(Inspired by Heart of Artemis hitting three tips in a row involving the Knives and Malta. Since Heart is, by background, a rebel Knife and an avatar of Artemis herself, this seemed the tips to go vigilante on.)
Sister
Jocasta heard the explosions and knew that the hero was coming for
her.
This
was good; she’d have hated to have gone to all that trouble to get
word of her defection out and not have her show up. She and Sister
Phoebe had gone around and around so long over control of the Knives
of Artemis, Jocasta had honestly forgotten what their original
disagreement had been about. Finally, though, after several years of
plotting and maneuvering, using missions against each other to curry
influence with the other sisters, and working to influence the Malta
Group towards one or the other of them, Phoebe had gotten the upper
hand. Jocasta ruefully reflected that she probably shouldn’t have
gone on that trip to Turkey, but the opportunity to tour the replica
of the Temple of Artemis in Istanbul had been too good to miss.
Unfortunately, it gave Phoebe the chance to finally corner her. (On reflection, it was probably Phoebe who had arranged the trip.) And
now she had to flee, to take advantage of the so-called justice of
Paragon City and its heroes, before her sisters meted out the only
punishment the Knives of Artemis held for fallen members.
Fortunately,
there was an easy escape. Sister Regina had long been a thorn in the
sisterhood’s side. The only member to successfully escape that Jocasta knew of personally, she had
fought crime in Paragon City, including the sisterhood and the rest
of the Malta Group, since she had suffered a crisis
of faith and fled from the Knives. Jocasta had realized shortly after
Regina had started calling herself the “Heart of Artemis” that
she would be a perfect scapegoat for future plans. Should there ever
be a time that the sisterhood, or even just Jocasta, needed a hero to
do their work, they could influence Regina into doing
their bidding, calling on old alliances and blackmail to force her
back into the fold. Jocasta didn’t doubt that Phoebe had the same
plan, in case she had gotten the upper hand, but in this case Jocasta
had acted first.
Now,
all she had to do is hold out against her sisters until Regina showed
up, fought her way through the Knives, and arrested her. Then she
could give herself up, give the easily influenced authorities of the
Patriarchy their tidbits of information, accept their Witness
Protection, and disappear into the populace to plot a new way to take
control back from Phoebe. It was just a matter of staying out of view
of the other Knives until the moment came. She crouched between the
computers, her camouweave suit keeping her hidden in the shadows as
her sisters searched for her.
Further
explosions came from elsewhere in the base. Jocasta could hear shouts
of other Knives as they fell before the onslaught. She wasn’t
surprised; Regina had been one of their best, trained in all the arts
that the Knives used, from archery to assassination. She had recently
been seen wearing something less utilitarian than the uniform that
she had left the sisterhood in, a toga and armor in Classical Roman
style. Jocasta found the change puzzling; as the Heart of Artemis,
Regina had chosen another uniform, made of modern ballistic weaves
and suitable for combat, to distance herself from the sisterhood. To
change again, and to something that left her vulnerable, seemed out
of character for Regina, who was always a pragmatic and professional
student. Still, Jocasta was not going to give it much thought. She
wasn’t interested in fighting Regina, this time.
There
was a cry from down the hall. The Knives searching the area turned
toward it, and she saw something fly into the group. The canister
grenade bounced once, then a cloud of smoke billowed out. Standard
smoke grenade, Jocasta thought, but then she looked again. The smoke
seemed darker, thicker, and the Knives were blinded, even with the
goggles that every sister wore. One of the Knives cried out and
fell, an arrow transfixing her torso. The others turned, firing their
wrist crossbows, and a barrage of arrows felled them in rapid
succession. As the smoke began to dissipate, Sister Jocasta could see
a figure, distorted by a camouflage effect similar to her own
camouweave, walking into the room. She smiled; the Heart of Artemis
had arrived, just as expected. She stepped out, deactivating her
camouweave. "Excellent. I see you got my offer. Get me out of
here and I will tell you everything."
The
Heart of Artemis nocked an arrow and shot Sister Jocasta in the
chest. The impact almost drove the elder Knife off her feet, and only
the ballistic weave kept it from piercing her lung. Gasping for pain,
she staggered back. "What are you doing?!"
"Punishment,
Jocasta," said the Heart of Artemis. "Punishment and vengeance
for lives taken and lies spoken!"
Jocasta
realized that she had misjudged Regina. Far from interested in taking
her to the authorities, the rebel sister had come to kill her. "So
be it," she said, raising her wrist crossbow and firing a
poisoned dart. The toxin on it was the product of years of research,
capable of rendering even the most durable hero unconscious within
seconds. She saw the arrow hit Regina in the leg, where her armor did not protect her. A few seconds and she would be helpless,
and Jocasta would finish her off and turn herself over to the Atlas
City Police. Detective Brogan would be happy to put her in protective
custody with the information that she had. She advanced on Regina,
her hand going back over her shoulder for her blade.
The
Heart of Artemis reached for another arrow and shot her again.
Stunned,
Jocasta felt the second arrow tear into her. Impossible! Regina
should be helpless. "How?!" she screamed. "How can you
still be on your feet?!"
"You
are asking the wrong question, Jocasta," said the Heart of
Artemis. "You should be asking how long did you think you could
go on blaspheming."
Jocasta
realized that the wavering outline that indicated Regina's location
was not because of a camouweave. The rippling effect was more like a
heat mirage, or the air around an open flame, and nothing like the
technological marvel that was a Knife of Artemis' cloaking device. She realized that no smoke grenade could billow smoke that dark, that dissipated so quickly, as if on command of its wielder. As
Regina approached, she saw, through the cloak, the other woman's
eyes. They were hard and without mercy, and they glowed with a light
that came from no science or technology that the Malta Group could
provide. Behind those eyes, she saw another visage, overlapping
Regina's. A face, ancient and immortally young, with the eyes
of a predator on a nocturnal hunt. A face carved in marble in the
wall of the temple in Istanbul. "Artemis...," she breathed,
realizing who had come for her.
The
Heart of Artemis spoke no more as she took a third arrow and shot
Sister Jocasta through the throat. ","
she said, in the voice of the Goddess, "" Then, without another word, she turned and left.
Gina
Pryde came to herself on a rooftop, overlooking a group of Longbow
agents and Atlas Park police securing the Knives' base. She watched
the ambulances take away the few women who she had not killed, and
watched the coroners cart out the body bags containing the ones she
had. The Goddess was satisfied with this, she felt, but she knew that
Artemis was no longer just content with protecting the people of
Cimerora. She had brought her hunt to Paragon.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com
"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
Sister
Jocasta heard the explosions and knew that the hero was coming for
her.
This
was good; she’d have hated to have gone to all that trouble to get
word of her defection out and not have her show up. She and Sister
Phoebe had gone around and around so long over control of the Knives
of Artemis, Jocasta had honestly forgotten what their original
disagreement had been about. Finally, though, after several years of
plotting and maneuvering, using missions against each other to curry
influence with the other sisters, and working to influence the Malta
Group towards one or the other of them, Phoebe had gotten the upper
hand. Jocasta ruefully reflected that she probably shouldn’t have
gone on that trip to Turkey, but the opportunity to tour the replica
of the Temple of Artemis in Istanbul had been too good to miss.
Unfortunately, it gave Phoebe the chance to finally corner her. (On reflection, it was probably Phoebe who had arranged the trip.) And
now she had to flee, to take advantage of the so-called justice of
Paragon City and its heroes, before her sisters meted out the only
punishment the Knives of Artemis held for fallen members.
Fortunately,
there was an easy escape. Sister Regina had long been a thorn in the
sisterhood’s side. The only member to successfully escape that Jocasta knew of personally, she had
fought crime in Paragon City, including the sisterhood and the rest
of the Malta Group, since she had suffered a crisis
of faith and fled from the Knives. Jocasta had realized shortly after
Regina had started calling herself the “Heart of Artemis” that
she would be a perfect scapegoat for future plans. Should there ever
be a time that the sisterhood, or even just Jocasta, needed a hero to
do their work, they could influence Regina into doing
their bidding, calling on old alliances and blackmail to force her
back into the fold. Jocasta didn’t doubt that Phoebe had the same
plan, in case she had gotten the upper hand, but in this case Jocasta
had acted first.
Now,
all she had to do is hold out against her sisters until Regina showed
up, fought her way through the Knives, and arrested her. Then she
could give herself up, give the easily influenced authorities of the
Patriarchy their tidbits of information, accept their Witness
Protection, and disappear into the populace to plot a new way to take
control back from Phoebe. It was just a matter of staying out of view
of the other Knives until the moment came. She crouched between the
computers, her camouweave suit keeping her hidden in the shadows as
her sisters searched for her.
Further
explosions came from elsewhere in the base. Jocasta could hear shouts
of other Knives as they fell before the onslaught. She wasn’t
surprised; Regina had been one of their best, trained in all the arts
that the Knives used, from archery to assassination. She had recently
been seen wearing something less utilitarian than the uniform that
she had left the sisterhood in, a toga and armor in Classical Roman
style. Jocasta found the change puzzling; as the Heart of Artemis,
Regina had chosen another uniform, made of modern ballistic weaves
and suitable for combat, to distance herself from the sisterhood. To
change again, and to something that left her vulnerable, seemed out
of character for Regina, who was always a pragmatic and professional
student. Still, Jocasta was not going to give it much thought. She
wasn’t interested in fighting Regina, this time.
There
was a cry from down the hall. The Knives searching the area turned
toward it, and she saw something fly into the group. The canister
grenade bounced once, then a cloud of smoke billowed out. Standard
smoke grenade, Jocasta thought, but then she looked again. The smoke
seemed darker, thicker, and the Knives were blinded, even with the
goggles that every sister wore. One of the Knives cried out and
fell, an arrow transfixing her torso. The others turned, firing their
wrist crossbows, and a barrage of arrows felled them in rapid
succession. As the smoke began to dissipate, Sister Jocasta could see
a figure, distorted by a camouflage effect similar to her own
camouweave, walking into the room. She smiled; the Heart of Artemis
had arrived, just as expected. She stepped out, deactivating her
camouweave. "Excellent. I see you got my offer. Get me out of
here and I will tell you everything."
The
Heart of Artemis nocked an arrow and shot Sister Jocasta in the
chest. The impact almost drove the elder Knife off her feet, and only
the ballistic weave kept it from piercing her lung. Gasping for pain,
she staggered back. "What are you doing?!"
"Punishment,
Jocasta," said the Heart of Artemis. "Punishment and vengeance
for lives taken and lies spoken!"
Jocasta
realized that she had misjudged Regina. Far from interested in taking
her to the authorities, the rebel sister had come to kill her. "So
be it," she said, raising her wrist crossbow and firing a
poisoned dart. The toxin on it was the product of years of research,
capable of rendering even the most durable hero unconscious within
seconds. She saw the arrow hit Regina in the leg, where her armor did not protect her. A few seconds and she would be helpless,
and Jocasta would finish her off and turn herself over to the Atlas
City Police. Detective Brogan would be happy to put her in protective
custody with the information that she had. She advanced on Regina,
her hand going back over her shoulder for her blade.
The
Heart of Artemis reached for another arrow and shot her again.
Stunned,
Jocasta felt the second arrow tear into her. Impossible! Regina
should be helpless. "How?!" she screamed. "How can you
still be on your feet?!"
"You
are asking the wrong question, Jocasta," said the Heart of
Artemis. "You should be asking how long did you think you could
go on blaspheming."
Jocasta
realized that the wavering outline that indicated Regina's location
was not because of a camouweave. The rippling effect was more like a
heat mirage, or the air around an open flame, and nothing like the
technological marvel that was a Knife of Artemis' cloaking device. She realized that no smoke grenade could billow smoke that dark, that dissipated so quickly, as if on command of its wielder. As
Regina approached, she saw, through the cloak, the other woman's
eyes. They were hard and without mercy, and they glowed with a light
that came from no science or technology that the Malta Group could
provide. Behind those eyes, she saw another visage, overlapping
Regina's. A face, ancient and immortally young, with the eyes
of a predator on a nocturnal hunt. A face carved in marble in the
wall of the temple in Istanbul. "Artemis...," she breathed,
realizing who had come for her.
The
Heart of Artemis spoke no more as she took a third arrow and shot
Sister Jocasta through the throat. ","
she said, in the voice of the Goddess, "" Then, without another word, she turned and left.
Gina
Pryde came to herself on a rooftop, overlooking a group of Longbow
agents and Atlas Park police securing the Knives' base. She watched
the ambulances take away the few women who she had not killed, and
watched the coroners cart out the body bags containing the ones she
had. The Goddess was satisfied with this, she felt, but she knew that
Artemis was no longer just content with protecting the people of
Cimerora. She had brought her hunt to Paragon.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com
"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."