The Evil Long Forgotten
Chapter 16
By Christopher W. Blaine
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DISCLAIMER: All of the characters and situations contained in this story are ©2004 by DC Comics Inc. and are used without permission for non-profit, fan related entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2004 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in any manner, in part or as a whole, without the express permission of the author.
Later Wonder Woman would reflect on what surprised her the most: the sight of her sister flying towards her and Superman or the look on her face. The Amazon recognized it as the determined stare of a warrior on a mission and from her speed and posture, she understood that nothing good was going to come of it.
The two Justice League members slowed to a hover and waited as the Titan approached. Only a few scant meters from them did Troia finally reduce speed and match their hover. "You guys have to turn around," she said and quickly explained about the terrorists.
Superman listened but shook his head. "We can't leave those people to the not-so-tender mercies of these terrorists," he said. Then he turned away and his gaze changed. Wonder Woman knew he was using his telescopic vision powers to look in on the hostages. "They have already killed innocent soldiers," he told her.
Troia sighed. "I know, but you don't understand. They have a supply of Kryptonite there," she said, reminding them of the true danger. "They can incapacitate you pretty quickly if they need to."
Superman was silent and Wonder Woman moved closer to her sister. "Steven and Red Star are on their way by car. I can contact him and get the German army here in short order. The terrorists have no choice but to surrender."
Troia could not believe her sister's naïve attitude. "Diana, these are terrorists working for Ra's Al Ghul. They won't surrender. They would rather die and murder everyone there before they would ever accept defeat. For God's sake, this is the man who makes the Batman worry," she exclaimed.
Wonder Woman turned to Superman and waited for him to respond. The truth was they were as lost as Troia was. The situation they were in was difficult. "Do you have any ideas?" she finally asked the two of them.
Troia shook her head and sighed. "I'm trying, but I have to get them away from the civilians. They won't leave until they get the Kryptonite."
Superman said nothing for a few moments. "It doesn't matter; we need to save the innocents." It was the exact reaction that Troia had expected and feared. Superman made to start forward again and she moved to intercept him. "Please, don't make me do this," she pleaded, not wanting to reveal the threat to Henry. It embarrassed her, though she did not understand why.
Superman straightened up. "Young lady," he said, "you need to step aside." It was a simple warning, but she had to ignore it. She hated herself for what she had to do, but Henry's life was at stake at the moment. Superman was concerned about potential danger; she was worried about the real thing.
Though she doubted her ability to live up to her Amazon heritage, Troia was still a highly trained and powerful warrior, as powerful as Wonder Woman herself. She struck Superman hard, catching him completely off-guard. There was a thunderclap and a flash of lightning as her fist hit his jaw. He flew back, stunned and soared away for miles.
"Donna!" Wonder Woman cried out. "Why?"
Troia whirled, bringing her leg up and delivering a roundhouse kick to her sister's stomach. The air rushed out of Wonder Woman's lungs and she was ill prepared to defend against the left cross that nailed her hard in the jaw. Like her Kryptonian friend, Wonder Woman was sent sailing away like an unguided missile. But both the Man of Steel and the Amazing Amazon were battle-hardened veterans of many conflicts and they recovered quickly.
Superman poured on the speed and returned to float in front of a trembling Troia. "As someone once said, you are starting to make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry," he told her as he folded his arms over his chest.
Wonder Woman returned and it was obvious she was angry as well. She held back from engaging her sister, waiting for an explanation. "I can't let you go past; they will kill Henry," she said.
"Who is Henry?" Superman asked.
"Henry Miller," Wonder Woman answered, not taking her eyes off of Troia. Her body language suggested she was fully prepared to counter any moves that the Titan would try to use against her. "He's a freelance journalist that is covering the investigation into the Seraph's murder."
"Odd choice of name," Superman commented.
"They have a gun to Henry's head right now; if I don't convince you to leave, they will kill him," Troia explained, her voice trembling. Superman laid a hand on Wonder Woman's shoulder and then softened his voice. "You care about this man very much don't you?"
"Maybe," Troia replied, not ready to discuss her love life several hundred feet in the air. Superman pursed his lips and then his gaze became far away again.
"Are you sure he said his name is Henry Miller?" Superman asked.
Wonder Woman turned to him. "What is it Clark?"
"First off, I just scanned the entire estate. Nobody has a gun to their head…"
"Oh my God! They killed him!" Troia cried, turning suddenly and racing back to the estate. Behind her flew Wonder Woman and Superman and not too far behind them Steven looked up to see the three figures streak away.
"This can't be good," Steven said to Red Star. The Russian nodded and asked if it was possible to go quicker. "Of course, this is a German car!" he replied as he floored the gas pedal. The car accelerated quickly and Red Star laughed.
The Russian hero watched as Wonder Woman and Superman faded from his vision and then for no real good reason turned to see the area behind them. "Stop the car!" he ordered and Steven automatically complied. The expensive sports car skidded to a halt, throwing up clouds of burnt rubber smoke. Red Star burst out of the car and raised his arms into the air, releasing a double blast of the stellar energy that was stored inside his body.
The red-orange wave of light struck the second of the two armored figures that were flying at treetop level. White Orchid took the full brunt of the blast in the chest and layers of micro thin reinforced armor melted into slag immediately. She cried out in pain and lost her forward momentum. Her boot jets sent her spinning higher into the air.
Miss Mantis gritted her teeth. "Damn Russians are everywhere!" As much as she wanted to head for the estate and murder all of Ra's Al Ghul's operatives, she knew she had to eliminate Red Star first. She activated her newly mounted arm cannon and fired at him.
Depleted uranium-tipped 10-millimeter bullets tore into the ground in front of the Russian super-hero, throwing up little puffs of soil and giving clear indication of what was fast approaching him. Red Star jumped to the side and rolled out of the way as Miss Mantis flew over.
Steven, hunched down behind his car, drew his service weapon, a LexCorp personal laser and fired at her as she passed over. Her armor was much too durable to be affected by the small laser and she threw him a dirty look as she slowed and turned. "You are under arrest!" Steven cried out, holding out his identification.
A single bullet blasted it into confetti. Steven cursed and ran to the rear of his car and hunkered down. Miss Mantis prepared her own laser when Red Star caught her in the leg, sending her spinning in mid-air. Steven took advantage of the situation and started sprinting away from the car and its volatile fuel tank. He had gotten only ten meters away when his vehicle exploded.
"I have had it with all of you!" Miss Mantis cried out. She again lined her ballistic weapon up on Red Star, but was unable to activate it. A quick diagnostic told her the extent of the damage. Red Star was not holding back and only the advanced cooling systems of her armor had prevented her from being burned alive; he was literally reducing the armor to slag.
Steven got to a tree and caught his breath. He checked his weapon and then whirled around when he detected another presences. White Orchid stood in front of him, her chest nothing more than a smoking remnant of what it once was. He was mildly surprised to see that she was a normal woman on the inside of the suit; or at least she appeared to be from what skin he could see.
She reached out for him and he knew that if she grabbed him with her augmented limbs, he was a dead man. He fired his weapon by reflex, years of training kicking in. The blast tore through her bare skin and incinerated her heart. Steven stepped back as the body toppled and he stepped to the side to avoid being hit as it fell.
"No!" Miss Mantis shouted. "No! No! No!" She fired her main laser at Red Star, this time her aim being true. The big Russian screamed in pain and went down hard. Miss Mantis paid him no mind and instead dropped to the ground and began stomping towards Steven.
He put his weapon in front of him in a two-handed grip. "I am a German law enforcement officer!" he shouted out in English. By her appearance, he guessed that she was the woman that Princess Diana had told him about and he had no idea if she spoke German. "I am ordering you to power down your armor and surrender."
Miss Mantis stopped two meters away from Steven and looked down at the corpse of her teammate and friend. "This has gone too far," she said, a tear forming in her eye. She looked at Steven but found herself not hating him. He was only doing his job and the fact that he had been able to take one of them down attested to his abilities.
"Power down!" he cried out again.
She shook her head. "No. I will not surrender and you cannot hope to penetrate my defenses with that weapon. If you do not lower your weapon, you will die, officer." Steven refused. "Stubborn fool! Too much collateral damage has already been caused! Do you not see this is exactly what he wants?"
"Who? Al Ghul? Are you working for him?" Steven asked, his weapon never wavering.
Miss Mantis shrugged. "I did before, I no longer do. I was heading for the estate of Herr Melch to put a dent in his plans."
"What are his plans?"
"He wishes to uncover a secret German super weapon from the war, a man powered by Kryptonite, the Atoman. It has been the obsession of Baron Blitzkrieg for decades and it was only after Ra's learned of the Seraph's research that it became possible to track down where they had put him…the Atoman." Steven nodded and asked her to continue. Miss Mantis realized that her part in the drama was over, but there was still something she could do to pay Ra's Al Ghul back for his treatment of her.
The many months she had spent as his lover, indeed all of her girls had pleasured him at one time or another had allowed her to become privy to many secrets. For all of his cunning and careful planning, Ra's had a secret weakness and it was the bedroom. He could call her a cheap whore all day long, but at least she was smart enough to avoid compromising pillow talk.
"He has agents working all over the globe, finding select individuals to fill the ranks of his Death League, which is to be led by Baron Blitzkrieg," she offered.
Steven shook his head in disbelief. "Blitzkrieg truly is alive then?"
"Oh, yes, he's the field commander of the League, Ra's right hand man you might say. The plan is to develop a team capable of not just defeating the super-heroes, but eradicating them. Not through elaborate plans, but in a plain and simple fashion." She looked down at her fallen friend. "We were hoping to get on the inside, maybe even gain positions on the team, but the price is too high."
"Who killed the Seraph? Who killed the Russian diplomat?"
"My group was supposed to, but we were ordered instead to lay a trap for Wonder Woman. It was the Baron who killed them," she said. "He has been in Germany for weeks." His weapon lowered at the revelation.
"I have to go; I suggest you gather your friend and leave Europe immediately," he said as he holstered his weapon. Without glancing back he ran over to help Red Star up. The Russian was out cold and bleeding badly from a singed wound. Steven pulled out his cell phone and quickly punched in a number.
Troia landed in the courtyard just as a large coffin was being brought out of the hole by three terrorists. The Anarchist smiled at her return, but it soon faded as he saw who was fast approaching from behind her. "Where is Henry?" she demanded.
The Anarchist started to say something when Troia marched over and grabbed him by the neck. With as much effort as a normal human would use to pick up a glass of orange juice, she lifted him into the air. "Answer me!" she demanded.
Wonder Woman and Superman landed, the Man of Steel immediately firing his heat vision in rapid succession to melt terrorist weapons. The longer he used it, though, the more tired he became and he realized that he was being exposed to the Kryptonite that was in the soil. It was not too bad and he decided it would be best to not show weakness at the moment.
"Under the authority of the United Nations, I am placing all of you under arrest," Wonder Woman called out. "Your weapons are useless and you cannot hope to escape. And in case you are as stupid as you are evil, that is Superman behind me. I don't think I need to say anything else on the matter."
The terrorists did nothing for several seconds, but then eventually began to raise their hands into the air. "Donna?" Wonder Woman asked, turning to her sister.
Troia closed her grip on the Anarchist's throat. "Where is Henry Miller?"
"Put him down, Troia," Superman said calmly. "Henry Miller is still alive," he told her.
Troia sneered and then tossed the terrorist into the hole. He landed with a heavy thud and a small cloud of dust. She turned to Superman. "Where is he?"
Superman inhaled. "The Japanese had extensive information on the plans the Germans were fermenting at that time. One of them involved planting an agent in the United States under the alias Henry Miller. He would seek out work as a reporter, which would garner him access to such people as the All-Star Squadron. The Japanese navy was to deliver him via submarine to the west coast."
Troia did not understand and her expression showed it. She started to ask another question when Henry's voice called out from the other side of the courtyard. "Very good, Superman, only you could have wrestled that information out of those inferiors! Indeed, Henry Miller was to be the alias of Heinrich Melch, the Atoman. His duty would have been to destroy the All-Star Squadron and then later assassinate the president of the United States."
Troia spun around. "Henry?"
He stepped into their view, the sun shining down directly on the golden armor he wore. A large black iron cross adorned his chest and small swastika buttons held his scarlet cape on. His helmet was in the crook of his arm, revealing the proud aristocratic features that had so captured her attention. "But do not call me Henry…call me Herr Baron…Herr Baron Blitzkrieg!"