GreedEman: Greatly enjoyed this chapter!
Won't lie, reading M. Ms lines and imaging Carl Lumbly's voice saying that with a straight face made my day, and i have to ask: which event are you refering to with the 'meat robots'?
I love that i get to ask such a question
Re: Yeah, I had fun imagining him saying that line (with a completely straight face) as well. He just seems the sort to get straight to the heart of things. Not to mention he's multiple centuries old and doesn't have the same hang-ups that Humans do.
As for "meat robots", I meant the "Ulti-Legion", given they didn't have any sort of free will but were still organic.
LoamyCoffee: Just great work~
I had wondered when the League would check in.
I mean, I wasn't sure if I should've brought up that question of Honey-Dicking but the hormones do make sense for her behavior.
Gets me in the heart about Long Shadow.
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Re: Well, Ventus' "charisma" can be a powerful tool. Why do you think Bards always pass all the Speech Checks in D&D?
Also, adding a little retro-lore to Long Shadow was a ton of fun. Really helps the world feel "lived-in", but like anyone who's read my work will recognize, I love me some worldbuilding.
coldblue2015: Man, I missed a gem here!
Honestly, I can would love to read Multiverse, where instead of Teen Titans...we get older Ventus who is hero/vigilante that broke away from Deathstroke/Slade and became a member of the Justice League.
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Re: An interesting thought, but I'd have to change a great deal about his character to age him up to League age. Crossing over JLU with TT is the closest I feel like going down that rabbit hole, but it's fun to write the two parts of the DCAU co-existing, even though they never officially crossed over beyond a comic book panel of Batman looking at Titans Tower from a high rise.
I'd always been very proud of "retconning" Wind Dragon's metagene coming from him, though if this were an adult Ventus, Waller wouldn't have gotten his DNA so-easily.
When I first wrote my Teen Titans story, I wanted Ventus to feel more like an "everyman", maybe a "straight man" compared to the others' wackier tendencies. Him being Slade's former apprentice was also always the plan, and he was always going to grow into a more affirmative role, and I'm happy that his character inspires those sort of "What If…?" questions; I imagine he and Flash would be like two peas in a pod, being more "approachable" than "demigods" like Superman, or literal demigods like Wonder Woman.
But yeah, I always found Galatea's story intriguing, and I was sad that nothing came of it in the Canon. That she was still moving after Supergirl used her as a "fuse" for the Binary Fusion Reactor, made it easier for me to write her "waking up".
All in all, I hope to continue receiving such heartfelt Reviews. And now, on with the show.
*JLUxTT*
"If Langley knew this was what we were talking about right now, I'd be the laughing stock of D.C…" Waller sighed to herself, rubbing her temples.
"How do you think we feel?" Green Lantern sighed, as Martian Manhunter remained completely nonplussed about the tangent he had gone on.
"I feel like we've glossed over an important detail," Flash hummed as he resumed his seat. "Something vital that needs immediate addressing."
"Oh? Like what?" Wonder Woman inquired.
"Heeere we go…" John groaned.
"If they have sex, is Galatea a cradle-robber, or is Ventus a pedophile?"
" . . . "
No-one knew what to say to that in mixed company.
*JLUxTT*
Elsewhile, in the depths of the Cadmus Tertiary facility…
"Mmmmm… This is nice…" Galatea sighed contentedly as she leaned into her warden's shoulder, the two of them resting under a blanket in the lounge as yet another episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars played before them.
The two of them had been eking out a bit of routine for themselves the past few days, but she had to admit, that the time she could indulge in the fantasy world George Lucas helped create, was among her most-enjoyable. And the show was only part of it.
While a part of her did enjoy the respect and/or fear that came with being a Cadmus liquidation asset, being treated like a "normal girl" was strangely enjoyable for her. That the one to evoke those feelings had superpowers of his own, made it feel less like she were "settling" but that she was courting someone closer to her own level. And with Supergirl gone, all of a sudden it didn't matter to her that she was a clone.
Something she'd learned from watching the GAR fight the Separatist Alliance, fictional or not, was that even as a Clone, you could still find meaning in your actions. That even if your purpose was a manufactured construct, you could still find your own meaning in doing what you were "created to do". And while the idea of a legitimate clone army was still a little fantastical, it still struck surprisingly close to home when she considered her own origins. It almost made her wish there were more Argoan clones; clones she could call "sister".
And if she hadn't been relegated to "black ops", could she actually have befriended the Ulti-Men in the way that some of the better Jedi did with the clones under their command? Could she have willingly given her life for a cause she believed in, like Hevy had on the Moon of Rishi? And while it was true that "good soldiers followed orders", she'd never actively defied them, but instead used those orders as an excuse to do whatever it was she had wanted. Would she have been able to truly deny some order from on high, like some of the Clones had?
Idly, she wondered if Cadmus stripping the "Ulti-Legion" of their agency and free will had been the right call. Sure, they followed orders to the letter with zero moral compunctions, but watching countless Separatist forces getting blasted by Clones who were free-enough to improvise and change plans on the fly…
"Hmmmm… I can probably use that," she hummed idly to herself as she scribbled with a pen on paper as something caught her eye.
"I still can't believe you're taking notes," Ventus hummed as he looked down at what she wrote.
"I mean, where else am I going to learn how to command a clone army in case I ever have to do thatagain?" Galatea hummed thoughtfully.
"You do know this stuff is fictional, right?"
"Multiverse."
"I amend my previous statement."
"You bet your sweet ass you do~" Galatea purred, setting her notepad aside and adjusting her grip on him.
"Sooo… Did Cadmus just not teach you about personal boundaries or what?"
"Let's call it 'or what'~" she grinned up at him as she snuggled into his side.
*JLUxTT*
"Alright, Tea. Back to the gym."
"Awwwwww. Can't we watch just ooooone more?" Galatea pouted.
"Ah ah ah, none of the sass."
"Yes, daddy~"
"I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
"Hmhmhmhm~"
*JLUxTT*
"So tell me… Where did your taste in music come from?" Ventus inquired as he spotted for Galatea on the sled-dropper, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor playing in the background, the most-recent in a long string of 80s hits.
"Professor Hamilton, mostly," Galatea answered as she did squats, slowly and methodically flexing her core and leg muscles. "Originally the plan was for me to lead the government-sponsored heroes that eventually became the Ulti-Men, represent 'American Values' and all that. But all of my powers would clue people into who I was 'related to' pretty quickly, draw attention to the whole cloning thing, so they changed tack and kept me in reserve for black ops liquidation missions."
"Well, at least you aren't a mindless meat-robot. Where was this side of you during Cadmus' little proxy war?"
"Wallowing at the heart of an existential crisis."
"Fair."
"You know, I thought I'd actually be happy to hear that Kara was gone, but now that I've had a few days to stew on it…"
"You find that your life is hollow, bereft of direction?"
"As long as Waller gave me missions, an enemy to fight, I didn't really need to think about it. But now that I have all the time in the world… I realize just how much I didn't have."
"And now…?"
"I have a new favorite TV show, and a cute guy I like~"
"Oh? Someone I know?"
"You could say that~" she purred as she eyed him hungrily. "In fact, you could say he's… very close by~"
"Well I hope he's not already taken," Ventus replied before he looked to his hip, his T-Comm paging him. "Take five. I'm getting a call," he said locking the dropper in its upright position, stepping out of the room.
"Hmmmmmm…" Galatea hummed, eyeing his back as he left.
*JLUxTT*
"Testing, testing, one-two, one-two," Ventus hummed as the vid-call buffered.
"Friend Ventus! It is so good to see you!" Starfire beamed merrily from the Ops Center. Flanking her on the immediate right were Raven and then Kitten, with Terra and then Blackfire on her immediate left.
"Kori, Rae, Terr, Kitty Komand'r," the wind-wielder returned with a smile, a relieved sigh leaving his lips at the familiar faces. " . . . Where're the others?"
"Out on patrol? For some reason, the guys haven't been keen to stick around when we aren't working," Terra hummed idly.
" . . . I miss you girls, I really do, but the work that needs doing-"
"We know. But we still miss you," Raven returned as she reached out her hand toward the camera, Ventus reciprocating as one by one, the girls he'd become more-intimate with followed up on the gesture. "I, still miss you."
"Can't you just telepathically mind-fuck or whatever?" Blackfire inquired unashamed.
"I-It's not that simple," Raven said, her ashen cheeks reddening as the sound of something exploding went off in the backdrop. "Cadmus may have lost its leading sorceress, Tala, but their facilities are still warded off from the occult. It's like trying to look through Lead with X-Ray Vision."
"Which explains why the League didn't just 'magic up' a solution as soon as the Question's media-induced paranoid delusional nightmare came true," Kitten hummed. "So, this Galatea chick… She hot?"
"K-Kitty?!" Ventus squawked.
"I'm intrigued as well," Blackfire hummed. "I was surprised to learn that a planet like Earth was able to clone such a powerful member of a functionally-extinct species."
"And we'll know if you're lying," Terra added. "You might have a good poker face around other men, but the four of us can see right through you."
"What about me?" Starfire pouted.
"You don't have the same… 'insider knowledge' that we do," Kitten hummed with a suggestive lilt that caused Ventus to blush.
"And how would one go about acquiring such knowledge of the inside?" Starfire asked innocently.
"I'm sure the fanclubs could tell you~" Blackfire purred suggestively.
"I know that fans help keep people cool in the summer months, but what would blunt weaponry have to do with such?" Starfie asked with a tilt of her head.
"A-Ahem…!" Virgil coughed. "Anyway, I'll try to speed things along with her, but this isn't something I can rush. I have to give her the attention she deserves."
"As long as that's all you're giving her," Raven pouted.
"I think what she's trying to say is, don't forget who your main squeeze is," Terra hummed.
"You're the only ones I think of when I have time to myself."
"Awwww. That's so sweet~" Kitten cooed.
"And a little corny. But then again, that's one of the reasons you became my A'asshika'abi."
"What does that word mean?" Raven deadpanned.
"It roughly translates into 'Lover'~" Blackfire grinned, running her hands along her curvaceous body. "Amongst other things~"
"I'll try to get back as soon as I can. I love you all."
"We love you too."
*JLUxTT*
"What was that thing they called the archetype? A 'Harem Protagonist'? And here I though those were only in cheesy anime," Galatea said out of nowhere as they ate lunch.
"You were spying on me?!"
"I mean, Cadmus is a branch of the US Government~"
"You know what I mean. Didn't they teach you not to eavesdrop?"
"Cadmus taught me to eavesdrop on everything."
"You're impossible."
"Amongst other things~"
" . . . So you know everything, I take it?"
"Only hearsay on the Cadmus files. I used a backdoor I… bargained with an IT guy for back in the day, to get into their more-recent intel. They had quite a few things to say about your more-recent… activities~ Though I wanted to 'verify' on my own terms."
"Ugh… Tax dollars at work," Ventus groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Then you obviously know I'm taken."
"Maybe after the first time, but that door swings open pret-ty wide~" Galatea purred suggestively as she let a drop of milk trace down her neck and into the depths of her cleavage.
" . . . "
At this, Ventus exhaled, long and loud, before returning to his food.
"Let's just hypothetically, hypothetically," he insisted, "say that I'm open to the idea, and that, also hypothetically, you might be able to get the green light from a harem I may or may not 'have'… I'd prefer we get the metaphorical ankle tracker off before you and I get to know one another in the more… biblical sense…"
"You know, they had a saying on Argo for when a girl was hot and bothered. Called it the 'Blood of Rao', the primary god they named their sun after," Galatea hummed thoughtfully as she ate. "And if Waller is trying to honey-dick me… She could've done a lot worse for me~"
"I can not believe you just said that with a straight face."
"Honey, I can use my face to do whatever you want~-okay wow that sounded a lot less cringy in my head…" she admitted after a moment.
"How do you think I feel. I'm the one that's apparently being used to 'domesticate' you through… through…!"
"Rrrrecreational cross-species breeding practices?" Galatea grinned after a moment, something horrifying and arousing in her eyes.
Horrousing, one might go so far as to say.
"Again with the straight face."
"How does the word 'copulation' strike your fancy?"
"You ever seen Futurama? Let's watch an episode real quick."
*JLUxTT*
"Uh… Wow. Okay… Wow…" Galatea said a short time later as she stared at the skeletons on the frozen screen, their pelvic bones pulverized to gravel, one of them with a cigarette in his hand "post-Snu-Snu".
"Yeah, that became a concern of mine when it was obvious Komand'r and I were going to become intimate."
"But, I mean… Wouldn't those Space Amazons have known when to stop?"
"Have you seen the size of those child-bearing hips?"
"Fair point, though now I'm wondering if there are real Space Amazons out there."
"Well, there're the Zamarons, but that's mostly in principal. Blackfire and her sister did say there are space-women more-libidinous than the Tamaraneans, so I'd assume there would be 'Space Amazons' out in the Vega System."
" . . . Vee, if I ever hurt you while we were snuggling-"
"If I weren't already augmented, you'd have cracked a rib, sure. But since I'm basically a super-soldier on top of everything else, it's more like a firm hug," Ventus said as he leaned over, snaking his arm behind her back before drawing him in for a powerful embrace that'd have cracked a rib on any of his less-durable girls.
"I'm glad. I don't know what I would've done if I'd actually hurt you. After that first time," Galatea amended as she reached over and held him too, mashing her chest against his and laying her head on his shoulder. " . . . Did the Clone Army have their breeding instinct suppressed?"
"Beast Boy called it 'Factor H' after watching a lore video, and no. The Kaminoans wanted to take out that 'secret sauce', but it made the clones weaker, so the idea was to keep them away from general population centers while on leave. The clones were fully capable of breeding, and I think in Legends or wherever, there were a few confirmed cases. Why do you ask?"
" . . . I didn't really notice it before, but thinking back on it, none of my meals since I woke up were 'specially formulated'. I think… I think Cadmus might've been giving me some kind of hormonal suppressant before, but now I'm not getting it anymore…"
"Didn't you date a reporter or something?"
"It didn't mean anything. Not really. It was just a means to an end, laying down breadcrumbs so I could lure Kara into a trap. Objectively, I considered him to be handsome, but I wasn't interested in him sexually. Back then I didn't think anything of it, but now…"
"Are you worried your hormones are making you fall for the first 'guy' you've met since falling off the wagon?"
"I was at first… but not anymore," she said shaking her head. "That I can find qualities I like about you that aren't sexual, like your compassion, your smile, your will, that toughened edge… If I were a normal girl, you're the sort of guy I'd sneak out the bedroom window and tiptoe down the driveway to meet clandestinely," she said, smiling fondly at him. "I was created to be Cadmus' weapon against the League, but they never messed with my freewill; not in any sort of way that really stuck. So this thing that's happening between us… It's real. And I really like it."
"Well… even if it isn't because of some reverse Florence Nightingale Syndrome, I'm not going to do anything more-intimate with you until we get a Red Sun lamp or something. I've seen regular buff women crush watermelons between their legs, and I don't want that to be me."
"Can't we just cuddle?" Galatea asked hopefully.
" . . . Yeah, alright," Ventus surrendered after a long moment. "It's obvious that this is the hand the three Fates gave me. To comfort emotionally-damaged super-powered women with my body," he said with a defeated sigh.
"And you say that like it's a bad thing~"
"I'm still afraid I'll wind up like 'the last men that visited Amazonia'…"
"Maybe, but what a way to go out~" Galatea purred as she scooped him up in her arms.
"Tea, it's still the middle of the day."
"Hey, it's snuggle-time somewhere in the world~" she said as she boldly strode toward the dorms.
*JLUxTT*
Instead of carrying him back to her hospital room where Ventus had assumed Galatea had been going, Galatea had instead carried him up to the "luxury suites" where the higher-ranked members of Cadmus had been staying. And it didn't even seem like it was actually her room from before her little incident on the Watchtower; just a room she'd "commandeered" since they had the place completely to themselves.
The hardwood paneling and plush carpets were certainly a pleasant departure from the sterile whites of the hospital wing, but the look in Galatea's eyes frightened him a little, and he hoped his Power Ring's shield could protect him in the event his current charge got a little more… heated, than anticipated.
"Please, make yourself comfortable," Galatea said as she floated above the bed, throwing the covers back with her toe before setting him down and covering him, flying off to the ensuite once he was situated.
"We uh… aren't going to be eavesdropped in here, are we?" Ventus asked as he looked around.
"Don't worry. I already fried the listening devices that were left in here," Galatea called out from the shower, giving herself a quick rinse before stepping out, naked as the day she was gestated, water trickling down her womanly curves. "Face it, tiger. You just hit the jackpot."
*Gulp*
"Oh, you're such a flatterer~" Galatea cooed as she sauntered toward the bed, hips swaying before she climbed into bed after him and held his body close, resting his head against her bosom. "You feel that? That's how I feel about you. How you make me feel."
"Y-You don't say…" Ventus gulped as she held him against her wet body.
Sure, Blackfire treated him in the same way once she became comfortable being herself around him, but Galatea had a womanly charm all her own. Even if she were flash-grown, that she was biologically a grown woman instead of a teenager gave off a completely different vibe to any of the other girls in his life.
"Oh? Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" she grinned as she rubbed her thigh between his legs and his hardening member.
"You know the answer to that."
"I know. But I want to hear you say it~"
" . . . Yes, I find you attractive."
"You can always call me a 'hot piece of ass' again. I don't mind~"
"I'm not normally one for the dirty-talk…"
"Awww, but you're so cute when you try to play 'bad cop'~ Oh! Now there's an idea~"
"Red Sun lamp first, then canoodling," he said before Galatea adjusted her hold on them so their hips were level. With his newly-enhanced tactile senses, he could almost feel the heat from her core, and part of him idly wondered what superpower could come from that part of a Kryptonian/Argoan's body. "Tea…"
"Yes?"
"Is that 'The Art of Seduction'?" he asked looking over her shoulder to the nightstand.
"Um… Yes, it is… but it's more of a history textbook than an actual manual," Galatea defended as her cheeks reddened. "Most of the stuff in there aged really poorly after the Middle Ages. That, and you're too smart and too content to actually fall for any of it."
"Well… I guess I should be happy you're putting serious thought into this. Even if this whole thing makes me out to be some kind of horndog with a divisive fanbase…"
"Oh, just let those lonely nerds be jealous you're sticking it to their dream girls~"
"If 'The Fury' hadn't already left countless men quasi-sterile, I honestly think there'd be more outcry."
"Yeah, and honestly, what was that Amazon thinking? Doesn't she know where babies come from?"
"I honestly don't. Maybe in her hairbrained scheme, the Greek Gods would turn all of Earth's women into quasi-immortal Amazons once the men were dead," he replied, happy for something to distract him from his… pulse.
"Honestly… I'm glad Wonder Woman stopped Aresia instead of siding with her 'just because'."
"How-old were you when that happened? Biologically, I mean?"
"I was still a 'little girl' at the time, barely waist-high to Dr. Hamilton. Thankfully, Cadmus had the base I was born in quarantined as soon as the first cases were recognized. Though since that stuff was airborne, where wasn't a lot Cadmus could do. Women couldn't become infected, but they could become carriers. Tala said there was some kind of magical component to it, but honestly, most of that went over my head."
"Well, at least Cadmus knew better than to try and get into germ warfare."
"With all the aliens, mutants, and metas in the League, the chances were too high that any germs we did lob at them would wind up mutating into something we couldn't control," she said as she held onto him. "You know… a part of me's kinda glad we lost up in the Watchtower. I don't think you and I would've met if we'd 'won'."
"Wow, that's… That's kinda sweet. In a dark kinda way…"
"Yeah. Waller would have kittens if she heard me talking like that~" she grinned down at him, the two of them nose to nose before she rolled him onto his back and straddled him, an intense look in her eyes as she held his biceps down.
"Um… Tea…?"
"A part of me wants to do you right now, you know. A part of me wants to just… take you, even if you didn't consent. Make you forget all about those little girls back at the Tower…" she confessed heatedly, shame filling her eyes as she looked away. "But Emil taught me enough about how to be a 'good person' to know that that'd be wrong. Without Kara's morals leeching into my mind through our 'twin telepathy', I have to use my own moral compass instead of having someone else's crammed down my throat. That's why I'll wait for you," she said as she took her hands from his arms and hugged herself. "I'll wait for you as long as it takes because… Because I love you. I'm in love with you. And I can't see myself with anybody else."
"Tea…" Ventus said somberly as he reached up, Galatea leaning down into his touch and nuzzling her cheeks into his palms. "Are you sure you want me to be the one you love? I'm… I'm damaged goods, too. And you have a lot of obstacles in your way."
"Terra, Star-Girl, Blackfire, and Raven. Yeah. I read their files," Galatea said as she brought her hands up to his, lavishing in the warmth of his tender grasp. "I'll kneel, and beg, and prostrate myself. Whatever it takes. Because even if I have to share you, I still want to 'possess you'. If I can ever only have one thing to my name, I want it to be you…"
"Aren't we moving a little fast?"
"Maybe it's a side-effect of the accelerated aging, or maybe it's something in my alien biology that tells me I'm 'The Last Argoan', or maybe it's a mix of both, but somehow… Somehow this feels right," she answered. "Makes me wonder if Supergirl would've fallen for you too~"
"Well, she's gone, and you're still here, so I guess that's always going to be one of those 'What If…?' questions."
" . . . Heh. Imagine all the Supergirl x Ventus fanart that's going to be made once it gets out that we're going steady~" Galatea giggled.
"Well, I don't do 'Ego Searches'; not after seeing how-traumatized Beast Boy got when he made that mistake. So I wouldn't know what kind of fanart there is now."
"But aren't you a little bit curious?"
"I've seen fanart for fictional superheroes. I don't want to see the depraved nonsense people make for real ones."
"Fair enough," Galatea smiled, lowering herself until she was resting her head on his chest. "Vee?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you like girls with long hair?" she asked nervously, twirling a loch of her drying hair around a finger.
"Call me old-fashioned, but I think the hair length that you're most comfortable with, is what would make me happiest to see."
"Hmmm… I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she said as she snuggled into him, a contented sigh leaving her lips as he draped his arms across her back, the gentle *Lub-Dub* of his heart lulling her to sleep.