was that of a human looking cat. They both turned toward to face a being made of pure light. This god stretched out his hand and then withdrew it.
"Not worthy." The one made of light said as he began to draw back.
"No! I am worthy! I want to protect the earth from the overcrowding of humans! You can't say that I'm not worthy!" Rene' said as she threw the dagger at the god.
If anyone ever said that a god could not die, then they were wrong. The dagger lodged into the back of the god made of pure light. He groaned and fell to the floor as the dagger drained the power from him. Soon nothing was left of him except for silver looking dust in the shape of a man. The other two gods turned angrily toward Rene'. The Jackal headed one said something in a strange language and the guards all stood. Each of them faced Rene' Ghoulish and began walking toward her.
"No! I will not be denied!" She screamed as she ran toward the dagger.
As the obsessed woman ran a yellow lasso and two grappling lines shot out and found her. They pulled and the force of it yanked her out of the room. Instead of the guards standing down and remaining inside they filed out into the hall. Hippolytus watched as the guards snarled and drool dripped down their mouths. He snatched a Kanata from one of the dead assassins and readied himself.
One of the guards pointed a sword and howled at the intruders. Within seconds the group was overrun with an entire legion of the jackal headed guards. Hippolytus blocked and guarded against the guards and swung his sword each time they neared him. He turned when he heard a thump and looked to see Ana knocking a guard that had almost stabbed him in the back against the wall. He smiled at her and watched the mortal woman fight with skill that would rival any of the Amazons.
Her fighting was like poetry in motion. She was fearless and faced the battle at hand as a warrior. It was surprising to see a mortal with this kind of courage. The effect was doubled when he saw the other dressed similar to her attacking the same way. His attention didn't stay on her for much longer as he turned and felt the blood lust rising in him. He tried to keep it in check. His mother taught him that while it was honorable to kill an enemy, it was not honorable to attack like a raging beast. He felt the cold steel of one of the guard's swords. Instead of faltering he drove his own sword into the guard and took the sword from the now dead guard. Holding two swords in his hands his attacks became more aggressive.
Diana watched the man who very easily could be her own son. She felt a surge of pride as he fought against the odds before them. He wasn't backing down or even acting afraid of these monstrosities. She could also see the energy between him and Ana. A knowing smile formed and she knew what the outcome could be. Eventually they would come to respect each other, and slowly those feelings would turn to something deeper. She only hoped that Ana could do what Bruce seemed unable to allow himself to do, and return the feelings to him. She slammed her fist into the closest guard to her and then felt something jab into her back. The next thing she saw was Bruce knocking the guard down and slamming his fist into its face over and over again.
An anger that seemed unknown to Bruce surged through him. The monster had hurt Diana. It had dared to touch her. His fists found the face of the guard again and again. The cut might not be serious, but that didn't matter. No this monster, this bastard was trying to take her away from him. He would not lose anyone else that he loved, he would not go through that pain again! The guard stopped moving long after the beating began. He felt hands grasp him, but he didn't pull away. His fist found the throat of the guard and held it in a death grip. The touch on his arm felt familiar and then the voice was more so.
"Bruce listen to me don't lose yourself. Don't become something that is no longer you." The voice of Diana said.
He turned to look her in the eyes. Her right hand covered a small wound the guard had given her, but his hand didn't drop him.
"He tried to kill you." Bruce said.
"I've faced death before." She said.
"Nothing has gotten that close to nearly killing you before." He said as his voice trembled.
Hera he's losing control of his emotions. He's finally let me in.
"Bruce I know what it is like to face death, as I know you know what it is like, but don't change from the man I know, from the one I… the one I love." She said softly as she touched his cheek.
His grip loosened and he dropped the guard. Suddenly the guards all moaned and turned into black sand. Anubis walked out looking at the group and a smile crossed his face. Behind him Isis followed.
"You are worthy." Anubis said holding the dagger to Bruce.
"You may join us, and become one of us." Isis said as her tail swished around her waist.