Justice League of Amazons: Fire and Blood
Chapter 1
…
Aboard the Justice League Watchtower above Earth in space. April 2013.
Diana, the Princess of Themyscira, home of the Amazons, also known as the heroine Wonder Woman, founding member of the Justice League, stood in the observation room, looking through the tempered vacuum sealed ten-inch-thick glass window at planet Earth below. Silent tears poured down Diana's cheeks as the events that had only recently happened played through her mind.
What events happened, you ask?
Aresia, Diana's sister by adoption and an orphan from a war that had killed her family and was raised as an Amazon, had decided that, in accordance to Amazon beliefs and teachings, for all women to be free, every man on Earth must be removed. During her final trial which she spent in an isolated tower in solitude, Aresia had studied books on biology, chemistry and germ warfare. Then recruiting some criminals with promises of easy money, power and dominion over the world, Aresia gathered the supplies she needed to create a virus with the intention of killing every male person on the planet. The first test subjects were the male members of Aresia's impromptu Injustice Gang who quickly succumbed to the virus and died.
And like a snowball rolling down a snowy mountainside, the virus grew bigger and affected every male person, until it spread across the globe. Even the male members of the Justice League, Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, were affected by the virus and succumbed to it. And worse still, the virus did not spare anyone, including teenagers and children, even unborn babies died in the wombs of their mothers, leaving those women with the horror of a stillborn child.
Try as they might, Diana, Shayera/Hawkgirl and Diana's mother and queen, Hippolyta, had tried their best to stop Aresia. Even when Hippolyta told Aresia the truth of how a man had rescued her and brought her to the safety of Themyscira, though it cost him his life, Aresia was unrepentant.
The world had descended into chaos from there as the male population of Earth succumbed to Aresia's virus in what could be simply & best described as gender genocide, all in the belief of freeing women everywhere according to the Amazon teachings.
Diana felt disgust and shame, at herself and the very beliefs she longed believed in and held true to; she was disgusted that she had not done anything sooner to stop Aresia from unleashing her plague on the world, and she was ashamed that the Amazon beliefs had led to this tragedy. When she first arrived in Man's World, she had her initial prejudices against men, but she quickly learnt that while there were many men who validated Amazon teachings, she saw that many women were and are just as bad. But Diana also learned that despite the apparent corruption in men's hearts, there was just as much good in them, if not more so; the men of the Justice League were examples of that.
Diana's thoughts then drifted to her now deceased teammates; Superman was the leader of them, who inspired hope and courage in everyone around him and encouraged everyone to be their best, no matter how small their deeds might be. Batman was the foil to Superman, providing realism and pragmatism with his vast experience and had astounded Diana at just how skilled and determined a mortal man could be. Flash, although he could be immature and prone to rash thinking and actions, he was the heart and soul of the team and was what kept them all grounded and human, and Diana thought to herself that if she ever had a little brother, Flash would be him.
Green Lantern, although their first impression of each other wasn't exactly stellar by any means, there was clear respect between them, and Diana had respected the man's sheer willpower and dedication to doing good. And Martian Manhunter she felt some kinship towards as they were both outsiders in a world that was unfamiliar to them, and there was deep respect and familiarity with each other.
These men, they were heroes in every sense of the word, what men should truly be, and now they were all dead because of Aresia's interpretation of the Amazon Way. What was the message in that? Where was the justice in it? To answer it simply; there was no justice to it whatsoever. They had died because of one Amazon's misguided view of the Amazon Way.
The door to the observation deck opened and Shayera walked towards Diana. "Are you okay?" the Thanagarian woman asked the Amazon who nodded shakily in response. "The others are already here," Shayera then said. "So, if you're ready, we can get the meeting underway," she added gently.
"But, what if…?" Diana tried to say when Shayera gently cut her off. "I've spoken with them; they don't harbor any grudge against you for what Aresia has done. They're giving you the benefit of the doubt," she explained.
Diana nodded slowly and wiped away the tears staining her cheeks. The pair then left the observation deck and headed towards the conference room where a group of women were waiting for them.
It turned out that Batman had a series of contingency plans set in place should any member of the League be unable to fulfill their duties, and there were even plans to expand the Justice League roster. Given the fact that many costumed crime fighters around the world were male and had succumbed to the virus, that left only the female heroes left, but there was still a good number of them.
From Gotham City, there was Batgirl, Huntress, Black Canary and Zatanna. From Metropolis there was Superman's cousins, Supergirl and Power Girl. From New York, there was Vixen and Stargirl. From Brazil and Norway, there was Fire and Ice respectively. From Japan, there was Katana and Doctor Light. Each of these women were proven heroes and dedicated to the mission; they each had special skillsets and abilities, be it martial arts and acrobatics, or powers of flight and strength, or even special equipment that granted them greater capabilities in combat.
As Diana entered the room, some of the new heroes stiffened up slightly, but relaxed quickly. They did not hold any ill will towards Diana, but there was still some apprehension.
Shayera quickly called the meeting to order. "Welcome to you all. Please take a seat," she said firmly, and everyone did so. Pressing some buttons at the computer console, Shayera brought up a holographic display of Earth along with some statistics.
"A few hours ago, Aresia, a rogue Amazon of Themyscira, unleashed a virus with the intention of eliminating all men on Earth," Shayera started and there was some dark mutterings and scowls on nearly everyone, but Shayera pressed on. "Aresia clearly succeeded in her plans, but what she failed to realise, or more likely, refused to acknowledge that men were necessary to continue the human race through procreation with women," the Thanagarian said.
"With the current fallout of what has happened, the state of the world has descended into chaos with much of the law enforcement agencies around the world being severely depleted of staff and members."
Shayera then looked at each person in the room before saying, "Now, it falls to us to continue the work the Justice League has set out to do and bring order to the world and find a way to prevent humanity from falling into extinction," she said sternly.
"How are we going to do that?" Kara AKA Supergirl asked. "Every man on Earth has died to the virus, as you said. So, what can we do to make humanity survives?" she said.
"We'll find a way," Shayera then said confidently. "In my time knowing the human race, I've found they're extraordinarily resilient; capable of overcoming any obstacle placed in front of them," she added with a look of admiration in her emerald green eyes.
"Humanity will survive this," the Thanagarian woman declared. "And while I don't put much stock into matters of faith, Green Lantern once told me that sometimes you have to have a little faith," she said with a look of nostalgic fondness in her eyes.
"So, what do we do?" Helena AKA Huntress asked getting right to the matter. "Where do we go? And who's going with who?" she then added.
Shayera nodded in approval of the brunette's attitude and she began to lay out plans of what to do, who was going where and who they were going with.
When the plans were made, everyone then prepared to head to the Javelin bay and headed down to Earth to begin their mission of bringing order to the anarchy that currently gripped Earth.
…
In a little alleyway. Metropolis City. April 2013.
In a darkened little alleyway in one of the biggest cities in America, there was a blinding flash of light and landing on the ground was a lone individual. The individual was a young male, hardly any older than seventeen or eighteen; he wore a mixture of leather and mail armour, his hair was dyed a deep blue colour and the follicles just reached his neck. The young man's face was handsome and youthful, with the eyes framed by long lashes making him look half a girl and were a deep bluish-purple colour. He was also armed with a hand-and-a-half longsword, a dagger and a longbow made of green wood with a quiver of arrows on his back.
The boy slowly rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky and saw the buildings reaching far above, making him feel closed.
"Seven Hells…" the boy breathed as he slowly sat up and fought down a wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. After a moment the nausea subsided, and the boy slowly got to his feet. His legs felt shaky and leaden, as though they might just give out on him, but he willed himself to stand up straight. After staying upright on his feet, the boy looked around at his surroundings.
"Where am I?" the boy asked himself as the buildings were very unfamiliar. Looking down the alleyway, the boy could see what he thought might be a street of some city. Steeling himself for whatever might be ahead, the boy stumbled a little as he took the first step, but his stride become more balanced and confident as he walked down the alley, his boots crunching each time they touched with the ground.
Exiting the alley, what the boy saw next almost made his heart stop; vast and great buildings, higher than anything he'd ever, reaching to kiss the heavens themselves, stood before him. The young man could only stand and gape at what he was seeing, his eyes wide with amazement and fear. He then began to wonder if he had landed in the realm of the gods, for this place certainly didn't look like anything normal people could. A wild thought that entered the young man's mind was that he may have landed in the Valyrian Freehold at the height of its power.
As the young man openly gazed at this new world in wonder, a voice interrupted his reverie. "Hey, are you lost?" asked the voice; the voice had an odd accent to it but was sweet and feminine in sound. The young man looked to see a young woman with honey blonde hair in loose waves, wearing a short brown tunic, a short skirt that reached her knees and a pair of spectacles perched on her nose. She was quite pretty.
"I… I suppose I must be," the young man admitted slowly and he then noticed that the young woman was staring at him oddly. "Is there something on my face?" he asked.
"No, it's just… how are you still alive?" replied the young woman.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be alive?" said the young man.
"Well, because the virus is still in the atmosphere," the young woman replied.
"What virus?" asked the young man.
"Well, long story short, a rogue Amazon named Aresia created a virus to wipe out all men on the planet to free women everywhere in accordance to Amazon teachings," the young woman explained all that had happened and the young man then asked some questions as to why this 'Aresia' created the virus without thinking of the ramifications of it.
"That's what I'd like to know as well," said the young woman. "I lost a lot of my friends when the virus struck," she added sadly.
"I'm sorry for your loss, m'lady," the young man said softly.
"Well, the real question is how you're alive and somehow immune to the virus," the young woman said.
"I really wouldn't know. Perhaps the Stranger decided to spare me from this plague," the young man suggested.
"Stranger?"
"One of the Seven. Or do you worship different gods here?" asked the young man.
"Err… there are gods, but I don't think there are any called the Seven," the young woman admitted. "But that can wait. Right now, we need to take you to STAR Labs to run some tests," she said.
"Tests? What tests?" the young man asked cautiously.
"Nothing major, we'd just need some blood samples and maybe some tissue samples to figure out how you're immune to the virus and see if we can synthesize and antidote, or a vaccine to the virus," the young woman said.
"I don't know about this," the young man said warily.
"I promise I won't hurt you. Scout's honour."
"Scout? Are you part of any army?"
"Look, I give you my word that you won't be hurt in any way," said the young woman. "My name is Felicity. Felicity Smoak," she introduced herself.
"I'm… Young Griff," the young man said after a moment.
"Well, nice to meet you, Young Griff," Felicity Smoak said with a smile. "C'mon, let's head to STAR Labs and we can get these tests done right away," she added.
Young Griff then walked beside Felicity. As the pair walked down the street, Young Griff looked at the strange horseless carriages and he asked Felicity what they were.
"They don't have cars where you're from do they?" Felicity remarked and Young Griff shook his head in response.
"No, we have horses and carriages and ships and our feet to get us place, but nothing like these cars."
"Well, wait until you get a load of airplanes then."
Young Griff looked at Felicity and asked her, "Air-planes? What are they?"
"They're… basically flying ships that can travel all across the world transporting people and goods for when ships would take too long," Felicity said trying to explain the concept of airplanes to a mind as erudite as Young Griff's.
"Hmm… reminds me of stories of my… ehh… the Targaryen kings and Valyrian Dragonlords when they rode dragons," Young Griff said.
"They have dragons where you're from?" Felicity asked in amazement.
"There were, but they all died out centuries ago," Young Griff said in reply. "The last dragon was a stunted little thing, no bigger than a cat, and it did not live for very long," he added grimly.
"Oh, that's a shame…"
As the pair walked further down the street, women in the shops and other places of business saw Young Griff walking alongside and some began taking photos and videos of him with their smartphones and cameras. Young Griff noticed such actions and he asked Felicity, "What are those… odd devices?" He pointed to the women with their smartphones aimed towards him.
"I'll explain later," Felicity said quickly, a nervous look briefly flitting across her face. "Let's just get to STAR Labs," she added firmly.
The pair then speed-walked down the street and some women began following them down the street, murmuring and whispering among themselves. Young Griff felt a prickling sensation run down his spine as the gathering crowd of women followed him and Felicity. He wanted to run, but something told him that if he so much as jogged, those women would be after like hunting dogs after a rabbit. So, Young Griff forced himself to keep to a walking pace, albeit a slightly fast one.
Then just up ahead was a large building with the words written in giant red letters was STAR Labs.
"We made it," Felicity sighed in relief and she quickly cast a glance at the following crowd of women. "Quick. Inside, we'll be safe here," she said quickly and Young Griff entered the building and the receptionist saw him and Felicity.
"Felicity? Who is this? How is he still alive?" were the first questions to spill from the receptionist's lips.
"This is Young Griff. For some reason, he's immune to the virus in the air and I brought him here to find out way," replied Felicity. "But right now, there's a large crowd of women outside and there's no telling if they'll break in to get to Griff, so we need to keep him safe," she said.
"Of course. Come with me, please," the receptionist said to Young Griff leading him down the almost pristine white hallway. Young Griff marvelled at how immaculately clean this place seemed, such cleanliness could only be afforded by the richest of lords or merchant princes such as the cheesemonger.
Leading Young Griff to a small room, the receptionist asked him to pulled off his tunic to examine him. Griff was a little reluctant, but he did as requested. Then sitting in the chair, another woman wearing a white robe with the hem reaching her knees entered, bearing a metal tray of strange equipment. Griff asked her what she was here for and the woman replied that she going to take a blood sample to run some tests. Talking to him soothingly, the woman wrapped a thin rope around Young Griff's arm at the crook of his elbow and she wiped at the joint with a moist cloth. Then taking a small needle, the woman slowly inserted it into the crook of Griff's elbow. Griff nearly panicked but Felicity was beside him talking to him gently like how one would calm a spooked horse.
Once the needle was inserted, a small clear vial was attached to it and the white robed woman undid the rope around Griff's arm. Blood filled the vial immediately, before the needle was pulled out and the small pinprick of blood had a small cloth pressed onto it.
Young Griff felt a little uneasy after having a foreign object inserted in his skin and his blood drawn from him. He thought that these women might perform blood magic with his own blood, so he resolved to ask what would happen with his blood and if his blood would be disposed of.
Then he was taken to the dining hall called a cafeteria where he was given a drink of orange juice and a sandwich which had a filling of roasted turkey meat, soft creamy cheese, butter and a strange jelly called cranberry jelly which added particular sweetness to the sandwich. Hunger gnawing at his stomach, Young Griff ate the sandwich and drank the cup of juice and he noticed the women in the dining hall staring at him intently.
"So, you never said where you're from," Felicity said expectantly.
"I'm originally from Westeros, but I grew up in Essos," Griff said slowly unsure if he could trust everyone here with the truth of his life.
"So what are Westeros and Essos like?"
"Well, Westeros nor Essos seem to be as advanced as this land seems; for one thing we don't have cars or flying ships," Griff said. "We only have horses, carriages, sailing ships or our feet to get us places," he added.
"And judging by the sword on your hip, you haven't anything like guns, am I right?" Felicity asked.
"What are guns?" Griff asked curiously.
"They're… like a crossbow, except instead of an arrow or bolt, they fire small lead slugs at tremendous velocity so they punch into or through flesh easily," Felicity said.
"Could I see one of these guns?" Griff asked curious to see such a weapon.
"Maybe later," Felicity said. "So, what about your sword? Doesn't look like something a normal smith would be able to make," she observed looking at the sword by Griff's side.
Young Griff reluctantly unsheathed his sword and laid it out on the table; everyone's eyes widened in awe and curiosity at the dark and smoky metal that rippled with thousands of folds. They took note of the pommel which was three dragons surrounding a ruby.
"What kind of sword is this?" one of the women asked as she examined the sword.
"It's a Valyrian steel sword," replied Griff. "This one is a special one called Blackfyre," he said.
"Black-fire, Blackfyre," Felicity tried saying the name a couple of times. "How did you get a sword like this? Something tells me you can't get this in an ordinary weapons shop," she commented.
"It belonged to my family," Griff said vaguely.
"Your family? Okay, how did your family get a sword like this?" Griff looked reluctant to answer the question thrown at him when a woman wearing a white robe ran into the room.
"We've got a visitor, the unscheduled kind," the woman said urgently.
"Who?" Felicity asked in worry, before she was given an answer, a portly woman with dark skin and wearing a handsome tan dress-suit strode into the room with two women wearing black uniforms entered the room. Nearly everyone cowered in the presence of this woman and her two guards. The dark-skinned woman looked straight at Young Griff who stiffened up, his hand inching towards Blackfyre on the table. The woman then strode toward Griff and spoke in an almost cold condescending voice.
"So, it's true, there is a surviving male after all," she said with a slight curl to her lip. "I almost didn't believe the report when it was given to me, but I wanted to see for myself if it was," she added.
"And who might you be, my lady?" Young Griff enquired, on guard for some attack, be it physical or verbal.
"My name is Amanda Waller. I am the head of Project Cadmus and due to succession protocols given the state of the world, I am currently President of the United States of America until an election is held," the woman said in a commanding authoritative voice. "Might I know yours, young man?" she said in a way that it wasn't a request.
"Young Griff, son of a wandering sellsword," Griff replied instantly. "Might I enquire as to the nature of your visit?" he asked respectfully.
"I came to see if the report was true that there was a single surviving male brought to STAR Labs," replied Amanda Waller. "And seeing as there is proof right in front of me, I would offer you protective custody of your person," she said.
"And what makes you think I cannot protect myself?" Young Griff said slowly as he rose to his feet while cautiously and calmly taking his sword into his hand and held it loosely by his side.
"You haven't been in this world long enough to know of the dangers, Mr Griff," Amanda said calmly. "I'll hazard a guess as to say there are no things like Metahumans or aliens where you're from," she added as she gave Griff's leather armour a cursory condescending once over.
"I don't entirely know what you mean by Metahumans or aliens, but I am perfectly capable of defending myself," Griff said as politely as he could, his purple-blue eyes narrowing as he frowned and his grip on his sword tightened. "And don't think me a fool that I don't recognise what you're really offering me," he added.
"And what is you think I am offering you?" Amanda replied.
"You would put me in a cage under the pretence of protecting me, and deny me my freedom," Griff said. "An understandable measure to be sure, but one that is deeply flawed," he pointed out.
"How so?" Amanda enquired.
"How often has one put a wild animal that has only ever known its freedom into a cage, then to watch as the beast wasted away or went mad when it could not regain its freedom?" Griff then said.
Amanda Waller did not say anything in reply to this, her face was impassive as stone.
"That is what you would do to me, Lady Amanda," Griff then said firmly. "You would put me in a cage and I would waste away and eventually go mad, and I shall not subject myself to that, not for any reason!" he declared.
Amanda's lip briefly quirked before saying, "Well, you certainly make a point there," she conceded. "But would it not be better to remain in relatively safety? There are elements and people in this world that would no doubt use you for their own ends," she said.
"And you are saying that you would not use me for your own devices?" Griff retorted coldly.
"My own devices are ultimately for the safety and survival of all mankind, Mr Griff," Amanda replied calmly. "And if you haven't been told, Aresia is still out in the world and when she hears of a surviving male, and she will, she'll want to finish what she started," she said.
"When she does, she'll get three feet of cold steel in her gut," Griff said confidently. "No doubt, there'd be those who have lost their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers that would want the chance to kill the one responsible for their deaths," he added.
"Well, you don't lack courage, that's for certain," Amanda applauded. "But why take the risk?" she asked.
"Better to die with a sword in my hand, then to waste away in a cage," Griff replied.
Amanda smiled briefly before saying, "This has been… an enlightening conversation, Mr Griff," she said. "Few ever have the stones to talk back to me," she added in cool amusement.
"Because they weren't afraid of you, I'll wager," replied Griff. "And neither am I," he stated.
Amanda gave a cold smile before turning and leaving, but not before saying, "Well, let's hope you're as brave you claim to be, Mr Griff," she said. "I'd hate to see anything happen to our world's last best hope for survival," she added before she and her guards left the room. Griff did not sit down until Amanda and her guards were gone. Slowly settling down into his seat, Griff wiped his brow with the sleeve of his tunic and sighed in relief.
"That was amazing!" Felicity exclaimed. "The way you just stood up to Amanda Waller, not many people have the balls to do that!" she said.
"I merely said the right words that had the weight of truth in them," replied Young Griff. "And honestly speaking, I was shaking in my boots when I said those words," he japed.
"You didn't look like you were quivering your boots," Felicity said in amusement.
"Oh, I was," Griff said nearly chuckling. "I was lucky that woman saw the reason in my words and backed down," he added.
"Well, I'm glad you stood up to that witch of a woman," Felicity then said. "Lord knows someone around here needs to tell that woman where to get off," she added.
"I sincerely hope I'll be able to do so again if I ever have to talk to her," Griff replied. "But what did Amanda mean when she said the words metahumans and aliens?" he asked.
"Well, we've got some time, so I hope you like long stories," Felicity said before she began the long explanation of the subject of metahumans and aliens to Young Griff.
…
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Phew! There it is! The first chapter of the official rewrite of my Justice League of Amazons/Game of Thrones rewrite. Honestly, I'm not too sure what to make of this first chapter, but I sincerely hoped I was able to incorporate elements of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire into this such as Young Griff's verbal sparring with Amanda 'The Wall' Waller which if any of you know her character is not an easy thing to do, and neither are the verbal wars in Game of Thrones where some words have different meanings then others and how you should be careful in what you say, lest you agree to something you had no wish to agree upon. So, I hope did that sort of thing justice and hopefully I'll be able to incorporate it in this story more, beyond things that are normally associated with DC Comics and Game of Thrones such as violence or sex.
Anyways, I gave Aegon VI the name Young Griff as per his disguise in Ice and Fire books, but he will reveal his name in due course, maybe in the next chapter? Some ideas I have for this story are an appearance by the Fatal Five due to the upcoming Justice League Vs the Fatal Five movie as I've got some ideas of what the Fatal Five would want from Aegon as he would very be the New Father to Mankind in this story and as such would be an invaluable hostage and bargaining chip for any would-be despots.
Some other ideas are crossovers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers and Mortal Kombat as there have been official crossovers with those I just mentioned, be it comics/graphic novels, or in the case of Mortal Kombat, video games such as MK vs DCU, or the Injustice games.
Anyway, I've set up a voting poll showing a vast list of romance options for Aegon VI to be with and thus far, Wonder Woman seems to be the prohibitive favourite with Zatanna in second place and Supergirl in third. So, if you want to see a different girl take the lead, then you better get voting Although, Wonder Woman wouldn't be a bad option, I mean she is a princess after all and Aegon is a prince (in hiding) and often times marriages between kingdoms often allowed one access to the other's armies and when Aegon gets back to Westeros/Planetos, he'd need an army at his back and supposedly, the Amazons of Themyscira are the best trained warriors in the DCU, but if you put them up against things like spec-ops or even US Marines in real life, traditional Amazon training would be no match for modern warfare tactics and weaponry. But this is the DCU, not real life and the Amazons would probably wipe the floor with Westerosi knights and Essosi warriors like Dothraki Screamers.
I'm going on a tangent here, I've set up a poll, so feel free to vote on who want Aegon to end up with, although it probably will be a harem most likely and I know some of you won't like that, but if you don't like, you don't have to read it, no-one's forcing you to read this gobshite :-P.
So, that's all for now, I'll just leave this here and await the reviews.
Cheery bye,
Angry lil' elf.