Justice League of Amazons: Fire & Blood
Chapter 13
…
The Watchtower.
Aegon was in the workout room armed with a simple sparring sword and shield. He swung his practice weapon at a training dummy, dull thuds and cracks rung out with each strike. Spinning around, Aegon swung his sword in a downward strike onto the head of the dummy. The dummy rattled under the force of the blow and vibrations ran up Aegon's arm. Ignoring it, Aegon pulled his sword back and thrust it like a spear at the dummy's chest. The dummy reeled back under the blow and Aegon followed up his attack with a swipe from his shield. The dummy nearly fell over to the side under the blow and Aegon swung his sword hard at the dummy's neck and this time, the dummy was knocked over.
Aegon panted for breath, sweat pouring down his brow as he stared at the fallen dummy. His arms were tense and shook from exertion, but he couldn't let that stop him as he prepared to put the dummy back up to standing position and prepared to go again.
"Impressive," a voice suddenly said and Aegon turned his head to see Captain O'Day standing in the doorway to the exercise room, leaning on the doorframe watching with an interested expression on her face.
"Captain O'Day? What brings you here, my lady?" Aegon asked as he looked at the blonde Airforce Captain.
"Well, I was going to take a look at the training equipment and maybe even try the combat simulator," Angel said. "Then I saw you in here and decided to watch," she added. "You've got a bit of skill. You could use a little work, but you've definitely got potential," she complimented.
"Umm, thank you, my lady," Aegon said a little embarrassed at the compliment given to him. "I was trained for knighthood since I was old enough to walk and I simply wish to keep my skills up," he added.
"What kind of things did you learn?" Angel asked as she walked over to Aegon and stood just a few feet from him, keeping a respectful distance from him.
"Many things; swordsmanship, horsemanship, archery, wrestling, how to ride rings and the tilt, those sorts of things," Aegon replied.
"Tilt? Is that like jousting?" Angel asked.
"Er, yes, it is jousting, riding against your opponent with a lance aimed at them to knock them off their horse," Aegon clarified.
"Well, I can't say I know how to 'tilt,' but I do have some experience in swordsmanship," Angel said with a smile on her lips.
"Yes, I was told that you had beaten three fencing masters in sparring sessions simply to see if you could," Aegon said.
"Yeah, was a bit of a workout I can tell you." Angel grinned brightly. "But I suspect the fencing I did isn't something you're familiar with," she then said.
"Not quite, I would think," Aegon admitted modestly. "I was trained in the use of longswords and shields, nothing like rapiers and sabres," he said.
"Well, can't say I've ever used a longsword or shield, but that won't stop me from trying," Angel stated. "Would you care to indulge me?" she asked sweetly.
"Well, never let it be said that I would refuse a challenge," Aegon said in resignation. Angel grinned widely before grabbing a sparring sword and shield and prepared to face Aegon in the training ring.
Aegon rested the blade of his training sword on the rim of his shield and waited for Angel to make the first move. For a long moment, neither made any move towards each other. Aegon frowned before surging forward, keeping his shield while he thrusted with his sword like a spear or lance. Angel deflected the strike with her shield and shifted to Aegon's left side and swung her own sword at him. Aegon managed to move back in time and he and Angel started circling each other.
Angel then swung her sword and as did she, she moved her shield to allow herself to fully swing her sword. Aegon swung his sparring sword but Angel slapped the blunted away at the last second and shoved him back with a thrust kick.
"Oof!" Aegon grunted as he nearly fell onto his backside but he quickly got back up just as Angel swung her sword in a series of strikes. Aegon raised his sparring shield and grunted as the strike nearly knocked his shield from his grasp. It seemed Captain O'Day had quite a bit of strength in her petite frame. Hardly surprising given her background in the military. The second strike from Angel's training sword struck Aegon on the leg making him growl in pain as he nearly fell to his knee.
He barely raised his sword in time to block an overhead strike from Angel. Shockwaves rattled down Aegon's arm as Angel's sword struck his making his arm shake and teeth chatter. Angel pressed down hard as she tried to force Aegon's sword down. With a growl of exertion, Aegon swung his shield at Angel and struck her in the side. Angel gave a yelp of pain as she stumbled back, panting from the pain. Aegon got back on his feet and went into a ready position. Angel smiled widely as she charged forward, but this time Aegon was ready for her.
As Angel was upon him, Aegon went low, thrusting his shield forward in a charge. Using the momentum of Angel's charge, Aegon flipped the Airforce Captain over him. Angel gave a cry as she went spinning in the air once before crashing down on the mat. Angel gasped as the wind was driven out of her body. Aegon stood over her, panting for breath himself and pointed the blunted point of his sword at Angel's face.
"Do you yield?" was all the Valyrian asked her. Captain O'Day just smiled as she suddenly flexed her hips upward, her legs wrapping around Aegon's hips in a scissor-grab. With a twist, Angel made Aegon topple over and she quickly rolled on top of him, her hands pinning his wrists above his head and her legs stopping his from moving.
"Do you yield?" Angel O'Day parroted playfully at Aegon who was blushing a little as he realised just how close her face was to his. Reluctantly, Aegon nodded. "Good." Angel gave a giggle as she kept Aegon pinned to the floor. "I think I've earned myself a prize, wouldn't you say?" she asked casually.
"Well, we never actually said this was a contest," Aegon said meekly.
"True. I suppose we didn't actually say this was a contest," Angel said in agreement. "But, who really cares about details like that?" she added as she looked down at Aegon, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I, uhhh…" Aegon was a little lost for words as it seemed that Angel was not about to let this go. The question was what it was she had in mind for a prize.
"Hmmm… now what kind of a prize do I want from you?" Angel said to herself slowly as she released Aegon's wrists to sit up straight, straddling him, putting a finger to her chin and tapping it in thought.
"What is it you want?" Aegon asked her as he rubbed his wrists.
"I could think of a few things," Angel O'Day said with a mischievous grin on her lips.
Aegon frowned and said to her, "If you want to sleep with you as your prize then forget it. I choose my partners with a little more care and it speaks more about your employer's intentions towards me."
Angel had the good grace to look a little embarrassed as she replied, "I have nothing but pure intentions towards you, Mr Targaryen. I can't speak for my bosses, but I would never try to seduce you to learn secrets about you or the League."
"So long as we're clear on that," Aegon said with a nod of his head. "You mind?" he asked.
"Oh! Sure," Angel said as she got off Aegon and helped him to his feet. "So, about my prize…"
"If it's withing my power and within reason, then ask," Aegon said to her.
"How about… dinner and a movie," Angel suggested.
Aegon nodded and said, "Name a time and place."
"Good. I'll let you know when it's my day off and what movie we can watch," Angel said with a smile. Aegon nodded and made to say something when the Watchtower PA system blared to life.
"All members of the League, please report to the bridge at once."
"No rest for the wicked," Angel remarked as she and Aegon then headed for the Watchtower bridge.
…
Moments later, Aegon and Angel made it to the Watchtower Bridge where everyone was gathered around. Shayera and Diana stood in front of everyone with grim looks on their faces.
"What's going on?" Aegon asked as he made his way to the front.
"This." Shayera put an image up on the Monitor display. Aegon blinked as he saw what felt like a familiar sight of a castle, only it looked more foreboding than welcoming. Surrounding the castle was a large field of large black thorns
"A castle? What's so strange about it? Apart from the field of thorns," Aegon said.
"This was once Ivy Town in New England. At least it was until a few hours ago when practically everything within a fifty mile radius was turned into some witnesses say a fairy tale storybook," Shayera said.
"Fairy tale storybook?" Helena said. "What does that even mean?" she asked.
"See for yourself," Shayera brought up another image of what looked to be fairy tale creatures such as dwarves, gnomes, flying monkeys and other assorted creatures.
"What could've caused this?" Kara asked.
Shayera looked at Zatanna who was studying the images on the screen. "Given the description of these fairy tale creatures, there must be magic involved," the magician said.
"Who would be powerful enough to do something like this?" Dinah asked.
"Morgan Le Fay is a strong possibility," Zatanna said. "Although she isn't the type to use fairy tale creatures like flying monkeys," she added with a frown.
"Well, the only way we're gonna know for sure is to go down there and find out," Mari said. "That's the best way to figure out what's going on and how to stop it," she added.
"Alright. Sounds like a plan to me," Shayera said with a nod of her head. "We'll take a team of six down and the rest of stay up here and monitor the situation."
"So, who's going?" Barbara asked.
"Batgirl, you're the most tech savvy of us here so you stay on the Watchtower and monitor what happens down there," Shayera told her and the redhead nodded.
"Zatanna, since this thing may be magical, we're gonna need you down there to try and reverse whatever caused this." Zatanna nodded her head in agreement.
"Huntress and Canary, you two will doing recon and crowd control," Shayera said to the brunette and blonde who both nodded in understanding.
"Power Girl and Wonder Woman, you'll be our heavy hitters for this," Shayera then said.
"You know Kryptonians aren't good against magic, right?" Karen reminded the Thanagarian who replied, "That's why Diana will be there; to cover you and take over if it gets too much for you." Karen nodded in understanding.
"Who else will go?" Beatriz asked.
"I'll be going along on this," Shayera said as she hefted her mace in her hand. "My mace is made of Nth metal. It's kryptonite for magic based things," she added.
"Perhaps I should go as well?" Aegon then asked as he walked up.
"Aegon, no!" Karen protested.
"Aegon… are you sure about this?" Shayera asked not outright rejecting Aegon's request to go. "If something were to happen to you…" she said.
"I'll be fine," Aegon said firmly. "I can handle myself against the likes of Metallo, I can handle whatever is causing this," he added.
Shayera sighed before nodding her head saying, "Alright. But we want with us at all times and in radio contact. Are we clear?" she asked.
"Clear as mud," Aegon said with a nod of his head.
"Would you mind if I came along as well?" Captain O'Day asked. "I think I could be of use on this trip," she added.
"What can you do?" Karen asked.
"I can run recon or do an overwatch job if you need me to," Angel replied. "Give me a rifle with a scope and I can shoot down whatever you want me to shoot down," she said.
"I suppose that will be useful if we need sniper support," Dinah said with a nod of her head.
"If that's what we need, then I suppose we could take Captain O'Day with us," Shayera said with a nod of her head. "All decided?" she asked and everyone nodded their heads. "Let's move out!"
Aegon went to his room and dressed himself in his armour and buckled Blackfyre to his hip and looked at his reflection. His reflection looked back at him uncertainly.
"This is it, Aegon. This is for real," Aegon said to himself before leaving his room and headed for the Watchtower Hangar.
…
Ivy Town outskirts.
Shayera landed the Javelin just beyond the outskirts of Ivy Town and everyone exited the vehicle and looked at the foreboding looking thorn filled forest. "Looks quite grim, doesn't it?" the Thanagarian remarked to everyone else. She then looked at Zatanna and asked, "Can you get a read on this?"
Zatanna quickly muttered an incantation and grabbed her head with a yelp of pain. "Are you alright?" Diana asked the magician who nodded her head and said, "Y-Yeah. It's really powerful magic here and old too."
"How old?" Karen asked as she looked around cautiously.
"A good few centuries at least, possibly Dark Ages or Middle Ages," Zatanna said as she seemingly recovered. "I'm fine and I've got a good idea of what we're up against," she added.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Aegon asked as he prepared to walk forward.
"Wait. Let me try something first," Shayera said stopping Aegon and she walked forward hefting her mace in her hand, palming the spiked head. Walking up to one of the thorn-covered trees, Shayera examined it for a moment before swinging her mace hard into it. Almost immediately, the tree crumpled into pieces and fell over and a pathway began to reveal itself.
"Well, that works," Shayera said to herself before she nodded at everyone to follow her. "Let's go. Time to find out what's causing all this."
With Shayera smashing apart the trees with her mace and clearing a pathway, the team made their way through the forest of thorns and brambles. As they went deeper in, Dinah spoke up.
"Isn't this a little convenient?" the blonde asked.
"How so?" Diana asked.
"So far, nothing has attacked us yet. It feels like we're walking into a trap," Dinah said.
"Yeah, I'm not liking it either," Helena said as she pulled out her crossbow. "Whatever is causing is letting us get this far because it wants us where it wants," she added grimly.
"But if we stop now, what will happen then?" Aegon asked as he drew his sword and looked around.
"Maybe if I fly to the top of this forest, I can see if anything's coming towards us?" Karen suggested.
"Do it," Shayera said to her. Karen then flew her way through the brambles. Then suddenly, the thorns came to life and latched onto Karen who gave a scream.
"Karen!?" Aegon shouted as he ran forward and thorns sprung up blocking his path. Swinging his sword in an arc, Aegon began to cut his way through the brambles. Then diving from the sky were green furred flying monkeys screeching angrily, armed with spears and other weapons.
"Incoming!" Shayera yelled as she swung her mace into a divebombing ape. The Nth metal smashed the monkey's head and it disappeared in a burst of purple smoke. Diana swung her sword at the avian simians and blocked strikes with her shield. Helena fired quarrels from her crossbow at the monkeys while Dinah used her famed Canary Cry to scattered a group of flying monkeys.
Zatanna was preparing an incantation while Captain O'Day fired some shots from her M4 carbine. Zatanna then finished her spell and her eyes widened in shock and she yelled, "Don't kill them!"
"Kill who?! The Wizard of Oz rejects?!" Helena shouted as she loaded a fresh magazine of bolts into her crossbow.
"They're people who've been enchanted into what they are now!" Zatanna hollered. "I'm gonna try to reverse what was done to them!" she then said as she held her hands in front of her and started to chant a spell.
Aegon was still hacking his way through the thorns, desperate to save Karen. "Aegon?! Aegon?!" he could Karen shouting for him.
"Hold on! I'm coming!" Aegon bellowed as he hacked his way through encroaching thorns. Then suddenly Aegon was lifted up and dragged into the dark thorns. He grunted as the thorns scratched his face and tightened around his limbs spreading them apart. He felt Blackfyre be ripped from his grip as he was pulled into darkness.
"Aegon!?" Diana screamed in anguish as she fought her way past her opponents only for a wall of thorns to spring up blocking her path. Then thorn covered vines snapped out and latched onto the Amazon Princess and dragged in. Even with her super-strength, Wonder Woman could not wrench herself free of her bonds.
"Wonder Woman?!" Shayera screamed as her friend was dragged into the depths of the forest.
Zatanna finished her spell and with a wave of energy, the spell that created the flying monkeys was lifted and they reverted back to human form. The women fell to the ground seemingly exhausted and were unconscious.
"Damn," Helena said as she wiped her brow clear of sweat. "Now what do we do?" she asked Shayera.
The Thanagarian gritted her teeth and said, "Our priority now is to rescue Wonder Woman, Power Girl and Aegon and stop whatever is causing this."
Zatanna was examining one of the unconscious women. "Are they gonna be alright?" Captain O'Day asked the magician who looked up at her and replied, "They should be. It's very powerful magic to turn people into something they're not."
"I can call for some backup to evac these people outta here," Angel said as she pulled out her walkie-talkie. "No sense leaving them here to be transformed again," she added.
"Good call," Shayera said with a nod of approval. "Right now, we need to go after the others."
"Agreed," Dinah said. "Helena and I can scout ahead," she added.
"Okay, but stay in contact," Shayera told them. "We can't lost anymore people right now," she said.
"Don't worry, we won't go far," Helena said before she and Dinah made their way into the forest.
"What the hell could be behind all this?" Angel then asked.
"I don't know," Shayera said in frustration as the sun began to set on the forest of thorns.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: there! After a long wait, I finally updated this. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because now we're getting to some interesting stuff.
In other news, I'm planning on writing a Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice & Fire/Power Girl (DC Comics) crossover and I've set up a poll on my profile of what kind of crossover it should be. So far Elder Scrolls and Witcher have taken the top spot, but if any of you want a different option to take the lead then you know what to do.
And recently, I've published a Harry Potter/The Mummy crossover where Harry is raised by Rick and Evy O'Connell and starts off with the Mummy Returns plot and from then on it'll go onto the Hogwarts stuff, but with the Mummy lore blended into it such as what's really in the Chamber of Secrets besides the Basilisk. So, feel free to check out that story if you want to read it.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say, so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.