Chapter 34: Taking a Breather Part 2
"I understand your anger." Darkseid said.
Adrelita shoots a fireball from her mouth at one of the Khan statues, blasting its head off.
"She lied to me! My own master was using me as a tool for her petty conquest!" Adrelita shouted.
Adrelita flies to the top of the building and grabs a statue by its head and throws it down with her strength. Upon collision, it cracks and breaks into flying pieces of marble like a boulder breaking into pebbles. Some of the rubble bounce off of Darkseid harmlessly as he watches from his throne.
"I have been played a fool my entire life! My own father was murdered by hers! And he did it in such a dishonorable way rather than be willing to die fighting!" Adrelita ranted.
"I have reasons for suspecting Mileena. Given your abilities of necromancy, growing strength and firepower, one theory springs to mind: Mileena fears you and any like you. Perhaps this Shao Kahn feared your father as well. Which is why he murdered him out of cowardice." Darkseid believed.
"Just what I was thinking." Adrelita lets out a puff of smoke through her nostrils. "We shall see who deserves to be ruler once I take her life."
"I may not know of your family history well, but I can relate." Darkseid tells Adrelita. This gets her attention. The dragon queen tilts her head, wondering what he meant.
Darkseid explains to Adrelita that his alliance with Superman is only temporary. And that he was responsible for killing his son Kalibak. He swore revenge on him ever since. And his master plan to kill him and take the Anti-Life Equation for himself, being delayed because of the transportation accident. When asked why form an alliance with an enemy he's sworn to kill. Darkseid answered that he has manipulated his enemies for thousands of years, including some of his other followers, who have attempted to turn on him, only to fall by his hands. He simply allowed them to try, but their addiction to power led to their deaths.
"I see now. You're waiting for the right opportunity to strike. I like the way you think, Darkseid. And I am glad that you summoned me and revealed your suspicions." Adrelita thanked him.
"Those who use others for power that is higher than their own are cowards." Darkseid said. "Strike when you feel the time is right."
Adrelita nodded as she uses a portal stone to open a portal back to Edenia. As she walks, she smiles and breathes fire, thinking of an idea to take the crown from Mileena. What does she have in mind?
Bruce Wayne works to resync the five of the six cubes. Thankfully they aren't damaged beyond repair. While Mister Terrific is busy with other things, he gets a surprise help from Anthony. He's somewhat not surprised that he knows his way around technology.
"Thought you could use some help since the tech buddy is busy." Anthony offered.
"Thanks. I welcome the assistance." Batman nodded. "You know your place around like your father."
"Well I majored in electrical engineering. I have a bachelor's degree in it. Flora on the other hand loved to work on cars. She knows how to upgrade older cars with the most recent tech."
"Wait until you see my Batmobile and jet. It has many options you can't imagine. Guns, grapples, hooks, you name it." Batman said.
"Flora wouldn't mind flying in a jet. But she'll pass on actually driving one. You taught yourself how to fly?" Anthony asked.
"Yes. Through simulations and stealth tech. Alfred taught me how to drive." Batman said. "He was my butler and close friend. He passed away during the war against the Regime."
"Dang. I'm sorry to hear that. He must've really tolerated your life as Batman." Anthony guessed.
"Indeed. Alfred was always there to advise me and he helped train me. I invented all of these myself. There are more scientists other than me." Bruce said.
"So you're a detective, billionaire, business man, scientist and tactican. Shit. No way in hell that's easy to manage." Anthony said.
"You're right, it isn't. My first few years as Batman were the toughest. Even after gains and losses, I still manage to recover." Batman tells Anthony.
"Yeah. It's not easy managing being a student, a commander and a son. I try not to think that every mission would be my last, because it shivers me with more fear." Anthony said.
"I don't fear death. I always lived on its edge. I always will. My advice to you is to embrace danger, but that doesn't mean throw your life away. Be prepared for the worst that can come. You'll never know when, though. Even I can't predict the future." Bruce advices.
"Yeah. I get ya. That's what I struggle to remember. My sister is braver than I am. Being a commander is a heavy burden, but I accept the challenge." Anthony declared. Bruce smiled. "What?"
"You remind me of Dick Grayson. He was like you in some ways. I told him the same thing I just told you. He always cherished what he had, despite what he lost. Though we didn't share blood, we were family." Batman described Dick.
Anthony smiles at Bruce. Despite his hardship, he has a big heart. They both do. They care about everyone and would live on the edge of death to save them.
Flora is sitting around bored after some training. She's waiting on Cyan to hurry with his patrol so they can plan a date night after this is all over.
As she waits, Harleen approaches her with bowls of ice cream.
"Here ya go, blondo!" Harleen said, handing her a bowl.
"Wha- oh thanks. How'd you know I like mint chip?" Flora asked.
"A gal such as herself always guesses correctly by the eyes of others." Harleen sits down next to her as she takes a spoon of cookie dough.
"I suppose so. I'll take your word for it." Flora shrugged. "For someone who looks like a clown, eh no offense, don't be pissed at me, because I hate killer clowns because they give me nightmares. Not you, though. I like you." Flora stuttered in her words. Harleen smiles and giggles.
"No worries, blondo. When I see killer clowns, I like to bash their skulls, their makeup will mix into their blood." Harleen joked. Flora chuckled nervously before continuing.
"So, how do you always figure people out? You did the same with my older bro." Flora wondered.
"Looks be deceiving, sweetie. But I was a psychiatrist. I have a PhD. I can even tell something's up with others and can see through everyone's lies and poopsies." Harleen stated.
"Really? A psychiatrist. Damn, that's a good one. You look like you could be a therapist." Flora said, eating some of her ice cream.
"This gal ain't ready to retire. Far from it. Not when I'm stoked to crash and smash some buggers that wanna mess with the likes of me. About time I give them an ass whoopin." Harleen said.
"Me too. I'm ready to break some skulls and put holes in their chests and make their hearts go flying out." Flora is ready to fight.
"That's the spirit. I like you. You're always ready for fights like me. Especially when you don't need to hold back." Harleen said. "So whatcha gonna call your superpower huh? A soldier like you deserve a code and. You and your brother."
"I-I don't know. I thought they would be unnecessary. We may be part gods, but we're just soldiers. We're no heroes. Well, I feel like one sometimes." Flora said.
"Don't feel down on yourself, blondo." Harleen puts a hand on her shoulder. "You did so much ass kickin before we got here, you deserve an accomplishment. Why not call your power armor thing the light of the god. Your code name could be….. the young Goddess of light." Harleen smiled.
"… that's… that's actually pretty good. I like that. Young Goddess of Light. It fits actually." Flora is uttered. She can't find anymore words to say.
"See? You like it. You should share that with your daddy and your mom boss when she wakes up. Your brother's code name should be the Emerald Soldier. Because he has glowy powers like Green Lantern." Harleen suggested.
"You know what? That's perfect. I like that! I like that lot! I'm gonna use that! Even if he doesn't like it, I'm gonna use it anyway!" Flora laughed.
"Hahaha. Ah I wish I had siblings. Dinah is the closest sister I've got. She hates the name song bird, because it'll make her scream and make your ears bleed. Literally. Just don't get on her bad side like Ollie did with your dad." Harleen giggled.
"Oh, I wished I saw that. They mess with one family, they mess with me too. That's how it rolls in the Cage family." Flora stated.
"Hell yeah! That's the stuff!" Harleen high fives Flora. "So… after all this clown festivities, you wanna get pizza? All of us to celebrate?"
"Fuck yeah! I'd thought someone would never ask. It'll be on us! The best pizza party we will ever have." Flora stands up in excitement. Harleen smiles and hugs Flora close. The Cage Daughter is surprised but she hugs back.
Wonder Girl, also known as Cassandra Sandsmark, is in a training simulation with holograms. Some of them are barehanded, others wielding weapons.
Barehanded holograms come at Wonder Girl. She too fights without weapons, but has her silent armor. She flies through her enemy with her fists out front, ramming it away and into a wall and it breaks into tiny cubes. Three more holograms come at her and they all strike her at her torso area. Sandsmark felt nothing as her armor lights up. She steps forward, stomps the ground as a big, glowing energy blast sends them all backwards. Cassandra parries a punch and delivers a haymaker to the jaw, sending it upwards before grabbing its leg and throwing it down, head first.
Wonder Girl draws her sword and shield as more holograms with weapons approach her. She throws her shield like a discus in discus throw in the Olympics and it bounces off the ground and cuts three of them in half before she catches it. Cassandra's sword overpowers and slays many foes before she uses her lasso of lightning and grab one, shock it to death and extends her lasso to an unlimited range and grabs another, swings it across many holograms running, or high up, camping with snipers.
Cassandra smirks as she begins to walk away. Unknown to her, one more hologram was running up behind her, ready to fire a taser gun at her. She swishes her head around fast, but before she could respond, another shield comes flying in and decapitates it. The shield ritchochets off the wall and is caught by Diana Prince.
"I had that." Wonder Girl said in an annoyance.
"Of course you did. You forgot one of the most important lessons I have taught you. Never turn your back on your enemy." Diana reminded her niece.
"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I forgot any more of your lessons and lectures." Cassandra said, turning her back on her.
"I had hoped you didn't, otherwise you wouldn't be standing her today." Diana tells her. "Cassandra.. I- I missed you. So much. I looked everywhere for you when—"
"When Superman killed Joker? When you and the Regime conquered Earth and locked up and murdered your own friends? Like Huntress or Captain Atom with no remorse? Oh wait. How about the fact that I, alongside my team, were locked away in the Phantom Zone by Superman?! Did you think of me?!" Wonder Girl glares at her aunt.
"I know you do not trust me. But I am still your family. I raised you like a daughter. Taught you everything you needed to know." Diana said.
"And yet I only scratched the surface until I trained under Batman and Starfire. I don't give a damn about your change of heart. I've had hundreds of thousands of people look at me and they all tell me that I remind them of you." Cassandra said. Her voice is starting to get louder.
"I-I did what I thought was best for everyone. For my sisters and family." Diana tried to defend herself. "And look where that has brought me."
"Yeah. A line that you crossed where there's no coming back from."
"Cassandra, I-"
"Shut up! You abandoned me! I was trapped! FOR YEARS! AND YET ALL YOU CARED ABOUT WAS MAKING HIM YOUR BOYFRIEND! BEING HIS PUPPET MASTER!" Wonder Girl yelled as her silent armor began to glow red and her lasso lights up.
Diana flinched when her niece began to shout at the top of her lungs out of pure, justifiable anger. Diana realized that she never thought of her niece at all, out of her own selfhisness.
"Calm yourself, my child—"
"I'm not a fucking child! I'm almost 18 and I didn't need you back then! And why the hell do I need you NOW?!" Cassandra began screaming at her.
"We share blood. We are Amazons." Diana said, trying to get closer.
"The hell we are! My mom ditched me when I was a kid! I was lost! No home, food or water! I thought of you as a mom! I went through a self-discovery journey! And when I came back? What happened? You became a warlord asshole who completely abandoned herself to Superman! Abandoned her own flesh and blood." Cassandra rants. Her eyes are filling up with tears before they slide down her cheeks.
"Cassandra, I….. I didn't mean last thing I wanted was to lose you. But I'm here now, trying to fix my mistakes. It's okay." Diana steps closer.
"NO!" Cassandra yelled as she repeatedly hits Diana with closed fists on her torso and shoulders. "It's not okay! It's not okay! IT'S NOT!"
Cassandra kept yelling and hitting her aunt. Diana just stood there and took the hits, knowing fully well that she deserves it. Cassandra continued ranting until her sadness overpowered her voice as she started crying. Diana couldn't say anything. Her only instinct was to pull Cassandra into a hug. Cassandra tries to pull away from her, but she couldn't find the strength. Her sadness overpowered her anger like a Lion pinning its prey to the ground.
Diana felt her own tears shedding down her face, feeling more ashamed, as she realized that she forgot about the one person that she grew close to for many years. She loved her niece Cassandra Sandsmark very much. Diana thought of the words Cheetah said about her being a monster. And as much she hates to admit it, she realizes her worst enemy is right. All Diana could wish for is that her niece would not see her as the monster everyone sees her to be. Maybe one day.
Blue Beetle shoots one of his arm cannons at Vera, who uses Sento levitating in the air, to deflect every single shot away harmlessly. Then he brings up four stingers which fire small lasers. Sento was able to absorb the attacks without effort. Takeda watches from a fair distance.
Blue Beetle chuckles. "Oh boy! That is a badass magical sword! If only we had more swordsmen like that! That'd be dope!"
"Isn't Wonder Girl a sword fighter? And Diana Prince?" Vera asked him.
"Oops, uh, hehe. Good point. But unlike them, I can do this." Blue Beetle brings up a makeshift blade from his armor. "Huh? Whatcha think? Pretty cool, right?"
"Wow. You look more like an alien swordfighter. All the things you can do with that scarab." Vera is impressed by its abilities.
"At least I'm still human. Let's hope it doesn't insert itself into my brain and takeover one day." Blue Beetle joked before they fight.
Jaime and Vera fight each other with their weapons up close. Blue Beetle swings his sword in random directions before going for a thrust. But Vera easily blocks all of them.
"You're being too predictable with your movements." Vera tells him as she switches to offense. "I can tell you're getting tired easily. Because you don't know any techniques."
Blue Beetle flies in the air and swings his blade down, allowing Vera to dodge the attack plus bend backwards from a horizontal swing, allowing her to trip him off his feet and hit his back. She stands over him and points her blade at his face.
"Left yourself wide open. Big mistake." Vera tells him before helping him up. They get back into position as she puts Sento away. Blue Beetle makes a mace with his scarab and swings it at Vera, hoping it'll hit her, now that she isn't wielding Sento.
But much to his surprise, Vera hears it and avoids it while getting behind Jaime and doing a one-two-three punch and two reverse kicks to the right ribs. She then kicks him in the back of the head, sending Jaime down. He gets up and makes a shield in hopes of ramming her down, but she jumps and flips over him and lands on her feet before she swiftly grabs his shoulders and throws him down onto his back.
"Ow! Damn, girl. You really are a ninja. And you really learned that blade quick. How'd you do that?" Blue Beetle asked.
"Funny thing. My dad and grandad thought something like this would happen. So they gave me special training, which required me to be blindfolded and rely on my senses without my telepathy. Fighting, tons of bruising, chasing animals and jumping from pole to pole, even though they knew I hate heights." Vera said.
"Wow. That must have been a pain in the ass. I'm still learning so much about this scarab. It's not easy hiding this thing while in public. I only learned how to use these while watching movies." Jaime nervously admitted.
"Movies won't help you much, Jaime. What you need is real training. Real sword fighters to help out. You fight like an amataur, but you can do better." Vera tells him.
"Really? Y-you're gonna help me? Oh boy, I hope Batman doesn't mind." Blue Beetle said in excitement.
"I'm sure he won't. First lesson, don't always focus on looking the opponent in the eyes." Vera said before she suddenly trips Jaime again, sending him on his back again.
"Hey! Not fair! I wasn't ready!" Blue Beetle said in annoyance.
"The enemy won't care if you're ready or not. They'll always resort to dirty tricks to win and kill you. They'll never hold back. I get you guys have your moral codes back home, and we won't kill your bad guys. But those bug things, yeah, don't hold back on them." Vera tells him.
"Yeah, those things are ugly sons of monkeys." Blue Beetle described the Parademons.
"Oh fuck yeah. Even though I'm blind, I can still see those fuckers with Sento. And the smell, my god." Vera joked, waving her hand in front of her face, making fun of their odor.
"Hehe. Good one, Vera." Jaime fistbumps her. "So, where do we start?"
Vera and Blue Beetle draw their weapons as Vera shows Jaime a couple of different sword techniques that are easy to learn. And she instructs him to watch not just the eyes, but their feet and hand motions. Takeda looks on with a smile. He could never ask for a better daughter. He believes she would make a great teacher and successor as master of the Shirai Ryu one day. And he's glad she found someone to love like Satoshi.
Note: Cassandra Sandsmark, aka Wonder Girl, has different kinds of armor and weapons compared to her aunt Diana. And she was one of the Teen Titans who was trapped in the Phantom Zone by Superman. And this makes Diana realize that Cheetah was right about her.