Post by HoM on Mar 30, 2016 15:03:10 GMT -5
Previously, in JUSTICE LEAGUE…
A plague of war has been unleashed upon the world, thanks to the machinations of ARES! Thanks to his prodding, the people of Bialya have unearthed ARES’ deadliest creation, the dread ANNIHILATOR and it now marches toward Khandaq, ready to unleash a Third World War!
The JUSTICE LEAGUE are on the scene, drawing a line in the sand that the ANNIHILATOR cannot cross if they don’t want the world to end. While all this is happening, THE GUARDIAN discovers a mysterious stowaway aboard Laputa, the team’s island base-- the witch-queen CIRCE, pregnant with ARES’ child and desperate for protection!
With all this in mind, please join us now for the continuing adventures of the JUSTICE LEAGUE--
There was a grand explosion across the desert, near the spot where the Bialyan people had been excavating an ancient burial ground of unknown origin. At the epicentre of the explosion, Ares stood tall and mighty, his armoured hand gripping Majestic’s face tightly.
The two men were battered beyond nearly all recognition. Ares’ armour was dented and torn free from its moorings, exposing the chainmail underneath. Alien blood covered his knuckles, while his own face was swollen and covered in bruises. Majestic, on the other hand, had lost a number of teeth, his shoulder was dislocated and he could barely fight back as Ares continued to take the fight to him. It was all he could do to survive, but he refused to give up.
Ares shoved Majestic’s skull into the sand, driving the back of his head repeatedly into the dirt with such force as to send mini-earthquakes out toward where the rest of the Justice League were battling the monstrous Annihilator.
“You fight well, alien. Maybe you prayed to me once by some other name.”
“I pray… to… no-one…” growled Majestic.
Ares lifted him up and slapped the Kheran warlord in the face. “You better start.”
“To… no-one…” Majestic’s eyes began to fizzle as energy began to build behind them. “But... myself.”
A colossal blast of energy, channelled through Majestic’s eyes, struck Ares in the chest, sending him barrelling backwards. Majestic pulled himself up, and nearly fell to a knee straight away.
Ares laughed. “If this were some other day, I would take my time with you, show you the errors of your ways. Maybe one day I will do just that. You’re long-lived, aren’t you? But so am I. And I live for this.”
“So… do I…” said Majestic, roaring as he charged toward the God of War, digging deep for a second wind.
“Beautiful,” said Ares, cracking his knuckles.
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Issue Fifty-Two: “Terms of Worship And Belief”
HoM / ARTTEACH / BOWERS
LAPUTA:
Heavily pregnant, the witch-queen Circe stood before the Guardian, the two of them dripping wet from having been out in the colossal storm outside the walls. She was pale, but there was defiance in her eyes, even in this moment of apparent weakness. She clutched her swollen belly and winced, but when he moved to help her, his instinct overriding his common sense, she threw a hand up to stop him in his tracks.
“Look, little man. If I wanted you dead, I would have transformed you into an animal as soon as I arrived,” said Circe. “Now, I demand sanctuary. Didn’t you hear me the first time?”
{Wonder Woman, Circe is standing--} There was no acknowledgement on Diana’s part, but considering she was in Mt. Olympus, Harper was pushing his luck even trying. “Stay where you are, Circe.” {I have a heavy duty magic user on Laputa-- I need assistance ASAP!}
“Just standing here is going to end up with us dead!” said Circe. “Do you think the wards around this place are enough to keep Ares out? I need safety and only Wonder Woman can help me! Where is that blasted cow?”
“Ruoy cigam lliw ton krow no eht ecitsuJ eugaeL,” Zatanna Zatara placed a hand on Circe’s shoulder and a twinkling light emerged from where they connected. “Circe is standing in the middle of our HQ. What’s going on?”
“Thanks for coming, Zee,” said the Guardian. He held up his shield to the magician and revealed engravings all around the interior edge of it in a variety of ancient languages. “I have my own mystical wards but if she wanted to do me in, I’d be done.”
“No problem,” said Zatanna. “My shows got cancelled because of the storms… glad to have been of assistance.”
“Why are you standing there making small talk?!” asked Circe. “The God of War is coming to get me!”
The Guardian shook his head. “I think Ares is a little bit occupied right now.”
Zatanna accompanied Circe down the hallway while the Guardian led the way, and soon enough they were in the monitor womb of Laputa. All the satellite feeds and nano-cams that fed live camera footage from the eyes of the Justice League back to the island showed the Annihilator smashing into the tank-like Cyborg, while Majestic grappled with Ares.
“I don’t think he’s going to be occupied for too long,” said Circe, looking up at the screens. “Look at him. The power he’s absorbing from the war fever across the world… soon he’ll be more powerful than you’ve ever known.” She shrugged. “So, sanctuary?”
“No one listen to Circe,” said Batman, entering the room with a visibly-drained Doctor Light. “What do we have?”
“Half the team is in Bialya,” said the Guardian. “I assume you’ve had the same dreams as--”
“I don’t sleep,” said Batman. He gestured toward Circe. “Does Wonder Woman know she’s here?”
“Of course you don’t…” The Guardian bristled at Batman’s tone, but answered. “Wonder Woman is incommunicado on a mission to Mount Olympus.”
“She’s no threat,” said Doctor Light, examining Circe. “She’s heavily pregnant and I think past her due date. Knowing our luck…”
“I could still turn you inside out,” said Circe, growing increasingly agitated. “If it wasn’t for your darling witch’s intervention-- and for the fact I don’t want anything but safety for myself and my child!”
Zatanna rolled her eyes.
“Why does Ares want you?” asked Batman.
Doctor Light and Zatanna shared a knowing look.
“As I said to the man in blue and gold, I’m pregnant with his child and he wants to tear the world apart with her as his weapon. You may think me a monster, but my daughter will be born innocent, and I have a chance to--”
“You’re a murderer and a monster, Circe, don’t treat us like idiots,” said Batman. He turned to the Guardian. “Last time Circe was seen, she murdered Diana’s husband and vanished off the face of the planet*, if she’s back now…”
“Oh, is she still crying about that?” asked Circe, smugly. “Theirs was a marriage of convenience, nothing more. But the look on your face, Dark Knight… ooh, what tribulations have I walked in on?”
Batman said nothing but when Circe’s water broke and she cried out in shock, there were no more words that needed to be said…
The Atom shrank and grew impossibly fast, darting from one person’s head to another and knocking them out before they knew where he was, his mass shifting instantly. Blue Beetle, on the other hand, was zapping soldiers with his BB Gun, imagining a scenario where he was better equipped for hand-to-hand combat against militants with a war fetish.
The two heroes had put themselves behind a wall of soldiers while Cyborg and Hawkman went at it with the Annihilator. Whenever Hawkman landed a blow with his Nth metal mace, there was a visible crackle in reality as magic metal struck magic metal. Cyborg blasted the mechanoid with his cannons, trying to slow the thing down, but all they were doing were causing it to focus more and more of its attention on them rather than the Khandaq border.
“This-- is-- rough--” hissed Cyborg, grappling with the Annihilator. Vic Stone was reconfiguring his attack systems, growing larger as he went, but the battle between magic and science was not going his way. He had tried scanning the insides of the thing, but even with the key-hole shape in its back showing, visibly, the clockwork mechanism inside it, his deep scans couldn’t penetrate it. It was perfectly opaque to his technologically-enhanced sensors.
“Keep trying,” growled Katar. The Annihilator swatted Hawkman in the chest, causing the Thanagarian to cry out and spit blood as he was thrown across the desert. His mace flew from his hand and he lay immobile, unable to rejoin the battle.
Vic’s ocular sensors swivelled to the back of his head and he grimaced as the Annihilator didn’t even stop to brag about his minor victory in taking Hawkman out of the battle. Soon enough, there were only two fights going on out in the deserts of Bialya-- a bloodied and broken Majestic against nigh-unstoppable Ares, and the vastly-outgunned Cyborg against the unrelenting Annihilator, while the Atom and Blue Beetle rushed over to Hawkman to tend to their comrade.
“I need help!” said Cyborg. “Where are the big guns? We need--”
BOOM!
There was a massive explosion behind the Annihilator and a tunnel through reality bore into sight. Big Barda emerged, followed by an angry-looking Wonder Woman.
“Thank God,” said Cyborg. “Gods, even.” His moment of relief was instantly dispersed by a blow from the Annihilator that went right through his chest and out the other side. He was lifted up, even as Big Barda approached with her Mega-Rod crackling, and then torn in half by the mechanoid as it wrenched its arm up and threw him in two separate directions with the violent action. Vic blinked, unable to utilise his legs, and spat internal fluid that was flooding his body from the ruptured systems. “Ah. Ah crap.”
Wonder Woman rushed toward Ares, but while doing so cast a glance toward Atom and Beetle. “Get Katar and Victor away from here!”
Ares smiled as Wonder Woman charged toward him and swatted Majestic to the ground, the Kheran warlord moaning as his bloody body hit the floor. Ares ground his heel into the back of Majestros’ neck, and readied himself for Diana’s attack. “No sword, Diana? Where’s that warrior spirit?”
Wonder Woman said nothing. She sprang over Ares and grabbed him by the shoulders, using her momentum and his surprise to hurl him off his feet and to the ground. She crouched down next to Majestic, who spat blood through broken teeth as their eyes met.
“Don’t… stop…” whispered Majestros, before passing out. Diana furrowed her brow and helped move him through a Door to Laputa, to relative safety.
“Did I hurt your new pet?” asked Ares. “He put up a wonderful fight.” He moved his hands down himself, gesturing at his ruined suit of armour. “Look at this. Torn to shreds. Dented to blazes. I wonder if I will have to wake Hephaestus to manufacture a new set.”
“Please stop this,” said Wonder Woman. Her blood was pumping hard though her veins, her heart thumping rapidly. Every fibre in her being was screaming for her to fight fight fight but that was never her first instinct when entering battle, the Amazonian way was thoroughly against that. She knew she should first extend her hand, and if it was rejected, to offer it again… whatever was happening to her, it must have been connected to Ares’ spell, the psychic fugue he’d cast using the body of Morpheus, the God of Sleep. “There is enough conflict in this world to sustain you without the need for this psychic plague you’ve triggered.”
Ares laughed loudly. “I don’t want to be sustained! I want to thrive!” He unsheathed his sword and slowly passed it from one hand to another. “Consider your new alien toy-- broken, battered and done. I hadn’t even drawn my blade before. Now that you’re here? At the dawn of a new age of global warfare? I think this will be our final dance.”
“I won’t fight you, Ares,” said Diana. “I won’t give you the satisfaction.”
Ares lunged for her, and while she took a step back, Ares managed to snatch the tiara from off her head. “You used to be much braver.” He considered what he had taken from her, his smile broad.
Ares had lost his helm earlier on in the battle, and while he had slight bruises, over his face, it was nothing like the damage done to Majestros. His blond hair was matted to his face due to the sweat, and Diana could see throbbing red veins from his neck reach up to his face, pumping infernal energy into his body. He was being fuelled by the conflict across the world, and the potential wars about to become real. He laughed and continued to rant. “I remember when your mother wore this in battle. I was always with her back then, when she fought the good fight. It’s your royal badge of office, isn’t it? Your title?”
Diana remembered when Hippolyta gave her that tiara, how proud her mother was of her… and that roiling, boiling feeling in the pit of her stomach increased. She wanted to hurt Ares, she wanted to break him in two.
Before she could think, Ares simply snapped her royal tiara in two and clamped his hands down around the pieces, crushing them into small lumps of golden metal. “Fight me or don’t fight me, it’ll all end the same. This war fever has empowered me beyond your imagination. I will never lose again.”
Batman stood in the monitor womb, considering the situation. Big Barda was wrestling with the Annihilator and putting up quite the fight, but Ares and Wonder Woman had yet to trade blows. Diana was attempting to talk down the God of War, and he couldn’t help but admire that. But if she failed, if his two teammates failed in their fight, then the world would tip over the edge…
The Guardian walked up behind Batman, and the Dark Knight didn’t look away from the data streams when he spoke to him. “How are the others?”
“Angie helped Zatanna say the right words to get Cyborg back in one piece, same as Majestic. Hawkman’s sternum is cracked but the Nth metal is knitting him back together, but the anti-magic qualities of the metal mean our resident magician is next to useless helping get him back together. Doctor Light is using the solarium to recharge and everyone else is working out how to take down the Annihilator.”
“And Circe?”
“Mister Miracle is with her in the medical wing. I think she’s terrified the medical staff already. Her contractions are getting closer together. Shouldn’t be long now,” said the Guardian. He leaned toward one of the monitors. “We should be down there, boots on the ground.”
“Ares is a God. The team got beaten badly. But look at this--” Batman pointed at the Bialyan capital. “--Troop movements. Our people took down those marching with that machine in the first instance and they retreated, but Colonel Rumaan Harjavti has sent more to back up his new patron.”
“That gives me something to do,” said the Guardian, hefting his shield up.
“No, I’ll go,” said Batman.
“Look, Batman,” started the Guardian. “I know I’m new to running with the Justice League, but ever since I joined you’ve treated me like I’m a waste of space. I get that you’ve got the pedigree to do what you want, but I’ve protected the United States-- hell, this whole world-- since before you were born. I was voted to be in charge of field operations, so you will give me the respect I deserve. You only care about the fight at hand, not the bigger picture. I know what I’m doing.”
Batman turned to face the Guardian. “Now isn’t the time.”
“You’re right,” said the Guardian. “We’ll table that discussion for now, but we will have this conversation. Sooner rather than later.” He moved past the Dark Knight. “Now we resolve this.”
“Just breathe, Circe,” said Scott Free. “You’ll be all right. You’re safe here.”
“Why-- did I-- end up-- with you--” gasped Circe, her purple hair netted to her face through all her exertions. “Ah, Gods, Gods, Gods--!”
The medical staff buzzed around the area working away, but even with the mystical safeguards in place to keep her hidden from Ares, and even with Zatanna’s spell keeping them all protected from Circe’s magic, they were absolutely terrified at what the witch-queen might do.
“I’m busy,” said Zatanna, painting the walls with numerous anti-magic symbols to keep Ares from finding their patient. “Not that I want to help anyway…”
Scott chuckled and patted Circe on the hand. “You’re lucky my wife isn’t here, she’d be a lot less supportive,” he said, thinking about Barda battling the immense thing that had hurt so many of his teammates. He knew she could handle herself, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. “You focus on you right now. Let’s get that baby out of you safe and sound.”
The maps in front of Colonel Rumaan Harjavti showed the wastelands a war was currently being waged across. The burial site where they’d uncovered the Annihilator was circled in black, and the distance from that point to the border that separated his country and neighbouring Khandaq was drawn in red. He’d informed his advisors to send every single member of his military out to join the battle. Khandaq had infringed on his sovereignty for too long. Now he’d see that territorial discussion end in blood and fire.
Batman stepped out of the portal behind him and slammed a fist into the dictator’s hand, causing the man to cry out in agony. “It’s time we spoke,” said the Dark Knight, in the native tongue of Bialya.
“Wh-what are you doing in here?” spat Rumaan. “I will see you dead! You cannot touch me!”
Batman punched the colonel in the other hand, leading to another cry of pain. “I can do whatever I want to you. It’s just you and me now. You and me until we resolve this dispute.” Batman cracked his knuckles. “As long as that takes.”
“Bah! Khandaq pigs spread their filth into our lands, claim that our land is theirs,” with one mangled hand under the table pressing the silent alarm and the other jabbing pointedly into the numerous revisions to the map on his desk, Rumaan sweat profusely and shook his head. “There will be no resolution but the end of their existence! I will wipe Khandaq off the map and there will be no more war. Only Bialyan supremacy.” He kept pressing the alarm, but when the Guardian opened the doors that led to his royal chambers and entered, his eyes widened in fear. “What have you done?”
“Removed any distractions,” said the Guardian, also fluent in Bialyan. “Call back your troops and let Ares fight his own battles. Because I promise you, if you don’t… Khandaq will be the least of your problems. You’ll have just declared war on the Justice League. And if that doesn’t concern you, consider how many super beings we have on speed dial. You wouldn’t last the hour.”
Colonel Rumaan Harjavti swallowed hard. “You w-wouldn’t dare.”
“Three,” said Batman. “In each.”
“What?” said Rumaan.
“I broke three of the small bones in each of your hands,” said Batman. “Next: Six.”
The Guardian looked at Rumaan, how he cradled a gnarled hand. What had he missed prior to his entry into the Royal chambers?
“Stop this,” said Rumaan. “Please, stop this.” He looked at Harper with pleading eyes, but Batman stepped between the two.
“I will break a further six bones in each of your hands,” said Batman. “And then we’ll continue this discussion.” He leaned close to Rumaan’s ear. “If you don’t do what we say at that point, nine.”
There was an edge to the Dark Knight’s voice, something Harper had never heard in all the time he’d spent with the Caped Crusader. He understood it, he realised. The war fever had begun to play on his razor sharp nerves. He was being pushed by the psychic virus the same way they had been earlier. It was the only explanation.
“Batman,” said the Guardian. “You don’t--”
Batman held his hand up to quiet his colleague, his white-slits-for-eyes never diverging from the staredown he was inflicting on Rumaan. “He may have a bleeding heart but I assure you, I don’t.”
Torture? The Guardia felt a shiver of discomfort flow over him. Batman was torturing this man. Rumaan may have been a monster, a leader in name only, but actions were what separated people like him from people like the Justice League. He clenched his fist and Batman’s head swivelled around slowly. Harper shook his head. Mouthed one word. Don’t.
Shaking and sweating profusely, Rumaan shook his head frantically. “I’ll call them off! I’ll call them off, just, stop, please, stop,” he begged.
Moving past Batman, the Guardian picked up the phone on Rumaan’s desk and dialled a number, the state of the colonel’s hand preventing him from being anywhere near able to do it himself. “Make it fast. No funny business.”
As Rumaan gibbered into the receiver, Harper looked back at Batman. “We’re going to talk after this is done.”
Batman said nothing.
Barda hadn’t been able to dent the Annihilator, but at least she’d been able to go toe-to-toe with it. Her own New God armour was cracked, but she moved quickly, darting from side to side, avoiding the heavy blows it threw as best she could. She managed to get behind it, arms around its waist, and she heaved with all her might to suplex it onto its own head and neck, the crash sending quakes toward where Wonder Woman and Ares circled one another.
“I think killing you on the dawn of my new age will be a perfect punctuation point to the old age of peace you helped maintain,” said Ares.
“I won’t fight you,” said Wonder Woman. She moved her shield behind her back. “I won’t give you what you want.”
Barda took steps back from the Annihilator, and noted that it was moving slower since falling on its head. She looked over to Diana, who had her hands up in front of the God of War. She looked over at Ares, the sword in his hand, and remembered the odd key hole shape in its back. The hilt on Ares’ sword had an odd configuration to it. Oddly familiar. Toward the horizon she saw the military might of the Bialyan army… turn around and head back home.
“Oh, come now, Wonder Woman, come now, Diana,” Ares was smiling, his bright white teeth flashing a devilish smile, “what would your mother say? Your former husband? Where’s that war fever that grips you so?”
The Annihilator’s steps were slower, lumbering, unlike before, when it moved so fast that it took out two of the best the Justice League had to offer. And the sword... Barda’s mind was making connections her husband would be proud of.
“The sword… is the key…” said Barda. She deactivated her Mega-Rod and holstered it. “And this thing… is fuelled by war!”
Wonder Woman heard what Big Barda said and Ares locked eyes on the New God. “Well, isn’t she--”
“You… wouldn’t allow such a thing to exist… if you couldn’t control it if it turned against you.”
Diana lunged for Ares’ sword and twisted his wrist sharply, causing him to drop it. He growled, but Diana had already leaped backwards, sword in hand, and she threw it with one immense swing toward the Annihilator, the blade landing square in its back. It jerked around, and Barda slipped under its legs and shunted the weapon around, causing the gears in the Annihilator’s back to click and grind, and then the thing stopped, lolling over and falling on its front.
Out the back of the Annihilator floated the same starry energy field that had come out of Morpheus back on Mount Olympus*. It swirled around and headed up toward the lower atmosphere, and Big Barda and Wonder Woman both felt a change flow through them-- the haze of war was lifted, the spell Ares had cast breaking with the defeat of the Annihilator.
*Last issue
Ares was about to say something damning when something else in the air drew his attention. His head jerked sharply toward the sky and he began to laugh. “Oh, Circe, Circe, Circe… we have a child!”
Ares vanished from sight, leaving Big Barda and Wonder Woman confused, but Diana gritted her teeth when she repeated the name that had given the God of War such joy. “…Circe?” {Batman, what’s happening on Laputa?}
{I’m just returning there now-- Diana-- Circe’s on the island, she’s pregnant with Ares’ child and is seeking sanctuary.}
Wonder Woman’s eyes went large and she growled “Door!” before stepping through the portal that opened onto Laputa with Barda.
Across the border in Khandaq, no military force had been assembled in the face of the now-aborted invasion.
A single man, clad in black and gold, his cape flapping gently in the slow desert air, floated above the line separating his country from Bialya.
The gold bolt of lightning across his chest crackled with power, but as he watched the Annihilator fall apart, as he watched Ares teleport himself away to parts unknown, the man once known as Black Adam nodded slowly to himself, content that no further war would be waged over the place he called home.
Teth Adam headed back to the royal palace in the capital Shiruta, plans to be made for the future…
Mister Miracle was thrown across the room by Ares as the God of War entered the medical wing of Laputa. He rubbed his finger down the wall, removing one of the sigils marking the wall designed to mask Circe from his gaze.
“Did you really think all these spells to keep Circe hidden from me would prevent my being here for the birth of my daughter?”
Zatanna hurried into the room and saw Mister Miracle pulling himself up, then saw Ares trudge toward Circe, who was currently holding onto her newborn daughter and screaming for help. “SerA teg tuo!”
Ares stood his ground as a colossal force of magical energy rushed past him, but he was able to continue moving toward Circe, an eager look in his eye. “You could never keep her from me, my darling.”
“Leave her alone!” shouted Zatanna.
Ares grinned. “Giving up on your backward magic? Already?”
Mister Miracle leaped at him, but bounced ineffectually off the back of the God of War. He rolled backwards and leaped again, this time going for Ares’ eyes. He clawed at his eyes, trying his best to distract him away from Circe, but Ares shrugged him off once more.
Ares simply laughed. “I see her now. I have her. Nothing you can do--”
"Edih ecriC dna reh rethguad morf serA," said Zatanna.
Circe vanished from sight and this caused Ares to howl in anger. “Damn you, bring her back!”
“I don’t think so,” said Hawkman, shooting into his room and shattering an Nth metal mace across Ares’ jaw.
The God of War was staggered, but laughed it off and grabbed Katar by the ankle. Before he could swing the Thanagarian down into the ground, a mangled Majestic tackled him through twelve interior walls, resulting in them skidding across to the harbour outside into the far wall that protected the island from waves.
“Didn’t I kill you already?” spat Ares.
“I’ll never die,” spat Majestic, shooting energy beams into Ares’ face and pummelling the God of War without hesitation. Majestic’s body had already started to heal, teeth back and ruptured flesh sealed but Ares wasn’t going to go down easy. He grabbed Majestic by the throat and drove him back, even as the half-rebuilt Cyborg and the recharged Doctor Light appeared on the scene and started attacking.
Ares sniffed the air and then vanished once more, appearing in another part of Laputa where Circe was being guarded by the Guardian and Blue Beetle. “Oh, crap,” said Ted.
“Give. Me. My. Daughter.”
Wonder Woman slammed her fists into Ares back, sending him falling to the floor. “Beetle, get her clear!” The Guardian joined Diana in attacking Ares, Big Barda arriving quickly and trying to hold the God of War down, but he surged forward, pushed Beetle into a wall and grabbed Circe, spinning her around and bringing his sword to her throat.
“Listen to me. Listen. I will kill her. Before you even move to stop me. I will slit her throat and leave her body for you to clean up.” Flakes of light lifted up off Circe’s skin as all the protective enchantments Zatanna had placed on her were removed by Ares’ actual presence. Their daughter slept soundly in the arms of her mother, even throughout the chaos of the last two minutes.
The Justice League assembled behind Wonder Woman and the Guardian. Harper could hear Diana whispering. What was she saying, in that ancient tongue she sometimes used? Were they prayers?
“I can take him,” growled Barda, wiping blood from her nose. “Look at him. The extra energy is leaving him. He’s becoming weaker.”
“We’ve not had any luck so far,” said Cyborg, gripping his damaged torso.
“You might hurt the baby,” said Doctor Light. “Just--”
“Quiet, you stupid mortal-- I will take my child and raise her how I see fit, away from the prying eyes of gods and mortals,” said Ares. “But first, look at you. Look at you all. I can see right through you: Warriors--” His eyes met Big Barda, the Guardian, Hawkman, Majestic and Mister Miracle. He turned his attention toward the Atom, Blue Beetle, Doctor Light. “--Intellectuals--” Cyborg and Zatanna. “-- Hybrids--” Wonder Woman. “--Champion--” Then finally, at Batman. “--Protector..”
“What’s he--?” started Blue Beetle, confused by the God of War’s statement. Doctor Light clutched his shoulder, the intent clear. Beetle went quiet and they could see the last of the enchantments on Circe untangle.
“Next time, one of you will die,” said Ares. “And this paltry marble in the grand scheme of this universe will burn under the foot of the God of War.”
Before he could say anymore, there was an immense crack of lightning that landed between Ares and Circe and the Justice League. Smoke drifted upwards, and out from it stepped Athena, Queen of the Gods, patron of Wonder Woman.
The Guardian saw Diana smile. Her prayers were answered. With the mystical safeguards lifted, something else on the god spectrum could enter Laputa.
“Enough,” boomed Athena, taller than even Majestic, her dark brown hair plaited all the way down her back, her body covered in silver armour. “Enough of your machinations, Ares. My champion made the call. I have answered. You will bother humanity no more.”
“I doubt that,” spat Ares.
Athena smiled. “You are witness to an intriguing day in the court of the gods, Justice League. Our agendas are rarely one and the same. There is always dissent on matters of importance. But on this, we are finally united.” She raised her ceremonial staff up and then pointed it at Ares and Circe. “The Gods are in agreement. The judgement has been made. I’m pleased to be the one to do this.”
“The baby--” whispered Diana, taking a step forward.
“Ares, from this point on, you are God of War no more. Fallen Olympian. No longer commander of the armies eternal. You have played the games of gods and mortals and failed. Do you relinquish your power willingly?”
Ares laughed, loudly, once, and shook his head. “Like Hades I will.”
Energy began to spark and crackle around the ceremonial staff. “Then by decree of the gods of Olympus; Ares—Lord of War no more.”
Scarlet energy shot out of Ares chest, flowed through Circe—who didn’t make a sound—and coalesced around the tip of Athena’s staff. The God of War screamed, and with one last gasp vanished from sight, taking Circe and their child with him.
“No!” cried Wonder Woman. Athena stopped her champion from stepping over where the trio had vanished.
“The child is unharmed. Ares is depleted. The Gods have awoken, and they have spoken. The war plague has been lifted from the world,” said Athena. “I will have Hermes begin the search, my blessing upon him. We shall find the Witch Queen’s child.”
Diana said nothing. Even in victory, she felt like they’d lost.
“Do you have nothing else to save to me, Queen of Themyscira?”
-The Guardian looked on, awestruck, as Athena loomed over Wonder Woman. Diana looked up, sadness plain on her face, but she managed a nod and a bow. “Thank you, mighty Pallas. With all my heart, thank you.”
“Good. Diana, war will manifest again, one day, soon,” said Athena. “I only hope my champion, she who I place my trust and love in, will be up to the task of battling what comes.”
Wonder Woman held her hand to her heart. “I will do whatever it takes.”
“That you might,” said Athena. “And it may not be enough.” She glanced over to Batman. “Sacrifices will be made.”
Another catastrophic explosion of lightning and thunder rained down on the spot Athena occupied and she vanished with no more words.
Wonder Woman looked at Batman, who had already turned to leave.
The Guardian was speechless. Blue Beetle nudged him in the ribs. “Wanna ask Athena if she’d accept a reverse membership position?”
“I want to replace you with her,” replied the Guardian, following the departing Wonder Woman as they prepared to take stock of the day’s events.
Circe sobbed, her new-born daughter swaddled in her arms, as the teleportation spell faded, the location she had been transported to becoming clear. They were in Ares’ secret halls, the hidden kingdom where the now former God of War fermented unrest across the world.
Ares toppled over, his immensity depleted, energies still swirling out from his body. He slammed his fist into the ground and cracks ran through the floor of his chambers. “That… Sow!”
Circe wiped her crocodile tears away, her sobs guttural and loud, their sound so aching and haunting that, until they slowly turned into laughs, deep and maniacal, you would have thought she was actually scared of her beloved husband.
“Are you diminished?” asked Circe.
“Certainly,” replied Ares. He wasted little time removing his battered and broken armour. “But I am more than my role in the world. God of War no more? Then I shall become the God of Revenge.”
“And the Justice League… know of our daughter,” Circe cleared her throat, the pangs of her amusement passing. “They know that she was born innocent and that I fought to get away from you, to prevent her from becoming a weapon in your arsenal against the world. When they meet her next, our darling daughter will be grown, and they will doubt their resolve. They will fall to her, trying to save her even as she kills them. When all is said and done, the daughter of Ares and Circe will rend the Justice League from Earth, slaughter Wonder Woman and take her rightful place as the ruler of that world. And you will be reborn as the one true God of War, and I your Queen.”
Ares grabbed Circe by the hair and she hissed, only to kiss him deeply. He withdrew, Circe’s teeth biting into his lip, and he smiled, even as she tugged. “My darling wife. Let us begin our daughter’s training. Let us begin building our own ‘Wonder Woman’.”
On one of the numerous balconies across the island complex, the Guardian watched as the clouds finally parted and the sun began to shine back down on the earth. The horrific storms across the world had all faded, and everything was returning back to normal. No more wars, at least, not for the time being.
“You should know I don’t feel the need to explain myself-- ever,” said Batman, emerging from the building. “What I do, I do for the good of the team, and by extension, the good of the planet. When I’m operating with the Justice League, that’s the scale I consider.”
“Torture is never acceptable,” said the Guardian. “As a means to an end, never.”
Stood behind the Guardian, Batman said nothing. Never explaining himself. Never feeling like he should. Without looking at him, the Guardian could sense the spike in his heartbeat from where he stood. The battle computer installed in his midbrain ran scenarios. Excuses could be made, but it wouldn’t take away from Harper’s statement.
“The war fever had us,” he said, ignoring Batman’s silence. “I wanted to tear Rumaan’s face off, and you could have killed him, but you didn’t, so we’re in the green. But you think you’re the only one who thinks in terms of end of world scenarios in this team?” The Guardian turned and considered the man. Even in direct sunlight he looked intimidating. But Harper wasn’t in the business of being intimidated. “I do too. But that’s the scale I always consider. The many over the few.”
“There are no acceptable losses in the Justice League,” said Batman. “No concept of collateral damage. If we lose a life in the pursuit of justice, then we’ve lost that war. Every. Single. Time.”
“You brought me on because you’re the greatest team of super-humans this world has ever seen, but you’re also the damn well scariest,” said the Guardian. “We have PR nightmares every six months. How easy was it for Kobra to turn the media against you when we first started interacting*?”
Batman said nothing.
“And then Stormwatch not long after, they sought to undermine the League yet again in the eyes of the public*, and while that didn’t stick, just like the first time around, doesn’t mean it’s not becoming apparent that it’s an easy option. Because what’s scarier than a group of super-humans with their fingers on the trigger? Now, I do my damndest to keep the world safe, just like I did when I ran with the Global Peace Agency, just as I’ve done these past few months, but that doesn’t mean working with you people isn’t the biggest, scariest job of my life. There are no easy decisions. No small fights. The scope of this is massive, the fights-- the wars we have-- are epic in scope. Hell, we fought a god today, a god and his damn war machine. But if we don’t work harder-- respect each other-- then we don’t have a chance in hell to win these battles. The Justice League can’t simply be, there’s more to it than a bunch of folk making nice on an island and flying off into battle every other month.”
“I don’t have to defend the concept of the Justice League to you,” said Batman. “We both know there’s accountability for every single thing we do.”
“Accountability? Where’s the accountability, Batman?” asked the Guardian. “Tell me that!”
Batman turned away from the Guardian and headed back inside. “There’s you.”
The Guardian watched the Dark Knight leave, and considered the words, while Batman considered what the Guardian said, about the war fever having him. Because Bruce knew that if the world was going to end, he'd do anything to save the day. The war fever? It never had him. And did that leave the Caped Crusader unsettled?
A plague of war has been unleashed upon the world, thanks to the machinations of ARES! Thanks to his prodding, the people of Bialya have unearthed ARES’ deadliest creation, the dread ANNIHILATOR and it now marches toward Khandaq, ready to unleash a Third World War!
The JUSTICE LEAGUE are on the scene, drawing a line in the sand that the ANNIHILATOR cannot cross if they don’t want the world to end. While all this is happening, THE GUARDIAN discovers a mysterious stowaway aboard Laputa, the team’s island base-- the witch-queen CIRCE, pregnant with ARES’ child and desperate for protection!
With all this in mind, please join us now for the continuing adventures of the JUSTICE LEAGUE--
JUSTICE LEAGUE ROLL-CALL:
THE ATOM | THE BATMAN | BIG BARDA |
BLUE BEETLE | CYBORG | DOCTOR LIGHT | THE GUARDIAN |
HAWKMAN | MAJESTIC | MISTER MIRACLE | WONDER WOMAN |
THE WASTELANDS, EAST OF BIALYA:
There was a grand explosion across the desert, near the spot where the Bialyan people had been excavating an ancient burial ground of unknown origin. At the epicentre of the explosion, Ares stood tall and mighty, his armoured hand gripping Majestic’s face tightly.
The two men were battered beyond nearly all recognition. Ares’ armour was dented and torn free from its moorings, exposing the chainmail underneath. Alien blood covered his knuckles, while his own face was swollen and covered in bruises. Majestic, on the other hand, had lost a number of teeth, his shoulder was dislocated and he could barely fight back as Ares continued to take the fight to him. It was all he could do to survive, but he refused to give up.
Ares shoved Majestic’s skull into the sand, driving the back of his head repeatedly into the dirt with such force as to send mini-earthquakes out toward where the rest of the Justice League were battling the monstrous Annihilator.
“You fight well, alien. Maybe you prayed to me once by some other name.”
“I pray… to… no-one…” growled Majestic.
Ares lifted him up and slapped the Kheran warlord in the face. “You better start.”
“To… no-one…” Majestic’s eyes began to fizzle as energy began to build behind them. “But... myself.”
A colossal blast of energy, channelled through Majestic’s eyes, struck Ares in the chest, sending him barrelling backwards. Majestic pulled himself up, and nearly fell to a knee straight away.
Ares laughed. “If this were some other day, I would take my time with you, show you the errors of your ways. Maybe one day I will do just that. You’re long-lived, aren’t you? But so am I. And I live for this.”
“So… do I…” said Majestic, roaring as he charged toward the God of War, digging deep for a second wind.
“Beautiful,” said Ares, cracking his knuckles.
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Issue Fifty-Two: “Terms of Worship And Belief”
HoM / ARTTEACH / BOWERS
LAPUTA:
Heavily pregnant, the witch-queen Circe stood before the Guardian, the two of them dripping wet from having been out in the colossal storm outside the walls. She was pale, but there was defiance in her eyes, even in this moment of apparent weakness. She clutched her swollen belly and winced, but when he moved to help her, his instinct overriding his common sense, she threw a hand up to stop him in his tracks.
“Look, little man. If I wanted you dead, I would have transformed you into an animal as soon as I arrived,” said Circe. “Now, I demand sanctuary. Didn’t you hear me the first time?”
{Wonder Woman, Circe is standing--} There was no acknowledgement on Diana’s part, but considering she was in Mt. Olympus, Harper was pushing his luck even trying. “Stay where you are, Circe.” {I have a heavy duty magic user on Laputa-- I need assistance ASAP!}
“Just standing here is going to end up with us dead!” said Circe. “Do you think the wards around this place are enough to keep Ares out? I need safety and only Wonder Woman can help me! Where is that blasted cow?”
“Ruoy cigam lliw ton krow no eht ecitsuJ eugaeL,” Zatanna Zatara placed a hand on Circe’s shoulder and a twinkling light emerged from where they connected. “Circe is standing in the middle of our HQ. What’s going on?”
“Thanks for coming, Zee,” said the Guardian. He held up his shield to the magician and revealed engravings all around the interior edge of it in a variety of ancient languages. “I have my own mystical wards but if she wanted to do me in, I’d be done.”
“No problem,” said Zatanna. “My shows got cancelled because of the storms… glad to have been of assistance.”
“Why are you standing there making small talk?!” asked Circe. “The God of War is coming to get me!”
The Guardian shook his head. “I think Ares is a little bit occupied right now.”
Zatanna accompanied Circe down the hallway while the Guardian led the way, and soon enough they were in the monitor womb of Laputa. All the satellite feeds and nano-cams that fed live camera footage from the eyes of the Justice League back to the island showed the Annihilator smashing into the tank-like Cyborg, while Majestic grappled with Ares.
“I don’t think he’s going to be occupied for too long,” said Circe, looking up at the screens. “Look at him. The power he’s absorbing from the war fever across the world… soon he’ll be more powerful than you’ve ever known.” She shrugged. “So, sanctuary?”
“No one listen to Circe,” said Batman, entering the room with a visibly-drained Doctor Light. “What do we have?”
“Half the team is in Bialya,” said the Guardian. “I assume you’ve had the same dreams as--”
“I don’t sleep,” said Batman. He gestured toward Circe. “Does Wonder Woman know she’s here?”
“Of course you don’t…” The Guardian bristled at Batman’s tone, but answered. “Wonder Woman is incommunicado on a mission to Mount Olympus.”
“She’s no threat,” said Doctor Light, examining Circe. “She’s heavily pregnant and I think past her due date. Knowing our luck…”
“I could still turn you inside out,” said Circe, growing increasingly agitated. “If it wasn’t for your darling witch’s intervention-- and for the fact I don’t want anything but safety for myself and my child!”
Zatanna rolled her eyes.
“Why does Ares want you?” asked Batman.
Doctor Light and Zatanna shared a knowing look.
“As I said to the man in blue and gold, I’m pregnant with his child and he wants to tear the world apart with her as his weapon. You may think me a monster, but my daughter will be born innocent, and I have a chance to--”
“You’re a murderer and a monster, Circe, don’t treat us like idiots,” said Batman. He turned to the Guardian. “Last time Circe was seen, she murdered Diana’s husband and vanished off the face of the planet*, if she’s back now…”
*Back in Wonder Woman #26
“Oh, is she still crying about that?” asked Circe, smugly. “Theirs was a marriage of convenience, nothing more. But the look on your face, Dark Knight… ooh, what tribulations have I walked in on?”
Batman said nothing but when Circe’s water broke and she cried out in shock, there were no more words that needed to be said…
THE WASTELANDS, EAST OF BIALYA:
The Atom shrank and grew impossibly fast, darting from one person’s head to another and knocking them out before they knew where he was, his mass shifting instantly. Blue Beetle, on the other hand, was zapping soldiers with his BB Gun, imagining a scenario where he was better equipped for hand-to-hand combat against militants with a war fetish.
The two heroes had put themselves behind a wall of soldiers while Cyborg and Hawkman went at it with the Annihilator. Whenever Hawkman landed a blow with his Nth metal mace, there was a visible crackle in reality as magic metal struck magic metal. Cyborg blasted the mechanoid with his cannons, trying to slow the thing down, but all they were doing were causing it to focus more and more of its attention on them rather than the Khandaq border.
“This-- is-- rough--” hissed Cyborg, grappling with the Annihilator. Vic Stone was reconfiguring his attack systems, growing larger as he went, but the battle between magic and science was not going his way. He had tried scanning the insides of the thing, but even with the key-hole shape in its back showing, visibly, the clockwork mechanism inside it, his deep scans couldn’t penetrate it. It was perfectly opaque to his technologically-enhanced sensors.
“Keep trying,” growled Katar. The Annihilator swatted Hawkman in the chest, causing the Thanagarian to cry out and spit blood as he was thrown across the desert. His mace flew from his hand and he lay immobile, unable to rejoin the battle.
Vic’s ocular sensors swivelled to the back of his head and he grimaced as the Annihilator didn’t even stop to brag about his minor victory in taking Hawkman out of the battle. Soon enough, there were only two fights going on out in the deserts of Bialya-- a bloodied and broken Majestic against nigh-unstoppable Ares, and the vastly-outgunned Cyborg against the unrelenting Annihilator, while the Atom and Blue Beetle rushed over to Hawkman to tend to their comrade.
“I need help!” said Cyborg. “Where are the big guns? We need--”
BOOM!
There was a massive explosion behind the Annihilator and a tunnel through reality bore into sight. Big Barda emerged, followed by an angry-looking Wonder Woman.
“Thank God,” said Cyborg. “Gods, even.” His moment of relief was instantly dispersed by a blow from the Annihilator that went right through his chest and out the other side. He was lifted up, even as Big Barda approached with her Mega-Rod crackling, and then torn in half by the mechanoid as it wrenched its arm up and threw him in two separate directions with the violent action. Vic blinked, unable to utilise his legs, and spat internal fluid that was flooding his body from the ruptured systems. “Ah. Ah crap.”
Wonder Woman rushed toward Ares, but while doing so cast a glance toward Atom and Beetle. “Get Katar and Victor away from here!”
Ares smiled as Wonder Woman charged toward him and swatted Majestic to the ground, the Kheran warlord moaning as his bloody body hit the floor. Ares ground his heel into the back of Majestros’ neck, and readied himself for Diana’s attack. “No sword, Diana? Where’s that warrior spirit?”
Wonder Woman said nothing. She sprang over Ares and grabbed him by the shoulders, using her momentum and his surprise to hurl him off his feet and to the ground. She crouched down next to Majestic, who spat blood through broken teeth as their eyes met.
“Don’t… stop…” whispered Majestros, before passing out. Diana furrowed her brow and helped move him through a Door to Laputa, to relative safety.
“Did I hurt your new pet?” asked Ares. “He put up a wonderful fight.” He moved his hands down himself, gesturing at his ruined suit of armour. “Look at this. Torn to shreds. Dented to blazes. I wonder if I will have to wake Hephaestus to manufacture a new set.”
“Please stop this,” said Wonder Woman. Her blood was pumping hard though her veins, her heart thumping rapidly. Every fibre in her being was screaming for her to fight fight fight but that was never her first instinct when entering battle, the Amazonian way was thoroughly against that. She knew she should first extend her hand, and if it was rejected, to offer it again… whatever was happening to her, it must have been connected to Ares’ spell, the psychic fugue he’d cast using the body of Morpheus, the God of Sleep. “There is enough conflict in this world to sustain you without the need for this psychic plague you’ve triggered.”
Ares laughed loudly. “I don’t want to be sustained! I want to thrive!” He unsheathed his sword and slowly passed it from one hand to another. “Consider your new alien toy-- broken, battered and done. I hadn’t even drawn my blade before. Now that you’re here? At the dawn of a new age of global warfare? I think this will be our final dance.”
“I won’t fight you, Ares,” said Diana. “I won’t give you the satisfaction.”
Ares lunged for her, and while she took a step back, Ares managed to snatch the tiara from off her head. “You used to be much braver.” He considered what he had taken from her, his smile broad.
Ares had lost his helm earlier on in the battle, and while he had slight bruises, over his face, it was nothing like the damage done to Majestros. His blond hair was matted to his face due to the sweat, and Diana could see throbbing red veins from his neck reach up to his face, pumping infernal energy into his body. He was being fuelled by the conflict across the world, and the potential wars about to become real. He laughed and continued to rant. “I remember when your mother wore this in battle. I was always with her back then, when she fought the good fight. It’s your royal badge of office, isn’t it? Your title?”
Diana remembered when Hippolyta gave her that tiara, how proud her mother was of her… and that roiling, boiling feeling in the pit of her stomach increased. She wanted to hurt Ares, she wanted to break him in two.
Before she could think, Ares simply snapped her royal tiara in two and clamped his hands down around the pieces, crushing them into small lumps of golden metal. “Fight me or don’t fight me, it’ll all end the same. This war fever has empowered me beyond your imagination. I will never lose again.”
LAPUTA – MONITOR WOMB:
Batman stood in the monitor womb, considering the situation. Big Barda was wrestling with the Annihilator and putting up quite the fight, but Ares and Wonder Woman had yet to trade blows. Diana was attempting to talk down the God of War, and he couldn’t help but admire that. But if she failed, if his two teammates failed in their fight, then the world would tip over the edge…
The Guardian walked up behind Batman, and the Dark Knight didn’t look away from the data streams when he spoke to him. “How are the others?”
“Angie helped Zatanna say the right words to get Cyborg back in one piece, same as Majestic. Hawkman’s sternum is cracked but the Nth metal is knitting him back together, but the anti-magic qualities of the metal mean our resident magician is next to useless helping get him back together. Doctor Light is using the solarium to recharge and everyone else is working out how to take down the Annihilator.”
“And Circe?”
“Mister Miracle is with her in the medical wing. I think she’s terrified the medical staff already. Her contractions are getting closer together. Shouldn’t be long now,” said the Guardian. He leaned toward one of the monitors. “We should be down there, boots on the ground.”
“Ares is a God. The team got beaten badly. But look at this--” Batman pointed at the Bialyan capital. “--Troop movements. Our people took down those marching with that machine in the first instance and they retreated, but Colonel Rumaan Harjavti has sent more to back up his new patron.”
“That gives me something to do,” said the Guardian, hefting his shield up.
“No, I’ll go,” said Batman.
“Look, Batman,” started the Guardian. “I know I’m new to running with the Justice League, but ever since I joined you’ve treated me like I’m a waste of space. I get that you’ve got the pedigree to do what you want, but I’ve protected the United States-- hell, this whole world-- since before you were born. I was voted to be in charge of field operations, so you will give me the respect I deserve. You only care about the fight at hand, not the bigger picture. I know what I’m doing.”
Batman turned to face the Guardian. “Now isn’t the time.”
“You’re right,” said the Guardian. “We’ll table that discussion for now, but we will have this conversation. Sooner rather than later.” He moved past the Dark Knight. “Now we resolve this.”
LAPUTA - MEDICAL BAY:
“Just breathe, Circe,” said Scott Free. “You’ll be all right. You’re safe here.”
“Why-- did I-- end up-- with you--” gasped Circe, her purple hair netted to her face through all her exertions. “Ah, Gods, Gods, Gods--!”
The medical staff buzzed around the area working away, but even with the mystical safeguards in place to keep her hidden from Ares, and even with Zatanna’s spell keeping them all protected from Circe’s magic, they were absolutely terrified at what the witch-queen might do.
“I’m busy,” said Zatanna, painting the walls with numerous anti-magic symbols to keep Ares from finding their patient. “Not that I want to help anyway…”
Scott chuckled and patted Circe on the hand. “You’re lucky my wife isn’t here, she’d be a lot less supportive,” he said, thinking about Barda battling the immense thing that had hurt so many of his teammates. He knew she could handle herself, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. “You focus on you right now. Let’s get that baby out of you safe and sound.”
BIALYA:
The maps in front of Colonel Rumaan Harjavti showed the wastelands a war was currently being waged across. The burial site where they’d uncovered the Annihilator was circled in black, and the distance from that point to the border that separated his country and neighbouring Khandaq was drawn in red. He’d informed his advisors to send every single member of his military out to join the battle. Khandaq had infringed on his sovereignty for too long. Now he’d see that territorial discussion end in blood and fire.
Batman stepped out of the portal behind him and slammed a fist into the dictator’s hand, causing the man to cry out in agony. “It’s time we spoke,” said the Dark Knight, in the native tongue of Bialya.
“Wh-what are you doing in here?” spat Rumaan. “I will see you dead! You cannot touch me!”
Batman punched the colonel in the other hand, leading to another cry of pain. “I can do whatever I want to you. It’s just you and me now. You and me until we resolve this dispute.” Batman cracked his knuckles. “As long as that takes.”
“Bah! Khandaq pigs spread their filth into our lands, claim that our land is theirs,” with one mangled hand under the table pressing the silent alarm and the other jabbing pointedly into the numerous revisions to the map on his desk, Rumaan sweat profusely and shook his head. “There will be no resolution but the end of their existence! I will wipe Khandaq off the map and there will be no more war. Only Bialyan supremacy.” He kept pressing the alarm, but when the Guardian opened the doors that led to his royal chambers and entered, his eyes widened in fear. “What have you done?”
“Removed any distractions,” said the Guardian, also fluent in Bialyan. “Call back your troops and let Ares fight his own battles. Because I promise you, if you don’t… Khandaq will be the least of your problems. You’ll have just declared war on the Justice League. And if that doesn’t concern you, consider how many super beings we have on speed dial. You wouldn’t last the hour.”
Colonel Rumaan Harjavti swallowed hard. “You w-wouldn’t dare.”
“Three,” said Batman. “In each.”
“What?” said Rumaan.
“I broke three of the small bones in each of your hands,” said Batman. “Next: Six.”
The Guardian looked at Rumaan, how he cradled a gnarled hand. What had he missed prior to his entry into the Royal chambers?
“Stop this,” said Rumaan. “Please, stop this.” He looked at Harper with pleading eyes, but Batman stepped between the two.
“I will break a further six bones in each of your hands,” said Batman. “And then we’ll continue this discussion.” He leaned close to Rumaan’s ear. “If you don’t do what we say at that point, nine.”
There was an edge to the Dark Knight’s voice, something Harper had never heard in all the time he’d spent with the Caped Crusader. He understood it, he realised. The war fever had begun to play on his razor sharp nerves. He was being pushed by the psychic virus the same way they had been earlier. It was the only explanation.
“Batman,” said the Guardian. “You don’t--”
Batman held his hand up to quiet his colleague, his white-slits-for-eyes never diverging from the staredown he was inflicting on Rumaan. “He may have a bleeding heart but I assure you, I don’t.”
Torture? The Guardia felt a shiver of discomfort flow over him. Batman was torturing this man. Rumaan may have been a monster, a leader in name only, but actions were what separated people like him from people like the Justice League. He clenched his fist and Batman’s head swivelled around slowly. Harper shook his head. Mouthed one word. Don’t.
Shaking and sweating profusely, Rumaan shook his head frantically. “I’ll call them off! I’ll call them off, just, stop, please, stop,” he begged.
Moving past Batman, the Guardian picked up the phone on Rumaan’s desk and dialled a number, the state of the colonel’s hand preventing him from being anywhere near able to do it himself. “Make it fast. No funny business.”
As Rumaan gibbered into the receiver, Harper looked back at Batman. “We’re going to talk after this is done.”
Batman said nothing.
THE WASTELANDS, EAST OF BIALYA:
Barda hadn’t been able to dent the Annihilator, but at least she’d been able to go toe-to-toe with it. Her own New God armour was cracked, but she moved quickly, darting from side to side, avoiding the heavy blows it threw as best she could. She managed to get behind it, arms around its waist, and she heaved with all her might to suplex it onto its own head and neck, the crash sending quakes toward where Wonder Woman and Ares circled one another.
“I think killing you on the dawn of my new age will be a perfect punctuation point to the old age of peace you helped maintain,” said Ares.
“I won’t fight you,” said Wonder Woman. She moved her shield behind her back. “I won’t give you what you want.”
Barda took steps back from the Annihilator, and noted that it was moving slower since falling on its head. She looked over to Diana, who had her hands up in front of the God of War. She looked over at Ares, the sword in his hand, and remembered the odd key hole shape in its back. The hilt on Ares’ sword had an odd configuration to it. Oddly familiar. Toward the horizon she saw the military might of the Bialyan army… turn around and head back home.
“Oh, come now, Wonder Woman, come now, Diana,” Ares was smiling, his bright white teeth flashing a devilish smile, “what would your mother say? Your former husband? Where’s that war fever that grips you so?”
The Annihilator’s steps were slower, lumbering, unlike before, when it moved so fast that it took out two of the best the Justice League had to offer. And the sword... Barda’s mind was making connections her husband would be proud of.
“The sword… is the key…” said Barda. She deactivated her Mega-Rod and holstered it. “And this thing… is fuelled by war!”
Wonder Woman heard what Big Barda said and Ares locked eyes on the New God. “Well, isn’t she--”
“You… wouldn’t allow such a thing to exist… if you couldn’t control it if it turned against you.”
Diana lunged for Ares’ sword and twisted his wrist sharply, causing him to drop it. He growled, but Diana had already leaped backwards, sword in hand, and she threw it with one immense swing toward the Annihilator, the blade landing square in its back. It jerked around, and Barda slipped under its legs and shunted the weapon around, causing the gears in the Annihilator’s back to click and grind, and then the thing stopped, lolling over and falling on its front.
Out the back of the Annihilator floated the same starry energy field that had come out of Morpheus back on Mount Olympus*. It swirled around and headed up toward the lower atmosphere, and Big Barda and Wonder Woman both felt a change flow through them-- the haze of war was lifted, the spell Ares had cast breaking with the defeat of the Annihilator.
*Last issue
Ares was about to say something damning when something else in the air drew his attention. His head jerked sharply toward the sky and he began to laugh. “Oh, Circe, Circe, Circe… we have a child!”
Ares vanished from sight, leaving Big Barda and Wonder Woman confused, but Diana gritted her teeth when she repeated the name that had given the God of War such joy. “…Circe?” {Batman, what’s happening on Laputa?}
{I’m just returning there now-- Diana-- Circe’s on the island, she’s pregnant with Ares’ child and is seeking sanctuary.}
Wonder Woman’s eyes went large and she growled “Door!” before stepping through the portal that opened onto Laputa with Barda.
Across the border in Khandaq, no military force had been assembled in the face of the now-aborted invasion.
A single man, clad in black and gold, his cape flapping gently in the slow desert air, floated above the line separating his country from Bialya.
The gold bolt of lightning across his chest crackled with power, but as he watched the Annihilator fall apart, as he watched Ares teleport himself away to parts unknown, the man once known as Black Adam nodded slowly to himself, content that no further war would be waged over the place he called home.
Teth Adam headed back to the royal palace in the capital Shiruta, plans to be made for the future…
LAPUTA:
Mister Miracle was thrown across the room by Ares as the God of War entered the medical wing of Laputa. He rubbed his finger down the wall, removing one of the sigils marking the wall designed to mask Circe from his gaze.
“Did you really think all these spells to keep Circe hidden from me would prevent my being here for the birth of my daughter?”
Zatanna hurried into the room and saw Mister Miracle pulling himself up, then saw Ares trudge toward Circe, who was currently holding onto her newborn daughter and screaming for help. “SerA teg tuo!”
Ares stood his ground as a colossal force of magical energy rushed past him, but he was able to continue moving toward Circe, an eager look in his eye. “You could never keep her from me, my darling.”
“Leave her alone!” shouted Zatanna.
Ares grinned. “Giving up on your backward magic? Already?”
Mister Miracle leaped at him, but bounced ineffectually off the back of the God of War. He rolled backwards and leaped again, this time going for Ares’ eyes. He clawed at his eyes, trying his best to distract him away from Circe, but Ares shrugged him off once more.
Ares simply laughed. “I see her now. I have her. Nothing you can do--”
"Edih ecriC dna reh rethguad morf serA," said Zatanna.
Circe vanished from sight and this caused Ares to howl in anger. “Damn you, bring her back!”
“I don’t think so,” said Hawkman, shooting into his room and shattering an Nth metal mace across Ares’ jaw.
The God of War was staggered, but laughed it off and grabbed Katar by the ankle. Before he could swing the Thanagarian down into the ground, a mangled Majestic tackled him through twelve interior walls, resulting in them skidding across to the harbour outside into the far wall that protected the island from waves.
“Didn’t I kill you already?” spat Ares.
“I’ll never die,” spat Majestic, shooting energy beams into Ares’ face and pummelling the God of War without hesitation. Majestic’s body had already started to heal, teeth back and ruptured flesh sealed but Ares wasn’t going to go down easy. He grabbed Majestic by the throat and drove him back, even as the half-rebuilt Cyborg and the recharged Doctor Light appeared on the scene and started attacking.
Ares sniffed the air and then vanished once more, appearing in another part of Laputa where Circe was being guarded by the Guardian and Blue Beetle. “Oh, crap,” said Ted.
“Give. Me. My. Daughter.”
Wonder Woman slammed her fists into Ares back, sending him falling to the floor. “Beetle, get her clear!” The Guardian joined Diana in attacking Ares, Big Barda arriving quickly and trying to hold the God of War down, but he surged forward, pushed Beetle into a wall and grabbed Circe, spinning her around and bringing his sword to her throat.
“Listen to me. Listen. I will kill her. Before you even move to stop me. I will slit her throat and leave her body for you to clean up.” Flakes of light lifted up off Circe’s skin as all the protective enchantments Zatanna had placed on her were removed by Ares’ actual presence. Their daughter slept soundly in the arms of her mother, even throughout the chaos of the last two minutes.
The Justice League assembled behind Wonder Woman and the Guardian. Harper could hear Diana whispering. What was she saying, in that ancient tongue she sometimes used? Were they prayers?
“I can take him,” growled Barda, wiping blood from her nose. “Look at him. The extra energy is leaving him. He’s becoming weaker.”
“We’ve not had any luck so far,” said Cyborg, gripping his damaged torso.
“You might hurt the baby,” said Doctor Light. “Just--”
“Quiet, you stupid mortal-- I will take my child and raise her how I see fit, away from the prying eyes of gods and mortals,” said Ares. “But first, look at you. Look at you all. I can see right through you: Warriors--” His eyes met Big Barda, the Guardian, Hawkman, Majestic and Mister Miracle. He turned his attention toward the Atom, Blue Beetle, Doctor Light. “--Intellectuals--” Cyborg and Zatanna. “-- Hybrids--” Wonder Woman. “--Champion--” Then finally, at Batman. “--Protector..”
“What’s he--?” started Blue Beetle, confused by the God of War’s statement. Doctor Light clutched his shoulder, the intent clear. Beetle went quiet and they could see the last of the enchantments on Circe untangle.
“Next time, one of you will die,” said Ares. “And this paltry marble in the grand scheme of this universe will burn under the foot of the God of War.”
Before he could say anymore, there was an immense crack of lightning that landed between Ares and Circe and the Justice League. Smoke drifted upwards, and out from it stepped Athena, Queen of the Gods, patron of Wonder Woman.
The Guardian saw Diana smile. Her prayers were answered. With the mystical safeguards lifted, something else on the god spectrum could enter Laputa.
“Enough,” boomed Athena, taller than even Majestic, her dark brown hair plaited all the way down her back, her body covered in silver armour. “Enough of your machinations, Ares. My champion made the call. I have answered. You will bother humanity no more.”
“I doubt that,” spat Ares.
Athena smiled. “You are witness to an intriguing day in the court of the gods, Justice League. Our agendas are rarely one and the same. There is always dissent on matters of importance. But on this, we are finally united.” She raised her ceremonial staff up and then pointed it at Ares and Circe. “The Gods are in agreement. The judgement has been made. I’m pleased to be the one to do this.”
“The baby--” whispered Diana, taking a step forward.
“Ares, from this point on, you are God of War no more. Fallen Olympian. No longer commander of the armies eternal. You have played the games of gods and mortals and failed. Do you relinquish your power willingly?”
Ares laughed, loudly, once, and shook his head. “Like Hades I will.”
Energy began to spark and crackle around the ceremonial staff. “Then by decree of the gods of Olympus; Ares—Lord of War no more.”
Scarlet energy shot out of Ares chest, flowed through Circe—who didn’t make a sound—and coalesced around the tip of Athena’s staff. The God of War screamed, and with one last gasp vanished from sight, taking Circe and their child with him.
“No!” cried Wonder Woman. Athena stopped her champion from stepping over where the trio had vanished.
“The child is unharmed. Ares is depleted. The Gods have awoken, and they have spoken. The war plague has been lifted from the world,” said Athena. “I will have Hermes begin the search, my blessing upon him. We shall find the Witch Queen’s child.”
Diana said nothing. Even in victory, she felt like they’d lost.
“Do you have nothing else to save to me, Queen of Themyscira?”
-The Guardian looked on, awestruck, as Athena loomed over Wonder Woman. Diana looked up, sadness plain on her face, but she managed a nod and a bow. “Thank you, mighty Pallas. With all my heart, thank you.”
“Good. Diana, war will manifest again, one day, soon,” said Athena. “I only hope my champion, she who I place my trust and love in, will be up to the task of battling what comes.”
Wonder Woman held her hand to her heart. “I will do whatever it takes.”
“That you might,” said Athena. “And it may not be enough.” She glanced over to Batman. “Sacrifices will be made.”
Another catastrophic explosion of lightning and thunder rained down on the spot Athena occupied and she vanished with no more words.
Wonder Woman looked at Batman, who had already turned to leave.
The Guardian was speechless. Blue Beetle nudged him in the ribs. “Wanna ask Athena if she’d accept a reverse membership position?”
“I want to replace you with her,” replied the Guardian, following the departing Wonder Woman as they prepared to take stock of the day’s events.
ELSEWHERE:
Circe sobbed, her new-born daughter swaddled in her arms, as the teleportation spell faded, the location she had been transported to becoming clear. They were in Ares’ secret halls, the hidden kingdom where the now former God of War fermented unrest across the world.
Ares toppled over, his immensity depleted, energies still swirling out from his body. He slammed his fist into the ground and cracks ran through the floor of his chambers. “That… Sow!”
Circe wiped her crocodile tears away, her sobs guttural and loud, their sound so aching and haunting that, until they slowly turned into laughs, deep and maniacal, you would have thought she was actually scared of her beloved husband.
“Are you diminished?” asked Circe.
“Certainly,” replied Ares. He wasted little time removing his battered and broken armour. “But I am more than my role in the world. God of War no more? Then I shall become the God of Revenge.”
“And the Justice League… know of our daughter,” Circe cleared her throat, the pangs of her amusement passing. “They know that she was born innocent and that I fought to get away from you, to prevent her from becoming a weapon in your arsenal against the world. When they meet her next, our darling daughter will be grown, and they will doubt their resolve. They will fall to her, trying to save her even as she kills them. When all is said and done, the daughter of Ares and Circe will rend the Justice League from Earth, slaughter Wonder Woman and take her rightful place as the ruler of that world. And you will be reborn as the one true God of War, and I your Queen.”
Ares grabbed Circe by the hair and she hissed, only to kiss him deeply. He withdrew, Circe’s teeth biting into his lip, and he smiled, even as she tugged. “My darling wife. Let us begin our daughter’s training. Let us begin building our own ‘Wonder Woman’.”
LAPUTA:
On one of the numerous balconies across the island complex, the Guardian watched as the clouds finally parted and the sun began to shine back down on the earth. The horrific storms across the world had all faded, and everything was returning back to normal. No more wars, at least, not for the time being.
“You should know I don’t feel the need to explain myself-- ever,” said Batman, emerging from the building. “What I do, I do for the good of the team, and by extension, the good of the planet. When I’m operating with the Justice League, that’s the scale I consider.”
“Torture is never acceptable,” said the Guardian. “As a means to an end, never.”
Stood behind the Guardian, Batman said nothing. Never explaining himself. Never feeling like he should. Without looking at him, the Guardian could sense the spike in his heartbeat from where he stood. The battle computer installed in his midbrain ran scenarios. Excuses could be made, but it wouldn’t take away from Harper’s statement.
“The war fever had us,” he said, ignoring Batman’s silence. “I wanted to tear Rumaan’s face off, and you could have killed him, but you didn’t, so we’re in the green. But you think you’re the only one who thinks in terms of end of world scenarios in this team?” The Guardian turned and considered the man. Even in direct sunlight he looked intimidating. But Harper wasn’t in the business of being intimidated. “I do too. But that’s the scale I always consider. The many over the few.”
“There are no acceptable losses in the Justice League,” said Batman. “No concept of collateral damage. If we lose a life in the pursuit of justice, then we’ve lost that war. Every. Single. Time.”
“You brought me on because you’re the greatest team of super-humans this world has ever seen, but you’re also the damn well scariest,” said the Guardian. “We have PR nightmares every six months. How easy was it for Kobra to turn the media against you when we first started interacting*?”
*Back during Justice League #38-44
Batman said nothing.
“And then Stormwatch not long after, they sought to undermine the League yet again in the eyes of the public*, and while that didn’t stick, just like the first time around, doesn’t mean it’s not becoming apparent that it’s an easy option. Because what’s scarier than a group of super-humans with their fingers on the trigger? Now, I do my damndest to keep the world safe, just like I did when I ran with the Global Peace Agency, just as I’ve done these past few months, but that doesn’t mean working with you people isn’t the biggest, scariest job of my life. There are no easy decisions. No small fights. The scope of this is massive, the fights-- the wars we have-- are epic in scope. Hell, we fought a god today, a god and his damn war machine. But if we don’t work harder-- respect each other-- then we don’t have a chance in hell to win these battles. The Justice League can’t simply be, there’s more to it than a bunch of folk making nice on an island and flying off into battle every other month.”
*That was in Justice League #46-48
“I don’t have to defend the concept of the Justice League to you,” said Batman. “We both know there’s accountability for every single thing we do.”
“Accountability? Where’s the accountability, Batman?” asked the Guardian. “Tell me that!”
Batman turned away from the Guardian and headed back inside. “There’s you.”
The Guardian watched the Dark Knight leave, and considered the words, while Batman considered what the Guardian said, about the war fever having him. Because Bruce knew that if the world was going to end, he'd do anything to save the day. The war fever? It never had him. And did that leave the Caped Crusader unsettled?