Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:
JJChandler: No, but Darkseid is aware of the cosmic being's existence and vice versa, it's just the latter isn't really bothered by the New God, at least until he comes to possibly devour his world.
lautaro94: The stones will pop up every once in a while and Annihilus will appear at some point.
keyblade master cole: Someone else.
CRUDEN: No, it's someone else.
redx1221: Zunn's an OC of mine, most of Darkseid's other children will also be OC's with a few being Marvel characters that I think would fit.
gunman: A good portion of what happened here aside from the vague comments and images will be shown more next chapter, but we won't be returning to this planet but the artifact that's behind this whole mess will be popping back up later on in the story, sort of. It's mostly personality clash but also because Peter is more favored by their father, so there's also jealousy. What do you mean have her expose the illusions and the delusions that they know? Yeah, her father and a good portion of her Pantheon more or less throwing her to the wolves to keep their power may have more or less destroyed any faith or loyalty she hd and may possibly come back to bite them one day.
Zx: We'll see who the Krytonian Fury is this chapter.
justafan: I wouldn't say it's a harem quite yet but yeah, it's slowly getting there, and I mean slowly. Plus she's kind of how Peter and Apokolips are so informed on Superman's powers and culture, they have a Fury that's basically him but with breasts and will be shown to be far darker and more lethal than he is, win-win for Darkseid.
superspiderfan: No, she's more ruthless than her by a wide margin, at least with how she's been portrayed in Man of Steel.
Shinobi scribe of the kage: Something along those lines.
A hero's legacy: Yeah there are a few siblings that Peter gets along with, one of them is Kalibak, most of the time.
Newavenger92: For the time being, it'll be Carol, Betsy, the Kryptonian, eventually Diana and another New God, but she's not from Apokolips and a woman from earth that'll eventually return with Diana to Apokolips to keep her company and may be slowly seduced by Peter like Diana will over time.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.
Orion, son of Darkseid and New Genesis's greatest warrior, thought nothing could ever take him by surprise anymore. His numerous adventures with both his friends and foster family on New Genesis and his allies in the Justice League have brought him into a wide range of unique and interesting situations and circumstances, some of which nearly claimed the New God's life on more than one occasion. So, when the aptly named Dog of War received a call from the Justice League and was greeted to the sight of a grim-faced Superman and an even grimmer looking Batman, he expected to hear that Darkseid had somehow launched a surprise attack on Earth and they were in need of help, but what he heard instead from the two heroes was something even more shocking.
"W-What?" Orion said, blinking several times in surprise as he tired to comprehend what he just heard not even a second ago from Batman.
The Dark Knight scowled at the New God before he repeated his statement "I said, Darkseid, with the help of Diana's own gods, has forced her into a marriage with one of his sons and we were hoping you could shed a little more light on the subject and who she's with"
Orion stated at the two for several long moments before he rubbed the ridge of his nose "Start at the beginning please…"
It was Superman that answered "We received an alert that Darkseid had Boom Tubed to a small park in Washington D.C. and assembled a team to confront him while remaining on the lookout for the rest of his army. We found him on the steps of the Capital building and when he prepared to attack him, he told us that he was there for his new daughter in law... Diana"
"How did he get her to be his daughter in law?" Orion said with a frown "Last I heard, you and she were quite close"
"We were… and hopefully still are" Superman said in a saddened tone.
"Darkseid had visited Earth centuries beforehand and made a deal with the Olympian gods" Batman decided to answer for his friend "In exchange for granting them some access to the Source, he wanted Zeus to have one of his daughters some time in the future to marry one of his sons"
"Typical…" Orion said with a heavy sigh, it wasn't the first time he's heard his father use such a tactic to either gain allies or some other sort of valuable resource. After a few moments he took a deep breath "All right, who'd he pick for Diana?"
"He's called Peter-" Superman began only for Orion to scoff.
"Peter?" he said as he held up a hand that was level with his chin "About this high, kinda small compared to me or Kalibak? Has a sort of spider theme going on?"
"Yeah, that's him" Superman said with a slow nod "What do you know about him?"
"Aside from the fact he's one of my father's most prized scientists?" Orion said with a shrug "Not much other than he's perhaps the biggest disgrace to the house of my father since En Sabah Nur before he underwent a few changes to rectify that"
"Do you think he'll hurt her?" Superman asked a little worriedly.
"Him, hurt her?" Orion said with a look of slight disbelief before he laughed "Ha, if anything it's her hurting him! Man couldn't beat half your team's members even if he had even half my power at his command. Even Batman there could possibly beat him"
"So, she's safe?" Superman said before he cleared his throat "Well, as safe as one can be on Apokolips?"
"From him, yeah but it's my other siblings that I would be worried about" Orion said, his grin fading into a frown "A number of my half-brothers are… well let's just say that Diana will unknowingly present herself as a potential conquest for them and if there's one thing that all sons of Darkseid like to do, it's conquer things, and I mean that in just about every horrible way possible"
It was than that Superman's eyes glowed red in anger, causing Batman to tense as the Kryptonian stepped closer to the screen "If they so much as touch her, I'll-"
"Relax Superman, Diana is more than powerful enough to put any of them in their place should they try anything" Orion assured the Man of Steel "Trust me, a number of my brothers are rather cowardly in the face of a strong woman like herself"
Superman seemed to be somewhat comforted by that while Batman's eyes narrowed a bit "Is there any way to check up on her? Verify that she isn't being harmed in any way?"
Orion hummed at that as he tired to think of an adequate answer before another voice joined the meeting.
"I can"
All three men turned to see a woman approach their meeting. She was in incredibly beautiful woman with medium length red hair, clad in a breathtaking red and pink dress that was adorned with a wide variety of jewels that surpassed anything that either Bruce or Clark had ever seen in their lifetimes. Her name was Bekka, the New Goddess of Love, wife to Orion and future Highmother of New Genesis. She turned her bright green eyes towards the heroes of earth and spoke in a calm soothing tone that could bring even Orion out of his berserker rage.
"I will keep you updated on Diana's condition"
"How?" Batman questioned.
Orion's demeanor soured as Bekka answered "I will have Peter himself keep me informed of her condition"
"How?" Superman asked before his eyes narrowed in confusion "Better yet, why would he tell you? I mean no offense, but I was under the impression that Apokolips and New Genesis aren't exactly on speaking terms with one another"
"Peter and I share a history and he's never lied to me before and I don't see him lying to me now" Bekka said calmly.
"You two were close, I take it?" Superman asked carefully.
"Yes..." Bekka nodded.
"What happened?" Batman inquired.
Bekka glanced at Orion for a brief moment before she answered "The Highfather, my grandfather, believed Orion would make a more suitable husband… and he was correct"
The two Justice Leaguers didn't have a response for that as she held their surprised expressions while Orion began to fidget before speaking in a rushed tone "We'll contact you in a few weeks to let you know Diana's current state of well-being."
"Orion, I-" Superman began only to be cut off as Orion ended the transmission, leaving Bekka and him standing there in silence. Finally, after several minutes Orion turned towards her with a scowl.
"I don't like you taking to him"
"He is the only way we'll be able to get a constant and accurate report on their ally" Bekka responded coolly "After what happened between you and Mister Miracle, I don't see Scott being so willing to help us, even if it was to aid the Justice League"
"Is that the only reason?" Orion questioned with a slight glare.
Bekka stared at her husband as of several decades now for a few moments before answering "Yes, you are my husband and it is my duty to aid you and your allies in any way that I can"
"And you'll do well to remember that" Orion growled as he turned and stalked away from the New Goddess.
Bekka watched him for several seconds before her face contorted into a scowl of displeasure 'Trust me 'dog', not a day goes by where I'm not reminded by you or the Highfather'
She then took a calming breath and schooled her face back into an expression of neutrality as she turned on her heel and began to make her way back to their quarters to see if her old communicator was still working. It was the only one that she knew of that connected to Peter's private terminal in both his lab and his room and would be protected from unwanted listeners.
…
Peter couldn't help but fidget with his hands as he watched the image of one of his least favorite half-brothers gaze at him with a blank expression after being told of the situation on the Agooma. For several minutes Zunn didn't say anything or comment on the issue at hand as Peter told him what has happened sense he and En Sabah Nur fist arrived and the powerful being's eventual possession and the possession of Grail, Lemenus and likely Big Barda.
Finally, Zunn spoke "So… what your saying is your screwed unless I help you?"
Peter felt a rush of anger and annoyance run through his body as he heard the mocking tone in Zunn's voice "Yeah…"
Zunn nodded at this with a smirk as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest "Thought so…"
"Will you aid us or not Zunn?" Diana spoke as she stepped into the New God's line of sight.
Zunn glanced at her far longer than either Peter or Diana were comfortable with before Zunn spoke "Fine, I'll help on one condition…."
"And what's that?" Peter asked with unease, Zunn's demands varied depending on his mood. It's part of why Peter dislikes him so much, he doesn't like dealing with people that could change on a fly like Zunn has done in the past. One minute he's Peter's ally and the next he's stabbing him in the back, often literally because he wanted to see what would happen.
Zunn grinned darkly as he pointed towards Diana "I want her to disrobe for me, right now!"
Diana's eyes shot open in complete shock and disgust at the request while Peter's eyes narrowed in rage "That's not-"
"Ever going to happen!" Diana fumed with rage etched across her face.
Zunn's reply was a simple shrug "Well than see you in thirty minutes I suppose…"
"Zunn, I swear to the Source itself that if you don't get your ass over here and help us destroy this thing I swear on our Father's, father's grave that if I survive this I'll personally rip you apart and spread your entrails to the farthest corners of our empire before taking your skull and using it as my own personal organ dumpster, do you understand me!?" Peter growled at the man with his eyes narrowed in rage and bits of his venom blast arching across his body.
Zunn quirked a brow at the threat and made a show of thinking over his response before he shrugged "See you in thirty minutes dear brother… hehehehehe…"
The screen suddenly shut off, leaving a fuming Peter and Diana to stare at their reflections. Peter let out a sigh of annoyance while Diana placed her hand on the console and crushed the metal under her grip slightly as she fought to reign her rage in. Never in all of her years as she met a pig quite like this Zunn. The New God was willing to let his half siblings die or worse unless she removed her clothing for him to gaze at, and even then, there was no real guarantee that he would still help!
"Now what?" Diana asked with a frown towards Peter.
Peter was silent for a moment as he stared down at the floor in deep though before a sudden thought came to him. He then brought up another holographic screen and began to type a series of commands in it. Not long afterwards, an image of Zunn's warship came up and Peter's typing increased as he began to establish a new connection to it.
"Simple, if my brother wont help me, then I suppose I'll have to settle with going behind his back and getting his troops to aid us instead" Peter said as he typed in numerous commands.
"Will any of them be powerful enough to aid us?" Diana questioned with a furrowed brow.
"Yeah, there's a few on his ship that'll be useful" Peter answered with a small nod as he continued his hacking.
Peter hissed in annoyance a few times as he saw that the security protocols for his half-brother's vessel have been updated since he last poked around in them. After a few minor deviations on his part, Peter finally was able to gain access to another terminal in the ship, this time in the quarters of one of two beings on that ship that could help Peter and the others in dealing with the likes of En Sabah Nur and Grail.
Diana watched as Peter stared at the screen intently for a few seconds before someone answered the call and Diana was greeted to the sight of a being that for a brief moment reminded her of Atomic Skull.
He was clad in an armored suit of sorts that appeared to be made of the same material that Diana has seen Darkseid, Kalibak, Grayven and En Sabah Nur use but thicker. His burning skull of a face was exposed through a thick glass of some unknown material that allowed its wearer a full view of his surroundings and seemed to be slightly polarized, likely to help others make out his features without being blinded by the roaring energy inside his suit.
"William…" Peter gave the sole son of En Sabah Nur a small nod in greetings.
"Uncle…?" he responded in a surprising young voice that didn't seem to match his large frightening appearance "Why are you calling me?"
Peter let out a sigh as he leaned against the console he was using "Because your bastard of an Uncle Zunn is refusing to help me and the others on this ship"
"What?" Willian said in shock before the energy in his suit burned hotter as his anger spiked "Why?!"
"Because that's what he is" Peter said with a snort before he glanced at Diana for a moment before returning his attention to William "William, where are Zunn's Furies located at the moment?"
William was silent for a moment as he turned away from the screen and slowly scanned the room he was in, or more accurately looked through the walls with the aid of his suit's sensors before locating them "They're in the hanger, I think their waiting for orders to deploy"
"Well tell them they have it. Get over here and help me rescue your father and the others before this thing that's taking control of everyone kills us or worse" Peter said.
William's upper torso moved, his way of nodding, before the screen went blank, leaving Peter and Diana alone for the moment.
After a few seconds Diana spoke "Who is he?"
Peter looked towards her before he nodded towards the screen "En Sabah Nur's son, only son really"
"Is he Grail's?" Diana asked with a furrowed brow. The idea of Grail being a mother was a bit disturbing to imagine to be honest.
Peter shook his head at that "No, but she practically adores him. So, for the love of the Source, don't ever threaten him in front of her or she'll rip you apart"
"Is he as powerful as his father?" Diana asked as she glanced towards the door with a guarded expression after hearing faint scratching on the other side.
"No, not even close but he's young so he still has some growing to do" Peter said as he pushed himself up "But it's not him that we'll need for this, but one of Zunn's Furies. At the moment, she's the only one aside from you that could go toe to toe with either En Sabah Nur or Grail and hopefully win"
"Who is she?" Diana asked with curiosity at the prospect of having another being as powerful if not more so than her helping them.
At this Peter chuckled as he sat against the console and looked towards the wall with his arms folded as he and Diana could hear faint sounds of fighting on the other side of the door "The only woman that Warbird is actually intimidated by…"
…
Faora Hu-Ul paced in front of the dropship anxiously as she mentally counted down the time until she and her soldiers could board the shuttle and use it to fly over to the Agooma. Normally Faora could fly through space under her own power but it's been days since she's last been exposed to a yellow sun and this system's star was a red giant. It's only because of the ship's shielding and her armor's modified systems that she still has a substantial amount of solar energy to use.
'Though I doubt it'll be enough' the former lover of General Zod thought with a scowl before she heard and saw William, En Sabah Nur's only child, emerge from a hallway leading to the ship's living quarters and rush towards her with urgent strides.
Faroa's brow furrowed at this "What is it?"
"My uncle contacted Zunn, but he's refusing to help" William said, straight to the point.
Faroa's eyes widened a bit at this before they narrowed in rage "Is that so?"
William nodded before Faora turned towards the Furies under her command "Mount up, we leave in thirty seconds"
The various women nodded along with the small detachment of Parademons as they began to make their way towards the combat shuttle and began to prep it for departure. William and Faroa watched the numerous New Goddesses and various hybrid alien women brought in from all corners of Darkseid's multi-universal spanning empire ready for deployment before they both heard a voice that they'd rather not deal with at the moment.
"Oh commander, where are you and little William off to?"
The duo turned to see Zunn approaching them with several Parademons at his sides, his eyes narrowing as he drew closer and closer "I thought I said to wait for my orders"
"Forgive me my lord… but doing so will lead to the possible deaths of Peter and En Sabah Nur, along with Grail and Wonder Woman, two people that our lord Darkseid would very much like to keep alive" Faroa stated in a dry tone towards the weaker being before her. She then glanced at William, she could feel the heat rolling off his form as he glared at his uncle "William, get aboard and prepare for boarding, I shall be on in a few moments"
William's burning skull turned towards her, the flames in his eye sockets seemingly glowing brighter for a moment before he slowly turned and began to make his way to the now online shuttle.
Faroa watched him go before she turned towards Zunn who was looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"By my count you still have half an hour till your allowed to deploy Faora" Zunn growled in annoyance.
"And if I recall correctly my lord, Lord Kalibak gave us explicit orders to aid his brothers and sister. It is clear that they are need of help, they even told you such" Faora responded with a slight scowl.
Zunn grunted at that as he glanced at the nearby shuttle being prepped for departure. After several moments he sighed before turning to one of the Parademons that followed him here "Fetch my ax, and get two more shuttles ready for me to follow them"
One of the Parademons bowed as it turned on its heel and went to carry about its task while Zunn glanced back at Faora with a slight scowl on his face.
"You are very lucky I don't discipline you for going behind my back with this" he hissed.
"And you are lucky it is the threat of Darkseid that keeps me from breaking you" Faora responded as she turned and headed for the shuttle all the while Zunn glared daggers into her back.
Faora for the most part was unconcerned with the vicious little thing. If it came down to it she could break him in seconds but alas her concerns were elsewhere as she boarded the shuttle as it began to lift off the hanger floor and turn towards the hanger bay door.
Faora gripped the bulkhead as she felt the vessel suddenly shoot out of the bay and into the weightless void of space, straight towards the Agooma. The former Kryptonian captain glanced around the at her soldiers to see that they were ready for combat. William, was sitting towards the far end, casting nervous glances around himself.
'Hard to believe he's En Sabah Nur's spawn' Faora thought with an amused chuckle as she pressed a small button towards the collar of her armor and waited as her suit's helmet began to assemble around her head until her entire face was covered by a polarized visor that displayed a small HUD that showed a myriad of information from the temperature of the air and the contents in it to motion trackers.
Faora also noticed the recent feature added that allowed her to monitor how much solar radiation she still had stored in her… it wasn't much. In fact it was far less then she originally thought.
'I won't be able to fight for long at full power… best rely on speed and precession' Faora thought as she glanced out a nearby viewport to see they were approaching the main hanger of the Agooma.
Faora's eyes narrowed as she saw a multitude of purple flashes and numerous bodies being flung around. Her eyes narrowed as she used her microscopic vision to zero in on the scene and saw that it was one of the other Furies that was often seen around Peter, the one called Psylocke.
She didn't seem to be in the best of health as she was busy trying to bind a horrendous leg wound with her psionic energy while doing her best to keep the various undead Parademons and other mutated members of the Agooma at bay at the same time. And not too far from her was a green skinned woman with a large sword that was being steadily overwhelmed by the various monsters.
'Hmm… I do not recognize her… Perhaps Psylocke will be willing to inform me of who she is after I save her from her incompetence' Faora thought as the shuttle entered the bay and the pilots used the small vessel's point defense turrets to open fire on the various creatures to both clear a landing space and provide cover for Psylocke as she surrounded herself in a orb of pure psionic energy.
"Attack" Faora ordered as the door to the shuttle opened and her squad of Furies and Parademons poured out and attacked the undead crew of the Agooma while William followed her out.
"What are those things?" William asked as he blasted several morphed Parademons away with a burning energy blast that reduced them to charred pieces.
"I'm not sure, lets ask Psylocke there" Faora nodded towards the purple haired New God as she bent down and picked up an energy rifle and began to fire short controlled bursts at the various undead creatures surrounding her and her troops.
Most of them were being pushed back by the fresh contingent of Parademons and Furies and William's scorching hot energy blasts. The green skinned woman that Faora saw earlier noticed them and seemed to be trying to find a way to escape before suddenly she let out a pained scream and her hands flew to her head. Faora's eyes narrowed a bit at this as she shot a glance towards Psylocke and saw the woman's glowing eyes focused on the unknown individual.
Before Faora could question it, she heard another voice that gave her pause in shock.
"Make us whole…"
Before she could react, she was blasted in the back by something, some sort of energy shot if she was reading her armor's report right. The Kryptonian barred her teeth in pain and anger as she wasn't sent nearly flying across the hanger from the force of the hit before she righted herself in midair and came to a stop a few meters off the ground and glared at who shot her.
Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the Fury Lemenus holding a smoking plasma rifle… that was aimed right at her.
"Make us whole…" she said as she shot off another energy blast towards her.
Faora's eyes narrowed as she flew under the barrage of plasma bolts and rushed towards the red skinned alien and collided with her in a powerful shockwave, crushing the enemy Fury's weapon and sending her flying back into a small burning pile of the undead Agooma crew members that were created by her Parademons.
"Lemenus, why are you attacking us?" William asked as he approached the pile that said woman was blasted into.
"William, stay away from her, she's been possessed by some sort of-" Betsy began only to stop as Lemenus let out an enraged roar as she erupted from the pile of burning flesh and sent a punch towards the surprised form of William.
The son of En Sabah Nur just barley got his arms up in time to block the hit before he was sent skidding across the deck for several metes and into an unlucky Fury that almost immediately began to burn upon contact with his armor.
Faora landed next to Betsy who had dropped the psionic energy shield and used a good amount of the energy to form a sort of cast over her wounded leg as she stood up with a growl of pain.
"What is going on here?" Faora demanded.
Betsy shot the woman a glare as she was about to answer before she noticed Gamora nearby trying to stand back up. The telepath's eyes narrowed as she took her sword and suddenly flung it passed the surprised Kryptonian's head and towards the daughter of Thanos. Gamora, still dazed from the vicious mental attack unleashed un on her was unable to notice the coming blade and thus was unable to stop it from piercing her thigh, causing her to yell out in pain as she fell to one knee.
"Long story short, she attacked this ship which contained a powerful artifact that was discovered on the planet below. In the chaos she somehow triggered it and turned half the crew into these abominations and drove the others to mass suicide. And what few that weren't turned became possessed for the lack of a better word" Betsy said as she turned towards the slightly taller woman with a scowl.
Faora looked perplexed by this and was about to respond before both women's attention was drawn to the sounds of William's enraged scream as he grabbed Lemenus and slammed her into the ground with enough force to shake the entire room before he threw her towards one of the distant walls followed by a powerful beam of energy.
Faroa and Betsy both flinched at the explosion that followed and the blinding light that was given off as a result.
"Can you break the possession?" Faroa asked as she turned towards Betsy as Lemenus slumped the ground while William was letting off a vast amount of steam from his armor in attempt to cool his energy levels.
"No… whatever's caused this, it's too powerful for me to try and fight. Even En Sabah Nur has fallen prey to it" Betsy revealed to a shocked Faora.
"And Peter?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
Besty returned the glare with one of her won as she answered "still free and alive last I checked"
"Where is he?" Faora demanded, her eyes briefly glowing red.
Betsy for the most part was unconcerned by the show of power as she held Faora's gaze for several moments before it was dragged away by the approach of William.
"He might still be in the communications HUB. When he contacted my terminal, it looked like he was in there along with some other lady" the large burning being revealed.
Faora nodded at this before she heard and saw that Gamora had ripped Psylocke's blade from her leg and was now glaring at all of them.
Betsy's eyes narrowed at the woman before she glanced towards William "Would you mind?"
William looked down at her for a moment before he gave his equivalent of a nod before he sent a small beam of energy towards Gamora that was to fast for her to dodge and watched as the grin skinned woman was sent flying back several meters. He began to make his way towards her along with several Parademons while a Fury came towards the two women.
"My lady, we have secured the hanger" the Fury bowed to Faora and Psylocke.
"Good" Faora nodded as she turned towards Lemenus as she was the red skinned woman starting to regain her bearings "You will wait here for Zunn and his forces to arrive"
"What about you my lady?" the Fury questioned.
"I'll be heading up to the communications HUB to make sure that the reason we are here is still alive" Faroa said as she narrowed her glowing red eyes at Lemenus before sending a powerful blast of heat vison towards the alien women. Lemenus didn't get a chance to react as she was blasted back into the wall with enough force to cause it to crack and buckle under the force before Faora blitzed her into the wall, creating a massive tremor that could be felt throughout the ship's hanger as the two powerful women tore through the re-enforced metal with ease.
Betsy watched this as she whipped some of the blood that's gathered on her face before glancing towards William as he kept a foot on Gamora's smoking torso, preventing her from moving while several Parademons aimed their blasters at her head.
"Make sure she doesn't escape" Betsy nodded towards the green skinned alien woman as she used her telekinesis to call her blade over and snatched it out of the air.
The Fury nodded as she watched Betsy make her way to the hole that Lemenus and Faora made "Ma'am, where are you going?"
"To report to Peter about what I learned from Gamora about why she attacked this ship in the first place. I doubt Faora will be able to since she's too busy fighting a possessed Fury" Betsy responded as she disappeared into the hole and followed the signs and sounds of the two women's battle.
…
Carol let out an exhausted sigh as she leaned against a bloodstained wall not too far from the communications room. For the past several minutes she's been trying to fight her way there after being forced to retreat from her battle with Barda and Lemenus after the arrival of En Sabah Nur. She took a steady breath as she looked up to see more of the mutated members of the crew up ahead, just right outside the doors to the communications HUB. The doors looked to be in tact so the hope that Peter was still alive burned.
The survival of his Amazon on the other hand… Carol hoped she fell, it'd give her a fine excuse to be rid of her once and for all.
"What was lord Darkseid thinking in marrying Peter off to some backwater brute…" Carol muttered as she gathered a small amount of Photon energy into her hands and concentrated. After a moment, the energy covered her hand and arm, up until her elbow before it took the form of a sort of blade.
The action drew the attention of the seemingly undead members of the crew as they turned towards Carol and let out a series of shrikes as they rushed towards her. Carol's eyes glowed as they narrowed in rage and she began to steadily approach the demented creatures, her energy blade held at the ready. When the first of the demented creatures grew close enough, Carol lashed out with her Photon blade, slicing through the former crew member's torso with ease, the flesh burning as it was separated and collapsed to the floor with a wet thud. Carol didn't bother to see if that had truly killed it as she blocked a bone appendage from embedding itself into her chest before she grabbed the bloodied arm and yanked it off with a slight grunt and rammed her blade into the creature's head.
She paused for a moment as she saw the last several mutated crew members approach her, their bodies indicated they were Parademons once with some of them seemingly merged with something else, likely one of the ships numerous slaves. Carol lifted the still struggling body on her Photon blade and threw it towards the former Parademons as she changed the Photon blade into a small ball of concentrated energy and aimed it at the shrieking former soldiers.
"Oh, shut the fuck up already…" Carol muttered as she launched the energy ball and watched as it made contact with the small pile of mutated Parademons before the hall was engulfed in a brief but bright yellow light before it faded just as quickly to show the smoldering piles of flesh before her.
She made to head for the communications room when suddenly a stray Venom blast raced past her head, missing it by inches and pierce through the head of the mutated crewmember that she sliced in half earlier.
Carol looked over her shoulder to see the aberration collapse to the ground before turning to see Peter standing there, his arm still raised and dancing with arcs of his Venom blast.
"You missed one" he said with a slight shrug.
"Thank you…" she gave a slight bow and smile before the latter fell at the sign of the Amazon 'Dammit… still alive…'
Peter, unaware of the woman's thoughts glanced towards Diana with a hidden grin "Told ya I heard something"
"I apologize" she said dryly as she gave Carol and even look "I take it that you failed in your objective"
Carol bristled at that as she stood at her full height "I'm sorry but I'd like to see you fight against Barda, Lemenus and En Sabah Nur himself at the same time and see if you'll fare better than me!"
"They didn't follow you right?" Peter asked as he glanced over Carol's shoulder for signs of the possessed Furies or his half-brother.
"No, I don't believe they did" Carol said before suddenly Lemenus came crashing through the wall with a yell as a figure held her in a headlock.
Diana, Carol and Peter watched with surprise as Lemenus struggled with her captor before the woman let out a hiss and her eyes glowed red for a brief moment before twin beams of heat vision shut forth from her eyes and into the back of Lemenus's skull. The action caused the red skinned woman to yell in pain before her body went limp as Faroa's heat vison tore through her skull and into the ground before her.
"Faroa?" Diana said in complete surprise at the appearance of the lover of General Zod here of all places.
"Wonder Woman…" the Kryptonian woman responded with barely concealed contempt as she dropped Lemenu's body before her expression brightened ever so slightly at the appearance of Peter "My lord…"
"Faroa" Peter nodded towards her before he noticed Psylocke making her way through the hole in the wall made by Faora and Lemenus's fight "Betsy…"
"Peter…" the purple haired woman replied with a small nod before a scowl crossed her face at the sight of Carol behind him, along with Diana.
Peter scanned Faora's rescue party with a critical gaze before he noticed something "Where's William? Thought he'd come here with you"
"He's keeping watch over Psylocke's adversary, down in the hanger still" Faora answered as she crouched down to examine Lemenus's wounds.
"Adversary?" Peter said with a raised brow as he glanced at Pyslocke "Who was it?"
"Gamora" the telepath responded.
"Gamora…?" Peter said with wide eyes "As in the daughter of Thanos? Arguably the deadliest warrior in his ranks, the one that's been able to best our esteemed Kanto on numerous occasions and has brought about the end to an entire universe, that Gamora?!"
"Yes" Betsy said while Faora simply nodded.
Peter stared at the duo for a moment before he rubbed his brow in aggravation "Well isn't this just great…"
"I also discover she's recently abandoned Thanos and has allied with someone that seems to know of the artifact that you and En Sabah Nur came here for" Betsy revealed.
"Do you know who?" Peter questioned with a quirked brow.
"No… she forced me out of her mind before I could learn more and I haven't been able t locate that memory since" Betsy said with a sigh of annoyance.
Suddenly the ship shook ever so slightly, catching everyone by surprise.
"What's that?" Diana questioned with narrowed eyes as Faroa used a combination of her X-ray vision and her super hearing to try and piece together what was going on.
After a few moments she discovered the source of the ship's shaking "Zunn and his men have arrived and are already engaging what's left of this ship's crew by the hanger. It looks like their pushing towards the cargo bay"
"That's where En Sabah Nur and the others will likely be" Peter said with a thoughtful expression "You think it'd be too much to have them kill Zunn before we do anything?"
"No, unless you're willing to contend with Zunn's younger brother Fidilen afterwards" Carol said with a blank expression.
"Hmm, point taken" Peter said with a regretful sigh "Alright, let's go help my snarling bastard of a sibling and save the others so we can finally get the hell off this damn ship. Also, Carol, get Lemenus's body, we can give her to Dessad to mess around with and hopefully revive when we get back to Apokolips"
"Yes, my lord…" Carol muttered as she leaned down and grabbed the corpse of her teammate before following after the group and towards the cargo bay.
"Why'd you have her carry Lemenus's body?" Diana asked with a curious expression, to be honest she half expected Peter to leave it there.
"She failed in her objective" Peter said with a slight shrug "Granted it's a moot point but when I give an order, I expect it to be followed regardless. Besides, I'd rather not lose what standing I have with Kalibak because I didn't get the body of his consort"
"Why?" Diana questioned with a frown.
"So he can bury her I guess, I don't know" Peter said with a shrug "One thing I've learned about Kalibak and his dead lovers, never ask on what he does with the bodies…"
"Does he… eat them?" Diana wondered with a slight shiver.
"Like I said, never asked… I'm a little afraid of the answer I'll get" Peter responded with a sound of disgust as he and the others quickly made their way to Zunn's location before he's possibly killed by what was left of the Agooma's transformed crew and the possessed forms of Grail, En Sabh Nur and Barda.
…
And done.
Next chapter, the nightmare aboard the Agooma comes to an end.
So yeah, I said this chapter would bring an end to the fight on the Agooma but it got so long I thought screw it I'll make it two chapters and upload the next one next week. Lazy, yes, do I care, no, not really at the moment.
