answers to reviewers questions or statements:
Jamal rarick: There'll be more Peter/Diana centered chapters soon. The affection will begin once the arc on Earth ends and the other girls, Psylocke, Bekka, Carol, Faora and the mystery Earth Girl star to become more prominent.
Naruto9tail: Perhaps, perhaps. It'd be just their luck if that happens.
MeteorElDrago: They'll start have more affection for each other after they leave Earth.
Triton0501: Ultron could pose a significant threat to Apokolips, but he's still in his 'larva' stage and Peter's more or less ensured that he's 'shackled' to keep him from possibly turning on him. But Ultron's greatest strength is the ability to adapt, to upgrade and improve his current body and systems with the addition of new technologies. Like how in Age of Ultron he started off as some fragile drone but continued to upgrade his body until he could go toe to toe with just about any of the Avengers heavy hitters. We'll be seeing soon just how dangerous Ultron can be when Peter unhooks his leash, as the saying goes.
Stormhound12: It's been a little over a year since Diana's left Earth.
maxe03: She knows of Thor, but she's unaware that he used to wield Jarnbjorn. Yeah, real disappointing that a guy that just went toe to toe with someone on par with Superman and lost badly was just knocked out by a woman that's close to Superman's level of strength that was fully rested, what a weakling he was.
superpierce: It's been mentioned that 'Gods' like them do feel things like pain, just not in the same way a human would. Their 'nervous system' would work differently than ours ever would. That and New Gods are different from the Old Gods that the Olympians belonged to, sort of like Tigers and Jaguars.
Dev Lohera: We'll be seeing Peter's views on magic soon enough.
Jason Chandler: Don't worry, this arc's gonna show that while Peter may not be the most powerful of Darkseid's children at the moment, he's far from a pushover. In fact, compared to Earth's inhabitants, he's pretty high on the power totem pole. Not as high as the likes of Superman, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman obviously, but he could go toe to toe with some of Aquaman's strength level.
Javier Amon Belmont: After the Earth arc ends.
G Ward: Peter's power will begin to grow obviously as he gains more of the stones, but for now he's still considered weak by Darkseid and Apokolips's standards.
Harbinger of Kaos: In Diana's defense, she didn't think that Peter would actually try something so bold. We'll see soon enough what's guarding the stone from anyone trying to take it for themselves.
cabrera1234: They'll start after this arc ends but it'll never be simple between them. It is Apokolips after all.
Draconies: Mission to Earth going well? have you ever heard of the Parker Luck effect? It's quite prevalent in all forms of Spider-man.
TheRealStarkiller: In the coming chapters, Diana's gonna find out just how blinded she was to people she thought she can trust. Nit like Batman or Superman, but she's going to realize that she doesn't know people as well as she thought she did.
Sakra95: In terms of raw physical strength, oh yeah. But things will be changing soon in the regard. Plus, as batman and Luthor have shown over the years, it's not really brute force in the end that's required. Sometimes you just gotta know how they think and how they'll react.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.
"Have you checked to see if your Mother Box is fully operational?"
"Yes"
"Have you checked with Dessad on the status of your Parademon escort?"
"Yes"
"Is your current suit adequate enough for a prolonged stay on Earth?"
"Yesssss"
"Have you checked with-"
"Oh for the love of the Source, yes, Kalibak, I have!" Peter snapped as he paused in the final adjustments he was making to his new suit to glare at his elder brother "Your worse than Granny"
"I'm only making sure you are aware of the very real danger you'll be in" Kalibak growled at Peter's outburst as he leaned against one of the new research terminals that Peter had installed recently to replace the ones he lost several weeks prior.
"How's this any different from when I went to the Agooma with En Sabah Nur? Or to Hala with Grail and Twidle? Or to Outworld with Fa-" Peter began before Kalibak cut him off with a shake of the head.
"You weren't alone than" Darkseid's firstborn stated with a frown "You will be on Earth. And considering we lost another world recently, we can't afford to take any serious losses"
"I'll have Warbird and my personal guard of Parademons with me" Peter said with a frown before he returned his attention to his new armor "And Diana. I'll be fine"
"We both know where her true loyalties lie" Kalibak said.
"You sure about that?" Peter said with a raised brow "She fought Orion"
"I doubt that idiot gave her much of a choice in the manner" Kalibak snorted as he folded his massive arms across his equally massive chest and glanced over towards Peter's assistant, Ultron "Why aren't you taking him with you?"
"I need someone to watch after my things while I'm away" Peter shrugged as he glanced at Ultron with a thoughtful look on his face "Plus, he's not ready to be deployed in a manner like that... not yet at least"
"Preferably before Grayven makes his move" Kalibak chuckled.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me" Peter said with a snap of his fingers "How far along do you think he is?"
"Considering he's having parts of the defense army and fleets replaced with his own people? I reckon he'll make his move after the Membrance Celebration" Kalibak revealed.
Peter hummed at this "If he was smart, he'd do it during the celebration"
"Grail said something similar" Kalibak nodded in agreement.
Peter quirked a brow at this "Since when are you and Grail chummy?"
"Since I now have time to interact with more of my siblings now that I've been relieved of my duties" Kalibak answered with a feral grin "Me and Bald'Dia will be taking part in the upcoming Tournament"
"You are?" Peter said with surprise before he frowned "Why the hell do you want to get involved with that?!"
"It's fun" Kalibak laughed "Us against some of the greatest warriors in the universe? Where death shall be on our heel at every turn? It'll be glorious!"
"Until you end up a Tarkatan's meal" Peter snorted with a shake of his head as he returned to tinkering with his armor.
Kalibak grinned at this while he pushed himself off Peter's research terminal and began to wander around the lab, much to Peter's annoyance.
"Please don't break anything" he said with a exasperated sigh "I just finished installing the last of my new equipment yesterday"
"What happened to the old junk?" Kalibak asked with a frown towards Peter.
"Experiment gone wrong" Peter responded.
"What were you tinkering with?" Kalibak asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"New potential ways for us to move large quantities of troops and resources without having to rely on Boom Tubes" Peter answered as he held up the helmet to his new suit and stared into it's darkened lenses "So far my tests have been... unsuccessful"
"So I see..." Kalibak muttered before he grunted and he turned to leave "If you find yourself in trouble while on Earth, return to Apokolips along with your wife"
Peter rolled his eyes at this "I'll do my best"
"That's an order from father" Kalibak said as he stopped at the lab's entrance and glared back at Peter "We cannot afford to lose the League's support in the coming months"
At this, Peter turned to his brother and frowned "What do you mean? What's happening?"
"Should your mission to Earth be successful, father will tell you" Kalibak responded before he turned and left the lab.
Peter watched him go for a moment before he scowled and turned towards Ultron "Remind me why I bother asking him to calirify anything anymore?"
"You think he'll surprise you and answer your questions" Ultron said as he stared at a diagram that displayed the 'Asgardian Cube'.
Peter blinked at this before he shrugged and returned to his work.
"Fair enough"
Close to a day later, at least he thinks it's only been that long, Peter had finally emerged from his lab clad in his newest suit of armor.
Like the last model he made, it was mainly black with yellow highlights on the arms and legs while the front featured a large glowing yellow symbol in the shape of a spider with the Omega symbol resting squarely in the middle of the spider's thorax. Peter's yellow lenses narrowed and widened as they took in the details of the hall he was now in, displaying various data streams about the environment he was in.
"Very dashing my lord"
Any good feeling that Peter was experiencing with his new suit was promptly destroyed at the sound of Kunla's voice.
'Thank you Kunla... damn hormonal bitch' Peter thought acidly as he turned to see his half sister, dressed in a way to rival Mortalla's tastes of excessively exposed skin "Kunla..."
His half sister gave him a coy grin as she came to a stop near Peter, too close for his comfort, and allowed her eyes to wander over his new armored attire "I love the suit, what's the occasion?"
"What's it matter to you?" Peter asked with a frown as he had his suit run a quick sweep to make sure Grayven wasn't nearby.
Kunla pouted at his response before the grin returned and she stepped even closer, lifting a leg to rest on Peter's hip before he suddenly backed away with a growl. This completely destroyed the grin she was sporting and she looked at Peter with cold narrowed eyes as ice began to form at her fingertips.
"Grayven wishes to speak with you" she stated.
"The feeling is completely one sided, I assure you" Peter responded dryly, causing Kunla to hiss.
"You'd best go to him and see what he wishes to speak to you about" she warned.
Peter couldn't help but scoff at this and folded his arms across his chest "Oh, and why is that I wonder?"
"He is now heir apparent to Darkseid" Kunla said with a glare "By right, his station is second only to father. His commands equally so!"
"Trust me, I'm aware of what the station involves" Peter said with a chuckle "Kalibak was always boasting"
Kunla gritted her teeth at Peter as he suddenly turned away from her and began to make his way towards the Palace's armory to pick up his latest order. He stopped after a few feet and glanced back at a fuming Kunla with a hidden smirk under his helm.
"Besides, if whatever Grayven had to say was important, he'd come himself instead of sending his dick sleeve to tell me"
Kunla's eyes widened like saucers before they narrowed "HOW DARE YOU!"
She raised an arm and shot off a small storm of ice shards that shattered harmlessly against the energy shield that emerged around Peter's body. Kunla gaped at this while Peter raised a hand and shot off a barrage of web bullets that slammed into Kunla and knocked her over before she was pinned by a net of web fluid.
"You really need to stay frosty" Peter said with a snicker before he turned and resumed his trek to the armory, all the while listening to the outraged and undignified screams of his least favorite half sister.
Which was really saying something considering Grail was another.
...
Ever since Peter's lapse in judgment the one time he was allowed to touch her body, Diana had been avoiding the New God.
Luckily Peter's been holed up in his lab and most of Diana's current assignments took her off world to some of the orbiting stations surrounding Apokolips or to a few of the worlds they've long since conquered and turned into fire pit riddled fortresses. And the few times she'd return and discovered that Peter had retired to their quarters for the night, she slept on the couch, her Mother Sword and Jarnbjorn each held tightly in her grasp.
Despite evidence to the contrary, she wasn't mad at him entirely, well maybe a little, she was more frustrated with herself. She never should've let things get as far as they did.
'Gods, I seem more like a young love sick girl starved for any sort of physical contact than a experienced warrior that can control her urges and wants!' Diana thought as she sat in her and Peter's room, sharpening the edges of Jarnbjorn with a wet stone she was able to acquire from the Furies armory.
It wasn't necessary, from what she's noticed Jarnbjorn didn't need to be constantly sharped but the sound was oddly soothing and reminded Diana of her younger years on Themyscria. Thinking of her home created a deep sadness within Diana as she realized that before she left for Apokolips, it'd been close to two years since she stepped foot on her home. She wondered how her fellow Amazons were fairing now that she was gone and may be decades if not longer until they meet again.
Will they recognize her will or will Apokolips's influence over her change her too much?
Will they even still be alive now that she was gone and could no long come to their aid against the likes of Ares?
'Will Donna or Cassie be ready to take up such a responsibility?' Diana thought with worry at the idea of her two protégés, her sisters, facing off against such a malevolent deity.
Diana was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize Peter was standing in the doorway until he loudly cleared his throat. The former Amazon princess turned to see her 'husband' was now clad in a new black and yellow armor of some sort. It seemed more advance than the black and white one he wore not too long ago, and seemed more armored in comparison.
He also had a medium sized box in his hands.
"Mind if I come in?" Peter asked as he adjusted his grip on the box.
Diana's eyes narrowed slightly before she turned back to her ax and resumed dragging the wet stone across it's surface "You may..."
Peter nodded and very cautiously entered the room, the grip he had on the box had tightened slightly.
"I'm leaving soon" Peter said after a few minutes of awkward silence, broken up only by the sound of Diana's wet stone.
"Yes, Warbird mentioned you had an important mission, given to you by Darkseid" Diana said as she glanced briefly at Peter "And that she's joining you"
"Did she mention you will too?" Peter asked.
Diana paused in her sharpening for a moment before she resumed "she did not"
"Well... you are" Peter said as he shifted his weight from foot to foot while he continued to adjust the grip he had on his box.
"What's in the box?" Diana inquired as she continued to sharpen her ax, pausing to study it's razor sharp edge.
"It's your new armor... outfit... thing" Peter said as he pushed the box towards Diana "Where we're going, you'll need it"
"What's wrong with my current armor?" Diana asked as she looked down at her own attire.
"Let's just say it'd be best if you didn't show up wearing armor forged by Apokolips. Granted it looks more like something you'd find on New Genesis given the color and all but better safe than sorry" Peter said with a shrug "Hence why me and Warbird will be wearing different outfits"
"I take it this planet we're going to has a less than stellar relationship with Apokolips?" Diana asked with a resigned sigh as she put down Jarnbjorn and took the box from Peter's grasp.
"In a manner of speaking" Peter nodded before he shrugged "Granted things are somewhat more peaceful but I'd still rather not risk the chance you know?"
Diana hummed at this before she set the box on the bed next to her and slowly opened it. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in her new outfit's appearance before glanced up at Peter with a frown.
"Is there a reason it looks this way?" she asked.
"Don't like it?" Peter asked with his head tilted to the side a little.
"It's..." Diana began before she looked back at what is to be her new armor "It's fine. But that doesn't explain it's appearance"
"We're going somewhere that'll recognize you better with that on" Peter explained as he turned to leave "We depart within a hour from the staging grounds by the Palace. It's the one-"
"The ones used by Darkseid's Furies, I'm aware" Diana said in a dry tone as she reached into the box and picked up the top portion of her armor "I'll be there"
"See you than" Peter said with a nod before he made his way to the door and exited the room, leaving Diana to change into her new attire.
He had a quick stop to make at Dessad's lab before heading to Earth.
...
When Diana arrived at the staging grounds close to an hour later adorned in her new armor, quite a few heads had turned and followed the Amazon's movements as she set out to find her husband.
Her new armor looked vaguely like the one she used to wear back on Earth, silver tiara, red bustier with silver edges and blue brief's with small white stars on the sides though with a few minor alterations. The first being that she was now wearing blue arm sleeves under her bracelets of submission that reach up to her shoulders while chest is now covered by a dark blue armored piece, hiding her chevage. Her legs were now covered up to mid-thigh in blue armored boots and her knees had armored padding.
Peter noticed Diana's approach, before him was a squad of ten Parademons and Warbird, and nodded towards the Amazon "Diana, nice for you to finally join us"
"I apologize, I was busy pattering my nose" Diana replied.
Peter's lenses stared into Diana's eyes before they narrowed and widened slightly.
"Huh?"
Diana noticed that Carol looked equally confused and Olympus only knows what the Parademons were thinking of.
"Never mind" Diana said with a sigh, a little annoyed that she finally had a excuse to use that odd saying and the effect was completely lost on the intended audience. Taking a deep breath, she folded her arms across her chest and stared into Peter's lenses, right where she knew his eyes were "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise" Peter responded as he noticed she brought her Lasso along with a shield and Jarnbjorn while her Mother Sword was strapped to her hip "There a reason your armed like your about to lead a war party?"
"Given how the last mission we were on together went, I'd rather error on the side of caution. And it's as you said, the world we're visiting has a tense relationship with Apokolips, it's best to be prepared" Diana explained.
"Fair enough" Peter said with a shrug as he pulled out his mother box and activated it, opening a Boom tube with it's near infamous 'boom' sound "I doubt you'll need them but considering where we're going, you never know"
"What is the nature of our mission to this unknown world you refuse to speak of to me?" Diana asked with a frown.
"We're putting an end to a Apokoliptian project that my father stared there years ago, that's all" Peter answered before he gestured for the Parademons to follow him into the portal.
They obeyed without a sound and Diana watched as Peter stepped into the Boom Tube and disappeared along with their escort. she made to follow before Diana noticed Carol was still looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face.
The former Justice Leaguer quirked a brow at the blonde beauty "What?"
"...Nothing" Carol said as she looked away and flew after Peter.
Diana watched the woman go with a slightly confused look on her face before she shook her head with a sigh and followed them into the Boom Tube.
Travel via Boom Tubes always made Diana uneasy, the odd vertigo she felt as her body was sent across immeasurable distances and through who knows how many planes of existence before she suddenly found herself standing in a street packed full with various vehicles that she recognized as being from Earth. The Amazon blinked in complete shock at this, before she heard and saw the various humans standing on the sidewalks, the bustling noses that all Earth cities seemed to have, the smell of car exhaust, cheap vendor food, bird calls and hundreds of other small minute sounds and smells that Diana never realized she missed so terribly.
"This is..." Diana said with a whisper of shock as she looked around and began to notice various landmarks she's only ever seen in one city...
Metropolis.
"Welcome back to Earth... surprise!" Peter said with a chuckle as he looked to see dozens of people were all looking at him, Diana, Warbird and the ten Parademons he's brought with him with wide eyes.
Some in excitement at the appearance of Wonder Woman, others in terror at the sight of the Parademons. Though Peter did notice a few less than innocent glances at Warbird, something that instilled a mixture of annoyance and anger.
'Maybe I should've had her keep her normal look' Peter thought as he looked to see the café he was to meet with Intergang's leader.
It wasn't very large from what he could see but it at least wasn't terribly crowded inside. Peter signaled for the Parademons to wait outside while Carol followed close behind and Diana remained distracted by the fact that she was finally back on her backwater of a home world after almost a year and a half.
'Wonder how long it'll take her to notice that I'm- apparently not long' Peter thought as Diana seemed to notice Peter heading for the café with Warbird and quickly followed them.
Peter wasn't sure if it was distrust of him wandering around her former home unchecked or simple curiosity that caused her to follow, probably both.
"Why are we here?" Diana asked as she followed Peter and Carol into the café while the Parademons remained outside, hissing at anyone that drew to close to them.
"I'm meeting with someone..." Peter said as he scanned the cafe's interior until he spotted Bruno Mannheim sitting at a small table for two near one of the building's windows.
Bruno noticed Peter and quickly stood up before kneeling with his head bowed low in subservience.
"My lord..." Bruno muttered as Peter approached him.
"Mister Mannheim" Peter nodded towards Intergang's leader before gesturing him to stand "Lets get this over with"
"Of course" Bruno said as he stood up and glanced at Warbird and Diana, his eyes widening at the sight of the latter "So it's true"
"Bruno, sit" Peter said with an air of impatience in his tone while he took his seat.
"Y-Yes my lord, forgive me" Bruno stuttered as he quickly sat across from Peter and collected himself "If it pleases you, I ordered us some food while we go over the final details of Intergang's... withdrawal"
Peter hummed at this before he glanced at both Diana and Carol "Either of you want anything? Sounds like Bruno here's paying"
"I'm good" Warbird said with a shake of her head while Diana remained silent and stared down at Bruno with narrowed eyes.
She remembered the man, she's encountered Intergang enough times when she was still with Clark to recognize the Apokolips backed crime lord. Though with some of the atrocities Intergang's committed over the years, terrorists was more fitting. It took more self control than she was willing to admit to keep herself from grabbing the man and throwing him though one of the windows.
"If your sure" Peter said with a shrug before he returned his attention towards Bruno "Now, let's discuss the cells that have obeyed-"
"Wonder Woman?"
Diana blinked at the sound of her code name and turned to see someone she thought she'd never see again...
"Lois Lane?" Diana said with obvious surprise at the sight of the beautiful reporter's appearance.
"Oh shit... shit, shit, shit, shiiiiit" Bruno said with unease while Peter simply gave the woman a quick once over, wondering what was so special about her.
She was attractive, for a human, seemed to have a sort of wit about her that many, regardless of species, seemed to lack and had the nerve to walk up to a group of dangerous beings vastly more powerful than her and strike up a conversation with one of them.
It was official... Peter was starting to somewhat like this planet.
"Friend of yours?" Peter asked the crime boss.
"Not mine" Bruno said with a shake of his head.
"What are you doing here?" Diana asked the woman, ignoring Peter and Bruno for the moment.
"Well, I heard that Intergang's supposed leader was meeting someone important here for brunch and got curious" Lois said with a slight shrug before she glanced at Peter and her brow furrowed "Didn't realize it was his boss"
"I'm not his boss. I'm just here to oversee Intergang's disbandment, that's all" Peter clarified.
Lois didn't look convinced "really?"
"Really" Peter answered before he made a 'shooing' motion with his hand "Move along, we've important matters to discuss that I'm sure your primitive mind wouldn't be able to fully comprehend. No offense"
"You'd be surprised with how much I can comprehend" Lois fired back as she leaned forward, her arms folded across her chest as she gazed into the glowing yellow lenses of Peter's helmet "Also, offense taken"
"Careful boss, you try and hurt her, Superman will be here faster than you can blink" Bruno warned.
"He's already on his way with his Justice pals" Peter replied, holding Lois's glare with one of his own "Your an idiot if you think they didn't pick up the Boom Tube I used to get here"
"Great, I'll have a front row seat to them kicking your ass back to your hell hole of a world" Lois said with a confident grin.
"Now that..." Peter said with a growing grin "I doubt... right 'dear'?"
Lois frowned at the last word before she realized that Peter was looking right at Diana... who she just now realized had arrived with Peter.
"Wonder Woman... what's going on?" Lois said as she looked worriedly at Diana "And now that I think about it, where in the hell have you been the past year?"
"Let's not forget the 'dear' part, hmm?" Peter said with amusement as he glanced outside to see if the Justice League had arrived yet.
"Lois, it's... it's complicated" Diana said with a depressed sigh.
"How so?" Lois asked as she looked back and forth between Peter and Diana.
"He's... we're..." Diana tried to find the right words to describe her and Peter's 'marriage' if it could be called that.
"He's my lord's wife and he her husband" Carol answered with a hint of venom in her voice.
Lois's eyes practically popped out of her skull at this while Diana reached up and pinched the ridge of her nose "Thank you Warbird, your discretion is commendable"
"Anything for you" Carol said in a sarcastic tone before something outside caught her attention and her eyes narrowed before they began to glow and she summoned Photon energy to her hands "My lord-"
"I see them" Peter said, looking past Bruno, causing the crime lord to turn and see what Peter was looking at, along with Diana and Lois.
Standing outside, or hovering, was Superman himself while Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern floated beside him. The Flash suddenly appeared in a red streak and poked one of the Parademons in the shoulder before vanishing in a blur as it turned to look at him. And that was just whom Peter could see, he had no doubt that other members of the League will be appearing soon if they haven't already and are simply out of his line of sight.
"The Justice League" Lois muttered with wide eyes before her hands shot to her purse to retrieve her phone.
"Ms. Lane, I think it's time for you and everyone else in here to leave" a dark voice spoke up from behind the reporter.
Lois jumped and turned, along with everyone else, to see the Batman himself standing there, just a few meters away.
'How in the hell did he get past my Parademons?' Peter thought with bewilderment.
"Batman..." Diana said with a small, relived smile at the sight of her friend.
The Dark Knight responded with a slight nod as his gaze remained on Peter and Bruno while everyone, including a very, very reluctant Lois, slowly began to vacate the café until only they remained. Carol stepped between Peter and Batman and growled at the man as she held a hand up and formed a blade made of pure Photon energy. A slight hand gesture from Peter caused her to freeze before she lowered her hand and dispelled the energy blade.
"Warbird, go outside and keep the Parademons in line" Peter said as he stared at the Dark Knight "Their bound to be getting a little... agitated"
"But-" Carol began before a simple look from Peter silenced her.
She nodded and quickly flew outside to take command of the Parademons before they could do anything. As the blonde Fury flew through the doorway, she was brushed aside by Superman, which in turn caused her to growl out a curse at the man of steel, who sped right towards Diana. The Amazon barely had time to blink before she was enveloped in a tight, loving embrace, by Clark. Diana remained frozen for a second before she realized who it was that was holding her and quickly returned the hug with as much force, burying her face in the Man of Steel's shoulder.
"It really is you..." Clark whispered.
"Funny... I was thinking the same" Diana said as she felt tears begin to gather in her eyes.
"Awww... isn't this just heart warming" Peter's voice shattered the fragile peace that Diana and Clark were feeling, causing them to both turn to see Peter was looking at them with his headed resting on his knuckles while the other was holding a glass of water. He made to take a drink from it before he remembered his mouth was covered and quickly put the glass down.
"What are you doing here?" Clark said with his eyes narrowing at Peter while his grip on Diana, and vice versa, tightened.
"Meeting with Bruno here" Peter nodded towards said man who looked to be on the verge of passing out.
"I take it your responsible for the sudden drop in Intergang activity the past several months" Batman said in a way that sounded more like an accusation than a question.
"Maaaaaaybeeee..." Peter said with a snicker before he cleared his throat "Since Earth is now a proud ally of Apokolips, it was deemed to be... counterproductive, to have them disrupting the 'peace' you all have. So I've been sent to see to an end of their operations"
"How considerate of you and your father" Superman said with narrowed eyes.
"That's us" Peter said with a laugh "A bunch of friendly considerate gods"
It was than that Peter snapped his fingers and turned towards Bruno "Speaking of which, I'm gonna need that data you promised me"
Bruno nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a... Peter wasn't exactly sure what it was. A tablet of some sort, a very primitive one that looked like the toys Armria plays with. Bruno switched it on and typed in a few things before he handed it over to Peter who took it without a second thought and gave it a quick once over while Bruno spoke.
"Most of the cells have stood down as ordered" the Intergang leader explained nervously "But a few have... well they refuse to follow my orders"
"This was expected" Peter said as he studied the data, more importantly the coordinates of the various cells that have disobeyed his father's command "They'll be dealt with soon enough"
"And by dealt with, you mean killed" Superman said as he gently released Diana from his arms, who had a similar look of displeasure on her face aimed at Peter.
The Batman's was blank as stone but Peter was willing to bet that his thoughts were along the same lines as his two fellow Leaguers, or fellow Leaguer and ex-Leaguer.
"Well... yes" Peter said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world, which it was.
To him at least.
"And what makes you think that we'll just let you run around our planet, killing whoever you want?" Superman said with a hard edge in his voice.
Luckily, it was Bruno that answered for Peter, drawing the three heroes attention to himself.
"Because it's the law"
Superman and Diana both blinked at this, confused by what Bruno met while Batman stepped forward and spoke "What do you mean by that?"
Peter watched as Bruno reached into another pocket and pulled out his phone, it seemed to be made to act similar to the tablet that he gave Peter and switched it on and searched through it for a moment before he found what he was looking for. He handed it to Superman and for Diana to read while Batman continued to look at Bruno with that haunted thousand yard glare that could give some of Peter's siblings a run for their money.
"You see, when you join Intergang, there's a few procedures you have to go through first" Bruno explained as he tired to not squirm under Batman's glare.
Peter was fine with sitting back and watching the whole thing play out, partly amused and partly curious to see how the League would react. Their reaction could be what makes or breaks the next portion of his plan.
"What are these procedures?" Batman asked, though demand seemed more fitting.
Bruno cleared his throat at this "Well, you-"
"They revoke their citizenship" Superman said as he scanned whatever it was that Bruno brought up on his device "They, from what I'm seeing, nationalize themselves to Apokolips and stay on Earth via a sort of extended visa... all which is approved by the Green Lantern Corps it seems"
Batman turned towards Superman and quickly snatched the device out of his hand and began to read it himself while the Man of Steel turned his narrowed gaze towards Peter and Bruno.
"And seeing as they are now citizens of Apokolips" Bruno began "They therefore are subject to Apokoliptian law, which is-"
"Darkseid's will" Diana said in a quiet voice.
"Darkseid is" Peter snickered, causing Diana and Superman to glare at him "And the penalty for disobeying my father's command is... well it's pretty simple really"
At this, Peter leaned forward and looked at both of them with a dark look in his hidden eyes.
"Death"
"Eloquently put my lord" Bruno said with a nod.
"Bruno... shut up before I feed you to my Parademons" Peter threw a thumb over his shoulder towards the window where a Parademon was standing on the other side of, looking at them all with a maw of drool and embers of flame.
Bruno jumped at the sudden appearance of the alien foot soldier and how close it was while Diana and Superman continued to hold his gaze while Batman's attention was on the device in his hands. Though the look on the man's face seemed to speak volumes of what he thought of the information he was seeing.
"So, this is how things are gonna work" Peter said as he clapped his hands together "Me and Warbird will be dealing with the 'rogue cells' that Bruno hasn't been able to rein in while Bruno himself prepares the ones that have followed my father's command to be prepared for re-deployment somewhere else within my father's empire"
"What makes you think I'm going to let you or your friend do that?" Superman all but growled.
"I don't know" Peter said with a shrug as he tapped his chin "Maybe because you and your band of merry little friends are always going on about the rule of law? Unless, of course, you only care about the rule of law when it suits you and fits with your own petty, narrow minded ideals of 'justice' and your so called morality"
Peter was glad he had his face covered by his helmet as he watched Superman's expression darken, the amused look he had on might be enough to set the Kryptonian off.
"Darkseid's rule of law sounds like an excuse to kill people who don't listen to what he has to say" Superman spat out "Can't say that I blame them"
"Isn't that how human laws operate here?" Peter said with a raised brow "I mean, you have laws that say don't kill and when people do kill, their normally executed. How's' this any differ-"
Peter paused dramatically for several seconds before he made a 'ahhh' sound for further effect.
"Now I see, this isn't about rule of law or respecting the laws of another culture, one that's vastly superior and more advance than your own by leaps and bounds mind you, this is about sticking it to my father, isn't it?" Peter said with a chuckle while he shook his head in a form of mock disbelief "Man, you really are petty, aren't you? It's been what, like a year and your still sore that my father and her father-" Peter pointed towards a unhappy looking Diana "-sold us off to one another like we're Buuden being used for breeding"
"What's a Buuden?" Bruno asked with a confused look on his face.
Peter turned towards the man for a moment, who paled in response, before he glanced at the Parademon outside "Two-two-six-Beta-three, please eat this-"
"You are not feeding him to your Parademon" Diana said as she took a step forward and glared at Peter.
"Why not?" Peter said as he turned towards Diana "I told him to shut up or I'd feed him to a Parademon. Besides, we just had a whole conversation on how-"
"Darkseid's word is law, yours is not, despite your relation to him" Diana interrupted with a ghost of a smirk on her face "Unless, your saying your word is greater than his?"
Any rebuke Peter had died instantly and the air of amused anger, annoyance and confidence he had was replaced with a sense of dread and sheer and utter terror so powerful that it seemed even the likes of Batman and Superman seemed to pick up on it. Bruno was very silent as he stared at all of them and the Parademon outside remained where it was as well. Diana's ghost of a smirk disappeared when she sensed just how scared Peter seemed to be with what she said before she remembered just how afraid Peter was of Darkseid...
How afraid just about any of his children were of him, even Kalibak who arguably had the closest and strongest bond with the Dred Lord.
'Just what kind of a monster could a father be to his own children to inflict such a terror into them?' Diana thought to herself.
In a few years, Diana doubted even Armria will be safe from her father's cruelty and will come to fear him as the rest of her siblings do. Darkseid would settle for nothing less in a child that may grow to rival him in power alone at the rate she was developing.
Several long minutes of tense silence ticked by as Peter and Diana stared at on another, neither one moving while Batman pulled back, still holding Bruno's device, to speak with the League members outside. Superman remained beside Diana, his hand finding hers and grasping it which in turn caused Diana to grip it tighter. Bruno remained where he was, believing if he stayed still and said nothing, he'd be forgotten.
But Peter didn't, and he knew what kind of man Bruno was.
'If he mentions this conversation to anyone on Apokolips, and it reaches my father...' Peter's thoughts were filled with a deep terror that he hadn't felt in some time.
Before Peter left Earth, he needed to deal with Bruno... permanently.
'Which will be much harder to do since I wont have a very justified reason... unless...' Peter thought to himself before he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and suddenly stood up and turned his attention back to Bruno "See to it that the cells that have followed my father's orders are ready to depart at my command"
"Of course" Bruno said with a nod "We await your word. But what of-"
"They'll be dealt with" Peter growled out as he brushed past Diana and Superman "Congratulations Diana, you'll be un-needed for the foreseeable future we're here. Say hi to your mother and sisters for me and I'll let you know when we're ready to return to Apokolips"
"Peter-" Diana began but Peter was already outside.
Peter took a quick look around to see his Paradmeons had converged on his position while Warbird seemed to be glaring at one of the Green Lanterns that've arrived, a red haired man that was sporting a 'charming' grin. The new God growled in annoyance as he stalked towards carol and loudly cleared his throat when he was close enough.
"Warbird"
Carol jumped at the sound of her name and turned to see Peter standing there. She attempted to speak before noticing how tense Peter was and chose to remain silent, something he was happy about. he was no longer in a friendly mood and wanted to get this operation underway now. Without another word, Peter brought up his arm and hand a window projected from his arm that showed a list of coordinates of the various rogue Intergang cells scattered throughout the world.
"These are the locations of the cells that must be exterminated" Peter said as he watched Carol study the image intently "Leave no one alive. The nature of their demise is at your discretion"
"Yes my lord" Carol said with a bow while the Green Lantern beside her glanced at the map before Peter shut if off.
"Pfft, rude" he said with a scowl of annoyance towards the New God.
"Stay out of Warbird's way or you'll see just how rude I can get Lantern" Peter warned before he turned towards Carol "The Justice League will likely try to stop you from carrying out the executions of these rogues..."
Peter reached into his subspace compartment and withdrew a small disk and handed it to Carol "If they do, activate this"
"What is that, some kind of bomb?" the red headed Green Lantern asked as he had his ring scan the device.
"If it was a bomb, I wouldn't be giving it to her in front of you" Peter said with a glare of annoyance at the Lantern before returning his attention to Carol "It'll send a message to our various agents on Earth to leak what I've told the League's leaders to the public masses. With any luck, the political shit storm it'll stir up should distract them long enough for you to complete your assignments"
"Wait what?" the Lantern said again before he took a step towards Peter with the hand that held his ring rising "Listen here pal-"
"LANTERN!"
The man froze and looked back to see a glaring Batman, standing with the Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and his fellow Lantern, Hal Jordan, a few meters away. The Dark Knight signaled for the Lantern to back off, much to said man's displeasure before he shot another glare at Peter and poked him in the chest with a large green finger construct.
"Stay out of trouble or I'll be kicking your ass back to Apokolips" he said before shooting Carol a flirtatious wink "Call me?"
"Fuck you" Carol responded with a growl.
"I wish you would babe" the Lantern said before he made his way over to where the rest of the League was.
"asshole..." Carol hissed as she glared at the Lanterns departing form "Can I kill him before we leave"
"If he tires anything, by all means" Peter shrugged before he gestured for the Parademons to approach "These will be your personal guard and escort for your mission. Use them as you see fit. But have two reserved for Diana, wouldn't do for my wife to wander around without some sort of protection, even if she doesnt need it"
"But what about you?" Carol said with a frown "Where will you be?"
"I have other business to attend to" Peter said as he pulled out his own Mother Box and activated it.
BOOM!
The sound of a Boom tube opening caused various members of the Justice League to flinch and turn to see it was Peter that opened it. Peter prepared to step through when he felt Carol grab his arm, causing him to stop and look at her over his shoulder. She seemed bothered by something and was trying to find a way to word her question before Peter reached up and placed a hand on Carol's.
"We'll talk when I'm done with my... errand"
Without another word, Peter stepped into the portal before it closed, leaving Carol and her squad of Parademons alone while the League watched on with equal parts confusion and suspicion.
...
Several thousand miles away, Peter stepped out of the Boom Tube into a trash riddled alley with a sigh and reached for a small compartment on his armor's thigh and withdrew a small viral that he swiped from Dessad's lab.
He quickly had the suit retract from his hand while he removed the cap on the viral and poured the red gel that was inside on to his now exposed flesh. A slight stinging sensation spread throughout Peer's hand before he allowed the gel to fall from his hand and on to the ground. The gel seemed to shiver before it began to turn into something that resembled organic flesh, complete with a few throbbing veins and arteries while muscle began to form around it.
Peter watched as the mass of flesh began to grow and shift before it finally settled on a vaguely humanoid appearance and the details began to set in. Within seconds Peter was looking at an almost exact carbon copy of himself, down to the structure of his DNA. Doing a quick circle of the clone, Peter nodded in satisfaction before clearing his voice, catching the clone's attention.
"Your to meet with the various Intergang cells that've agreed to shut down their operations and prepare for relocation and redeployment. My more detailed instructions should've already been uploaded into your genetic memory" Peter said
"They have" the clone responded with a nod.
"Good" Peter said with his own nod before he tossed the clone his Mother Box and stepped aside "Get to work"
The clone nodded as it walked past Peter and activated the Mother Box, opening a Boom Tube to the location of the first Intergang cell and stepped through without another word.
'Now that's done... time to go get my second mind stone' Peter thought as he reached into his suit's subspace compartment and withdrew the Asgardian cube and stared at the swirling blue energy within before he lightly squeezed it's shape.
'Ultron's theory better be right...' Peter thought with a bit of unease.
He wasn't entirely convinced with what Ultron told him about his findings in regards to the cube and didn't have enough time to confirm them himself. All he could do was hope that he didn't end up getting sucked into some sort of singularity and killed.
As Peter continued to apply pressure to the cube, a few arcs of energy danced across it's surface before a blue and black portal suddenly opened up in front of Peter and quickly enveloped him before it itself vanished, leaving no trace that Peter was ever there to begin with...
...
And done.
Next chapter, As Diana reunites with the Justice League and her family, Peter begins his search...
