I do not own either One Piece or Justice League Unlimited.
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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101 and MasterQwertster. Make sure to check out their own stories!
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Chapter 5: Fury
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Previously: The Straw Hats and Justice League ran into each other again at a concert for the Soul King. Brook's last public musical appearance ended with Luffy defeating Flash, while Usopp and Robin's fights with Green Lantern and Wonder Woman ending in stalemates. The conflict did not escalate further as all the pirates, including Luffy, saw no real reason to keep fighting, and they had other priorities. Especially as seeing the League had not done anything to justify it. Yet.
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I am aware that Shade's words in the first episode of "Fury" indicated that chronologically this happened after "Injustice For All," but to simplify things, I am sticking with episode release dates to set the timeline.
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Warning! Contains major plot spoilers from One Piece Manga 850, which is far ahead of the anime if that is what you are following.
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This chapter is an AU of a DCAU episode by the same name.
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America was spiraling into madness.
Everywhere, people were succumbing to the plague as they collapsed, their veins visible beneath pale skin. Glassy eyes, unresponsive, high fevers, and grey blotches across the skin were other symptoms. Even worse was the terrifying rate at which the allergen (it was technically not a virus) took effect. Once it was in the victim's system, it took only minutes, if not seconds, to render the person comatose.
Only males were afflicted however.
The consequences were not just limited to them of course, as cars crashed as their drivers were suddenly and rapidly sickened, planes fell, and fires dotted the cities. In hospitals, medical operations turned into nightmares as surgeons could no longer hold their instruments, while the nursing staff ran themselves ragged to save those already sickly, or needing treatments. Mothers screamed for help as their baby boys fell ill. The number of catastrophes and terrors only seemed to grow.
What the precious few female emergency personnel were in service ran themselves to the bone to keep up as half the human race was dying, and the other half was trying to keep civilization from going up in flames.
Thus far, the epidemic was confined to north-eastern USA, originating in Gotham. Unfortunately, it was spreading across the continent at an unprecedented rate, and it was only a matter of time before it spread globally. If something was not done soon, it was all too possible various governments would take 'extreme, but necessary' steps to 'contain' the threat. Not to mention how scared individuals would react to a disease that only killed men, and not women; the accusations that would be thrown… So far the international community was keeping its act together, but the sooner this was handled, the quicker they could keep the situation from blowing out of control. Permanently.
In Gotham City at least, the situation was stabilizing. The lion's share of this accomplishment could be laid at the feat of the valiant women who had risen to the challenge. However, no small part could also be credited to Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, the only remaining active members of the Justice League besides Martian Manhunter. Due to how he had been on the Watchtower the entire time, J'onn J'onzz had escaped exposure thus far. Nonetheless, since the allergen was effective against even Superman's own alien physiology, the Martian was probably as vulnerable as everyone else. Currently he was working as hard as he could back up in the Watchtower to isolate a cure.
The two heroines watched a fire truck drive away, having just been helping the crew. Now the fire-ladies were tirelessly moving on to find where they could next be of help.
"They seem to be on top of things," Hawkgirl complimented. "Impressive."
"Almost reminds me of home," observed Wonder Woman with a bit of regret. She had left home without permission to save Man's World, and when she had returned she had found it under attack. To save the Amazons, she had been forced to call upon the aid of the male members of the League, in blatant defiance of her people's sacred laws. This decision had saved her people, which was all that mattered, even though Queen Hippolyta, her own mother, was forced with a heavy heart to banish Diana from Theymiscira. Forever.
"Yes, but who wants to live in a world without men?" Hawkgirl argued.
"They can't possibly be that essential to your life," Diana questioned. She had been struggling with that more and more recently. Was it only yesterday that she had been forced to confront how much women were supposed to objectify themselves for men?
"Don't knock it until you've tried it, Princess," Hawkgirl replied with a knowing smile, seeing Wonder Woman slightly flinch. "Let's find Aresia."
"Is Aresia responsible for this?"
Spinning around, the heroines took in the four advancing figures.
Two highly attractive, women, a celebrity skeleton, and a walking pile of fur, waving as they briskly walked up to them. All familiar from wanted posters the League itself had created.
Despite taking defensive stances, neither Wonder Woman nor Hawkgirl attacked. Wonder Woman's tone was still accusatory however. They had enough trouble as it was without having to deal with more villains. "What do you want?"
Surprisingly, it was the furball –who was indeed large and pill shaped as reported— who determinably stepped forward. "I'm Tony Tony Chopper, Doctor for the Straw Hat Pirates, and the creator of Cherry Blossom Medical's patents and products. I need your help if we're to save everyone!"
Noting his male tone, Diana had to ask. "I understand why the skeleton might not be affected, but why are you okay? Even Superman is sick right now."
"Truthfully," and now Chopper seemed a little concerned, "I do have a high fever, yet so far only that. It's seems I'm partially immune to the allergen. As for Brook . . ." and now he shot his friend and embarrassed look, "we really don't know how his body works."
"I'm a little under the weather myself," the Soul King lightly said, before pulling out a bottle of milk. Popping the lid, he poured it down his . . . jawbone, and it just disappeared out of sight with no sign of soaking through his clothes as it should have. "Ah! Milk seems to help me keep it at bay. Healthy bones! Yo ho ho ho~!"
The Justice Leaguers, blinked in confusion for second, before putting it out of mind.
"Again," Wonder Woman ground out. "What do you want?"
"Why?" Nami sarcastically retorted. "Too busy putting ground breaking medical establishments out of business? Or famous musicians?"
That last incident had only happened a few nights ago. The backlash had been predictably severe from the die-hard Soul King fans, yet the majority of the general public supported the League's actions. The Straw Hats were criminals after all, as proven by how violently they had resisted arrest. Even more condemning was how civilian eye witnesses recognized from police reports one of the individuals connected with Cherry Blossom Medical, proving their intentions were not benign after all. Not to mention that Brook had taken off with all the concert money, not just what was to pay his own wages, but even what was to pay for all the other employees, and expenses the show had incurred.
"You do know your so-called captain confessed to committing numerous large-scale crimes, to our faces, right?"
Forehead vein throbbing briefly, Nami retorted, "Why aren't you busy worrying about all the mass murderers, or those trying to conquer the world?"
"Because you're powerful," Hawkgirl observed. "Already willing to commit crimes, and she," –pointing at Robin— "admitted that you readily resort to violence. Why shouldn't we assume you're willing to kill if you deem it necessary? And even if you aren't, that doesn't excuse you of your crimes we know of."
"Enough!" snapped Chopper. "This poison is killing half the planet, and you're bickering!" Everyone stiffened at this, realizing they were taking things too personally. He continued, "We were heading towards one of my laboratories that has potentially beneficial materials for curing this allergen, except the League's got advanced technology and contacts of its own. We have to work together!"
"He's right," Robin grimly noted. "It's the only way, and the only reason we've come to meet you."
"Indeed," Brook cheerfully noted, hoping to help defuse the tense atmosphere. "As per our Captain's orders, we're not even supposed to be in Gotham City."
That was a surprise, even if it was intended as a distraction. Glancing at each other in silent confirmation, the heroines relaxed into a more diplomatic stance. Now that they were calming down, they acknowledged that Chopper could be beneficial. He already knew that it was an allergen, and had research geared towards that. Making a judgment call, Diana tapped her ear radio.
"J'onn, come in. We've made contact with the Straw Hat Pirates. I'm passing you on to Dr. Chopper, who claims to be the one responsible for Cherry Blossom Medical's breakthroughs."
She reached over to hand Chopper the radio, then flinched as suddenly he shrunk to a far smaller –and cuddlier and oh-so adorable— form. All business, he hopped up to pluck it out of her hand, confirmed J'onn could hear him, and immediately began rattling away with technical medical terms that the others only dimly recognized. What they did understand however, was that it was a two-way conversation, and that he and J'onn were in agreement about possible avenues for isolating a cure.
Hawkgirl hung her mace on her belt. "So, truce until we take care of Aresia? Who yes, is the one responsible for this."
"Agreed," Nami promptly declared. While she was tempted to negotiate for an extension for after the crisis passed, she also knew better than to push the matter. "We'll need you to tell us about her."
They all glanced up as another newcomer came to join them. "You're slipping," Star Sapphire reprimanded, yet they could hear the strain in her voice. Although that could be from how she was projecting a pink energy field from the gem on her forehead, which gently lowered down a helicopter. As soon as she and it touched the ground, two female pilots scrambled out and distanced themselves from the gathering.
The woman in question was a dangerous super-villain in her own right, capable of creating energy constructs similar to that of Green Lantern. Worse, Star Sapphire was nearly as good as John Stewart too. Despite her power, she lacked the ability to command other villains herself, which is why she was only the type to work for hire, or as part of a team. A follower, not a potential conqueror. She had been last seen as part of Aresia's gang, except now she was showing up, along with apparently rescued civilians as a peace gesture.
"Relax! I'm not here to fight," she said with raised hands. "In fact I came to warn you."
"About Aresia?" Wonder Woman demanded.
"She's crazy. She wants to wipe all the men in the world." The earnestness in her voice was convincing, making it clear that Star Sapphire knew she had gotten into a 'job' that was far more than she was willing to accept.
"We noticed," Hawkgirl flatly said. "Where is she?"
"She and Tsukuri are at a nearby air base," Star Sapphire promptly answered. "They're getting a stealth plane to fire cruise missiles into the atmosphere to disperse the toxin globally. We don't have much time before they launch!"
"If it's the base I'm thinking of," Nami said as pursed her lips in thought, "it's not too far off from where we've got to drop off Chopper."
"Alright, let's go," Star Sapphire said, her energy construct picking up the Straw Hat Pirates to carry them there.
"So, who are you?" Star Sapphire added.
"Nico Robin, as you well know," the woman in question remarked, wearing her special knowing smile, causing a slight flinch in the super-villain.
"Uhm, yeah, sorry. You're in charge of the Straw Hats, right?"
"No."
"Oh. The guy with three swords then."
"My name is Nami," the redhead spoke up instead.
"Brook the Soul King," the skeleton answered.
"Dr. Chopper."
Hesitating, Star Sapphire decided to drop her line of questions.
Glancing over, Wonder Woman processed something about Nami she had not noticed. "I like your shirt by the way."
Looking down at what she was wearing tightly over her large bosom, Nami smiled. "Yeah, it's awesome!"
It read: 'Her Body, Her Choice.'
!JUSTICE!
Shortly later
"So," Hawkgirl said to fill in the time as they traveled, "if you're not the leader, then what do you do for your gang?"
"Oh, I'm their archaeologist," Robin brightly answered, looking forward to the reactions.
She was not disappointed, as Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and Star Sapphire all gave her sceptical looks. "Fu fu fu fu fu! It's true!"
Nami and Brook were also amused, except they knew they had to get down to business. Especially given how fast they were traveling. They had already dropped off Chopper, and would arrive at the air base in only a few more minutes. "So what can you tell us about this Aresia?" Nami asked.
"She's a rogue Amazon," Wonder Woman answered. "One of my sisters." She did not elaborate further, because she did not know many of the details herself. Even as a child, she had sensed a bitterness with Aresia, a feeling she was never really one of the Amazons, despite their attempts to make her feel welcome. Knowing how sensitive the younger woman's past was, Diana had never pressed the subject. The woman's recent actions made her wonder if she had ever known Aresia at all; where was she to even start in describing her?
Fortunately, Hawkgirl had heard full the story from Queen Hippolyta herself. It had become necessary after their joint confirmation that Aresia was the one responsible for leading a gang of super-villains –including Star Sapphire—in a series of robberies. The crimes had been done so flawlessly, that the League's first assumption was that it was the Straw Hats again. Until Batman had pointed out that the casualties involved with those new heists were more violent than the pirates' usual methods.
"From what I was told," Hawkgirl said, "Aresia was not born an Amazon. They said she came from Man's World, although from her complexion and other details, I'd say somewhere in Europe. When she was a child, her homeland became what Queen Hippolyta described as a 'battlefield for a bloody and senseless war.' Where the victors were 'cruel, and denied even the basic humanity of their defeated foes. Soon neighbours, friends, and schoolmates were all gone. Killed to the last.' Aresia's family was forced to flee, which included her mother and baby sister. They eventually made their way to a refugee ship, but then," and now Hawkgirl gave Nami and the others a pointed look, "they ran into pirates."
The self-proclaimed pirates were unfazed, and the Thanagarian decided now was not the time to press the topic.
"The pirates raided the ship, and stole whatever valuables the refugees had left. Then they fired upon them to remove any witnesses. The boat sank, and Aresia survived by clinging to a piece of floating wreckage. By some miracle she washed ashore on Themyscira, home of the Amazons. Queen Hippolyta herself found Aresia, and nursed her back to health. The Amazons adopted her, trained her, and magically endowed her with Amazon strength. I can't blame them for that, but it does mean she'll be a tough fight."
"I see," Robin stated neutrally, but something in her tone still caused everyone to snap her a look. "Anything about her father?"
"No, although the Amazons wouldn't have cared about that part."
"I see," Robin repeated, and this time there was nothing unusual in her flat words.
"We're almost there," Star Sapphire managed, sounding a little nervous, if still determined.
Hmm, Nami pondered. Interesting how precisely she knows how far away we are. Not to mention, how did she find out about Aresia's plans? They way she's acting so horrified about them, you'd have thought she'd be such a terrible actress that they'd see right through her, and stop her . . . Unless this is the act? Maybe she just isn't good enough at improvisation, and we're throwing her off now?
After the initial 'help' from Charlotte Pudding, Nami was now far more sceptical of people who conveniently presented a perfect solution to a problem. Indeed, this latest offer had been so tantalizing that Nami had nearly forgotten that lesson until they had almost arrived.
She glanced at Brook, and his index finger tapped once on his cane and the sword hidden within. So he's suspicious too. Nami did not look at Robin for fear of tipping off the person carrying them at high speeds, dozens of meters off the ground. She was counting on her Big Sis to be on top of things, if only by catching the interaction by her crewmates.
Darkly Nami knew, This is going to get ugly before it's over . . .
!JUSTICE!
In the air base hanger, the super-villains were finishing their preparations.
Aresia was an undeniably beautiful woman, with her long blond hair held in place by a golden headdress which resembled a crown while also partially shielding her sharply defined face. Her shirt and pants were tightfitting, yet coloured white with a golden trim reminiscent of the fashion of Themyscira. As beautiful and dangerous as she viewed her cause.
Walking down the ramp of the 'liberated' stealth bomber was Tsukuri. "That's the last one," the Asian woman obediently reported. She wore a band-like visor, and armour similar to that of a samurai, despite how she fought like a ninja. Her skill with her katana, mirrored by her hand-to-hand combat, made Tsukuri a difficult opponent even for the likes of Batman to best. "All the chemicals are onboard."
"Good," Aresia said professionally. "Then there's just one unfinished matter to attend to."
"And it will remain unfinished," Wonder Woman firmly declared as she, Hawkgirl, and Star Sapphire swopped into the building through the open doors. On the ground right behind them, were Nami and Robin.
With a vicious uppercut, Wonder Woman sent Tsukuri flying back, landing dazed amongst oil drums. Skillfully, Aresia raised her Amazonian bracelets to block Hawkgirl's vicious swing, blunting the blow, even if she was still knocked onto her back. With a grunt she stood up unopposed. "What took you?" she smugly asked before rearing to throw a punch, even as Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl moved to overwhelm her—
A wall of sapphire energy formed a wall between her and the heroes.
Surprised, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl looked up to see the self-satisfied Star Sapphire. "Forgive our little deception."
Inwardly, Hawkgirl cursed how she, the former instructor in espionage for the Thanagarian Military, had been so easily duped. Granted, she had been flying around non-stop to save lives all night, and had been on a mortal deadline for her teammates, and then a solution had just— No! Those are just excuses! I've been a hero so long I've gotten rusty, and let my personal feelings blind me, and now it might kill us all!
Phasing through her own shield, she landed beside Aresia while keeping it secure. "Diana," Aresia began, "I had Star Sapphire bring you here, so I could offer you one last chance to join our noble cause."
"Man's World may not be perfect," Wonder Woman sincerely answered, "but destroying it isn't the answer."
Glaring, Aresia offered her one final chance. "You would stand against us, your sisters?"
Before the heroes could make their answer, someone else butted in.
"You call this a noble cause?"
Aresia cocked her head in confusion, before recognizing them. "You're Nico Robin, leader of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"No," the statuesque woman corrected.
That's the second time someone's identified her as the leader, Wonder Woman noted. It's true that while we released her wanted poster, Batman decided to only tell senior law enforcement Luffy was the 'captain.' He doesn't want other super-villains finding out, and the general public only needs to know they are dangerous; they are to avoid them, not confront them after all. Meaning nobody else knows Luffy's in charge. So why did both Aresia and Star Sapphire –and she mentioned a man with three swords who we don't know about— make that assumption? What do they know?
Tilting her head, Robin calmly gazed at Aresia. "Do you understand what you're doing here?"
"Of course," Aresia smirked, a perfect blend of arrogance and gleeful satisfaction. "I'm destroying Man's World, and all the greed, deception, and cruelty that makes it up. I'm giving control of it to all the women."
"You are a child," Robin coldly told her. "Striking out at the world as an expression of your pain."
Aresia froze.
Undaunted, Robin continued. "It's pitiful really. I assume all the soldiers who killed your family were men? The pirates too? And then you spent the rest of your life growing up with women who hate men. It's understandable. Just not excusable."
"What do you know!?" snarled Aresia. "Or are you so in love with your shackles that you can't even see them!? Is that why you dress like you did in that wanted poster the League got of you?" Specifically, that when Robin had met the League she had been wearing a tiny pair of jean shorts, a very tight jean vest that had been largely unzipped, and nothing else. "What do you really know of Man's World!?"
Slowly and silently, Robin tilted her head to the side, as if studying the rogue Amazon. No one said anything as they recognized the calculation buzzing behind her eyes.
Finally, she made up her mind. "I don't really share this story with anyone," Robin said. "Nevertheless, I think it's for the best. Not just for you to understand, but the Justice League as well.
The heroes were puzzled, while Nami whipped around to stare and her crewmate in shock. "Robin!"
Her friend held up a reassuring hand. "It may prove educational," is all she said. Facing Aresia and her subordinates, she began her story.
"I am familiar with the concept of genocide. Your own people tore themselves apart, while mine were exterminated by outsiders. The slaughter was quick and efficient, and they disposed of every last man, woman, and child. Except one. Me."
She said it so calmly and collectedly, Nico Robin could have been talking about the weather.
The women who were all new to this flinched, and Aresia's heartbeat accelerated as she realized she was facing someone who might truly understand how she felt.
"They were unsatisfied of course," the archaeologist continued. "They decided that so long as one of us survived, then the sin of my entire culture endured."
"Sin?" hissed Aresia. "Such is the way of men! They decree—"
"I'm not finished!" snapped Robin, eyes flashing with the first sign of emotion. "Never interrupt a history lesson with your assumptions until you've heard the whole piece!"
She waited to see that the others were paying attention. Despite herself, Nami was enjoying the reactions from the rest of the audience. The horror on Wonder Woman's face, on Hawkgirl's face the briefest flicker of . . . empathy? Huh. She's supposed to be just an alien police officer. Now it's sympathetic, if still wary and suspicious.
Despite these observations, her efforts to find humour in the situation, and the composed mask she wore, Nami was struggling to hold back her own grief. Her memories of the despair and pain in Robin's eyes the day she had wanted to die and let it all end. Nami would not sabotage this performance, so all she could do was feel, and swear once more to always be there for her Big Sis.
Aresia and her little soldiers were clearly sickened however, as the tale was woven further.
"But yes, that we chose –I chose— to live, was a sin in their eyes. For what else could it be, given what they had devoted themselves too? Their cause?" Robin never looked at the heroes, yet that only emphasized her point. Knowing what was coming next, Nami also had to hide her own meaningful grin. "Justice.
"They killed us all, and called it Justice. Whatever they did in the name of such a cause was righteous and pure. All that from a vague, frivolous term used by the winners. Rationalizing whatever they did."
While Robin herself was not looking at the members of the Justice League, the clone eyes she had sprouted elsewhere were observing them. Interesting, she thought, as she registered how they only seemed moderately stunned compared to Aresia. Professionalism? Something they have thought of before? Or are they already blinded?
"So in the name of Justice, they spent many years hunting for me, and finally succeeded. Once they had me, the man in charge, in the name of 'Justice,' promised to torture me until I was dead, regardless of what I told them. That he would 'hurt me. Use me. And then discard me.' And that was all in the name of 'Justice'."
She tapped her chin in thought. "He was also the son of the man who ordered the actual attack upon my homeland."
Robin hid her satisfaction as her words hit home with the others. The archaeologist knew that Wonder Woman and Aresia claimed to come from the culture of the ancient Amazons, and her subsequent studies into Greek mythology had painted a grim picture of their people's past fate at the hands of Hercules and his followers. It was for understandable –if flawed— reasons that all those women hated every last man, and had gone into self-imposed exile to escape them. Stewing in that hatred for century after century. Not that they would define it as 'escape.' A strategic withdrawal, perhaps.
Personally, Robin doubted Spandam would have lowered himself to inflicting those horrors upon what he regarded as a piece of filth . . . that would have been the pleasure of the sadistic men and women of Impel Down, as they spent every instant of endless days torturing her. First to get her to talk, then to verify, and then because they could. Because her suffering would be Just.
Robin was a gloomy woman, but such thoughts were always chased away by the warm lights of her friends that she kept in her heart.
"Tell me you wanna live!"
Playing mind games with people too self-righteous for their own good was also entertaining, especially if it might help them from becoming a threat to the world.
Indeed, Aresia appeared too shocked to respond. It was Star Sapphire who spoke first, face contorted with loathing. "Except you're still here! You escaped from those men! If they're still alive, we can kill them all off! Join us in this, and it'll never happen again! Or at least not by those people!"
Robin laughed.
It was a rich, bright laugh, ringing off the walls despite how it did not deserve a place amidst such a dark discussion.
Nico Robin was a Straw Hat however, and they went wherever they wanted too. Her past was a shadow compared to the sun that was her nakama.
After a few more moments, she got herself sufficiently under control to resume dispassionately lecturing Aresia and the others. "I already told you, it wasn't gender that caused it. Men did it, yes, but out of what they perceived as Justice. Something that is not unique to them."
"As for how I escaped, I never told you how I was captured, did I? They did it by threatening my nakama, a Japanese word that does not translate well into English," –despite how somehow on their original world they spoke English with a Japanese accent— "and means people who are beyond being just friends or blood family. True companions. To save them all, I was willing to suffer that horrible fate. To surrender the life I had guarded for so long, and let my people's story end."
Then Robin's eyes hardened just a little, showing just a hint of whatever lurked deep down in the depths of her soul. Something straining against its leash. "But they came for me. Rescued me against impossible odds. Because I was precious to them, and they were willing to risk it all. Those same people are now dying from your allergen."
"We destroyed them," Nami growled. "Because no one, and I mean no one, hurts those we care for without paying a price! They took something of ours, so we took everything from them!"
Shaken for reasons she could not explain, Aresia turned her attention upon the woman who had been meekly standing back all this time. She believed it promising that the pirate's shirt said 'Her Body, Her Choice.' "And what about you? Is that your decision?" Aresia sneered as she glanced at Nami. Then flinched.
"What did you call all men again? Oh right. Cruel. Deceptive. And greedy. I know all about that," Nami whispered as she glared back with burning eyes. "I know allll about men like that. I couldn't kill him either, and I tried everything. Poison, sneak attacks, hired guns, you name it. Yet, the thing is, those men, they were just like you."
Aresia's face stiffened, yet Nami steamrolled on. "They thought they were right to do so. That they were so superior, that I and those I cared about were so inherently weak and evil, that whatever they did to us was justified. Justified for crimes they accused us and our ancestors of; crimes that we were born guilty of. Condemning us for the actions of only a few.
"And at the very end? In the end it was men who saved me."
"Nami! You are my nakama!"
Raw pain and hatred dripped into her voice. "And right now you're killing millions, with plans to kill billions, out of the same idiocy and empty hatred as those people who killed your family!" Nami's hands tightened on her stave. "For that alone I'd stop you, except you've also dared to poison those same men who mean so much to me! You've dared!"
It was in that moment that Aresia realized she was facing women similar to herself . . . and oh so different. She had always imagined she had taken her own torment and bitterness to forge herself into a weapon. One that would cleanse the world. These people however . . . they had monsters inside of themselves. Savage, dangerous things ready to lash out at whatever threatened that which was theirs.
"You are willing to slaughter half the world for your beliefs," Robin said as she crossed her arms and Nami hefted her bo-staff in readiness. "While I don't have the right to speak for the others, I," she solemnly promised, "would burn everything to save that handful of men."
Silence fell.
"I see," Aresia softly spoke. "Then there is nothing more to be said. Diana?"
Turning back, Wonder Woman was resolute. "I too have seen the evil of Man's World. I have also seen the goodness within it, and its potential. These aren't the days of Hercules and his cruelties, Aresia, and the Justice League now exists to stop tragedies like yours. It isn't perfect, and it may never will be, but it is proof that we are moving away from that bloody past."
"Death won't improve things, trust me," Hawkgirl added. "You don't realize what you'll lose if you go through with this."
"Enough words then," Aresia snarled.
"Yo ho ho~! My, my, there's never a time when talking things out won't help."
Star Sapphire paled as she realized she had forgotten about the skeleton. That his female companions had seized all their attention. Was he busy sabotaging the bomber!? They were distracting us the entire time!? Her and her co-conspirators whirled to face the plane they were depending upon to spread the allergen globally.
Swinging his cane, while wearing pants with pink and yellow vertical stripes, a neon blue shirt with purples flowers, and a black top-hat, (which made their total obliviousness to his presence until now all the more humiliating) Brook strolled into sight. Peering over his sunglasses with bright green frames, he regarded them all. "I went for a stroll around this lovely contraption, and found this wonderful young damsel tied up and in distress. Alas, after I freed her, she wouldn't show me her panties when I asked."
Nami rubbed her face in the palm of her hand, while Robin gave no reaction. Used to Flash's own antics, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl barely noticed his words in surprise at who accompanied the skeleton.
Down the ramp strode Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons. Unruffled despite her recent captivity. Using the gifts of the gods, she had left Themyscira, and found Aresia before anyone else, hoping to end this without further violence.
Resplendent in a white dress and cape of ancient Greek design, with a golden trim. While her hair was blonde, the beautiful face and cheekbones were strongly reminiscent of her daughter Diana, or Wonder Woman as she was more commonly known. For all her loveliness however, century upon century of experience lay upon her shoulders, and she was not at ease. She suspected that this . . . person . . . who had rescued her was just putting on an act to put people at ease. Beneath his foolishness, the queen sensed a veteran warrior, and was well aware of the folly of underestimating the undead.
"No!" cried Aresia. "Stop them!"
Obediently Star Sapphire dropped the shield and fired a shot at Nami, yet it phased right through her. "What!?"
"Hah! Mirage Tempo!"
Tsukuri went straight for the plane, planning to handle the newcomer. More importantly, victory would be assured if they recaptured Hippolyta as a hostage, as had been the original plan when she had unexpectedly appeared. Tsukuri had beaten the legendary Amazon once –by ambush— and would do it again.
Suddenly the skeleton was gone.
Sensing something was amiss, Tsukuri halted, trying to find him, until she heard humming from behind. Spinning around, she saw the skeleton walking away from her, idly twirling a cane sword. While the swordswoman was confused, she did not hesitate while his back was towards her. Once more she raced at Hippolyta who was staring at her with shocked eyes. "So fast," she registered the queen say. Behind her, Aresia screamed out in horror, "Tsukuri!"
Believing she was about to be attacked from behind, the Asian woman leapt to the side to evade—
Brook finished sheathing his spotless blade. "Three Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash!" he declared.
—and blood burst out of Tsukuri's torso.
Gasping, she collapsed to the ground without a word.
"You man!" Aresia snarled with hate. "You killed her!"
"You attacked my nakama! Poisoned them!" the skeleton icily hissed, the jolly stage performer no more. Shadows framing his face into a menacing nightmare, while the blackness within his eye sockets seemed to darken further.
While she did not understand what had just happened, Hawkgirl maintained her priorities. Charging her mace with electricity, she brought it hammering down on Aresia again. Instinctively the Amazonian trained woman brought up her bracelets to guard herself, and shrieked in pain as her nerves crackled.
"No!" Star Sapphire yelled, firing at Hawkgirl now. The Thanagarian dodged to the side, yet Aresia was still unable to move. Taking to the air, Star Sapphire moved to give herself some space.
"It's too late," Nami's shimmering image smirked. "Thunderbolt Tempo!" From a cloud that had been growing under the roof of the massive hanger during the long conversation, down flashed a bolt of lightning.
"Whoa!" went Star Sapphire, forming a shield at the last moment to protect herself.
"Wonder Woman," Robin smoothly said. "I'll cover you. Dos Fleur!"
Wordlessly, Diana charged Star Sapphire.
"Oh no you don't!" snarled the villainess, just as two hands appeared from her own back to cover her eyes. "Wha—!?"
Wildly she fired two quick shots, reaching up to regain her sight, but that was enough for Wonder Woman to get in a nasty haymaker. Star Sapphire was smashed down into the ground, away from the plane.
That should do for now, Robin decided. I don't know the properties of her pink aura enough to tell how defensive it is.
Flawlessly Wonder Woman spun while unhooking her magical lasso mid-air. The golden rope ensnared Aresia while she was still stunned, securing her. Just in case, Hawkgirl gave her a sharp rap to keep the mastermind from having any funny thoughts.
Queen Hippolyta never even had the chance to throw a punch.
!JUSTICE!
Up in the Watchtower, Martian Manhunter examined the results of Tony Tony Chopper's work with appreciation. At this rate of progress, it was entirely possible that his teammates' mission would be unnecessary.
Of course, as Flash would say, 'It isn't over until the Fat Lady sings,' he gently admonished himself, fingers flying over the keyboard. Nonetheless, whatever else you could say about the pirates, their doctor was first-rate. Certainly superior to J'onn himself.
Before their extinction barring a sole survivor, the Martians had been a very advanced race, at least decades ahead of humanity—although the recent appearance of a small number of super-scientist, and access to other-worldly technology, was quickly narrowing the gap. That meant that while J'onn himself had not been considered particularly brilliant in science, especially medicine, the basic scientific foundation he had grown up with were lightyears ahead of anyone else in the League.
To give an analogy to make it clearer, imagine a regular, human police officer from the early 21st century, sent back in time by hundreds of years. While he may not be a licensed medical practitioner, he would have received regular check-ups with his doctor, been trained in first aid, know the gist of penicillin, been raised to despise leeches, and appreciated the importance of 'basic' hygiene and sanitation, including keeping rats away from food, and cleaning your medical instruments after use.
Unfortunately this meant that while J'onn had grown up absorbing 'average' knowledge for an advanced race, he lacked the ability to sufficiently adapt it too this crisis.
Tony Tony Chopper had the necessary brilliance. Martian Manhunter could clearly see that not only did the pirate possess a superior intellect, he was also innovative enough to take charge of this crisis.
"You were right," he calmly reported from the Watchtower. "Samples of my body prove I've been exposed to the allergen, even if it hasn't taken effect yet. It must've been on Superman's costume. We'll update our quarantine protocols after this."
"I'm not doing so well too," Chopper squeaked back over the radio, down on the surface in whatever laboratory he was operating out of. "My assistants can take over for me if they have to, but we've got to do the most with the time we've got left!"
"Agreed."
!JUSTICE!
"Here," Robin said as she walked over Hawkgirl. "Brook got this sample of what we believe to be the allergen. Your Watchtower's medical equipment will probably be better suited to analyze it."
Quietly, Hawkgirl accepted it, noting how the skeleton in question and the third member of the Straw Hats were examining the bomber. Probably undoing whatever sabotage he committed as a precaution. And we already know Robin has some sort of disappearing act if we attack her.
Warily, Queen Hippolyta walked up to her daughter, who was standing guard over Aresia. "Diana, who are these people?"
"Criminals," Wonder Woman promptly answered. "We have a truce until we've dealt with this poison. Their doctor is very skilled though, and is working with J'onn. The green man I brought to Themyscira," she clarified, as if her mother could have forgotten their saviours.
Nodding, Hippolyta gave the three strangers an evaluative look. As a warrior and Queen, she knew people. She could to see into their hearts and minds. Even near the beginning with Aresia, she feared she was making a mistake, taking the girl in. In the end, she had been unable to refuse an orphan in need, and had planned to help her heal in both body, mind, and heart. Alas, the troubled young woman had recently isolated herself to escape her sight. These others however . . .
Hippolyta had heard everything from within the plane, and could already make a preliminary assessment of them. Indeed, too many of her Amazons had been like them once. Those who had been hounded and hounded until they could take it no more, and turned to fight their tormenters. Then amongst the flying blood learned that they were wolves, and their former hunters were mere mutts. Hippolyta had seen this in many of her Amazons as they struck back at their male tormentors, and found their true warrior spirits. Themyscira and their Sisters had then provided them with a home, and new sense of identity and joys so that they could recover.
So it was with these three, and they truly would do anything to protect their new lives.
Groggily, Aresia re-orientated herself, and realized she was tied up with the legendary lasso. In front of her, she could see Tsukuri's body still laying on the ground. "You fools!" she spat out. "Don't you see? We're not your enemy, it's the men! They must be destroyed!"
"You're wrong Aresia," and Hippolyta's voice carried with it all the centuries of her authority. "Without men, you wouldn't still be here. After your ship sank, you must've lost consciousness, as you drifted on your makeshift craft. You would surely have drowned as you sank, if the ship's captain had not found you and pulled you to safety. Valiantly he struggled to keep you alive, until he brought you to the shores of Themyscira. But the effort was too much for his heart, and he died. Too be sure of his character, I consulted with the gods, and Athena told me of his actions. His final resting place is a simple, unmarked grave. He is the only man buried on Themyscira. So you see, for all your hatred of men, it turns out you owe your life to one."
Aresia could only glare at this revelation. "Why didn't you ever tell me about this?"
"I didn't think it was important," then Hippolyta looked regretful. "I didn't think he was important." Why else had she failed to ask Athena or another goddess for his name? Was that a deliberate omission by the gods as she had thought, or a test? If the latter, had the queen failed?
"Maybe it's time to reconsider that," Hawkgirl said, before taking flight on her wings. The auto-pilot for the Javelin spaceship she and Wonder Woman had originally come down from the Watchtower in, would soon bring the craft here, and there was not a second to lose to get the sample to J'onn.
"So everything you ever preached was a lie," Aresia accused.
"Not everything," Hippolyta assured her.
"Still," hissed Aresia in accusation, "the acts of one man cannot redeem the sins of his kind. They all must pay! Look at what that male skeleton did to Tsukuri! He killed her without a thought!"
"And how many are already dead, and beneath your notice?" Brook quietly accused in turn glaring at her with empty, dark eye sockets that somehow conveyed a bitter contempt. For all Aresia fought to return his gaze with equal force, she could not deny feeling the sensation of someone stepping on her grave. "But I am not like you," the skeleton added. "Your friend is merely injured."
"You lie!" she snapped. "You expect me to believe she's still alive while she bleeds like that!?"
"Perhaps," Hippolyta mused, having a better appreciation for the level of skill displayed. She walked over, subtly angling her path and body so that she kept the pirates in sight at all times. Leaning down, she held one of her bracelets to Tsukuri's mouth, and saw mist upon the metal. "She still breathes," she declared, voice devoid of the respect she felt within. For all her years as a warrior, the skeleton's swordsmanship was humbling. Indeed, his abilities were simply inhuman. Not a pun, a fact.
"Where did you learn to wield your sword?" the queen inquired. "That you could cut down another warrior of great skill, yet still leave her alive?"
As if the topic were inconsequential, Brook gently waved his hand in dismissal. "Around."
Accepting he would not answer, Hippolyta glanced at Lasso tying up her failed subject. "Aresia," she calmly said. "Did you perchance create an antidote for your poison?"
The glare was answer enough, and Hippolyta was convinced there was no need to escalate matters and compel her to talk. The young woman's fanaticism was predictable like that.
Brook walked up, appearing more curious than anything. "What about your dad?" he asked Aresia, taking everyone by surprise. Indeed, none of the others (except maybe Star Sapphire, or Tsukuri, who were still unconscious) had ever even had a father in their lives; if Hippolyta had ever known hers, she had forgotten him long ago, and did not mourn this.
Aresia flinched, then bit her lip to keep herself silent.
"Either he left her family, was killed in the war, or was killed in the attack which forced the rest of her family to flee," Robin theorized. "So even if she remembered him while growing up in an isolated society that hates men, she would have only remembered that he had failed to protect his family. More proof of the failings of men. I wouldn't be surprised if she overheard the older Amazons say as much."
The prisoner tried to glare at them all, yet it fell short. She loathed it; the self-reproach mingled with pity in Diana and the Queen's eyes, and the searing contempt in the Pirates'.
"It appears we truly did fail you," Hippolyta murmured.
!JUSTICE!
Breathing heavily, Martian Manhunter finished mixing the chemicals together. Their existence was one of the fields where his knowledge surpassed Doctor Chopper's (who had earned that full title), being discovered on Mars only a few years before its downfall.
As it was, the Martian was only holding on thanks to some compounds that Dr. Chopper had recommended before he had stopped answering. Tellingly, Cherry Blossom Medical's own products had factored heavily in creating what was currently keeping J'onn upright. Someone else had taken over, using something to disguise their voice. They claimed that the medicine to stave off the allergen had not been as effective for Dr. Chopper. Fortunately, he was merely immobile, and able to process information and pass it on to this anonymous assistant.
Together, both parties believed they had found an antidote. The others had suggested using Superman and the others as guinea pigs, yet Martian Manhunter had overruled that. Morality aside, his computer simulations would get the results only slightly slower, without the risk of worsening the situation.
A few minutes later, he had confirmation.
They had a cure.
!JUSTICE!
"I would like to bring Aresia back to Themyscira," Hippolyta said to Diana. "Our prisons are designed to hold immortals, and the guards are both as long-lived as her, and better trained."
"We will discuss it," Wonder Woman promised. "I won't commit to anything before talking with the rest of the League, and the authorities."
The prisoner in question ignored them, having fallen into a sullen silence.
Female soldiers from the air base were also present, helping to guard the remaining samples of the allergen. As all their senior officers had been men, and were currently sick, they decided they were uninterested in involving themselves into command decisions. Something like this was best left to the politicians and generals.
Some of them were using their medical training to patch up both Tsukuri, and the guards the super-villainesses had knocked out in seizing the hanger. The patients were all stable (somehow in Tsukuri's case), so the base's regular doctors absent, as they were on stand-bye if any more emergencies cropped up during this pandemic.
Hawkgirl flew in at that moment with a large grin on her face. "I just got word from J'onn," –Diana's radio still with Chopper— "and he says they've found a cure! They should be able to distribute it before anyone fully succumbs to Aresia's poison!"
The soldiers erupted into cheers, while Wonder Woman and the Straw Hats breathed a sigh of relief.
Aresia merely hunched down lower. Star Sapphire was still unconscious, tied to a support beam by heavy chains, the gem that gave her powers facing away from the heroes.
"Thank goodness!" cried Brook. "I was so worried about them, that I was afraid I'd die." Then he paused. "Oh wait, I'm already dead! Yo ho ho ho~!"
"We'll be taking the bomber," Nami declared. "The missiles are off it, and we'll drop it off at the Gotham airfield. That'll give us enough of a head's start so as to not endanger the truce."
The heroes glanced at each other, then nodded at the pirates. "Before you go, Robin," Wonder Woman said. "That story you told, is it true?"
Serenely, Robin smiled. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not, you already know it easily could be. That's the world we live in."
Shayera's grip tightened on her mace, even as her face remained impassive. She had grown up in the ongoing Thanagarian-Gordanian War, with the latter committed to either the extermination or enslavement of her people. As a Thanagarian soldier, she had seen entire planetary populations slaughtered. Civilizations ended by the Gordanians, because they shared the same type of fanaticism as Aresia; the belief that they were superior to all others, and had a responsibility to do whatever was necessary to reshape the universe to match their vision. Even by killing any and all who opposed them.
Hippolyta stepped to the side, curious to see how her daughter handled this. She would also remain alert for her if the pirates tried anything.
Cocking her head, body at ease, Wonder Woman got right into the heart of it. "The hardest part about what is going on between us, is that besides everything, you seem like good people. It's just that you've been so hurt in the past, that you're determined to forge your own path without a care of what happens along the way, even if it takes violence. You don't like to kill, yet you still cause immense damage that you refuse to see and acknowledge. More importantly, it won't stay fun forever.
"All it will take is one mistake, one step too far, and you'll go from being 'relatively harmless,' to becoming cold-blooded killers. I don't want to see that happen to you, and only the gods can bring back the dead."
Coming to stand beside Aresia, Hawkgirl added, "And your past cannot be used to excuse your actions. Ultimately you're responsible for your own decisions."
Nami raised the tip of her bo-staff a few centimeters. "Don't underestimate us," she warned.
"But the biggest issue between us," Wonder Woman went on, "is that of Justice. What we each think of it."
"The path of Justice may appear righteous and easy to walk," Brook solemnly warned. "But if you continue down that path, you may very well find yourselves consumed by it; incapable of seeing the evil you are committing."
"Right now your Justice League has some actually decent people in it," Nami added, while Robin remained silent. "We just don't want you going down the same path as other people we know. Being heroes, and following Justice, aren't necessarily the same thing."
"You don't really mean that," Wonder Woman said, causing the pirates to look surprised. "Or rather, most of the criminals we meet don't believe in Justice because they believe in taking whatever they want. They don't want to think it's real. You on the other hand all know it's not real, and think us arrogant for acting as if it is." Despite her verbal speech, her expression was actually sad. "That in trying to protect the planet, we're a bunch of egomaniacs. Thinking we can do the impossible, while glorifying in the adulation of the public. That, or we're just simply naïve."
The Straw Hats said nothing.
Opening her mouth to speak, Shayera paused as she remembered the thoughts she had just had on the Gordanians and Aresia. After a moment of introspection, the undercover agent reoriented herself. She hefted up her mace to show the pirates. "What I believe in, is that I do Justice. That I go out there, and do enough Rights to make up for all the Wrongs in the world, even if it means hitting people with this. We don't kill though, we don't take people from this world. For all their faults, we do our best to give everyone a chance to improve this world, this universe. While also putting a limit on ourselves, to keep us from going too far. Maybe that's arrogant, but I don't care. I won't stop saving people."
A skull is a perfect poker face, and Nami and Robin were equally impassive. Nevertheless, Hawkgirl caught a slight shift of uneasiness.
Smiling, Wonder Woman finished it, remembering her own childhood teachings, and experiences since leaving Themyscira. "After all, if we don't believe in Justice, and don't teach others to do so, to safeguard it, how will it become real? And that? That is worth believing in!"
The Straw Hats regarded them without a word for two whole minutes, with the heroes meeting their gaze. Finally, Nami sighed, and shrunk her staff back into a baton. Stuffing it between her breasts, she turned around to head for the plane they were borrowing. As the rest of her crew followed behind her, she called over her shoulder, "Goodness knows, this dump could use some real heroes. I only hope your resolve is up to the real test."
A minute later, the bomber took off.
"Alright," Shayera grinned as she clapped a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Now, enough philosophy. Let's get these ladies," –gesturing at the defeated Aresia and her teammates— "properly secured. Then we can go see the boys in the Watchtower as they wake up."
"We'll probably have to tie Batman down to make sure he has enough rest," Diana grinned, causing a small chuckle to escape Shayera's own lips.
!JUSTICE!
It was surprisingly easy for the Straw Hats to fly away. The advanced aircraft was largely automated, meaning even a novice could get by. Doubtless another reason why Aresia wanted to steal it, with that irony only making it more delicious for the pirates. Presently, a few of Robin's arms were handling the controls, while the original and full clone were reviewing the instruction manual.
If all else failed, they would aim for the river and get out before it crashed. There were even rocket-packs available instead of parachutes—which they were keeping regardless. Seriously, how much did a craft like this cost?
"Are you sure about telling her all of that about Ohara, Robin?" Nami queried.
"It's no concern," the statuesque woman assured her. Then she gave a giggle. "This world's had so many conflicts of late, that the information's nearly useless to them. I could be from any number of countries that experienced genocide."
"Please don't laugh at that," Nami sweatdropped at her friend's darker sense of humour.
"For the record," and now a bony hand rested gently on Robin's shoulder, "I'm glad you didn't turn out like her." While he said it lightly as a joke, there was no denying the underlying seriousness to his words.
Nami scoffed. "If Robin really wanted to kill people to stop stuff like that, she'd have already resurrected the Ancient Weapons to destroy the World Government. For all that she acts, she isn't that type of killer."
"Am I, Nami?" Robin softly asked. "Alabasta."
The navigator stilled at that single word, and the taboo it represented. Brook understood, yet kept quiet. While his crewmates may have discreetly informed him about what had happened there, it did not change he had never actually been present.
". . . Even then," Nami confidently said after a bare moment of hesitation, "you didn't really want to do it. You were so focused on the Poneglyphs that yes you did nothing while a nation nearly collapsed into civil war, with thousands dead and millions more endangered. I haven't forgotten that. It's just that it was Crocodile who was behind that. Trying to warn Cobra would've gotten you killed, either by him, or the marines learning and coming down on Alabasta without caring how many they killed to get at you. Deep down, you know you couldn't have stopped him, Robin. Not without getting yourself killed, and Crocodile succeeding anyways. Instead, you did everything you could to discreetly sabotage his schemes. Leading Vivi to him, giving Alabasta a chance to solve the crisis itself, and if you hadn't then she never would've been able to stop the war after his defeat. You even saved Luffy's life so he could fight, despite how badly outclassed he'd been the first time. And at the very end, knowing you were facing a Warlord of the Sea who would kill you, you denied him the one thing that would have guaranteed his victory.
"What you did was wrong, but I honestly don't know what else you could've done."
Despite herself, Robin smiled warmly as she filed her memory of this conversation away into the mental folder labeled 'Reasons To Keep On Living.'
It was surprisingly thick after only three or so years.
"You've thought about this a lot. Thank you."
Shrugging, Nami just kept her interest on the skies. Carefree as them.
The other two were not fooled.
"You wanted revenge yourself," Brook softly said. He had seen how Nami had glared at Aresia, both during the confrontation, and afterwards when she was helpless.
"Yes," and in Nami's raw tone was pain and hatred. Old wounds from Arlong and the sense of helpless after learning about Marineford, had bubbled up at the sight of all those idiot men that were her family, dying from a poison. By some coward who chose to strike them down from afar as if they were irrelevant.
Luffy's warmth had healed most of those scars, had fixed her when she had been all but broken by her need to save her island. If she ever lost that now however . . . she would not break down in despair; Nami the Cat Burglar would unleash a monster every bit as fearsome as her One-and-Only-Captain.
All the Straw Hats had that beast within them, all born from the anguish of their past lives, and what they had endured upon the seas. They were kept in place by chains forged by their own intrinsic knowledge of Right and Wrong. The examples of their precious role models. And because their nakama would expect it of them.
To save the world from Aresia, their very own code of conduct compelled them to be willing to lay down their lives if necessary to stop her.
(That was one reason they appreciated having the Justice League around, because usually they would do it for them. Unfortunately, this time most of the League were already incapacitated.)
To save their nakama from Aresia, they would be willing to pay an even higher price.
None of them said anything about Robin's threat to burn the world; Nami and Brook were well aware that at Water 7 she had already made that choice. That Robin had placed the whole of the world on a scale, and found that it was outweighed by the lives of a handful of individuals she had only just recently met. For them, she was even willing to give the World Government the Ancient Weapons. Nami did not know if she could make such a decision, and prayed she never would have to. At the same time, she would never condemn her nakama for what she had done. Never.
"Aresia almost succeeded, and for the stupidest of reasons," Nami continued. "Even worse, I can understand why she might feel that way, if never accept it. Death isn't how you make the world better," she drew in a harsh breath, "and I'm glad I walked away from it." Then she flipped her hair over her shoulder in dismissal. "And I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being a martyr."
"I'm glad I didn't feel the need either," Brook confessed. "Like Hawkgirl said, while we may be only Human, that doesn't excuse us from the decisions we make."
The skeleton brooded for a moment before realizing how depressing this conversation is. "More importantly however, we've confirmed the existence of an island of woman, and have clues as to where it lies! Panties! Panties galore!"
"GYAH!" shouted Nami as she punched him.
!JUSTICE!
With interest, Queen Hippolyta stared out the window to gaze down upon the form of Gaia, the Earth. This 'Watchtower' of theirs . . . truly it is a marvel!
Her daughter's teammates Green Lantern and Superman were finishing distribution of the cure, while Flash, Batman, and J'onn were providing what remaining medical care and emergency relief was needed. They had all insisted that Shayera (Hawkgirl's real name apparently) and Diana get some rest, citing that while they had been saving the world, the men had been 'lying around all day.' Hippolyta was also supposed to be getting a few hours' sleep. Alas, it eluded her as her mind raced.
Today she had seen more of Man's World than she had in centuries, as well as the newest challenges it be faced. If those three we met were but the subordinates, what must their commander be like?
Still, based upon Diana's performance, she was confident she and the Justice League would rise to the occasion.
For all the pain that she could not put to rest, Aresia had been an incredibly dangerous adversary. The books on germ warfare retrieved from Man's World that she had left on Themyscira, found after she had begun her final preparations, hinted that her campaign had been long in planning. The execution: a masterstroke.
Aresia had effortlessly led whole gang of super-villains with their individual greed, cruelty, and personal issues. Carried out high-profile heists with little issue. And finally, unleashed a bio-weapon that had come within a hair's breadth of success. With Hippolyta herself as a hostage, and luring Diana and Shayera in with Star Sapphire, it was entirely conceivable she would have won. Her only flaw was her blindness to how far other women were willing to go in defense of men.
Shall I tell my daughter of the real gifts Hephaestus endowed upon the Lasso and armour? Hippolyta wondered. . . . Not yet. Some more seasoning would serve her well. Their true power, to wield Truth itself, is too great a burden for her to bear now.
And speaking of the Truth, I fear it is time for me and my Sisters to confront the changing Truths of Man's World . . .
!JUSTICE!
The Justice League debriefing regarding the Straw Hats was underway, and the heroes were all grim as they considered the facts.
"I honestly can't tell how much of what they said was true or not," Diana admitted, after she had finished recounting the events.
"It seemed like they believed what they were saying," Hawkgirl said, "but they were slanting it, or being vague, to keep us from verifying their tales. They didn't want us learning anything else concrete from them."
"I wonder if it is significant that the skeleton, Brook, said nothing about his own origins," Martian Manhunter pondered aloud.
"I don't know," Diana said with a pensive look. "All I do know, is that I've never seen such skill with a sword before. Moving so fast, and cutting so fine that the victim doesn't even know they've been cut until he has walked ten steps away from them? It's unheard of! And the entire time he was travelling with us, or any time he was not fighting, he was acting, acting—" she hesitated in thought.
"Acting like Flash?" Hawkgirl offered, throwing the speedster a speculative look.
"Yes!" Diana agreed, also appearing to be re-evaluating her friend.
Guzzling down his pop, Flash produced a massive belch.
Unimpressed, the heroines returned to the topic at hand. "At the same time, he and the others seemed to have a strange habit of calling out phrases when they attack. Like they've named them, and feel the need to say them while fighting," Hawkgirl quizzically noted.
The rest of the Justice League were also confused by something so silly.
"Given their power, I assume they feel confident they can spare the time to do so on the battlefield," Queen Hippolyta announced, a special guest at the table.
"Is there anything else you would add?" Batman asked. A fine judge of character himself, he knew her majesty had more to offer.
She tapped her armrest once in thought. "They are no mere band of brigands. They are fiercely loyal to each other, and coordinate together seamlessly. Moreover, I believe that Nico Robin was speaking the truth when she said they would set the world afire if it meant the safety of the others. It's even possible they believe they can. Aresia threatened to do so out of a misguided attempt to find relief from her pain. Them? They would do it out of unconditional love."
The League all exchanged uneasy glances at this.
"As for the specific characters of those I observed," Hippolyta went on, "I do not have much more to add. Nico Robin delights in appearing an enigma, choosing her words with careful precision. Her eyes and movements betray her as a wary and dangerous opponent.
"At first I believed the skeleton's behaviour was a performance to put us at ease. Upon further consideration however, it was too flawless. I would say it is how he acts routinely, even around those he explicitly trusts. Therefore I would describe him as someone who chooses to live his life in a happy and carefree manner, yet can summon forth the skills of a veteran warrior with hardly a thought.
"Finally, for all that she acted in charge, I would say that the redhead was the weakest of the three. The others were always carefully near her to act as support, ready to protect her if necessary. While I do not know the source of her powers, and as effective as she demonstrated them to be, they remind me more of elaborate tricks, rather than a strength inherent to her. Despite this, she is clearly adept at making those actually more dangerous than her, think that she is the largest and most fearsome predator."
Hippolyta glanced at her daughter and Hawkgirl, who considered her words. Slowly, they nodded in reluctant agreement.
"This is definitely not going to be easy," Batman growled. "A gang of supervillains whose members have already proven they can go toe-to-toe with us individually. Worst, they're organized, loyal, and able to cooperate without issue."
"They almost sound like the Rogues from Central City," Flash offered speculatively. "Except these guys are a lot stronger, and a lot more—" he hesitated out of consideration for the Rogues. They were not all bad after all. "More rational," he hazarded.
"What're you're thoughts on why they're banned from Gotham?" Green Lantern asked. "Why didn't you press them on that?"
"We had bigger priorities!" snapped Hawkgirl, surprisingly angry that he was questioning their decisions in the field. Never mind that she would be more composed about it if any of the other men had brought it up.
"It could've been a valuable clue!" he fired back.
"Easy guys," Flash interjected, giving placating gestures with his hands. "It's all in the past. And they were dealing with a bigger problem. Personally, I feel they made the right call. While maybe the gals could've asked after things quieted down, there was a lot going on at the time. What matters most is that they stopped Aresia. Besides, we weren't there, so it isn't our call to make."
With a huff, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern subsided.
"In terms of clues," Martian Manhunter offered, "there are the assistants Dr. Chopper had. They concealed their identities, but by their interaction, there were more than one. Moreover, they are competent enough that he judged them able to contribute. I would not jump to the assumption they are females however. From the way Dr. Chopper criticized our quarantine methods," –which were next on the agenda— "it is very possible they were men who kept themselves safe."
"It wouldn't be difficult for them to contact another medical company, offering their services," Batman mused. "That would explain where they got their help for this." Then he gave Wonder Woman a flat look. "Now, what's really bothering you?"
Not even bothering to hide her frustration that he had seen right through her, Diana blew out a breath. "I'm not entirely sure about this, and it's just a theory based upon what they said; not what we know is true. From what I can tell, we're going after them because they're criminals, and we're afraid of what they'll do in the future. That's why they're our enemies."
Now her face hardened. "The reason why we are their enemies, is because we believe in Justice. Something about it has poisoned the term for them. That whatever we say is 'wrong' is something they'll do because it's not considered Justice. Except it's more than that, more than just children lashing out at authority. These aren't immature or unreasonable people; they have a strong reason to believe in whatever exactly it is they do, even if they're keeping quiet about it. Something that gives them a sense of commitment to what they're doing. As well as how while we fear what crimes they will commit in the days to come, they fear we will become villains ourselves, while believing we are still righteous."
It was obvious that such thoughts and introspection were uncomfortable at her, chipping at her usually unflappable confidence. Despite this, she was not finished.
"More importantly, we still don't know their final motives. People like this . . . they're aren't doing it for money, power, politics, or world conquest. They have an endgame, and we don't have any clue as to what it is."
Scowling a little, but steadfast in his commitment to Truth and Justice, Superman turned to face each of his friends and companions. "It doesn't matter, we still have to stop them. And we will," he promised. "We've beaten every other threat together, and we won't falter now."
"And now we've got another lead," Hawkgirl stated, and Wonder Woman grinned with satisfaction.
!JUSTICE!
In a concealed hideout, a pair of eyes blinked open and groaned out, "Meeeeeat! Sanji . . . Meeeeat."
"He's all better!" Chopper cried with joy. Laughing, Brook resumed playing his violin to help encourage the others to recover. Nami gave sigh of relief before berating her Captain for making them worry, hiding the anxiety she had felt. Smiling Robin, went to get some food.
"Meeeeat!"
"Hold . . . yer . . . orses…" slurred Sanji automatically.
Zoro was a little more awake, choosing to stoically endure what he assumed was his first-ever hangover. I really hate this world. They can't even do booze right . . .
!JUSTICE!
"So, anything you want to tell us? It might be enough to reduce your sentence," Batman lightly offered. He was one of the few people who could play both Good Cop and Bad Cop. Acting composed and reasonable at first made it all the more unnerving when you switched to threatening and intimidating.
A depowered Star Sapphire glowered at the hero, while her handcuffs clinked. "I tried to kill off half the planet!" she spat. "How much do you really think I can reduce it!?" Then she paused in consideration. "But I can tell you about those Straw Hat Pirates that you're so worried about."
"Who says we're worried?"
"They took me and the others down without breaking a sweat. That means they're dangerous to you too," the convict retorted.
"What do you know?" They both knew that whatever information she had was invaluable right now. On the other hand, Star Sapphire's situation truly was abysmal. This was the only card she had to play, and Tsukuri was still alive to also question to make her own deal, as well as for comparing testimonies for accuracy. Not to mention that the League would be questioning other supervillains in custody. She had to make a deal before her knowledge lost value.
She had overheard the guards talking about the news, that Aresia had been extradited to Theymsicra. There had been some discontent that she had not been brought before the Hague for war crimes, although the guards expressed their relief over having to secure someone so obviously dangerous and resourceful. In the end, the fact that the Amazon's own head of state had risked her life to stop her traitorous subject, and the League's own support, had led the grateful nation to approve of her transfer.
"I want special privileges while I'm in prison. And off the death penalty."
Batman saw no problem with that, and they could always be revoke it if the woman misbehaved or lied. "We'll decide what you get once we've heard what you've got."
Star Sapphire paused, then admitted to herself this was probably the best she was going to get for now. Besides, the League was too prideful to break their word over this, and that she could always hold onto some details for later. "Whoever they are, they're becoming a big name in the underworld. The thing is, I almost went to work for them before Aresia approached me and the rest first."
"What do you mean 'work for'?" he asked, barely hiding his growing dread.
Leaning forward, Star Sapphire crooned, "They're recruiting, Batman. A bunch of others are already on their payroll, and some of them are big players in their own right!"
!JUSTICE!
Author Notes:
Brook was only partially affected by the allergen because frankly what does and does not affect him can vary.
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The conversation between Shayera and Diana at the end was inspired by Death's own thoughts on belief in "Hogfather," by Terry Pratchett. And then I watched "Secondhand Lions" the very next day :-P
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For those of you who want to speculate on which super-villains the Straw Hats have recruited, or suggest your own, just remember the following:
1) They have to be in the DCAU. In that light, bear in mind that some are notably different from their origins and/or characters than in other continuities.
2) They have to have a reason to want to work for the Straw Hats.
3) The Straw Hats have to have a reason to want to recruit them. And that is not just in terms of their abilities. Remember how picky Luffy can be.
4) If I recruit them, what impact will that have on future 'episodes'?
For example, Deadshot in the DCAU is Caucasian (i.e. not Will Smith) with no indications he has a child (who would be prime blackmail material for one particular episode). As a ruthless man working entirely for the money, and his sexist comments to Wonder Woman, I could not see the Straw Hats letting him join. Finally, recruiting him would mean that the Season 3 episode 'Task Force X' would not be as good . . .
If I choose to do that episode of course ;-)
Also, Star Sapphire was only originally planning to apply to work for the Straw Hats. That is not to say she would have been accepted.
Curious as to what you guys have to say! :-D
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Next chapter: 'Enter the Villains'
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Please Review and I will get back to you!