The Evil Long Forgotten
Chapter 17
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.
The crashing of the emotional walls in Troia's mind was audible to Wonder Woman and she hoped it was only because she was telepathic. To think that someone could be hurt so badly so quickly made her shudder inside. Even Superman, who only had an inkling of what the relationship between Troia and Henry Miller was, could tell by Troia's body language that the sight of the unmasked Baron Blitzkrieg was a devastating blow.
"No," Troia whispered, tears rolling down her face. She felt so ignorant, so used and dirty. All she could think about was that she had slept with this man, that she had actually developed feelings for him. She suddenly decided he was under mind control. "We'll get you out of here, Henry," she said, hope in her voice.
The Baron threw his head back and laughed. "I assure you, Donna, I will be leaving here for there is nothing that can stop me."
In response, Superman began to move but he was suddenly forced back by ruby beams that shot from the Baron's eyes. The powerful blasts sent the Man of Steel flying back into a pile of dirt. "No!" Troia cried out, turning to Wonder Woman. "That dirt is permeated with Kryptonite!"
The eye blasts were enough to convince Troia that this truly was the real Baron Blitzkrieg. Wonder Woman hesitated a second, waiting to see if anyone was going to be foolish enough to try and get in her way, then leapt to Superman's aid. Troia moved towards the Baron. "I don't believe this! I don't want to believe this!"
Blitzkrieg spread his arms wide. "Why is it so hard to believe? Do you not see how much alike we are? Donna, you are not human…you are above that."
"Because I'm an Amazon that I'm somehow like a racist?"
"Do your people not segregate themselves from the rest of humanity? How often has your mother opened the gates of her blessed Thymerscia to allow in immigrants?" Blitzkrieg shook his head. "Racism is a dirty word; I prefer selectionism."
Tears of embarrassment threatened to fall from her eyes but she would not allow them, holding them back by sheer force of will. She would not show any more weakness. Her stomach was already churning as she kept thinking about their romantic encounters, the words he had said and the way she had felt in his arms. "The Amazons maintain vigilance because they were exploited…"
"Just as the people of Germany were after the Treaty of Versailles!" Blitzkrieg spat. "You were not there, Donna; you did not watch how the rest of the world slowly picked at the corpse of this great nation."
Troia turned to see Wonder Woman lifting Superman in her arms. "He's still alive, Baron," the Amazon princess called out. "You are very lucky."
"Please spare me your rhetoric, Diana," the Baron said and he seemed mildly amused that Wonder Woman was irked by his use of her given name. "I fought your mother to a standstill…"
"She kicked your ass you mean," Troia said, but Blitzkrieg was seemingly unaffected by the verbal barb.
"Donna, I know that you have feelings for me…"
"No! I had feelings for Henry Miller, not for you!"
"I am the same person, with the same ideals…I never hid my political leanings from you," he explained.
"You're a Nazi!"
"There is a difference between being a National Socialist and being one of Hitler's thugs. I grew disillusioned with Hitler after I started seeing proud young German men dying for a pointless cause." His eyes suddenly seemed to pale as his memories stirred his tongue into action. "The objectives of a new thousand year reich were lost, the principles where the superior ruled the inferior…"
"Or murdered them," Troia cut in. "I have read the books and watched the cable specials. You aided in the murder of six million Jews, millions more Soviets and not to mention thousands upon thousands of other innocents! You disgust me!"
"In order for a garden to flourish, the weeds must be cut out. The Jews and the communists were, and still are, part of the problem. They suck the life out of this world…"
Wonder Woman raced past Troia and struck Blitzkrieg with a hard left. There was a loud crash as Amazon fist met metal and the Nazi hero went flying back and through the wall of the estate. Wonder Woman did not hesitate, her warrior instincts kicking in, the heat of battle making a cold sheen of sweat cover her body.
With the grace of a ballet dancer, Wonder Woman jumped through the hole, leaving a stunned Troia in the midst of the unarmed terrorists. Her gut reaction was to follow her sister, but she knew that this was a job for Wonder Woman, not her sister. Every job was important and as much as Troia wanted to bury her heartfelt pain with her fists into Blitzkrieg's face, all of the people in black around her were dangerous as well and needed to be dealt with.
She wiped her moist nose on her sleeve, not much caring for decorum and marched over to the female terrorist that had been with the Anarchist before. The woman made to say something and Troia backhanded her, snapping her jaw and rendering her immobile.
Another terrorist cried out something in Arabic, just as Wonder Woman was flung through the roof of the estate and went flying into the front of the building. Several terrorists, yelling and screaming curses and threats, rushed Troia, catching her completely off guard. In seconds they managed to dog pile her, trying to crush her under their combined weight.
They struck her several times, but none of their blows had even a remote chance of harming her. Instead she used their efforts as an opportunity to rest and gain focus before applying her superior strength to throw them off of her. One by one she moved them away from her and none too gently. They struggled and fought, some even cursed her as she tossed them to the side and slowly got up. She could have done all of it more quickly, but a part of her wanted her to take her time.
By inflicting pain on them she hoped to extract the pain from her own destroyed heart. So she did not speed up or accelerate her pace, despite the desperate situation. Each terrorist paid a small price for being a member of the affair, of being an actor in the charade that made her a fool in front of her sister and perhaps the kindest man in the universe. Superman was in no immediate danger either because she knew from past experience that he was far from out and even in his weakened state, the terrorists could not hope to harm him.
She did not even cast a glance his way, but instead stood in a defensive stance, allowing the terrorists to come at her one at a time or in small groups. They tried to punch, but she blocked with strikes that snapped bones and bludgeoned tissue. Sometimes she would simply grab them by the shirt or jacket and throw them with enough force to shoot the air from their lungs as they plowed into walls and various objects.
Finally the last attacker fell and Troia looked at the carnage she had caused. Deep within her breast beat the heart of an Amazon warrior and for a moment she was able to forget her pain. Then Baron Blitzkrieg followed a cloud of debris as Wonder Woman sent him flying out of the estate. Troia's enhanced reflexes allowed her step out of the way as he went by.
Wonder Woman exited through the hole the Baron had made, wiping dust from her shoulders. She looked at the fallen forms and gave Troia an approving nod. This was a different side of her sister and it made her shiver slightly. Gone was the woman who preached peace and tolerance and was instead replaced by the warrior-borne that she truly was.
Someone once said that the greatest warriors worked hardest for peace and watching her sister stomp towards the fallen form of Baron Blitzkrieg she understood that rationale. Her sister had fought hard to make the world a safer place and yet she was a weapon of violence when needed.
Blitzkrieg rolled over and started to get up. "You are most definitely your mother's daughter," he laughed. Wonder Woman stopped as Troia held her back with a gentle hand on her forearm. "You have her strength and ferocity; I always admired her. In fact, I respected her greatly."
"None of that matters now, Henry…if that is your real name," Troia said, taking strength from her sister's presence. She had a need to know the truth.
"My real name is of no consequence," he offered, brushing his golden and dented armor off. "My feelings for you are real, just as your feelings for me are."
Wonder Woman moved forward. "I'm placing you under arrest, Henry," she said balling her hands into fists. There was real fury in her and Troia wondered if it was more to do with the fact that he had broken her sister's heart than because he was a killer. A part of her hoped it was true, but then another part dreaded it. Neither one of them were accustomed to their sibling relationship and there was always the chance that it could effect their judgment. It almost seemed as if Wonder Woman wanted Blitzkrieg to resist.
She got her wish.
Scarlet beams of energy lanced out from his eyes and the Amazing Amazon barely had time to react. The bracers on her arms allowed her to deflect the beams away, but it also kept her open to attack.
A fist struck her hard in the back with enough power the ground shook. Wonder Woman went flying forward to be stopped by Blitzkrieg's fist in her stomach. It was too much even for the Amazon and her lungs deflated as she sagged to the ground. Troia stepped back and turned to see a man in a costume of similar color to that of the Baron's.
"I bring you greetings, cousin," the man said in perfect English.
Troia looked to where the empty coffin was at and added it all together. The Atoman was alive and well, a Kryptonite-powered fascist ready to take on the world. "And I greet you as well, my dearest and oldest friend," the Baron said with obvious joy. His relative was demonstrating his superior knowledge of the world by speaking the language of their enemy.
The Atoman looked towards Troia, a green glow surrounding his body. "Who is this? She looks like Wonder Woman?"
Troia did not wait another second, realizing that if the Atoman got too close to the slowly recovering Superman he could kill him just by his presence. With a final glance at the crumpled form of her sister, she stepped forward and punched the Atoman with all of her might.
The blow was deafening and was strong enough to shatter a concrete pylon for a suspension bridge, yet it did not even tear the cloth fabric of the Atoman's mask. He returned the gesture with a palm strike to her breast bone and she heard a pop just before she went down.
"Do not kill her!" Blitzkrieg called out, moving forward quickly when he saw his cousin move in for the mortal strike. "She is special to me!"
The Atoman stopped short and turned his head towards the approaching Blitzkrieg. "I can tell by the state of my father's house that I have been asleep a long time, cousin…but do not tell me that we have joined forces with the Americans and their hated heroes?"
The Baron stopped next to his cousin. "There is so much I need to tell you, Heinrich, but not here and not now."
"The two of you might want to go ahead and surrender now," Superman said, standing on shaky legs. His costume was covered with the radioactive dirt and it was having some effect on him. A glance at the fallen Wonder Woman and Troia gave him the courage to resist the effects of the Kryptonite.
Still, no fool, Superman reached down and pressed a small button on his belt, activating his JLA signal device.
"You have signed your death warrant, Man of Steel," Blitzkrieg told him. The Atoman straightened up and stood next to his cousin. "You are no match for the both of us. In honor of your strength and prowess as a warrior, I offer you the chance to surrender and be executed quickly."
Superman shook his head. 'Nobody is going to die today, especially not me. The Justice League is on its way. There is no escape."
The Atoman surprised Superman by replying in perfect, unaccented English. "I do not know what this Justice League is…you Americans and your little clubs of costumed libertarians!"
Superman stepped forward and inhaled. Baron Blitzkrieg knew what was coming and he tried to shout a warning to his cousin when the blast of powerful air hit them. Superman's super breath was too much for the Baron and he tumbled back, cursing for not simply eliminating the Kryptonian when he had the chance. Again, his flair for theatrics was costing him, an old habit from his younger days.
The Atoman, however, was unaffected, standing rigid in the face of the gale. Instead, his greenish glow grew more emerald in color as he reached deep inside himself. He had only been able to practice with his abilities for a few hours before his body shut down, but to him it was like yesterday, not decades before.
Pushing his hands forward to focus his intent, he let loose with a blast of Kryptonite radiation that gave off both light and heat. The attack hit Superman in the chest and immediately sapped his strength. Heroically, the Man of Steel tried to remain standing even after his super-breath attack died away, but already weakened knees failed him and he slumped to the ground.
The Atoman stepped forward, increasing the amount of energy his body was throwing out, physically trying to push it through his target. He was a living nuclear reactor, powered by the radioactive Kryptonite in his body and the desire to destroy the American super-hero before him that dared to step on the hallowed ground of the Fatherland!
Superman fell back and screamed, choking at the end as searing pain burned through his lungs. Baron Blitzkrieg got up and moved back to stand next to his cousin, behind his golden helm a smile across his face. "Yes! Kill him! Kill Superman my cousin!"