answers to reviewers questions or statements:
Jason Chandler: Carol and Diana will work together on a few occasions in the future.
Bio RL: Excuse me?
Joker Army: Vanessa will be come a regular and Diana and Peter will pull their heads out of one another's asses to actually communicate on their 'marriage'.
ZOMBERREYPRO: If Peter utilizes the stone properly, yeah, it could.
Mashot Tito: Carol has her reasons, which will be shown a bit next chapter. It's not quite as simple as 'Protecting the Treaty' with Earth and the League.
Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: Well in Diana's defense, seeing someone she's considered a close friend suddenly lashing out and saying hurtful things to her and Julia, after speaking with Peter, seems a little suspicious. And who said that Peter isn't gonna be responsible for Vanessa's darker shift in personality? He did say he's looking for a new Fury to replace the one he lost years ago.
gonetheone: Let's just say that little display is connected to what Hera mentioned back in chapter 2, and Peter's manifestation of his spider like limbs.
Djberneman: Oh a lot of things are going to becoming to a head when we reach that arc.
The great gamer: What common domestic abuse? If your referring to when she hit him after he fingered her, without warning or permission, she responded reasonably well. Especially since she's still haunted by what almost happened to her at Darkseid's wedding.
helpusobi1kenobi: Are you fucking kidding? Peter's been growing up on APOKOLIPS for decades and has shown he's not above casual abuse towards his subordinates or those that he loves or vice versa. It'd be out of character for him not to be. It's not gonna be fixed or changed period. Don't like, don't read.
rebornandlost: Because Peter is noting if not loyal, which is rare for someone that's grown up on Apokolips. Plus he's not sure that Diana really is having an affair with Superman. It's not a break of his character, he doesn't do things without first having as many facts as he can and so far Diana hasn't broken any sort of trust he's placed in it, little as it is. Thus, he has no reason to cause to break whatever she's put in him.
GalenTsukiKage: Well compared tot he hell that is Apokolips, the snide comments and remarks from the people of Earth barely register as an annoyance to Peter. As for Diana seemingly beginning to struggle with Earth, it can be seen as her time on Apokolips is beginning got take it's toll on her. Peter will do his best to avoid any direct confrontations with Superman, he knows he's nowhere strong enough to take the man of steel head on. A dying Old God and some two bit Demon Lord are one thing, but Superman is in another league entirely.
DeimosVulcan12: For now, with Darkseid, it's a wait and see with Peter. Peter may have just found his new Fury. Peter and Diana will come to Earth a number of times after this arc ends, sometimes for only a few days, sometimes much longer, like months. Sometimes alone even. Yes and no.
REX5678: Eventually, yes. Multiple ones.
Tantio: Neither will Peter.
Batros940: It's best that the fight didn't escalate any further than it did, after all, who do you think the League would back in it? I wouldn't say that Peter would've never chosen Diana so much as he would've preferred to not have been jammed into a marriage with her out of the blue.
cabrera1234: They weren't asking about anything important, just chewing the fat and all that good stuff.
Paul Crew: I think the 'True Form' thing is solely a Darkseid concept.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.
As a former member of the royal Guard of New Genesis, Psylocke was intimately familiar with the various members of the Highfather's family and chosen counselors actions, moods and behaviors.
And thanks to her vast abilities as a powerful telepath, her knowledge of the Highfather and his brood was practically unrivaled by any of Darkseid's spies placed within New Genesis. For all the years that Psylocke served them, never once did they suspect that one of their own trusted protectors was secretly gathering information on them. At first it wasn't out of any malicious intent, Psylocke was a curious young Goddess and wished to test her budding abilities at the time and didn't seem the harm in a little 'snooping'. But as the years went by, and Psylocke became more and more disillusioned with the Highfather's ideals, half of which she thought were outright hypocritic given his actions, and was forced to help cover up the horrendous actions of Orion, she began to gather these secrets to present to Darkseid when she defected...
And than, she stumbled across the affair of her charge, The New Goddess of Love Bekka, and one of Darkseid's bastards, Peter, the New God of Spiders.
A rather interesting and unexpected relationship to be sure.
At first Psylocke monitored them, partly to gather sufficient blackmail to strongarm Bekka into helping her off New Genesis and Darkseid's spawn into allowing her safe passage to Apokolips. But as the years went by and she connected her mind to the two New Gods, without their knowledge at the time, their feelings for one another began to... spill over, for the lack of a better term. Psylocke would find herself seeking out Bekka whenever she wandered the halls of the Highfather's palace, for more than just ensuring she was safe, but to be in her presence, to hear her voice and if the Source was merciful that day, to feel her. And whenever Psylocke detected Peter's mind on New Genesis, usually at the very edges of Supertown, she found her heartbeat quickening, her loins dampening and her desire to feel him around and inside of her left her a quaking mess.
Eventually she confronted both of them, right in the midst of their love making in some hovel deep with the wilderness of New Genesis, away from the prying eyes of the Highfather and his own spies. After a rather unexpected battle that left Bekka's legs broken and Betsy's skull fractured, which led to an unexpected threesome, and the murder of Bekka's father Himon not long after, Psylocke ended up as a Fury of Apokolips.
All in all, it wasn't a bad initiation for one who went on to become the second greatest assassin within Darkseid's court.
'And now I'm playing cleanup to a spoiled little twit' Betsy thought as she and her detachment of Parademons sat kneeling before Grayven.
They had just only returned from their mission to orbital defense station seven to deliver their report to the commander of Darkseid's armada and safe to say, he was not happy with the outcome.
"YOU DESTROYED THE STATION!?" Grayven yelled, his eyes flashing with the power of the Omega Effect as he paced before Betsy and her troops.
"The station was doomed before I ever stepped foot their my lord" Psylocke said in a cool, even tone, her eyes focused solely on the ground before her "The slaves aboard had altered the station's gravity repulsors and set the construct to crash into the planet. To ensure the welfare of as many of the Great One's forces, I had the station set to implode before it fell too far into the atmosphere"
"You disobeyed my orders Psylocke" Grayven snapped at the telepath "There was still time to correct the station's descent and return it to higher orbit"
"Perhaps, but at the time, the thought did not occur to me my lord" Psylocke stated.
In truth, she was aware of such a plan, but she purposely ignored it in favor of denying Grayven an asset for his eventual coup against his brothers.
Grayven glared at Psylocke with unrestrained fury, his rage telepathically washing over her like a tidal wave. She didn't need to read his mind to know that he wished to inflict unspeakable horrors' upon her, partly out of her failure to save the orbital station, but mostly to kill one of his least favored half sibling's servant. Sadly, for Grayven, Darkseid relied on her too much as one of his best assassins and thus she was for the moment, safe from the little bastard.
For the moment.
"Get out of my sight!" Grayven demanded as he turned on his heel and began to strode away from Psylocke and her Parademons, no doubt back to the 'loving embrace' of Kunla.
"As you wish my lord" Psylocke said as she remained where she was, unmoving until the footfalls of Grayven had faded.
With a sigh the purple haired beauty rose to her feet and signaled for her Parademons to disperse while she made her way to Peter's lab. While it's security was entrusted to Peter's new A.I. Ultron, Psylocke knew from experience that they could be easily fooled and thus took it upon herself to recheck it's defenses whenever she was free of her duties.
Thankfully she wasn't bothered and reached her beloved's lab without issue, though before the doors opened and allowed her access, she sensed another being was already in the lab. Psylocke's eyes narrowed as she drew her sword and quickly stepped into the lab before the doors had even fully parted for her.
"Psylocke, I thought I heard you outside"
Betsy came to a stop, her eyes slightly wide as she stared at the intruder standing next to Ultron, who in turn was busy with some sort of data archive on a terminal before him. It was Faora, dressed in a pair of black pants that ended at the Kryptonian's shins while her breasts were securely bound by some sort of black bandages that did little to properly cover the woman's chest. Her hair was slowly growing out, now reaching her shoulders and looked a little damp.
"Faora..." Psylocke's eyes narrowed at the sight of the half dressed Kryptonian beauty "Why are you here?"
"DeSaad has been snooping around Peter's lab, I'm here to act as a deterrent" Faora said with a frown at the woman "Why are you here?"
"The same it seems, though I was unaware it was DeSaad attempting to breech Peter's labs" Betsy remarked as she stepped into the lab, taking the time to see what has changed and what hasn't since her last visit only two days prior "I had thought Scott was testing himself again... or was simply bored"
Scott Free, one of the few siblings that Psylocke noticed Peter trusted and cared for, constantly harassed Peter's security defenses. Partly out of the need to keep his nigh unrivaled escaping ability sharp.
"Barda has kept Scot in her rooms" Faora said with a slight grin "She doesn't want him wandering too far"
"Still upset with him for leaving hmm?" Psylocke said with a thoughtful look on her face "I do not know whether to pity him or envy him"
"Pity at the moment" Faora said with a shrug as she leaned against the table while Ultron continued to type away, seemingly unaware of the two's presence "Congratulations on putting down that slave revolt in station seven"
"Thank you" Psylocke said as she sheathed her blade and allowed herself to relax, slightly.
Faora was no friend of Betsy's, in fact the New Goddess absolutely detested the Kryptonian warrior with a passion. After Carol and Peter's relationship came to an end, Psylocke was just beginning to reignite the passionate flame Peter carried for her when the damn woman and her at the time mate arrived on Apokolips following a recent battle with Superman. After Zod was promptly dealt with and Faora imprisoned, the whore had wormed her way into Peter's head and eventually secured not only her release and stay of execution, but into his bed!
"How did Grayven take it?" Faora asked with a frown "He seemed adamant the station remained intact"
"He was displeased" Psylocke answeed with a shrug.
"No repercussions of any sort?" Faora asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone.
"My value as one of the Great One's greatest and most skilled assassins offers me some protection from the brute" Psylocke answered with a scowl "Why?"
"Normally Grayven dose not allow such things to deter him from punishing those he believes wronged him is all" Faora said as she pushed herself off the table and slowly approached Psylocke and began to circle the woman "After all, I am arguably our Lord's most powerful Fury and yet when I failed to acquire some weak minded whore from Xandar, Grayven beat me within an inch of my life"
"Clearly I'm the more valued Fury" Betsy remarked with the barest hints of smugness in her voice as she kept Faora within her line of sight.
"Perhaps... but valued in what way, I wonder?" Faora said as she came to a stop before Betsy, her eyes narrowed slightly and if Psylocke looked hard enough, she could see faint rippling of heat radiating off of them.
It seemed that Faora was just as ill at ease being in Psylocke's presence as she was to her's and was prepared to lash out at the slightest hint of provocation.
"If you wish to accuse me of something Faora, by all means, say it" Psylocke said as she prepared to seize the Kryptonian's mind and shatter it the moment Faora so much as twitched wrong.
"Have you joined Grayven?" Faora asked bluntly, all forms of pretense tossed out the window.
"I have not" Psylocke remarked, just barely managing to hold back the very real anger she felt at such a accusation "What of you Faora? Of all of Peter's brothers, you've served Grayven the most in the past"
"Our lord Darkseid had me assigned to conqueror new worlds in his name, Grayven was often the Son ordered to see to it. It was only natural that I fall under his command from time to time"
"Was his command the only thing you were under when it came to him?" Psylocke accused.
Faora's response was a snarl as her eyes now burned an ominous red and she took a step forward only to stop at the feeling of Ultron's hand on her shoulder. It was also at that moment that Psylocke felt her psionic abilities were... muffled, for the lack of a better term. And the lights within Peter's lab were now red, emanating an uncomfortable amount of heat. It only took a split second for both Furies to realize that their primary abilities had been nullified by Peter's countermeasures. Red Sun energy for Faora, and new and improved psionic dampers for Betsy.
"Refrain from violence in the master's labs" Ultron warned the two women "Or I will be forced to neutralize you both"
"Apologies Ultron, Psylocke and I's discussion had gotten a little more heated than either had intended I think..." Faora said as she turned to glare at the machine from over her shoulder "Release me, now!"
Ultron held Faora's gaze for a moment before he released the Kryptonian's shoulder and left to return to his previous duties.
Psylocke watched him go for a moment before she turned to glare at Faora who returned her look with one of her own. Several tense moments passed as the two Furies gauged one another before Faroa scoffed and brushed past Betsy to the door.
"Ultron, if you require my assistance, I shall be in my rooms. Washing off the stink this cheap, discarded spy has left on me" Faroa said.
Betsy's eyes glowed with raw psionic energy for a moment before she felt a stab of pain in her mind, the dampers way of warning her to cease their utilization.
"Yes my lady" Ultron said as he resumed his typing while Faora exited the lab, causing the red sun lamps scattered throughout to shut off, though Betsy noticed the psionic dampers were still active.
It seemed that Betsy was also no longer welcomed for the day within Peter's lab far as Ultron was concerned. He was... less tolerant of Betsy and many of the other Furies Peter associated with antics compared to Vision. While it never breached past outright disrespect and insubordination, it toed the line very closely. Than again, Ultron was designed to protect Peter and all that he deemed valuable by any means necessary where's Vison was imply a glorified servant.
A very polite, and in Besty's opinion, superior servant.
'Perhaps I can convince Peter to make a few alterations to Ultron's personality matrix to remedy that' Psylocke hummed before she turned to leave, stopping only for a moment when a thought occurred to her and she glanced back at Ultron.
"Ultron, do keep me informed of whoever else accesses this lab, aside from myself" the telepath said "With Grayven preparing for his coup, there's no telling who he's aligned himself with. It'd be a shame if it was discovered that he gained Faora's allegiance while she still as access to Peter's research"
Ultron gave a slight nod as his gaze remained focused on the screen in front of him "I already have my lady, Lady Faora made a similar claim in regards to you earlier when she first arrived. Rest assure, I am watching both of you"
Psylocke nodded at the android before she turned and left the lab for her rooms, she had a mission to Earth to prepare for.
...
Peter hated Metropolis.
He hated the sight of it, he hated the smell of it, he hated how the city felt as he swung through it's towering skyscrapers towards his destination. There was something about the City of Tomorrow that just rubbed Peter the wrong way, and it wasn't because it was the home to the biggest pain in the ass to Apokolips since New Genesis. Looking at the city, Peter couldn't help but compare it to that of Supertown, the home of the New Gods of New Genesis. How it seemed so perfect and peaceful when in reality, it was a hollow, vindictive and spiteful hell hole all on it's own.
'No wonder father always attacks this place whenever he invaded Earth in the past' Peter thought as he shot another web line out and used it to help slingshot himself over a building before he shot another line out.
Since his and Diana's... interaction on the Watchtower, the New God has used his Asgardian Cube to travel down to Earth to get away from everyone. After spending the better part of an hour brooding on some random rooftop in a city called 'New York', Peter had decided that if he was gonna running around Earth, he might as well be productive about it.
Hence why he's in Metropolis, the building where Bruno Mannheim's penthouse was located.
Peter was planning to deal with Bruno after he had Psylocke track down the remaining cells, but Diana left Peter in a mood... a rather vindictive one. And sadly for Bruno Mannheim, he's been volunteered to be Peter's outlet for the evening.
The tower Bruno lived in was relatively unguarded, the man likely never expected to ever be attacked on his home turf. Of course there was also the possibility he was simply readying for his departure from Earth along with the rest of the cells of Intergang that obeyed Darkseid's command. Either way, it made sneaking into his penthouse easier for Peter, now all the New God had to do was wait for the man to return home.
'Hopefully he's alone, this will make things much easier. Death of the head of a 'criminal' organization one thing, but death of the head of a criminal organization and some random tart is another thing entirely' Peter thought as he casually strolled through Bruno's penthouse and observed it's décor with a look of disinterest.
How anyone could think the art he was looking at, the style of furniture, was a sigh of elite economic status was beyond him.
"Well this is attractive..." Peter said as he came to a stop before a painting of a nude woman and leaned in close to better examine it.
The woman on display in the image was... adequate, he supposed, but nowhere near the level of women that Peter usually associates himself with. Still, for a human supposed that she was noteworthy enough. Though the painted woman's lack of significant assets left much to be desired, he's seen Parademons with more curves than what this woman was showing.
"To each their own I suppose" Peter said with a shrug as he leaned back and looked around the dark penthouse for anything else to keep his interest.
Thanks to the Mind Stone he could sense Bruno's mind was close, the lobby of their building if he's correct. Which meant the man will be up here in a few minutes, perhaps even less. With a sigh, Peter turned and slowly made his way to the man's study, already seeing that he was going to head there first to check a few 'emails' before retiring for the night. Seeing the man will be too distracted to realize that he wasn't alone in his penthouse, Peter switched off the biolights for his suit and quickly slipped into Bruno's study and picked out a spot in the shadows that will allow him to watch the man more easily.
Now all he had to do was wait...
'Still alone...' Peter thought as he could sense only Bruno's mind.
He utilized his suit's scanners to monitor the man as he exited the elevator that led up to his penthouse and watched the man make his way through the space. Based on his vitals, the man wasn't under any narcotic or alcoholic substances, nor was he in danger of keeling over and dying once Peter's questioning of the man turned... aggressive.
The door to the study suddenly opened and Peter watched with darkened lenses as Bruno hummed to himself and made his way over to the desk that housed his computer. The man hadn't even been able to reach out and switch the monitor on before Peter shot a web line out from the shadows and snagged the man's arm.
"What the f-" Bruno began before Peter yanked the man away from his desk and towards the ground.
Bruno let out a grunt as he slammed into the ground and was just reaching for a side arm he carried with one hand while the other began to push him up from the floor when a foot suddenly slammed down on his arm's elbow, completely shattering it with a sickening 'crack.
"AHHHHHHH-" Bruno began to scream before a viscous backhand to the face cut the man off and sent him flying back into the ground.
Peter had his biolights switch back on, casting an ominous yellow glow over Bruno's whimpering form as he struggled to look up at his attacker.
"Bruno" Peter nodded towards the man on the ground.
The Intergang crime boss looked up at Peter with a mixture of confusion and surprise on his face "M-My lord? What a-are-"
"I've come to tie up a loose end" Peter interrupted the man as he crouched down so that they were roughly at eye level with one another "I'm sure a man such as yourself, given your position, understands, hmm? You wouldn't have been able to saty in power as long as you have without making sure there was no one left that could threaten that"
"B-B-But why?" Bruno asked with sweat building on his brow, a result of both the pain and fear he was in at the moment.
"Oh come now Bruno, even you have to admit Diana calling me out like she did back at the diner was too good an opportunity to pass up" Peter said with a dark chuckle as he reached out and grabbed Bruno by the chin and forced him to look directly into Peter's lenses, allowing him to see his own petrified expression reflected in them.
"I-I-I'd never say a word, I s-swear!" Bruno struggled to speak with Peter's almost crushing grip on his chin.
"Sure you wouldn't" Peter snickered as he released Bruno's chin and slowly stood up "Sadly, I'm not a man that loves to take those sorts of risks. Found out the hard way what happens when you put your faith in someone else"
Before Bruno could say anything in his defense, Peter grabbed the man and lifted him into the air before tossing him across the room and into a wall. Peter watched Bruno slump to the ground as he approached him and gave him a 'light' kick to the gut that knocked the wind from him.
"Make no mistake Bruno, your dying here tonight" Peter said as he stared down at the quivering man "Whether you want the dearth to be painless or agonizing is entirely up to you"
"B-B-But I-I've s-served D-Darkseid-" Bruno began before he was cut off by Peter stepping on his shattered arm, causing him to scream in pain.
"You have, but unfortunately, I've done a little digging into your mind and saw that you were intending to report me to him. About how my word is greater than his" Peter said over Bruno's screams as he tilted his head slightly and continued to push down on Bruno's arm, crushing more bones under his foot with each passing second "I can't have that I'm afraid"
"P-Please... please..." Bruno cried, tears and sweat drenching his face as he gazed up at Peter with a pleading expression "A-Allow me to redeem-"
"You are dying tonight Bruno" Peter repeated with a growl as his hand began to glow from his Venom Blast charging through it "Be it through a broken neck, or something far, far worse. However, I like to think myself a generous God and thus, will let you choose your method of demise... on one condition"
"W-What condition?" Bruno asked fearfully as Peter stepped off his arm, though there wasn't much of an arm left.
The limb around the elbow looked to be almost flattened and the shattered bones had cut and torn the skin and muscles, causing blood to leak out on to the floor. If Bruno didn't die from a broken neck or something worse as Peter claimed, blood loss will do him in.
"I'm aware that you have no idea where many of the remaining renegade cells have gone to ground" Peter said as he turned away from Bruno, his hands clasped behind his back as he walked towards the study's window and gazed out to the night life of Metropolis "But I believe you know who does. The companies that you've used to help move our weapons across international boarders and within various countries, I want their names, their locations and whatever else you can give me"
In all honesty, Peter could easily pry the information from Bruno's mind with the Mind Stone, but the New God decided against it. It was too easy, too merciful... and tonight, Peter felt anything but merciful.
The once feared boss of Intergang stared at Peter's back with wide terrified eyes as he tried to concentrate on what the New God asked, a rather difficult task given the pain his arm was giving him and the terror he felt. Minutes ticked by as Peter remained silent, unmoving, while Bruno's pained gasps and moans echoed through the room as he tried to climb to his knees, cradling his destroyed arm close to his body while his other shakily pointed towards his desk.
"T-T-The f-f-f-file-s... t-the-re" Bruno said as he struggled to keep upright "My compu-uter"
"Is that right?" Peter said as he glanced at the computer in question for a moment before he nodded in satisfaction "Well I guess that just leaves one last thing to deal with... you. Try not to resist too much Bruno, a broken neck can very easily get very messy if tyou struggle"
Peter suddenly reached down and grabbed Bruno by the nape of his neck and began to drag him towards the man's balcony, blasting the glass of the sliding doors out with his Venom blast as he went. It only took a moment for Bruno's mind to realize what Peter had in store for him and he immediately began to resist Peter as much as he could, though all it seemed to do was amuse the new God.
"But you said! You said!" Bruno cried as he tried to tear himself free from Peter's grip, his body hit with a sudden dose of adrenaline as it was faced with the very real threat of death.
"I know what I said and I was telling he truth" Peter said as he casually made his way to the edge of the balcony before he hoisted Bruno up and held him over the ledge by his collar "You will die by a broken neck... I never said how I would accomplish it, however. What, you thought I was just gonna grab your head and twist it until your neck snapped?"
Than without another word, Peter released his hold on Bruno's collar and watched as the man fell to the ground below. Peter had his suit scan and track the man's fall, and after a quick calculation, taking in to account Bruno's weight and the gravity of Earth, he shot an arm out and fired a web line towards the screaming man. The web snagged his calf and Peter waited another few moments for the line to lengthen before he had it go taught, causing Bruno's body to come to a sudden stop and-
KRAKK!
Bruno's screams went silent while his body went suddenly limp. Peter's suit could no longer detect a heartbeat and already the man's temperature was beginning to slowly fall as the blood circulation ceased.
"Broken neck by sudden deceleration of the body" Peter said as he held the web line for a moment before he released it and allowed Bruno's body to resume it's descent to the ground "I'm a man of my word Bruno..."
Peter turned away from the ledge and made his way back into the man's study.
It wouldn't be long until local law enforcement responded to Bruno's body slamming into the ground and given the man's history and reputation, the Justice League may not be far behind. He had no idea if they were aware of what transpired between Diana and himself, but he had no intention of finding out anytime soon. A quick scan of Bruno's computer showed that it wasn't anything special, no hidden modifications with Apokoliptain tech, or booby traps or hints that it was anything but a regular high end human computer.
Primitive as hell, but advance enough that Peter didn't feel too embarrassed hacking through it's firewalls and into it's data storage. Most of it was simple transactions to various companies that Intergang used to help smuggle their tech across the planet. Peter's eyes darted through the information before him as his suit began to download the various files Bruno had. A majority of the tech moved was through a number of small time companies, a lot of them ironically enough shipping companies, but there was one company that Intergang utilized that stood out to Peter.
It was a multinational conglomerate that dabbled in just about everything from pharmaceuticals to software development, though lately it began to open up avenues to various military contracting and development... and a number of the weapons put forth held Apokoliptian influence, if one knew what to look for.
Which Peter did... he designed most of what Intergang used after all.
"Oh Bruno, what have you and your friends been getting up to?" Peter said to no one in particular as he delved more into the files related to this stand out company and found a name.
Oscorp.
...
And done.
Next chapter, Wonder and Savage...