I don't own Ben 10 or DC
Chapter 43: Fury of the Furies.
Just so everyone remembers, this is M'gaan from Season 4 of Young Justice, simply because I prefer her design over Season 3's.
Newcastle; England; June 1st, 2021; 1:34PM.
"What the hell just happened?!" Ben shouted as he telekinetically flipped the three-hundred-pound China-cabinet through the air, off his back, and across the room; slightly out of angry but, also frustration.
John huffed and held his forehead, now bleeding down the side of his face, he shook the pain off and slowly got to his feet. Reaching into his trench coat he began to explain, "Astra," he glanced back at the terrified girl in the corner who he would need to have a long talk with in just a few moments, "Was an innocent soul, a nobody in the afterlife… Whoever or whatever your cousin is, mate? she must be incredibly powerful to get one of the New Gods interested enough to intercept a resurrection," Constantine uncapped his golden flask and took a long, unhealthy swig of what was very likely some cocktail of strange liquors.
Ben took a step back, worried about the answer he might get in return, "Which New God?" he barely muttered.
John turned to look Ben in the eye, they were actually friends once, it would kill him to say the name; he doubled down instead on his cocky obnoxious nature, "She was dead before and she's dead now, nothin's changed, Benji, move on," he walked away from their little group passing Zatanna who scowled at him in awe of his lack of empathy.
Ben grabbed him by the back of his trench-coat and turned him around for a right-hook to the jaw, knocking the cigarette from his lips, and sending the warlock onto his back. He didn't say a word, only glaring down at him as Zatanna had to speak up for him.
"How bad could this guy possibly be that he has the famous Hell Blazer running scared?!" she pointed out thoroughly, watching as he got up and rubbed his jaw.
Johnny turned his head away from the both of them, looking at the exit to the House, wondering if they were just better off not knowing. It took a few long seconds of internal debate but, he came to a conclusion, "His name is Darkseid, he exists in a-"
"Ben Tennyson!" a familiar female shout announced itself from outside, approaching the House of Mystery which currently had its external security removed during their initial entry. M'gaan kicked open the millennia old polished wooden door, entering in her black and crimson Miss Martian costume, pushing against her fiancé with her finger pressed firmly against his chest, "Why didn't you tell me Constantine was a half-demon, womanizing, con-artist, murdering, thieving, exorcist!"
John pulled another cigarette out of another trench coat pocket, finding it quite entertaining, "Aye, I'm no murderer…" he defended as he lit the cig and puffed once or twice, not bothering to deny the other accusations.
Ben, who had his hands up in defense, slowly placed them down on her shoulders to try and calm her, "I didn't want you to," glancing quickly behind her at the door hanging off only one hinge, "freak out or anything, I didn't want you to worry."
M'gaan looked around at the seared circle on the ground and the slightly crispy wallpaper, the little-girl being comforted by a blanket at Z's side spoke volumes, "D-Did it work?"
Zatanna folded her arms over one another and glared back at John who was surprisingly still in the room smoking his cigarette not having run off just yet, "Apparently, a demon named Darkseid grabbed Gwen's soul before we could pull her out of the hell John got her trapped in-"
The Hell Blazer turned on his heel with a serious growl in his voice, "You all are just a bunch of know-nothing yanks that have no comprehension of what just happened here," he took a long inhale of his smoke and began speaking as it billowed out of his mouth, he enchanted the smoke by whispering something imperceptible to them. The cigarette smoke began to take shape as he described what they were truly up against, "Darkseid, is no demon, love… he's an interdimensional deity from a higher plane of existence," the smoke formed the Earth, and then formed what appeared to be Heaven's gates, and then even higher towards the ceiling were two smokey spheres. "He commands an army worth a few hundred-thousand of our Earth's population, mindless mutants called Para-Demons…"
Ben recognized them from the feed he received from the war efforts on Raan against the invaders, "Yea, he has enough to spare millions to several planets, helping establish Reach control."
"So, we have to travel to this other realm and grab Gwen and get out, piece of cake, right?" M'gaan explained with a little too much levity.
John approached her as he lowered his smoke to look down into her sight-line, "Once Darkseid finds formidable warriors for his army, he brainwashes them and turns their minds against them, by the time we get through his forces… she won't even be Gwen," the look on John's face described true compassion and sadness but, it was time he took a few steps back to speak to Astra. Child services was only a phone call away, getting her something to eat was first priority.
Zatanna noticed this and watched as she found he had a nurturing side after all; Ben finally spoke up again, stepping forward and into the conversation, having known about Darkseid for years now, "If we need to get onto Apokolips or even into Darkseid's main quarters… I think I know a guy."
…
Washington D.C; June 1st, 2021; 1:34PM.
"You want me to do what?" Cyborg was still typing away at a holographic console that programmed the Zeta-Tube systems he was integrating into the new Hall of Justice. All that could be replaced after the attack several years ago had been, including trophies and retired hero costumes on display, the building was all but functional.
Ben, M'gaan, Zatanna, and John stood around Victor Stone who was a very rare and unique cyborg, after a lethal car accident took the life of his Mother, his Father being a lead scientist at Star Labs used technology confiscated from the Reach which called itself a Mother Box. It was analyzed by the likes of Batman, Superman, The Atom, and Mr. Terrific all of whom confirmed it to be a sentient form of New Genesis technology, the planet orbiting Apokolips and its polar-opposite.
"We believe your cybernetics can open a Boom Tube, which is an inter-" Ben was beginning to explain everything he remembered Greymatter noting about the wormholes nature but was interrupted.
"Do ya'll think I don't know what a Boom Tube is? The question isn't if I can open it or not, it's why in the hell would I ever want to?" Cyborg turned to look Ben in the eyes, "Look, I get it, you got someone trapped there and they need help but, I'm not the right guy."
M'gaan stepped forwards in front of Ben who clearly wasn't making any headway, "The Kryptonian's along with most of the League power houses are all off world fighting an intergalactic war… the only heroes left are small cells of children, one of which is my own Son." She took a step closer with an intimidating glare into Victor's eye, "And don't think for a second I'd put him in harm's way, you can stay here and be afraid of what you can't understand… or you can come with us and maybe get some answers on how all of this works," she finished her offer gesturing to his entire cybernetic body and the crimson-energy core in its center.
Zatanna raised her brow at Ben with a coy smile, "M'gaan, you've really grown since the shy, little Martian stow-away I met all those years ago."
Cyborg backed away as he considered his options, M'gaan smiled, turning her head with a smile as her hair swayed with the motion, "Yea, well, I deal with teenagers at work and at home, sometimes you just gotta have confidence."
"I'll come with you," Cyborg announced finally, checking some readings that were projected on his arm, "But, I can't guarantee that he won't sense the tube being opened on his own Planet," they knew who he was referring to and spite never encountering him, it still shook them to their core.
John who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the debate clapped his hands together, summoning flames in either palm, "Leave that bit to me, ya?"
Zatanna folded her arms over her chest, "Oh, so suddenly you're on board?" she chided.
"If you're goin' so am I, love."
Nobody but M'gaan had noticed the blush that rose from her neck up into her cheeks, she really did still have feelings for the wayward warlock, "Whatever…" she muttered.
Cyborg held open his right hand, his palm revealed a node similar to the one powering his body at the center of his chest, it illuminated with a bright neon crimson light as suddenly it sounded as though someone broke the sound-barrier in each of their eardrums. Living up to its name, the Boom Tube exploded open for them as it carved a tunnel through space-time and across the Multiverse.
John quickly thrusted his palms forwards as his hellish flames slowly circled the vortex, forming blazing chains around its circumference, "Custodire Portae Aspectu! That should keep any one of those Para-Demon jobbers on the Planet from detecting our arrival. Darkseid too."
"Is everyone sure they're up for this? At this point, we're only going to the most dangerous place in the Multiverse to save my cousin, I wouldn't blame anyone if-"
John pulled yet another cigarette from his coat, "Quit your whining, hero, we all made our beds now it's just time we lie in them," sparking the cigarette with his thumb, giving Ben a casual wink.
Ben nodded around at his make-shift team; M'gaan, Zatanna, John, and Cyborg all began their strut through the protected Boom Tube completely unaware of what they'd face on the other side.
…
Apokolips
When the five of them stepped through the Boom Tube it altered their bodies on an inter-dimensional scale so that the mere atmosphere wouldn't kill the travelers as soon as they set foot on the ash layered grounds. Ben looked up at a constant, volcanic storm, ash with cackling white lightning creating ominous booms of thunder echoing through the darkened sky. It was constantly raining ash around them but, it didn't seem to bother them as there were far more pressing matters like the dozens of Para-Demons doing their individual duties just out of sight but, one turn of a head could spot them.
Zatanna didn't waste time placing her white-gloved hands together and whispering, "Su Kaolc," her spell immediately turned each one of them completely invisible, transparent, and intangible at once. One of the demons stopped at the sound of her whisper, looking directly at her before snorting out some hot-steam and turning back to his ordinary duties.
Ben nodded to his fiancé, who took the signal to set up a psychic link between all five of them, "Link established," she spoke into each of their minds.
"John, Zatanna? Any chance one of you can sense Gwen somewhere on this planet?" Ben hoped for an easy solution but they both glanced at each other with unsure expressions.
"Listen, mate, our magic is formidable, but covering an entire planet this size with a location spell?" John was as blunt as possible, "Not bloody possible, not even for us."
Cyborg interrupted using one of the only organic organs left to telepathically share his thoughts, "I-I can do it, the Mother Box has an entire geological scan of the planet, I can narrow down training facilities… cross reference with Ben's biological signature…" it took only a few more seconds before Victor poked his head up, looking off to a massive Castle structure in the distance, "There," he pointed, "That structure has some major magical power sources coming from inside, one of them matches Ben's DNA profile."
Zatanna cracked her neck to the left and intertwined her fingers, stretching them out to release the popping tension in them as well, "Unless anyone has a teleportation spell that can breach the mystical field draped over that haunted-mansion of doom? We've got a walk ahead of us," she turned to glance around at the rest of them, specifically Johnny who only gave a shrug in response.
"I'm not that bloody powerful, Z," he flicked his cigarette into the smoldering ash beneath their boots, "You of all people should know that."
Ben scowled and made his way towards the Castle in a straight line with his team slowly following his lead, "Then we walk." Hoping they could make this quick and easy without the need for a fight, figuring they were along for the ride either way.
It was a long, quiet walk through the ruins of buildings still lit ablaze, pits of flames towering into the sky littered the planet's surface every few dozen miles; M'gaan was sweating visibly, even though she was cloaked and transparent, Ben still noticed her falling behind. "Are you positive you can handle this? There's a lot of fire and heat and-" he was silenced by a transparent finger placed over his lips.
"I'm fine, I promise, as long as I can keep our psychic link active, this should work without a hitch," her mental touch, her sweet voice in his mind was familiar and comforting, calming him down as he was sure that if she said she could do it, he trusted her instincts.
As they trekked through the pits with M'gaan's arm wrapped around Ben's, both to make her feel safe and to keep her standing through the natural heat of the planet. They passed many Para-Demons who didn't notice their presence but, as they approached the Castle less than a quarter-mile away, the group spotted a beast.
He was at least twelve-feet-tall and as thick as an ogre, wildly-unkept black hair and beard, bulging muscular arms wielding a mighty beta-club imbued with a fraction of a fraction of the Omega Effect. He snarled as John placed his hand out to stop the rest of them, backing away from the beast as it passed, hoping he wouldn't notice them.
Kalibak, bastard son of Darkseid himself, stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air around him; the sniffing continued until he turned to face the group, slowly stepping toward them.
"John Constantine…" the beast muttered as he lifted his enhanced club above his head and prepared to bring it down on them.
The Hell Blazer snarled, "Bullocks," the club struck down on what appeared to be nothing but, the spell Zatanna used quickly dissipated when Ben threw up an upward shield of bright-blue mana energy. The energy radiating from his beta-club made their homo-magi spells almost useless, Ben's domed shield cracked but didn't yield as the shockwave shook the ground at their feet, digging his boots further into the soot as he braced himself. He released the shield as Kalibak reeled the club back once again for another swing. The others scattered, M'gaan remained cloaked by her own power while Johnny and Zatanna darted to the right, Cyborg readied his arm into a powerful sonic-cannon sprinting to the left. This left Ben to roll out of the way of the next powerful swing, this time plunging through the ashes and cratering the ground instead.
"How is it that everywhere we go, someone wants to kill you!?" Zatanna shouted at him as they did their best to converse as quickly as they ran.
Johnny smirked, "Oh, you know me, love, life of the party!"
Ben quickly used his next free two seconds to transform via Master Control with a bright emerald explosion of light taking Kalibak by surprise as a crimson-skinned four-armed warrior leaped from the glow before it could even dissipate, tackling the Apokoliptan with all of his strength. Using two of his hands to keep the beast-man pinned and the other two to relay blow after blow into his opponents bare chest, pounding with enough force to take down a building condensed just into each fist. Clearly taking the drudged-up rage he had from the death of his cousin, which he thought he'd gotten over, clearly he was mistaken as the ground at their feet shook furiously with each blow.
Kalibak regained his composure and headbutted Fourarms in the forehead, knocking him back and giving the enemy the opportunity to recover; Cyborg quickly didn't allow this, firing his sonic-cannon at the back of Kalibak's head sending agonizing ringing through his ears. "This won't hold 'em very long, you guys!"
John and Zatanna reapproached with a bit more confidence when the beast was brought to his knees in pain, covering his ears and shaking his head; "I'll take care of this mess…" Johnny's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he clapped his hands together summoning golden-flames, "Somnum Et Oblivisci!" the golden aura surrounding his connected palms shot a beam directly into Kalibak's forehead which caused him to collapse, unconscious and snoring loudly. "He won't be waking for a while and he'll forget we were here but," Johnny looked back up at the towering Castle not far from them, "That doesn't mean squat if he noticed our littl' skirmish."
Fourarms huffed and transformed back again, an emerald glow replacing the warrior with the mage, "M'gaan?!" he shouted telepathically as the Martian landed next to him and revealed herself, only to wrap her arms around his torso relieving him of worry. "Let's keep moving," he spoke into each of their minds as soon as he had his fiancé in his arms.
Cyborg had long since ceased his attack reforming his arm and continuing with them, this time they quickened their pace, not eager to get caught again and without the time to focus on cloaking spells. If someone as low-level as Kalibak could sense their presence, beyond making it passed the Para-Demons, there was no need to hide. Ben had a strong hunch that he already knew they were there anyways.
Ben adjusted his walk so that he could be stepping side-by-side with John, watching as he puffed smoke from his cigarette, "How do you know Kalibak?"
"I might've owed him a few thousand souls back when I was trapped in Hell, I managed to escape and he had to beg daddy to fish him back," Johnny kept his head on a swivel and wiped his beard with his sleeve, "Don't worry, he was the only bloke from this realm I met in the pits so I shouldn't have any more issues being recognized."
Zatanna sped up to their side, "Why can't you just turn into… Ultimate accelerate-"
"It's X-L-R-8, like the number eight," M'gaan corrected, having been scolded in the past once or twice.
"Whatever, why don't you transform and fly up there, grab Gwen, and get us the hell out?"
Ben and Johnny scoffed almost at the same time, leaving the witch clueless, "Even at his fastest, Darkseid's eye-beams-"
"The Omega Beams, annihilation itself, anything that makes contact ceases to exist… on a conceptual level if he's in the mood," Cyborg explained mid-sentence having the most technical data on the ruler of the planet, "Yea, even at his fastest, there are only two or three forms that could stand a chance."
Zatanna shrugged, "And those would be?"
Before Cyborg could speak up Ben interrupted, knowing the answer full-well which ones those were, "None of my transformations, save for one, has any chance against someone like Darkseid… I'm relying on my Anodite magic for this mission."
Zatanna sighed, "That's encouraging," her sarcasm was quite apparent in the tone of her voice.
As they approached the massive sixty-foot stone walls bordering the main castle, M'gaan pulled him close and made sure to speak directly into his mind, "What exactly do you plan to do if you do run in to him in there?"
Ben stopped in his tracks, the others hadn't noticed and kept walking towards the fire and brimstone, turning to look directly into M'gaan's auburn pupils, "Please, don't ask me that question. It was my fault that Gwen was dead to begin with, her being tortured here by the king of all assholes?"
"You want to kill him, don't you?"
Ben scoffed internally, shaking his head without opening his mouth, "There was a good reason I told you not to ask me that question," he nearly shouted in his thoughts trying to avoid the conversation altogether.
…
Throne Room
Granny Goodness walked her way towards the steps that led up to a large charcoal-black throne, stopping and kneeling with her staff to support her in one hand; "My Lord, the conditioning of our two new recruits, replacements for Barda and that other useless malcontent, has been completed. They're awaiting orders."
"I sense them waiting, bring them in from the hall," his voice sounded akin to a deeply booming volcanic eruption constantly burning in his chest. His facial expression was unimpressed, to say the least.
Granny stood upright and turned to face the entrance to the throne room; "Come now, ladies, show our Lord and Master your new makeover…" even though the words were innocent enough, it was her tone of voice that sounded sinister and ominous as the two finally turned the corner.
Dressed in a revealing, all black, lacey suit cut off at the collar and shoulders to make room for her silver gauntlets and large bust, her curly, wild orange hair had been tamed and was now a darker crimson red. "She was once known as Starfire… now tell him your new name, my pet."
The Tamaranian knelt down and held her head to the floor, being brainwashed to ensure she never makes unrequested eye-contact with the deity sitting before them, "I am now Blackfire, a member of the four Furys that defend our Lord and Master, Darkseid."
The second female's eyes were once bright green but, now her pupils had become crimson red; her hair now matched her outfit, long red hair tied into a pony-tail and adorned in similarly revealing black armor. She knelt down beside Blackfire, staring at the ground identically, "I was once Gwen Tennyson, I am now the Anodyne, a servant to our Lord and Master, Darkseid, and one of the four Furys."
Darkseid stared at the two with a stoic expression of consistent disinterest, "We have intruders in our midst, test their loyalty, deploy them to stomp these insects out."
Granny blinked twice and immediately knelt down, "With every ounce of due respect, Lord, wouldn't it be wise to deploy the other Furys alongside them?"
Darkseid narrowed his eyes as a burning crimson energy slowly floated out around his sclera, burning hotter than any star, trailing energy out around his face, "Are you daring to question my commands, Granny?"
Granny was taken with fear, immediately looking down at the floor as sweat formed over her brow, hoping he wouldn't eradicate her on the spot, "Do remember that our guests are not the only ones who are invited to the reconditioning chambers."
"N-No, my Lord, I would never question your all-knowing wisdom! Your will is law," she stood up and turned, strutting back towards the entrance, "Come now, ladies, it's time to exterminate an infestation."
…
The castle entrance was as cliché as it comes, a large moat surrounding the massive structure filled to the brim with molten lava, a large metal gate was obviously raised and lowered over the moat via a pulley system of visible chains, "So, now what?" Ben thought to the others as he looked up at the large gate still standing upright against the ominous stone stronghold.
"We need to figure a way over the moat," Zatanna mentioned as her eyes illuminated with a white light briefly, blinking once or twice as it faded away, "It's clearly shielded by some sort of cyber-mysticism."
Ben, M'gaan, and Zatanna glanced at Cyborg at the same time, the latter of whom just stared back at them, blinking his single organic eye before putting his hands up in mock-surrender, "Don't look at me, I may be good with machines but, I don't know squat about magic."
Meanwhile, Constantine approached the edge of the molten-moat, staring down at the bubbling pit before slowly glancing upwards at the other end where the castle stood tall. Suddenly, they all turned to watch as the enormous iron gate lowered down, crossing the moat, and providing safe passage though, not for their entrance.
The castle doors swung open revealing three figures, all female while two of them were younger women, the shortest one standing between them in golden-red trimmed armor and a cape was clearly much older. Granny walked behind her newest thralls with a devious smile spread across her face, it wasn't until they stepped into the radiating light of the lava as they passed that Ben was able to recognize a familiar face.
Both of the younger women shared similar appearances and outfits but, he could tell them apart regardless, "Gwen…" Ben muttered to himself taking an unconscious step forwards, M'gaan could practically feel the sorrow and pain flowing from him in waves.
John backed away slowly from the edge to stand beside the others, preparing himself internally for a battle; Granny passed the two enslaved women to address the intruders before her, "You children are trespassing on this planet, how naughty…" she clearly took some sadistic pleasure at the thought of punishing them.
Ben stepped forward without fear, walking until he was almost face-to-face with the elderly-woman, "You have something of mine, she doesn't deserve to be here," he had a very difficult time keeping himself from glancing back and forth from his cousin which seemed to not even recognize him. It makes sense as she'd barely aged in the Afterlife, even after the almost eight years since he'd left their home Universe.
Granny scowled with a vexed expression, "These ladies are property of the almighty Darkseid, I'm afraid you are owed nothing, boy."
Ben scoffed and turned to the right, where he shared eye contact with the bright-auburn haired sister-figure he'd failed to protect all those years ago, "Gwen… I'm so sorry…" nobody stopped him from getting closer prompting her to raise a seemingly uninterested brow at him. He placed his hands on either of her shoulders as everyone present simply spectated, even Granny wanted to see if her new slave would react. "I should have protected you but, I… I froze and I'm so sorry," Gwen glanced down at his hands still on her shoulders before looking back up at him with her crimson eyes overshadowing the natural emerald.
There was a tense silence that erupted for the next half-minute, the smoldering rock behind them crackling as the only sound for what seemed like an eternity; M'gaan was the most anxious, she could hardly feel any emotion coming from Gwen, and her mind was defended by something unnatural to her which kept the Martian from reading her thoughts.
Without warning, Gwen reached up grabbing his arms still outstretched to her shoulders and brought her knee up into his stomach with a single motion, striking him hard enough to force him into a keeled over position, clutching his abdomen in pain, "I am a servant of Lord Darkseid, you are the infestation, I cannot be manipulated," her expression was cold and unfeeling, staring down at Ben as he fell to his knees.
"Ben!" M'gaan rushed to his side, helping him back up to his feet slowly while the others simply prepared themselves for a fight; John pulled back his coat-sleeves a bit before summoning hellish orange flames to engulf either of his hands for an offensive spell, Cyborg formed his sonic-cannon out of his right arm, and Zatanna pulled a deck of cards from thin-air igniting them with a dark-purple aura to be used as projectiles.
"You alright, mate?" John asked aloud without taking his glowing golden eyes off of Granny Goodness standing between the female warriors. "You wanna grant us the honor of changing forms sometime today, yea?" his thick Lancashire accent didn't make it any less obnoxious.
Ben sucked up a long gulp of air and shook his head, placing his hand gently on M'gaan's prompting her to take it back as he nodded to her, communicating without even a thought that he could handle this, "Not really but, when do I ever get what I want." He slid two fingers over the dial for nostalgia's sake, summoning an emerald holographic hard-light ring with each of his alien's faces. "It's hero time."
…
These are going to be short chapters and I wouldn't expect too many updates anytime soon, thanks for reading! Review and Favorite the story to keep up!