DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Infinity Verse Spotlights
WordGirl: Words of Steel
As Skyward Tower was battling a three-pronged attack from the Society of Supervillains, Jhiaxus' fleet, and the Phoenix Force, the various teams that were spread across the planet were busy trying to keep the peace planetside, despite the fact that they were cut off from their orbital base. All wasn't totally lost, however, for there was still a line of communication between the teams on Earth and the League leaders who were still in space. Thanks to High Five's plan, the team's master teleporter, Pegasus, was able to warp up to The tower where he would get orders from the leaders, which he would then warp back down to Earth to deliver their orders to the League's five speedsters, who would then race across the globe to relay it to the rest of the team.
Among those teams was one based in Seattle, Washington, which was currently trying to keep the city's populace from going into a full-blown panic-induced riot. The team consisted of Ripster, Nefer-Tina, Hudson, Alpine, Nightbeat, and Kimiko, and though they were all great heroes, they were still few in number against a massive mob.
"Please, remain calm!" Ripster called out to the masses. "Shelters are being set up by Global Justice as we speak!"
"Why isn't the League doing more for us?!" one man called out.
"What are you hiding?!" a woman demanded, earning some cheers in agreement.
"I've seen enough riots on Cybertron to know when one's gonna break out," Nightbeat mentioned. "I say we start making arrests now to quell this crowd before it gets worse."
"We're not arresting anyone, Nightbeat," Kimiko refuted. "These people are just scared."
"Scared people can turn into violent people, kid," the Cybertronian cop countered. "If we don't shut this down now, then this will get real nasty real fast."
"What's that?!" someone cried out in horror as they pointed up to the sky.
Confused by this, the heroes collectively turned and looked above and gasped in shock at what they were seeing. The sky was turning red at an alarming rate. The cosmic clash between Mothra and the Phoenix caused the cosmic being to unleash its fire in anger. Some of the said fire began to rain down on the planet below. Ripster and his team could only stare in shock as three massive fireballs fell toward the city. People were already starting to run, but others were too frightened to even move as the fireballs fell toward the city below.
"Go! Get to cover!" the man-shark commanded to both his team and those who were left standing.
In all honesty, Ripster had no idea if anyone in the city could be safe from this coming destruction. But in that moment of despair, hope arrived in the form of a blur of orange that zipped across the sky at a great speed. The blur flew through and destroyed two of the fireballs before vaporizing the third into steam. With the city safe, being who was the blur then floated down to the other heroes, who were taken aback who had been the rescuer. For this was no man of steel or god of thunder, but a ten-year child wearing an orange suit with a star on it. However, this was a known ally to the League members.
"Thanks for the save, WordGirl," Alpine said.
"Aye, lass, you certainly know how to make an entrance," Hudson agreed.
"No problem, guys," Wordgirl assured with a sigh of exhaustion.
"Jeez, kid, you look beat," Alpine noted as he looked at the girl and the weary expression on her face.
"I've been running from one end of the planet to the other, stopping one cataclysmic event after the next," the young heroine answered. "All the League's heavy hitters are either in space or are tied up with stopping whatever the Phoenix is doing to the planet. I couldn't even make it to Greece in time to stop whatever Godzilla and Destoroyah were doing there." [1]
The closer the Phoenix had drawn closer to Earth, the more damage it was causing to the planet. Not only was it chucking rouge fireballs down from the sky, but it was also causing earthquakes, massive storms, and tsunamis. Though most of the Infinity League teams were doing their best to stem the flow of destruction, with so many of them spread out and without having the use of teleporters, that meant they were unable to send various members to other locations. However, thanks to her ability to fly at supersonic speeds, WordGirl and been going nonstop in helping the rest of her team in its attempts to stop these catastrophes from happening. But while the Lexiconian was happy to give her aide, it was apparent that she was starting to feel exhaustion start to set in.
"You look like you could use a breather," Ripster mentioned. "Maybe you should rest here for a few minutes."
"Or perhaps an hour," Nefer-Tina added.
"I'm sorry, but I can't, guys," WordGirl refused. "Aside from Bubbles and Buttercup, I'm the only one who can move fast enough to support the other teams as these cataclysms become more frequent."
"Well, in any case, good luck to ye, lass," Hudson offered. "I hope ye get a good long rest when this is over."
"You and me both," the young heroine muttered.
With that, WordGirl blasted off again, heading off to her next assignment. She was tired, but the sun's rays rejuvenated her body and gave her the strength she needed to keep going. Though right now, she was on the other side of the planet where the sun wasn't at the moment, she had refueled during that flood she stopped in Japan. She was glad she left Huggy Face back in Fair City. It was way too dangerous to let him come with her. One thing was for sure: She was getting a real workout. Back in Fair City, Wordgirl felt like she lived in a world of cardboard. Everything and everyone could break like glass if she exerted too much of her strength. She had to learn to control her powers and safely harness them so she wouldn't inadvertently kill someone.
Behind the costume, WordGirl was a ten-year-old girl named Becky Botsford, though her true origins did not come from Earth. They came from the stars. When she was an infant, she and her partner, the ape known as Captain Huggy Face, were blasted off their homeworld of Lexicon by accident. The wayward ship eventually found its way to Earth, where it landed in Fair City. Acting quickly, Huggy Face left Becky on the doorstep of the Botsford family, who took her in before he became their pet shortly thereafter. By age ten, Becky's powers started manifesting, leading her to seek out help in controlling her abilities. This lead her to meet with a young scientist named Steven Boxlinter, who had been studying metahumans for a few years. Under the guise of WordGirl, Steven helped Becky control her powers, but sadly, an experiment involving a mouse lead Steven to become Wordgirl's arch-nemesis, Dr. Two-Brains.
Though the loss of Steven was great, Becky still stepped into the light and revealed herself to both Fair City and the world at large as a new young heroine. However, her timing could not have been worse. For weeks earlier, the seven leaders of the Infinity League did battle with another superpowered child in Kansas known as Brightburn. [2] Because of Brendan Breyer's psychotic rampage, WordGirl's reveal to the world was met with fear at first. But in due time, Becky's actions showed the people of Fair City that she could be trusted. During the coming of the Phoenix, Becky was recruited into the League to help bolster their numbers in the coming war.
As she flew through the sky, she felt that something was coming up behind her. The young heroine glanced behind her just in time to see a red and blue blur zip past her. Still confused by what had flown past her, she nearly flew into what she had only caught a glance of. Though, it wasn't so much a what as it was a who. That person was, in fact, a quite well-known superhero. It was Majestia. A member of the United Heroz and arguably one of the most powerful beings on the planet.
Becky couldn't help but go slack jaw at the sight of the fellow heroine who was now floating in front of her. To say that WordGirl was a fan of the older woman would be an understatement. Like WordGirl, Majestia was also an alien who hailed from another world and was orphaned on Earth before growing up to be one of the planet's greatest defenders. Although she served on another team, Becky was still in awe of the woman before her, and if there wasn't a crisis going on, she'd be fangirling right about now. However, that didn't mean she wouldn't completely freak out over meeting one of her idols.
"Oh...my...GOSH!" she squealed in delight. "Majestia! THE Majestia, flying in front of me! ME! WordGirl! Meeting Majestia in person!"
Realizing that she was probably making an idiot of herself, the Lexiconian quickly composed herself.
"Uh, sorry," she apologized meekly.
"It's okay. I get that a lot," Majestia assured with a warm smile.
"Soooo, what are you doing here?" Becky inquired. "I know the United Heroz are probably just as busy as the League right now."
This was true. Though the United Heroz were a separate entity from the Infinity League, they too were in the midst of defending the earth from the effects the Phoenix had on the planet, albeit only in one country.
"We are, but I'm on a special mission," Majestia answered. "One I think you can help me with."
WordGirl's heart began to beat so fast it felt like it was going to vibrate out of her chest.
"M-Me on a-a mission with-with you?" the young heroine stammered out as she tried to contain her joy. "Yes! A thousand times, yes!"
"Great, I'd be happy to have you with me on this mission," Majestia replied.
"So, what are we doing?" WordGirl asked. "Stopping a flood? Reversing a tornado?"
"Arresting Optimus Prime," the fellow hero answered.
Becky's whole world seemed to stop when she heard that.
"Uh...what?" the child superhero questioned, thinking she misheard what she had said.
"I need your help in arresting Optimus Prime," Majestia repeated. "Due to everything going on right now, I've been given the order to apprehend Prime and bring him down to Earth for questioning. But, seeing that I'm flying into a warzone, I thought I could get some back-up from someone who shared the same powers I did."
"But why do you want to arrest Prime at all?" WordGirl asked.
"Look around you, WordGirl. Everything that's happening is because of him!" the superwoman pointed out. "He needs to answer for his crimes!"
Becky wasn't an idiot. She knew that Optimus Prime was responsible for the Phoenix's attack on Earth. But she also understood that it was a bit more complicated than that. Prime was guilty, but the Autobot leader should stand trial at a later time. Not during a crisis such as this.
"I'm not saying he shouldn't answer for his crimes, but we've got more pressing things to deal with right now," WordGirl reasoned. "It's a warzone up there, and you wanna just go up there and make it worse by trying to arrest Optimus at a time like this?"
"This is happening!" Majestia snapped back. "I have a duty to my country and the people of this planet, that I bring that traitor to justice! I thought you'd want to do the same!"
"I'm sorry, Majestia, but this isn't the way," Becky denied.
The strongest member of the United Heroz glowered at the Lexiconian after giving her answer. A part of Becky felt slightly ashamed of herself for refusing to help someone she idolized, but she stood her ground. Majestia gave the younger alien another glare before getting ready to take off out of the planet's atmosphere. However, before she could blast off, WordGirl zipped in front of her path to try and block her.
"I won't let you do this," WordGirl stated firmly.
Becky was trying to protect a strong front, but on the inside, she was frightened by the thought of this getting violent. It was no contest as to who would win in a fight between them. WordGirl could move buildings with ease, sure, but Majestia could push the moon out of orbit if she chose to do so. Hopefully, the older woman would see the error in all this and return to her team, but the Lexiconian knew that was a false hope. Yet, despite the odds that were stacked against her, the young heroine was the only one who could possibly stop Majestia from getting to Optimus at the moment. And if that meant fighting her idol, then she give it everything she had.
As WordGirl hovered defiantly before the other alien heroine with her fists up in a fighting stance, Majestia looked at this display not as something of bravery but of stupidity and annoyance. If she was going to have to go through a child to complete her mission, then so be it.
"Fine," was all she said.
In a flash, Majestia shot up toward WordGirl and struck her with a punch to her stomach that sucked every ounce of air out of Becky's body before flying over the still stunned child hero and punching her in the back, sending her falling to the ground below at the speed of a missile. WordGirl collided with the ground, making a small crater upon impact. The young heroine had never been struck like that in her time of being a superhero, least of all being by another hero. Majestia may be pulling her punches, but even still, it was clear that the United Hero wasn't going to play nice. As Becky tried to get back to her feet, Majestia landed right in front of her. WordGirl shot up with a fist ready to throw a punch of her own, only to have it caught by her opponent, stopping Becky dead in her tracks.
Majestia put pressure on Becky's fist that was still in her grasp, making WordGirl cry out in pain as she was forced to her knees by just the pain alone. Once she was down, Majestia reached out with her other hand and took WordGirl by the throat before slamming her into the ground with a force so strong she bounced back to the air. The older woman then snatched the young girl by the leg mid-bounce and flung her miles away. In all honesty, Olympia could stop this fight now. She made her point and could get back on track with arresting Optimus. But she knew that, even though Wordgirl was clearly outmatched in this fight, she'd still try to stop her. So, with a calming sigh, Majestia rocketed off after her outclassed opponent.
Becky tumbled through the sky at an alarming speed. Never in her superhero career had she been attacked by someone with such power. Her enemies ranged from cheese-obsessed scientists and sandwich-themed thieves. But now, she faced a woman who could pick up entire cities with ease. WordGirl finally managed to stop herself from spinning and corrected herself in mid-air. Once she had done so, she began to frantically search the cloudy skies around her for Majestia. It wasn't before long that she heard the sound of something breaking the sound barrier behind her. Becky managed to duck at the last second as a red/blue blur nearly sliced her in half.
Before WordGirl could react, she was hit in the back of the head by Majestia's fist, knocking her forward. As she spun in freefall, Majestia flew in front of the still falling Becky and threw another devastating blow that knocked her higher into the air. As Becky was sent higher into the air, she managed to correct herself quicker this time, and dodged the older heroine as she flew up to attack her again. Now finally having the upper hand in this fight, the Lexiconian unleashed her heat vision at the older woman's back. It was a dirty move, but Wordgirl knew that she needed to end this fight now before it really got out of hand. Becky never used her heat vision all that much in most of her fights, so she hoped that even at the low intensity she was using, she wouldn't seriously harm the fellow heroine. Majestia grunted in pain, but it was minor at best. Like being stung by a bee. After the beam died down, the fellow alien spun around with her eyes now blazing red.
"My turn," she growled.
With a war cry, Majestia unleashed a bright red pair of optics beams that Becky tried her best to dodge but was still struck in the shoulder by them, making her yelp in pain, clutching her now burned shoulder as she did. While she was still reeling from the burn, Majestia shot forward and grabbed the girl by the face as she began to fly downward to the ground below. The fight had brought the two combatants back to the skies of Seattle, where both the citizens of the city and the members of the League who were sent to defend the city observed the confrontation. Both parties were in stunned shock at what they were witnessing. Majestia put WordGirl in front of her as they slammed through an evacuated building and out into the streets. Majestia dragged the girl across the pavement before flinging her into a nearby bank, where she smacked right into the vault.
Becky struggled to get back to her feet. She was trembling from the amount of agony that her body was in right now. She reached up and winced when she felt the bruises on her face before feeling something wet running down her nose to her lip. It was blood. Her blood. Becky wiped the blood from her nose and brought it to where she could see it. It was a goldish color that almost looked like yellow paint. Due to her impervious body, Becky had never bled once in her life. But seeing the blood that was now on her face rocked her mind. This was the first time in her life that she felt mortal. It'd be a humanizing moment had it not been for the fact that she was fighting for her life right now. It was then that Majestia burst through the bank, ready to continue the battle.
"Since you're so keen on teaching others words, let me teach YOU one," the United Hero began. "Today's word is 'Superior.' Which means to be greater than something or someone else. For example: I'm superior to you!"
Becky stood back up a bit, putting her hand on the vault door behind her as Majestia approached her.
"I-I have a word for you, too," Becky replied.
Her hand tightly clenched the vault door.
"Oh really?" Majestia said, unamused. "And what word would that be?"
"Vault"
"Vault?"
With one swift motion, WordGirl tore the vault door off its steel hinges and flung it at Majestia, knocking her back out into the street in the process.
"Yeah, vault," Becky said with a small grin.
Feeling a sense of victory, WordGirl shot out of the bank and flew toward where the bank door had landed, which was against a building. Becky floated up to the damaged door, thinking she had managed to finally stop Majestia. But that thought went out the door when the fellow alien ripped the vault in half and proceeded to try and sandwich the girl between the two halves. Thankfully, Becky managed to fly upwards to escape the attack but was unable to get away from Majestia, who grabbed WordGirl by the leg and slammed her back to the ground. The child superhero rolled out of the way as Majestia was about to stomp her deeper into the ground before flying off further into the city, to which Majestia gave chase. By the time the rest of the League arrived on the scene, the two powerhouses had flown deeper into the city.
"We have to stop them!" Nefer-Tina stated.
"You wanna get in the middle of that?" Alpine pointed out.
"Alpine's right, lass. We'd be mere gnats caught in a thunderstorm." Hudson agreed.
"Well, we can't just do nothing!" Kimiko addressed.
"We might not be able to do anything, but I know someone who can," Ripster mentioned before looking over to Kimiko. "You got a cellphone on you?"
"Is that even a question?" the Shaolin Monk replied as she handed him her phone.
"What's your plan, Ripster?" Nightbeat questioned.
"Our COMMs might be down, but I'm pretty sure social media is blowing up about this fight right now," the man-shark explained. "And I'm sure a certain someone's daughter is taking this all in as we speak. We just need to bring her here. I just hope WordGirl can hold out until she does."
WordGirl spat out another mouthful of blood as she tried to out-fly Majestia. At this point, Becky was unsure if Majestia was trying to kill her or not, but it didn't matter. As long as she was focused on her and not Prime, then she would keep distracting the more powerful woman until this whole event was over, if need be. Sadly, this wasn't a long chase, as Majestia caught up to the girl shortly after her pursuit in less than a minute. With one, swift punch to the girl's back, the older heroine sent the child superhero falling back to the streets. Due to the forward momentum at the speed she was flying, Becky was sent skidding across the pavement. After skidding for nearly half a mile, Becky came to halt when she hit a parked car.
Becky tried to get back to her feet, only to be taken by the throat and lifted into the air to face Majestia. This was a hopeless battle, and WordGirl knew it. The worst part of all this was that she knew that Majestia was still holding back and still pummeling her into the dirt. WordGirl was still holding back, as well, but she had a hunch that, even if she wasn't, she'd still be outclassed by a mile. With a clenched fist, Becky delivered a punch to her opponent's face that would've leveled a skyscraper, only to have it leave hardly a mark on Majestia's face.
"Please," the United Hero mocked at her efforts to fight back with a smirk.
Majestia then cranked back her fist and punched WordGirl with the force of a nuclear bomb to her face that sent her rocketing backward through ten different buildings before finally stopping when she collided with a wall. Sadly, before she could even try to pull herself out of the wall, Majestia had flown in and uppercut her straight up the building before flying up to strike her back down to Earth with another blow to her face. WordGirl forced herself back to her feet, only to be driven deeper into the ground by Majestia's foot.
"Since it's clear you're not familiar with your own kind, allow me to give you a lesson about my people and the Lexiconians," the more powerful woman began.
Becky attempted to unleash her heat vision again at Majestia's face, only to have the older heroine reach down, grab her by the face, and punch her into a building. As WordGirl staggered back upright, Majestia walked into the evacuated building, continuing her lecture.
"Our people come from neighboring worlds that evolved under similar circumstances, hence why we share similar powers," she furthered. "My daughter, Jessica, once referred to it as like Kryptonians and the Daxamites."
WordGirl let out a furious cry as she flew forward to try and punch her foe, only to be struck with another uppercut that sent her up several floors before Majestia followed.
"But, while I came from a race of warriors who conquered other worlds, your people were more interested in science and the betterment of the universe," she continued. "It was because of this that the Lexiconians gained a sense of elitism. Not that it matters. Despite all your scientific advancements, they still couldn't save themselves from being wiped out by Sailor Galaxia when she killed both our worlds."
Majestia then delivered several devastating punches to the already beaten child.
"You Lexiconians always looked down on my people as nothing more than brutes," she chided as she kicked Becky in the face. "So I'd be lying if I said this wasn't just a little bit satisfying."
She looked down at the beaten girl at her feet, not with pity but with a sense of triumph.
"Had enough?" She inquired.
Becky weakly stood back on her feet. Her nose was gushing blood, her left eye had been beaten black, and the rest of her face had been covered in cuts and bruises. Her helmet had been cracked open, her hair was sticking out, and her breaths had become more labored. Yet despite all this, the young Lexiconian refused to surrender. However, this act of defiance did little to sway the United Hero.
"I'm ready when you are," Majestia added before throwing another punch.
Becky was knocked through a window and sent falling back into the streets below. Majestia, however, simply floated down with her arms crossed and looking bored.
"I just have to know: Why are you making me do this?" she asked. "You're fighting to protect someone who might have caused the end of the world!"
"Because...it's the right thing to do," WordGirl wheezed out. "...Not like you'd know anything about tha-"
Majestia floated down to the ground and backhanded WordGirl back to the ground when she tried to throw another punch.
"You wanna die for that sanctimonious robot? FINE!" she shouted. "What's one less Infinity League member? I'm sure they'll find some other kid to replace you!"
Every punch was like getting hit by an atom bomb over and over again for Becky. She could hardly breathe at this point, and blood was flying from her mouth. With every blow, she was pushed deeper into the ground, shaking every building on the block as she did, even blasting the child with her heat vision as an added measure. It was becoming clear that Majestia was no longer playing around and was putting a permanent end to this fight. While Majestia kept up her assault, she had become so focused and beating WordGirl senseless that she failed to notice that civilians had been filming the fight on their phones since the two aliens had arrived in the city. Majestia's warrior blood had overridden her logical mind as every thought she now had was focused on crushing her opponent.
"Mother?" a voice spoke up.
In an instant, Majestia's mind snapped back to what it once was upon hearing the voice. She turned to see her robotic daughter, Uncanny Valley, standing before her with her wife, Knightowl, and Ripster's team standing before her. Slowly coming back to her senses, she looked around at the frightened faces of the humans she had sworn to protect. Who were recording her brutal attack on the fellow hero. For her, she was fighting someone who was trying to impede her mission. But to the public, she was beating a child to near death. Olympia looked down at her now blood-soaked fists as the realization of what she had done fully hit her.
"I wasn't...she made me..." she couldn't form words.
"Why did you do this, mother?" Uncanny Valley questioned.
"My-My darling...I..." her mother couldn't find the words.
"We need to leave," Knightowl stated. "Now."
Majestia nodded in understanding, knowing that her team needed to do some serious damage control for what she had done. As the trio departed, Knightowl turned to face Ripster and his team.
"This isn't over," she warned, earning her a sneer from the man-shark.
Ripster and the other League members rushed over to their wounded teammate. For a moment, the team almost thought that she was dead but were relieved to see her still breathing, albeit soft and shallow.
"The girl needs medical attention!" Hudson pointed out.
"But where can we take her?" Kimiko pointed out. "We can't reach Skyward Tower, and there's no hospital that can treat her!"
"We can take her to the Ark," Nightbeat said. "Ratchet and Hoist might be unavailable, but First Aid should still be there. He might be able to treat her."
"And how do you suppose we get there?" Alpine addressed. "We won't be able to reach the Ark in time, and who knows when one of the speedsters will show up?!"
At that moment, an idea struck Ripster's mind. He took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his nutated lungs.
"BUTTERCUP!" he exclaimed into the sky.
No sooner had he cried out her name did the toughest fighter arrive in a matter of seconds.
"This better be impor-Oh my god!" the Powerpuff Girl said in shock upon seeing the beaten hero.
"She needs to get to the Ark, fast!" Ripster ordered as he handed her their teammate.
Not needing to be told twice, Buttercup rocketed off toward the Autobot HQ. As WordGirl was left limp and defeated, she could only think of one thing: She needed training. Ever since she had begun her superhero career, she depended on the bare minimum of her powers alone. But now, it was clear that the world outside of Fair City was anything but fair. She needed proper training on using the full extent of her powers so, should she face another powerful foe, she wouldn't be so hopelessly outgunned.
And she knew exactly who to ask.
Her heightened hearing picked them up within seconds.
"What a heartless bitch."
All she could do was hang her head in shame as she was forced to listen to them all.
"How could she do that to a child?!"
And the worst part was...she knew, deep down, that they were right.
"To think I use to look up to her."
Despite Barbara's attempts to comfort her wife, Olympia couldn't even look up at the people whose trust she had betrayed, nor even her own daughter, as the three of them departed from Seattle. The burden of damage control she had inadvertently placed on Victory and the rest of the Heroz was incalculable. Their finances might only just barely be able to cover the property damage she had caused. The voices of the people she swore to protect showing their disgust towards her actions grew louder and louder as Doorman conjured a gateway back to their base.
Yet, despite all of that, there was one voice that was louder than the others. One that would not stop repeating the same three words the instant Majestia laid the first punch against WordGirl.
One that incessantly said these three words...from inside Olympia's head.
And right before she retreated to the United Heroz base, that same voice said this trio of words one final time.
"Shikaro...larem...olen."
[1] - As shown in a Team-Up centered around Godzilla and Destoroyah.
[2] - As shown in Brightburn's Spotlight.
