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 14 Romanus (Thanagarian Sector) Solaris Gotham Commonwealth January 29, 3032Bruce stepped out of the shower, drying his dyed hair when someone coughed. He jumped back and brought the towel down to cover his privates. "Well, well, hail to the chief," Dinah laughed.
Bruce gave her an evil stare and stepped back into the bathroom to recover his robe and dignity. It was the fourth time she had snuck in and while it infuriated him, he also admired the way she was able to do it. Such stealthy movement would be a skill worth learning. "Have you ever heard of a doorbell?"
"Don't want your little sweetheart to see such a beautiful woman such as myself entering your front door," Dinah called back.
Bruce smiled. "There's nothing wrong with a grandmother visiting…"
"Zip it, sonny-boy," she said quickly. She waited for him to come out before continuing. "Your time is short. My hubby found out that St. Dumas troops are on their way down."
"Military troops? Here? Are they insane?" Bruce shook his head and briefly considered giving up and just going home. Then he realized that there was no way Alfred would have authorized deadly force, not when Bruce was in no immediate danger. "When will they be here?"
She shrugged. "Their DropShips are on a high burn in; they'll show up just before the match between the Lazarus Pit and the Legion starts. For the record, I strongly recommend you let me take you to a safe house to await the extraction team."
"No; Joe Chill killed my parents for someone and for some reason, I need to know why."
"How? He's off with that other pilot, Edward Nigma, on simulator duty. You won't see him until the match."
Bruce pulled on a white T-Shirt before checking his hair color in a mirror. It would due for now. "I plan on talking to him before the battle."
"What about Talia? You realize that not even GreenStar's whipping boy John Stewart is going to be able to keep the St. Dumas warriors from getting to you. He can't act officially, not against House troops. As soon as that match is over, the jig is up. You can't escape. I will be relieved of duty, as will Larry," she replied, reminding the prince that her husband, a career Oracle man, had put much on the line for him.
"I'm taking Talia with me," Bruce said matter-of-factly. Why not, he thought, especially since Selina had run off to get married. There was nothing to keep him from pursuing something more with Talia.
Still, his conscience nagged him. Yes, he had feelings for Talia, strong ones, but he hadn't completely let go of Selina either. He wasn't sure if that was right or wrong and he longed for his time with Lady Shiva. There was order with her, work, sex, sleep; it was all so simple. Once you threw feelings into the mixture, everything got fuzzy. Talia appealed to the aristocrat in Bruce and he knew it. Talia was a woman who belonged in the court of a king. Selina was the bad girl, the one who showed you how to be a man and made you glad for it.
Talia was a woman you put on a pedestal and Selina was the one who watched your back. Bruce knew that his conscience was making him choose. Each woman represented one path. Talia was the path to ruling the Commonwealth in the old-style, from the throne with regal authority. Selina was the grab-the-bull-by-the-balls kind of leadership. Did the Commonwealth really need that kind of leader?
Thomas Wayne had been that way, just as his wife had been. Into battle he had rushed and all it got him was killed. Bruce had done much the same thing by running to Solaris. Was that what he really wanted?
"Do you honestly think that Ra's Al Ghul is going to allow that?" Dinah asked.
Bruce picked up his gunbelt, a precaution Dinah insisted on. Many MechWarriors carried sidearms on Solaris, though it was mostly for show. "What's that supposed to mean? He'd probably be thrilled to find out that he's gained the favor of the Archon-Prince."
Dinah shook her head and moved over to a window to look outside. She could just see John Stewart as he spoke with a vendor. "Oracle has recently looked into Al Ghul's activities here on Solaris. He has a lot of money for a man who doesn't seem to win very many matches."
Bruce gave her a dumbfounded look. She grinned. "You don't do a lot of research into people's pasts do you? Al Ghul has been running different stables here for two decades, yet he only has about a 25% winning record. Hell, you're the best thing to happen to him in a long time."
"Maybe he places large bets," Bruce countered.
"Or maybe he trains mercenaries. His MechWarriors only stay with him for a few months after training and then they move off to private armies. Most end up in personal bodyguards for nobles. We even have suspicions he has done work for the Steiners."
Bruce shrugged. "So maybe he thinks its time for a new ruling house in the Commonwealth, that isn't a crime. Maybe he invests his money wisely; you do realize that the Commonwealth has the most robust economy in all of the Inner Sphere?"
Dinah said nothing, realizing she did not have enough ammunition to win this battle. She saw some doubt in Bruce's eyes and realized she was watching the last vestiges of innocence disappearing from the younger man. It was a shame, she realized, because his viewpoint, his desire to believe in the basic goodness of all people was admirable. If he didn't have such a burning rage for revenge inside of him, he would have had all of the makings of perfect ruler.
She decided to drop the subject for now. "You might want to ask her if she wants to go, sir. That means revealing your identity. That means that Joe Chill could potentially find out you are alive…"
Bruce held up a hand to stop her. "I know, and that means whoever hired him will probably want me dead. Good…it could bring the perpetrators into the open."
"Be careful what you wish for," she added.
His voice turned cold. "What I wish for, Ms. Lance, is that my parents were still alive and that my only problems were facing midterm exams. What I wish is that people would quit hurting other people for no other reason than jealousy and petty greed. What I wish is that I will have the ability to prevent evil from ever happening in the Commonwealth again! So please don't spout clichés and old Terran sayings to me. I want to face the people responsible for the murder of my parents; I crave it like a thirsty man craves water."
"And what then, my prince?" she asked. It was the same question Alfred had asked him so long before.
"Then I will kill them," Bruce answered.
"Have you ever killed anyone, Bruce?" she now asked, her voice softening. He remembered his conversation with Joe Chill and he saw in her eyes the same dulled pain that the bar owner had demonstrated. "Any man can kill; any man can seek revenge, but it takes a unique man to find justice," was all she said before he turned to leave.
"Colonel," Val said as he entered Monel's cabin, "request permission to speak."
Monel looked up from his paperwork and returned the offered salute. "No need to be so formal, Val," he said as he indicated the empty seat next to his desk.
Val remained standing. "Sir, the other members of the star have voted…"
Monel smiled. "Have we become a democracy now? I know that Clark Kent envisioned the Clans to be that way, but Nicholas Kerensky had a different view. If I remember Clan history well enough, Nicholas won that debate."
Val did not seem to get the joke. "Sir, we feel you should take the Valor into battle."
"Unacceptable," Monel answered flatly. "The Valor is an OmniMech; there are no OmniMechs in the Inner Sphere. If it were to fall into the hands of one of the Houses…"
"Sir, this goes beyond any debate about the sanctity of the mission. We are Clan, all of us. Some of us are Warden, some of us are Crusader; we are Wolves, Smoke Jaguars, Jade Falcons and all of the other remaining legacies of Kerensky. The Wolverines are to be eradicated no matter what."
Monel shook his head. "By fighting without honor? Even Clark Kent stated after the death of Nicholas, when the Wolves went after the Black Widows, that regardless of circumstance, victory must always have honor or it is not a victory." He had been expecting this debate ever since the DropShip with the Legion 'mechs had landed. It had cost the Legion plenty to allow the landing, and Ra's Al Ghul had to bribe several government officials. That left a bad taste in Monel's mouth, but honor dictated that since it was Al Ghul who had delivered the challenge, he had to ensure that the Legion could get their machines on the planet.
"I respect the memory of our founders as well as anyone, Colonel," Val said with open hands, "but this is a Clan matter, not a simple mercenary contract. Our orders do not specify that we have to use Inner Sphere machines to settle Trials."
Maybe because the Grand Council never thought we would be fighting such a thing in the Inner Sphere, Monel thought. "There is no way they could hope to stand up against our superior weaponry; it seems dirty."
The junior officer just shrugged. "That is not our problem. Do you think the Grand Council will hold the OmniMechs back when we invade?" Monel conceded that it was a good point. He asked his executive officer what would happen if Wolf's Dragoons found out they had an OmniMech. "Freebirths! Let them challenge us, we will wipe the stars with their corpses!"
Monel wasn't quite sure of that. He knew more about the Dragoons then he let on to his people; perhaps it was old Clan Wolf sentiments, but he knew that Jaime Wolf had pretty much given up on the Clans and had joined the Inner Sphere. There was no proclamation, but it was apparent if you looked hard enough. If he were still part of Clan Wolf, Monel would probably think the same thing.
If he had remained part of Clan Wolf and had not been taken as isorla by the Blood Spirits, he may have even been part of the Dragoons. It was no secret that he and Natasha Kerensky had been very, very close at one time. She being descended from Nicholas and he being descended from Clark Kent, no doubt they would have been a formidable team.
That was the past, however, and Monel was now a Blood Spirit, in charge of a mercenary unit of Trueborns. His duty was to uphold the will of the Grand Council. The Valor OmniMech was Monel's ace-in-the-hole, a present from his adopted Clan to use against Jaime Wolf should he ever turn renegade. In fact, the Legion had an entire cache of OmniMechs hidden away just in case. The Dragoons had advanced weapons, too, but the Legion would have the edge in a stand-up fight.
"Besides," Val offered, his voice losing some of its edge, "how will they find out? The match is secret and the Dragoons are off planet."
"Maybe they have a spy within our ranks," Monel joked. The idea was absurd seeing that the Dragoons had very few Trueborn warriors and they were all known. The Legion members would literally smell a Freeborn if he tried to infiltrate the group.
Val was not amused. "Sir, if you will not use it, I shall."
Monel's eyebrow raised. "Indeed. I suppose you will challenge me to a Circle of Equals over it. Need I remind you a forbade them in this matter?"
"Neg, sir; I would be challenging you for the position of leader of the Legion."
Monel considered the words carefully and realized the younger warrior was serious. He knew he could not defeat Val in hand-to-hand combat and there was no place for them to fight in 'mechs without drawing attention. It would be a pointless victory because once the Grand Council discovered that the Legion was being led by a failed cadet, they would recall the team. The members would then be dispersed into other castes, never to pilot 'mechs again.
Unless…
"You hope to win a Bloodname," Monel said. Clan law indicated that any warrior who killed a Wolverine warrior in honorable combat would be allowed to create a new Bloodname. The Bloodname was a surname that warriors fought for. A warrior could only fight for a Bloodname associated with their genetic legacy and there were only 25 slots for each name. A Bloodname guaranteed a warrior's genetic material would be used to create the next generation of Trueborn warriors. "And by doing so, the Council will have to grant you true warrior status."
"Then you see how important it is for us to win. Each of us wishes to challenge this Al Ghul, but we need you to agree to it."
Monel nodded. "And seeing how the Blood Spirits and the Wolves have taken my genetic materials, by Clan law or not…"
"You are of the Kent bloodline; you are a warrior twice accepted into the warrior ranks. You have more honor than any of us can ever hope to attain. We are failures, hoping for a second chance to prove that we can be meaningful additions to the Clans." Val's tone softened as he continued and his face began to pale as the blood slowly drained away with his anger. "If you take the Valor, you can deal with the other surats…"
"So you and the others can gang up on Al Ghul? What of zelbrigen, the rules of honorable combat?"
Val shook his head. "No, we would face him one at a time, in the Clan fashion."
"While I face four foes…"
"Three, technically; the daughter is a Wolverine freebirth warrior."
Monel nodded. Perhaps he did owe it to these people the chance to become true warriors. They had served him well, just as the mean and women before them had. Old age was making him soft he thought, but then he realized that he had never considered them anything else than warriors. Truly, they saw it quite differently.
His time in the Inner Sphere was clouding his views; he was forgetting what the Clans were and how they operated. It did not seem fair that these brave souls would be relegated to technical or worse duties once they returned home. "I will pilot the Valor; send the appropriate specifications to Al Ghul and then have the rest of the star meet here tonight so we may formulate an appropriate strategy. I am too old to be taking on three warriors at once."
Val smiled. "I still think the Wolf has teeth."
"Neg, Major; I am no longer a Wolf. I am Monel Blood Spirit and despite your flattery, I am getting old." Monel sighed. Were his better days far behind him now? He wanted to contact Natasha and ask her. In fact, all he really wanted to do was meet Natasha someplace private.
"You think about her again," Val said with a wry grin. "If the Clans ever allow marriage between warriors," he visibly shuddered at the thought but managed to keep his voice even, "I would dare say you two would be the most likely candidates."
"Perhaps long ago, before the Legion and the Dragoons. The truth is I loved her, perhaps I still do, a most un-warrior like trait." Val gave no suggestion he was surprised. Love between two warriors was considered frivolous in most Clans, except maybe the Ghost Bears, the only Clan founded by a married couple. To admit such a thing meant that Monel was placing great trust in Val to maintain the secret. Some members of the Legion would not take kindly to such a revelation. "I must be honest, Val, I am not comfortable with this situation."
"You are not turning mystic on me, are you Colonel? I expect as much from someone from the Nova Cats, Cloud Cobras or Goliath Scorpions, but a Blood Spirit?" Val put a hand on his shoulder. "Still, even if you do die, you have achieved all there is for a warrior to achieve. To die in the glory of battle would make you the envy of every member of the Legion!"
Monel nodded but kept the truth to himself. It was something he had felt crawling up his spine in recent years, something that he had never hoped to feel: fear. He did not want to die. But, he was a warrior and he couldn't very well live with himself if he did not make every attempt possible to eliminate the scourge of the Wolverine.
Still, he really did wish he could see Natasha just one more time.