Chapter 29
That night at a Private Medical Facility, Gotham...
"Are you here to yell at me?" Ev asks her visitor.
Dinah smiles slightly and shakes her head. "No Ev. I'm not...but we need to talk." Dinah sits herself down next to Ev's bed.
"Do you know they won't allow me to drink?" Ev complains to Dinah about being denied access to alcohol.
"You probably could do with cutting down," Dinah responds.
"Thanks mom," Ev says sarcastically.
"Watch it young lady," Dinah jokes in a false impression of a mother.
The two women share a laugh at that.
Ev's laughs turn into a sigh. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"First off how are you feeling?" Dinah asks with genuine concern.
"Not bad. My side's a little tender...and my head still stings," she complains.
Dinah briefly looks at the bandage over the stitches Ev had required for the cut in her head. "Well that's to be expected. Ev...how did you end up in the mess you did? You should have come to me sooner," Dinah says in a mild rebuke of her friend.
"I can take care of myself," Ev insists strongly.
"This is not about questioning that or you having to prove that Ev but equally you've got to realise when you're in over your head and need help."
"Well aren't we Miss Mature," Ev says with another bout of sarcasm.
"That's not going to work Ev. You're not going to deflect me off my point," Dinah tells her or in other words Ev can stop trying to turn it back on Dinah.
"I don't know what you want from me Di," Ev says overly defensively.
"For you to be open to an offer I want to make."
"If that includes you, me and that hunk of your boyfriend in a bedroom situation the answer is yes."
"No," Dinah says sternly, dismissing that instantly.
Ev snorts. "You weren't this much of a prude in college."
"Oh god," Dinah groans. "How long are you going to hold that over my head?"
"Come on admit it," Ev challenges Dinah. "I rocked your world Di!" she says with total confidence about what she and Dinah did together one night.
"I was very, very drunk and ok maybe slightly curious but I definitely only have an interest in men and at the moment only in Clark," Dinah explains to Ev.
"Your loss."
"Sure Ev," Dinah humours her friend. "By the way I know what you and Ollie were up to when you were abducted," she lets Ev know, with a cross look.
"Oh...uh...err..."
Dinah sighs. "Ev don't bother trying to think of an excuse. It...doesn't matter. Ollie can do what he wants as can you. Preferably though can you do it where I won't ever have to find out about it."
"Can I blame the drink?"
"If that is what you need to do sure. Ev look...I'm not angry at you this time. I just don't have the energy to be angry any more at Ollie or anything he does. Two years of it was quite enough and I have Clark now and he deserves more than me being hung up on my ex."
"You really do like him," Ev realises with surprise at the passion in both Dinah's voice and her expression and Ev is meaning that Dinah really really likes Clark. Not loves him. Not yet but she knows her friend enough to see Dinah is falling that way.
"I do," Dinah confirms with deep feeling. Like she thought the other day if the other men she dated were wrong then Clark might be the right one and she really feels she needs to put the effort in to give this relationship the best chance to succeed. "But can we get back onto my offer," she says, because Ev's not the best person to give advice on relationships.
"What offer?" Ev asks, feeling she should at least hear Dinah out she supposes.
"That you agree to no more of this running off half-cocked on your own."
Ev giggles.
Dinah sighs. "You're laughing because I said 'cocked' aren't you."
Ev nods.
"One of these days Ev you'll have to grow up."
"Who says?" Ev dismisses that idea.
Dinah gets back in subject. "I want you to agree to join a team."
"Oh hell no!" Ev rejects that concept.
"Hear me out," Dinah requests. "You remember Batgirl?"
"Yeah. I remember her. What about her?"
"For this last year she has been setting up her own team to deal with the kind of thing...well the kind of thing you go after. Huntress is part of it."
"Really?" Ev asks surprised at the fact that Huntress would be part of a team. She doesn't come across as a team player.
"You've been out of the country a long time Ev," Dinah points out as to why Ev is not caught up on things.
"You want me to join?" Ev asks.
"Yes because we could do with someone as good as you are...and you could do with having back-up. Kijuro isn't going to quit even if we've taken away a lot of his resources. This way there are others having your back. This way you truly know you are never on your own and always have friends willing to help you."
"Pretty speech," Ev remarks flatly.
"That wasn't a no," Dinah observes.
"I'm thinking about it alright."
"Take your time. You don't get out of here for another day. I'll come back and see you tomorrow."
"Yeah well. Thanks for visiting."
Dinah stands up. "That's what friends do."
"We still friends?" Ev inquires and Dinah can see a rare vulnerability in her expression.
"Yes Ev. You may drive my blood pressure to record highs and flirt shamelessly with my boyfriend and dive head first into things without thinking but despite it all yes you are my friend."
Dinah heads for the door. Ev stops her. "Di?"
"Yes Ev."
"Clark...he's a lucky guy to have you," she says sincerely.
"Thank you."
"Although if he's interested in that 3-way idea of mine..."
Dinah rolls her eyes and groans as she leaves with Ev's laughter echoing down the corridor.
The next night, BoP headquarters...
"Thank you for doing this Barbs," Dinah says gratefully to her, arguably, best friend for agreeing to the proposal Dinah made.
"It's what we do...and on the plus side her name fits in with the bird theme of the group."
Dinah groans at the lame humour.
"What?"
"Don't give up your day job Barbara," Dinah advises.
Barbara shrugs and looks across the space of the top of the clock-tower that was her headquarters where Ev was getting to know Huntress and Lady Blackhawk. After giving Ev a day to think on it Dinah's college room-mate decided...and Dinah is quoting here, 'What the hey! It might be fun!'
Dinah interpreted that to mean that Ev would at least give it a go and so Dinah brought her here to meet the gang as it was.
"So how's the recruiting going?" Dinah asks. Barbara had been trying to expand the membership for awhile.
"Remember Katana?"
Dinah remembers. That's another episode from her Japanese Yakuza encounters from her early days. Katana was a widow of a man who was murdered by his own brother, a Yakuza member, using a magical sword that absorbed her husband's soul...or so Katana claimed. She also claimed to to be able to talk to him. Dinah wasn't sure what to believe back then. Now, with more experience of magic, she is more open minded to believing that Katana wasn't crazy. Anyway, even though Katana lost her husband and children she took all that pain and loss and funnelled it to fighting for justice, got herself trained by a samurai master. Been awhile since Dinah last saw her though. "You got her to join?" she asks Barbara with notable surprise.
"I can be very persuasive when the need calls," Barbara defends herself.
"Who else?"
"A runaway girl. We call her Gypsy."
"What can she do?"
"She possesses the power of illusion, it's telepathic in nature as fas I can tell. When it manifested she had run away from home. I found her on the streets. Took her in. Been training her up. She's got a natural affinity for it actually," Barbara says with some pride in the girl she has been training up.
"And she is where tonight?"
"J'onn was kind enough to agree to help train her telepathic abilities so short answer up on the Watchtower," Barbara explains. She may have issues with the League but not really any with J'onn. Besides there is no better telepath she knows to train Gypsy.
"Where's Misfit?" Dinah asks, after another member.
Barbara groans. "Please. Don't get me started."
Dinah snorts with laughter. "Don't tell me she's back dressing up like you again."
Barbara groans louder. Misfit, as she is called now, is to put it simply...she's a crazy Batgirl fan and had actually made her own little homespun Batgirl costume and went out fighting crime. That's where the BoPs bumped into her and everyone got a good long laugh at the way Misfit gushed praise all over Barbara.
Ok so there is some real tragedy to the girl. She lost her family in a fire and to start off with Barbara tried to dissuade her from pursuing any kind of heroics if all she was going to do was copy Barbara. Misfit agreed...then showed up about a week later in a new costume calling herself Misfit proclaiming all she agreed was not to be Batgirl as there was already one.
Seeing she wasn't going to stop Misfit from pursuing this Barbara agreed to train her and let her join. That way at least she keeps an eye on her...and Misfit does possess real power. Teleporter...magical in origin. Barbara did a DNA test and found that Misfit is actually a Homo Magi.
"Barbs?" Dinah queries at the long silence.
"What?"
"Misfit?" Dinah prompts Barbara's memory.
"No. She's not dressing up like me again but have you ever tried to keep her focussed for more than 10 seconds. It's impossible!" she complains about the girl with total frustration about her inability to reign Misfit's over-exuberance in even a little bit.
Dinah laughs. "She's a teenager. What do you expect?"
"I was never like that as a teenager," Barbara points out.
"I choose not to comment on that," Dinah thinks is wise.
Barbara throws her friend a glare.
"So really where is she?" Dinah asks, getting back to her original question.
"For all I know Timbuktu. You know how she goes bouncing around from place to place," Barbara says with complete exasperation at the girl and the way she teleports off to god knows where and gets into god only knows what kind of trouble.
"Ok I know nothing about raising kids but perhaps it is time you set her some boundaries...or at least get her to agree to let you know where she is going," Dinah suggests.
"Me?" Barbara questions that.
"Who else is there? She lost her parents and she looks up to you. If there is anyone she is going to listen to it's you Barbs. I think you really need to be sort of a surrogate parent to her."
Barbara brings her hand to her head and wonders how Bruce did it with her and Dick. Maybe she could ask him for advice or something...and gee she must be desperate if she is thinking of asking Bruce for advice but she really doesn't know to handle Misfit. Maybe Dinah is right. Maybe she needs to be more parent like.
Speaking of Misfit, a cloud of pink-purple smoke signals her arrival as she teleports in. The red haired girl appears and her eyes fall on Dinah which light up immediately. "Dinah!" she yells excitedly at seeing the blond woman.
Dinah smiles more in amusement at Misfit's costume which never fails to amuse. A blue shirt with a bat-like M on the front. Denim mini skirt with black leggings underneath. Training shoes. Blue mask that covers the upper part of her face, utility belt and the clincher, an identical to Batgirl's, black and gold cape. "Hello Charlie," she greets the teenager using her proper first name. Ok nickname. Her proper name is Charlotte. "Been keeping out of trouble?"
"You know me!"
"Ah. So in trouble then," Dinah jokes wryly.
"So what brings you to visit?" Misfit asks.
"Dropping off a friend," Dinah replies while pointing at Ev.
"Oh is that...what was it...Starling?"
"Yes."
Misfit takes a moment to look the woman over before turning back to Dinah. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What's Superman like? Is he as cute as his pictures? Is he? Is he? Is he?" Charlie asks with such enthusiasm she is bobbling up an down on her toes.
Barbara, once again, raises her hand to her head and shakes it. Dinah is still just amused by the hyperactive teenager. She lowers her head and signals for Misfit to come nearer. Dinah speaks in a whisper. "Between you and me he is way cuter than his pictures."
Charlie beams at that. "Can you introduce me to him?" she asks.
"We'll see," Dinah says in a non-committal fashion. "I'll talk to him."
"You are so lucky to be dating him!"
Dinah arches a blond eyebrow. "Oh and who told you I was dating him?"
"Helena."
"Of course," Dinah says with a sort of inevitability that that would be the answer.
"Have you gotten to the good stuff yet?"
"Charlie!" Barbara cries in complete shock at the type of language coming out of the girl's mouth.
"What?" Charlie asks back innocently.
"Where did you learn to speak like that?"
"Helena."
Barbara's glare of death turns to Huntress. "Helena!" she growls. "Get over here! I want a word!"
Huntress, Starling and Lady Blackhawk all walk over.
"What's up?" Helena asks before spotting Misfit. "Hey pipsqueak," Helena greets her.
"Hi!" Misfit returns the greeting.
"Helena," Barbara says, her voice tight, low and dangerous. "What have you been teaching Charlie?"
"About?"
"Tell Helena what you asked me," Dinah says to Charlie.
Charlie isn't sure what the big deal is. She shrugs and says, "All I asked was that if Dinah had gotten to the good stuff with Superman yet?"
Helena chortles before breaking out into guffaws. Ev and Zinda join in.
"It's not funny," Barbara says deeply unhappy.
"Oh lighten up," Helena replies. "Kids these days need to know these things. She's going to be 16 soon in case it escaped your attention."
It hadn't escaped Barbara's attention. Dinah was correct. She really does need to act like a parent and sit down and have a chat with Charlie about...that.
"Well I can confirm that, indeed, Dinah has gotten to the good stuff," Ev offers.
"Really?" Helena and Zinda says in sync, both with the same innate curiosity to have to know.
Ev grins as Dinah starts to glare at her and mouths 'Don't you dare!'. Ev will dare. "Yes. You see I walked into her apartment..."
Barbara's shriek cuts Ev off. "Stop!" She then covers Misfit's ears with her hands so she can't hear anything. "One more word and I will nail your lips shut!" she snaps.
"Whoa. Ease down darlin," Zinda suggests, taken a little aback by the intensity of the feeling Barbara is giving off.
"No. I won't ease down," Barbara repeats the words almost seething anger. "Charlie may be nearing 16 but she's not there yet and technically she is still a minor and I won't have her hear anything of Dinah's sex life!"
"Ok fine," Helena accepts, with a roll of her eyes at Barbara's over the top reaction. "We won't talk about it in front of her but you do need to have that chat with the pipsqueak soon. I'm not wrong in that."
"I know...and I will."
Helena shakes her head. "You know you should just get it over with and adopt her already."
"What?" Barbara asks, completely caught out by the suggestion.
"You're practically her mother...well you act like it anyways."
Barbara stares at Helena blankly. That can't be right. Sure she makes certain Charlie is looked after and fed and goes to bed and she trains her and worries about her safety all the time...but that doesn't mean she wants to suddenly adopt Charlie...right?
Before Barbara can think on it too long the monitoring system she set up picks something up. She finally releases Charlie's ears and moves over to the computer system. Her eyes widen slightly. She had been waiting for this. There was an auction tonight of rare historical artefacts. In Gotham that inevitably meant someone would try and steal something and then sell it on themselves.
"Ooh!" Charlie coos. "Is that bad guys we need to beat up?" she asks from behind Barbara, with her unique brand of child-like enthusiasm.
"Yes...but..."
"I know. I know. Be careful. I will...as long as that means I get to come?"
Barbara turns and looks at that pleading face and knows she can't refuse. "Ok...but no teleporting off ahead on your own," she says strictly.
Misfit salutes. "Jawohl!"
Barbara smiles warmly. "Why don't you go ahead with Helena, Zinda and Ev." Barbara then bends down a little and says loud enough for everyone to hear. "Since Ev is new think you can keep an eye on her so she doesn't get into trouble?" she asks, being a little bit mischievous and getting back at Ev for raising the sex issue.
Dinah chuckles at that.
"Oh shut up!" Ev snaps off at Dinah.
"See. You even get to be the mature one," Barbara adds.
Charlie puts her hand over her mouth and snorts with laughter and Barbara can't help a parental like moment of brushing the red hair back.
"Come on pipsqueak!" Helena shouts on Charlie. "Lets go!"
Charlie teleports from in front of Barbara to the door on the other side of the room. "I'm way ahead of you! But then again you are getting slow in your old age!" she teases.
Helena grins. "Oh it is so on now!"
Charlie grins back. "Try and keep up!" she dares before she runs off.
"I'll catch up!" Barbara shouts after the 3 women who nod and chase after Charlie.
Dinah laughs at all of this.
"So you want to come along for old times sake?" Barbara wonders.
"Why not."
Barbara and Dinah walk towards the exit. "We really have to talk about what commitment you can give to the team now," Barbara mentions.
"I know. It's...not going to be full time but if you ever need me for anything you know just to call."
"Well that works with Vixen."
"Mari!" Dinah exclaims in surprise. "You got the supermodel to join?"
"Part time. She's a little estranged from the League at the moment."
"Who isn't?"
That was sadly true.
"By the way you do know that as soon as this is over Ev will be spilling everything," Barbara points out.
"I know. I know," Dinah says with a sad acceptance she can't change that. "But she didn't see that much. Only enough to know Clark and I had sex."
"How was it?"
Dinah looks at Barbara wide-eyed.
Barbara shrugs. "I'm as curious as the next girl."
"It was...an experience. A really great, stars exploding, kind of experience," Dinah says with a growing grin. "Between you and me I had almost forgotten how much fun it could all be."
Barbara smiles at seeing how happy and glowing Dinah looks. She hasn't seen that expression on her friend's face for a long time. "This why you are living with him?"
"I'm not!"
"Yes you are," Barbara contradicts that. "You said it yourself."
"He's just putting me up until I can sort out a new apartment," Dinah defends herself.
"Uh huh. I see and the fact you get to sleep in his bed every night is?"
"A really great bonus!" Dinah says with heartfelt enthusiasm.
Barbara snorts with laughter and Dinah soon joins her.
"I'm happy for you Dinah," Barbara tells her friend. "Truly."
"You know what. I'm truly happy too!" Dinah says with a beaming smile.
Kent farm, Smallville...
After helping Barbara and company, Dinah had phoned Clark to come pick her up. It hadn't taken more than about 10 seconds after entering the house before they were attacking each other with passion, ripping each other's clothes off. Now they had crossed that line the 1st time it seemed they had quickly moved on to the insatiable hunger stage of the relationship.
Later Dinah lies in bed, sore but very content and happy. She is lying on her side with Clark spooned up against her back. Clark who is still planting tiny little kisses on her neck and shoulders as his hands gently run over her skin making her sigh happily.
"You were amazing," Clark murmurs into her neck.
Dinah smiles in response and pats one of his arms. "You weren't so bad yourself," she jokes lightly when of course she means he was amazing too. He learns very quickly about what she needs.
Clark inhales her scent deeply and lets it fill him. He has a perfect memory yet he had seem to have forgotten how insanely lustfully hungry he could feel for a woman. His alien physiology meant he could, if he wanted to, make love to Dinah many more times but she was only human and he could feel her body start to relax as it headed towards slumber. He plants a few more gentle kisses and hears her sigh in contentment. "How did it go with Ev?" he asks, since they never found time to talk. It was in the door and then making mad passionate love.
Dinah shifts slightly against the warm solid mass that is Clark. "I talked her into joining but expect Huntress to have filled in her on what she didn't walk in on by next time you see her."
Clark groans and Dinah chuckles lightly at his reaction.
"It's for the best though?" Clark asks at what Dinah decided to have Ev join the BoPs.
"Yeah. Kijuro should go to jail but in case something goes wrong she's safer in a group."
"The desire for vengeance can be powerful."
Dinah's brow quirks slightly. The seriousness of his voice makes her think he is talking from personal experience. "It can," she agrees. "Even more so because it's his son."
"I'm not sure I can even imagine."
At that Dinah turns over in his arms so she can look into his face. She studies it for awhile before asking, "Can you even have children?"
Clark responds to that question with, "I'm not human Dinah."
Yes she knows that but it was all very human like in most aspects. "Are you even the male of your species?"
Clark's comical expression in reaction to that makes Dinah laugh hard. "What?" she asks him. "It's a legitimate question. How do you know you're not the one to bear children?"
"Because there's no place for a baby to...um...come out of," he waves that away.
"Oh well that's true I guess but once I've rested I could always do a search."
"I think you've searched me quite thoroughly already."
"Nothing wrong with making sure."
"You shouldn't tempt me with such images."
"Why? The thought turning you on?" Dinah's hands move down to a certain part of his anatomy and can feel that indeed yes it is turning him on. "Don't you ever tire?"
Clark thinks back on his red K episode and Maxima. He was pretty darn tired after that. "I do. It just takes awhile," he vaguely answers not wishing to dredge up another woman he slept with while in bed with Dinah. Besides Maxima, wherever she is because Clark has never seen nor heard of her again, may have been close to his physical equal but being with Dinah has been more enjoyable on many levels. He kisses her on the lips. "Just in case I don't say it enough I deeply care for you Dinah," he says , his voice brimming with strong emotions.
"I feel the same," she replies with the same emotions.
Clark pulls her close and she rests her head on the crook of his powerfully muscled shoulder. Her hand strokes his broad chest while his stroke up and down her back.
"Honestly Dinah I don't know if I can have children with humans," he says, returning to that topic. "Why did you ask?" he wants to know.
"Just curious. I'm not looking to have any right now or anything. It is just with Kijuro and..." she breaks into a laugh.
"What?"
"Oh remind me to tell you all about Misfit and Barbara sometime," she says and that is what made her laugh. Barbara acting like Misfit's mother without realising it. "Anyway it just made me think about the general subject of children," she explains.
"Ok."
"I'm serious though Clark. I'm 26 and not looking for kids right now. With our lives where would we fit that in?"
"Good point."
Although with her looks and Clark's combined any children would be gorgeous. Dinah can let herself think that much.
Clark stares at the ceiling as he feels Dinah's body slip into the total relaxation of sleep. Children. He hasn't thought about that possibility in a long time. Not since Lana.
Ok. It probably sounds stupid that a teenage boy thought about that but he obsessed over Lana for a long time to the point of imagining them living on the farm as a married couple with children running around.
With the passage of time he grew out of the fantasy and logical thinking kicked in. He's an alien, alone, amongst an entirely different species. In fact he can remember a documentary once where a scientist said that humans would have more in common, genetically, with an amoeba than an alien.
Clark mentally slaps himself. This is a silly train of thought. Dinah is not asking for them to have kids. It is way too early in their relationship for any such thoughts. Although Clark can't deny that under all the logic that adolescent fantasy never left him of living on this farm with children running around. It is a want he pushes away deep inside him and it is best left there...but still he can't help but wonder what any child he may have one day would be like.
The Planet Almerac...
A tall statuesque woman with titan tresses and green eyes, dressed in black and gold warrior's armour, bores a hole into all those in her presence with her merest gaze. Maxima, Queen of the Planet Almerac and Empresses of its associated Empire, sits on her throne listening to her council. Her council of war. The war against the Krenon Cyborgs had not gone as swiftly as Maxima had hoped. Rebels within the empire had seen it as their chance to try and gain independence for their worlds.
Never.
Maxima would not be remembered as the Queen who lost the empire her predecessors spilt their superior blood creating. She would crush these rebellions so completely they would never dare rise up against her again.
Unfortunately the dedication of such resources left her unable to fight an offensive campaign against the Krenon. For now her forces simply had to keep holding the border until the rebellions were put down. Once that was done Maxima would channel the full might of her Empire against the Krenon and show the genetic refuse for what they were. Inferior garbage that laughably called themselves lifeforms.
At the moment Maxima is listening as General Ultraa explains the successful defeat of a rebel army. Ultraa was a tall muscular man with red hair. Maxima had once considered mating with him but that was no longer necessary. He was, however, an excellent leader of men, a clever strategist and more importantly during this time of rebellion his loyalty was without question.
Ultraa is just finishing describing his rout(the term he would use to describe his victory) when there is an explosion that rocks the palace.
Maxima's brow furrows instantly in annoyance. "What was that?" she demands to know with all her Queenly ire.
Just then a common guardsman bursts in, his uniform burnt off in places and obvious sign of injury. "Rebels!" he shouts. "Attacking!"
Maxima roars in anger. "They dare!" she screams, almost apoplectic with rage that any would dare attack her own palace. Heads will roll for this! And she means that literally!
Using sensors that scan the palace Maxima tracks the attack. She assumed at first they were coming for her. A direct, if foolish, attempt to end her life but they veered off down a corridor away from her towards her private quarters...towards her...
'No!' It was a desperate denial of the situation that was before her yes but it was the only thing that made sense. They weren't after her. They were after her child who was under guard in that area of the palace.
Before any of her generals can stop her she is gone, moving as fast as all her abilities, granted to her by generations of selective breeding, allow her to.
They were close. The small group of rebels who had stormed the palace were close to their goal of killing Maxima's heir. They started off as a dozen. They were down to 5 but that was enough. They just had to get through these last few guards that they were firing at with their weapons. Streams of energy from hand-held weapons are exchanged and the guards go down.
The 5 rebels charge and blast through the door. They search the room. The cot is empty. In the corner they spot a female servant of Maxima's cowering with something in her arms wrapped in a blanket.
The target was in their sight.
It was not an easy decision to take a life so young and innocent but it was necessary. The bloodline of the tyrant queen would not continue.
They aim their weapons and fire at the woman and the child in her arms. She dies quickly and the blanket the child is wrapped in is soon torn with holes as the child surely shares the same fate.
So focussed are they on completing their goal 3 are already dead by the time the 2 remaining rebels spot Maxima, sword in hand, blood dripping off its tip.
Expletives of the worst kind escape her lips as she curses them. Another swing of her sword and there is only 1 left. The last though is already making movement. Maxima's killing of his colleague has left her open. A dagger in his hand soon is slicing into her side. The tyrant queen will fall by his hands even if he knows he will join her in death very shortly. Of course none of them who volunteered for this mission honesty believed they would survive it. They and he will be remembered as great heroes for their people and martyrs in their fight for freedom.
The sound of the tyrant queen crying out in pain gives him much pleasure. Suddenly green eyes full of a rage and power that make him tremble glare at him. A bloodied hand wraps around his neck and he is lifted and slammed into a wall.
The tyrant queen pulls the knife out of her side and slams it into his shoulder so hard it ends up pinning him to the wall. His cries of pain echo.
The tyrant places her hands over the wound he has managed to inflict. "Death to the tyrant!" he yells at her through his own pain.
For that outburst she backhands him across the face leaving a stain of red blood, the tyrant's blood upon his cheek. She roughly grabs his face and squeezes almost to the point of breaking bones. "Not today rebel filth!" she hisses in pure, unrestrained anger.
The tyrant picks up the sword she dropped when his knife had struck home. Her death will not come before his it seems.
Without one more word from her, without question, without even knowing his name or why he chose to defy her, she strikes and his head falls away from his body.
Maxima breathes hard, her rage and anger swirling inside her. They'll pay. They'll all pay. Every single traitor will fall by her hand. She will have her vengeance. Worlds will burn, stars will be consumed. It matters not the toll of death. They will know her pain, her rage, her fury. They will know what she feels at the loss of her child.
Footsteps.
More traitors to kill.
Maxima readies herself.
Ultraa with a dozen palace guards rushes to defend his Queen. He finds her, injured, amongst 5 dead bodies, one headless, pinned to the wall. "My Queen?"
Her head snaps in his direction and Ultraa takes a step back. She is lost to her temper. He has only seen it once before. She levelled a whole section of the palace that day and this...this is much more intense as it is mixed with the pain of loss. The Heir must be gone.
Maxima makes one step toward them.
Ultraa would not fight his queen. If die he must die he will.
Maxima readies to strike when a sound pierces through her blind rage. The wailing of a child. Her child.
Maxima moves as a blur of motion to the dead body of her servant. She pulls the arms apart and opens the ruined blanket and inside is a female bairn only a matter of months old, with the same fiery hair as her mother, wailing loudly, the bairn's face almost as red as her hair.
Maxima picks up her daughter and brings her daughter to her bosom. Maxima slides to the floor as she rocks the child gently to calm her and as she does so Maxima's own rage begins to fades. Her daughter always has that effect upon her.
After her daughter was born Maxima had been surprised by the depth of emotion this tiny little bundle of genetics could generate within her. She had never been a sentimental person to say the least or one who cared much about anyone but herself but her daughter was the one being in this universe that Maxima would give her life for.
Her daughter was perfection in every way.
She had perfect DNA. Scans had shown Maxima's DNA had combined perfectly with the Kryptonian who was the girl's father. It was perfectly stable. Her daughter was the perfect combination of the parents. Maxima's beauty was there but clearly there was features of the father. The dimples in the cheeks were definitely his. Maxima can remember those fondly. He was a most beautiful looking man even if they only shared one night together.
Maxima's efforts begin to calm her daughter. The injury in her own side is irrelevant. If it didn't kill her instantly she would survive. That is her nature. That is what has always defined her from her earliest days.
Maxima takes a hand stained in her own blood and brushes some of her daughter's red hair as the babe calms more in the presence of her mother.
Maxima's rage has subsided and she is now thinking coherently enough to check her daughter for injury. It is miraculous, considering the state of her servant, that her daughter is unharmed. That is when she sees her daughter is not unharmed. There are laser burns on the body.
Anger anew rises within Maxima's very soul. Whoever plotted this will know her wrath.
Maxima then blinks as she watches the burns heal before her eyes. Even she did not heal as rapidly as this. Must come from the father.
"My Queen?"
Maxima looks up to see Ultraa standing over this scene of mother and daughter. "Are there any rebels still alive?" she inquires, as her rational side begins to reassert itself over her powerfully intense emotional side.
"A couple," Ultraa reports.
"Interrogate them. I want to know who is behind this. Make them talk. Whatever it takes!" she declares. And once she knows where they are from she will have vengeance upon them like they could not imagine in their worst nightmare.
"Yes My Queen. The treacherous dogs' tongues will not remain silent for long. I swear it!" Ultraa vows.
Maxima nods and looks down on her daughter one more who is now calm at being safely ensconced in her mother's arms.
"My Queen. You require a healer," Ultraa says with deep concern for her wound.
Maxima scoffs. "I'll live," she dismisses that. She signals Ultraa to come closer. He bends down. "I have been betrayed," she hisses in pure hate.
"I know," Ultraa agrees. "The palace's defences cannot be breached this easily."
"Not without help," Maxima says with spite. "Find whoever is responsible Ultraa and when you do I will sentence them to the slowest, most excruciating, method of execution I can conceive of."
"Yes my Queen. I shall not fail. The traitors will be hunted down and weeded out from blighting your luminous presence," he promises while fawning praise upon her.
"Go. Leave me!" she commands.
Ultraa does so but leaves an entire brigade of guards to protect the Queen and the Princess.
"It's alright my darling," Maxima coos to her daughter. "I will protect you. The traitors will pay for daring to hurt you. I'll see their blood used to stain a new blanket for you so you may never forget this day," she promises.
Her daughter has calmed completely and gurgles slightly, innocently unaware of the dark thoughts and feelings swirling around inside her mother.
Maxima allows her daughter to wrap her finger in the chubby little hand. Even so young she had a strong grip. She would be a great warrior some day with a grip like that. She would be a great Queen.
Maxima stares into her daughter's eyes and smiles warmly. She always feels so much...love when she looks into those eyes of deep cerulean blue.
Author's Note: Been awhile since we've seen Maxima, well over a year in fact so that makes Clark's daughter with her a good few months old. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; 3 months later and new threats are starting to make their move.
