Crimes of Passion
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Lance/Diablos, and Bast.
Chapter 37: A Whole New Attitude
Donna had teleported up to the Watchtower to say good-bye to Farrah. The younger Amazon princess had decided to leave the Titans and the Justice League for a short time, to reflect on the events that have happened with her now ex-boyfriend Roy Harper, the teen known as Speedy. She was hoping to find the lioness and bid her farewell.
In another part of the Watchtower…
Persiana was fuming down the hall. She was muttering some choice phrases when she bumped into Artemis. The two stared each other down and the lioness growled,
"Watch it, Red."
The Amazon warrior scowled,
"Excuse me, animal? You bumped into me."
Farrah laughed sarcastically,
"Aw, poor baby. It must be your time of the month."
At this, the red-headed Wonder Woman gritted her teeth,
"You are the-."
Before she could finish, Persiana grabbed her by the throat and picked her up with one hand. She glared at her dangerously,
"I'm. In. A. Bad. Mood. Understand?"
At that precise moment, Tigra and Diablos were rounding the corner. The red-eyed hero saw what was going on and came up to them,
"What's going on?"
Persiana threw Artemis to the ground,
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
She eyed Diablos in a hungry fashion,
"Hey, handsome."
She pressed herself up to her boyfriend, sharing a very passionate kiss. Lance tried to return the kiss, but something was very off.
He then felt a sharp pain in his backside and pushed Farrah off. Diablos looked at an extremely lustful Persiana, who purred in delight,
"Finally, I got to cop a feel."
She growled in delight,
"Meet me tonight in my room, and you can return the favor."
Persiana walked away, almost forgetting her attitude toward Artemis.
Tigra looked at the others,
"Are you all right?"
Artemis rubbed her neck,
"I will be better when I skin her."
Diablos glared,
"Don't even think about it."
Greer looked down the hall,
"That's unusual for her."
Lance asked,
"Greer?"
"She's never been so hostile before. It was like…she was another person."
The tigress shied away,
"I think her animal side is trying to dominate her. It's been a problem for me too, but I've been able to control it. I even taught Farrah how to control hers, but, just now; I didn't recognize her."
Diablos narrowed his eyes. The way she kissed was off too; there was no affection, no love. Just animal lust. What was going on?
Wonder Girl had heard the ruckus and came over to see what was going on,
"What has happened?"
Lance shook his head,
"I'm not sure. Farrah was acting really weird. She seems to be in a bad mood."
Donna was surprised; her feline friend was usually cheerful and caring. The younger Amazon said,
"I will go talk to her. Perhaps I can calm her down."
She left to find her friend.
Wonder Girl had eventually found Persiana in the training simulator. Farrah had turned the simulator up to a more dangerous level than she was normally accustomed to in her agility courses. Still, as Donna watched, it seemed clear that Farrah was even more highly skilled than before, moving with even sweeter grace and timing. Wonder Girl watched Persiana dodge attacks in ways that, under normal circumstances, Farrah would get hit by. Somehow, Farrah was able to bend her body well beyond what it was normally accustomed to, even for the lioness.
The simulation then shut off suddenly. Persiana spun around, glaring at Wonder Girl,
"What was that for? I was beating my own record!"
Donna apologized,
"I am sorry, sister, but it was getting too dangerous to continue. I wanted to talk to you about something."
Farrah got up and hissed,
"You never interrupt me when I'm working out! Got it?"
The younger Amazon was surprised. Her friend's attitude definitely had changed. Diana and Lance were not exaggerating.
Farrah tilted her head slightly,
"Why are you here, anyway?"
Donna explained,
"Well, as you know, I am returning to Themysciria. I need to think about what has happened and what to do next."
The lioness scoffed,
"So, you're running away. I always did figure cowardice was an Amazon virtue."
Wonder Girl was stunned at what her friend had just said. Donna asked,
"Sister, are you all right? Lance and Tigra both said you're attitude is a bit more…hostile."
Farrah chuckled,
"Hostile, huh?"
She pounced on her friend, tripping her. Donna fell down hard and looked up, stunned at what her friend was doing.
Persiana picked Donna up with one hand and pressed her against the wall,
"Tell me, princess. Hostile enough for ya?"
She threw her effortlessly across the room. Wonder Girl had her back slammed against the wall, a reverberating sound echoing throughout the room. The Amazon stood up and took a defensive stance,
"Sister, I do not know what has come over you, but you do not wish to fight me."
She charged in, hoping to restrain her friend. However, Persiana quickly grabbed one of Donna's wrists and kicked her friend in the shoulder and knee with almost otherworldly speed and precision. Wonder Girl fell to her knees and looked up.
Persiana was ready to throw another punch when something caught her arm. She turned and smiled,
"Well, I knew someone would show up."
It was Batman and J'onn. The Dark Knight looked at Donna,
"Get out of here."
J'onn went to escort Donna out, while Batman glared dangerously at Persiana,
"She's just a kid."
Donna indicated she wanted to stay. The lioness glared darkly,
"You brought some others."
Batman narrowed his eyes,
"Since you got that black costume, you've had an entirely different attitude. I want you to drop it. Now."
The door opened, and in stepped Diana, Tigra, Fire, Flash, and Diablos. Persiana turned to them,
"I suppose you want me to apologize, too."
Her mood darkened,
"Fat chance, pal."
Tigra approached,
"Farrah, we're just worried that you might hurt someone."
Persiana laughed sarcastically,
"Oh, I'm sure that's what it is. Like the time you hurt me in Civil War?"
At this, Greer swallowed nervously, and looked away. The lioness then started ranting,
"I knew it! You can never look me in the eye and tell me you didn't mean it!"
Diana started,
"Sister, please-."
Farrah roared,
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, PRINCESS!"
Everyone was surprised by the outburst. Farrah then turned her attention back to her friend,
"Look at me, bitch!"
Tigra would not and Farrah forced her to look at her. There were tears in her eyes and the were-tigress was on the verge of sobbing. Farrah snarled evilly,
"You will NEVER experience what I've been through."
Diablos had seen enough,
"Farrah, you need to listen to-."
Farrah looked at her boyfriend,
"What did you say?"
She tossed her friend like a rag doll and glared menacingly at him,
"Are you telling me what to do?"
Lance shook his head,
"Farrah, we're your friends. We just want to know what's going on, if you have a problem. We'll be there for you."
Farrah shook her head, her face darkening even further,
"We don't need you."
Her voice changed, and Lance sensed something. He said,
"This isn't Farrah!"
Persiana shot him a death glare before smiling,
"Took you long enough."
She darted so suddenly that Diablos was caught off guard. The kick was so hard the red-eyed hero went sailing out of the training room. Diana approached,
"All right, that's-."
She grabbed her friend's shoulder, but Persiana's costume had consumed her. She turned and hissed, large fangs appearing in her mouth, her eyes turning big and cat-like. Her tongue hung out like it was unnatural and her breath was acidic. The older Amazon warrior was stunned,
"By Hera, what-?"
Too late, as an almost impossible kick was delivered, striking Diana square in the jaw. She stumbled back, stunned.
Farrah was now completely encased in black, her new costume had taken over. The only thing that was a different color was her eyes. Where her eyes were supposed to be were two large, white quarter circles.
Tigra looked up, horrified,
"Oh, my God."
Batman got into a defensive stance,
"You know what's happened."
Tigra nodded,
"Persiana's been infected with a symbiote!"
Next Chapter:
And the hits keep coming!