[Sephiroth Graal]
|Mythical Item|
DxD - A Longinus Created by God, once someone gets in possession of the Sepiroth Graal, they are granted knowledge of Soul, Death, and Life of the highest order on the level of a god, allowing its user to manipulate souls and life as long as they can withstand the mind-crushing levels of information that come from possessing it.
[Stable] - Silver Ticket (Enter Cadmus and Discover the Kryptonian Clones.)
|Uncommon Trait|
You will never lose your balance from anything short of your legs getting sheared off.
[Exoskeleton] - Silver Ticket (Escape Cadmus.)
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to grow a very sturdy exoskeleton armour over your body to give you enhanced endurance and powerful protective armour. The power and durability of the Exoskeleton scales with your physical stats. Manifests as Dragon Scales.
[Tool Manipulation] - Silver Ticket (Rescue Roy Harper.)
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to assign an object weighing less than your lifting strength as a target, you can telekinetically control the target with extreme precision as if it were a limb.
[Fire Resistance] - Gold Ticket (Successfully complete a mission.)
|Rare Trait|
You are naturally resistant to fire and fire-based effects and attacks, such as being set on fire, high temperature environments, or being hit by fireballs. This resistance scales with your basic stats.
Anyhow, have a happy daynight, byeeee.
[Pyrokinesis] (Previously Micro Pyrokinesis)
|Elite Ability|
Allows you to produce and control flames, your own or natural flames. You have fine control over the flames you control, being able to shape them into arrows, blades, walls, projectiles etc.
[Ichor] (Previously Lifeblood)
|Epic Trait|
It is Ichor that flows through your veins, granting you extreme vitality and a natural healing factor as well as incredible poison and disease resistance. Even as a regular human, you will live to see your late thousands. Your blood also has healing properties and is an excellent potion ingredient.
"I've simply activated an ability I have." She elaborated without actually saying all that much. "Still, your missing friend is likely down here. If you could guess which floor?"
"Uh… Robin? Any ideas?" Kid Flash asked, and Robin turned before frowning.
"Did you ever watch that Astroboy movie?"
"FORTY TWO!" Kid Flash nodded quickly, and she frowned. The answer to life and the universe?
Wasn't that from Hitchhikers- nevermind.
"Then we try forty two to begin with." She declared, getting nods from the three boys, and then let her Kakuja unfold enough that her eyes became visible. Which was enough to make them flinch.
Right, she hadn't shown Robin her eyes while using the Kakuja.
"Do not be alarmed." She gently stated, her voice still thankfully echoing. "I have difficulty perceiving non-living things with the helmet fully covering my face."
"I-it's more about your eyes." Kid Flash said, and she huffed as Kaldur pried open the elevator door.
"You're a squire to a hero, young man. Surely you've seen worse than black eyes?"
"Yeah, but not with slit pupils." He grumbled as he entered, and Mordred blinked before filing that away. She didn't know how many things changed with her Dragon Core, but she supposed she was going to find out. "How do we get down?"
"Robin?" She asked, and the boy quickly shot a rope at the roof of the elevator shaft and jumped down. "I believe the men outside will handle the flames before they consume the upper building. Avoid getting separated if you can, and do not rush off on your own."
She looked at Kid Flash as she took hold of the rope, daring him to argue, but thankfully he nodded instead. "Good. Now we need to catch up to Robin before he rushes off."
"He always does…" She heard Kid Flash grumble as she rappelled down, before blinking when they only got to floor 26.
"You didn't get the longer grapple?" She asked gently, and the boy frowned but nodded. "Don't worry, we'll see about getting you a longer one. We're already incredibly far down, you couldn't have known."
"Yeah…" He grumbled, before straightening up when Aqualad and Kid Flash joined them, and she held out a hand to pull Kid Flash onto the narrow ledge. "Alright, I can get through the security encryption, what do you think we'll find on the other side?"
"What do you believe would require them to have so many floors down here?" She asked rhetorically, before humming. "Weapon projects. Experiments that are considered immoral. Missing friends. You three will stay close to each other, do not rush ahead. And be patient if I tell you."
She can see the set in their jaws, but they all nodded, and she felt relief. Robin would follow her lead, at least, and Aqualad is a soldier. Kid Flash, she knew, was incredibly impulsive, so getting his agreement was important. "I do not say this to insult you, or imply you are less capable. I say it because we are in unknown territory. For all we know, this could just be a minefield. Some kind of disposal site. We could be walking into a wall of radiation, or some airborne plague."
"Right." Aqualad nodded, and that mollified Kid Flash. "Robin?"
"Got it. Security's down." Hearing that, she got her fingers in between one of the elevator doors, Aqualad copying her on the other side, as the both of them forced it open, letting the four of them slip inside.
Still… "This is a lot of metal, hidden underground. I'm surprised they have not been discovered through your sensors before. Civilian or otherwise."
"Infrared cameras should've picked this place up months ago." Robin nodded as they looked around, but Mordred felt it first. Stomping.
Holding up a hand, she waved them to the side of the wall just as the… G-Trolls? G-Ogres? Went by, carrying smaller Genomorphs. Which didn't seem to notice them.
Odd.
"Move forward." She ordered quietly, slowly moving through the hallways and doing her best to not let the tension get to her. She could fairly reasonably survive almost anything down here, of course, but only Kaldur had any form of increased durability. She was worried. "Give me your thoughts."
"The myth of Cadmus was a man planting dragon's teeth to create a new race." Aqualad gently said as they took point beside the corners of the hallway, leaning over to check the coast was clear. "That must be what they're doing here."
"For what?" Kid Flash asked, and Mordred grunted.
"Any number of reasons. Money. Power. Convenience. Or, they could be one of the eccentric types, and did it simply because." She hummed, before waving a hand forward. "Robin, see if you can find an access terminal."
"Already on it." He said, starting to run, and she followed after him, Aqualad and Kid Flash following behind without her needing to say anything.
Still, the sheer electrical humming made the skin on her arms prickle up as they entered the…
"They keep them in pods, like animals." She softly said, looking around in an odd… not-quite horror. "This is wrong…"
"It explains how they stayed off grid though." Kid Flash gently said, looking around. "What are they?"
"Genomorphs." Robin said, causing the three of them to look at him. "Their stats are crazy, though. Super Strength, psychic powers, pack tactics to hunt down and destroy-"
"They're creating an army. Or…" Aqualad looked around again, "or they're breeding slaves for their purposes."
"Whatever they can squeeze out of them." Kid Flash grimaced, before shaking his head. "We need to get to floor forty two, right?"
"Wait a second." Robin said, staring at his computer. "I've found something. Project KR. It's ten floors under."
"Robin." She gently said, and he looked at her with a blink. "Do you wish to rescue your friend, or investigate this first?"
"Well… we can get back to floor forty two." Robin said confidently. "Unless they move him…" he added, a bit less confidently, and she gently put a hand on his shoulder.
Still… "KR. That's an element on the periodic table, no? Krypton?"
The three of them were silent for a moment, before Kid Flash summed it up. "Oh shit. They're growing Kryptonians."
"Which means we need to get down there, now." Robin nodded, removing his port and quickly running, the three of them rushing after him.
She was waiting for Guardian to interrupt. Was he not aware they were here?
Why?
Was it her presence? Or was it something else?
She had a bad feeling that the other shoe was going to drop.
"Elevator's open." Robin called quietly, and soon enough the four of them filed inside. His finger hovered over 42, and she gently clasped her hand over his. The shaky breath he let out told her he was a bit more rattled then he let on. "Yeah. Sorry." He whispered, before pressing 52 instead.
"Don't apologize, Robin. It is a difficult decision to make." Mordred softly said. "I will split off once we arrive, and search for others. Provided I am successful, or nothing happens, I will be able to find my way back up, and hopefully get him out of there. We will get him out. Mark my words."
"Yeah, and even if he can't, I sure could!" Kid Flash grinned, though his confidence was hollow. Still, it did the job of making Robin smile, so she nodded to him.
"We will free Speedy, and hopefully prevent Cadmus' plans from seeing the light of day." Aqualad said, and Mordred hummed.
"Can you carry water with you in your weapons?" She asked, and he blinked before nodding at her. "Once we are outside of the elevator, I shall create some water for your usage."
"You can do that?" Robin asked, before clearing his throat. "Right, later."
"For now, stay together, do not let yourselves be separated, and do whatever it takes to defend yourselves." She ordered, just as the doors opened.
No Genomorphs. "We either haven't been discovered yet, or they're waiting for us."
"Let's hope it's the first and prepare in case it's the second." Robin stated, and Mordred nodded before holding out her hand toward the wall and creating water, doing her best to not react when it splashed out with the force of a line cutter instead of the heavy stream she was expecting. "Woah."
"How'd you do that, anyway?" Kid Flash asked, and Mordred debated for a moment if she wanted to get into a debate, before deciding she'd go in depth later.
"I will say magic and not elaborate further until we're out of danger." She stated as Aqualad gladly took the water, before she grunted. "Stay safe. I will return when I am able."
"Right." The three of them took off, and Mordred let out a small sigh before she started walking.
If she was a completely hidden project to grow a full Kryptonian clone, hidden behind something, where would she be?
'Where are you going? Your companions are heading toward the Superboy.' A voice echoed out through her mind, and Mordred blinked before humming.
"They wouldn't make only a single clone." She softly stated. "A single 'KR' wouldn't be on the cards. So I am searching in hopes I find the other, or others. Will you help me?"
'I will assist where I am able. I am Dubbilex.' Dubbilex's voice was calm, gentle, and she nodded. 'Where do you believe it would be?'
"Off the path. The primary path leads to KR, so they'd want to keep the others separate." She softly stated, before pausing in front of a wall, and sniffing.
Blood. Flesh. She couldn't tell the exact amount. "Here."
'I do not believe I am aware of anything behind here.' Dubbilex gently said, but Mordred just walked forward and took hold of a barely there seam in the wall and pulled. It was hard, but Superboy could do it, and she was fairly sure she was about as strong as he was, provided she increased her level of Lycanthropy.
Not enough to get a snout or be covered in fur, but enough that her legs and arms got longer.
Still… Staring at the pods on the other side, a large amount of them occupied instead of empty…
It took a lot to not lose her dinner.
Shaking her head to banish the horror that wanted to well up, she walked to the first pod displayed, wiping off the head area and blinking. That would be Match, right?
He was the one she expected to be down here. Now all she needed to- his eyes snapped open.
… "Uh oh." She blinked, before his fist rocketed through the glass and punched her through the rock behind her.
Pushing herself up, she glowered at the clone boy, and then grimaced. He was basically mentally an infant, right? Or, a toddler?
This was going to be hard…
[End.]
No tickets this chapter, Mordy's in for a tough fight.
"Did you really have to knock out that lady?" Wally asked, but Kaldur just frowned at him. "Look man-"
"Dude, we're down however deep we are in a cloning facility that she knew about." Dick looked at his friend, also with a frown on his face, and shook his head. "Just focus on something else. No one knows we're here yet, except for her, and as long as she's asleep, we don't have problems."
"Well, we do have a problem." Wally said, staring at Superboy. "What do we do? Red Knight said he was searching for something else, right? What?"
"They wouldn't make just one clone." Dick clicked his tongue, because he was worried about Mordred too. "So, he probably went off to make sure. See if he could find any other cloning pods."
"Oh. That makes sense, actually." Wally nodded, before taking out a granola bar and chewing through it quickly. "I'm glad I had a big dinner."
"It is fortunate you did." Kaldur nodded, crossing his arms. "Still, we can't leave him here. They wish to turn him into a slave, a weapon."
The three of them looked at each other. "Let him out." Kaldur asked, and Dick nodded, listening to the hiss the pod made.
He was on guard, of course, because for all they knew, the guards had found them. But on the off chance they hadn't, this should be something they could diplomacy their way through.
"Stay prepared. Do not let him separate us if it comes down to a fight." Kaldur quietly stated, and Dick nodded, while Wally cracked his shoulder. "Hopefully it does not come to a fight, but if it does…"
"He's stronger than us, faster than us, and could probably kill us if it came down to it." Dick nodded, before sighing. "Kinda wish Red Knight was here. S- he'd probably knock the guy on his ass if it was necessary."
"Red Knight's that strong?" Wally asked, but before he could continue, the Superboy stepped forward. He didn't look immediately hostile, at least. "Superboy?"
Robin tensed, grabbing a few gas pellets as he shifted, and his paranoia paid off when Superboy immediately rushed Aqualad. "Bring him down!"
"Right!" Aqualad said, grabbing Superboy and activating his tattoos. The electrocution worked, causing the guy to stumble back, and Robin took advantage of that, slapping a gas pellet onto his face. "Kid Flash, trip him!"
"Right!" Kid Flash nodded, swiping at the Superboy's legs, causing him to fall. "Aqualad, restrain him!"
Nodding his head, Aqualad wrapped his water around the Superboy, brow furrowing in concentration as the water formed a bubble around everything but his head. And while the Superboy thrashed angrily, there was little more than that.
Panting, the three of them nodded at each other, but didn't relax just yet. If the Superboy got out, they'd need to fight him again until he did stop. "Okay. We got off to a bad start." Robin began. "Do you know where you are, and who we are?"
Superboy frowned at them, glaring at each of them angrily, before nodding. "Kid Flash. Robin. Aqualad. The three of you shouldn't have been enough to beat me."
"Well that's a little insulting." Kid Flash commented, before putting his hands on his hips. "And of course we couldn't beat you normally. You're a Kryptonian. So we had to restrain you."
"I should be able to fly out of this, or freeze the water." Superboy said, glaring down at himself, and Robin paused. That was a very excellent point. "Why can't I?"
"Maybe they're keeping you from your powers somehow? A mental block or something so you don't get too strong and get away from them." Robin suggested, and then wondered if he had any codephrases logged in his head. "They might've put a bunch of codes in your head so you couldn't get too strong, or betray them."
Like with Roy.
Superboy looked angrier, somehow, before he looked at them. "Let me out."
"Are you going to attack us again?" Aqualad asked, and Superboy blinked, before shaking his head. "Why not?"
"You…" Superboy trailed off, and looked like he was concentrating. "You got me out. They've put blocks in my brain to keep me from everything I should be, right? You didn't. You wanted to get me away from here. I… I want to help you."
"Well, that's good." Kid Flash blinked as the water receded from Superboy, and Aqualad's gamble paid off when the guy didn't immediately go back to attacking them. "We need to group back up with Red Knight."
"Who?" Superboy asked, but was interrupted when a body flew through the wall to the cell they were in, the four of them turning to see Red Knight, armor cracked and slowly reforming, standing back up with a stumble.
"That all you got?" Red Knight asked with a grin, before running back through the hole, and the impact of armor on flesh rang out. What was happening…
"That was Red Knight. He came with us down here, we were here to find our friend, his name is Roy Harper. He was cloned." Aqualad quickly said as the four of them rushed over to the hole, watching Red Knight fist fight another Kryptonian clone. "Did you know about that one?"
"No." Superboy shook his head, looking angry and distressed. "We need to stop them."
"Why?" Robin asked with a frown, because he'd noticed that Red Knight was avoiding debilitating shots, and wasn't using her dagger.
"I think… I think his conditioning wasn't finished." The three of them froze.
"Conditioning like… like mental growth?" Kid Flash asked slowly, and Superboy nodded. "So he's… basically a toddler?"
"Basically."
"Shit!"
Rubbing the blood off of her face and flicking it, she grinned at Match, who growled at her in a feral way. Waving her hands forward, she avoided his first swing, slamming a fist into the side of his face that made him stumble, before grabbing the wild swing that followed and slamming him to the floor.
She didn't actually know how long they'd been fighting. And in the back of her mind, she wondered if getting her Dragon Core changed how her body processed things. She was stronger now, definitely, and tanking hits that would've laid her out before. They still hurt, BADLY, but she was alive, and able to keep fighting.
Still, Match was wild, angry, and whenever she threw him to his back, he had a tantrum, slamming his fists to the floor. He hadn't used heat vision, yet, which was surprising.
But she was getting tired. Even with how much energy her core let her output, and with Lifeblood boosting her vitality, and the strength she got from her Kakuja and her Werewolf form…
She was getting an ass beating.
Jumping back to avoid the sudden kick, she ducked under the second, before bringing her fist up to slam into his, feeling something creak in her before the rush of stolen energy took its place, giving her a bit of pep and a bit more strength.
Forcing as much of her Lycanthropy into her arm as she could, she slammed a fist into the boy, actually succeeding in driving him back this time, before she shifted, deactivating Blood Tax and swapping in Pyrokinesis, before wrapping air around the boy and snapping her fingers.
The explosion was so much more than she expected, sending her skidding back, but thankfully having the desired effect on Match, the boy slamming into a wall and not immediately getting up. Panting heavily, she knew that wasn't it though, so she quickly swapped in Blood Tax, and was rewarded with a very powerful jab to the stomach, causing her body to fold over.
She could taste blood. Swallowing it down, she grabbed his arm and increased her level of Lycanthropy again, her legs making contact with the ground, and more importantly, giving her leverage. Grabbing tight, she spun, slamming him into the floor once. Twice. Three times.
Then she grabbed his foot, and did it again. Three times. He kicked her in the head when she tried for a fourth, little bastard. But she was making headway, and most importantly, as long as Airlock was active around the two of them, he couldn't fly, or do that rushing punch shit again.
The hardest part of this fight was that it felt like her attacks weren't doing much of fuck all beyond giving him mild scrapes. Kryptonians were bullshit.
"RAAAGH!" Match shouted, tantruming again, and this time the laser vision came out, which she had to avoid before getting a stupid idea. Turning off Lifeblood, she felt fatigued, before she reactivated Pyrokinesis and used her own 'heat' vision, the flames locking onto his. She could barely see shit, but she could feel as the heat was pushed back, before she heard a bang.
Deactivating the jury rigged ability, she grinned at the fact that Match was rubbing his eyes unhappily, and quickly swapped Lifeblood back in, letting out a small sigh of relief at the immediate balm.
And when Match got up, he didn't try Heat Vision again. She smirked, even as her Kakuja had almost finished regenerating, before goading him, pointing at herself twice.
She was rewarded with a raging bull, the boy charging again. If she didn't have Airlock, she'd probably be a smear, now she thought about it. The restraint that it caused on his body stopped him from moving as quickly.
She kind of wished that Building could be used in a fight. It'd be convenient. Her thoughts were jarred by the fist to the front of her 'helmet', cracking it again, and she returned fire by jabbing the clone in the ribs, getting a startled gasp for her trouble.
Good. He was bleeding a lot, and the energy she was taking as they fought was keeping her going. But she didn't think she'd be able to handle much more of this without something breaking. Maybe even permanently.
Or as permanent as it could be when she could eventually roll something that'd let her heal.
Throwing him over her shoulder, she dropped down and followed him, slamming her fist into his face as many times as she could, before grimacing at the feeling of her arm bone cracking, even as Lifeblood mixed with the energy she stole from the grapple.
Still, she was thrown like a child's rattle, slammed into the walls, the floor, and even an unlucky idiot that got too close. Guardian, or something?
Thankfully, she was relieved when Superboy tackled his brother, causing Match to drop her and give her enough time to cradle her arm while it slowly healed. Panting heavily, she got back up and watched the boys fight, before feeling a 'click' and nodding.
Her arm wasn't a hundred percent, but as she drove her fist into the side of Match's face, while Superboy punched his injured side, she found that didn't matter too much.
"What are we doing?" Superboy asked, and she grunted.
"We need him to go to sleep. I don't want to do anything more to him, but he won't stay down for long without help. Can you ask anyone?"
Superboy looked to the side, where no doubt Dubbilex was watching them, before nodding. "Yeah."
"Then we need to weaken him enough to put him to bed." She stated, before rushing forward and jumping, just as Match tried to rush her, and slammed her feet into his face, arresting his momentum and slamming him to the ground. "God I wish I'd picked up lightning powers." She mumbled, shaking her head. "Woulda been so fucking convenient."
Superboy rushed past her, grabbing Match as he tried to get up and forcing him back to the ground, holding him down, and she ran over to assist, forcing Match to the ground with Airlock as much as she could without risking Superboy's safety.
That five ability limit made doing shit hard, but Dragon Core meant she wouldn't have any issue keeping Airlock up, and even stronger. "Just go to sleep lil' man. Just go to sleep." She gently said, considering for a moment whether to lower the oxygen content before shaking her head.
It might work. It might also kill Match. Either way she didn't want to try.
Still. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep." She repeated as Match thrashed, and Dubbilex held up a hand. One thrash. Two.
And he was under. Letting out a sigh of relief, Mordred found herself dropping to the floor as relief spread through her body.
She didn't even catch the color of the ticket she nabbed, just cashing it before being surprised at the cup in her hands.
Wait, was that the Holy Grail?
"I think I need a minute…" Mordred said as she laid there, forehead feeling absolutely fucked right now. "God, fought an overgrown Kryptonian toddler… still got my ass beat… How you doing, kid? Enjoying life?"
"They put locks in my brain." The kid, Superboy? Said sadly. "In case I betrayed them."
"That… sounds really familiar, actually." She panted, before leaning up. "I kind of expected to get swarmed the moment I went down. Where're the Genomorphs?"
"Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash said they had a plan. What are we gonna do?" Superboy asked, and Mordred grunted, before trying to push herself up. Unfortunately, the world went sideways, and she went right back down. "Are you alright?"
"I think I have the beginning of a major concussion." She said, before she pushed herself up with a grunt. "Alright. We gotta get onto floor forty two and pick up Speedy, he should be there. Grab your baby brother and lets get the fuck outta here."
"Right." Superboy nodded, and she heard the sound of shuffling as she practically leaned on the wall for support. "Elevator's this way."
"Thanks." She grunted, turning and carefully holding a hand out. "God, is this what it's like to be one of Superman's villains? I just wanna go home. Get some sleep. Ignore life for the next month."
Superboy was silent, but that was fine. Mordred wasn't entirely up to having a conversation right now.
"So." She stood corrected. "Red Knight? I haven't heard of you. They gave me databases on all known heroes currently active."
"You wouldn't have." She grunted, sliding along the wall at this point just to keep herself up. "I'm a very old hero. Not talked about, anymore."
"You don't sound that old." Superboy grunted, but she just chuckled. "What?"
"I'm pretty sure me and all the other fuckers are one of the oldest collections of 'Heroes' this side of the Argonauts. Or the sacking of Troy." She airily sighed. "We crashed and burned. It was messy."
"Oh." Superboy said, and then frowned. "I don't know what to say to that."
"That's fine." She said softly, and he turned to squint at her.
"Are you Galahad?"
"I am not the turbo-virgin, no." She chuckled softly. "If I was Gally, I would've beat the shit out of your baby brother, I'm being entirely honest. In fact, if I were Lancelot, or Gawain, that fight wouldn't have taken half as long, and I wouldn't have gotten beaten half as bad."
"You're not Arthur, are you?"
"No, otherwise I'm pretty sure Ser Justin would've swallowed a bullet. Or made me do it." She huffed, before feeling her head clearing up. "God that sucked. No, I'm not Arthur."
"You don't have enough chains or nails on you to be Agravain…" Superboy rubbed his chin, and she wondered why they programmed so much Arthurian trivia in his head, before blinking and resisting the urge to smack her forehead. She 'stole' Excalibur. Of course they were gonna load him up with it. "Can you grow to giant size?"
"Nope."
"Turn into a Werewolf?"
"I can, but I'm not Marrok, no."
"Wait, you have their powers, but you're not them?" He blinked, before slowly frowning. "Did you steal them, too?"
"I did not, no." She grinned behind her 'helmet', even as she fumbled for the elevator, opening it after a moment. "C'mon. Floor forty two, then we're getting the fuck out of here."
"Right." Superboy nodded. "What about the rest of the clones? And the Genomorphs?"
"I'm gonna tell the League when they show up. If they're missing, someone will know what to do."
"Well… You said you're not most of the Round, and you mentioned Ser Justin… Gareth?" Superboy tried, but she shook her head. "Gaheris, maybe?"
"Nope."
"Percival? Wait, no. If you had the lance you wouldn't have needed to fight him." Superboy shook his head, and despite herself Mordred felt a little fucking irritated that he hadn't guessed her yet. "Balin?"
"BALIN WASN'T EVEN A MEMBER OF THE FUCKING ROUND TABLE!" She roared, before blinking when he snapped his finger.
"Mordred! Wait, aren't you evil?"
"I'm debating becoming evil if you keep being a little bag of shit!" She growled out, before practically forcing the door open when they hit the forty second floor, just in time to watch a very conspicuous pod getting wheeled by some very startled morons. "Superboy-"
"On it." He said, handing her Match and rushing in, dealing with the eggheads quickly and wheeling Speedy back into the Elevator. "Okay, now what?"
"We go up, and we hope that Doctor Desmond hasn't maimed any of the boys, yet." She said gently, tapping the top floor and practically laying against the wall. "I probably won't be in fighting form for the next… I don't know how long. Dragon Vitality helps, but it's not regeneration. Not yet, anyway."
"Oh, right. Arthur's mother was a Dragon. The legends don't really mention that." Despite everything, Superboy looked happy to talk about old myths, and she smiled.
"Yeah, well… Blame 'Grandfather'. Uther was useless, and taught 'Father' that a ruler had to be a moron at the best of times."
"And the whole thing with Morgan-"
"I do not want to talk about my mother."
… Blessed silence.
"So what's being the Knight of Betrayal like?"
"I'll let you know when my concussion heals."
"Sorry." He huffed, but she just grunted.
Her eyes focused as part of the helmet receded to let her see the open world, and she winced at how bright everything was. Thankfully, she didn't have blurred vision, right now, but god she had the worst migraine in the world.
… What was this?
Skill Evolution brought on by Dragon Core?
She'd go over that when she could actually think.
"So… what was the Questing Beast? It was a Giraffe, right?"
"I don't know." She grumbled, rubbing her face as the information flowed through her head. "Every time someone described it, the description changed. Sometimes it sounded like a giraffe, and then it had a snake's head. And then we had a sojourn to the 'dark continent' at one point, found an actual Giraffe, and Gawain ended up chased by a 'Unicorn'."
"Really?"
"It was a Rhino. Nothing like an actual Unicorn. I think at the time only Galahad and I would've been able to approach one." She waved a hand, too tired to give a shit how she knew this. "If we get out here and the boys are fighting a giant man, you blast his ass. Kay?"
"I thought you were Mordred?" He grinned, and she glared at him.
"Smartarse." She rolled her eyes at the cheek he had. Wasn't he meant to be emotionally stunted? No, wait. No one came out of Arthurian Lore without becoming a smartarse. Even Monty Python got that part right.
… He also got Lancelot compulsively stabbing people right, even if not at that point in time.
"How're you feeling?"
"Still feel like I got hit by a train, but I'm getting better. I think I got stronger at some point, either before or during the fight with your brother." She softly said, standing up straight as they hit the top floor. "Getting better. Are you ready?"
"Yeah." He nodded as the doors slid open, and they got a front row seat to the three boys struggling to defeat a Doctor Desmond that hadn't gotten all of his skin ripped off.
… Why did she feel like her blood was involved with this? Whatever, later. "Superboy, go for his legs. Break them if you need to."
"Right." Superboy nodded, while she slowly went through the effort of dragging Speedy's pod, and Match, out of harm's way. She kind of stopped paying attention at some point, but by the time she blinked, she was outside, sitting by a still thankfully unconscious Match, a Roy in a tube, and a collapsed Cadmus building in front of her.
Did they take out the support pillars? Must've. "Boys? Sound off if you're still alive."
"Here."
"Yup."
"I am here."
"We're alive." Superboy grunted as the four of them crawled out of the rubble. "Desmond's alive, too."
"Good. Get over here, take a break." She ordered, and slowly the four of them came to sit beside her. "What a week, huh?"
Chuckling, Kid Flash pushed her shoulder. "Captain, the week hasn't started yet, it's only Monday."
"Thought you'd be the type to read Tintin." She chuckled, leaning against the pod. "Fuck today, kids. Genuinely."
"I'm impressed you defeated a Kryptonian by yourself, actually, without the worst case scenario happening." Aqualad said, and she waved an arm negligently. "Are you well?"
"I'm slowly healing off a severe concussion, and or brain bleed. So, I'm not, but I will be." She stated quietly. "Kryptonians hit very hard, and I had to outlast one."
"Sounds like you all had a busy night." She blinked, before looking up at every single member of the Justice League dropping down. Superman stared, likely looking at Superboy and Match, with a very conflicted expression, so she gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Still, it was Oliver that spoke up, dropping down off of Green Lantern's construct to walk up to Speedy's pod. "God… They took his arm…"
"I can probably fix it when I'm over my concussion." She offered, and then blinked at the concerned look she was shot. "Oh, right. I had to fight Match, the unconscious Kryptonian. He never underwent 'conditioning' so he was mentally a toddler, and lashing out."
"Christ..." Oliver stated, before covering his mouth with a strained smile. "Oop, none of you heard that."
"I think we all heard that, Green Arrow." Batman stated, walking up beside the man. "Red Knight. What did you find?"
"Clones." She stated softly. "Lots of them. Match was the only one that woke up, some of them were half baked. But they're down there, on floor fifty two. Or they were. They might have been moved by the time you get back down there, or liquidated."
"Hmm. Green Lantern, I have a new job for you." Bruce called, and she grinned.
Tomorrow was gonna suck, but for tonight? Tonight, she did a good thing.
And that was enough.
"So? How'd they do?" Bruce asked her as she laid in Wayne Manor's infirmary, and she let out a small sigh.
"They did well. Followed orders, came up with plans, and they stuck together to fight what they had to. I give them gold stars."
"And how are you feeling?" He continued, and she grunted, shifting as she ignored her splitting headache.
Still, better a splitting headache then a concussion. "I'd say I did fairly well fighting a Kryptonian by myself for as long as I did. I might have been a bit forceful at points to make sure none of them rushed off recklessly and got themselves captured, though."
"Forceful can be good. Once the stakes were clear, they fell in line because they understood you wanted to keep them safe." He passed her a glass of water, and she took it gladly, drinking it down. "Do you think you'd be able to lead them?"
"If I needed to? Yeah, yeah I could." She nodded her head. "Do you want me to?"
"Yes."
"Alright then." She said, and that was that. "What will I do when I have leaves of absence, or a mission goes too long?"
"Alfred will be able to cover for you, just like he's doing today." Bruce said, and she smiled at him. "Superman is… nervous. About Match and Superboy's existences."
"I don't blame him. Guy's suddenly a dad. Just, remind him of my fucking name, please. I don't want a repeat." She softly said, and took in the widened eyes of Bruce. "That came out a bit rougher than I meant it to."
"But you're not wrong." He said back, looking… more uncomfortable then he was before. "I was going to tell him he needed to be in their lives. The rest of the clones, I'm not sure if all of them will survive, but some will, and they'll need guidance. I didn't think about your own situation, and how it could be paralleled."
"You wanted your friend to 'take responsibility' without considering how he felt about the situation. It happens." She waved a hand. "Still, don't batter him about it. But mention to him that resentment can build up. Did you give Wally and Superboy a card for money and clothes?"
"I did." He nodded, leaning against the table. "There should be plenty on there. Now, I have one final question about your report?"
"Yeah? What is it?"
"What's this?" He asked, holding up the Grail, and she clicked her tongue.
"You already know."
"I didn't want to assume, and I didn't want to be correct." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Having access to the Holy Grail is dangerous, and makes you almost as much of a target as holding Excalibur does. You could be in danger."
"I'm not going to spit on their memory by not using it." She firmly said, cutting through the bullshit. "I'm sorry, Bruce, but the Grail decided to show up. I now have almost all of their abilities. I don't know how, or why, but I do. I'm not going to advertise that I have it, but I will be using it to keep those kids alive. If the League's enemies find out, they'll come, and I'll be ready."
Ready enough, anyway.
Still, Bruce stared at her, and then nodded. "Alright."
"I'm glad we had this talk." She softly said with a smile. "I'm starting to heal faster, and have ever since I helped Roy, I think. Made you all aware of his programming."
"Good. Next time, I'll give you some Kryptonite in a sealed box if you need to fight another Kryptonian. What will we do with Match?" He asked, and her mind flashed to how lost the kid was when he woke up.
"We help him." She softly said. "I don't know if he's stable, but Superman needs to help him. He's a baby in an adult's body. Even if he doesn't like it, that's irresponsible."
"I'll talk to him. Make it clear that even if he doesn't want to take them in, he needs to help." Bruce said, before standing up. "Get some rest, Miss Pendragon."
"Take your own advice, Mister Wayne." She grinned back, before leaning back into her bed.
A half a day of bedrest more, and she should be fine. She'd figure out how her skills had changed later.
Right now she was tired.
Blinking awake, Mordred let out a bone cracking yawn as she stretched, the haze over her vision now long gone and telling her that her concussion, or maybe it was a brain bleed at the time, was gone.
God, next time she decided to fight a Kryptonian toddler in an adult's body, she needed to figure out a way to not get ripped apart. Scratching the side of her face, she blinked at the feeling, and then looked at her arm.
Red scales.
Blinking again, she pushed herself out of bed and over to the mirror, staring in surprise at the scales on the sides of her face going down her neck. Shifting her shirt down a bit, she noted that they coated her collarbone as well, and grinned, before shifting through her abilities to figure out which was doing this.
Exoskeleton? When did she activate that? And what happened to Lifeblood?
"Miss Pendragon?" Alfred's voice echoed out, and she turned with a blink as the man opened the door carrying a tray of breakfast. He stared at her, but didn't stop his stride, placing the food on her bed. "Are you well?"
"Well enough." She nodded. "My concussion's gone. Woke up like this, though."
"I noticed." He smiled, moving to take the bandages off the top of her head. "If I may ask what left you so damaged last night?"
Letting out a sigh as she let the man fuss, Mordred reached over and snatched a bit of toast off of the platter, taking a moment before she ate it to speak. "I had to fight a Kryptonian toddler in a full grown body. Without killing him. It was difficult, and I had to keep taking hits just to tire him out."
"Oh dear." Alfred commented in concern, but when the bandages came off, there was no red patch or spot on it. Not even any tenderness when Alfred tested her head with his hand. "No pain?"
"None." She smiled softly. "What's on the agenda for today?"
"You are going to rest up for now, and learn of the new changes you've undergone." Alfred gently but firmly said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And then we shall be hosting a Gala."
"Shit." She sighed, even as she turned off Exoskeleton, when did she pick that up, and felt her scales recede. "Is there anything specific I'll need to do there? Some form of brown nosing, maybe?"
"No more than just being polite, young lady." He chuckled softly. "If they act so boorish as to offend you, you are more than welcome to escort them off the property, or inform me and I shall do it instead."
"Thanks, Alfred." She softly said, before humming. "So what's the occasion?" She asked, eating more of her breakfast.
She was starving right now for whatever reason.
"Well, after that little kerfuffle with one of the board of directors getting hold of your blood, which I don't believe was a coincidence at all," Alfred added, and she paused in eating her toast to look at him, before nodding slowly, because that was a fair point, "we started donating to children with long term or debilitating diseases. While I disagree with what happened, I am glad it's being put toward something helpful instead of buried in a vault somewhere, and Master Wayne has decided to throw a gala as a fundraiser."
"Makes sense." She said, a bit roughly. She hadn't thought twice about her blood being stolen, because that was just what happened in this world. She probably should've thought about Blockbuster not having all of his skin torn off.
Then again, she was in the middle of either a severe concussion, or worse.
Still, another issue. "Who do you think's going to attack the Gala when one of the Rogues inevitably shows up?"
"I'm thinking it will be Scarecrow. He hasn't made an appearance in a long time." Alfred gently said, and she frowned. Fear toxin… that sounded awful.
"That could go badly." She commented. "Don't actually know what my fear response is going to be."
Alfred looked at her for some reason, and then chuckled. Frowning, she tilted her head at him. "What?"
"Mordred, I'm fairly certain that I am able to predict your fear response, and I truly fear for Doctor Crane's life in such a case." He said before walking out of her room, leaving her to puzzle out just what the fuck that meant.
Crunching her toast, Mordred started on the sausage, and was pleasantly surprised that Alfred made her an english breakfast. How nice.
Still, she grumbled to herself, cause fuck did that mean 'I fear for Doctor Crane's life'? She wasn't that violent.
… Then again… She did activate her Kakuja to try to capture Catwoman.
And she swordbeamed Two Face.
And she beat a Kryptonian in a fist fight, even if Match was really a baby…
"Am I a violent person?" She asked herself, looking at Rocks-Calibur. "Maybe. Probably runs in the family. Father was vio…lent…"
Her frown deepened, and she let out a small sigh. She was getting more and more of the actual Mordred's memories. And Artoria definitely had a temper.
Was this what Shirou went through with EMIYA?
If so, she didn't like it. She couldn't remember her old home, anymore, just Camelot.
… Then again, she could also be in a situation where she was gaslit into thinking she was someone else, and her memories were slowly trickling back. Mother was an acclaimed sorceress and illusionist.
"Shit." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm gaslighting myself at this point just from how little I actually know."
And Introspection wasn't really helping, just telling her that she was uncomfortable with her thought process.
Letting out a sigh, she shook her head, putting the platter on her nightstand and getting ready.
She was working late tonight.
"Catering crews finished, no sudden surprises." She checked off, giving one of them a second look because she was pretty sure that guy worked for Two Face, but then again you took what work you got in Gotham, and Henching could be legal. Actually, "Hey, you're Jerry, right?"
"Yeah." He nodded, scratching the back of his neck. "No hard feelings?"
"I just wanna know if Two Face is doing anything so I know if I need to grab the shotgun. Alfred guessed Scarecrow." She offhandedly mentioned, but the man shook his head, and actually looked a bit nervous. "If you're nervous about his Fear Toxin, the industrial fans will kick on with a flick of a switch."
"Oh, thanks." He let out a small sigh of relief. Still, with that marked off, she walked out of the kitchen and met up with Alfred. "Catering's ready, no sudden surprises as far as I could find."
"Excellent. None of the chauffeurs have mentioned any surprises in the vehicles, so I doubt we'll be seeing the Ventriloquist or Great White today." He nodded his head, and took her clipboard. "Which leaves a few other possibilities. Just stay on guard, and it should be fine. In the meanwhile, please stay in front of the door and act as a greeter, I will be with Master Bruce and Master Richard tonight."
"Alright. If I get dosed first, you'll find out real quick." She said with a small grin to hide her discomfort, rubbing her jaw as she made her way over, standing in front of the door with her hands behind her back.
All she had to do was stand here, politely greet people, take the money they donated, and that was all she needed to do for the night.
Simple.
Alfred was keeping an eye on Richard, so she didn't need to keep an eye on him herself. Bruce was also taken care of, though she didn't really need to worry about the man himself.
Shifting her collar, she did her best to smile politely but in a disinterested way, and the first of the guests walked in. The Mayor of Gotham, Hamilton Hill. "Mister Mayor." She politely greeted, and the man blinked at her in surprise.
"Oh, I thought Mister Pennyworth would be on the door today. Uh, good evening sir." He held out a hand, and she politely shook it, before he handed her his donation, which if she felt right would be somewhere around a thousand dollars.
Not the largest amount, but he was a mayor.
"I'm sure Mister Wayne will be very glad for your donation. Enjoy the party." She politely nodded, and with that the man left rather than continue to talk to her, though from the corner of her eye she did see the man immediately bee-lining to the hors-d'oeuvres table.
She supposed he knew what he wanted.
Still, the guests filed in, names she kept in the back of her mind if necessary as she politely played meet and greet with them all, some easier to stomach than others.
Yet, as Mister Cobblepott made his way in, she didn't feel the general disgust she expected. Maybe it was the fact that unlike half of the idiots here, he worked for his money?
Legal or otherwise, she could respect the work.
"Hmm, you're new." He commented, and she nodded politely. "I didn't expect Bruce to pick up another Butler, not until he had to."
"Mister Pennyworth insisted." She demurred. "Do you require anything, Mister Cobblepott?"
He stared at her, before smiling. "I like you. Most of the other's new butlers don't have much respect for a 'disgraced' family. No, I don't require much, and I can get a drink on my own. My donation."
He handed her an actual sack full of bills, and she couldn't help from smiling in a subdued way. It was flabbergasting that people stored money like this instead of in briefcases, but she took it and placed it behind herself, where one of the attendants rushed over and took it up to the main stage. "Mister Wayne will be overjoyed by your generosity, I'm sure."
"Of course." He nodded with a smile, walking off, and she let out a small breath out of her nose. So his boys likely didn't give him a physical description of her, or it'd been long enough that he didn't give a shit.
Or he just forgot.
Still, her night couldn't be a good night the entire time. As Vicki Vale walked up to her, she just knew this conversation was going to piss her the fuck off.
"Vicki Vale, Gotham Gazette!" The microphone was practically pressed up against her face, and it took everything she had to not twitch angrily. Thankfully she knew enough to move out of Mordred's personal space. "Everyone in Gotham has been wondering about Mister Wayne's new butler, and I was hoping you could shed some light on how you were hired? And are you related to the mysterious biker that's been spotted coming to and from Wayne Manor?"
Wondering how she handled this, Mordred shifted, fixing her suit. "The only comment I can give is that Mister Pennyworth insisted on my hiring in the event he is unable to continue working for Mister Wayne."
Nodding her head, Miss Vale thankfully fucked off to get more camera footage with the socialites, and probably to get some footage of Bruce standing beside Selina.
Still, she could feel it. That pin drop right on the cusp of falling. She couldn't use the majority of her powers, no matter what happened. There was already footage of her using Pyrokinesis, and Airlock, but that was the extent of it.
She couldn't use her powers.
No matter who walked through the door to try and ruin the party.
And for a little while, she just thought the feeling she was having was some of the party goers, mostly ladies, seeming to ignore her passive disinterest to keep talking to her. Which was weird.
Which led to her current situation. "No, Miss Wycliffe, I am currently working."
"What about when you're off the clock? It'd be fun…" The woman she was talking to sighed in a breathy way, and she had no idea what was running through the woman's head.
She must have been missing something again.
"Well-" she paused, the hairs on the back of her neck warning her something was going to happen. She quickly grabbed and gently threw Miss Wycliffe, whose offense turned to horror just as a cloth sack was held in front of Mordred's face.
"Breathe deep! The party's just begun!" A voice chuckled next to her, and as her vision distorted, Mordred felt only one thing as Fear tried to take hold.
Rage.
As they turned when the sound of hacking and spluttering echoed out from the front hall, Alfred felt irritated that his guess was correct.
Still, the man was marveling right now, observing how his fear toxin affected Miss Pendragon, and despite himself, Alfred smirked. Doctor Crane had definitely bitten off more than he could chew.
And as Mordred's head raised up, the sheer fury in her eyes, that murderous hatred, had even him taking a step back. Whatever Fear it had dragged up had long since been eclipsed.
She stumbled a step forward, but the second step was more measured. The third was a stride. And as her hands ignited into flames, Alfred wondered if Doctor Crane might die today.
And yet, the idiot didn't see anything, even as the rest of the party goers moved back, as they understood that Doctor Crane had unleashed a Beast in his attempt to study the human condition.
"Fascinating." He heard the man's voice echo out. "What drives this anger? Perhaps you have problems with your family? Your mother?" The man grinned, even as Mordred looked half feral now. "No… Father? Yes, it must be. I've only observed Fear turn to Rage a few times, and most of them child abuse victims. Tell me, what did you go through?"
"I'm going to finish what I started." Was all Mordred said as she snapped her fingers, fire blooming to life in a circle around her and Crane. "That day should have ended with you dead. Instead, you walked away under your own power until he helped you end it."
Alfred's mythology wasn't the greatest, but he supposed Mordred had gone through the battle of Camlann. And, consequently, had many scars because of it. "Doctor Crane," his voice carried out, amusement especially, "I would recommend running if you don't wish to die."
She likely couldn't even see Crane. Just Arthur, glaring down at her as he wielded Rhongomyniad. As he drove that lance through her chest.
Yes, this was a mistake the man had made, and he only seemed to start to realise it the moment she swung, the man dropping like a sack of potatoes to avoid the hit that flashed over him, before she drove her other fist into the ground, cracking the marble floor. Clicking his tongue, he was thankful she had the ability to repair things, at least, else he might be quite cross with the damage.
Still, watching Crane yelp, and squeal, and valiantly avoid his death, Alfred chuckled softly, before walking to the stage and grabbing a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, party-goers, staff, and caterers. If you could please make your way out into the Gardens of Wayne Manor, before whatever Henchmen Scarecrow has scrounged up to hide his toxin across the manor wise up that their employer is actively courting his own death, that would be fantastic. Thank you."
"She's like an animal." Oswald commented, watching the sheer violent fury of Mordred trying to either burn Doctor Crane alive, or beat him to death with her bare hands. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, but still."
"It is quite terrifying." Selina commented, as Bruce had already vanished, likely to prevent Doctor Crane from becoming a bloody smear. "Where did you find her?"
"That is an interesting set of circumstances that I do not wish to speak of, but it involved MI6, and that is all I shall say about it." He said firmly, and the both of them stared at him in surprise, before Oswald hummed.
"Must be serious." The man commented, before shrugging. "Is the fire going to spread?"
"I'd say no, because she's quite good at controlling what she burns, but Doctor Crane will likely be carrying an accelerant. So I will say, perhaps. I would recommend we vacate the hall for your safety, but if you wish to stay I cannot stop you." Alfred said, but truth be told he didn't want to leave.
It felt like someone needed to witness this. To see the chains that coiled Mordred's heart, without judgement, or her own bias getting in the way.
Perhaps that was one of the problems that led to Camlann itself.
"Hmm." Oswald shifted, drinking his wine and leaning against the stage. "No. I think I'll stay here. Crane was going to get me as well, and I want to watch him get what's coming to him."
Alfred supposed someone else feeling catharsis for Doctor Crane's situation was also expected. Still, Selina hadn't left either, the doors were open enough he wasn't worried about smoke, and someone had turned on the Kitchen's industrial fans.
All told, there wasn't much to worry about unless Mordred went after someone else. He was thankful, for that matter, that she hadn't used the other abilities she had.
Likely to try and stay 'under the radar'. She'd already shown she could control the air and flames, but the rest of her abilities were new.
He was actually very impressed that even despite the sheer level of rage coursing through her system, she was cognizant enough to not use her abilities. And as he heard the sounds of Master Wayne dispatching those foolish enough to try and use that disgusting little gas in their home, he smiled.
Still, he knew Crane would find some way to make it worse, and watching the man run through the fire screaming, only to turn and throw what was undoubtedly an accelerant onto Mordred's flames, made that perfectly clear.
He frowned, worry beginning to build up, only for shock to replace it, as Mordred walked through the flames without issue, hand moving to pick up a candle plinth, shifting it and pointing it at the ground like a trident.
He may have misjudged Mordred, just a small tad, as he watched the flame that was billowing instead take to the air and spiral around her new weapon, somehow the immense heat leaving her unbothered.
He supposed Crane would get a very good crash course in fear, provided Master Bruce was able to pacify her.
"ARRRTHURRR!" She roared, before taking to the air and jabbing her trident down, and he almost didn't want master Bruce to save the Doctor.
This was his own fault, after all.
Dashing through the mansion as quickly as he could, Dick gave Bruce another worried look when he heard Mordred roar again. "You're sure she's not going crazy on everybody?"
"She's only targeting Scarecrow." He replied, and Robin bit the inside of his lip. "Don't let this color your opinions of her, Robin. Everyone has things they hide away."
"I know that!" He snapped, before throwing a batarang at another idiot, taking the detonator out of his hands. "I'm just worried. What if she does kill him?"
He watched Bruce frown, and then sigh. "Then I expect she'd have an open and shut case of self defense, and forceful drugging. But that is why we're working quickly, so we can get rid of the fear toxin, and get to her before that becomes reality."
"And why don't Alfred or Selina do anything?" He asked, but Bruce just looked at him. "What?"
"Alfred is ex special forces, and is completely okay watching a man die. Selina, meanwhile, is incredibly spiteful when she wants to be, and with the fact Scarecrow was going to also dose her with the toxin, likely doesn't care enough to intervene."
"Oh." He blinked a bit numbly. "So-"
"So we work quickly because we're the only ones who could and will stop Mordred, yes."
"Right." Robin quickly nodded. "How many boxes of Fear Toxin left?"
Tapping the side of his mask, Dick watched something flash out, before Bruce grunted. "We have two more. One's in the main foyer, near Alfred's armory. The other is… In Bruce Wayne's room, actually."
"Dang." He clicked his tongue. "So that one's gonna be well guarded."
"It is, but it will also take us further from the ball room, and by the time we get back, it might be too late." Bruce sighed. "Robin? I need you to trust me. Deal with the toxin near Alfred's stash, then go and see if you can prevent Mordred from killing Scarecrow."
"What if she tries to kill me?" He asked in a small voice, but Bruce just looked at him.
"She won't. Trust her if you can't trust me."
Licking his lips, despite everything he nodded. "Alright." He didn't croak, his voice was firm. "I'll go. Join up as quick as you can."
"I'll grapple out of Bruce's room and into the gardens if I need to. Go." With that, Bruce took off, and Robin growled before taking his own way to the main foyer.
"Oh, sure Batman, I'll just go stop the rampaging dragon woman, and I'll hope she recognizes me while doped up enough to kill a Rhino! What a great plan!" He hissed to himself, vaulting the railing and dropping onto one of the idiots setting up Scarecrow's toxin, slamming him into the floor next to the box, thankfully, before he turned and threw a batarang at the other idiot's neck, the man going down quickly.
He was breathing heavily, and it wasn't because of these chumps.
Taking out cuffs, he quickly got them situated and opened the box, staring at the 'bomb', really just a pressurized canister of Fear Toxin, and quickly disabled it the best he could on short notice.
"I'd almost wish Crane would appreciate the fact that I'm saving his goddamn life!" He said as he took off to the ballroom, skidding around a corner and being mildly thankful yet terrified he could still hear Mordred roaring. "Turn over a new leaf! Stop being an idiot about this! But no, he'll learn the wrong lessons from this, probably try to get Mordred to go off again, and then get surprised when he's disemboweled!"
His hands were shaking. He was pretty confident fighting a lot of people. Hell, he was confident fighting Superboy.
He wasn't confident fighting a full powered Kryptonian. And he wasn't confident that he could last more than ten seconds if he tried with one that was actively trying to kill him.
Sure, Mordred was concussed when she walked out of Cadmus, but she won. No Kryptonite, no bullshit magic. She just beat Match down until he exhausted himself, and then dragged him out of Cadmus, and stopped to pick up Speedy.
He was, frankly, mildly terrified at the idea that he'd have to fight Mordred at all. A woman who, while conditioned, started out swinging her knife like a blunt instrument.
And then started picking up small ways to pick apart his fighting style after their third spar, and started giving him advice after the fourth!
She fought fast, learnt faster, and was constantly gaining new powers. Powers she only sometimes mentioned! And when larping as a Knight, she managed to convince almost everyone that not only was she a seasoned hero, but that she could be trusted to lead them!
And she did! She did it better than he ever could have! She kept him from going off on his own, and she kept Wally from running into danger, and her advice to stick together and protect each other led the three of them to beating Superboy together.
So, yeah. He was nervous, as he made his way into the ballroom, and saw the absolute fury on her face. He was thirteen, his birthday was in a couple months, and he was terrified. More terrified then the time he watched his parents die, and so much more terrified than when he had to fight the Joker.
The Joker had human limits. He could ignore them, but he couldn't push past them. Mordred seemed to figure out niche uses of her powers all the time, taking advantage of the primary effect to activate secondary ones that were far more useful.
And she had dragon scales coating her body right now, as she tried her damn best to kill Scarecrow. Roaring, trying to stab him with a flaming trident, and she'd already burnt off most of his costume from his upper body.
Clenching a fist, he sucked in a breath and he ran just as she finally got him in a corner, spreading his arms as he stopped in front of her. "MORDRED, STOP!"
She moved, and he wrenched his eyes shut. But, after a minute, he didn't… feel dead?
Slowly cracking an eye open, he saw the trident, the prongs stopped just before they'd have gone into his chest, and Mordred staring at him as she panted heavily, before it dropped from her fingers and caused Scarecrow to yelp. He was probably covering his face.
Dick's legs felt like jelly, but she'd stopped. She hadn't killed him to try and get to Crane, and instead she was just standing there, breathing heavily. Not moving.
"You got him. That's enough." He said, not knowing just how the hell he was staying calm right now, but his words worked, and Mordred blinked slowly. She stepped back, and nodded jerkily, before her eyes snapped down to Scarecrow, and the cloud over them faded fully.
"Leave, Scarecrow. Or I'm pinning you to the floor by your chest." She ordered, and the whimpering man ran, practically rushed out of the Wayne estate and into the waiting police van. Then Mordred looked at him, and he couldn't help feeling nervous. "Sorry, Robin."
"I… it's fine. Consider me…" He'd make a 'whelmed' joke, but… no. "Pretty overwhelmed, actually."
Bruce grappled in, and Dick let himself drop to the floor, breathing heavily. He felt like he was gonna throw up.
Maybe this was why Bruce didn't fight Superman's villains unless he needed to. That was… horrible.
Still, Mordred put a hand on his shoulder, and part of him wanted to flinch. The other part of him, that had sparred with Mordred, relaxed.
"Robin. You can go."
"Right." He nodded at Bruce's words, before rushing off, grappling outside and making his way to one of the hidden entrances to the Batcave.
The moment he got back in, he was laying down, and he wasn't waking up for anything.
Not even school!
[End.]
No tickets yet, that'll be next chapter. Not much to say, there's a gif I saw of Agravain walking through flames, that's your visual.
Byeee. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:pingmaster35000, Secretemail391@gmael, mz213 and 452 othersdesolatedsabersMonday at 2:22 AMReader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks To-be-hero-XThe number one heroMonday at 2:32 AMNewAdd bookmark#656Thank you for the chapters
desolatedsabers said:Doctor Crane had unleashed a Beast in his attempt to study the human condition.
"Fascinating." He heard the man's voice echo out. "What drives this anger? Perhaps you have problems with your family? Your mother?" The man grinned, even as Mordred looked half feral now. "No… Father? Yes, it must be. I've only observed Fear turn to Rage a few times, and most of them child abuse victims. Tell me, what did you go through?"Click to expand..."Open mouth and close" is this guy for real serious bro you should be running right now!! Not trying to study her !!
desolatedsabers said:Alfred's mythology wasn't the greatest, but he supposed Mordred had gone through the battle of Camlann. And, consequently, had many scars because of it. "Doctor Crane," his voice carried out, amusement especially, "I would recommend running if you don't wish to die."Lol Even Alfred is telling you to run the fuck a way
desolatedsabers said:I'd almost wish Crane would appreciate the fact that I'm saving his goddamn life!" He said as he took off to the ballroom, skidding around a corner and being mildly thankful yet terrified he could still hear Mordred roaring. "Turn over a new leaf! Stop being an idiot about this! But no, he'll learn the wrong lessons from this, probably try to get Mordred to go off again, and then get surprised when he's disemboweled!"LMAO even robin is done with this shit
desolatedsabers said:gif I saw of Agravain walking through flames, that's your visual.Badass!!!
I just realized something guys batman doesn't need to worry about his no kill rules because if all of his villain as dumb as scarecrow then they already going to kill themselves before batman snaps
"Okay, Mordred, you're getting closer to having all the shit that the other Mordred did, but that's fine. It's perfectly dealable, in fact." She rubbed her forehead as she stared at the mirror. "You've got more important things to focus on compared to the fact that Fear Gas brought you to the Battle of Camlann. No, right now you need to figure out how to comfort a thirteen year old who was understandably terrified of you in a situation where he had no guarantee I wouldn't kill him. Easy. Only, not at all."
Mordred sighed as she bent at the waist and leaned on her arms, head up against her hands as she breathed a sigh. After a moment, she smacked her dresser, threw on her suit, and walked out of her room. First thing's first, check the cave.
Honestly, she didn't particularly enjoy elevators, but there was something about the Batcave's that got rid of most of her paranoia. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't trapped in a box, and couldn't feel it creak.
Maybe it was the lack of wires above her. The thing's pushed up, instead of levered down.
Still, she walked into the Batcave to see Selina sparring with Richard, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him into a hold that Mordred was pretty sure meant to be more distracting than a grapple, before she swept his legs out. "Yield?"
"Uh-huh…" The dazed kid said, nodding his head, and Mordred shook her head with a grin.
"I don't think it's fair that you do that to him, Selina. He's a growing boy." She said as she walked over, and the both of them stared at her. Thankfully, Selina just smirked after a moment.
"Hey, in this line of work, everyone's going to try and get an advantage, and there's a lot of pretty men and women among the ranks. I'm just getting him prepared for when another lady tries." The woman shrugged at her, and Mordred acknowledged the point.
Bit cruel to do to a thirteen year old, but Ivy would probably do the same. Or just hit him with that love gas or whatever it was.
Did she have that here? Hmm. Not important. Sitting on the railing, Mordred was thankful she couldn't lose her balance short of her legs getting cut off. "You two got a minute?"
"What's up, Mordred?" Richard asked, rolling over and back onto his feet as he stood up, while Selina just raised an eyebrow at her.
"I wanted to apologize to the both of you." She softly said, scratching the side of her face as she tried to think of the right words. "I mean, mostly you, Richard. No offense, Selina, but I was treating you like a burglar."
"No, I get it." Selina nodded, putting her hands on her hips. "I was more rattled by you feeling like you were going to eat me, and I was mad at Bruce for putting me through that. What was that, by the way?"
"One of my powers comes from a world where the only superpowers they have are cannibalism based." Mordred shifted on the railing, putting her arms on her knees. "I don't need to eat people, before you ask, and I don't want to either, but it still feels like you're getting hunted by a larger predator when I use it like that."
"Oh. That makes sense." Selina nodded. And then cleared her throat. "The larger predator part, not the cannibalism superpower world. But that's not important."
"It's not." She shook her head, before looking at Richard. "Richard, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I genuinely scared you bad enough you thought I'd kill you, drugs or not. I'm sorry that you had to put yourself between me and Scarecrow when I was about to get him with a trident. And I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you last night about it, before you went to bed. I'm glad you trusted me enough to know I'd stop, but you shouldn't have been in a situation where it was necessary to begin with."
She didn't look away from him, and from the stunned look on his face, he didn't expect the apology, opening and closing his mouth, before coughing, and looking to the side. "Y-yeah. Uh… apology accepted."
"No no." Selina said with a grin, pushing him forward. "Now you hug."
"Do I gotta?" Richard asked with a frown, but still walked over. Standing up, she sighed through her nose before pulling him into a hug, gently patting his back, and after a moment she felt him squeeze tightly, frame shivering.
She ignored any sort of feeling that could've been brought by stress, like wetness on her shoulder, or the tension leaving his body. Just pat him on the back, and then let him step back. "Feel better?"
"Yeah." He nodded, folding his arms. "Thanks, Mordred."
"Of course. My job is to take care of you and Bruce. And Maybe Selina as well." She hummed. "And, maybe more in the future."
"I don't know if I'm ready for kids, quite yet." Selina commented with a smile. "But, hypothetically, if I was what kind of name would you suggest?"
"Helena." She said immediately, before blinking. That was… Huntress' name. Yeah. "Helena Kyle-Wayne."
Selina's eyebrows raised as her head went back, blinking rapidly, before she shook her head. "You had that name on deck, quick."
"Just felt right." She shrugged. "But, yeah. I'm gonna be looking after all of you for a long time. So of course I want you to be happy and healthy, Richard."
"It feels weird hearing anyone but Alfred call me that." He admitted, scratching his neck. "Feels really weird."
"Yes, well, I'm from the British Isles, we don't really call Richards 'Dicks' over there anymore. Barring a small handful." Mordred grinned. "And I'm not sure I want to constantly be calling you Dick."
Blinking, she reached to his collar and pulled off two of her tickets, a gold and silver, and wondered what they were for. She'd find out later, but she cashed them and then put her hands in her pockets. She'd find out what she got when she wasn't talking to them.
"I guess that's fair. Just feels weird." He rubbed his arm, before humming. "Hey, Mordred? Can we spar?"
"You sure?" She asked, and he nodded, so she stood up. "Alright. Fist fighting, or do you want to learn more weapon combat."
"Fist fighting first, please. I need it in case I get disarmed."
"Alright then."
Walking into the dining hall later that night, Mordred smiled at the tangible progress it felt like she was making with her hand to hand, and her weapon fighting.
The Bronze ticket felt odd considering she didn't get one last time, but maybe it was a quantity thing.
Still, Alfred had fixed dinner, and the five of them sat there, Bruce giving them all a smile.
After a moment, she cleared her throat. "So. What's the news saying about me?"
"See for yourself." Bruce gently said, handing her the newspaper, and she blinked at the headline.
"New Wayne Butler unveiled to public, then forced to fight Scarecrow by himself until Batman and Robin intervened. Scarecrow last seen willingly running into police van with broken legs, severe burns, various lesions, and other assorted damage. Commissioner Gordon has no comment. The Wayne Butler is unavailable for comments at this moment." She read out, and then tilted her head. "Am I really that androgynous?"
"Only in a suit, generally." Selina said with a hum, sipping on some kind of juice. "There's probably more on the other page."
"I'll read it later." She said, handing Bruce back the paper and digging into dinner. A nice steak always hit the spot. "Thanks for the meal, Alfred."
"Of course. We'll need to see about training you to do it yourself as you acclimate to more duties." Alfred commented, and she smiled at the man.
"I'd like that."
"Fantastic." Alfred nodded, sipping his tea and then delicately placing the cup down. "I'll start you off with something simple, and hopefully soon we'll have you making Master Bruce, Lady Selena, and Master Richards' dinners yourself."
Smiling, Mordred shifted in her chair a moment and returned to dinner, before she blinked, swallowing the food in her mouth and turning to Bruce. "Oh, uh. How are things going with Catherine?"
"Who?" Selina frowned, but Bruce just smiled.
"A woman from the homeless camp Mordred lived in before she ended up working for Master Bruce." Alfred said. "She's incredibly determined to get her son, and only her son, out of poverty. And asked Mordred to help her with that endeavor."
"Oh." Selina mumbled, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry, Bruce."
"It's fine. I know how it sounds without context." He waved a hand, and then hummed. "She refuses the idea of me setting the both of them up somewhere. She's convinced that if she tried she'd burn her money away or ruin it for Jason. So, following Mordred's advice, I'll be taking him in. I just hope Missus Todd doesn't do anything extreme afterwards."
"I hope so too." Mordred sighed softly. "But, I do think Jason'll do well here. He's got a good brain underneath all the attitude."
"So you're taking in another kid?" Richard asked, but didn't look too bothered, at least. "How old is he?"
"Ten, right now." Bruce said. "He'll be eleven soon, though."
"Do you think he'll end up doing what I did?"
"If he finds the Batcave, probably." Mordred said before Bruce could answer, causing the man to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "I meant it when I said you and Jason had a similar thought about Justice."
Bruce stared at her, and then slowly nodded. "I understand."
"Well, it'll be nice to have someone else around here." Richard commented, before scratching his neck. "N-no offense, Mordred, Selina."
"It's fine." She waved him off, while Selina looked like she was considering messing with him before pushing the thought out of her mind. "Have you heard anything from Kid Flash about Superboy?"
"Actually, yeah." Richard nodded. "They stopped a robbery by the terror twins earlier today while shopping. The newspeople actually loved him, even if he had to be pushed away by KF before they could ask his name."
"We should probably figure out a name for him." Mordred commented, rubbing her chin. "Actually we should do a lot of things for him. Get him acclimated to things. Have you done the H-Vac in that mountain, by the way Bruce?"
"I would have forgotten about it if Alfred didn't mention it being awful to clean it out around here, but yes." Bruce nodded, while Alfred sent him a pleased smile. "Don't look so proud of yourself Alfred, it was serendipitous and nothing more."
"Continue to tell yourself that, Master Bruce." Mordred chuckled at the sheer confidence in Alfred's tone, before clearing her throat.
"So, Selina. When are you moving in, and how many cats will you be bringing?" She asked, and Selina blinked at her in shock? Did she misread that?
"We hadn't really talked about it yet, how did you know?" Selina asked, and Mordred looked at Alfred, who nodded at her.
Oh so they were both stupid.
"What's with that look!?" Selina demanded, and Mordred looked at her and raised her eyebrows in exasperation. "What!?"
"Selina. You're eating dinner with us, and I found you in the cave earlier today. It was pretty obvious you were gonna be moving in." She flatly said, and the woman gaped at her like a fish, while Bruce seemed to be choking on his water now to hide his laughter. Likely to avoid getting clawed in a delicate area. "So, how many cats are you going to be bringing over?"
"Just miss Fuzzymittens." The woman grumbled at her. "The rest of them are rescues. I'm currently in the process of re-homing them."
"Alright, good to know. I'll add catfood to the list of weekly replaced items." Mordred said, getting up and walking over to the, in her opinion, stupidly large fridge and writing it down on a list in the middle of the thing, before pausing. "Expensive dry food, or expensive wet food."
"Expensive wet, please."
"Okay." She nodded, before clicking her arm and giving it a shake. "Think I broke something when I was calming down Match. Where was he staying?"
"With Kid Flash, actually." Bruce said, and she blinked in shock. "When he woke up, he was incredibly docile, and just happy to follow Superboy. I saw nothing wrong with it."
"You're aware if he got set off neither of them would be able to stop him, right?" She asked, but Bruce just nodded. "We're gonna have a talk about you going off of gut feelings that could result in high bodycounts if you're wrong. Even if you were right in this case."
"I look forward to it." He nodded, and she sighed because she knew he actually did. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she dropped into her seat again and sighed, before returning to her dinner.
Tomorrow was the first time the kids went to Mount Justice, right? That sounded right.
She needed to remember how much she actually remembered before they were deployed, and she had to account for how her presence would change things. Especially when it came to freeing Match and Speedy.
Oh, right. "How are Speedy and Roy doing?"
"Both of them are angry." Richard said. "Real angry. But not at each other. Just in general."
"It's a teenager thing. They'll get used to it. You need to give Speedy something that'll let him leave somewhere under his own power. Even a small teleportation belt if you need to." She looked at Bruce, who nodded at her.
"Long term confinement has that effect on people. I'll mark it down." He nodded, before frowning. "Green Arrow might not appreciate it."
"Green Arrow is dating a therapist that can tell him when he's being an idiot." Mordred said a bit tartly, before clearing her throat. "Sorry, Bruce. That's not fair to you."
"Apology accepted. And I understand." He nodded again, and she smiled.
Tomorrow would be a good day. Now she just had to figure out what happened.
Did they get attacked by a re-programmed Red Tornado?
Hmm. Maybe it'll come to her tomorrow.
[End.]
Just a bit of a domestic chapter here, next chapter'll be meeting the team.
Weirdly enough, my timing was off when I wrote this. The team all actually meet up near the beginning of the month, but them meeting for the first time in the episode is nearly three weeks later. Comics.
Anyhow, not much this chapter, just a few things. I hadn't actually considered giving her tickets for defeating Scarecrow when I wrote this, cause she'd already done it with Two Face. Bit of a downside writing these in advance, I guess.
[Intermediate Blade Weapon Mastery] (previously Novice Blade Weapon Mastery)
|Uncommon Skill|
You are fairly skilled in handling bladed instruments and weapons such as swords and daggers. You know how to effectively move your body and weapon to make good use of it, being able to match most practitioners in skill and finesse.
Rock Throw] - Silver Ticket (Make Robin afraid for his life.)
|Common Ability|
Conjure rocks and small stones and launch them as projectiles, not very powerful but a rock thrown at your head always hurts.
[Lightning Channel] - Gold Ticket (Terrify Scarecrow.)
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to channel lightning through any object you are holding, reinforcing and empowering them, this lightning imitates the object it is channelled through, becoming sharp with a sword and heavy with a hammer.
[Linguist] - Bronze Ticket (Win five spars.)
|Uncommon Trait|
You are able to understand all mundane languages and are very good at learning non-mundane ones too.