12.15PM, Washington D.C.
"What is this?"
"It's called a vending machine."
"What does it do?"
"It dispenses food."
"Incredible. It actually dispenses entire meals? Why don't they have these in areas where people suffer from starvation?"
Steve laughed then. "It doesn't dispense meals. Just small snacks. Y'know, M&M's, Dorito's. That kind of stuff."
She looked at him blankly.
He sighed. There was still so much she had to learn. He wondered if she would ever get it all. "It's not really healthy either. If they put these out in some arid part of the world the people would die from lifestyle diseases. If vitamin and mineral deficiencies don't kill them first."
"Oh. I see." Diana said a little dejectedly.
"Anyway, I'm glad your here. You can meet the team." He said in an effort to brighten her up.
"Steve, I told you I was going to think about it. I didn't say I was going to join this team."
"I know, I know. But it won't hurt to meet them, will it? You can't come all this way and then leave without even saying hello."
"I.. No, I suppose I can do that much at least."
"Great." He said, smiling broadly. I just hope they're behaving themselves today, he thought as he pushed open the door, leading them into a room. It was an observation deck, not unlike the VIP box at football games. From here one could see what went on below.
Diana was slightly taken aback by what she saw.
It was a large room, perhaps the size of a football pitch. There were various structures set up in strategic places that looked like obstacles to Diana's practiced eye.
There were mines, pits of lava, holes that spewed jets of fire, giant robots, gun turrets mounted on the floor and along the walls.
It looked like the hardest level of every video game ever mashed together in one room. There was so much going on it was all a little confusing. She could hear every sound through the speakers in the walls.
As she looked closer she noticed there were figures moving about in the room. One looked like he was made of silver, blasting colorful bolts of energy from his fists. Alongside him flew another man dressed in a green and black bodysuit, who also fired bolts of energy from his fist,but his bolts were green and morphed into various objects, some of which were archaic weapons Diana recognized.
Flying slightly above them was an angel. At least, that's what he looked like, with massive wings jutting out of his back. He wore nothing save a pair of dark green pants and he wielded a large bronze battleaxe in his hands with devastating efficiency, slicing through entire ranks of robots with an ease and brutality that bordered on frightening.
On the ground were two women, one was dressed in a skintight black jumpsuit with armor padding on the shoulders,elbows and knees. There were guns strapped to her sides, as well as a few knives. Her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail behind her as she maneuvered her way gracefully through the complex network of traps,shooting from two pistols seemingly non-stop, pausing only to reload.
There was another woman not too far behind her,she wielded a sword with a thin,sharp blade. She wore a white domino mask with a red spot in it's center, and a black jumpsuit similar to the blonde. She moved swiftly and with great skill, her blade a blur of steel as it cut through just about everything in it's path. After watching her for a while Diana was fairly sure she had no powers.
The lady with the blade was backed up by another, also dressed in a black jumpsuit( it seemed to be a theme here) except hers was made of a finer material and ran all the way up to her head, leaving only her face exposed. She wore red goggles and carried a long whip, which she used to swing between levels and rip through obstacles. At one point she lassoed a gun turret and spun it round with a sudden wrench of effort so it would fire into an army of giant robots headed her way. As far as she could tell, the women seemed to have no special abilities other than their individual skills and fighting styles.
Steve watched Diana's face keenly for any reaction, but she was giving him nothing. Her face was as expressionless as ever.
When her eyes widened slightly he looked at the battlefield. The team had cleared the course. She's impressed, he thought. Then he noticed the giant robot arm that was falling, right above the men's heads. It was destroyed at the very last minute by a sonic scream.
At first Diana thought the blonde haired woman had no special powers because she was using firearms, but she quickly dismissed that notion when the woman let loose a powerful scream that disintegrated the falling robot arm.
"I had that." said one of the men, the one in the black and green jumpsuit.
"You're welcome." the blonde said sarcastically.
Uh oh, thought Steve. He had seen this before. It would end in a fight, he was certain of it.
He pushed down on a black button on the wall. "Ahem. People, we have a visitor. Play nice."
They all looked up at the source of the sound.
Diana said nothing, merely raising an eyebrow.
"They're pretty good right?" he asked hopefully.
"They are." She said simply.
"Each member of the team brings their own skill,strength and flair to the team. Everyone here is for all intents and purposes the best at what they do. Unfortunately, that means there are a lot of inflated egos here. Most of them aren't used to working on teams. But enough of that. Let's go talk to them."
They went into an elevator and Steve pushed a button that said Danger Room. The elevator descended silently into the depths of the building, stopping after a few seconds. The doors opened and they walked into the room. Instantly Diana's nose was assailed by the smells of gunpowder and hot metal.
"Wow. Dibs." she heard the man in black and green say. He flew towards her. As he landed she noticed there was a green aura around him, and he wore a single green ring on the middle finger of his right hand. There was a white circle on his chest with a green sigil stamped on it. He had short brown hair, and he wore on his face a green domino mask that hid just enough of his features to conceal his identity. His jumpsuit fit his lean muscular build so snugly it looked like it was painted on. He strode up to her,hand outstretched, a boyish grin on his face.
"Green Lantern. Wielder of the most powerful weapon in the universe. Don't let the ring fool you though, I'm single."
Diana smiled and grasped his hand firmly. He winced slightly but tried not to show how much pain he was in.
"Diana of Themyscira. Princess of the Amazons. I may not have a ring on my finger, but that does not make me a slab of meat for you to call dibs on. Understand?" she asked as she applied more pressure on his hand.
He gasped in pain, but he managed to wheeze out a shaky "Yes." Behind her, Steve smiled. Maybe you do know more about us than I think you do.
The others flew ( or walked) towards her.
"Captain Atom. US Air Force. It's an honor your majesty." said the silver man as he shook her hand. He had a strong enough grip that Diana actually felt his handshake. "Kiss ass." Green Lantern coughed into his fist. Up close he was even more striking. He was tall. His eyes looked featureless from afar but as he got closer she realised there was white hot energy swirling around inside them,with two even brighter white spots that were clearly his pupils. Physically he looked like a metal sculpture, even his neatly cut hair was metallic in appearance. There was a splash of red on his chest, the only color on him.
The blonde woman came next. "Dinah Lance. I, uh, don't have a superhero name yet." she said as she extended a gloved hand. She seemed a little nervous, her blue eyes never quite meeting Diana's,focusing on her tiara instead. Diana smiled to reassure her.
"Catwoman." Was all the lady in the full black bodysuit said, hitching up her red goggles to reveal a pair of green eyes. A few wisps of black hair peeked out from the leather around her face, falling over her eyebrows framing her cheeks. "A fitting name." Diana said as she looked at the whip coiled around her waist and the tiny ears on top of the woman's head.
The woman wearing the domino mask simply shook Diana's hand. Her eyes were covered by white lenses. The skin of her face and what was visible of her chest was also white. Diana wasn't sure if it was make-up or her natural physical appearance,and she sensed it would be impolite to ask. People on Man's World didn't take too kindly to such lines of questioning. Just another difference between her old life and her new one.
"You'll have to excuse Katana. She doesn't speak. A vow of silence. She takes it very, very seriously." Steve said.
She noticed that there were slight differences between Katana's bodysuit and Dinah's. Dinah's suit seemed thicker, made of tougher had holsters running across her torso and around her waist and left thigh, with a blue stripe running down the length of her body from underneath her armpit to her knee, which was encased in a grey pair of boots. Her shoulder,elbow and knee pads were also grey. Dinah also carried a large hunting knife at her waist and a few smaller knives around a strap on her thigh.
Katana's bodysuit was lighter, the armor focused around her torso and thighs. She wore red boots, and there was a large pad covering her right shoulder and most of her forearm. She wore a single red glove, on her right hand. Her left hand had a thick black gauntlet. She carried no other weapons save for the long blade sheathed at her back.
Last but certainly not least was the winged man. He had been standing in the background, a little aloof. He wore a winged bronze helmet and an x-shaped harness across his chest with a medallion depicting black bird against a red background. His left arm and shoulder had thick,spiky bronze armor plating. The boots on his feet were made of the same material. His right arm, which grasped his battleaxe tightly, was wrapped with white strapping, not unlike those worn by boxers. He was very muscular and had sparse hairs on his chest.
"Hawkman." He said stiffly. The massive wings on his back were folded, but they still jutted out far above his head. He had a strange accent, quite different from all the others. She guessed he was a foreigner, like her.
"So, uh, don't you guys have to hit the showers or something?"
"Actually I have to go, the Guardians summoned me like an hour ago. Trust me they do NOT like to be kept waiting." said Green Lantern.
"Yeah, and I have to report back to base for debriefing. You know how it is Steve." Captain Atom added.
"Don't look at us. We never really go anywhere. We're practically prisoners here." said Catwoman.
"I am no one's prisoner." said Hawkman with authority,his forearm flexing as his grip tightened on the handle of his axe.
"Whatever Birdman. You just try and leave this place for the outside world and see what happens to you. You don't want to end up like-"
"Ok! I guess everyone will just go off to wherever they're supposed to go. No, not you Selina. You stay." The others shuffled off, Green Lantern and Captain Atom flying off together, Hawkman going off somewhere by himself, Katana and Dinah pairing off together.
"Thanks for blowing my cover soldier boy. What's the point of a codename anyway?" said Catwoman.
"Diana can be trusted." Steve said simply.
Catwoman looked at her skeptically from head to toe. "Whatever you say boss man." She turned on her heel and started walking away.
"Selina, wait."
"uuuuuuhhhh. What is it now, Stevie Wonder?"
"If you sneak out again, go off on those little 'adventures' of yours, I will have you on the first ride back to Belle Reve. Is that clear?"
Selina paled. "Yes sir." she said meekly.
"Dismissed." He said.
"What was all that about? And what is this Bell-Rave?" Diana asked after the other woman had left.
"Nothing. These folks can get pretty.. difficult at times. Every now and then you have to remind them who's boss. What? Don't give me that look. You know how it is, you're a soldier. Sometimes you've got to, y'know, give your troops a little incentive." He said with a lopsided smile.
"I agree. But never through fear. If you teach your charges to fear you, they will do things because they area afraid of the consequences, not because it is the right thing to do."
"Oh, they should fear the consequences. They should fear them so much they're willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. It's good for them. It inspires them."
"They should be inspired. By you. They should respect you, trust you with their lives. Then when the time comes, they will be more than willing to march through hell for you."
"Yeah, but.." Steve began, before stopping himself with a small chuckle. "This is why we need you." He said, smiling.
"And I told you, I am going to consider it. But first, who is this 'we'? And what is this Bell-Rave?"
"You never let things drop, do you?" he said, half-joking, half-serious. She gave him a look.
"Ok, I'll start with the easy one. Belle Reve"-he pronounced it slowly-"is an... institution of sorts."
"What kind of institution?"
"A.. A.. correctional facility."
"A prison? You staff your team with ex-convicts?" Diana asked incredulously.
"Technically, she's not an ex-convict." Steve mumbled.
Diana's facial expression seemed to say, "WTF?"
"Look Diana, it's complicated-"
"Isn't it always?" Diana asked.
"Look, lets have lunch. I'll explain everything to you then." Diana didn't look like she was going to budge. Steve sighed.
"Ok, Selina is,technically, legally, for all intents and purposes, currently an inmate at Belle Reve Penitentiary. It's a special prison,built to contain meta-human criminals."
"But she isn't a metahuman."
"No, but she proved too.. difficult for regular holding facilities."
"Really? Whatever did she do to get locked up in a prison with metahuman criminals?"
"She stole." Diana nodded, expecting more.
"That's all?"
"Not quite. She's got a light touch. A very, very, very light touch. She could steal your dress off of you without you noticing.
Started off small. Petty crimes, stuff like pick-pocketing. Graduated to bigger things. She stole her first car at 12 years old. She moved onto bigger things as she got older and smarter.
Ever heard of 'The Scream', by Edvard Munch? It's a painting, very expensive. She stole it back in 2004. A year later, she stole Dorothy's red slippers. Y'know, the girl from the Wizard of Oz. Anyway, they're worth about $2 million. Funny thing is, she never sold the stuff she stole. Not the valuable ones anyway. She just kept them, like a hoarder. There's a lot more she stole, but that would take too long to list. So yeah, she is a world class thief, no exaggeration."
"So you keep her around because she's a good at stealing things?"
Yes and no.
Yes because you never know when you might have to pull a covert job.
No because she's got other skills.
She's also a good enough natural acrobat to keep up with an Olympic gymnast, and she's no slouch when it comes to throwing a punch or using that whip of hers. She was incarcerated in a maximum security prison when she was just 17. 17. Let that sink in. A 17 year old girl in a maximum security prison, with men. Not a juvenile home, a maximum security state penitentiary. With male inmates. Rapists, murderers, the worst kinds of criminals. And they still couldn't take her."
"Why wasn't she in a juvenile facility? Or a women's prison at the very least?"
Steve laughed. "She hospitalized a couple guards and more than a few inmates. Apparently Krav Maga and Muy Thai were quite famous in her neighborhood. In addition she , and broke out of juvy so many times they just gave up. Short of killing her, there was little they could do, so they had her transferred. Locked her up with the men, they hoped the animals in there could handle her. They were horribly wrong. She lasted about a week before the warden asked for her to be transferred. I read the reports. She's not a psycho or anything, but she just.. has a knack for violence, the likes of which I have rarely ever seen in-"
"A woman?" Diana asked pointedly.
"Someone so young." Steve finished.
"So what did she do?"
Steve's face darkened. "I-I can't say. It's quite personal, you'd have to ask her yourself. Suffice it to say they had her transferred to Belle Reve, which is a prison for metahumans and other 'special' people. Now she's here. Works for the government in exchange for a reduction of her sentence."
"I see."
"Yes, you do. They're not saints Diana, but they're not horrible people either. Don't be so quick to judge them. I know you think I'm just a well paid stooge, and that's true, but that's not why I'm doing this. I truly want to help these guys, get them accepted by society, and help them do something with their abilities. If a superhero team financed by the government will achieve that, then that's what I'll go for." He said passionately. When he was done he looked a little embarrassed at having said all that.
"Oh, Steve." Diana said, wiping a mock tear from her eye. Steve laughed.
"Was that sarcasm? Look at that! Princess Diana, you will fit in just great here."
"I will just assume you meant Man's World when you said 'here', Colonel Trevor." Diana said with a smile.
"So, lunch?"
"All right. I want to know more about this team, the members of it. Lunch it is."
"What would you like to eat?"
"You wouldn't happen to have any cheese cake, would you?"
A/N: Yeah, a whole lot of superheroes thrown into this one. I'll explain why a guy like Green Lantern is on a government team later on. I'm going to enjoy writing him the most.
I've always liked Captain Atom,he's a very interesting character to me. He's like Captain America except he was gone for less time,had a family, and is way more powerful. And he's manipulated by the government. So not like Captain America but you get my point. Anyway I think he's a better counterpart for Superman than Martian Manhunter. I like MM but his range of abilities is ludicrous, and that fire weakness is just... really? I mean what is he, a Pokemon?
Hawkman is using the Nth metal armor that is 'bonded' to him. I think that this version of Hawkman was way more bad ass. For clarification purposes, think of Nth metal as stronger than all other metals, including Promethium. However, it only gives *Hawkman* special abilities because, y'know, it 'chose' him.
For Dinah I decided to go with the New 52 Team 7 version. I'm a little tired of that 'middle aged Ollie Queen barely legal Dinah Lance' aspect.
Catwoman isn't from Gotham. I can hear the collective gasp all the way from here. I like the Bat-Cat dynamic but it feels like she's always around just because of Batman.
I mean she was apparently 'inspired' by him, so without Batman there would be no Catwoman. I think that sucks, because she should be her own character. Writing her as an extension of Batman feels stifling. She is probably going to be one of the darkest characters on this team.
Katana? She doesn't talk much. She doesn't talk ever. That leaves so much room for creativity with her character.
Anyway, read and review.