Chapter Seven: The Daughter of Ares
Throughout the entire day, I had spent my time in the training room with Starfire and Wonder Girl. Wonder Girl was a pretty rough teacher, hardly giving me any breaks and whipping me with her lasso if I messed up a move. It was brutal, but she taught me some Amazonian fighting tactics, including a special parrying move. During the whole training session, Link happened to walk in at one point. He had come for some practice too, but Starfire explained to him that this was a special training session for me only. He was a bit disappointed, but ultimately understood and left to do something else.
"That Link guy and you seem to get along really well. Is your boyfriend alright with this?" Wonder Girl asked her.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Starfire inquired.
"Robin. Is he alright with you hanging out with another boy?" She asked again.
"Oh, Robin? He and I broke up some time ago." Starfire informed.
Wonder Girl was kinda surprised to hear this. From what she recalled, Starfire had been really into the guy before. She questioned her about the whole thing and asked if something happened between them. Star explained the whole 'Dark Link' incident to her; how Link had turned evil due to a broken heart, and how she had realized at that time how much Link actually meant to her, which turns out was a lot more than how she had felt about Spikey. Wonder Girl was a bit perplexed that she would choose Link over Robin, considering the fact that Link gives off that 'unwelcome' feeling.
"True. Link does give off a feeling of distrust to others around him. But for some reason, I do not feel that feeling when I'm with him, at all." Starfire mentioned.
"Wait. You don't get that creepy feeling around him?" I asked her. "Why would you feel fine around him when everyone else gets that bad feeling in their gut?"
Starfire reiterated that she didn't know why. But seeing as she didn't get that feeling, it seemed like she was the best person to be so close to him.
"Well… Robin must be pretty depressed that you dumped him." Wonder Girl assumed.
"'Despressed' isn't really the word I would use to describe Robin's reaction. More like… 'vengeful.' Ever since I broke up with him, Robin has always been finding ways to do the 'lashing out' at Link." Starfire responded. "From things like slipping up during fights, to simpler things such as giving me a valentine card. I found his behavior towards him most displeasing. Truthfully, I am now glad that I broke up with him."
"So… does that mean that you and Link are, y'know… a thing?" Wonder Girl asked her.
"Me and Link? Oh, no. Not yet at least. Considering how the ordeal played out, I feel it is only right to give Link some time to 'fully heal' from the event." Starfire answered.
I claimed that what she really meant was that she was waiting for Link to make the first move. She denied it, but both Wonder Girl and I could tell that was the case. Afterwards though, she mentioned to Wonder Girl that I had a thing for Robin. I felt a little embarrassed that she was telling this to someone I had just met. Starfire should really keep these kinda things a bit quieter!
"What?! Me and Spikey? Pfft! As if! The only thing I like about him is that he's fun to tease!" I claimed, although that was far from the truth.
As it would just so happen, Robin had just entered the room and was standing at the door. Uh-oh. Did he hear our conversation just now?!
"What are you all up to?" He asked us.
"Just some special training amongst us girls. In other words, it's not really any of your business." I told him.
He raised an eyebrow under his mask, but didn't respond to my statement. Instead, he told Wonder Girl to meet him and the rest of the Titans in the ops room in an hour. He wanted her to tell them anything she knew about Ares, and whether or not there was a way to defeat him. After she agreed, he turned around and started to walk away. But before he left, one of us playfully whipped him in the butt with a whip (and by 'one of us', I mean me). He turned around to see me holding my whip construct in my hand and looking falsely oblivious. I quickly discarded my whip and pointed to Wonder Girl.
"She did it!" I claimed, with that obviously being a lie.
Robin had an angry look on his face. He obviously knew that I was the one who whipped him, and at the same time, he likely knew that I just did it for fun. He simply reminded us to meet everyone in the ops room in an hour and then left in a huff. I giggled slightly, and so did Wonder Girl and Starfire. Star was no doubt a good friend, and by now I could safely say that Wonder Girl would be too.
An hour later, we all gathered in the ops room to discuss our next course of action. Robin had his hand behind his back, probably still rubbing his sore behind from when I whipped it. He noticed I was snickering a little bit, but I actually wanted him to notice. Regardless, Robin went over everything that had happened the other day; how Ares had attacked and whooped our butts, being the exact reason why he called Wonder Girl here. The question we wanted to know however, was what did Ares want here in Jump City, and was there a way to defeat him?
"If Ares is here on the mortal plane, than it is most likely to bring about some form of warfare among the people here. And that strife would not end here; if he manages to start conflict here, then it would undoubtedly spread to the rest of the world." Wonder Girl explained.
"But why does the Ares wish to start such horrible battles?" Starfire inquired.
"Ares is the god of war, and as such draws his power from such conflict. If the world were to be bathed in the flames of eternal war, it would make Ares unstoppable. And when that happens, he would be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus, and become the new king of the gods." Wonder Girl continued. "This is one of the reasons that the goddesses of old created the Amazons; to keep Ares from achieving his goal."
"Then we have to stop him! No matter what it takes!" Robin declared.
This all seemed to make some sense, but something still didn't add up. Ares said that he knew who I was; how was that so? And what could I possibly have to do with any of this? Not only that, but the Titans foes, Ghirahim and Majora, had allied themselves with Ares. But what could they have to gain from Ares becoming king of the gods?
My thoughts were cut short however, as the tower's alarm system went off, setting of a red light and loud siren throughout the entire building. Robin checked the tower computer and determined that someone had broken into a local store. This time however, the computer had linked itself to the security cameras and we saw exactly who was causing trouble. It was a very pale-looking man with white hair that covered the left side of his face, one pointed ear, and a red cape around his neck; and he was throwing out daggers of some kind everywhere and scaring people away. The Titans knew all too well who this was.
"Ghirahim." Link declared with an angry tone. "What's he doing here?!"
"Whatever it is, it's bound to be no good." Robin replied. "Titans, go!"
After his all-too-common battle cry, we left the tower to try and apprehend Ghirahim. I had never fought this guy, but he couldn't be any worse than Ares… could he?
When we arrived on the scene, most of us were surprised by the area that Ghirahim had decided to attack. It was… a clothing store? Not only that, but a women's clothing store nonetheless! This must've been some seriously messed up guy. I mean, of all the places to break into, why would he choose a clothing store?!
"Am I the only one who's confused here?" I asked out loud.
"Maybe the men's store didn't have anything in his size?" Beast Boy joked.
"Well, that's Ghirahim for you; messed up in every sense of the word." Link proclaimed, with Starfire nodding in agreement.
I guess it really didn't matter where he attacked, just so long as we stop him. At the same time though, I had this bad feeling in my gut; like this attack of his had some other kind of meaning. Once inside, we saw that the entire building was a wreck; there were coat-racks and shelves knocked over everywhere. The cash registers were also blown apart, although oddly enough, none of the money had been touched. It was only a matter of time before we confronted the guy who did this; Ghirahim. Well… I think he was a guy; after seeing his flamboyant outfit and weird behavior in person, it was kinda hard to tell.
When we found him, Ghirahim was busy using a rapier to carve something into the wall. When he saw us, he stopped abruptly and turned to face us.
"Ah! If it isn't my favorite little children!" Ghirahim said with a slightly british accent. "I was wondering when you would show up. I was beginning to get a little bored."
Judging by his tone, I could tell that he wasn't taking this seriously at all. It's not like that mattered though, we were still going to kick his butt!
"So now you're into vandalism? You've reached a new low, Ghirahim." Robin declared.
"Dude, I think this guy's already reached the definition of 'lowest of the low.'" Beast Boy remarked.
Ghirahim responded by thanking Beast Boy. Seriously? Wow, this guy really was messed up. Link stepped up and demanded that Ghirahim tell us what he was doing here. Ghirahim's response was (by now all too obvious)… creepy.
"Well… I happened to think that all of the styles in this store were atrocious. So I did everyone a justice and wrecked the place!" He claimed.
By now I couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was just messing with us. I didn't like these mind games, so I quickly formed a sword and charged at him, hoping to shut him up! As I was charging towards him, Robin called out for me to stop. Why? By the time I heard him though, I was already about to strike. All of the sudden however, Ghirahim vanished into thin air! Oh great, this guy could teleport too! He reappeared directly behind me, thrust the back of his hand into my head, and knocked me down. Did he just… slap me?! Oh, no he didn't!
"Sorry, but I didn't come here to fight some wanna-be hero. I'm here to deal with the Titans." Ghirahim told me.
What did he just call me?! I didn't like it when people assumed that I couldn't amount to being a hero, especially when that assumption came from a villain! I quickly got back up and attempted another attack, claiming that I was a Titan, but Ghirahim fired out several dagger-like projectiles at me. I was able to dodge, but right afterwards something really weird happened. The entire area I was fighting in just faded away! It was completely dark for an instant, but then I was suddenly in a new area. I was now standing on the outskirts of the city, near the entrance to a forest. How the heck did I get here? My question was answered as I turned around and saw the imposing figure of Ares directly behind me. He must've brought me here.
"We meet again, little girl." He greeted. "I believe you call yourself 'Scarlette', correct?"
I didn't respond to his question. Instead, I formed a giant hammer in my hands and swung it directly at Ares. He countered it though, by forming an equally giant ax in his hands. This time instead of being knocked back however, the force of the blow caused both of us to skid backwards. Perhaps this was proof that my training was starting to pay off.
I was prepared to strike again, but before I could, Ares raised up his hand and told me to stop. I questioned why, though I still held my hammer in both hands.
"My apologies if you were expecting a fight, but that is not why I brought you here." Ares told me.
"Yeah? I find that hard to believe." I responded.
Soon afterwards, Ares disposed of his ax and raised up both hands. He asked if I believed him now. Honestly, I didn't know if I could believe anything this guy said, but for right now I decided to play along and disposed of my weapon as well. The god of war not wanting to pick a fight seemed rather odd, but apparently there was a reason behind this.
"I don't get it. Last time we met, you tried to kill me, and now you just wanna talk?" I asked him.
Ares laughed slightly, as if he found my question humorous.
"You thought I was trying to kill you? No child, I was merely testing you. Did you not notice that when I left you in that battle, that you were barely injured?" He inquired.
I had noticed that. He had beaten Robin senseless and broken Link's arm, but all he did to me was rough me up a little. He had been testing me? For what?
"Why would someone like you have any interest in me? You're a god, and I'm a… a nobody." I said.
"You and I have more in common than you may think." Ares told me. "Besides, I may be the god of war, but even I wouldn't kill… my own daughter."
Wait… WHAT?! I was…. Ares' daughter?! That… that couldn't be! I wasn't some kind of goddess, I was human!
"What are you talking about! Me?! Your daughter?! That's not possible! I don't…!" I began to say.
"Remember that? Of course not. You got amnesia five years ago. And even then I had not revealed my true identity to you until you were ten years old." Ares interrupted.
But if I was his daughter… did that make me just as bad as him? I guess it explained my powers, but it just didn't add up. Why did he wait until now to tell me this?!
"I expected you to react in this way. But if you will calm down for a moment, I shall reveal to you the truth about your past." He told me.
I was seriously freaked out by this; even more than when I had been freaked out about simply facing Ares again. But if I could learn about my past, about who I really was, then I was willing to look past the fact that I was freaked out. So slowly, I calmed myself down and listened to what Ares, my… father, had to say.
"Your real name is Nicole Sera, sired by myself and your mother, Madeline Sera." Ares began explaining. "You see, after my last defeat at the hands of the Amazons, I was killed and sent to the underworld. However, as you may or may not be aware of, death is but a mere inconvenience to a god like me. It was only a matter of time before I re-entered the mortal world, where I took the guise of a man named Thomas Sera until I could recover all of my power. Everywhere I went, some form of conflict would arise, which would slowly restore me to my former glory. However, there was one time when no conflict whatsoever arose in my presence; that was the time when I met your mother, Madeline. Though mortal, she was unlike any other being I had ever encountered; human or god. Though my goal was to restore my power, I was affected by this woman in such a way that, as absurd as it may sound, I began to disregard my status as a god."
Disregard? Was he saying that my mom had made him not care about being the god of war? Even if that was so, it was obvious that he began to care again after a while; otherwise, he wouldn't be standing here in his 'godly' form.
"Eventually, while still under the guise of Tom Sera, Madeline and I married and sired a daughter; you. As time went on, it became apparent that you had inherited some of my power, and as I observed you I began to once again think towards my goal of restoring my former glory as the god of war. I began to fear that after all this time, I was becoming… mortal. As much as I loved Madeline, I was not going to discard my godly status because of petty mortal emotion, but at the same time I saw an opportunity. Your status and powers inspired me to try and mold you into my image. And the fact that you were female would give me the perfect opportunity to use you to annihilate the Amazons from upon their own little paradise island, Themyscira. However, when your mother discovered all of this, she tried to keep me away from you. She obtained a mystic artifact known as Athena's charm and placed it around your neck, preventing me from ever touching you. Though you escaped my grasp, a little… accident gave you amnesia, erasing the memory of your first ten years of life. Though you retained your powers, I still could not touch you as long as you had Athena's charm, so I decided to wait some time before confronting you again." He concluded.
Whoa. This was a lot for me to take in. My name was Nicole? My necklace was a mystic charm of some sort? And Ares was trying to use me? Just like so many people had tried to use me in the past? Not only that, but Ares had actually felt… love before?! That I found hard to believe. The fact that he was trying to use me made me a little angry, enough that I randomly formed a pair of nun-chucks in my hand. I quickly discarded them, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I see you still have a little trouble controlling your powers. Still, you have managed to cause quite a bit of conflict on your own. I had never expected that. I am… impressed."
"Okay… this is all kinda… confusing. But I only have one question. What happened to my mother?" I asked him, with an angry look in my eyes.
"She is not dead if that is what you are thinking. But my last encounter with her left her gravely injured. I believe that she may still be recovering in one of the hospitals of Bludhaven." He answered.
"Thanks for the info. Maybe I can dig up more of this story from her." I said out loud.
"Well… if you do see her, sent her my regards." Ares told me.
Ares then teleported away to who-knows-where. He likely did not want to see my mom in person, probably because he did not want to feel the same emotions that caused him to almost become mortal. From this whole encounter, I was beginning to think that Ares may not be as bad of a guy as I thought, but I wasn't going to actually believe that until I heard my mother's side of the story.
I pulled out my communicator and gave Robin a call. When he picked up, he actually sounded really worried.
"Scarlette?! Is that you? Where have you been?! One moment you're fighting Ghirahim, despite my order not to, then the next moment you disappear! Are you okay?" Robin asked.
"Aww. I didn't know you cared." I said sarcastically.
He gave me a sour look for a moment, and then told me that they were all back at the tower. I asked whether or not they apprehended Ghirahim, and it would turn out that he had gotten away. From the background, I could hear Link proclaim that the next time they fought Ghirahim that he'd wreck him like he did that clothing store. I heard Starfire too, urging Link to calm down, with Link saying that he was fine; just scratched a little.
"Yeah, take it easy, cat ears." Beast Boy added.
That was the first time I ever heard him call Link that. Usually, I was the one calling people names; well, calling Robin 'Spikey' anyway. Speaking of which, Spikey told me to meet him in front of the clothing store where we fought Ghirahim and that he'd come to pick me up on his R-Cycle. That sounded cool, but before he hung up I asked him if he could do me a favor and look up any info they could on a woman named 'Madeline Sera.' He said it was no problem, but he questioned why. I simply told him to just do it, and that I'd tell them all why when I got back. Robin then hung up, and I began to make my way back to the clothing store, which fortunately was not all too hard to find because of the wreckage. Well, that and the fact that it was pinpointed on my communicator.
After everything I had just learned, I really did not feel like telling anyone that Ares was my dad yet; especially not to Robin. If he found out that I was the daughter of an evil god, who knows how he would react, especially considering my past as a thief. For right now though, I was focused more on finding out where my mother was. I just hoped that she would actually want to see me.