Justice League of Amazons: Fire & Blood
Chapter 2
…
STAR Labs. Metropolis.
Griff listened intently as Felicity explained to him what metahumans and aliens were. The concept mind-boggling to Griff as he was told of how there were people who possessed abilities and powers beyond those of normal people. And the concept of life on other planets seemed almost heretical in Griff's mind and when he was told that the stars themselves were in truth suns, both big and small, with planets revolving around and supporting them had his mind buzzing with questions.
Griff began to wander if he could possibly recruit an army of metahumans and aliens to his cause. If these, as Felicity put it, 'gods among men' could be put under the right commander, such an army would devastate all the armies the lords of Westeros or merchant princes of Essos could muster. Griff then asked what kind of powers and abilities did metahumans and aliens possess. Felicity had told Griff that it varied from each individual metahuman or alien race out there. Aliens like Kryptonians possessed the strength of giants and apparent invulnerability and could even fly through the sky without wings or shoot fire from their eyes so long as they were under a yellow sun. Kryptonians also appeared to look very similar to humans as Felicity showed Griff of a prominent but now deceased Kryptonian, Superman or Kal-El as his Kryptonian name was and was the only survivor of Krypton which had been destroyed in a cataclysm years ago. There were two other Kryptonians, Supergirl who was Superman's cousin, and Power Girl, a Kryptonian from another universe altogether and was an older version of Supergirl.
Other prominent Metahumans were shown to Griff such as the duo, Fire and Ice, women who possessed fire-based and ice-based powers respectively. Fire was a tall and shapely young woman with deep green hair and emerald eyes that practically glowed, while Ice was more petite with short pure white-blonde hair and icy blue eyes but was not without her charms. And it seemed that Fire wore more revealing attire, whereas Ice wore more conservative clothing. Felicity had explained to Griff that Fire, prior to becoming a crime fighter used to be a model for fashion, lingerie and swimwear companies, as well as coming from the country Brazil where it stayed almost hot and tropical all year-round requiring clothing that would keep you from overheating yourself. Griff chose not to comment on that as he did not wish to offend his hosts and partly because he was somewhat used to the female form thanks to one of his teachers, Septa Lemore, who would bathe every morning in the River Rhoyne naked in front of him, but he did not voice that out loud to anyone here either.
But the part about being a crime fighter confused Griff and he asked Felicity what that term meant. The blonde then explained that many metahumans used their powers to fight for the common people and protect them from dangers, both inside and out. Superman was a prime example of a crime fighter. There were also other crime fighters in the world such as Batman of Gotham City, who was said to not possess any powers of his own, but used a combination of superior athleticism, technology and training to bring the criminal element of Gotham to justice.
But, one thing that confused Griff was that many of these crime-fighting metahumans and heroes did not kill their opponents. If someone had proven themselves to be dangerous and unrepentant such as the Joker being a prominent example, should they not be put to death? Griff had asked Felicity that very same question, and she had explained to Griff that while crimefighters like Superman and Batman fought criminals, it was not their place to be judge, jury and executioner and that many criminals had severe mental illnesses and thus were not fully in control of their actions. Griff could understand that to a degree, but he disagreed with it on another. He supposed that with Aresia's virus, much of the criminal element of this world had been eradicated, but he had no doubt that there would be others to pick up the slack.
As Griff continued to listen to Felicity give him an in-depth lesson on metahumans, aliens, crimefighters and criminals, one of the security personnel rushed in. "We've got a situation outside!" the woman said urgently.
"What's going?" Felicity asked the guard who replied, "There's a mob of women outside the building. They're demanding to see Griff! It could get ugly!" she warned.
"Should I fear for my safety?" Griff asked as he checked his sword. Felicity sighed before saying, "We need to call the Justice League. They might be the only ones who can protect you right now," she said. Before Griff could ask who or what the Justice League was, Felicity had grabbed a communication device with a line to the Justice League Watchtower.
…
Earth's Orbit. The Justice League Watchtower.
The newly reformed Justice League had spent much of the day ending riots that had occurred across the globe. Of course, many rioters were not happy to see Diana and demanded that she answer for what Aresia had done, hurling abuse at the Amazon Princess. One incident happened when a young woman carrying a bundle marched up to Diana and…
SLAP!
Although Diana had a high level of endurance, the slap from the young woman hit her harder than anything she had felt before. Diana held her cheek in shock and she looked at the young woman who was crying.
"Give him back," the young woman sobbed.
"I…"
"GIVE ME BACK MY SON!"
Holding up the bundle in her arms, the young woman partially unfolded it to reveal a baby boy who would've been a beautiful and healthy bundle of joy but was now a lifeless corpse. Diana could only stare in horror as she was starkly reminded of the casualties of the virus.
The young woman then spoke again through the tears streaming down her cheeks. "What did my son ever do? What's his crime? Being born a male? YOU BITCH! We trusted you!" She sobbed hysterically. "He was the only child I had with my husband, who's dead too, because of your sister," she said through her tears, laying down the dead infant on the ground, the young woman then brought out a pistol and held the barrel to her temple.
Her last words to Diana were, "You wanted a world without men, Amazon? Well, you have it now… AND I WANT NO PART OF IT!" That said, the young woman pulled the trigger and with a loud bang and a spray of blood, grey matter and bone, the young mother had killed herself in front of Diana who was too shocked to stop her.
The crowd had gone ballistic and Shayera immediately ordered Diana to pull out and head back to the Watchtower to avoid aggravating the public even further. With a heavy heart, Diana had returned to the Watchtower, went straight to her room and lay down on the bed and wept silent tears.
The rest of the Justice League had returned to the Watchtower. Kara had made to go to Diana's room, but Shayera stopped her telling her that Diana needed to be alone to process everything. Witnessing a young woman kill herself would be a lot to process for Diana, more so that the young woman had been a mother with a baby and a husband.
As the Justice League nursed bruises and scrapes, all of them received ending riots and preventing suicides, the communication line to the Watchtower rang. Shayera immediately picked up the phone.
"Hawkgirl here," the Thanagarian said in a tired and agitated voice. "I beg your pardon?" she asked then her eyes went under her mask and she yelled, "YOU HAVE A LIVING MALE AT STAR LABS?!"
This got everyone's attention and they all began yelling out questions, wanting answers. Shayera listened to the communication line from STAR Labs intently, trying to filter out the noise from the Justice League.
"Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible. Watchtower out!" Hanging up the line, Shayera looked at the Justice League and said, "We've got a living surviving male at STAR Labs, and a mob has formed outside demanding to see him," she summed up the situation for everyone to hear. "We need to get down there and bring the guy to safety! Move out!" she ordered. Although everyone was tired and exhausted, they all scrambled to the javelins and left the Watchtower, re-entering Earth's atmosphere and flying towards Metropolis where the last possible hope humanity had was waiting for them.
…
STAR Labs. Metropolis.
Griff waited anxiously in a room. Reports from the security was saying that the mob was threatening to riot and break into the building. Griff had a fairly good idea that the mob of desperate women would try to get a piece of him or abduct him. While some small perverse part of Griff's mind wouldn't have minded all those women ravishing him senseless, a more logical part of him said that they'd more than likely keep him prisoner to use as a hostage to get whatever ransom they desired. Griff looked over what armaments he had on his person; he had Blackfyre, his goldenhart bow with a quiver of forty arrows, a Norvoshi hatchet and a simple steel dagger for close quarters. Griff had hoped that he wouldn't have to kill anyone, at least not today as some part noble and gallant part of him balked at the thought of killing women, but the more pragmatic part of him told him that he may have to forgo his honour if he was to survive.
Griff had no plans on being abducted or made a bed-slave. If it came down to it, he would rather die with a sword in his hands than in a cage, just like he said to Amanda Waller. Maybe he should've taken Amanda's offer of protection? Squashing down that thought, Griff steeled himself for a fight if it would come knocking on his door.
Seating himself on the nearby chair with Blackfyre resting across his lap, Griff waited for whatever was to come. Felicity entered the room and spoke to him. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked gently.
"Well, I'm fine, physically," replied Griff. "But it's taking all my mental faculties to comprehend my unique situation," he then said grimly.
"Can't imagine a situation quite like this," Felicity agreed as she sat next to Griff. "A horde of women all demanding to see you, wanting a piece of you, or who knows what," she muttered.
"My… father would probably want to get me out of this place and get me somewhere to safety," Griff mumbled to himself thinking about his father figure, Old Griff. "He would not want a horde of women after me for any reason," he said with a slight smile as he thought of what Old Griff would do to protect him from danger.
"Your father, what's he like?"
"Old Griff is a very serious and stern man, but he is a good man nonetheless," Griff said. "He and Duck, Haldon and Septa Lemore have taught me all I know," he added.
"What did they teach you?" Felicity asked.
"Duck taught me skill at arms, Haldon taught me mathematics, history and languages and Lemore taught me poetry and the mysteries of the Seven, and Old Griff taught me how the court of lords and statecraft worked, as well as how to lead men into battle," Griff said as he remembered all the years of tutelage he received from his teachers and mentor.
"Why would they teach you all that?"
Griff had a reluctant expression on his face and Felicity saw the expression and said, "There's something you're not telling me," she stated. "What is it you're not telling me?" she asked.
"I… can't tell you," Griff said reluctantly, and he looked saddened.
"You're not an ordinary person, are you?" Felicity asked shrewdly.
"No. I'm not," Griff admitted truthfully, and he raised a hand up to forestall Felicity's questions. "I can't tell you who I really am, right now. I don't know whom I can trust yet," he explained. "But I will tell you in time, once I am sure that I am safe," he promised.
"I'll hold you to that," Felicity replied looking at Griff in a manner that said they were not done with the topic of who Griff really was.
…
The Javelins lands just a short mile away from STAR Labs. Shayera observed the chanting crowd of women gathered outside STAR Labs through a pair of short-range binoculars. "It looks pretty bad, all things considered," the Thanagarian commented as she lowered the lenses and handed them to Helena who looked at the mob.
Kara and Karen who used their super vision to see the crowd both nodded their agreement. "What's the plan?" Karen asked Shayera.
"We need to go in through the back way and take the package out through the back way, or have Zatanna teleport him to the Javelins," Shayera said.
"And if something goes wrong?" Dinah asked playing Devil's Advocate.
"Then we may have to use a little force," Shayera replied as her hand touched the handle of her Nth metal mace. "Let's move!" she ordered.
Going around to the back entrance of STAR Labs, the Justice League was greeted by the staff security and were led inside. Felicity was there to greet the Justice League.
"Thank god you came!" the bespectacled blonde exhaled in relief. "We were getting worried," she stated the obvious.
"So, who's the guy? And how is he alive from the plague?" Shayera asked getting to business.
"His name if Griff. Young Griff if you wanna be specific," replied Felicity. "And he's not from around here. He looks like something out of Live Action Role Play; sword, leather armour, bow & arrows, even a dagger and hatchet," she said. "And he looks different from most guys as well; hair dyed blue and I think purple eyes," she added.
"And I also get the feeling that he's not who he says he is," Felicity then said. "He doesn't seem like the run of the mill mercenary, he certainly doesn't talk like one that's for sure," she added.
"Could he be a time traveller?" Shayera asked.
"We don't know until we finish the tests on his blood," replied Felicity as she led them towards a room. "He's in here," she said to the Justice League. "Just try not to spook him. He's a little under pressure," she advised. Shayera nodded and opened the door to the room.
Entering the room, the Justice League were then met with a young man with a lanky build wearing leather armour cleaning a sword that looked as though it would not belong in a common mercenary's possession, along with a bow made of green wood, a hatchet of unidentifiable make and a small dagger. The young man jerked up in surprise, his hand going to the sword out of reflex; his purple-blue eyes widened in surprise at Shayera and he gawked.
"Something wrong?" Shayera said in a snarky way.
"Eh… no, it's just… you have wings," replied the young man. "Are… are you what Lady Felicity calls an alien?" he asked.
"Yeah, but we can get into that topic another time," said Shayera before she asked, "Are you Young Griff?"
"Aye, I am," replied the blue-haired lad. "I take it you're here to whisk me away to safety," he said rather than asked.
"We are," Shayera said before saying, "C'mon, we'll go out the back. Safer that way," she explained. The blue-haired young man then gathered his possessions and followed Shayera and the Justice League through the corridors of STAR Labs to the back part of the building.
But, as if Lady Luck decided to spite them, a small group of women spotted the Justice League with Young Griff in tow and they started to shout which in turn caught the attention of the mob out the front of STAR Labs. With a thundering of many feet, the mob of women turned around the corner and charged towards the Justice League and their ward.
Young Griff drew his sword with a rasp of steel scraping against leather and wood and held the blade ready in his hands.
"No time for that!" Shayera said to him before grabbing the young man under the arms and with a flap of her eagle like wings, they shot up into the air while the rest of the Justice League followed behind them using either flight or grapnel launchers to propel themselves into the air.
Griff almost wanted to yell out in shock, but he stayed his tongue and watched as the mob of women grew smaller as Shayera flew them upwards through the concrete jungle of tall buildings. Reaching a distant build where some strange vessels sat, Shayera set them down and Griff looked at the Thanagarian and said to her, "Thank you, but I would appreciate if you asked me next time," he said stiffly to her.
"Would you rather be torn apart by a mob of women?" Shayera shot back and Griff nodded his head slightly as if conceding the argument. Griff then looked at the vessels and asked, "What manner of vessels are these? I don't recognise them," he remarked as his purple-blue eyes picked over the details of the vessels. They didn't match anything he had read on ships and they seemed very much different from the vehicles he'd seen on the streets and roads of this city.
"We call them Javelins," Kara said to Griff who looked at her in askance. "They're… flying machines," the young Kryptonian summed up in as few words as possible.
"Ah," Griff grunted. "I take it we're going to fly in them?" he asked.
"Yep, we're taking you to the Watchtower for the time being," Shayera replied.
"Where is this Watchtower? Is it nearby?" Griff enquired.
"It's in Earth's orbit." Upon a blank look from Griff, Shayera said, "Just get in, you'll see soon enough."
Griff entered one of the Javelins and sat down in one of the seats. Shayera took the pilot's seat and Kara joined her and Griff. The others all climbed into the other Javelins. Shayera flipped on the engines and with a whirring hum, the Javelin lifted into the air angling itself to leave Earth's atmosphere. Griff gripped the armrests of his seat tightly, feeling very uneasy at this mode of transportation. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kara trying to supress her giggles and he glared at her which only made the young Kryptonian giggle more.
Then looking out the portside window, Griff's jaw dropped as he saw the vastness of space. "If only Haldon could see this," he murmured to himself.
"Approaching the Watchtower, prepare for landing," Shayera announced and looking out the pilot window past the Thanagarian, Griff's jaw would've dropped even further if possible as he gazed upon the Watchtower for the first time.
"Gods be good!" he whispered in astonishment.
"Yeah, that's what I thought the first time I saw it," Kara said to Griff who glanced at her before looking back on the Watchtower. The Javelins entered the Watchtower hangar bay and the hangar bay door closed behind them.
Exiting the Javelins, Griff stared all around him; everything seemed so immaculately clean and sterile, he doubted even the southron lords of Westeros or even the merchant princes of Essos could have their homes so clean. And there were blinking lights of different colours, though for what purpose, Griff did not know and could only guess.
"You okay?" one of the Justice League members, a beautiful dark-skinned woman like a Summer Islander wearing a tight revealing orange outfit with an amulet carved from bone or wood hanging around her swan-like neck asked kindly.
"Forgive me for gawking, but it's just…" Griff tried to say when the dark-skinned beauty nodded at him kindly and said to him, "It's a lot to take in, but you'll get used to it," she said to him gently. Griff nodded as it was all he could do at this moment.
Shayera then spoke, "Alright, first thing's first, we're gonna have a little chat," she said firmly.
"About what?" Griff asked nonplussed.
"About who you are, and where you come from, obviously," Shayera said with a roll of her eyes.
"Ah, of course, it makes sense you'd want to know who I am," Griff said sheepishly.
"C'mon, we'll head to the Monitor Room, we can talk there," Shayera said to everyone. But Kara then stopped her and asked, "Should I…?" she tried to ask. Shayera nodded and said, "Yeah, go get her," she said quietly. Kara then walked away down the corridor and disappeared from sight.
"Who is it that the lass is fetching?" Griff asked.
"A friend who's been through a lot lately," Shayera replied as they headed to the Monitor Room where a conference table was set up with chairs for everyone to sit on. Griff sat at the head of the table and everyone else took their seats and looked at him expectantly.
"So, from what Felicity told us, your name is Young Griff, at least that's what you told Felicity," Shayera recounted the details she had gotten from Felicity. "But Young Griff isn't your real name, is it?" she asked shrewdly.
"No. It is not," Griff admitted quietly.
"So, what is your real name?"
Griff sighed heavily before saying, "I think to better explain who I am, I first must tell you of the history of my homeland," he said tiredly.
"Three hundred or so years ago, my homeland, Westeros known as the Seven Kingdoms was ruled by seven kings, each of whom ruled a region of Westeros," Griff began.
"The North of Westeros is a cold unforgiving landscape and the vastest region of Westeros and is ruled by the Starks of Winterfell, their sigil a direwolf and their words 'Winter is Coming.'"
"To the far south, the deserts of Dorne were ruled by the Martells of Sunspear whose sigil is a red sun pierced by a gold spear and their words are 'Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken.'"
"The Westerlands were ruled by the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, their sigil a golden lion and their words are 'Hear Me Roar.'"
"Just below the Westerlands is the Reach, the most fertile of Westeros ruled by the Gardeners of Highgarden, though I forget what their words and sigil were."
"Slightly above Dorne was the Stormlands ruled by the Durrandons of Storm's End, their house words were 'Ours is the Fury', and their sigil was crowned prancing black stag."
"To the east was the mountains of the Vale, ruled by the Arryns of the Eyrie and their sigil was a falcon and their words are 'As High as Honour.'"
"In the middle of Westeros was the Riverlands, ruled by the Tullys of Riverrun and their sigil is a fish and their words are 'Family, Duty and Honour.'"
"And on the western coasts were the Iron Islands ruled by the Ironborn led by the Hoares, their words and sigil lost to the ages," Griff said.
"And on the eastern coasts on a small island volcano was the keep of Dragonstone, ruled by the last remnants of the Valyrian empire, House Targaryen."
"Okay, we're with you so far," Zatanna said thoroughly engrossed in the story.
"At that time in history, the Seven Kingdoms were just squabbling regions, ruled by petty kings," Griff then said. "Chief among these squabbling and warmongering kings were Harren the Black of the Iron Islands and Argilac the Arrogant of Storms End," he added.
"Harren had conquered most of the Riverlands and had just completed the building of a massive fortress which had been started by his grandsire and with the completion of his new fortress, he and his reavers were free to raid and plunder again."
"Harren's chief opponent was Argilac who in his youth had turned back an invasion for the Dornish and had smashed the Tigers of Volantis. But he was now older, his famous mane of black hair turned to grey and his prowess at arms fading. He was survived by his only child and maiden daughter."
"But on the island of Dragonstone, the young lord of House Targaryen, Aegon and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, had begun to make plans to conquer all of Westeros and bring it under their rule," Griff then said.
"Hold up! Sister-wives?" Huntress asked. "As in, they were the sisters of Aegon?" she then asked.
"Yes. In the Freehold of Valyria, it was common practice to marry brother to sister, or niece to uncle, or nephew to aunt to keep the dragon-blood pure," replied Aegon.
"Oh, please tell me they didn't actively practice incest!" Power Girl asked looking sickened.
"It's just how it is," Griff said shrugging his shoulders. "I'll admit it does have problems such as madness and mental instability, but that's how it's always been, but that didn't mean that those of the dragon-blood didn't marry outside of their families," he added.
"What does dragon-blood mean?" Shayera asked. "Is it something to do with dragons?"
"Aye, the Valyrians were famed for hatching, taming and riding dragons and they even claimed to be born from dragons as well, and if you've seen those of pure Valyrian features, you'd be hard pressed to say otherwise," Griff said.
"What kind of features?" Black Canary asked.
"Hair like silver and gold beaten and woven together, pale skin and eyes in shades of violet, lilac, indigo or purple," Griff said. "But we can get into that later," he added.
"On Dragonstone, Aegon and his wives were the last remaining descendants of Valyria as decades before, a great cataclysm befell Valyria known as the Doom and left naught but smoking ruins."
"The Targaryens only escaped the Doom when Daenys the Dreamer foresaw it in a dream and they took their dragons, their vassals and all they could carry with them and fled to Dragonstone. The other Valyrians saw it as an act of cowardice and surrender."
"But then came the Doom in which the volcanic mountains of Valyria erupted and burned so hot that even dragons burned. There were no survivors in the Freehold and all that was left of the Valyrian empire were their colony outposts such as Volantis, Lys or Pentos, just to name a few," Griff said.
"But back to the matter at hand; of all the squabbling kings of the Seven Kingdoms, none was more feared than Harren the Black, and the most threatened by Harren was Argilac who then reached out to Aegon of Dragonstone, offering his daughter's hand in marriage and lands east of the Gods Eye from the Trident to the Blackwater Rush as her dowry."
"Aegon politely refused saying that he had two wives and no need of a third and the dower lands offered were not Argilac's to give. Aegon then made a counter-offer to the Storm King; he would take the dower lands offered if Argilac ceded Massey's Hook and the woods and plains from the Blackwater south of the river to the Wendwater and the headwaters of the Mander. Aegon also made the offer of wedding Argilac's daughter to his childhood companion and champion Orys Baratheon."
"But Argilac rejected those terms angrily citing that Orys was a baseborn half-brother to Aegon and that he would not dishonour his daughter by marrying her to him and he cut off the hands of Aegon's messenger and returned them to him in a box saying 'these are the only hands your bastard shall have of me.'"
"Without replying, Aegon summoned his friends, bannermen and principal allies to attend him on Dragonstone; their numbers were small and for several days, Aegon and his wives prayed to the Seven of Westeros, though they had never been accounted as pious."
"On the seventh day, messenger ravens were sent across all of Westeros, to the seven kings, to the Citadel of Old Town, to lords both great and small. The message was the same to all of them; there would only be one king of Westeros. Those who bent the knee to Aegon Targaryen of Dragonstone would keep their lands and titles, and those who refused would be thrown down, humbled and destroyed."
"So, I take it most of the Seven kings refused to bow down to Aegon?" Zatanna asked and Griff nodded and said, "Most of them did refuse and they were thrown down and forced to submit. Harren and Argilac had called their banners to them. King Mern of the Reach had ridden to Casterly Rock and entered an alliance with King Loren of House Lannister. The Princess of Dorne had sent a raven to Aegon offering to join him against Argilac, not as a subject but an equal and ally. Another offer of an alliance had come from the boy king of Eyrie, Ronnel of house Arryn whose mother asked for all the lands east of the Green Fork of the Trident for the Vale's support against Harren the Black. In the North, King Torrhen of House Stark sat with his lords and bannermen, discussing what was to be done about Aegon and his wives."
"So long story short, Aegon managed to conquer all of his enemies?" Shayera asked.
"Well, more or less, I suppose," Griff admitted. "Aegon and his armies suffered losses, but they did win quite a few battles. Upon a rebellion in the Riverlands led by Lord Edmyn Tully of Riverun, Harren and his sons and their sons took refuge in the great fortress of Harrenhal and barred the gates," he recounted.
"Harrenhal you understand was a massive fortress, it's dining hall was big enough for thirty-five hearths and its walls were made of thick black stone, higher than any ladder made and were too thick and sturdy for battering rams and trebuchets to shatter. But, as you can guess, that didn't stop Aegon," Griff then said.
"What did Aegon do?" Mari asked.
"He first treated with Harren and gave him the choice to surrender and keep his lands and titles, but Harren refused and retreated back into Harrenhal," Griff replied. "Upon nightfall, Aegon rode his dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, high into the night sky and rained fire down onto the massive castle," he said.
"The flames from Balerion burned so hot, that the very stone of Harrenhal began to twist and melt like candle wax. And Harrenhal was not made of stone along; wood and wool, hemp and straw all caught alight and not even Harren's Ironborn could escape the blaze, their sword melting in their hands and they were cooked alive in their armour. Harren and his sons all died in the blaze and thus House Hoare died with them. What few survivors remained, all surrendered to Aegon the next morning and he accepted an oath of fealty from Edmyn Tully whom he named Lord Paramount of the Riverlands."
"The next king to fall was Argilac himself, who met Aegon's host out in the open on the field of battle and was slain by Orys in single combat. Argilac's daughter Argella then barred the gates of Storm's End and declared herself the Storm Queen. But sadly, her men had no wish to die, so they bound her naked in chains and sent her to Orys who released her chains himself, wrapped his cloak around her, poured her wine and spoke to her gently, telling her of her father's courage and the manner of his passing. Afterwards, to honour the fallen king, Orys took the sigil and words of House Durrandon for his own and married Argella and became lord paramount of the Stormlands."
"So who was next to submit?" Helena asked.
"The next kings to fall was the alliance between the Gardeners and Lannisters," replied Griff. "Upon meeting on the field of battle, Aegon and his wives upon their dragon engulfed the Gardener-Lannister host in flames and destroyed all of House Gardener. King Loren managed to survive, riding through the fire and smoke when he saw the battle was lost; he was captured the next day," he said. "Loren then swore an oath of fealty to Aegon and Aegon named him Lord paramount of the Westerlands and was followed by oaths of fealty by Loren's bannermen and what remained of the Gardeners' bannermen," he added.
"Entering the seat of House Gardener, Highgarden was handed over to Aegon by the Gardeners' steward, Harlan Tyrell, and in thanks, Aegon named Tyrell Lord of Highgarden and lord paramount of the Reach and gave him command of all Gardener's vassals," Griff then said.
"The next king to submit was Torrhen Stark, but there was no battle for Torrhen submitted willingly when he saw that he could not defeat Aegon through strength of arms and he knelt to Aegon upon meeting him and was named Lord Paramount of the North and thus no Northman's bones burned."
"Next was the Vale which had never successfully been invaded, but Visenya rode high above the Vale's defences and landed in the Eyrie's courtyards. Ronnel's mother, the dowager queen Sharra Arryn rushed out with a dozen guards at her back only to find her son seated on Visenya's knee looking at Visenya's dragon wonderstruck and asked if he could go flying," Griff then said with a slight smile and everyone smiled slightly at hearing of Ronnel's innocence. "After flying around the Eyrie three times, Ronnel landed as Lord Paramount of the Vale and thus avoided a loss of life and blood."
"The last was not conquered, for the Dornish had seemingly disappeared into the sands of Dorne and when Rhaenys met with the Princess of Dorne, Meria Martell, she was told that the next time they came to Dorne would be the last," Griff then said.
"So, that is the beginnings of the Seven Kingdoms," Griff then said. "And I'm sure as you have already guessed by now, I am a descendant of Aegon the Conqueror," he declared.
"And Young Griff isn't your name, is it?" Shayera asked.
"No, it is not, my true name is Aegon VI Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell," replied Griff, now named Aegon. "And I am in hiding," he then said.
"Why are you in hiding?" asked a voice and standing in the doorway was Diana. Aegon gazed at her cautiously, his eyes widening in surprise upon seeing Diana's mode of dress.
"And whom might you be?" Aegon replied.
"Princess Diana of Themyscira, home of the Amazons."
"Amazons… was it not an Amazon who was the cause of all the death's of men on this world?" Aegon said lightly.
Diana had a sad frown on her face and replied, "Yes. It was my sister Aresia who unleashed a virus upon Man's World in accordance to Amazon teachings," she admitted. "But, I had no part to play in her plan and I tried to stop her when she did," she said sincerely.
"And how am I to know you speak the truth?" Aegon retorted. "Who's to say you won't finish what your sister started?" he added.
"Because I was there when Diana tried to stop Aresia," Shayera said. "You might not have much reason to trust Diana, but I hope you can trust my word," she added formally.
Aegon looked at Diana then at Shayera before saying, "Very well, I shall take your word for it," he said to the Thanagarian. "But if Diana does try anything, I'll make sure she faces justice," he promised.
"That's all we can ask for I guess," Shayera said with a sardonic smile. "So, why exactly are you in hiding?" she then asked.
"Well, when I was but an infant, my damned father stole away another man's bride and that started war which led to the downfall of House Targaryen," Aegon said with a bitter look on his face.
"You seem to hate your father," Barbara noted.
"And so would you if your father had abandoned your mother for another woman," Aegon said bitterly. "My mother loved Rhaegar and bore him a daughter, Rhaenys, and then me, and he left her for another woman," he added venomously.
"But, why did your father leave your mother?" Dinah asked. "And how did that start a rebellion?"
"My father met Lyanna Stark and ran off, or kidnapped her, and when Lyanna's father and brother demanded that Rhaegar answer for his crimes, my grandfather, Aerys II the Mad King had them executed and that set off the spark for Rebellion led by Robert Baratheon, Lyanna's intended and culminated when the Lord Tywin Lannister tricked Aerys into opening the gates of Kings Landing and sacked the city," Aegon answered. "My… mother and sister were killed by Tywin's attack dogs, Gregor Clegane the Mountain that Rides and Amory Lorch and thus clearing the way for Robert to claim the throne," he said sadly.
"But, what about you? How did you escape?" Karen asked.
"I was switched for a tanner's son and smuggled out of Kings Landing and I was raised in Essos ever since," Aegon said. "And upon my eight and tenth nameday, I found myself on this world," he added.
"What do you remember last?" Shayera asked.
"I was upon the Shy Maid, a sailing ship and my home, I had received some gifts and my birthright and I stepped out onto the deck and suddenly there was a loud rumble of thunder and a flash of light and I suddenly found myself in an alleyway in the city Metropolis where Felicity found me," Aegon recalled.
"Interesting, very interesting," Shayera muttered as she thought to herself.
"So, what now? Am I to hide away here until I find a way back home?" Aegon asked.
"No," Shayera said swiftly. "No doubt your existence will discovered throughout Earth by now and what remains of the governments will be wanting to meet with you and that'll lead to a whole political mess," she added grumpily.
"And what then?" Aegon asked.
"Well, assuming you're immune to the virus, plans will have to be made to repopulate the Earth and that'll require something… very personal," Shayera said.
"Personal? What do you mean?"
"You're going to have to… donate, if you know what I mean."
"Donate what?" asked Aegon cluelessly.
Everyone shared an awkward glance with each other and Zatanna chose to speak, "Well, what we mean is that you're going to have to donate your… seed," she said.
Realisation dawned on Aegon and his eyes went wide and he said, "I have to lay with every woman on this world?" he asked in shock and apprehension.
"Well, no, nothing like that, that'd be impossible!" Zatanna said quickly. "But, there are other ways for women to be impregnated," she added.
"Oh, thank the Gods!" Aegon said relief. "I thought I'd become like Aegon the Unworthy," he muttered to himself.
"Aegon the Unworthy? Was he a king?" Kara asked.
"Aye, the fourth of his name and he certainly earned the title Unworthy," Aegon said. "He sired scores of bastards, from common whores to noblewomen, no woman was off limited for him and he misruled the realm and laid the seeds of a rebellion led by his bastard Daemon Waters who took the name Blackfyre after the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, this sword in fact," he added unsheathing Blackfyre and holding out in his hands.
"Not a bad looking sword," Shayera said approvingly. "It's not ordinary steel I take it?" she asked as she looked at the dark and smoky blade of Blackfyre.
"Aye, it's Valyrian steel or dragon-steel, forged in Valyria at the height of its power," replied Aegon. "Nothing holds an edge like Valyrian steel, and cuts through armour and flesh like a hot knife through butter," he said.
"I can feel magic coming off it," Zatanna said. "Was it forged with magic?" she asked.
"Some say the Dragonlords of Valyria wove magical spells into the molten metal before blasting it with dragon-fire, but the secret to forging Valyrian steel was lost in the Doom," Aegon said. "The Valyrian steel that exists now is all that there will be and only a handful of smiths can even reshape Valyrian steel," he added.
"Interesting. Would you permit to examine it later?" Zatanna asked politely.
"Later," Aegon said. "I want to keep it close by for now," he explained as he sheathed the sword by his side.
"Of course," Zatanna said demurely.
"So, I'm to donate my seed to the women of this world to repopulate, is that right?" Aegon asked in a strained voice.
"They're still doing some tests on your blood to see if you're compatible with people on this world, but if all goes well, then it'll probably have to be done," Shayera said.
"Oh, goody, a world full of my bastards, I'm sure Old Griff will be delighted," Aegon muttered to himself.
"I take it Old Griff wouldn't like the idea very much?" Kara asked sardonically.
"No. He'd have wanted me to marry a woman of noble birth and not bed any whores or sire bastards," replied Aegon. "He'd want me to be the perfect king to live and serve for the people of Westeros," he said dryly.
"Doesn't let you have much fun, I take it?" Mari commented.
"He lets me have some fun, but I've always respected his wishes," Aegon said honestly and he looked at Mari and said to her, "Are you trying to tempt me?" he asked.
"Not right now," Mari said innocently. "But I'm sure everyone else here wouldn't object to having a little fun with you," she added with a sly smirk on her lips as she looked at the rest of the Justice League who all shuffled awkwardly on the spot.
"Not to mention, there'd be no end of women wanting a piece of you," Mari then said with a mirthful smile.
"Oh, goody…"
"Well, I'm sure we're all pretty tired from today. Right not, I could do with some food and a cold bottle of beer," Shayera announced and everyone murmured their agreement.
"I could eat," Aegon admitted. "Do you have any venison stew?" he asked.
"Not sure about venison, but have you ever tried pizza before?"
"Pizza? What's pizza?"
"Well, let this be your first culinary lesson on Earth cuisine," Shayera said as they left the Monitor Room and headed to the cafeteria.
…
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: there! The second chapter of this done and dusted. I know this seems like a trope of explanations, but hey, at least I got something out and it's a decent sized chapter for you all to chew on. Anywho, I got this chapter out of the way and I can then work on some other projects, some of them ongoing and some are brand new. Speaking of brand new, I do have an upcoming crossover of Elder Scrolls/Highschool of the Dead where the Dragon ends up in the Highschool of the Dead universe; the story takes a lot of inspiration from a H.O.T.D fic called Accepting Her Demons where Saeko runs off into the zombie horde alone and is separated from the group and encounters a foreigner who encourages her darkness and battles a darkness of his own. My crossover does take a lot of inspiration from that story, so to the author of that story, I do apologise if I'm ripping off you on that, but at least I apologised, didn't I?
So, anyway, I have set up a voting poll for my crossover on my profile and it's a mixture os H.O.T.D girls, Elder Scrolls/Skyrim girls, Fallout girls, Witcher girls and OCs as I do have idea on how to incorporate Fallout and Witcher into the idea. Still working that out as I go, but hopefully it'll take off.
Anyhow, I do have some ideas for this story, taking some inspo from free man writer's work, more specifically, some of his arcs from Noble Justice such as the Samurai Jack mythos, the Supernatural mythos, the Doom mythos and more recently the God of War (2018) mythos and in regards to God of War, much like free man writer, there will be no Kratos or Atreus as they won't fit in the context of the story and the Greek Gods are very much alive in this story and they'll feature in this story as well. So, don't ask me if Kratos and Atreus will feature in this story! And to free man writer, I apologise in advance if it seems like I'm ripping off your work, but yours is just so good that I have to emulate it in my work! Again, I apologise.
Anyway, that's about it from me so I'll just leave this here.
Oh, and my personal opinion of the final season of Game of Thrones is that D&D really dropped the ball and traded everything for shock value, like for instance, Jaime goes crawling back to Cersei and Daenerys goes Mad Queen, Varys betraying Daenerys, Jon getting thrown under the bus after everything, Bran becoming king! WTF!? I get that it's Game of Thrones, but c'mon! Was it really that necessary to do all of that?! Hopefully in my work, I'll be able to have more of a happy ending that season eight and hopefully Dany won't go Mad Queen on me.
But I'm going on a tangent, so I'll just leave this here.
Be kind to one another, everyone,
Angry lil' elf.