Justice League of Amazons: Halo
…
Chapter 14
It was early morning when Barbara Gordon woke up. Her blue-green eyes flickered open and were greeted the sight of the starry void of the galaxy that sat outside the tempered plexi-glass window of her room. Rolling onto her back, the young redhead yawned sleepily, contemplating the decision to sleep in a little, but she then remembered the mission that was to happen today. With an annoyed sigh, she rose from her bed and went into the the adjoining bathroom where she shucked off her pyjamas and entered the shower bay, flicking the hot water knob.
Steam filled the room as hot water sprayed out like a tropical downpour of rain from the shower head. Adjusting the temperature to her liking, Barbara stepped into the cascading liquid, giving a sigh of relief and contentment as the warm fluid washed away her drowsiness. Taking the bar of soap, the young woman rubbed it into her wet body, suds forming on her skin and the warm gentle scent of lavender filled the steamy bathroom, bringing a feeling of relaxation to Barbara.
After spending five minutes under the hot water, letting the liquid wash away the soap suds, Barbara flicked off the hot water and stepped out of the shower bay and wrapped herself in a warm towel, drying her damp body.
After drying herself, she then dressed herself in some civilian clothes as the first part of the mission required civilian clothing in order to infiltrate Corto Maltese. Her Batgirl regalia was kept in a special suitcase that was designed to bypass security scans and checks. Barbara's civilian disguise basically screamed tropical island tourist, a bikini top and bottom, Bermuda shorts, a slightly oversized t-shirt and a large sunhat with large sunglasses. For footwear, she would wear some sandals for everyday walking, along with a pair of high heeled shoes should the need to infiltrate a high-class establishment be on the cards.
After dressing herself in her disguise, Barbara left her room with her suitcase and headed for the Monitor Room. Reaching the room, Barbara was greeted by everyone else; her teammates for the mission, Black Canary and Wonder Woman, were dressed in civilian wear.
"Decided to join us?" Dinah asked Barbara in good humour as she looked at her.
"Sorry if I kept everyone waiting," Barbara apologised as she fought to keep herself from yawning. "Long night," she then said.
"Now that the team is assembled, it's time to go over the briefing," Hawkgirl announced. "The plan is to infiltrate the island nation of Corto Maltese, find Ivo's android and disable it," she then informed the team. "Other objectives will include finding and recovering as much data bout Intergang's operations within Corto Maltese and around the world," she then said.
"If for any reason you're caught by Intergang and can't get out under your own power or the android has been activated; signal for the cavalry and we'll come in swinging," Shayera then told the team. She then looked each of them in the eye and said, "If any of you has any second thoughts about this mission and wants out, then speak up now. We won't hold it against you."
Barbara did not move and neither did Dinah or Diana. Shayera nodded in understanding and said, "Alright. First part of this mission is the trickiest; getting past customs, from there you'll make your way into Corto Maltese to search for the android. Our strongest lead is Jotunheim, but also investigate any other leads where the android might be as well."
"We're on it," replied Batgirl with a confident nod of her head.
"Alright. The Javelin will take you to the Metropolis Airport where you'll board an outgoing flight that will take you to Corto Maltese where you'll begin your mission," Hawkgirl informed the trio who all nodded.
Giving their good lucks and farewells, Batgirl, Black Canary and Wonder Woman boarded the Javelin which then left the Watchtower.
John watched from the observation deck as the Javelin became a distant speck as it entered Earth's atmosphere. He was then joined by Vixen who laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and she asked him, "Are you alright?"
The Spartan-II commando looked at the dark-skinned woman, his expression hidden by his helmet. It was moments like this that Mari wished she had the power of telepathy or at least be versed enough to read body language, but if she had to guess, she'd say that the Chief was a little anxious at being left out of the mission.
"It'll be alright, Chief," she assured the man. "They'll be in radio contact whenever they can to keep us apprised of the situation," she said in what she hoped was a comforting way.
The Spartan did not say anything to this, but he nodded minutely and looked out the observation window again. Frowning a little, Mari wondered just what she could do to help alleviate the Spartan's apparent anxiety when her smartphone gave a beep getting her attention. Taking out the device from her pocket, Mari saw she received a text message; smiling to herself as she read the message about joining a friend for some lunch, the dark-skinned woman nudged the Spartan, saying to him, "How do you feel about joining me for a little breakfast date?"
The Spartan turned his head to look at her. He was silent, but didn't seem to be objecting. Mari saw this as a chance to get Chief out on the town and in a more relaxed setting. "You remember some of my friends in the business, right?" she asked him.
John nodded silently in response. "Well, my friend Candice is having a little get-together with a couple of colleagues of hers and invited me along. Would you be interested in joining?" Mari then asked him.
"Am I not needed here?" the Spartan said breaking his silence.
"I'll clear it with Hawkgirl. Besides, you need to get out more and make some new friends," Mari advised him.
The Spartan gave a tiny grunt and nodded slightly. Smiling to herself, Vixen then called Hawkgirl on the comms, informing the Thanagarian of the plan to take the Spartan out for breakfast. Shayera approved the idea and gave Vixen permission to take the Spartan out in a civilian setting.
Thanking Hawkgirl, Vixen looked at the Master Chief and said to him, "We're all good. Hawkgirl's approved your time-off. Get dressed in something nice. I'll meet you in the hangar."
Mari dressed herself in some casual but fashionable civilian clothes and headed the hangar and waited the Spartan to arrive. And arrive he did, although his attire didn't exactly say civilian attire; he wore something akin to a navy officer's dress uniform coloured an almost pure creamy white colour. A black brimmed hat was atop the Spartan's head and he looked clean shaven; a tiny look of discomfort was in his deep blue eyes as he walked towards Mari who raised an eyebrow.
"When I said dress in something nice, this wasn't what I had in mind," she informed him. "It looks good," she was quick to say before adding, "But I mean something more casual then formal."
"I do not have anything more suitable," replied the Spartan stiffly.
"Well, maybe we can take you out clothes shopping while we're out?" Mari suggested helpfully. "C'mon. Let's not keep our friends waiting," she stated as she climbed into the Javelin with the Spartan following her.
…
After going planet-side and landing at the airport, it was then a small ruckus as paparazzi spotted the Spartan and Mari. The Spartan had a look of extreme discomfort in his eyes as he moved patiently through the virtual ocean of paparazzi and journalists looking for quotes and photo-ops. Mari, given her day job as a fashion model, looked more used to it, giving only a patient smile as she walked closely with the Spartan, guiding him over to a waiting cab where they climbed in and the vehicle pulled away from the airport.
After half an hour, the Spartan and his companion were dropped off at one of the many cafés in Manhattan. Paying the driver the fare plus a generous tip, Mari and John walked into the café where they were greeted by Candice.
"Mari? You came!" Candice smiled warmly as she exchanged a hug and a friendly kiss on the cheek with Mari. "You brought the Chief as well?" she remarked in surprise.
"I figured he could do with getting outside in civvies more often," said Mari.
The Spartan then spoke. "Hello," was all he said.
"It's nice to see you again," Candice said warmly to the Chief. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me and everyone else," she added lightly.
The Spartan did not say anything but simply nodded his head. The South African model raised an eyebrow at this and glanced at Mari who shrugged at her. "Well, the others are already here," Candice then told Mari and John. "We were just about to order, but we can hold off until you're ready to," she added.
Following the stunning blonde, John and Mari were then shown to a table where three other women were waiting; the first woman had similar features to Candice in that she possessed blonde hair and blue eyes, but her facial features and body shape were different compared to Candice's. The second woman had features matching those belonging to those or Puerto Rican descent with warm brown skin tone and caramel brown hair. The last woman had dark hair and green eyes. The three women looked at the Spartan in mild surprise before greeting Mari.
"Mari? It's been too long!" the blonde woman said, speaking with a Dutch accent. "I thought you were too busy with your other job," she remarked.
"Well, when Candice offered me a chance to have breakfast with all of you, I couldn't say no, Doutzen," replied Mari as she hugged the Dutch woman before looking at the Puerto Rican woman, asking her, "How have you been, Joanie?"
"I'm great, all things considered," Joanie replied with a beaming smile as she hugged Mari. She then looked at the Master Chief who was watching the exchange silently. "This is the Spartan?" she then asked Mari who nodded in reply.
"Mhm. Chief, let me introduce you to some of my friends; Candice you already know, these are Doutzen Kroes." The blonde smiled warmly. "Joan Smalls." The Puerto Rican gave a little wave of her hand. "And this is Irina Shayk." Mari finished as the dark haired and green eyed woman gave a kind smile.
"A pleasure to meet you all," the Spartan said with professional candour.
"Well, come sit down, order something to drink," Candice urged Vixen and the Spartan. Mari sat next Candice while John took the seat opposite Mari sitting next to Doutzen who smiled a little at this.
"So, you're the Spartan?" Joan asked the Chief who nodded at this. "You don't have a name?"
"I do, but I am bound by oath to not reveal my identity unless circumstances dictate otherwise. I apologise for that," John said evenly.
The three models looked at Mari who smiled apologetically at them. "Don't be too offended. He's a soldier. He's just going by protocol," she explained.
"Has he told you his name?" Irina asked curiously.
"He has," Mari confirmed. "But I don't think it's my place to tell you," she said regretfully.
"We'll have to work on that," Candice said thoughtfully. "How have you been?" she then asked Mari. "Keeping busy?"
"Kept busy is more accurate," said Mari with a tired look on her face. "No doubt you've seen the news lately," she added.
"Yeah, we saw the fight between the Spartan and that… woman," Doutzen said with a dark look in her eyes. She then took in a breath and exhaled slowly as if trying to ward off some anger.
"We also saw the footage of the actual Greek Gods!" Joan then exclaimed. "If the Greek Gods are real, what other gods are real?" she then asked with a slightly worried look in her eyes.
"It does make one wonder," Irina agreed, also looking slightly worried. "Would the big man himself be real?" she wondered aloud.
"What were your thoughts when you met the Gods, Chief?" Candice then asked the Spartan who looked at her, as if contemplating how to answer that question.
"If I speak in all honesty, I do not put much thought or stock into matters of faith," said the Spartan carefully. "But an old military saying I learnt is 'There's no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole'," he quoted.
"Been in a few, have you?" Irina asked with some humour.
"Yes," the Spartan confirmed with a nod of his head. "I studied religion for the effects it's had on human history, but I never put my faith into any sort of religion, except for the rare moment when doing a mission where it went FUBAR," he said simply.
"FUBAR?" Doutzen parroted. "That's a military word?" she inquired.
"Yes, it is, ma'am," replied the Spartan. "I won't say what it means in full, but it's typically an abbreviation of when things go horribly wrong for you," he explained.
"I'll probably look it up when I get home," Doutzen said with a small laugh. "I might even use it myself if I like it enough," she added with another laugh.
The Spartan simply nodded in acceptance of this. The next ten minutes were spent with Mari catching up with her friends. Her friends were naturally curious about the Spartan who merely sat in near complete silence, hardly saying anything except when asked a question. Even when asked a query, he kept his response polite if a little blunt and to the point.
After eating what the Chief learnt was called brunch, Mari spoke, "It was lovely to see you all," she said to her colleagues graciously. "But I've got to take the Chief here on a little shopping trip," she explained.
"A shopping trip?" Candice echoed. "What is it the Chiefs?" she enquired.
"Some more casual attire for one thing," answered Mari as she glanced at the Spartan's uniform. "Aside from his armour, he doesn't have much in the way of a wardrobe," she said in good humour.
"You don't have any other clothing?" Doutzen asked looking at John who shook his head in response.
"I rarely have time off," he clarified for everyone.
"Maybe we could come along?" Joan offered. "We could be of some help," she said.
"I wouldn't mind that. What say, Chief?" Mari asked the Spartan who silently nodded.
Paying the bill of fare and calling a cab, the Chief and his companions then headed for a nearby clothing store that thankfully still sold men's clothing.
…
Entering one of the more high end stores, the Spartan silently watched as Mari and her friends began to pick out pieces of clothing for him. Each of them chose something varied from fashion label clothing, sportswear, casual clothing and business suits.
John was the loaded up with the clothes the girls all picked out for him and was pushed into one of the changing booths and ordered to change into them. With great reluctance, the Spartan became an impromptu clothes horse as he changed into various articles clothing feeling very exposed as he showed his female companions the clothes they picked out for him. His cheeks had the tiniest dusting pink as he was a little embarrassed at playing male model for a group of women. If Johnson were alive, he might've busted a gut and make some joke about a Spartan becoming a model. And if any of John's fellow Spartans saw him doing this, his male colleagues would undoubtedly joke to high hell about their squadron leader being a clothes horse. The female half would undoubtedly be very amused by such a sight and a few may have even lent their own insight about what a Spartan should wear in a casual setting.
Mari and her friends were certainly enjoying themselves as they had John try on new outfits and pieces of clothing. They didn't agree on everything the Master Chief wore, but they certainly agreed that he would make a good living being a male model if he weren't a soldier. John silently didn't agree with the idea of being a male model; he didn't like the thought of walking up and down runways being so exposed to everyone. He didn't have too much of a problem with nudity given his Spartan training and being put in cryo-stasis, but he wasn't comfortable with the idea of being put on display like a piece of meat for everyone to salivate over. He was a soldier, not a stud horse at auction.
After purchasing some of the items Mari and her friends agreed on, the Spartan gave a silent sigh of relief that it was over.
"Well, now that we've gotten you the start of a new wardrobe, I think it's time we reward the Chief. Wouldn't you agree, ladies?" Mari said to her friends who all nodded in agreement, eerie smiles on their faces.
John's finely honed sense of doom kicked in as he saw those sinister looking expressions on each of the women's faces. And like a clueless dunce, he asked, "What reward are we talking about?"
"You gave us a show, time we give you one," Doutzen said with sultry look in her eyes as they pushed the Spartan down the street towards a recognisable store.
The store attendants of the Victoria's Secret flagship store all stared dumbfounded as they witnessed the Master Chief entered their establishment with five widely known supermodels, one of whom was currently one of the company's contract models and another was a well-known superhero.
After the store attendants gushed over the Master Chief, Candice had asked them to show them to the private fitting room. After being shown upstairs to one of the more exclusive rooms, John was seated on a large sofa facing some changing booths. Mari and her colleagues all grinned seductively at him as they each entered a stall, closing the shutter doors behind them.
Moments later, the Spartan was given what most red-blooded men would die to be privy to as five supermodels did an impromptu lingerie show for him, each of them modelling various sets of lingerie from the selections and collections Victoria's Secret had.
An hour later, the Spartan walked away from the store looking like a deer in the headlights to use the vernacular loosely. Mari and her friends each had an amused look on their faces as they enjoyed the wide-eyed look on John's face as they modelled lingerie and swimwear in front of him, asking his opinion on what they wore. His wooden responses only served to be a source of amusement for them. John had been in many battles and conflicts, but what he had witnessed was something he'd never thought be prepared for.
"Well, that was an enlightening experience," Candice remarked as she directed a warm smile at the Spartan who nodded stiffly at her in response.
And to the Master Chief's relief, Mari declared that it was time to head back to the Watchtower. "Thanks for the day out, girls," she said to her friends. "I had a great time. Did you, Chief?" she prompted John.
"It was… different, but enjoyable," was all he said awkwardly. This got a round of titters from the women as they saw just how socially awkward the super-soldier was around civilians.
Before John and Mari left for the airport, Candice did stop to talk to him. "Chief? Would you be interested in joining me tomorrow?" she asked him sweetly. "I have some business errands I need to do for the company I work for and I could use a bodyguard," she explained to him.
John glanced at Vixen who smiled and nodded encouragingly at him. Looking at the South African beauty, the Spartan replied, "I would be happy to, ma'am."
Candice smiled warmly as she exchanged numbers and details with the Spartan, telling him to pick her up at her apartment tomorrow morning at 4am. With a polite kiss on the cheek, Candice bade John farewell and left to attend to other duties that required her attention.
"Nice going, Chief!" Mari congratulated the Spartan. "You've becoming quite the lady-killer, aren't you?" she teased.
"Lady-killer?" Chief repeated the term in mild confusion.
Mari rolled her eyes at how clueless the soldier was when it came to slang. "You're becoming popular with women," she clarified for him.
"Hm." John contemplated this information before shaking his head minutely as he hailed a cab to take him and Vixen to the airport where the Javelin would be waiting for them.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Chapter 14 is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed it. Next chapter we'll see the beginning of Batgirl, Canary and Wonder Woman's mission in Corto Maltese and even getting in touch with the resistance fighters trying to overthrow Intergang's grip on the island nation.
And to those of you who aired the thought of this story changing course from the original concept of Master Chief getting a harem, it can't be all fanservice and smut, there's gotta be some actual plot and development. Besides, with the current status Earth is in, certain outside parties will see an opportunity to take over the planet, some being obvious examples.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say about this, so I'll leave it here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.