Forging Fresher Bonds
1
THE ANY-PLACE, EXPANSIVE ABODE
Or
A SERIES OF EVENTS OVER-LARGE
Queen Emma the Faire, a telepath and magician chosen by the Artificial Intelligence now lost to all Amalgam as it’s breathing-incarnation because of her prophetic-mind where something called the Brightest-of-Law, besides possessing of both verifiable, royal blood and being perhaps the most powerful blood-and-bone-derived being, was also exquisite in her ability to illustrate her points as of prime importance and overcome her extensive history as self-serving the the very best of times and at less-impressive points, a bonafide Villainess.
“Surely even the most humble and self-important among Amalgam’s most heroic, surely see the writing on the wall, even should you be unable to walk and chew gum in tandem,” Emma had addressed each of the paragons who once were known as the Avenging Just, before the very artificial construct that had sought her out had done it’s due diligence in arranging the seven members to be labeled Dangerous-Beyond-Credibility by Amalgam’s governments and eventually triggered it’s own self-destruct sequence above Avalon-On-High were The Avenging Just had both lived and protected the planet below.
“As with many in your line and the many competing lines such as in the Amazon, below the ocean on Atlantis, and hidden from humanity in any number of other locales, both your logic and plots have holes of enormous magnitude where your suggestion comes into play,” the indecisive and recently established leader of The Shadowed Brotherhood, some of whom had been in The Avenging League.
“Do mansplain to me why your own, grandiose machinations of absolute evil are acceptable where my less-grievous and much more distant versions are simply not,” Emma spat indignantly in his general direction.
“That word, even when spoken in the hypnotic and alluring cadence your forked-tongue is capable of, Emma,” Erik Zod, constant enemy of the House of El and life-long terrorist, complained by way of a single hand ’s dismissive wave.“However, vulgarities aside, there are a great many things afoot just now for the simple, unacceptable reason that your own royal lineage often affects you not unlike any blue-blood: Your blinders are on, and that couldn’t come at a worse time.”
The Oracle Queen, more colloquially-known as Emma the Faire, had known Zod for longer than a woman of her beauty would deign to admit having lived through, but eve had she not knew the peculiar hypocrisy his House lived on as if for dear life, she meed only peek into Erik’s head in order to avoid the lengthy discourse that surely came next.What really pissed her off was how far this extra-terrestrial and, mostly by way of unfortunate and known only in rumor, The Shadowed Brotherhood, had stuck their unclean influences into Amalgam’s business at every opportunity.Had she not been the last of her own formidable House she would be able to elucidate with only a thought and to Erik Zod and no other, that at least her influence, whether of such obvious and transcendent design or not, wasn’t interference.It was as plain mow as ever it had been tHat the Oracle-Incarnate among other boons elevated Emma well beyond any comparable power level, but whether she was given those skills until further notice or only her prophetic resolve had been handed down unto the people of Amalgam, in preparation ofwhatever was her future duty as Brightest-Of-Mind.
“And what, pray-tell, am I so ignorant of” Emma, seethed in the face of such wasted effort and sociopathic self-importance so evident in the House of Zod.”
“Those of us who have been of value, on either side of humanity’s struggle,” Zod puffed out his chest,” Can see quite clearly beyond the success, instantaneous fall of Valerie Waller, to where all over Amalgam lines are being drawn in between your own minds self-destructive Avenging League’s membership and then itself as part of the unnecessary self-destruct protocol and where humanity gathers in expectation of war.
“Were that not quite enough, in a several-pronged attack both immediate and of teenage-like alacrity, The House of El needlessly announced New Khandaqa’s alliance with Alexander Essex, whom was the single, self-righteous influencer whom had by his self-realized authority declared in a world-wide legislative act that persons of extra-terrestrial origin were in fact in validation Earth law when speaking their own opinions, regardless of topic and then in conjunction with sudden-ally and fascist-power-couple Mar-Vell and Ms. Benrice imprisoned those offenders whom had the presence of mind to challenge the ruling which led to Essex’s unique ability to excise the proverbial necessity known as Free Will.” He growled exacerbated fury.
“Perhaps Alex and his team in fact erred in that way,” Emma allowed and in such infinitesimal an amount that even she knew that Erik was not likely to bend very much in that rather heavy-handed embarrassment where New Khandaqa was concerned.This conversation, she evaluated only to herself, had not only labored on with no middle-ground earned in which to use as the foundation she needed for what she knew must come next in the wake of so many defeats the world over.She allowed herself only one additional talking point before she would not even bother feigning regret in her resolution to tell Erik Zod the more colorful, and self-evident flaws that he wore upon his own sleeves.
“This is going nowhere quite rapidly, as so many conversations where yourself and the unfortunately handicapped members of House Zod are fated to end up, and resulting in not a single advantage or concession to neither of the parties involved,” The Oracle-Incarnate grinned knowingly.“You do not like me, and that is no surprise to neither me or anybody else whom knows the exact malfunction of your character.Even your own convenient habit to overlook all of the wide array of facts you deny because of the vast, insecure vista of your own ego, while nobody else is here to see your farcical, exaggerated strength of character for the self-defense mechanism it has alway been, and see the many calculated strikes and crusades aimed at the Super-Hero community, but worry not.We were never the victim, Zod.But the varying array of human civilization had been the true victim all along and there are precious defenders of that quite defenseless victim.Just because the situation is not quite critical yet, by no means evaluates to an impossibility of concept.”
“And just what do you think that you can do in the wake so such heavy losses,” Zod conceded; it came as such a shock to Emma she nearly stammered into inarticulate gibberish.
“Oh, that?” Emma the Faire smiled in a shallow approximation of her pervious visage as self-serving psudo-villian.“I have a clear accumulation of advantages in this matter, Zod.Whether or not the Avenging League which was is willing to stop sulking long enough to give Oracle credit where it is due or not, the theme has little to do with such a malady, and everything to do with my superior, telepathic intellect knowing where all the pitfalls lie and how to game the systems causing the most offense.Beyond that, even extra-terrestrials can spot patterns and notice trends if they look hard enough: Each and every of the assaults aimed at us, but striking humanity was at the largest, most obvious targets.”
When such a revelation comes to light as it has to me, there is really only thing left to do lest there lies in surrender some merit worth claiming:The team that even know is assembling itself has the truly awesome caveat of being a very small target in a place nobody shall ever look and lead by yours truly, whom nobody will bother aiming at for reasons both obvious and more curious to define.”
2
EVEN THE BRIGHTEST-OF-MIND, QUEEN EMMA THE FAIR, CAN DO ONLY SO MUCH WITHOUT ALLIES
Or
VOICES MORE CLOSELY ALIGNED TO THE UNTRAINED MEMBERSHIP
While en-route to The Any-Place, Expansive Abode, which even before Emma had decided on the assistants whom she would assign the initial responsibility of training and leadership, she had chosen their new home for a variety of reasons, but to herself she could freely admit that her true reason had been because once upon a time, she had herself cast the heavily-overlapping magical spells that had birthed life into The Any-Place where previously there had been none.
As an expansion upon that reason, Emma was confident in her own ability to know al the darkest corners and having clearly defined each of the mansion’s secrets; and while these were facts as iron-clad as any tangible object she could name on such short notice.And the final reason, though Emma was more than aware was the first of what she thought might become s small, but evident number of them, from a much different time where her growing array of magnificent power was much smaller and instead she needed to rely instead on deception and manipulation: Nobody else on A GENERATION OF TITANS, would know those things and while eventually that would become a liability, it would not become a concern until the first phase of the team’s evolution had passed.
