DC Heroes: MechWarrior I
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: All characters and situations contained in this story are ©2002 by either DC Comics Inc. or WhizKids and are used without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. No profit is made from this story. This original story is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced either in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
Chapter 9 Romanus (Thanagarian Sector) Solaris Gotham Commonwealth January 23, 3032Val stepped out from the assembled Legionnaires. "You fight well in the arena, Matches," he began, refusing to acknowledge the man's surname. "Too well for someone of the wrong pedigree."
Bruce shrugged and popped a wooden match into his mouth. He smirked as he realized that his façade was now perfect. He was now considered the exact opposite of the Archon-Prince that he actually was. "Says the 'mech whore, selling your services to whoever drives up in a hovercar."
Val was barely able to contain his anger and Plas leaned in to whisper into Bruce's ear. "You can't be that drunk; do you know who that is?"
Bruce nodded. "Yep, a jerk looking for a fight." He didn't bother looking back at Plas's shocked look. He had expected to run into someone wanting to pump up their rep by taking on the current Solaris hero. He didn't expect it to be a mercenary, though, especially here. Mercenaries were welcome in that they often times spent generous amounts of G-bills as they sought out potential recruits. It was the House militaries that were the problem, since they didn't spend any money and didn't look for possible enlistments. Any time that a House unit was on the planet, it only meant trouble.
Val took another step forward and Bruce noted the men and women behind the Legionnaire were forming a semi-circle around their teammate. It reminded Bruce of the so-called "Circle of Equals" that Shiva had made the trainees get in when there was a dispute. The object of the Circle was simple; two persons who disagreed would fight until one was down or crossed the perimeter. To the victor went the decision. "I assure you, you filth-ridden dog, that I am no 'jerk'. I am a true warrior, unlike you who pretends to be one."
Bruce was ready to swing at Val when the sound of a shotgun being fired startled everyone. All movement stopped except for someone forcing their way through Bruce's camp of supporters. "All right! That's enough! You Legion pukes can get the hell out of here!" Joe bellowed.
Val was about to say something when one of the other Legion members put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Val nodded and then the Legionnaires departed without another word. Joe turned to the gladiators. "You bastards want to party, the party is inside. If you want to fight, you take it somewhere else."
Nobody said anything, but instead filed back quietly into the bar. Bruce was about to go in when Joe held out a hand to stop him. "Let me have a second, kid," he said.
Bruce shrugged and played with the match in his mouth with one hand and adjusted his trademark sunglasses with the other. He was only slightly annoyed that the fight had been broken up as he was sure he could have taken out the rude Legionnaire with the training Shiva had given him. It would have been another victory for the day. "You got a second, pops."
Joe shook his head. "Cocky bastard aren't you? Listen, maybe you have a right to be, but that don't mean you go getting into fights with professional mercs."
"I could have taken him," Bruce replied.
"I doubt it; that was Major Val of the Legion. He's won the Inner Sphere martial arts tournament four years in a row. I don't give a crap how well you pilot a 'mech, he'll rip you a new one and put it in your hand." Joe shook his head. "You remind me of myself a long time ago."
"Yeah, well, that was then and this is now. I'm sure you were a contender…"
Joe started laughing. "Kid, you really need to learn your history. I was the contender. Hell, ten years ago, I was the man in the heavy 'mech class. Decided to retire before I got killed, you know?"
Bruce found that interesting. It was possible that Joe would know who the real cutthroats and shady types would have been at the time. He might even know about Moxon's crew. "I'd like to hear more," Bruce said, throwing down the match.
Joe put his arm around Bruce's shoulder. "Come on in, kid, and I'll tell you all about the way it used to be."
"Hey, Plas?" Bruce called from the cockpit of the beaten Batman.
Plas stuck his head out from the leg with the blown heat sink, his normally pink skin tinted green with coolant. "Yeah?"
"You know anything about Joe Chill? I mean, is on the level with all of those stories he told last night?" Bruce finished his inspection of the new cockpit glass that had been put in earlier that morning and climbed out onto the rope ladder. He climbed down to the lift that Plas had used to get up to the damage.
Plas nodded. "Used be known simply as 'The Chill'. Hell of a fighter. I took him on twice and he handed me my ass both times. Started out in the Injustice Gang I believe."
Bruce indicated he didn't know what Plas was talking about. The technician shook his head and adjusted his glasses. "Mean bunch of fighters out of the Metropolitan Suns. They took the name because it had more crowd appeal. Chill was the only one with any talent and he got picked up Moxon's Mayhem when the Gang broke up."
That confirmed what Bruce had learned. The kindly bartender had admitted to as much and had even named several of the fighters at the time that had been piloting assault class 'mechs for Moxon. When Bruce had posed the question as to what kind of 'mechs, Chill just shrugged and took a sip of his beer. There had simply been too many 'mechs in and out to keep track of. "You ever heard of a Bane?"
Plas picked up a greasy wrench and started cleaning it, looking down at it in concentration. "Seems I do remember one. Big-ass assault 'mech. I don't remember who designed it, but I'm pretty sure Moxon had one for awhile."
Bruce was about to ask what had happened to it when he heard someone calling from the 'mech bay floor. "Malone!"
Looking over the railing, Bruce saw a man in a black, red and blue jumpsuit with the Legion patch. The man looked oddly familiar, but Bruce couldn't quite place him. "Yeah?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Monel asked.
Plas leaned over. "That's Colonel Monel Bloodspirit, commanding officer of the Legion."
"Yippee," Bruce replied as he climbed down to meet the mercenary. When he got down and straightened up, he faced a man of similar height and weight with almost too-perfect features. From the distance, he looked to be in his mid-thirties, but up close and personal, Bruce noted the lines around the eyes. "Yeah?" he asked.
Monel held out his hand and introduced himself. Bruce took it and winced inwardly at the firmness of the grip. "I would like to apologize for the actions of my junior officer last night."
Bruce shrugged. "Nothing happened except the trading of some insults, no big deal. I won't hold a grudge if you don't."
Something about the way Bruce said what he said made Monel blink and he realized that Shiva had acted the same way whenever Bruce had used contractions. "I have to say, that fight yesterday was impressive if not seemingly impossible. I've never seen someone employ martial arts moves in a 'mech fight."
"Well, I guess now you have."
"You are quite skilled, quiaff"
"Aff," Bruce said automatically. He saw a small smile creep onto Monel's face.
"Mr. Malone, if that is your real name, it is apparent that you have received some, how should we say, special training in the ways of combat." Monel folded his arms over his chest and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I would like to know where you received this training."
Bruce replied with a comment about what Monel could do to parts of Bruce's anatomy. "I don't have to answer to you. I'm not in your Legion, so your position doesn't add up to jack to me…Jack! If you have a question, go see my boss, Ra's Al Ghul."
Monel nodded. "If that is the way you want to play it Mr. Malone, then so be it. However, you need to be made aware that the Legion has taken a special interest in you. Most in the Inner Sphere would not consider that advantageous."
Bruce shrugged. "Most people in the Inner Sphere are too dumb to realize that you guys are a lot of talk and no action. If you want a piece of me, go for it; if not, get the hell out of my way."
Monel smiled. He admired the spirit of the younger man; it reminded him of so many other proud warriors he had known throughout his career. He was positive Matches Malone had been trained in Clan fighting techniques which wasn't particularly disturbing in an of itself. He doubted that even Clan-trained Inner Sphere warriors would be able to stand up to the might of the Clans if and when they invaded.
It wasn't exactly fear of a Great House being toppled that bothered Monel, either, though he had to admit that Jaime Wolf had a right to be concerned about something like that. What if House Davion managed to gain control of the Metropolitan Suns, wrestle the so-called empire of Alexi Luthor into their own grasp? Would they seek out an alliance, perhaps with House Steiner in the Gotham Commonwealth. If House Wayne were toppled, Melissa Steiner was the logical choice to be the next Archon.
The Metropolitan Suns and Gotham Commonwealth were very close in both government and culture and Monel could see a formal alliance between the two. With their combined forces, they could eliminate the other houses. It was only House Luthor's contempt for the other leaders and houses that kept such a thing from happening. Luthors did not make alliances; they simply ruled was the saying.
No, what greatly concerned leader of the Legion was that it was possible the Inner Sphere could learn of the existence of the Clans prior to the invasion and Kent's great dream of reuniting the Inner Sphere under he banner of the Justice League would be quashed before it even got started. As it stood, the Exodus Fleet was nothing more than a fairy tale to the Inner Sphere. Certainly there was always the chance that Kent's fleet survived was the common thinking, but most spheroids thought that possibility extremely remote.
Monel knew that besides evaluating the Inner Sphere militaries, his duty was also to maintain the secrecy of the existence of the Clans. If Matches Malone knew, then Matches Malone would have to die. Jaime Wolf would disagree, but he expected that from the freebirth warrior. Wolf had too many sympathies for the Inner Sphere and Monel was secretly unsure of exactly where Wolf's Dragoon's loyalties lay. He was sure of his own; he was a trueborn warrior of Clan Blood Spirit and he would carry out his mission.
He had been courteous enough to give Malone a chance to come clean, but in the spirit of a true warrior, Malone refused to be budged. Monel did not hold his contempt of freeborns in the same light as Val; Monel pitied them for their defective genetic structure, but he would not allow that pity to sway him.
Saying good-bye to Malone, Monel turned and walked calmly out of the 'mech bay and out into the open air. The sun was high and the streets were crowded, yet people made way for him when they say the Legion patch on his jumpsuit. Even the street criminals avoided eye contact with him and he took that as a good sign. The Legion's reputation as a fighting unit was secure and that meant his mission was going according to plan.
He stepped out into the road, heading back to the DropShip where he would have to decide on what to do about Matches Malone.
Ra's Al Ghul studied the figure walking away from the building he owned, the high-definition camera recording every physical aspect it could. The computer in the next room ran the analysis, based upon the parameters he had instructed Talia to set forth in the program and waited for the results.
A few lines of text scrolled across the data screen next to him. Talia looked down and read them and nodded. "There is a ninety percent chance he is of the same genetic line as Jonathan Kent. That fact, along with his unit's fighting prowess and unusual BattleMech compliment of the Legion…"
Ra's held up a hand. "Yes, yes; I can see the resemblance. He looks so much like Clark Kent, Jonathan's son. I just could not believe that the Blood Spirits would have managed to have someone of that bloodline in their Clan. He must be isorla, the spoils of war."
"If he is talking to Matches, then he must have guessed the training he has received." Ra's noted that Talia had seemed to take a particular interest in the newest star of the Lazarus Pit. He was unsure of how he felt about that and reminded himself to talk to her about it at length at a later time.
"Perhaps, or perhaps he merely suspects. Either way, I need to secure some way of keeping the Legion out of our affairs." Ra's turned in his chair to face his daughter. "I had hoped to keep them and the Dragoons guessing for a while longer."
"The Dragoons lifted off this morning; apparently there was a fight between them and several members of the Sword of Light Regiment." Talia consulted her handheld data pad. "The Dragoons won the battle, but lost the war. Takashi Kurita pulled some strings with the government and had them ejected for six months."
"That, at least, is some good news. The Dragoons are much larger than the Legion and have a better intelligence network." He rubbed his beard and bit softly on his lower lip. He considered every angle and possibility with cool and calm methodology. The Legion could not be taken down in a straight up fight; Ra's did not have the forces on Solaris to do so and even if he tried, the Solaris security teams would be an added problem. He could try to blow up their DropShip, but that was far too risky. If his people were caught and implicated him, it would mean exposure.
No, he thought, I can't just kill them. Then he had another idea. "A challenge," he said softly.
"You will challenge Monel to a duel?" Talia asked.
Ra's shook his head. "Not just him; if I were to defeat him in combat, and to be honest, he is a better MechWarrior than I am and I would say the chances of that are slim, his Legion would be outraged and may not abide the terms of the challenge. No, it has to be a group effort, star to star you might say. Five of his warriors against five of mine, the winner gets the spoils. If I win, he must remain silent about what he knows, even to his Clan masters. If I lose, well, I'm sure we both know the consequences."
Talia nodded. "I understand, father. I will have a message sent to Colonel Bloodspirit to contact you regarding the batchall, the ritual challenge."
Two hours later, Ra's stood staring at the visage of Monel Bloodspirit. "I am Ra's Al Ghul, a warrior descended from Clan Wolverine. What forces do you bid in the defense of your silent tongue against my star of BattleMechs?"
Rage, pure and unadulterated, passed through Monel's eyes. Clan Wolverine was the Not-Named-Clan, having been thought destroyed after a Trial of Annihilation. Their crime had been taking arms against Nicholas Kerensky, rejecting his right to rule as ilKhan, or supreme khan, of all twenty Clans he had created with Clark Kent's help. That had occurred nearly three centuries before and all vestiges of that Clan had been wiped out. Their name was not to be spoken in Clan society. "How dare you invoke the batchall! You have no honor! You are beneath me and I do not have to accept your challenge, dog!"
Ra's saw the face of Major Val, one of the more vociferous Legion members pop in behind Monel. His eyes were wide as he had never heard such anger in his commanding officer's voice. Monel was from Clan Wolf, the clan that both Kerensky and Kent had led. Though his name was Bloodspirit now, Ra's represented something that went beyond simple Clan honor. To Monel, Ra's was evil incarnate. "So, I see that three centuries of isolation have made the children of Kent and Kerensky weak and fearful. That is how it should be. First you run from the Inner Sphere and now you run from me."
"I will show you what fear is, little freebirth…"
Ra's leaned in closer to the viewscreen. "Do not confuse me with some commoner that has leapt from the womb of an Inner Sphere whore. I am Ra's Al Ghul, a descendent of that warriors of the Justice League. While I may not have been cooked up in a laboratory, I assure you my lineage is a Clan as yours."
"To hell with you! I will bring the full might of the Legion against you and will see your bloodstained carcass in the palm of my Legionnaire!" Monel's face was turning beet red and Ra's noted a feminine hand come to lay on his shoulder. He shrugged it off without looking back.
"If you do that, Colonel, then you will invoke the wraith of not only the government of Solaris, but quite possibly that of the Gotham Commonwealth. What will happen then when the might of one of the Great Houses comes down upon you? House Wayne will be most interested in learning about our brethren so many light-years away." A large smile crept over Ra's face. "So, do not respect my batchall, I care not. I will lose something if you inform your masters about me, it will ruin whatever plans I have. But you, sir, will have ruined the Clan's opportunity to bring about the resurrection of the Justice League."
Monel looked as if he wanted to speak, but did not. He turned his head and conferred, Ra's supposed, with the female at his side. No doubt Major Val was somewhere close adding his opinion. Finally, Monel turned back. "I will agree to your challenge, but I must add some conditions. First, if we win, you will turn over the warrior Shiva, whom you have no doubt taken as your bondsman."
Ra's smiled. "Agreed, but if I win, besides your silence I want your guarantee that the Legion will never interfere with my operations so long as they are operating in the Inner Sphere."
"I cannot agree to that without knowing what your operations are," Monel replied. "It would be a bad faith agreement."
"Very well; then I propose that the Legion, whom I know is looking for a new employer, seek out any other Great House besides House Wayne."
Monel nodded. "Bargained well and done, freebirth. I will send you the codexes of my star that will be facing yours. I expect you will do the same."
"Agreed. In one week, we shall relive the Trial of Annihilation against my people, seed of Kent, only this time you might find the outcome a little different."