Justice League of Amazons: Dragonborn
…
Chapter 5
A day later at the United Nations, the newly named Martin Stormcrown stood patiently on the stage. He was still like a statue as the reformed Justice League stood on either side of him. Some of the younger members like Supergirl, Batgirl and Star Girl fidgeted awkwardly, clearly unused to being on stage in front of a large assembly, while others looked stoic.
When the question of a name to call the Dragonborn came, the man gave out the first ones that came to mind. Martin after Martin Septim, and Stormcrown after the first title of Tiber Septim, General Talos Stormcrown, in his conquest of Tamriel. The name then stuck and the Dragonborn was then named Martin Stormcrown since.
The procession to the UN was an interesting one. The press had taken many pictures of Martin as he walked with the Justice League escorting him. Of course, people hurled obscenities at Wonder Woman, demanding she answer for what Aresia had done. For her part, Diana held her head high and took the abuse thrown at her. One woman tried to spit on her, but the Dragonborn stood in between the Amazon and her abuser. Although his helmet concealed his face, the very air he projected as he looked at the angry woman who backed away fearfully. Martin then looked at Wonder Woman who was surprised at this kind action from the man. With a wordless nod, the Dragonborn then continued to walk to the UN with everyone following him.
Once the representatives from all nations were seated, Shayera then took to the podium. Clearing her throat a few times, the Thanagarian spoke in a firm clear voice to the assembly.
"Esteemed representatives of the United Nations, it was not so long ago the Earth suffered a devastating loss and many of us lost our loved ones," she began and there was a rustling and murmurs among the representatives followed by camera flashes from photographers. Shayera continued saying, "And while many of us will point fingers at the Amazons of Themyscira for this senseless tragedy and ask what will be done to rebuild the world, there is hope."
"Here with us today is a man not of our world or even our universe. I present to you, Martin Stormcrown the Dragonborn of Skyrim."
Martin then stepped forth and stood impassively at the podium as cameras flashed blindingly. For a long moment, there was silence and then Lois Lane, the premiere reporter of the Daily Planet stood up to talk.
"Mr Stormcrown, sir?" The Dragonborn's helmeted head turned to regard her, "Lois Lane of the Daily Planet, if I may be so bold to ask, how is it you're still alive when the virus is still in the air?" she asked.
The Dragonborn then looked at Felicity Smoak who meekly came out onto the stage and spoke, almost stuttering as she did so. "We conducted tests on Mr Stormcrown's blood and found that he has near complete immunity to Aresia's virus," she said with as much confidence as she could muster under the circumstances.
Felicity then showed her findings of her tests on Martin's blood while the man himself stood there silently, seemingly content to let others talk for him. Once Felicity had shown the results to the UN, Lois then looked at Martin and asked him, "So, now that we know you're near outright immune to the virus, who are you? Where do you come from?"
"Skyrim," came the blunt response.
"Skyrim?" Lois repeated.
"Yes," Martin confirmed.
"And where abouts is Skyrim?"
"It is the northern territory of the Cyrodiilic Empire."
"Okay…" Lois muttered a little put off by the short blunt answers. "And who are you, exactly?" she then asked.
"I am called the Dragonborn, although I have been given the name Martin Stormcrown," Martin replied.
"Given? You did not have a name before that?" Lois enquired.
"No," the Slayer of Alduin said in confirmation.
"And the reason for that is?" came the prompting question.
"I am an orphan."
A collective buzz of mutters and murmurs came from the assembly as they contemplated that piece of knowledge. "Was there no-one who adopted you?" Lois asked looking bewildered at the answer she had been given.
"No," was the direct answer.
"No further questions at this time," Lois mumbled meekly as she sat down and began scribbling down notes on her notepad.
The next reporter to stand up was a blonde haired woman. "Cat Grant of Cat Co. World Wide Media. How do we even know you're human?" was her question.
Martin stared at the woman impassively before raising his hands to his helmet, undoing the chin strap and lifted it off to reveal his face. A dazzling array of cameras flashed as everyone looked at the Dragonborn's face. "Satisfied?" the man asked Cat who nodded and sat back down in her seat.
Then after there were more questions from the UN representatives, most of which were answered by Hawkgirl while Martin himself put his helmet back on and stood in near complete silence. One question was asked of him.
"What is you opinion of the Amazons?" was the question.
The Dragonborn contemplated this question for a moment before he replied, "I harbor no ill will towards them."
Looks of confusion and even anger were on a lot of faces to which Martin then said, "As I understand, the virus was created by a rogue member of the Amazon Nation. I was also informed that Wonder Woman and her mother and queen, Hippolyta actively tried to stop Aresia from unleashing her virus on the world. Granted they failed to stop the act from happening, but the fact they made the attempt was enough to tell me that not they themselves did not support or condone Aresia's rash actions."
"And what of the rest of the Amazons? What if they condoned Aresia's actions?" came another question.
Wonder Woman then spoke up in her sisters' defence. "My people have little love for the men of Man's World, but I can promise you that none of them would dare contemplate what Aresia has done!" she stated proudly. Some dark muttered came from the UN envoys as attention was on Diana.
"Good enough for me," Martin said simply as he looked at Wonder Woman who smiled bashfully at the man's words.
After a few more questions, the meeting was then drawn to a close with the Justice League and Martin going in the backroom for some refreshments. Many of the ambassadors from the world's countries were also present and even some reporters as well. Martin stood by the glass window, staring out across the city impassively. His helmet was still on his head concealing his face from anyone's view. A few of the bolder journalists tried to strike up conversation with the man, but were met with near complete silence, or a blunt one word statement.
"Well, this hasn't gone too bad," Supergirl remarked as she sipped from a glass of soda and nibbled on a cucumber sandwich, glancing over the Dragonborn who stood by the window silently. "Big guy barely said a word, but he's already made an impact," she remarked.
"He has with just his presence alone," Wonder Woman stated as she sipped from a glass of wine. "Doubtless there will be those who would use Martin for their own ends," she then said.
"We'll face them as they come," Hawkgirl said to the Amazon Princess. "While we can't prepare for every eventuality, we'll do what we can to help Martin acclimate to his surroundings," she added.
"People are already looking to use the big guy for their own ends," Huntress muttered as she jerked a thumb over at some ambassadors who were attempting to curry favour with Martin who stood unmoving and silent like a statue. "Should we go in?" the Italian-American brunette asked.
"Let's see how it plays out first," Shayera replied as she watched as the ambassadors tried to speak with the Dragonborn. After a moment, Martin seemingly had enough and walked through the throng of reporters and envoys, making his way towards the Justice League. The man brushed past the League members, taking off his helmet and took a plate of sandwiches as well as a bottle of wine, walking over to a nearby couch, sat down and began to eat the sandwiches and sip from the wine bottle. His expression was one of contemplation as he practically swallowed sandwiches whole until the entire plate was empty and he then skolled the wine in one go.
Then standing to his feet, brushing off bread crumbs, the Dragonborn took the empty plate and bottle back over to the table and set them down on the table's surface. Looking at the Justice League he asked, "Are we finished here?"
"Yeah, I think we are," Shayera said in agreement as she finished her drink. "I've had enough of politics and reporters for one day," she added ruefully followed by some murmurs of assent from the others.
…
An hour later, everyone was back on the Watchtower. Many of the members looked mentally drained after an hour of dealing with politicians and reporters. Martin was still standing as he looked around contemplatively.
"Is there anywhere where I can train?" he then asked.
"Train?" Zatanna parroted looking surprised at the question from the Dragonborn. "Don't you want to rest after today?" she said.
"I need something to take my mind off things," Martin replied.
"Yeah, we have a combat simulator and training room," Power Girl told him. "I feel like hitting something myself honestly," she said in frustration.
"Maybe we could do a training exercise for a while," Black Canary remarked. "And I think it might be a good way to get an idea of Martin's capabilities," she said thoughtfully as she looked at the man who looked at her blankly.
A few minutes later, almost all of the League and Martin stood in the training room. The League members who wanted to train wore workout clothes. Martin himself had stripped off his helmet, gauntlets and cuirass. He also noticed that the women were all staring at him intently.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Nope. Not a thing," Karen replied with a warm glow to her cheeks as she looked at the muscular physique the Dragonborn possessed. He wasn't ridiculously big like body builders often wore, and he didn't look ripped and clean cut like movie stars were, instead he looked solid as though he were hewn from solid granite and the scars that crisscrossed his flesh served to make him look more appealing. Karen looked at the others and she had to suppress a snort of amusement as she saw the intense look each of them had. Her younger counterpart Supergirl had a brazen look of desire on her face and she was licking her bottom lip as if she were savouring something.
Martin seemingly didn't notice the looks of desire and interest from the women in front of him as he asked, "So how does this combat simulator work?"
"It's pretty simple," Shayera told him. "You entered a holographic simulation of whatever you wish and face simulated opponents or an actual person and do what you need to in order to win," she explained.
"Simulation? You mean to say that it is crafted?" Martin asked innocently.
"Something like that," Shayera replied with a chuckle as she saw the clueless innocence the Dragonborn possessed. "Step in and I'll show you," she said to him.
Martin then stepped into the combat simulator with Shayera stepping in with him while Dinah stood at the computer console. "Canary, play scenario one!" Hawkgirl called out to the blonde whose fingers blurred as they rapidly put in the commands of the system.
Martin looked around in fascination as his surrounding suddenly changed to a wooded forest and the air was filled with the sounds of nature. Looking at the ground, the Dragonborn saw what looked like real earth and grass beneath his feet. Kneeling down, he touched a few blades of grass. They felt real enough, Martin thought as he stood to his feet and looked at Hawkgirl who smiled and asked, "Impressed?"
"It'll do," Martin replied before he asked, "What do you wish to do first?"
"First off, we'll see how good you are at unarmed combat," Shayera told him as she put her Nth metal mace to one side and assumed a boxing stance.
Martin raised an eyebrow at this and replied, "Are you certain of this? I have no wish to seriously hurt you," he warned her.
"Trust me, big boy, I can take it," Shayera boasted.
"Hm." Martin then assumed a loose boxing pose with his left fist leading and his right close to his chest.
Shayera then circled the man who followed her movements. After a moment of circling, Shayera's impatience won out and she launched herself at the Dragonborn who easily sidestepped and grabbed her left wrist and pinned her arm behind her back. Shayera smiled herself and said, "Guess I underestimated you."
Martin then released his hold on the Thanagarian and stepped back. "Again," he said to her. Shayera smiled at the subtle sign of a challenge presented to her and adopted a Thanagarian fighting stance.
Martin then attacked first; jabbing out with his left fist, Martin then crossed with his right. Shayera easily avoided the first jab and grabbed Martin's right fist. Kicking the man's leg out from him, Shayera then used the man's momentum and inertia to hurl over to one side. Then to the Thanagarian's surprise, the Dragonborn landed easily on his feet and spun around executing a kick directly at her midriff. Using her wings to push herself back, Hawkgirl narrowly avoided the blow. Fanning her wings to slow her momentum, Shayera looked up and crossed her forearms in front of her to block some rapid punches from Martin.
The redhead grunted in pain as she felt the sheer force behind Martin's blows. While she was no expert, Shayera guessed that Martin must have some level of enhanced strength; definitely not the levels of Superman or Diana, but much more than that of an average human being. Perhaps somewhere between the levels of Batman and Aquaman?
As the rapid punches struck Shayera's arms, she knew that the attack would hammer away at her defences until they broke. Thinking quickly, Hawkgirl struck out with her foot. A tiny grunt came from Martin as Shayera's foot struck him on the hip and he moved back slightly. Capitalising on this, Shayera launched her own offensive on the man. With a Thanagarian battle cry, Shayera punched and kicked at the Dragonborn who blocked her attacks and simply tanked them. Shayera had to stop herself from grunting in pain as her hands and feet struck Martin; it was like hitting a stone wall to be honest, there was hardly, if any, inch of fat on the young man indicating to Hawkgirl that he was a trained and honed fighter whi clearly took care of himself.
Shayera struck as hard and fast as she could, but she could feel herself tiring out and her knuckles were starting to bruise and the bones in her hands were beginning to ache. Throwing one last punch, Shayera felt Martin grab her wrist and she was then thrown to the floor. Martin then pinned Shayera's arms behind her back.
"Do you yield?" came the man's simple question.
Panting in a mixture of frustration and exhaustion, Shayera reluctantly nodded in reply. She then felt her arms be released and she felt herself be pulled to her feet.
"You fought well," Martin complimented her. "Where did you learn?" he asked the redhead.
"The Academy on Thanagar," Shayera replied. "Where did you learn?" she asked.
"Fist fights with others for money," Martin said simply.
"Really? You must've learnt more on the road, though," Shayera remarked. "Been in your share of brawls, have we?" she asked teasingly.
"A few," Martin said vaguely as the simulation dissipated away to the sterile environment of the simulation room.
"That was quite a fight," Dinah commented as she and the others entered the room. "You can't have learnt how to fight like that by fighting others for money," she said as she looked at Martin.
"Yes."
Everyone blinked at the blunt response from the man and glanced at each. Huntress then spoke, "So, now that you've had your turn, Hawkgirl, mind if I try my luck?" she asked the Thanagarian.
"Sure, go for it," the winged warrior woman said with a nod of her head.
Helena smiled almost predatorily at Martin and said to him, "You better not disappoint me, Marty. I wanna see everything you got!"
"No. You wouldn't," came the blunt words from the Slayer of Alduin.
"Why not?" Huntress demanded.
"I'd break you."
Helena had physically stop herself from going scarlet at those words from Martin and everyone had looks of utter surprise at the wording he chose. Shayera almost laughed at how red Helena's cheeks were; she might have to have a talk with Martin about phrasing and such.
Helena quickly recovered with a smile and said to Martin, "Trust me, big boy, you and I aren't there just yet." An impish look was in her eyes as she added, "Of course, if you ask me nicely, I might just let you break me." Her tone was almost a seductive purr that would entice most normal men. Martin stared at her blankly which made the brunette harrumph at how ineffective her response to him was.
"So, any requests?" Dinah asked as she got over her shock at Martin's words earlier.
"I wanna a cage," Helena was quick to say.
"A cage? What kind?" Black Canary asked weakly, wondering if this was an attempt on Huntress's part to seduce the Dragonborn using some kind of BDSM scenario.
"Don't care what kind, just put one in!" Huntress told her as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation.
"Keep it in your pants, Huntress," Power Girl muttered as she and the others barring Helena and Martin left the simulator.
Helena felt her excitement grow at the simulation changed to a massive arena. She blinked as she realised that she and Martin were in a simulation of a WWE arena with cage bars around the ring they were in.
"Really? This is what you came up with?" the brunette called out.
"I had to improvise!" Black Canary protested over the speaker system.
Snorting in derision, Huntress looked at the Dragonborn who watched her impassively. "You ready, big boy?" she blatantly flirted.
"Bring it," Martin's blunt reply.
"With pleasure!" Helena grinned fiercely as she ran towards the man leaping in the air to launch an air kick at the man who met her charge with his fists raised in front of him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! After almost a year of not touching this, I'm back and I hope I delivered. I'm trying to update some of my older stories and I've made some progress with a few of them, but I don't really have a schedule or even a plan for which of my older stories I update, but I will try to focus on them a little more which I'm sure some of you will be happy about.
In other news, I'm going through something of a rough patch; work has been pretty slow lately and the doctors have stopped my uncle's medication for his cancer, so it's a rough time for my family at the moment. I'm coping as best I can, but it's really just a matter of time before my uncle finally passes away and it'll be even harder on my aunt who now doesn't know if or when my uncle will finally die whether he goes to sleep and simply doesn't wake up or some other means which I dare not contemplate.
*Sigh…* It's a tough time for everyone I imagine and I hold no illusions that I'm only one who's going to lose a family member, but I'm doing my best.
In other news, I've set up a poll on my profile regarding my Kingdom Hearts/Elder Scrolls/Fallout crossover and it's a list of potential worlds that Sora and company can visit after the Narnia arc, besides the standard canon worlds in the first game like Atlantica, Halloween Town, Neverland/Peter Pan and so on. So far the poll results show that Who Framed Roger Rabbit is in the lead followed by Kim Possible in second, and the Witcher & Scooby Doo tied for third. There are a few others, but I won't spoil it for anyone. If you haven't already, please do vote on the poll and if we can get up to twenty votes, I'll go with the most popular ones on the poll.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say, so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.