Stardust Shimmer
Eleven: For Our Ideals
"Ugh..." Huntress struggled against the bindings as the heroes were deposited in chairs before the four others. "What are these?"
"Chain Energy," Batman recalled, perfectly still. "Each player must pay five hundred life points to normal summon, special summon, set or activate cards from their respective hand. Don't struggle, Huntress. You'll just drain yourself."
"You're quite well informed," Setsuka inclined her head towards him. She would have seemed the least terrifying, but there was the question of the giant armoured white tiger curled around her to consider. "My apologies, dark knight."
"Vetr... Winter," Batman narrowed eyes at the others present. "Harald Seward, Dragan, Brave, the so-called Team Ragnarok. And... Sherry LeBlanc, heiress of the LeBlanc empire."
"He's a bit too well-informed, isn't he?" Sherry turned to the girl.
"He's Batman," She answered, as if that explained everything. "You can trust him. The other, I do not know. Dewloren?" She asked the tiger.
A growl caused both of them to start at the beast.
"Nice kitty..." Huntress weakly answered the cat.
"I hate being called a kitty," the tiger bit back.
"It talks?" Huntress blinked.
"I am Prince Dewloren of the Ice Barrier!" It snapped to her face, showing its teeth to make a point. "Mistress, I doubt that she is trustworthy."
Setsuka coldly cocked her head. "If there is an unaccounted noise, perhaps you could maul her before we drop her into the bay, Dewloren."
Batman shivered at the cold tone the child took. "You're the leader of the Arcadia Movement, aren't you? Iemitsu Nakamura was just your cover. No one would ever believe that a child could control the Arcadia Movement."
"Divine was gone, so Mother took over," Setsuka had a faraway look. "She died... I am the only one who can hold it together now."
"You're a kid," Huntress hissed. "Why?"
"I am an outcast," Setsuka answered as the temperature grew cold. "It is to be expected. For the sake of any listening devices, dark knight, next time I suggest that you not publicise us quite so well. We will be continuing our use of code-names. Wednesday is obvious, as is Fleur, Laufeyson is the red-haired, Thursday is the other, and I am Winter, named Vetr by Wednesday. Shall I have the honour of knowing how to address you?"
"Maybe when you free us," Huntress snapped.
"You have the keys to freedom," Setsuka pointed to the lone card before Batman, a De-Spell. "While you work out how are you going to escape with her, dark knight, we are going to have a conversation between us. Tea?" The proffered china cup was bizarre to say the least.
"I'll pass," Huntress bit back, still struggling. Batman remained silent.
"Your loss," Brave, now Laufeyson, nibbled at a plate of biscuits. "Curious to know why our nicknames are like that?"
"Yours is a reference to Loki, Thursday is based on Thor, and Wednesday distantly related to Woden, or Odin," Batman answered. "Fleur is a French word, and Winter is obvious if anyone knows that she uses ice cards. Each and every member were called by some card they held, though a few differed. Seto Kaiba was Bishop, Rafael Eatos was Guardian, and Endymion... I knew that your parents died, Setsuka, but revenge solves nothing."
"Revenge is shallow," Setsuka agreed. "However, you hold the last piece. You cannot let it fall to Elysium."
"Why not?" Huntress struggled. "You're talking about a card, right?"
"A card tore up the Gotham-Metropolis highway last time," Batman bit back. "A card, several cards, flooded the Metro Tower. You never fought the monsters, Huntress. They're a legitimate security risk, any out-of-control Psychic Duellist can unleash a wave of monsters."
"Only the strong," Setsuka corrected. "Or the chosen. Fudo Ryuusei is a Psychic Duellist as well, though he is unaware of this situation."
"The Arcadia Movement and the Elysium Circle are at loggerheads over something," Batman stated. "Before that, the leader of Elysium, this Regina Mackenzie, had the Darklord Zerato card stolen by your father. Yuugi Mutou and... the darkness... he then forcibly gave it to me under duress in Hero City. Apollymi Hunter was charged to raze Gotham City... because I had the card and he would hold it until he could take it from me. Fallen Angels... there are more than one, and Mackenzie needs all of them. This time she took the chance to enter the city away from my surveillance, under the pretext of the tournament, to find the card and raze the city. Psychic Duellists... if those so-called holographic monsters with area-destruction abilities are made real in the stadium-"
"Gone," Setsuka agreed. "However, Zerato has the ability of selective destruction. He can destroy all opponents with a single sweep of his sword, that is his ability. Even Mackenzie realises that. A true weapon against Earth's mightiest hero, that's what she needed Zerato for. That was what Yliaster planned, before they were torn down by Yusei Fudo, what she wants to finish."
"A card can defeat Superman?" Huntress sceptically asked.
Batman took a deep breath. "De-Spell." Cracking sounds preceded the shattering of the bonds. After a few moments, he stood as the chains fell off him, to Huntress's surprise.
"She wants a weapon of selective destruction and one of mass destruction." Batman concluded, glaring as the pieces fell into place. "If Zera is selective, which one's the WMD?"
"The Demise, King of Armageddon held by Mother was stolen before they died," Setsuka answered. "You know what it does."
"Batman?" Huntress asked as Batman seemed to pale.
"That's the one who broke the highway," Batman finally stated. "How?"
"Mother kept the card, but there was a break-in," Breath condensed as she told the tale. "Monsters, guns... Mother came to say goodbye, still bleeding and fighting, as Father too... Father handed me the Guardian Eatos and the others, told Iemitsu to care for me, and Mother ordered Eatos to take us away. As she fled with us, the last I saw was that monster striking them down. That monster... The Splendid Venus."
Her tone grew colder than ice as Dewloren growled. "My parents might well be murdered by Mackenzie herself."
"The only powers that can stand up to them are here," Wednesday acknowledged. "Yet, they have changed their aims as well..."
"Seika Kannazuki," Batman growled. "They're after her as well."
"The problem is the location," Setsuka agreed. "However, in Gotham, today at the stadium I caught thugs hired by Oswald Cobblepot to kidnap Seika. Wednesday, Fleur, I trust you to enter the Iceburg Lounge to ask Cobblepot once we get the story from our lead."
It was surreal, seeing these adults paying deference to a child. "No," Batman broke in. "You're not interrogating the Penguin. He's more dangerous than you think."
"That's why we are going," Harald tapped his left eyelid, which had begin to glow as the pupil of the eye was marked with a runic sign. "This Rune Eye is more than a decoration. The ash, representing one of the Aesir."
Beside him, Brave and Dragan also revealed their eyes. "Thorn, for Thor. And Hail, for Loki."
Sherry held up her own hand, which glowed violet with a fleur-de-lis. "A souvenir of a time with Z-One. Fleur de Chevalier. I worked for Yliaster before, there's no more dangerous job than for time-travelling nihilists."
Setsuka glared at the Watcher in the Shadows. "I am not going in myself. I am a minor. I might not hanker for revenge... but I swear, that I will do everything in my power to assist in the downfall of Elysium and all its associates."
"You're just a child," he breathed, his breath coming out in mist.
Cold eyes narrowed. "I'm an exceptional one."
The door swung open as a broad-shouldered man in military pants and combat boots and a blazer with his hair tied in a bandanna strolled in. "Yo, Winter."
"You're late, Tyranno," she answered, though her voice held no bite. "Gentleman, meet the Batman."
"So you're the guy," brown eyes flashed reptilian yellow for a moment as the man beheld them, and Batman had the same feeling as he was standing before Killer Croc. That of a predator. "Tyranno Kenzan..."
All heads turned to regard him as he slumped to the ground.
"Elysium Circle's hellish," Kenzan reported. "I mean, worse than some Duel Academias. Oh gods...The monster they called..."
"Which monster?" Setsuka demanded.
"The Ultimate Temporal Machine God..." Kenzan breathed. "Mackenzie controlled it..."
The adults immediately paled.
"Temporal Machine Gods...!" Sherry rasped.
"Sephylon!" Kenzan rasped. "Barely escaped... the Ultimate Temporal Machine God, Sephylon, they're trying to unleash it here. If they do..."
"Why is a legacy of Z-One here?" Sherry demanded. "It cannot be Z-One, hence it is an underling with delusions in the form of Mackenzie. Mizoguchi, treat him. Marufuji San would be picking him up from the Hotel."
"Yes, my lady," the older manservant quickly escorted the fallen out.
Huntress gasped at the burns on his back as he was hauled off for treatment. "That was..."
"Wounds of retreat," Brave noted. "For even Kenzan to be like this..."
"I will be planning for tomorrow's tournament," Setsuka primly stood as she gave a polite yawn. "Fleur, Wednesday, you know what to do. Thursday, Laufeyson, do what you need, find those shadows of Gotham, retrieve the... Nopperabo."
Brave dissolved into a fit of laughter. "That's really fitting!"
"I will be returning with Kenzan and Nakamura San, Mizoguchi San would be in the car now. Dark Knight, Huntress, I look forward to your progress. We shall be keeping with the usual channels. Good night."
"What do I do with the deck?" Batman held up the cards. "I have no need for them."
Setsuka sighed as she threw something at the Batman, the cowled vigilante catching his own comm-piece. "You will, soon enough. I suggest you ask the cards yourself."
The manservant was on hand to escort the young mistress into the waiting car, leaving the adults behind as it drove off.
"I'm coming with you," Batman told the white-haired Harald, his tone brooking no arguments.
Harald raised an elegant eyebrow as Brave and Dragan appeared with Harald's Vahallander. "Get your own ride."
"Sturm und Drang!" Sherry rode her own out.
"I'm struck with a case of motorcycle envy," Huntress muttered, watching the elaborate hose-like D-Wheel tear down the road. "And you say they're card gamers?"
"D-Wheelers," Harald corrected, mounting the bike to make his point. "Let's go."
"Wait," Batman landed a hand on Brave's shoulder. "You guys?"
"We have our own stuff," the red-head grinned at him, one eye almost winking as Dragan pulled out two more of the Vahallanders.
A D-Wheel by itself was often flamboyant enough, and the Vahallander and Sturm und Drang more so. Still, the stares were more due to the armoured Bat-mobile behind them than anything else.
"Cobblepot won't cooperate if we arrive with the Bat on our tail," Sherry hollered. "What do we do?"
"A distraction..." Harald directed a smile towards her as he pushed a button on the D-Wheel console.
On both screens, words flashed up over a drawing of a board. Autopilot, Duel Mode, Standby.
Sherry eyed the course of the twisting streets of Gotham. "Fine."
"Riding Duel, Acceleration!" both called.
In the car, Huntress stared. "What are they doing?"
Batman, on the other hand, carried a sour expression. "I hate them."
Harald: LP 4000
Sherry: LP 4000
"Ladies first," Sherry smiled down at her cards. "Draw! I summon Sacred Knight's Spear-holder [800/400] in defence mode! I then set a card and end my turn."
Huntress choked as the image of the spear-bearer appeared, floating over the D-Wheel. "They're..."
"We're directly across the city to the Iceburg Lounge," Batman muttered. "Enjoy the show."
"Draw!" Harald declared. "I summon Polar Star Beast Tanngrisnir [1200/800] in attack mode!"
"Ta- what?" Huntress spluttered as the white goat bleated beside the Vahallander.
"Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr are the goats that pull the chariot of the Norse god Thor," Batman muttered.
They are sacrifices too, a sweet melodic voice murmured. Batman whirled his head towards it, but saw nothing.
Eatos, Zera's voice sounded. That girl... she knew.
"Tanngrisnir, attack the Spear-holder!" Harald called. "Go!"
"Trap card activate! Floral Shield!" Sherry called as a card lifted. "When my opponent declares an attack, I negate the attack and draw a card."
"Two cards set, turn end," Harald sighed as the goat was blown back in a mass of white petals.
"Draw!" Sherry called. "I summon Horse of the Floral Knights [400/800] in attack mode and use its effect to move a Polymerisation to my hand. Activate, Speed Spell – Overboost, gaining six Speed Counters until the End Phase. Activate, Speed Spell – Speed Fusion! Fusing, Sacred Knight's Spear-holder and Horse of the Floral Knights! Come, Centaur Mina [2200/1600]!"
"That's..." Huntress was struck dumb at the arrival of a red-headed female centaur wearing armour and equipped with a wicked lance, Batman having no such luxury as he was forced to manually guide the car through Gotham's narrower streets.
"Battle!" Sherry called. "Centaur Mina, attack Tanngrisnir!"
"Trap card open!" Harald indicated down.
"Once per turn, Centaur Mina can negate the activation of a trap and reset it to the field!" Sherry called as the red-headed centaur stomped over the card. "Battle continues!"
The centaur killed the goat with a sweep of its lance.
Harald: LP 4000 → LP 3000
"Trap card open!" Harald called. "Polar Star Treasure Laevateinn! I can select a monster that destroyed another monster by battle this turn, and destroy the selected monster!"
"What?" Sherry exclaimed as a glowing sword stabbed the centaur and shattered it. "So that was your aim! I set a card and end my turn!"
"Because you destroyed Tanngrisnir, I get two level three Tokens to my field," Harald pointed out.
"Too bad, you need one more level two monster before you can use Valkyria," Sherry pointed out nastily.
"Who said that I need Valkyria?" Harald answered easily. "I summon Polar Star Angel Vanadis [1200/400]!"
"What?" Sherry exclaimed as a dark-winged dark-haired girl carrying a scythe flew forward. "Another Polar Star Angel?"
"It's level four, and like the goddess Freyja of the legends, it is a bringer of victory..." Harald smirked. "It is a tuner monster! Tuning, both level three Polar Star Beast Tokens to level four Vanadis! North star in heaven, the king that rules the sky. Right now, bundle the pantheon of the star boundary and show the authority! Synchro Summon! Rule the heaven and earth! The Supreme God, Polar Star Sacred Emperor, Odin!"
A single bolt of lightning streaked across the Gotham dark skies, illuminating a single outline against the inky black night skies that somehow went missed by every single average citizen.
"Holy...!" Huntress swore as the giant descended from the cloudy skies. "Are you sure that's a hologram?"
"...I'm beginning to wonder myself," Batman muttered as he swerved, allowing the two D-Wheels room in the narrow roads even as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "J'onn? What's the biggest record for a holographic projection?"
"Batman?" Zatanna's voice cut in. "We were going to tell you, Seika Kannazuki is a nexus of power. You understand? She's a target!"
"Zee, unless you can handle Norse gods, now is not the time, but thanks," Batman snapped. "It's a hologram... I think."
"Gotham City is experiencing a great surge in mystical power right now," Zatanna returned a few moments later. "What happened?"
"The truth? There's a huge Norse god being summoned by a couple of people playing card games on motorcycles," Huntress took over as Batman concentrated on dodging lightning bolts strewn around. "Argh!"
A street lamp crashed down, separating the Bat-mobile from the two D-Wheels which were now racing onwards.
"They planned this," Batman hissed. "They planned this. Huntress, we're going after the other two and Question."
"What?" Huntress started. "They-"
"They're planning an extraction to steal Q from the Elysium Circle tonight," Batman hissed. "Nopperabo... it's a name for a Japanese creature. One that appears like a faceless man."
"The perfect codename for the Question," Huntress realised. "He's almost always faceless. Let's go, then."
The controls of the Bat-mobile crackled with electricity before it died out.
"...Batman?"
"It got hit by lightning," came the wry reply as a hatch opened in the roof. "I swear... putting that tracking device on Brave was a better decision..."
The people of Gotham were well used to explosions in the city, this being Gotham after all, hence when the first ones started, hardly anyone paid attention when no more accompanied it.
Holed up in a hotel room, Kenzan wheezed at the person sewing up his wounds. "Everything there?"
"Quite," Mizoguchi sewed it up. "Elysium has found you. Miss Shimotsuki and Mr Nakamura are handling it."
"Oh?" Kenzan winced from his attempt at sitting up.
"Do be quiet, Miss Kannazuki is in the next room. Miss Shimotsuki would be very displeased if she were to wake..."
Aside from the legendary Yliaster, one group Batman had hardly been able to keep tabs on was Seto Kaiba's group. Not only was it because of Kaiba's technological expertise, but also due to a combination of codes and anonymity of its members. He had known Diana Hunter as dangerous after the tournament, yet she had wisely gotten out, as had the rest, before anything could be done. Since they did not technically operate in hot League-monitored zones, Batman was hard-pressed for information short of actual infiltration.
On the first attempt, he had gotten called up by Kaiba, found himself staring into the maw of a dragon, and his file shown to him before Kaiba chucked the lot out of the window.
"The next time you come here," he said. "You go down."
It was the only time he had ever tried.
Now, as the Bat-mobile swung into parking beside the two D-Wheels and the front doors of a slightly run-down building blew open, Batman was reminded of the organisation again.
"Thursday, you take him!" Brave, codename Laufeyson, helped the dark-skinned man with the khaki-coloured bundle onto one of the D-Wheels. "Go!"
"But-"
"Descend, Polar Star King Loki!" Brave hollered in desperation as lightning struck down above him. "Dr- Thursday, go!"
"I'll come back!" the blue D-Wheel was kicked into action as Dragan took off.
"It's a bit overkill, but..." Brave made a motion like a gun with his thumb and forefinger. "Vanity Bullet!"
The monster that was flying out at him, that resembled a swarm of insects, screamed as a black blast sent them flying and gave Brave a chance to his own Vahallander.
"Eat dust!" the Vahallander drove off, approaching the Bat-mobile as it rode the sleek black vehicle before leaping off towards the road.
Batman gunned the car after the D-Wheel as the car's frame trembled. "More monsters,;" he grumbled as something slobbered on the windscreen, activating the electric shock. "Huntress?"
"Ugh," Huntress shook her head. "That was Question's coat. They...were being pursued, they rescued him. Which to follow..."
"Neither," Batman answered. "We go to the Hotel Gotham. We'll find them there. The tracking device on Brave is still working, it'll-"
Both blinked as the beacon signal fizzled out.
Ahem, outside.
Batman turned his head to see Brave's grinning visage, and mouthing words. Not there. The kids are sleeping.
With a wry grin, Batman turned the wheel to follow the flamboyant motorcycle.
Please review! Stay tuned for the next turn: Driving Snow! Duel, Acceleration!