Thanks for all the praise last chapter, and yes I take the criticism as well cause that's what we all need to take in life.
But Anywho this chapter came at a bit of a crossroads as it actually took me quite a while into figuring out just what to do next until coming to a conclusion.
That and I've been playing Kingdom Hearts 3 like a madman and developing a set of new stories so there is that of course.
But besides that, I wanna give another shout out to Jebest again as he has helped me out for so long now. It's kinda shocking really that it has actually been years since we've converse with each other on a weekly basis.
Man the times fly, make sure to Keep them Memorized.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day
Noble Justice Chapter 37: A Shift in the Air
February 3rd 2011 18:00
Donna sat to the side in the medical bay of Six's HQ, watching with great concern as one John Constantine -along with Zatanna- were carefully working on Noble Six who laid there stripped down to only a pair of boxers.
Her friends had of course helped in getting him here but they had to split up as Kaldur chose Cyborg and Wonder Girl to get him home while the rest had to reconvene with the League and give their reports on what had happened. She had remained here for three days now, only telling her sister Diana not worry and that she was with Nathan.
That actually didn't help her case as Diana was clearly beginning to easily pick up on the connection between both her and Nathan and it was rather easy for her to figure out just who it was Donna was really in a relationship with.
But that was in the back of the Amazons mind right now. She would cross that bridge as soon as Nathan opened his eyes.
The damage he had sustained to his body was truly a frightening sight to behold. Usage of the sword of Beowulf and his katana had apparently had a severe effect on his body. Due to him not fully adjusting to the powers that he had been gaining, there were barely any Nano-Huragok left within his body and the magic had powered through his augmentation leaving a good number of new injuries that had to be magically healed.
Constantine was contacted immediately thereafter as he was someone the Six had trusted and the conman was in a rare mood of anger directed at the Spartan. He was readying to give the super soldier an earful upon him reawakening and had half a mind to take away the weapon.
Apparently, the Spartan narrowly avoided being on Death's doorstep….again.
Slowly but surely, the many injuries Six had received in his most recent battle were closing up. Though lingering traces will remained, more scars added to an already damage ridden canvas.
"So what exactly happened down there?" Constantine asked aloud, question directed at two individuals in particular.
"It's kinda hard to explain." Dot anxiously stated, entering the med bay in her synthetic body. "What Six faced down there was similar to his time back during the war…except these guys felt crazier and more relentless."
"Didn't help the fact that Six was actually ripping them apart." Cortana remarked, now sporting her own mechanical body. It was simply her holographic form brought into the physical world. Though like Dot, she has started to dress herself in regular clothing.
Wally joked when he saw this, stating that even as AI's 'Girls will be girls'.
"Right" Constantine murmured, concentrating on a deep gash on Six's ribs. "Did some big fucker grab him here or something?"
"The Cyber Demon." Dot answered, throwing Six a look of worry. "It was a madhouse."
"The demons treated it like Gladiator." Cortana added "They went at one another like no tomorrow."
"We've recorded it down on the helmet cam." Dot said, going up to the damaged helmet that needed repair. "If you'd like to take a look at it later on."
"Nothing would please me more, love." Constantine said, rubbing his hands to conjure up a kind of wispy black aura. He applied it to most of Nathan's abdomen which spread out over his chest area as well before it seemed to seep into his body.
"Been a while since I last used healing magic." John said, clapping off the residual magic on his hands. "Nice work Zatanna, glad you were here to help."
Zatanna gave the Brit a slightly somber smile. "My dad used to always use healing magic on me when I was a lot younger. Patched up all my scratches and all."
Lips curling downward, Donna moved over to stand beside her friends and try to be a source of comfort for her as it was still clear to see how much of a touchy subject her father being Doctor Fate remained.
Constantine sighed, turning to look away from the display of sorrow and turned his attention on Six's newest acquisition.
Narrowing his eyes, Constantine approached the mammoth sized blade and tentatively reached out to it. Fingertips trailing down the metal, Constantine twitched his head back in recoil at the pure bloodlust radiating off of the large blade. It was practically bathed in blood.
"What the actual Fuck!" Constantine said aloud in disbelief. "Where the fuck did you guys get this thing?"
"Constantine? What's wrong?" Zatanna asked, wondering what caused this outburst
"You know, a part of me shouldn't be surprised that you found something like this considering Nate's 'Career path' but even this feels a bit much." Constantine stated, eyeing the large sword warily now.
"What is this blade exactly?" Donna inquired, now walking up to it only for her to share a similar reaction to Constantine. "Merciful Hera, What is that?!"
"Can someone explain to us just what's so freaky about this thing?" Cortana asked in growing concern. Sometimes being an Artificial being felt so limiting. She could do so much and yet that real feeling that these people are experiencing….she wants to feel that.
These recent upgrades have greatly improved so many functions and saved her from rampancy. Yet there still remained a lingering trace of what she could only describe as a darkness within her. But right now, Six was the one that needed the attention.
This entire process of though went by less than a millisecond in the eyes of the others as Constantine was about to answer Cortana.
"This chunk of Iron here is completely drenched in blood, love." John said, thumbing over to the sword. "And when I mean drenched, I mean that it was thrown into a river of blood and it intentionally swam all the way down to the ocean of blood."
"That's…one way to describe it." Cortana responded, greatly put off by the description.
"It smells honestly." Zatanna grimaced, keeping her distance from the sword. "I could smell it from here."
"So any ideas as to what it may be, John?" Dot asked, studying the sword herself.
"A number of ideas really." Constantine said with a shrug, tentatively reaching out to grasp the handle. Grunting, the blade hardly budged and the conman struggled momentarily until giving up.
"Fucking hell, how much does that thing weigh?" John asked, massaging his wrists.
"From our scans, about 400 pounds." Cortana stated.
"Darn." Zatanna whistled. "And Nathan just used it casually?"
"I wouldn't call what he did casual…" Cortana said with a snort "But yeah he didn't have much problem with the thing. His original Spartan augmentation make him get stronger with age after all on top of what the monitor on Reach added to his body."
"Why don't you give it a try, Donna?" Dot said, ,looking to the Amazon and jokingly flexing her arms "It'll be easy for you to do it since you're super strong and all."
Donna eyed the sword warily before going up to it and grasping its handle. With a slight heave she hefted up the iron and held it steady.
Suddenly, her eyes widened and her face turned green. Dropping the sword, Donna held both her mouth and stomach trying to reign in the vomit that threatened to escape.
"Donna!" Zatanna and Dot cried out in concern.
Both were over by her side with Zatanna magically conjuring a bucket and presenting to the Amazon who snatched it out her hands and promptly heaved the contents of her stomach out.
"Jesus Fuck, you alright love?" John asked, clearly startled by the reaction.
Donna only groaned in response, shakily holding up her finger as a sign to give her a moment. Eager Ed had arrived on the scene now carrying a handful of tissues and a bottle of water, holding out both for her to take.
Grateful, she wiped the pieces off her mouth and rinsed her mouth thoroughly. Several rinses later, she steadied her breathing, feeling a lot better.
"I didn't expect it to be so coated in blood." Donna weakly stated, going over to sit in her chair that was beside Nathan. "I do not know how Nathan wielded such a blade but by the gods I couldn't even hold it for long."
John stared down at the blade with caution, kneeling down to inspect it again. The blood of many felled victims radiated off the metal like a second skin and to be honest was starting to bother even him.
He has seen and done his fair share of bloodshed considering that his occupation delves further into the darker aspects of magic. But this was a level unto itself. Even he felt uncomfortable being in its presence for this long. And to see an amazon get a reaction like this spoke volumes as to just what this thing was.
A weapon used purely for slaughter.
"Right…" John murmured standing up. "Well listen ladies, for now, my work here is done. I'll leave you some additional salve to use and he should wake up in a day or two. With your tech and my magic, might be less. So just keep me updated on anything that comes up."
"Will do, John." Dot said appreciatively. "We can't thank you enough."
"We owe you big time." Cortana added with a thumbs up.
"Always a pleasure ladies." Constantine said with a overly dramatic bow, looking to the other magic user. "And Zatanna?"
She looked at him curiously.
"If you ever need any help with anything, I'm a stone's throw away." Constantine promised before utilizing his own personal teleportation cube and disappearing from the med bay.
The remaining for individuals who were conscious looked at one another, turning back to the still unconscious Spartan.
"I think it's time both you girls head home." Dot said kindly. "Your team and mentors are probably worried about you as well for being gone so long."
"I am getting a little tired." Zatanna admitted.
Donna on the other hand remained where she was, silently gazing at her lover who was breathing slowly while laying completely still.
"Donna."
She felt a soft metallic hand rest upon her back, looking up to see Dot giving her an understanding expression.
"I know you wish to stay here but you need rest as well." She said kindly. "You came with us with and for the past 2 days have barely done anything other than remain here. I know Nathan will appreciate the gesture of you being here but cliché as it sounds, he will appreciate it more if you go home and relax. You and your team have earned it at the very least."
Donna wanted to reply but Zatanna beat her to the punch.
"Thanks Dot." Zatanna said, standing beside Donna. "Keep us posted won't you?"
"Naturally" Dot nodded.
Knowing she was outvoted, Wonder Girl acquiesced and stood up to leave. Not before placing a lingering kiss upon Six's temple, giving a silent prayer that he awakens soon enough.
The two departed shortly thereafter, leaving Dot and Cortana with a slumbering super soldier.
"What are we gonna do with you?" Cortana murmured, glancing over Nathan.
"Get him fixed up." Dot answered for her. "It's all we can do for now"
"I guess…" Cortana said, rubbing her chin. "What is it with you Spartans? Do you all have some kind of death wish?"
"I think you and I both know the answer to that one Cortana." Dot said with a knowing smirk making her friend chuckle.
"Spartans." Cortana mused. "The only people capable of exasperating us AI's, aren't they?"
"You know it sister."
February 5th 2011 13:00
Donna sat alone on the living room couch in her apartment that she shared with her older sister Diana, book in hand. The ambient noise of the radio played in the background, while her mind remained focused on the book at hand.
She wasn't really into the book as much as she would like as another occupied her mind at the moment.
Not really hard as to why but trying to get her mind off of Nathan only added more fuel to the fire as to her thoughts returning to him.
She hated that she honestly couldn't do much right now and was stuck here simply sitting and waiting for any good news.
'He's alive' Donna wryly replayed the first words Dot had told her.
Really that's all she knew. She still had not seen just what had gone down there in hell, how he had come to being practically covered in burns and scars and just how he got that gargantuan blade that made her vomit.
Scowling, Donna snapped her book shut and tossed it aside.
"I need some air."
Clanging her thin bracelets together, in a flash of light she stood in her super suit.
Moving to leave, she halted at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Donna."
Turning around, she saw her older sister Diana in her own suit coming out of her room.
"Mind if I join you?" Diana asked with a small smile.
Blinking, Donna could only smile back nodding in appreciation.
"I would love that, sister."
Soon enough, the two Amazon sisters were flying high in the air at a rather leisurely pace. The city below while alive with the sights and sounds akin to the big apple was also relatively subdued.
Apparently having a demonic invasion can do that to a city.
Diana joked it would take another day or so for Manhattan to get back into the swing of things.
For now however, they decided to enjoy the momentary lapse in silence and peace. It was a very rare occurrence and their mother had taught them to enjoy such times as they can come at the times when you most need it.
They had stopped by Central Park, surprising the citizens and taking time to be amongst them and give them their time to see how everyone was doing.
Naturally, a small gaggle of kids, girls primarily, surrounded the two firing off questions and praises which truly humbled them both.
Sometimes, they need a reminder as to why they do what they do and looking at the kids here serves to keep them focused. They're not heroes for the sake of their own vanity or self-righteousness.
They're heroes because they fight for there to be a tomorrow for the next generation. To set an example that people can aspire to.
That idea gets lost in the shuffle at times, regrettably so.
Diana had concluded their time at Central Park by stopping by their favorite vendor.
"Hello Mike." Diana said pleasantly.
"Hey Diana." Mike merrily greeted them "Donna. Glad you two can grace us with your mighty presence this fine evening."
"Stop it Mikey." Donna said, clearly amused by his over exaggerative greeting.
"The usual? Even on this fine winter day?"
"Please and thank you." Diana confirmed.
Giving the girls two triple stacked cones, he said that they were on the house which they graciously accepted while discreetly leaving him a 'healthy' tip.
They sat atop their favorite spot in Manhattan facing the west while observing the early sunset of winter.
"It feels like forever since we last sat here together like this." Diana noted, enjoying her frozen treat as frigid winds swirled around them.
Being islanders, one would expect the two to shiver at the feeling of the cold. Thankfully, their Amazonian anatomy made them immune to the cold.
Somewhat…
Donna couldn't fend off the momentary shiver that came over her upon the next gust of wind that battered her sleeveless arms. Shakily, she used her free hand to rub her arm in an effort to stave off the cold.
This was something her sister noted straight away.
"Since when has the cold gotten to you in such a way?" Diana asked a bit curious.
"I think after spending all those nights with Nathan kinda deteriorated my resistance to the cold." Donna mumbled, eating her ice cream.
What she got in return was utter silence from her older sister. After several seconds, Donna sensed eyes on her and turned to Diana who had a coy look on her face with an expectant brow quirked up.
"All those nights with Nathan, eh? You move fast little sister." Diana said with a shit eating grin.
Donna's jaw dropped in horror upon realizing what she had just revealed, face turning into a deep shade of crimson. She stammered in a near suffocating manner, attempting to recover from this blunder only to drop her ice cream and hung her head in defeat.
Diana laughed loudly, feeling the embarrassment radiating off her sister while wiping her tears away. She never would have thought that her younger sister would pounce so quickly upon another man after her initial trepidation when first coming to man's world.
Of course the thought of her sisters lover changed her own mood to one of somberness. This didn't go unnoticed by Donna who was still blushing but it had subsided from her older sisters change in demeanor.
"Diana?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you alright?"
"What?" Diana said, breaking herself out from her deep thought.
"I asked if you're alright?" Donna asked once more
"Oh…" Diana looked down momentarily.
She contemplated for several moments until deciding that now is the time to speak with Donna about something that has been bothering her for some time now.
"Donna…" Diana said slowly. "If there was anything that troubled you, you'd talk to me about it right?"
Donna blinked, tilting her head in confusion towards her older sibling.
"What?" Donna asked. "I feel like I should be asking you that question from the way you're slouching there."
"Hey!"
Both sisters stared at one another before breaking into a fit of giggles, the older intentionally ruffling her younger sisters hair.
Donna pouted, straightening out the strands of her hair but smiled a few seconds later.
"When was the last time the two of us sat here together like this?" Diana asked abruptly.
Wonder Girl was surprised by this question and opened her mouth to answer when she really thought about it momentarily and found nothing to say. Closing her mouth, she rested her chin in her palm face scrunched up in contemplation.
"You know…I really can't remember." Donna admitted. "With everything that's been happening…We've lost time for each other."
"And yet we spend so many days together fighting crime." Diana said.
"As fun as that can be, it's not real quality time." Donna said.
"We need a day out together." Diana declared. "Just the two of us and maybe some of the other ladies from our teams. Relaxing day at the beach or spa. Something generic."
"We could take them to Themyscira." Donna suggested.
"There's no place like home." Diana agreed longingly, pining to see her island home after everything that had transpired the past few months.
"Mother should be doing fine." Donna said. "I spoke with her a month ago…"
"I remember." Diana cut in. "It had to do with Nathan, correct?"
"More or less." Donna said.
The two sisters continued to sit there, simply conversing with one another over a variety of topics ranging from fond memories to silly jokes that had them both laughing in tears towards the end. Twice they went down to get something to eat all the while taking a more leisurely day of patrolling.
It was really a bit of a god send of a day as little crime occurred and whenever it did it was handily taken care of by the NYPD. Apparently having a demonic invasion by demons from hell can set a city on edge with the cops being overly diligent.
Not that the Amazons were complaining.
However what neither acknowledged or brought up was the lingering chaotic feeling in the air left behind after the attack from the Doom hordes. While most of the "air" so to speak retained a demonic feeling, something else had joined with the prior force and now felt as though it was growing in pressure.
There was some sort of air of familiarity to the ladies but there it was clear to the two of them that this was not something they fully understood or knew of truly.
Both simply chalked it off to the lingering effects of the Doom Hordes, yet the thought remained in the back of their heads.
While flying over Central Park, both missed several small crowds around unusually shaped rock like humanoids that remained completely immobile in place. Many were trying to figure out as to what these things could be.
Some citizens were hesitant to approach these strange figures after what had just happened a few short days ago. Yet so far, these new statues had remained in place where they had miraculously appeared with no explanation given. Most began chalking it up as some artsy exhibit of an anonymous creator as unusual display's like these are common place in the city that never sleeps.
So most went about their day ignoring these things.
What all failed to notice were the occasional twitches and small movements that caused pieces of bodies to fall, glows of energy emanating from the spot of lost pieces. They subsided quickly after, not drawing any attention to them.
One stood on the sideline, observing casually with a near bored expression.
Walking cane in hand, this individual approached a bench and sat there and from seemingly nowhere held up some pizza and began eating contentedly all the while observing the statues.
Checking his watch, the man sighed wishing that for once time would speed up but figured that if had waited this long another day or two wouldn't hurt.
February 6th 2011
Dot along with Cortana had been making adjustments to their base, modeling it after that of a UNSC Frigate bridge to give an air of familiarity and home to the two.
Eager Ed of course assisted and with recently constructed Sentinels that were made via the blueprints Militant Bias had bestowed upon Dot for aid made their renovation of the base much faster.
Within the medical wing, Six remained in slumber having been healed from all his most recently sustained injuries save for yet another sky this one below his right pectoral muscle. This scar looked particularly nasty in the eyes of the two AI's, describing it more of a cruel carving in the skin rather than a plain old scar. It was jagged and actually looked as if it were glowing a blood red color upon first seeing it.
Right now though, Six has recovered for the most part. It's only a matter of him waking up which greatly concerned Dot to no end.
Cortana of course was just as worried but she was confident in Nathan's recovery though that did not assuage Dot's concerns in private.
If she were being honest with herself which she quite frankly, always was, Nathan not waking up sooner told her of an increasing worry that has begun plaguing her mind more and more now.
This was an alternate universe with a different set of laws, physics and reality, something all three UNSC based personnel were unfamiliar with.
Here, the laws and understandings they were accustomed to can be more or less forgotten with the fiction being the fact and vice-versa at times.
Above all else, Magic has seemed to become a growing presence in the eyes of all of them especially Nathan with his constant use now of these weapons of mystical origin that neither Cortana nor Dot could fully discern. That gigantic behemoth of a sword especially set her on edge due to the reactions it garnered from Wonder Girl and Constantine.
At first she was all gung ho at the thought of experiencing and witnessing magic but seeing the effect it was having on her Spartan was starting to get to her. She was a machine, her thoughts being a collection of data being processed at extreme speeds that would make Wally grin at the idea of a challenge. But magic was something that was genuinely beyond her and Cortana's understanding with some explanations they were able to come up with here and there but they were far and few in between.
Seeing just how much damage it had done to Nathan was truly beginning to weigh on her mind and if she were fully human, she would have cried several times at the state of which Nathan were in right now.
This in turn has led to a growing frustration and resentment towards her synthetic form and AI being overall. Yes she does a lot for Six naturally along with Cortana now but with the escalation of threats and rising madness they've been encountering on a weekly basis, Dot was finding herself becoming more and more discontent with the state of things.
She had also been surprising herself internally at the thought of constantly referring to Six as her own personal Spartan. Dot had never felt such possessiveness but with Six it almost felt instinctual by this point. It's why she rejoiced at him finally getting together with Donna and having a semblance of normalcy.
If only she could curb his near suicidal subconscious tendencies which made her panic at times like a mother seeing her child in danger.
So now, while leaving a copy of herself to help Cortana out with the base the real Dot now sat within her own personal quarters that she had constructed for herself reading over an ancient book at breakneck speeds. She recorded every little detail, from the words to runes and strange shapes found within this large volume.
Shortly after Constantine's latest visit, Dot had requested that he leave something behind for her to study in hopes of bettering her understanding of the mystical threats that had become a constant before them. The Conman had loaned her out several volumes of demonology that he had accumulated over the years, adding pages of his own due to his own experiences.
Dot had become an attentive study, practically always leaving a copy of herself behind for extensive study.
She had learned a myriad of spells, incantations and other magical effects and how they work on text though them being applied has yet to be seen. This greatly began increasing her understanding of magic, finding it more and more fascinating with every chapter she studied.
She honestly wished she could use magic now after learning and seeing everything she did.
Right now though, her main self was checking up on Six making sure that the new Nano-Huragok in his body was functioning properly without any interference. That last batch was incinerated somehow during their foray into hell and she had assigned Eager Ed into really making these little ones more durable than the last.
Sighing to herself, Dot sat down in the chair that Donna had originally left behind here when they first brought Six after Hell.
Her advanced synthetic body had some new built in features such as being capable of materializing tools and data pads when she needed them.
Dot and Cortana had gotten the idea due to the advanced Nano-tech this world had over theirs which thoroughly impressed them. They shortly after began experimenting with the notion of just what this Nano-tech could do in the grand scheme of things when combined with their UNSC/Covenant/Forerunner technology.
And sometimes Dot likes to pretend it's magic.
Picking up on her most recent studies involving the many demons and creatures Constantine had run into and heard about, she failed to notice the momentary twitch of fingers from the Spartan beside her. She found herself so enraptured with her datapad that Six opened his eyes without her realizing it and with a silent grunt, sat himself up on his bed. He began to feel his muscles and bones stretch and pop, indicating that he has been laying here for a prolonged period.
This of course lead to Dot freezing in place before her head snapped back around with eyes wide and mouth open in shock and relief at the site of Nathan now awake.
"NATHAN!" Dot cried out with jubilation, jumping out from her seat and nearly tackling him off his bed with a near bone crushing hug.
"Dot?" Nathan said aloud in surprise, her actions really throwing him off. From the way his body felt, it was clear for him to deduce that he must've been unconscious for a longer period of time then what one would expect of a Spartan.
"We were so worried about you." Dot said, as if she were crying while rubbing her metallic cheek against his head. "Oh, what is it with you Spartans and your annoying gifts of giving us AI heart attacks?"
Nathan was at a momentary loss for words as Dot really surprised with such a strong display of emotion. She held him tightly before pulling away and patting him down.
"Are you feeling alright? How do you feel right now, actually? What's the last thing you remember? Do you feel any pain? Headache? Nausea? How 'bout cramps? I know Spartans don't get cramps but I'm not ruling out the possibilities cause this universe is crazy. Soreness! Are you sore? Come on Nathan, talk to me!"
"Dot!" Six said aloud, finally cutting off her ranting questions. Her mouth hung in open in an attempt to ask Six more but she thankfully remained silent.
"Take it easy, Dot." Nathan said placating her. "I'm fine right now so relax."
Dot proceeded to scratch her cheek sheepishly upon realizing just how overbearing she was just a few short moments ago, letting out a slight chuckle of humility.
"Sorry about that, Nathan." Dot apologized. "I'm just glad to see that you're ok."
"Glad to know you care so much." Nathan lightly quipped earning a light smack on his arm for the joke but Dot smiled regardless.
"I'm fine Dot." Nathan said a second later. "Just…really tired you could say. What exactly happened after we got out from Hell?"
"What do you remember?" Dot asked seeing his brows furrow momentarily to ponder upon the question.
"Just…The team looking at me…" Nathan said slowly. "Then I just…passed out I guess from the exhaustion."
"Pretty much." Dot confirmed for him. "Your time down in hell really did a number on you Nathan, both from the demons and your excessive use of those magical weapons down there."
Nathan hung his head, deep in thought in regards to Dot's words.
"Guess I still have ways to go on mastering my new tools." Six commented.
"Mastering…" Dot repeated shakily. "I'd rather you never use those weapon again after what they did to you. Or really, what they've been doing to you."
Six could only give her a bit of a flat stare, conveying that he was going to do no such thing. Unless they genuinely posed a legitimate threat to his body, Nathan was gonna continue using these new weapons. He was a Spartan after all. Something all Spartans, both II's and III's were trained in was being able to utilize and master any and all weaponry they got their hands on.
This new set would be no different. Just more of a challenge.
With Dot now standing back to give him space, Nathan maneuvered himself to sit up. He felt the sensation of feeling slowly come back to him, almost sore like but he pressed through and stood up to his full height.
Flexing and stretching his body, a satisfying slew of bones popping back into place with muscles stretching out to their full size momentarily gave Six a rare feeling of tension leaving his body.
"How are you feeling?" Dot asked.
"Alive." Nathan said plainly.
Dot just deadpanned at his somewhat annoying statement rolling her eyes at what she perceived to be him to be shrugging off any pain he doesn't want to reveal. This may not be true at the moment but she is aware of the fact that Spartans have been known to embellish on their injuries and not pay them any mind.
Quite an annoying characteristic if you ask her and Cortana.
"You know what I really mean Nathan." Dot said in a reprimanding fashion.
"Feels like my body still needs a bit of time to fully adjust." Nathan admitted, clenching and unclenching his hands to get a feel of the damage. "How bad was it?"
Dot momentarily hesitated, grimacing at the memory of seeing just how many injuries Nathan had accumulated in that one day.
"It was a lot worse than we thought." Dot said, expression glum at remembering his status after his trip to hell. "Several torn muscles, punctured lung, multiple 3rd degree burns and basically your entire body was bruised from head to toe."
Dot shook her head, face changing into one that would be mistaken for her about to spill tears if she had that capability.
"Six…" Dot said slowly. "I hope you know that this isn't the war back home. You can't just throw yourself out there like that and treat it like a suicide mission."
Nathan turned to face Dot while she went on.
"This is isn't like back home because here you have people who actually want you to return. Think about Donna! She loves you so much, I could see it in her eyes every time she looks at you. Even the team has grown to care for you. We all do Nathan and you know that."
She was effectively silenced by Nathan placing a hand upon her shoulder. The look on his face conveyed a true display of genuine appreciation and affection towards Dot, giving her a gentle smile.
"Thank you, Dot." Nathan sincerely said. "For caring about me. It means a lot."
Dot stared slightly, expression blank before turning into a happy, "teary eyed" smile, lightly shoving Six back.
"Someone has to." Dot said softly. "Donna may be your girlfriend but I'm your Auntie Dot. I gotta keep you on the up and up."
"And you've done a wonderful job thus far." Nathan said wryly making Dot gape in mock offense.
"That's some way to talk to your Auntie!" Dot remarked incredulously in a joking manner.
February 7th 2011
Central Park, Manhattan.
Nathan walked alone down one of the many paths of Central Park, a destination in mind that he will head towards in due time.
Right now, he wished to be alone and do a bit of low-key scouting of the city without his armor.
The air was still rife with the leftover feeling of the hellish demonic aura that plagued the city a week ago and there was a subdued undercurrent amongst the citizens. Yet they displayed their own resolve, choosing to go about their day as they usually would while those who can went about helping reconstruction of the damaged parts of the city.
It was admirable really but a bit melancholy as well. Many cities here in America and the world over had become to grow more accustomed to these maddening attacks that it's commonplace to have so much death and destruction in such a brief amount of time.
Then again, he comes from a universe where humanity was on the brink for nearly 30 years so who was he to judge.
Taking a seat at a bench, Six allowed himself to decompress and just take in the momentary peace. It had snowed the day before so there was a nice large coating of white powder that all the kids and some adults could use for their own brand of fun.
Some were building snowmen while most stuck to the good old fashioned forts to prepare for large scale snowball fights.
"What an insignificant action." An aged, tired voice said beside the Spartan. "Then again, there is amusement in the miniscule things."
Nathan blinked, registering the voice beside him. Out of instinctual curiosity, he looked over and saw who recently spoke. Where did this guy come from? He wasn't sitting beside him when he sat down.
He was a gaunt man that appeared in his sixties or seventies with slicked black hair to show off his widows peak. He wore a standard black business suit with a white button up underneath with a black topcoat to help him out with the current weather. He sat back with a clear air of indifference to him while his right hand casually leaned on a steel tipped wooden cane. A glint of light flashed across Nathan's eyes and he caught sight of a pure white jewel set in a silver ring that matched the pommel of the man's cane.
Yet what stood out above all else to Nathan was the set of rather large deep, blank coal-black eyes. It's said that one can see one's soul through one's eyes and from what the Spartan could see that this man had years of experience while he seemed… hollowed, bored and tired.
"I guess people need these small escapes to tolerate a meaningless existence." The man said with a shrug, free hand holding a fresh box of a personalized size pizza.
Nathan's eyes darted down to the pizza box then up to the man's face who had remained expressionless, taking a bite out of a slice he had taken.
It was clear to him now that this man was not what he appeared to be.
"Are you just going to sit there and look at me or are you going to speak?" The man snipped, producing a handkerchief from his coat and wiped his mouth clean.
"Sorry." Apologized the Spartan as his eyes went back to the scene before him. Yet he occasionally darted back to the man beside him. "Any reason why you… wanted to talk?"
"I could say something among the lines of wanting to kill my boredom and have a light conversation on a perfectly nice day." The gaunt man took a small bite of his pizza, chewed and swallowed before he continued to speak. "But I would be lying."
"So who are you then?" Six asked, getting straight to the point. "What are you?"
The man's eyes bore into the hardened warrior. "What makes you assume that I'm not human?"
"It was clear as day for me to see really." Six answered. "Especially after everything I've experienced as of late."
"You're intelligent at the very least." The Stranger said with a small shrug. Setting his box down, he reached towards his side to pull out a bottled drink and took a sip of it. "Unlike most people I've come across throughout my years."
"You want something from me?" Six asked, somewhat tensing up.
"You could say that. Or I could be wanting to personally see who you are after all I've heard about you." Twisting the cap of his drink, he placed it down before breathing in a bit of the cold air.
Nathan's eyes narrowed now, though he remained seated. "And what have you heard?"
"Details here and there from my brothers' descriptions of you. And I loosely use the term brothers as they are no way related to me. The only family member I have is a daughter, no one else. And if I were to be frankly truthful, the ones I mentioned are more like tolerable work colleagues. At least they're respectful whenever we're together."
Nathan glanced down at the snow beneath his boosts, fists clenching. His mind was going at a thousand miles an hour, trying to gauge as to who this being was beside him. Brother, he mentioned them first. And who were these brothers he had met recently over the course of the past few months.
He took a moment to think over on the man's appearance and demeanor and above all else the aura emanating from him and after several moments, Nathan slowly knew exactly who it was that was speaking with him.
"Are you here to kill me?" Nathan asked calmly.
"If you are finished racking your mind for a conclusion on how to escape and get away from me, I recommend you don't waste the energy. It won't work, Spartan."
"Escape wasn't really what I had in mind right about now." Nathan shot back, both men simply staring ahead without budging from their seats.
Nathan then let out an uncharacteristic snort, chuckling lowly into his hand. "Never would have thought the literal Horsemen of Death would come to great after so long."
"One wouldn't expect it so." Spoke the now identified Death. "After all, I come at the most unexpected moments."
"Then do you plan on getting rid of me like War and Famine?"
Death quirked a brow at the Spartan, putting away his pizza and leaning back into a more comfortable position.
"No."
Nathan face the Horsemen with slight surprise. "No?"
"Are you a parrot?" Death rhetorically asked as he went back into eating his lunch. "And you should know that War nor Famine want you dead. So get that idea out of your head."
"Forgive me if I sound disrespectful but the literal embodiment of the eventuality as Dot loves to call it just told me that, "No, I'm not here to kill you." Nathan shot back.
Death tilted his head in a manner of conceding a bit to the Spartan's point. "Normally… I would say most people have an over inflated self of their ego and role to play in life but you're a refreshing change of pace to be frank. I can actually see why William and Franklin hold such a high interest in you. What universe are you from? I'm curious. It's hard to tell with how expansive it gets in the omniverse."
Nathan stared at Death. "Was I really that easy to read?"
"To most people, no." Death shrugged, going in for another slice. "But… When you've lived a long a life as I have, these become easy to pick up on. And you still haven't answered my question."
"Not the easiest thing to explain really." Six admitted.
Rolling his eyes, Death raised his finger and tapped Nathan on the forehead before the Spartan could register his movement. Sitting back, Death had a faraway look to his eyes. As if processing a long, detailed thought.
"My oh my." He murmured. "It is no wonder you are a man marked for death. I do admit, I applaud your unshakeable resolve and willpower. A rarity to be sure."
"...What did you just do?"
"Read your mind." Came the blunt answer. "Well more so of reading your very soul, your history."
"So you just go and do that with people?" Nathan asked sharply, not liking the invasion of privacy.
"Don't try to get snarky with me, Nathaniel." The man's dark eyes looked down and stared at something for a brief moment. "Try to do it more often than I would like then I could have all the germs and microbes around you become so. And you wouldn't like that on what the results may be."
"Maybe, but I would like to think you would at least hold some level of common courtesy after being around for so long." Nathan shot back unflinchingly. "And it's just Nathan. That much I do remember about my old life before I became a Spartan."
The two continued their little stare down until Death smirked slightly, finding Nathan's response amusing.
"You can at least hold your ground unlike most others." Death admitted.
"When staring down death itself on a day to day basis for so many years, you learn not to care as much of what you have to say." Nathan actually quipped making Death shake his head at the terrible pun.
"Your humor needs work."
Silence befell the two, the sounds of only the wind, the city and its inhabitants surrounding them.
"So what do you really want then?" Nathan asked. "I would figure someone of your… age… how old are you exactly?"
"Old enough to remember the first atom and neutron colliding. Old enough to see the first of everything and the end. Chicken, egg. It hardly matters to me anymore if it was Him or I that came first or second."
"Him? Him who?"
"He goes by many names. God, the Hand, the Voice, the Presence. They're basically all the same, but He acts differently when using a different alias. For instance, he often interacts with mortals as either an unsuspecting elderly man or a different breed of dog every time to get a laugh. Either that or he does a self reincarnation and seals his memories and powers away until a certain time."
"Why?"
"Getting new perspectives in life to see what he could do better later on in different projects." Death said, finishing yet another slice and pulling out another. "Suffice to say, Nathan, He and I are old. Very old and at times very tired." Finishing up another slice of his pizza, he said something that seemingly shook up the Spartan. "In the end, I'll reap Him."
"God?" Nathan could not believe what he had just heard. "You'll reap God?"
"Every thing, every one must come to an end at some point, Nathaniel. There's no way around it."
"Even you?" Six said
"Of course." Death admitted as if he didn't really care. "When it happens, my daughter will fully take on my role, powers, aspects, so on and so forth." Yet a small smirk was formed on his lips. "She'll even become more powerful than I currently am. Going beyond that of being a simple Horseman."
"Daughter?" Nathan was now intrigued.
"Yes, Delilah or Didi as she prefers to be called. Even if she has been called other names and titles throughout continued existence." Death pulled out a tiny picture of a young looking girl who was smiling brightly at the camera. "The only light I've ever had in my life. Sweet girl. Doted on her so… then again, she was my very first creation. So why wouldn't I favor her."
"You have other children then?" Nathan asked.
"One could say so." Came the vague answer. "Some I'm proud of. Some… I could care less for what they do. They're old enough to make their own choices and mistakes. And I won't be there to hold their hands, as it were."
Nathan was to put it simply, completely thrown off here. He did not expect his day to go like this to say the least.
"You know, when coming to this universe… having this conversation was not even on my mind to say the least. Honestly… this feels a little bit above my pay grade." Nathan 'hmphed' "Not that I get paid."
"Life is quite unexpected as it always changes when one least suspect it."
"I guess." Nathan hummed. "So why are you really here. Why come speak to me out of everyone on this planet, in this universe. Why me?"
"Your presence… has upset the natural order of things." Came the unexpected response.
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by that?"
"Not many highly powered beings would notice, much like Nabu inside that helmet of his or the Witch Boy as they're Lords of Order and Chaos respectively. And both are supposed to see it, yet they haven't. Not even my fellow Horsemen. But I have."
"So this has something to do directly with me then?"
"To direct." Death nodded. "One rippling appearance that wasn't a ripple at all. Your arrival here -as well as the others- are sending shockwaves across the cosmos and other universes that will eventually reach everything. Or so it seems."
Nathan was honestly starting to feel a migraine coming on as that one statement felt as if he had dumped an ocean load of questions that he wanted answers to.
"This world, this speck in this universe that is considered out of it's toddler years, seems insignificant to most but it's quite the Nexus due to many interfering." Death went on, looking a bit tired now. "It is truly astonishing really just how quickly the entire paradigm can shift and so many haven't even seen or noticed it yet."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"There's much more about this planet than meets the eye, to both native and off worlders." Opening his bottled beverage again, he drank again. "And the secrets this rock contains would shake the very foundation many have fought long and hard to keep away from prying eyes and ears. Your sword alone holds secrets that you can't even begin to fathom, for instance."
Once again, both men fell silent as Six needed the time to process what he had just heard.
"Highly doubt you'd tell me them."
A small smirk formed on Death's lips once more. "Where would the fun be if I did?"
"What was that thing you said about snark?"
Just like that, the smirk quickly died as a bland expression was present.
"Don't push your luck, Spartan." Death said testily, though it was clear that he had actually found his counter amusing. "But that's all the time that I have for now really. Must be off."
"Busy schedule?" Six asked with an expectant look.
"Always." He replied, standing up from his seat. Gathering up his empty pizza box and bottled drink, he dusted himself of any crumbs. "I'm not like Delilah who tends to be everywhere to make her work easier."
And like that, he was gone. Six blinked, looking around momentarily to see where he could have gone off to but he was nowhere to be seen. Not even his presence could be felt.
He just vanished.
Nathan actually found himself slumping back onto the bench, running a hand through his short hair.
"How am I gonna explain this one to the girls?" Nathan said to himself, thinking back to the two AI's waiting for him at home.
"No doubt Dot or Cortana would have a heart attack if learning of this." A curious expression was then adopted soon after. "Could AI's get heart attacks? Not sure rampancy counts." He then shook his head. "Probably not as they would've had several as of late in my line of work."
"Wonder how Donna's doing?"
Mount Justice, During the time of the conversation
The team were currently lounging around the kitchen living room, some on the couch watching TV and some in the kitchen having a little meal together.
"So are you sure Six is alright?"
"He's breathing. And moving..." Donna answered Kaldur, though her face showed that she herself wasn't satisfied with her choice of words.
"And when will he show back up?" Robin asked
"Don't know." Came her response. "He merely wanted to be alone to collect his thoughts. But I hope it'll be soon."
"You miss him."
"Obviously. Dot and Cortana just said he woke up and then just left. I can't even figure out where he might be."
"Wait, can't you like use your emotion compass thingy majiggy to find where he is?" Raquel inquired.
"That's not how it works, Raquel." Donna dryly stated, muttering to herself. "At least, I don't think it does."
"Regardless, I believe Six needs his space and collect his thoughts. He'll come back sooner than later."
"If you say so."
"Say Kaldur." Artemis spoke from her seat on the couch beside her boyfriend. "Didn't you say those BP magic guys were supposed to drop by the other day?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah, where are those BPRD guys?" Wally questioned from the nearby couch.
"Probably…"
"Confirmation of BPRD Agents required." Interrupted the AI voice of the Mountains base.
"Arriving right now." Kaldur finished his earlier statement, glancing up at the ceiling. "Authorize access for Zeta-tubes. Fancy guest."
"Recognized Command, Aqualad-B02."
The Zeta-tube then flared to life within the training and briefing room of the base as several figures appeared soon after. The team made their way over to greet the newcomers.
They saw and recognized the big red guy known to them as Hellboy along with several other new faces that were just as peculiar to look at as he was.
"That is quite the means of travel." Spoke Professor Broom in wonder, his eyes wandering around the Cave before landing on the team. "Ah~ So this is your humble abode."
"It is." The Atlantean held out his hand. "Welcome to Mount Justice, Professor."
The aged man smiled, accepting the hand and shook it. "It is quite the pleasure."
"I've seen better places, if you ask me." Hellboy commented as he walked forward. "Still wonder if you kids plan on expanding this place or not."
"You'd need to talk to the League about that."
"We're working on it." Wally suddenly interjected making all eyes turn to him. "What? We're expanding the team. You guys didn't expect we'd keep this place relatively the same, right?"
Several of the team members opened their mouths to argue before closing them and realizing that he did have a point.
"So getting back to introductions." Broom said chipperly. "You lot already know Hellboy."
"Sup."
Several of the guys said the same or relatively similar in turn.
"This is agent Elizabeth Anne Sherman." Broom said, gesturing to the only lady amongst the odd collection of supernatural agents.
"You guys can call me Liz for short." The brunette said with a friendly smile.
"Roger." Broom introduced next.
"I'm a Homunculus." Roger said plainly.
"And of course…"
The one that stood out the most from the group stepped forward. He shared similar characteristics to Kaldur. From the gills and fins with the water equipment attached onto their persons. The team looked back and forth between the pair as said individuals came up to each other as they seemed rather anticipated to finally meet.
"You must be Kaldur." The blue person said in a polite manner. "I am Abraham Sapien. You can call me Abe for short. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise." The Atlantean teen held a small smile as they shook hands. "When I heard from Dot of you possibly being from my home, I wanted to see for myself."
"And when I heard from her on this fact, I wanted to find out as well as I never knew where I exactly came from."
"I could show you Atlantis sometime, if you'd like."
Abe practically beamed upon hearing this. "I'd like that very much."
While the team observed this little meeting, M'gann couldn't help but set up a mental link with the rest of the team save for Kaldur and gush.
"Awwww." M'gann squealed happily within the link. "Aren't they both just so cute?! Look at how quickly they became friends."
"Gotta say, that was really quick." Kid Flash joked.
"Boo. Get off the link." Cyborg called out.
The team soon helped get the BPRD agents settled in.
"So when's the League showing up so we can get this get together started?" Hellboy asked aloud, Cigar in hand.
"Soon enough." Wonder Girl answered. "They should be finishing up on their daily meeting right now."
Off to the side, Kaldur and Abe were conversing with each other and taking the time to get to know one another much to the amusement of the others.
"Is it kinda lame that I do some fish float together type joke?" Wally asked sneakily.
"Very." Superboy said with a small smirk. "Come on KF, I thought you kid think of better material than that."
Wally only stuck his tongue out at the Kryptonian hybrid.
It would be another half hour before the League arrived soon after, with their protégés waiting to greet them at the Zeta-tubes.
When the League mingled with their students, they soon took notice of the BPRD agents who had come in with the team with one in particular making a straight beeline for the one he had long awaited to see once more.
Seeing the signature golden helmet amongst the Leaguers, Professor Broom walked towards the being. Stopping a foot or two away from him, the aged man looked at the Lord of Order.
"Nabu."
"Trevor."
"It's been sometime."
"That it has."
"When Hellboy told me you have now taken Zatara as your new host, I'd thought you'd come my way sooner than later."
"I would've but other matters needed to be taken care of."
"Of course." Bruttenholm then looked over and gave a small smile at the Amazon. "Diana. Looking radiant as ever."
"Broom, It's so good to see you again." Diana happily said, hugging the elderly gentlemen who returned the gesture.
Donna -along with several others- looked at Wonder Woman and Professor Broom strangely. "Wait. You two know each other?"
"We've met during WWII." Diana answered. "But I didn't know he was a part of the Bureau."
"I formed it, my old friend." Bruttenholm said. "I wish I would have met with you sooner but as you know in organizations, duty calls."
"Which is why we're here." Batman cut in, demeanor serious as always. "You were the ones who wanted to bring us together. Doctor Fate vouched for your reasons."
"Yes, I believe we've delayed this meeting long enough. Everyone's re-cooperated from the recent ordeal and ready to discuss said topic." Broom agreed, nodding at Robin to bring up what he had intended to discuss here.
Robin held up his arm and brought out his holographic wrist pad and input several commands for the Base's display's and brought up several screens.
"Now, if you all recall as to the reasons behind the most recent supernatural attack…"
Behind Broom, video footage of the destruction brought about by the Doom Hordes were shown.
"...You are aware of this occurring due in no small part to the being known as Klarion the Witch Boy and another accomplice that known as Demongo the soul stealer."
Said two individuals were then brought on display themselves.
"While we all beat back the Hordes eventually, there was a side effect to their horrendous endeavors that I'm sure some of the more magically inclined of you have noticed." Broom said knowingly, eyeing primarily the heroes associated with mysticism and magic.
"The air has changed." Doctor Fate spoke for them. "It is no longer stable and I am beginning to pick up traces of other more ancient magic rising within the air. I have yet to identify it."
"Will this help?" Hellboy spoke up, catching everyone's attention. He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a large metallic feather that radiated an unknown energy that was clear to see for even those who did not use magic.
"Where did you get this?" Broom asked with great intrigue
"Found it during clean up, pops. Old Bigby picked up on its scent and brought it to me. Would've brought it up sooner, but thought discussing it here would save me time rather than repeating myself." He then held it up a bit more into the light as the metallic feather shined a bit more. "Tried researching this back at the library but found diddly squat as to what it is." Hellboy then eyed the two Amazonians. "Was hoping you two would have an idea."
"Huh…" Wonder Woman held out her hand for the feather which Hellboy placed into.
Holding it up to her eyes with Donna standing close by, both Amazons examined the feather thoroughly.
"There's definitely a magic aura around it." Diana confirmed.
"It is an old soul." Donna murmured. "A damaged and corrupted soul. One of a warrior whose purpose has been taken."
"There is a great rage emanating from here." Diana added, brows furrowing in concern. "This is an omen of a greater strife to come."
"Super." Flash and Kid Flash couldn't help but let out at the same time.
"There are many forces that are beginning to move all at once." Doctor Fate's deep tone said in forewarning. "The Four Horsemen, the outer worlds, ancient beings from bygone eras. And that's only on Earth."
He finished while looking over to the two Lanterns who both grimaced.
"Everything ok?" Superman asked the two who shared a look with one another with Jordan nodding.
"There's been some strange disturbances across multiple sectors." Hal explained to the assembled heroes. "Yellow flashes so to speak linked to the emotional power of fear."
"And we've had several Lanterns return to our main base of OA severely injured with one fatality." Stewart finished grimly. "And that's just what's happening in the corps side of things."
"Things have been escalating at a rapid pace since the start of the New Year." Aqualad pointed out.
"Hey, I know this is out of left field and all…" Captain Marvel spoke up. "But where's the Spartan? Last you guys told us, he was really injured apparently."
"He's recovering right now." Robin said
"Yeah, Six got hit pretty damn hard by the invasion." Cyborg remarked with a grimace. "When he got out of that portal, not gonna lie, he looked like… uh… Hell."
Several members of the team reigned in their snickers but they couldn't resist a slight upturn at the corner of their lips at Victors phrasing.
"He's out of commission for the time being." Aqualad went on. "Though he should be fully recovered soon enough."
"Be sure to debrief him when the time comes." Batman said in complete seriousness. "With everything that's happening, what's to come… It's best we have everyone up to date and on board for everything. After the Light managed to get control over us, we can't take any more chances for the time being."
This greatly stunned both the League and the team as they never would have thought Batman of all people would say this about the Spartan, someone they know he doesn't trust.
"Jesus Christ this is serious." Green Arrow couldn't help but let out.
February 8th 2011 20:00
Nathan's Cabin.
Nathan sighed, relaxing onto his couch after another day of healing courtesy of one irate John Constantine who damn near talked his ear off after what he had gone through.
In essence, his entire body was basically healed by this point and after a quick catch up followed by an entire bottle of scotch, Constantine had at long last departed.
His wolf pack wasn't home at the moment, instead opting to run around in the snow within the backyard forest beside his home.
Dot and Cortana were downstairs with Eager Ed binge watching a show that Cortana had somehow managed to pull out from her archives of human culture from their universe.
The title had something to do with Bizarre Adventures and they had been eating up the entirety of the show for the past few days during their pastime when not helping him recover or working on the base and projects.
They've been posing like crazy as well and it was starting to bug him really.
Maybe he should take the time to watch one of these Japanese cartoon shows those two seem to rave about all day and night.
Nathan's thought process was interrupted by the front door to his cabin opening abruptly with the billowing winter winds flowing in to his house.
He stood to see that it was Donna standing there, backpack over her shoulder while wearing a coat over her super suit.
Blinking she quickly slammed the door shut, dropping her bag and practically barreled into Nathan, stealing his breath away with a heated and longing kiss. She let out a shaky mewl, running her hands over his body as if making sure he was indeed alive and well.
Pulling away, Donna gulped in a large breath of air before exhaling with a calm serene beauty to her… until she slapped Nathan across the cheek.
The slap was light by all accounts and really it was the shock of the action that made Six move his head in the direction of the strike.
Looking up at her, his expression conveyed the silent question as to why she had done such a thing.
"That was for making me worry like a madman after seeing what happened to you a week ago." Donna said emphatically, poking his chest repeatedly after every word. "And this…"
She pulled him in for another kiss, this one being more gentle and loving.
Six returned the kiss in turn, pulling her closer to him with Donna now straddling his lap while wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. This went on for a good long while until at long last the two separated with both panting, resting their foreheads against one another.
"That was for making me wait a week to that again." She said softly, caressing his cheek.
Nathan leaned into her hand, kissing her palm.
"At the risk of sounding cliché, is this the reward waiting for me after every period apart?"
Donna puffed out her cheeks, giggling a second later.
"Dot and Cortana are a horrible influence on you." Donna remarked making Nathan snort.
"When it was just Dot, her choice of words were easy to ignore. Now I've got two of them yapping it up in my head."
"Oh, my poor baby." Donna cooed, peppering his face with light pecks. "Here, let me kiss all your worries away."
Nathan gave her a slightly dry look before maneuvering around the couch to be on top. With a slight yelp of surprise, Donna found herself on her back. She couldn't say much afterwards when Nathan kissed her fiercely making her moan aloud while wrapping her arms and legs around him.
Going down to her neck, Donna let out an aroused gasp before giggling which then turned into a moan after biting down on a particularly sensitive part of her neck.
It soon devolved into a mad dash between the two which really was nothing more than both quite literally ripping off each-others clothes.
The resulting copulation between the two was frantic and needy, Nathan growling like a wolf possessed with Donna crying out for her lover repeatedly.
It ended with Donna lying entirely upon Nathan, snuggling up to him tightly with a blanket to cover the two.
Letting out a content sigh, she kissed his chest several times while her index finger roamed around his torso. Her other hand held his as both began to slowly to drift off into sleep.
"I love you, Nathan." Donna said sincerely, adjusting herself up to place one last kiss upon his lips.
Nathan responded in kind by using his other arm to pull her in closer, separating from the kiss to rest his head against her smooth hair.
"I love you as well, Donna." Nathan said softly.
Her empathic abilities picked up on the emotion radiating from his heart making her smile blissfully, allowing sleep to at long last overtake her with her Spartan following suit shortly after.
February 9th 2011 12:00
Nathan had been awake for a while now, yet he remained where he lay stroking Donna's back gently.
She had remained asleep, her breath gently grazing his chest.
He found the sensation very pleasant to feel, a lazy smile finding its way onto his face.
After another hour of simply laying there, Nathan figured it was best to get up at long last. Though he still wished for Donna to remain sleeping.
It was a bit of a challenge, but Six managed to stand up out of the couch with Donna in his arms who clung to him subconsciously in her sleep.
He went towards his bedroom and though it took some effort, he managed to pry Donna off him while setting her down on his bed. She curled herself up, clutching one of the pillows. Smirking to himself, Nathan placed a blanket over her.
Leaving to the kitchen, Nathan pulled out some food from the fridge and soon began cooking up a meal.
"Hope you had a goodnights rest." Said a coy voice from behind making Six roll his eyes.
"Cortana, can't you go back to your cartoons?"
"And miss a chance to tease you and actually get a reaction out of the typical Spartan grunt?" Cortana asked rhetorically with a Cheshire grin in place. She was using her synthetic body that had a near human-like surface overlay.
Knowing it was pointless to argue with her on this topic, Six knew one way to get a jab in on her and Dot as it works nearly every time.
"I'd offer you something to eat or drink but…" Nathan let the unfinished statement hang making Cortana gape before pouting and turned her head away with a huff.
"Your meaner than John." Cortana said childishly.
"Honestly, I'm doing him a favor with these comebacks so when you see him again he doesn't have to." Nathan said with a shrug.
Cortana snickered, giving him a warm smile afterwards.
"You know… it's nice to see that you still believe in a chance at going home."
"I know it's possible." Nathan said with conviction. "We all arrived here and there is a way back. We just need to figure out how."
"We will." Cortana said with a determined nod. "…But when the time does come Nathan… will you want to go back?"
Nathan paused over the chicken he was frying and turned to face the AI who was giving him a somber expression.
"…What?"
Cortana bit her metallic lip in hesitation and was readying herself to speak on the topic when they heard an unfamiliar pair of voices coming from outside.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Said a timid voice.
"Aw come on brother, the damn dust lead us through nine fucking realms to a house in the middle of fucking nowhere." Argued a much grumpier and grouchier voice. "Now quit being a little frilly goat licker and come on."
"We should at least knock." The timid voice countered, this time with a more resolute tone.
"Oh fine, with yer fucking manners." Grumpy voice murmured.
A set of footsteps followed after and then…
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Hey if you say nobodies home, I'm gonna call bullshit cause I can smell what you're cooking." Said the Grumpy voice in an accusatory tone
"Real subtle Brok, real subtle."
"Ah shut yer trap already Sindri, you gotta figure out one way to get their attention."
Nathan and Cortana shared a looked with one another and the former approached the front door to see just who it was that was speaking out there.
He opened the door and immediately saw two short individuals that barely made it up to his waist looking up at him expectantly.
Both were garbed in a set of ancient looking armor with some matching parts as well as sporting long defined beards.
But the clear distinction between to two were their skin tones as the one on the left had a deep, icy blue complexion to him while his companion on the right was one who had a more lighter and fair tone if not somewhat pale.
"Well color me a different shade of Helheim's blues, you actually answered." Said the Grumpy blue one.
"Apologies on my brother behalf." The one in the more golden armor said politely. "We have been traveling for a while now and were wondering where our journey would lead us."
"Who are you two?" Nathan asked with a guarded look.
"Oh of course. My name is Sindri." He held out a gloved hand for Nathan to shake which Nathan did after staring at it momentarily.
The blue one proceeded to spit in his hand and offer it to the Spartan. "And you can call me Brok."
Sindri only groaned at his brothers behavior only to making a slight retching sound at the fact that Nathan accepted the gesture making Brok laugh.
"Say, you're already off to a good start in my book." Brok remarked with a hearty grin.
"Brok and Sindri…" Nathan repeated both their names, eyes squinting a bit as he ran both of their names in his head. There was something strangely familiar about them and it kept having to do with his armor.
"We're the Huldra brothers." Sindri further elaborated.
"And not to beat around the bush, but we've come here looking for help." Brok added grimly.
"Help?"
"Yes." Sindri said solemnly "Help to prevent the coming of Ragnarok."
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEAAAAAAA
HAHA IT IS TIME MY FRIENDS THE FIRST OF MANY YAHAHAHA.
Oh I've been waiting and itching and chomping at the bit to finally get to this portion of my story and IT IS FINALLY TIME.
The Doom Chapters were an awesome blast to do but prepare yourselves my friends to undergo a long and epic journey with our Spartan and the young fledgling Titans as they journey through the 9 realms of Yggdrasil and go on many quests.
There's a lot I wanna say in preparation for this upcoming arc but I shall save it for later because I am tired and I wanna get this chapter out there already.
Got any questions, I'll answer as much as I can without spoiling anything and I do warn you, this will be a hell of a long arc so be prepared everybody.
Jebest, thanks again as always for your insurmountable help and aid you have given me in finishing this chapter. The real kick in my ass needed to finish up this one.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day