Injustice: Knights & Dragons
…
Chapter 4
Emma took a moment to look at the foyer of the House of Mystery. When she had seen the building from the outside, it was a sizable piece of real estate, but the house seemed bigger on the inside. Looking to her companions, the telepath saw that Zatanna was pushing the hovering form of Aegon down a hallway with Oliver and Dinah following the raven-haied magician.
Out of concern for her… friend? Emma quickly caught up with the group and they entered another room that was nearly enveloped in darkness and in a pale pillar of light, a stone table sat.
Zatanna magicked the groaning Aegon onto the table and Emma asked her, "What is it you plan to do?"
"First I need to find out what curse if affecting your friend here," Zatanna informed her. "Then, I need to get it under control before it spreads and then I'll see what I can do to lift it," she said.
"So, what do you think this curse is exactly, Zee?" Dinah asked the magician who pursed her lips and replied, "I am not certain. I have a few theories, none of them are positive."
"What's the worst-case scenario?" Oliver asked his face etched in worry.
"The worst-case scenario is that our friend here is in the process of turning into a demonic creature that I may have no choice but to put out of its misery," Zatanna replied.
"And what's the best-case scenario?" Emma asked tersely.
"I have one theory about that, but I need to confirm it." Emma opened her mouth to ask another but the magician raised a hand to stop her. "Please understand that I have no intention of harming or killing your friend here. My intentions are pure, I assure you."
"And I am to just take your word for it?" Emma asked caustically a slight sneer appearing on her lips.
"You may read my mind then and judge for yourself," Zatanna said with a sincere smile. Taking that as an invitation, Emma her fingers to her temples and focussed on the witch in front of her.
Then she saw it all; Zatanna's life in flashes of memories, thoughts and emotions. The things she had done and endured, the suffering she had felt during the Regime's rise to power, being forced to watch friends turn against each other and numerous other things besides.
Emma lowered her hands and looked at Zatanna with some akin to respect in her eyes; the woman had done much good and ill, but her intentions were pure, something Emma herself felt she had done in her life, but Zatanna was a bit more altruistic. Giving what she hoped was a kind smile, the blonde telepath nodded at the brunette witch who smiled back before pulling a long black wand from her jacket sleeve and began to work on Aegon who was practically comatose at this point.
"What did you do?" Dinah asked Emma who looked at her and replied, "I read her mind to gauge her intentions."
"You're a telepath," Black Canary said rather than asked to which Emma nodded in confirmation.
"A telepath, huh? We've had a few of those before," Green Arrow commented.
"Yes, but your J'onn J'onzz appeared to respect the boundaries others put on him," Emma said dryly as she looked at the green clad archer who swallowed a lump in his throat, a nervous look in his green eyes.
"Let me guess; he imagined you naked, didn't he?" Dinah asked an annoyed look in her eyes as she cast a glance at her husband who smiled weakly.
"I'm not stranger to it at this point," Emma said to her with an almost tired smile on her face before adding, "That's not to say that such an effect on the male sex has its advantages at times." A slightly superior smirk was on the White Queen's face.
"It does help at times when some bad guy's focussed on your legs or other assets to pay real attention to what you're doing," Dinah said in agreement and Oliver gave a pained groan on annoyance.
Emma gave a sardonic chuckle before she looked back at Zatanna; the witch was waving her wand in intricate motions, muttering strange words under her breath. Emma was tempted to read the witch's mind to learn just what it was she was doing to her young friend, but that train of thought was interrupted when Dinah placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"C'mon. Let's let Zee work in peace," the blonde siren advised. "I know this place well enough to know where the kitchen is. And I know Zee always has a chocolate cake in the fridge," she said slyly.
"I could do with something to eat," Emma said quietly as she reluctantly left the room with Dinah and her husband.
…
Quarter of an hour later, Emma sat at the kitchen isle bench top, a slice of triple chocolate mud cake sitting on a porcelain plate in front of her. The White Queen had taken a few little bites, not feeling quite hungry enough to eat to eat the whole slice, but she was too uneasy to do anything else right now.
Noticing her worry, Oliver spoke to her saying, "Hey, don't worry so much. Zee's one of the most powerful magicians we have. She'll fix your friend up before you know it." An encouraging smile was on the archer's bearded lips.
Emma smiled reluctantly and replied, "I know, but I feel useless sitting here eating cake."
"Do you have any experience with magic?" Dinah asked her as she ate a forkful of cake.
"…No," Emma admitted after a moment of contemplation.
"So, since we're here and the fact we were to pick you and your friend up; you mind telling us who you are?" Oliver asked with curiosity in his eyes. "I've known my share of telepaths, but I've never met you before today," he then said.
"Can't imagine you would have, Mr Queen," Emma confirmed. "I'm from another universe," she then said.
"Ah, kinda like me then," Oliver said with a nod of his head.
"Like you?" Emma asked in confusion.
"Yeah, the Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow of this universe was killed by Superman in the beginning stages of the Regime," Oliver then explained the story of the death of the Green Arrow of this universe and how Dinah then fought Superman, nearly defeating in open combat, but outside circumstance intervened that left Dinah critically wounded and on death's door were it not for Kent Nelson AKA Doctor Fate defying fate and bringing her to another where the Oliver Queen of that universe had lost his own wife and child. It was only in recent years after the downfall of the Regime and restoration of civil order that Dinah was brought back to her original universe, bringing with her husband and son Connor Queen.
"So, that's the gist of it, really," Oliver said after he finished regaling Emma with his story. "So, is there a Batman and Superman of your universe?" he asked looking at Emma who shook her head.
"No. No-one by such titles. Not even a Justice League. The closest we have is the Avengers or the X-Men."
"Avengers? X-Men? Gotta say, it's gotta bit of dash to it," Dinah said with an amused smile.
"Yeah, got more to edge to them, that's for sure," Oliver said with a grin. "Which were you part of?" he asked Emma.
"The X-Men," Emma stated. "And to explain it in as few words as possible; the X-Men were, are a group of mutants who use their abilities to fight for a world where mutants can live without fear of persecution," she said.
"Guessing mutants don't have it good where you're from, huh?" Dinah asked sympathy in her eyes.
"No. Most don't," Emma said bitterly. "Most face discrimination from ordinary humans and those like Senator Kelly push for mutants to be registered or imprisoned," she added with a look of anger in her eyes.
"Politics!" Oliver spat in distaste. "It was bad enough when we had the likes of Waller trying to pull strings to get heroes to register, and it got worse after the Regime was taken down," he said.
"Well, I will say that many mutants often made things worse by acting out," Emma said. "Magneto springs to mind," she added.
"Magneto? Who was that?" Dinah asked.
"A mutant with the power of ferrokinetic, or magnetism," Emma explained. "And add to that, he was a Jewish Holocaust survivor who saw firsthand the horrors of Nazi Germany and when he saw the prejudice mutants faced, he felt that humans could no longer be trusted," she said.
"A misanthrope? Great, just what the multiverse needed," Oliver said sarcastically.
"Indeed. Things between humans and mutantkind were often tense with Magneto and his followers often fighting against humanity which Senator Kelly used as fuel for his campaign against mutants," Emma then said. "Which is where the X-Men came in. Created by Charles Xavier, a mutant with the power of telepathy and an enlightened view of the world where humans and mutants could live and co-exist in peace, the X-Men often fought against Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants and humans who wished mutantkind to suffer."
"And did it work?" Oliver asked looking engrossed in the story.
"It was a never-ending battle, until one fateful day that led to their disbanding, a day I had a hand in," Emma said grimly.
"What do you mean? What did you do?" Dinah asked in worry.
"Among the ranks of the X-Men was Jean Grey, a powerful mutant with the power of both telepathy and telekinesis. She was also the host of a cosmic entity known as the Phoenix which was a destructive force that could not be controlled," Emma replied. "I was part of a cabal of mutants called the Inner Circle; Sebastian Shaw was the Black King of the Inner Circle and I was the White Queen," she said with something approaching self-loathing in her tone.
"So, what was this Inner Circle's plan?" Dinah asked as she looked at the telepath more appraisingly.
"When Shaw brought me into the circle, he told me of the Phoenix's destructive power and their plan to destroy it," Emma answered. "And the idiot I was, I believe him!" she spat distastefully.
"Shaw wanted to use the Phoenix, didn't he?" Oliver asked darkly and Emma nodded, confirming Oliver's question.
"Yes. He and the rest of the Inner Circle planned to use the Phoenix to overthrow mankind and instil mutants as the ruling elite with humans being little more than serfs at best and slaves at worst," Emma explained and she looked at the floor with self-reproach in her icy blue eyes. "I was a fool for believing them… if I had known what their actual plan was, I could've warned the X-Men about it before it happened!"
"The past is the past. You can't change it, no matter what you do, because it'll clear the way for something as bad or worse to come along and fill in the shoes," Dinah said to the telepath. "Even if you hadn't went along with it, they'd have found someone more willing to do it," she added.
"I suppose I can't refute it," Emma said sagely.
"So, what's the deal with your friend? Is he like you?" Oliver then asked changing the direction of the conversation.
"He is from another universe, but not mine," Emma said. "His name as he told me was Aegon VI Targaryen," she added.
"Wait… Aegon Targaryen? As in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice & Fire?" Dinah asked dumbfounded.
"So he claims to be," Emma said with a nod of her head. "I would've thought that such a series doesn't exist in real life," she added offhandedly.
"Well, if the multiverse theory is to be believed, then with that logic why wouldn't there be a universe where George R.R Martin's prose is real?" Oliver said. "I've watched the TV series, but the only Aegon I knew of was killed during the Sack of Kings Landing," he added as he put a hand to his chin in thought.
"Well, there are the books to consider," Dinah said to her husband before she looked at Emma and asked, "Which Aegon does your friend claim to be?"
"He said the Sixth Aegon," Emma replied.
"There is a character in the books who claims to be Aegon Vi Targaryen. He's disguised Young Griff and even meets Tyrion Lannister in Essos," Dinah said as she furrowed her brow.
"I haven't read that far ahead," Oliver said looking a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, but there is some debate among fans on whether Aegon is who he claims to be," Dinah then remarked.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked looking interested at this line of thought.
"Well, I haven't paid too much attention to it all, but with the fact that Rhaenys and Aegon were killed during the Sack of Kings Landing, Aegon AKA Young Griff may not actually be a Targaryen," Dinah replied. "One theory I've heard is that he's actually a Blackfyre descendant," she then said.
"Are you saying that Aegon might be lying?" Emma asked cautiously.
"I'm not saying anything that isn't certain," Dinah replied prudently. "We'd have to ask your friend and maybe you can use your telepathy to figure if he's telling the truth or not," she said.
"I might just do that." Emma nodded her head then she noticed Zatanna standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a tired look on her face and her hair a little frazzled.
"Zee? What happened? Is the kid gonna be okay?" Dinah asked the magician who smiled in a tired way before answering the question.
"The good news is that the curse is under control and I've figured out what kind of curse it is."
"That's good," Emma said looking relieved. "But what's the bad news?" she then asked.
"Sad to say, but it looks like it's permanent," Zatanna admittedly grimly.
"Permanent? Where is he? Can we see him?" Emma asked in worry.
Zatanna nodded reluctantly before leading everyone out of the kitchen to see Aegon.
…
"Your friend is recovering, but it might surprise you all and him to see what's changed," Zatanna told everyone vaguely as she led everyone into the ritual room where Aegon lay asleep on the stone table, bare chested with only a sheet covering his indecency. Emma then noticed small changes to Aegon's physique; it was more defined in that it looked leaner and more muscular. She could even spy the outline of his abdominals and his skin had become a shade paler with the veins almost being visible. And the telepath noticed the very obvious claw hand that Aegon had when he was afflicted with the curse.
The claw hand's scales were a dark almost pitch black colour and the more fleshy parts of it were a deep red colour almost like blood. The seams between scales and fleshed seemed to glow with deep crimson light and the claws themselves looked thick and sharp enough to pierce steel.
"So, what's up with the Freddy Krueger hand?" Oliver quipped which made Dinah elbow him in the ribs.
"The claw hand is an ancient almost primordial curse known as the Curse of the Claw," Zatanna said in answer to Oliver's quip. "From what I've read, the curse dates back to the Hyborian Age," she added.
"Hyborian Age?" Emma parroted.
"An age undreamed of, when Atlantis sank beneath the waves and the sons of Aryas began their journey into the world," Zatanna clarified.
"So, aside from the hand itself, what does the curse entail?" Dinah asked as she examined the claw hand of the sleeping Aegon.
"The curse grants great physical strength and combat prowess on the bearer, but at the cost of making them lose their minds at times going into battle frenzies of great proportions," Zatanna explained. "There are supposedly other powers the Claw possesses, but I've never seen it to confirm," she said.
"Is there a way to lift it?" Emma asked flatly.
"None that I know," Zatanna confessed sadly. "But you can sure as shit bet that I'll look for a way to lift it," she promised.
"Thank you," Emma then said to Zatanna sincerely.
"You care about him, don't you? Aegon I mean," Zatanna said to the telepath who turned her head away a little folding her arms over her chest a little and replied, "He's been tolerable thus far and hasn't acted like a drooling idiot around me."
"Well, with what's happened to him recently and what's happened to his own world, he'll need some friends to help him get through it all," Zatanna said to Emma who looked at her and asked, "What do you know of what's happened to him?"
"It's best if we wake him up and get him to explain what he saw," Zatanna said as she pulled out her wand and waved it over the sleeping young knight and muttered a spell under her breath.
Aegon awoke with an "Ah," and he slowly sat up and looked at everyone looking at him, "Time to break our fast already?" he asked his voice slurry with sleep.
Zatanna smiled sweetly at the young knight before saying to him, "Hope you had a good sleep, because you're gonna be in for a shock."
"What's happened? What's going on?" Aegon asked as he rubbed his eyes with his new hand. It took a moment to realise the state of his right hand before he gasped aloud in alarm and exclaimed, "Seven hells! What's happened to my hand?!"
"A nasty curse was cast on you by a very nasty witch," Zatanna explained to him. "I've got the curse under control, but for the time being I cannot lift it," she said.
"What curse are talking about?" Aegon asked with worry in his voice.
"A very ancient curse that has some benefits, but can cause you to lapse into bouts of madness," Zatanna told him.
"And you cannot lift it?" Aegon asked pleadingly. Zatanna shook her head in response which made the young knight hang his head in despair.
"So, I know it looks bad right now, but I promise you that I will find a way to lift the curse from you," Zatanna said to Aegon. "And you have friends here who'll be willing to help you. Isn't that right everyone?" she asked looking at Dinah, Oliver and Emma.
"Absolutely," Dinah said with a thumbs-up.
"I'm here if you need any help, kiddo," Oliver said with a grin.
"Since we came to this world at the same time, I suppose I can do what I can to help," Emma stated neutrally.
Zatanna then looked at Aegon and said to him, "So, you're Aegon Targaryen the Sixth, is that right?" Aegon gave a nod in reply. "Can you explain to me what you were doing that got you into this universe? I might be able to help you get home," Zatanna offered to Aegon.
Aegon sighed tiredly before beginning his story of how he found himself in this universe.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Fourth chapter of this is done and dusted! Sat down to write and this came out, but I imagine some of you won't be complaining. So, Aegon seems to be afflicted with the Curse of the Claw, huh? For those of you wondering, the Curse of the Claw is from the Claw the Unconquered comics line by DC Comics that was sort of their answer to Conan the Barbarian and there've been some crossovers with Conan and even Red Sonja, and Wonder Woman at one stage in the Pre-New 52 comics was afflicted with the curse, it was a whole thing.
I have taken some creative liberties with the Curse of the Claw, one primary source I'll be using is Nero's Devil Bringer from the Devil May Cry series, so kinda imagine Aegon's new hand being similar to Nero's Devil Bringer from Devil May Cry 5 albeit in shades of red and black instead of blue and green.
In other news, I've got the idea of an Elder Scrolls/DC Comics crossover on the brain, but I've set up a poll on my profile of what the setting should be and so far a Marvel/DC Infinity Crisis NSFW story seems to be popular, so if you want to see another option take the top spot, you know what to do.
And apart from that, I'll be taking some time off from work next to look after my parents' place for a week so I'm looking forward to time off work. Might give me some time to recharge the batteries and come up with more material for my stories and give me some relaxation from work, because come Christmas time, I'll be flat out and all systems go.
And that's all I have right now, so I'll leave this here and see you all next time.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.
