Justice League: The New Wave (IC)

He sniffed subtly at the mix that were placed in front of him, it had a strange smell, not the cheap liquor he had smelled before on drunken people, but it had the same tone.

"Well I do watch Mtv quite a bit, I am sure I can bust a move if need arises."

He took a sip, found it not too bad and took another sip, not bad at all. He then looked around, "Are you asking about dancing because it used to be warrior training tools or do you want to start a conga line with this music?"

TertiusHuman said:

He sniffed subtly at the mix that were placed in front of him, it had a strange smell, not the cheap liquor he had smelled before on drunken people, but it had the same tone.

"Well I do watch Mtv quite a bit, I am sure I can bust a move if need arises."

He took a sip, found it not too bad and took another sip, not bad at all. He then looked around, "Are you asking about dancing because it used to be warrior training tools or do you want to start a conga line with this music?"

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Sighing Renegade looked over at him. "How many ways can one person be a virgin?" she asked half exasperated. "I'm asking because I'm trying to understand you. The way you think determines what you'll do in a fight. We've gone into combat a few times and so far everyone seems to be more of a loner. No one fights with each other, or really helps them out. Well Everyone except Miss Martian and Wonder Girl. Those two are in sync. But they still don't sync with the rest of the group."

Varshanka said:

Sighing Renegade looked over at him. "How many ways can one person be a virgin?" she asked half exasperated. "I'm asking because I'm trying to understand you. The way you think determines what you'll do in a fight. We've gone into combat a few times and so far everyone seems to be more of a loner. No one fights with each other, or really helps them out. Well Everyone except Miss Martian and Wonder Girl. Those two are in sync. But they still don't sync with the rest of the group."

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"Well that is easy to answer. All ways. Growing up in a jungle, held secluded because of my appearance and power and now suddenly I am in the wide world. I have no experience, only knowledge." He lifted the drink, "This is a complete new for me. Being in a place with an age restriction is new. Sitting next to a... Female, that is new." He shrugged, "In fact I am experiencing so many new things when I come near any of the group, that I feel like a caveman in a modern age."

He sighed and took a sip, "Fact is, we can fight together, when we do, we are awesome. But the whole teaming together is lost because we see each other when we are called up to fight. You are the first of the team to take time to talk with me. Kaldur spoke with me when I went to him, Thea is always busy and I have no idea where anybody else is. So we tend to be loners in battle because nobody even came to drink milkshake with me after the fight."

TertiusHuman said:

"Well that is easy to answer. All ways. Growing up in a jungle, held secluded because of my appearance and power and now suddenly I am in the wide world. I have no experience, only knowledge." He lifted the drink, "This is a complete new for me. Being in a place with an age restriction is new. Sitting next to a... Female, that is new." He shrugged, "In fact I am experiencing so many new things when I come near any of the group, that I feel like a caveman in a modern age."

He sighed and took a sip, "Fact is, we can fight together, when we do, we are awesome. But the whole teaming together is lost because we see each other when we are called up to fight. You are the first of the team to take time to talk with me. Kaldur spoke with me when I went to him, Thea is always busy and I have no idea where anybody else is. So we tend to be loners in battle because nobody even came to drink milkshake with me after the fight."

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"Well Hells Bells you got a lot of catching up to do then." Renegade replied. "I don't do milk shakes. But.. if you sucker punch someone in this bar - other than me - I'll have a milkshake with you. And we'll see if we can take care of a few more firsts for you."

Varshanka said:

"Well Hells Bells you got a lot of catching up to do then." Renegade replied. "I don't do milk shakes. But.. if you sucker punch someone in this bar - other than me - I'll have a milkshake with you. And we'll see if we can take care of a few more firsts for you."

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He shook his head and downed the rest of his drink in a few big swallows. "It isn't about the milkshake. It is about spending time together, to train together. To be honest, we are only a team at the moment because we are forced to be one."

He got to his feet, "But you're on about that milkshake."

He gave her a grin and walked off towards the restrooms. He returned shortly and paused next to a rather seedy looking fellow who sat with two burly bikers. When he swung the fist, it connected perfectly behind the jaw, sending the man sprawling limp as a rag doll to the ground.

"And your mother wears Army panties!"

TertiusHuman said:

He shook his head and downed the rest of his drink in a few big swallows. "It isn't about the milkshake. It is about spending time together, to train together. To be honest, we are only a team at the moment because we are forced to be one."

He got to his feet, "But you're on about that milkshake."

He gave her a grin and walked off towards the restrooms. He returned shortly and paused next to a rather seedy looking fellow who sat with two burly bikers. When he swung the fist, it connected perfectly behind the jaw, sending the man sprawling limp as a rag doll to the ground.

"And your mother wears Army panties!"

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Jumping up the bikers went for Garfield while the man picked himself up. Watching as his companions moved to either side of Gar before the moved in with broken beer bottles and knives.

Renegade just sat and watched, he needed to earn the milkshake. But she'd cover him if the shit got deep.

Typical of the flanking movement, the beer bottle attack went high and straight for the eyes, while the knife made a sneaky underhand thrust for the kidney. Garfield of course knew nothing of this, but with enough animal senses to warn him of his immediate danger, he ducked to the left, pivoting. Twisting out of harm's way, the bottle missing completely, but the knife scratching at his jacket.

"Ole Torro!"

He kicked the rising opponent in the head and backed away from the two bikers, so far nobody seem to care about the scuffle and Garfield used this indifference to back away towards the entrance a silly little smile on his face.

"Geez and here I thought you guys heard him call my momma a boot wearing commando. No need for violence though, I am just a guy who stands up for his mother."

All he got in reply is a string of swear words, some of them including his mother. As he paused, the beer bottle wielder came at him. Garfield casually flicked an empty chair in front of the man as he jumped clear. Watching the man getting tangled up by his momentum. He glanced at Renegade who was now seated to his side.

"You do know that you told me to sucker punch somebody. You didn't say anything about taking on guys two times my own weight."

He grinned and dodged the thrown beer bottle which crashed against the front wall next to the door.

"Whoops! Well if you are so intent on beating me up, let's take this outside."

And he advanced in a different direction. In other words, he ran for the door.

TertiusHuman said:

"You do know that you told me to sucker punch somebody. You didn't say anything about taking on guys two times my own weight."

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"I didn't tell you who to sucker punch either. You picked your own target." Renegade told his retreating back.

Watching as the scuffle moved outside the assassin followed, He was doing ok on his own, at least while the boys played nice and didn't pull the guns they were packing. But if they did that then she'd get involved. She wanted to see how Gar handled himself, not attend his grave, Renegade had already attended so many they'd forgotten what it was like to lose someone they cared about. Now attending a funeral was usually for another contract. Sometimes a person would die just to draw the true target to a graveside.

And then someone did a bad thing a pulled a colt anaconda out from under a jacket. Built to punch through engine blocks and Kevlar. That earned the offender a hard knuckle to the carotid artery, and a long nap in the trash outside the bar.

Garfield kept up his retreat, guiding the two men towards an alley, once inside the alley, he ducked behind a dumpster. As expected, they rushed the dumpster and found nothing but a mangy alley cat who hissed at them and then ran into the shadows. They searched, but could not find Garfield, they grumbled and retreated back into the bar, barely glancing at Renegade as she dumped the offender into the thrash. It had nothing to do with them as they only showed allegiance to their own.

Following after, Renegade moved through the alley with ease. Alley's (even ones in New York or LA) were far less deadly then Glaciers or jungles. Back on the street she waited for him to reappear, if he didn't she'd just go back to his Dorm Room...

Varshanka said:

Following after, Renegade moved through the alley with ease. Alley's (even ones in New York or LA) were far less deadly then Glaciers or jungles. Back on the street she waited for him to reappear, if he didn't she'd just go back to his Dorm Room...

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The mangy alley cat slunk out of the alleyway and came up to sit next to her, it was such a dark green hue that it appeared almost black. It looked right up at Renegade with that look which was every feline's look of 'I just had the best cream... after throwing your milk bottle from the table and eating your canary' on it's features.

Strangely enough, the cat represented Mittens from the Disney movie Bolt. It blinked it's green eyes slowly, then got up and head-butted her boot, rubbing it's back across the boot and then with a nonchalant "Mreow" sauntered off.

TertiusHuman said:

The mangy alley cat slunk out of the alleyway and came up to sit next to her, it was such a dark green hue that it appeared almost black. It looked right up at Renegade with that look which was every feline's look of 'I just had the best cream... after throwing your milk bottle from the table and eating your canary' on it's features.

Strangely enough, the cat represented Mittens from the Disney movie Bolt. It blinked it's green eyes slowly, then got up and head-butted her boot, rubbing it's back across the boot and then with a nonchalant "Mreow" sauntered off.

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"You can walk all the way back to your apartment if you want.. But it's in the other direction, and my bike is as well. Can you do different breeds of dogs and/or cats? Or is it just one cat or one dog?" Renegade asked, turning and heading for her bike. There was no way she was walking all over town, even if she did have eternity.

Varshanka said:

"You can walk all the way back to your apartment if you want.. But it's in the other direction, and my bike is as well. Can you do different breeds of dogs and/or cats? Or is it just one cat or one dog?" Renegade asked, turning and heading for her bike. There was no way she was walking all over town, even if she did have eternity.

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The cat kept on walking, ears pricking and then racing off into a different alley. Moments later a hawk came flapping out of the alley, a mouse in its beak. Dropping it half way back to Renegade and landing in a flutter of feathers on her shoulder. Looking at her, the bird changes the minute details which gives away gender. Then it shifts into a Peregrine, undergoing the same gender change, then it settles in, seemingly satisfied that a question had been answered.

End game in Central Park.

Grim glanced around at the commandos slapping ammo into their guns and readying their hatchets. That was something that was weirding him out. They were dressed in their black body armor, visors down, and whispering on their communication channels. Grim was logging it and managing the comms for them. But it wasn’t that interesting. Just those hatchets. Thirteen grim, military men with their guns and armor preparing to attack a tree?

Couldn’t they just fire a missile at it. That had been his first suggestion. Nuke it and move on, but Marx really wanted to keep things on the down low. Grim preferred to light it up.

Watcher had lost sight of Boyo. Marx had no idea where the man was. It was one reason why they were sitting here with their thumbs up their asses. Just to stick it to Marx, which brought him no end of joy and amusement, Grim cut into their comms.

“Alpha team is in pos-” Cutter was starting to say.

“So,” Grim said, “Helligan is getting close on figuring things out, I think. The infowar is dying down.”

“Someone cut him off,” Cutter said. Grim didn’t like the man, but then again Grim didn’t like any of these people. They were all people of hard angles and rough lines. Code was binary, but that didn’t mean it was simple. Complexity emerged from the intersection of simplicity compounded upon itself. Life was complex. Even simulations, which all games were, needed complexity. Yet here they were, standing in the world of meat, and these people wanted to be simple, to digress back to ones and zeros.

“As my asset, you will abide until I have need of you.” Marx said over the open channel.

“Sure thang bossman.” Grim forked over traffic monitoring to one of his sprites, which was really just some keyword monitoring with a little intelligent creativity thrown in for good measure. Instead, he logged back into Athos and killed another thirty minutes drinking at a tavern. #2 was heads down with keeping Helligan busy. Watcher was nominally watching the immediate surroundings, but also tracking numerous feeds around town and throughout the park. Four was busy compiling modifications to the new template they were working on.

Grim was as surprised as anyone else when Boyajian just appeared from the edge of the clearing around the subject. To Grim, who was a creature of electrons, something about Boyajian’s frame gnawed at him. Boyajian was all soft lines and curves in a way it hadn’t been before.

Grim saw Marx lift his hand to his mouth and say over the comms, “Boyajian are you ready?”

“Waye…” The line crackled with static. ”Dy.”

“Repeat, Boyajian.”

“Drax…” The line crackled with static. “Way.”

“Clean up the line, Grimsby.”

“Yeah, sure…fuck, looks like Helligan.” Grim waded through a lake of data with the help of Watcher and he pulled in #2 for additional support. “There’s a drone in-bound with rotating encryption ciphers. Might be a ploy to draw my attention.”

“All teams go.” Marx said, without a hint of tension in his voice. If anything his voice had gone deader than usual. “Repeat, mission is a go.”

“Let’s go people!” Cutter shouted over the tacops channel. The most grim-reaper looking lumberjacks rushed from their positions in three tactical locations around the tree. Four groups of three moving like shadows running over the emerald green grass. One remained behind to give support.

Grim had to pause in his work to admire the grass. It was so green. Like a field of polished emeralds that glowed like LEDs in the moon’s light. How could he have missed this before? Grim pulled himself away from the onslaught on the drone’s encryption scheme to watch not the men but the grass. It was intoxicating. He’d only seen colors this vivid in his dreams, when he touched upon the Dreaming.

“Wait!” Grim called out over all frequencies.

“Too late,” a voice whispered from three feet away. “Nice try though.”

Boyajian continued to walk through the landscape of the Dreaming. The grass was wet like a canvas that hadn’t yet dried. The green clung to him. It clung to all the special forces rushing at the tree. The bodies of the special forces men didn’t handle the transition into another dimension nearly as well as Boyajian was. Their bodies began to loose consistency in those places where they weren’t paying attention or where perhaps they’d imagined improvements. Even the thoughts of others could impact a dream when shared so intimately.

Grim whirled and called all his selves into himself. In a shadow of one of the park’s many light posts a man in black stood. He glanced at his watch and smirked. He was dressed in a perfect black suit with a long black coat jack that went to his knees. His arms were folded behind his back. Black five buttoned vest, slacks, and snake skinned boots.

“Time doesn’t hold sway over dreams.” The man glanced towards the scene. The lumberjack special force operatives were at the trunk.

Technically Grim had satisfied the terms of his arrangement. He really wanted Marx to fail without that failure being tied back to him. He hesitated.

“Yeah,” the man said, “I didn’t think you had a bone in this fight.” He didn’t smile, but his eyes softened. “Ah, see, you needn’t have worried.” He nodded at the scene unfolding.

Grim’s eyes didn’t leave the man. Already the light was calling out to him. He wanted to release it in a giant, radiant explosion of electrons. He hated the darkness. Watcher relayed the scene.

A girl had appeared out of nowhere with the largest, blackest sword he’d ever seen. It was something straight out of Berserk. Was she his enemy? So many people of the night moving amongst each other, trying to kill each other. Alerts triggered within his headspace. The drone had been a decoy. Fuck. Really police were coming. A lot of them.

“They always have each other’s backs,” the man in black said, nodding towards the girl with the giant sword. Bullets fired at her seemed to pause in mid-air or get sucked up by the sword somehow. The sword itself was an abomination, Grim felt it in his being.

“Wait, what?” He was struggling to track this man’s obtuse way of speaking, while trying to figure out an exit strategy himself. Grim tried to give the man his full attention, despite his other selves busy doing other shit. Even Four was now present working through some formulae for a ritual they might need.

“Mary’s sister,” the man said, “Didn’t quite make it out of Kiz’s wake as well as Mary herself.” Now he did give a small little smile. “Ah well, this should be enough to get him evicted.” He turned back to look at Grim. “You know, I wasn’t sure if I’d like you or not. I’ve never really gotten along with the light touched mortals.”

“Fuck it,” Grim said, raising one of his hands towards the sky. It was always easy channelling positive electrons this way. It didn’t take much effort to channel them backwards to the sky if he could get a lock on his target. There was some work streamlining the circuit, maybe some efficiency gains here or there.

“Lightning? Really.” The man sighed just before one billion joules of energy arced from the ground to the sky, the streamers connected and the charge they carried came across at the speed of light. The bolt that struck the man was 20,000 degrees celsius. Thunder cracked the sky in its wake.

Grim didn’t let up for 300 milliseconds. He poured most of what he had stored in his hoodie to keep the onslaught going. The force obliterated the man. At least he assumed it was his attack that had. Fuck. Grim reeled around looking at the scene. Now Marx knew. Fuck, everyone probably knew.

The sword lady had dispatched the lumberjacks, but she was not having as easy of a time against both Boyajian and Marx. It was like watching Agent Smith attack Neo. The two men worked like synchronized copies of each other. Her blade was sickening but whatever had changed in Boyajian seemed to have changed in Marx. They were two shadows cast from the same body.

“Grimsby detain her!” Marx shouted for what Watcher reported was the fifth time.

The sword lady was doing a great job, but she was on the defensive for some reason. Maybe she was protecting the tree? That was #2’s analysis. “Fuck, all in then.” He sighed. “Are we ready Four?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s join up then.”

“AOE?” Four asked.

“No,” Watcher cut in. “Facial recognition from what’s available. She’s one of the cultists. Marx was right.”

“Great, I’ll never be rid of this fucker.” Grim raised his hands and let Four’s harmonization with the Deep Resonance synchronize all of them. Light bled from his pores like he was in a Gatorade commercial leaking neon. So much of it. He took it from the moon and the lights of the park, from the stars and the windows overlooking the park. He pooled the electronics between his eight hands. Ghostly afterimages of his other selves worked around the orb of light as it grew. Grim didn’t work with sonic energy, so his magic wasn’t verbal so much as visual.

His imprint upon Creation bled over from the Deep Resonance in perfectly spaced Courier Font.

Daylight Orb of Light’s True Radiance appeared around the orb as the spell continued to build and mount, temporarily suspending the proper rules of Creation to allow this magical effect to bleed over from Athos.

Reconfiguring…

Applying meta context…

Narrow beam mode engaged…

All eight palms pushed outwards and a narrow beam laser shot out. Light was fast but the lady somehow anticipated its arrival enough to catch it with her blade. The laser was eaten by the darkness within her sword, but it took all of her attention. Grim kept the onslaught going. It gave Boyajian enough time to dart past her and slap something onto the trunk.

Hannah sat bolt upright screaming, her father's leering face fresh in her mind. No matter how capable she was this was something she was still coping with. He had hurt her. He had done the unforgivable, he had taken from her her freedom of choice. Hannah had been able to keep a leash on this, unless of course she was to sleep alone. It was interesting to her that she could keep control over the nightmares when she had someone else near her but when she was alone she couldn't keep his face from haunting her. She was going to need to find a bed warmer or three, maybe more. She would see to that when she went to the clubs later that night. Savannah Belle never had a problem with that. She knew at the club she could have any man she wanted. But it was time to get moving.

The nude woman rose out of the bed and glided across the room to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and let it get good and hot before climbing in. A nice long shower later and a room service order later Hannah felt more like herself. Nothing made her feel better like a bloody steak and eggs. Her wardrobe arrived as she ate and she selected a nice tame outfit for going to meet her sister and her new friends. Plain cotton under things, artfully distressed jeans with just a few tears showing just a hint of thigh, a black AC/DC tee shirt, short soft brown suede ankle boots with no heel at all, her long blonde hair in a messy high pony tail, and her make up just done enough to appear modest.

Hannah thought a bit. What was her real end goal here. What exactly did she intend to do when she got her hooks into little Jo Jo? Then it hit her. She was going to honor the woman that had been an inspiration to her. The woman that had inspired her to suggest the idea of the Pit to Papa Nash. The woman she had emulated when she got the tattoo on her right leg. It was her time to become the southern white trash Roulette. To take the Pit away from Papa. To make it her own.

But was that enough? Was it enough to just take it from Papa? No, it wasn't. She thought about it a bit more and made a decision. Once she had the Pit she would kill Hannah Nash. She would become Savannah Belle completely. She would maintain her adult entertainment empire and grow it into human trafficking as well. Porn, prostitution, and blood sport. Right up her alley. Papa's leering face would become a face of terror at what he had created. Hannah was going to steal every bit of light and joy from Papa. He could keep the booze and drugs. He could go right the hell on being the Colonel Sanders of Crime. Savannah Belle would become the queen of vice.

She shook herself out of her reverie. So it would be to get the powerhouse sister on her side, maybe even one or two of her teammates. Then to get them down south to the Pit. She could keep her father distracted long enough, she thought, to gain control of the Pit. The old man had no idea the potential the place could bring to the right person. Everyone liked a bit of blood sport after all. Football, boxing, MMA, hell even professional wrestling had a fan base. What would meta human MMA do for society? Why watch plain old humans bleed when you could watch Gods bleed? What would happen when Gods were reduced to the Pit? Hannah smiled. It wasn't a beautiful smile. It promised things dark and evil. Things only people like her cousin Lucas and she understood. Primal, cruel things. But first she needed to get her first batch of participants. She needed little Jo Jo.


She checked her phone and smiled at the text and got the address Doug had sent her. A short cab ride later and Hannah was walking into the building that the new League called home. She approached the reception desk and smiled that big southern belle smile that she hated so very much and said in a honeyed voice "I hope y'all can help me. I'm looking for mah sister. Her name is Jo Nash. Is she in?"