Arachnus-Immortus
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A/N:
Space Stone: Blue.
Power Stone: Purple.
Reality Stone: Red.
Mind Stone: Yellow.
Soul Stone: Orange.
Time Stone: Green.
Chapter Three: The Race For The Stone Part One
POKOLISTAN
Within the mountain ranges of Pokolistan, a group of miners were working tirelessly in the mines. Moving stone from one area to the next. They were in search of precious stones and metals, like gold and diamonds.
The miners continued to work away on the rock until one of them struck a specific location. A crack formed on the cave wall, with a yellow glow coming out from the crack.
The miner blinked in surprise. He continued to clash his pickaxe against the stone wall. Breaking more and more of Earth in front of him. Eventually, it gave way, revealing the source of the strange glow. A small yellow stone.
Mesmerized by it, the miner reached out to touch it before his hand was grabbed. The miner gasped as he turned to see one of the amethyst knights, a soldier of the Pokolistan royal army.
The knight pushed the miner away and approached the stone and grasped it. The stone glowed even more in his hand.
The knight turned to his fellow knights when he heard them approach.
"Contact Captain Alexi, we have found the lost jewel of Queen Katalina." The knight said.
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES
Inside Peter Parker's penthouse, the man in question was in a secured room lined with the most advanced security system that his company has created. Inside the room, sitting on a table were the two stones that Peter had acquired. The red and blue stones, the red one he acquired in the auction back in Gotham City. The blue one he managed to get it from the war torn country of Kahndaq… right before Black Adam showed back up.
"Thousands of years in exile and he still hasn't changed." Peter muttered to himself.
A notification in the room as a female electronic voice spoke.
"Sir, you need to come and see the news. Pokolistan has found something."
This was Peter's personal A.I., Karen, one he built form scratch to help run his company and to keep an eye on every body that Peter seems a person of interest.
Peter raised a brow at Karen's statement but did as she told. Leaving the room and closing the security door as he did.
He made his way to the living room where a large TV screen was playing the news, the Gotham Gazette to be more precise. By the title card, Peter saw that it was indeed about the country of Pokolistan. The home country of Victor Frankenstein.
However, upon reading closely, Peter narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Lost jewel of the royal family rediscovered."
Reaching for the remote, Peter United the TV to see what the news has to say.
"-In other news, earlier this week, miners in Pokolistan have recently unearthed the lost jewel of Queen Katalina. Thought to be forever lost during the Pokolistanian and Bialyan conflict during the 1950s." The reporter, Vicki Vale, spoke. "The jewel has held significantly importance within the Pokolistanian royal family, being passed down from generation to generation. Now that it has been found, Princess Ilana Rostovic plans to restore the tradition of passing the stone down from one generation to the next. Onto the next story-"
Clik
After shutting off the TV, Peter let out a frustrated sigh. Cursing to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was hoping that the stone would remain hidden as he knew the royal family was not to be trusted with it. Especially when he knows of Ilana Rostovic's ambitions.
"Karen, cancel all my appointments for the week and arrange the jet for transport." Peter told his A.I.
"Already done." Karen replied. "I've also taken the liberty to have your suit prepared, in case you run into some trouble."
Peter let out a quiet laugh. "Thank you Karen." He said.
"You're welcome." Karen replied.
Peter proceeded to leave the penthouse. He had a mission to complete.
WATCHTOWER
Meanwhile, on the WatchTower, many of the League's members, both major and minor, were walking about. Grabbing lunch from the cafeteria or sparring in one of the many gyms. A group of these members composed of John Stewart, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Vixen. All of them had lunch trays in their hands with various foods, as they walked to their table.
"So anything interesting has happened to any of you guys lately?" Green Arrow asked.
"Honestly, not much. Other than the standard patrol, everything's been quiet." John replied.
"It's the same on my end." Hawkgirl added.
"Same." Vixen added as well.
"Hmm, it would seem that we all have been having a week of tranquility." Martian Manhunter said.
"You could say that again." Black Canary said.
"Hey guys, over here!"
The group looked over to Flash, who was sitting on a nearby table, waving at them, gesturing for them to cover over. In front of the Scarlet Speedster was a mountain of food, of various types. To an outsider, they would see the Flash as a glutton but for those who know him and understand how his powers work, that's how he normally eats.
Though that doesn't mean that he doesn't have proper manners.
"Hey, Flash." Green Arrow greeted the speedster as he sat down next to the Flash. Everyone followed suit. As soon as they sat down, they all began to dig into their food.
"So what's new with you guys?" The Scarlet Speedster asked.
"Like we were discussing earlier, nothing much." Vixen said. "What about you?"
"Eh, it's pretty tame for me as well." Flash responded as he took a bite out of his corn dog.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
"Oh!" Flash swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking. "Did you guys watch the news recently?"
All of them look at the Flash with raised eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" John asked.
"Apparently some miners in Pokolistan have dug up an ancient artifact that used to belong to the royal family." Flash said as he brought his phone. He searched up the article that he had read up on earlier. He placed the phone on the table for everyone to see.
Everyone looked at the phone and read the article within. They all read the significance this find has for the country of Pokolistan. As well as the significance of the artifact, the Jewel of Queen Katalina, in question. They found it interesting, somewhat interesting in the case of Green Arrow. It was until they scrolled onto a photo of the Jewel of Queen Katalina.
Upon looking at an image of the Jewel, Martian Manhunter dropped his spoon. This action made everyone look at the Martian in surprise.
"It-it can't be!" J'onn muttered out.
"What is it, J'onn?" Hawkgirl asked in concern. Never has she seen the Martian act like this before.
J'onn then gained a look of seriousness on his face as he adopted a stern tone as he spoke.
"We need to gather the others, now." J'onn stated earnestly.
At his words, everyone looked at one another. Both confused and concerned by what J'onn just said. However, they nodded as they all went to gather the rest of the founding members of the league.
ELSEWHERE
In an unknown location, a group of various individuals sat in a meeting room. Seven in total. These individuals are: Vandal Savage, Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul, Ocean Master, Queen Bee, Klarion, and Brain.
Before them was a hologram that displayed an image of the Jewel of Queen Katalina. Queen Bee then spoke up.
"Members of the Light, recently my agents in Pokolistan have reported that the lost Jewel of Queen Katalina has been unearthed. And that it is currently on its way to the royal palace." She said, speaking in an elegant tone.
"Why would we care about an insignificant jewel of some equally insightful country?" Ocean Master asked.
Vandal Savage added into the conversation.
"The Jewel has mystical properties unlike any seen before." Vandal spoke before making a couple of strokes on the keyboard in front of him. A couple holograms popped up shortly after, all of them depicted more images of the Jewel. Some of which showed people using the kewl to control the minds of others. This got the intrigue of some of the other members of the Light, more specifically Ra's and the Brain.
"Those who possess the Jewel are granted incredible psionic abilities, one of which is complete domination over the minds of others. Something that would greatly benefit all of us." The immortal warlord explained.
"Judging by your tone, you seem to know a great amount about the Jewel." Brain spoke up.
Vandal stayed quiet for a brief moment before speaking. "You are correct, Brain. That's simply because I have had prior history with the Jewel." The others went silent as they listened to what Vandal had to say.
In the city of Uruk, a young Vandal Savage, or as he was known during this time: Marduk, watches as a meteorite falls from the sky. Next to him were three individuals, two of them were Marduk's own children, Nabu and Ishtar. The third was a bearded man with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. This was Gilgamesh, at what he was called at the time. On his left shoulder plate, a spider symbol was engraved in it.
"Back when I went by the name of Marduk, a meteorite crash landed near the outskirts of Ancient Babylon. I went out to scout the area and that was when I discovered the Jewel."
Marduk, Ishtar, Nabu, and Gilgamesh approach the meteor with great curiosity. Marduk drew out his sword and stabbed it into the rock. It crumbled and gave way, revealing what would be later known as the Jewel of Queen Katalina. Marduk picked up the stone and immediately felt its power coursing through him. Marduk reveled in it.
This made Ishtar smile, Nabu gain a concerned look, and Gilgamesh… Gilgamesh gained a look of recognition and frowned. A tingling sensation formed in the back of his head, as if to warn him.
The scene changed with Marduk standing on a balcony as he used the stone to bind the wills and minds of both his subjects and his army. His children and closest ally stood behind him. With Gilgamesh looking at the sight before in horror. His look of horror then turned into a scowl.
"The power within the Jewel would have been the key to helping mankind towards their next step in evolution. However, before I could enact that plan…it was stolen from me."
"Aaaahhh!" Marduk cried out in pain as Gilgamesh buried his sword into Marduk's heart. When Marduk lost consciousness, Gilgamesh used the opportunity to steal the stone, by snatching it with a web-line. He then jumped out the balcony window and landed on a nearby horse, riding off. Never to be seen again.
"As such, it is of great presentiment that the Jewel is retrieved. With it, we will be able to further our plans for Earth." Vandal stated.
The members of the light all looked at each other and nodded. All of them agreed that retrieving the Jewel was their top priority right now.
"Given this information, I will send Psimon and Onslaught to Pokolistan right away to retrieve the Jewel." Queen Bee spoke up.
"And, I send my own warriors to aid Queen Bee's Forces." Ra's Al Ghul added in.
Vandal nodded.
"Ensure that it is the case. Dismissed." Vandal ordered as the members of the Light dispersed. The holograms on the display then shut off. The only one that stayed behind was Ra's Al Ghul. Something that Vandal took note of.
"Is there something you needed Ra's?" Vandal asked.
"Just a question." Ra's Al Ghul said. "Tell, why is this sudden interest in the Jewel? I know of your past history but you are in a haste to acquire it, more so than usual. Why is that?"
Vandal stayed quiet, not even made a little peep. His gaze lingered on the Demon's Head. He pondered whether or not to tell him more. After a few moments, Vandal gave his response. The first metahuman typed in a couple of keystrokes on the keypad, resulting in two new holograms appearing before the two immortals. One was an ancient yet well preserved mural of an ancient Babylonian hero, the name Gilgamesh was displayed under the image. The other image depicted a more recent photo of Peter Parker, CEO of Parker Industries. A man who was considered to be much smarter and richer than Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor combined. Much to the latter's chagrin.
"Because I am not the only immortal who knows of the Jewel's true purpose." Vandal cryptically said.
Ra's Al Ghul's eyes widened in surprise, having immediately understood what Vandal was trying to say. He then grew serious and nodded in understanding. The leader of the League of Shadows took his leave and left the room.
After Ra's Al Ghul left, Vandal looked at that image of Peter Parker and glared at it. His hands tightened into fists, his knuckles turned white.
"You will not stand in my way this time, old friend." Vandal muttered.
To Be Continued.