Crimes of Passion
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Lance/Diablos.
Chapter 10: Plots Aplenty!
Persiana had called the Justice League and her former Avengers teammates into a meeting to discuss the situation. Presently, Hank Pym was released from Arkham and had created an Ultron robot. The Avengers knew all too well the madness in their world created by the maniacal android. Now that Hank was the bad guy, and he re-created it here, the Justice League needed to know what they were going to be up against. Even Batman was cleared to attend this meeting. He wanted to be there, even if Persiana felt he should be in bed resting.
Tigra shook her head,
"I can't believe Hank did this."
Wonder Man, who had been around the Avengers the longest, nodded,
"I know. Ultron's tormented the Avengers, and the world, for years."
Flash scoffed,
"C'mon, he can't be that bad."
Miss Marvel shook her head,
"He is. Recently, in our world, he took over Tony Stark and Ultron became a female." (1)
At this, Farrah smiled widely,
"Seriously? I wish I was there to see that! Then again, it does seem appropriate, considering he never had any to begin with."
Martian Manhunter asked,
"Is he anything like Brainiac?"
Sentry shook his head,
"Worse, J'onn. Much worse. Ultron is willing to commit mass genocide of all organic life, to fit its own twisted view of perfection."
Tigra added,
"Not to mention that, every time we destroy him, he comes back, better, and more adaptable than before. Also, he's almost indestructible."
Batman thought for a moment in silence. As he was listening, he noticed something about Sentry. Robert was visibly uncomfortable talking about the subject and understandably so; according to the Hero of a Million Suns, Ultron killed his wife. The fact that she was brought back to life amazed the Dark Knight, and further investigation would be required.
Finally, Batman broke his silence,
"We have to get the schematics of Ultron and find out how Yellow Jacket created him. I'm going."
At this, Persiana protested,
"No way, Bats. You're still recovering from when you got shot."
Tigra tried to get a word in,
"Farrah, calm down."
Persiana looked at her,
"Greer, I-."
The tigress sternly looked at her younger sister,
"Farrah, listen to me. Go talk to the others about Ultron, and have Simon and Carol help. Understand?"
Farrah knew what her friend was trying to do. She shook her head, sighing,
"Fine."
She left, along with said Avengers.
The rest of the League was stunned by what just happened. Greer stood in front and bowed,
"I have to apologize for her. She's always been like this. She can be overprotective sometimes."
Batman did not appear to have heard the tigress' comments, but, in a way, had to respect Persiana. She genuinely did care about his well-being. He said,
"It's nothing. We have to focus on Ultron now."
He walked away.
Meanwhile…
While Lex and Yellow Jacket were conspiring with their new-found toy, Gorilla Grodd had decided to retreat to his secret lab on a cliff side just outside Central City. He was busy running experiments on something he had found while in Gorilla City years ago, but was interrupted by his many attempts to destroy Flash. He studied carefully,
"Interesting readings. I believe I have discovered a new life form on Earth. The readings suggest it is alien, however."
He looked further down the chart, nodding,
"Well, it does not appear to be that useful, however. Still, it is a nice diversion."
He put the canister the 'alien' was contained in a secure vault and closed the door. He sighed,
"I wonder, just what is it about Lex's new ally that he is not telling us?"
He swung over, easy moving his massive bulk with surprising agility; to a machine he had constructed to enhance his psychic abilities.
A tall, red-headed young woman in a pink toga walked in, asking,
"Grodd, baby. Is something wrong?"
Grodd smiled,
"No, my dear Giganta. Everything is fine. I just have some serious reservations about Lex's new allies, and I need to find out-."
Suddenly, the simian scientist found himself knocked out with a dart. Giganta turned, only to be taken out by the same thing.
On Themysciria…
A blonde woman in regal robes was sitting on her throne, contemplating. Her name is Queen Hippolyta, and she leads the Amazons on her island. Isolated from the rest of the world, Themyscriria has long prospered, being completed devoid of war, famine, and violence, but that did not mean it was not well defended. The Amazons were blessed by the gods and given immortality, super strength, reflexes, and several magical artifacts to further enhance their fighting abilities.
The queen's head jerked up when the door to her throne room was open. A red-headed woman in battle armor typical of an Amazon stormed in, her eyes scowling at her queen. She was Artemis of the Bana-Magadhall, a tribe of Amazon's recently (and by that, I mean within the last three thousand years) admitted onto the island. Unlike the original Amazons under Hippolyta's care, Artemis and her tribe were warriors first and last, with little regard for peace or justice. Artemis was also extremely irate that Diana, an exiled Amazon, was still carrying the title of Wonder Woman, and she intended to vent her displeasure.
Hipployta looked at Artemis,
"Artemis, why have you come?"
Artemis glared her queen,
"For years, the Amazons have always valued the status of Wonder Woman. Now, it is in the hands of an Amazon that has been exiled from returning. That simply cannot be. There must be another contest to decide the next Wonder Woman."
Hippolyta sighed in her head; why did she let them on in the first place? However, she looked at her subject,
"Artemis, I grant you, this situation has not happened before, but it does not make Diana any less of a capable warrior than you or I."
Artemis narrowed her eyes,
"Is that it, or are you just stalling because she is your own daughter?"
At this, Hippolyta faltered. She knew never to show her true feelings to her subjects, but there was a certain rage building up. The queen would have loved to teach this young brat a lesson about respect. However, she finally said,
"Very well. I shall call Diana back, as well as Donna, for the Contest of Amazons."
Artemis smugly smiled,
"Good. I look forward to it."
She left.
Hippolyta sat back down, rubbing the bridge of her nose, small tears trickling down her cheeks.
As Artemis and several of her loyal followers got away from the castle, the red-headed bow user was reflecting on something she remembered from childhood.
Thousands of years ago, a tribe of Amazon warriors dared to venture into Man's World and established a city in the middle of the desert. This city was Bana-Magadhall, the first Amazon city outside Themysciria. For a time, it prospered, until one fateful day, when an unknown force annihilated every member of the tribe, except Artemis. She was only a child then, so she did not understand what was happening. One thing, however, was burned into her mind forever.
All she could remember was a man with a pair of piercing red eyes…
Next Chapter:
A meeting at the Tower about Ultron and Hippolyta's visit.
(1) Read the first six issues of "Mighty Avengers"