Chapter 122: The Return
"Oh, Fu-u-u-uck," I stretched out frustratedly, slowing down at another turn in the hallway as I fully remembered all of last night.
Ismem was obviously not against a closer acquaintance, but the withdrawal from the creation of a duplicate of the magic box, the amount of ambrosia taken on the chest and not the most adequate thinking after the funny memories left too little chance to understand the imperceptible hints of the charming warrior.
Harley could tell from my sad look that I had understood. After a moment's hesitation, she climbed off my arms and wrapped her arms around me, cooing comfortingly:
"Mr. J, you don't have to worry so much. After all that prana and magical energy, it's amazing that you could stay awake so long and drink so much alcohol... It was a misfire, it happens to everyone. At least the Amazons won't rip anything off.
"Yes... Uh, stop!" I stared in surprise at my faithful companion, whose thoughts were going somewhere else. - I just didn't understand what they wanted me to do, and I fell asleep.
"Ah-ah-ah," the blond beauty said, as if she had discovered some secret of the universe. - Then it's no big deal. We have access to the library, and if we want, we can continue the siege of Ismem and make her a threesome. Speaking of the library. You remember your promise, don't you? - An incredibly sly expression appeared on the girl's face, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if the cockroaches had set off fireworks again.
"Shit.
A great memory brought up the episode on the rooftop when I promised to cosplay some super in tights if the militant feminists would let me into their library. Who knew my unrealistic luck would work here?
"Okay, we'll talk about who I'm going to dress up as later," I shifted my gaze to a frowning Artemis, who didn't like our plans for a pretty librarian.
She even lost the power of speech and just squeezed the hilt of the blade, obviously thinking about how to kill the dear guests and where to hide the corpses.
"Cube must be dealt with first," I remind you of our main goal.
"Yes, we can discuss it all later," the Amazon swiftly snapped out of her gloomy thoughts, releasing her sword. - Follow me.
Once again we were running through the beautiful corridors of the palace, but now the pace was a little slower. The Mother Cube had started flickering fifteen minutes ago. Last time, according to the Amazon who decided to clarify the situation, it took only a couple of minutes to warm up and create a spatial transition. But then the artifact was encased in a special protective shell, and the charms over the island, although they can not boast the power, as in the distant past, when the gods had millions of believers, but that does not mean that they can be destroyed with a kick.
Our friendly company arrived almost in time. We caught the sparks going out around the artifact, as well as three dozen heavily armed Amazons, ready to kill any enemy that appeared.
"What's going on with the Cube? - The queen was in no hurry to relax and take her eyes off the tarnished box mounted on a special bronze stand.
"I shrugged my shoulders and activated my true sight with shield spells, and cautiously approached the artifact.
Last time, I was somehow unable to look at the magic box as I simultaneously held the illusion, hiding my actions from Steppenwolf, and cast the weave of the doublet, fueling it with divine energy.
There was nothing to distract me from my thoughtful examination of the box, or rather, the charms wrapped around it. I could have sworn that the last time I'd seen it, the magical artifact looked like a solid magical structure repeating its physical form. Literally billions of tiny symbols, resembling stylized square hieroglyphs, were woven into a single composition that was in constant motion.
While I was examining the weaves wrapped around the artifact, which looked like an attempt to visually traverse a labyrinth of several almost monochromatic balls of thread, the local queen decided to enlighten the only competent mage as to the nature of the powerful object. The Mother Cubes, of which there seem to be only three for the entire dimension, are indestructible living machines created by science so advanced that they appear to be objects of sorcery even to the most advanced civilizations. Only mystics and New Gods can unlock their true potential, but everyone else will have to be satisfied with extremely reduced functionality. Although, if you use only part of the set, then even the creators will not be able to create with the help of the Cubes of anything sensible, except for the most powerful portals and transmutation of matter in a small area. In order to terraform and enslave an entire planet, it is necessary to synchronize all three boxes, creating Unity.
But let's return to the spells around the artifact. Compared to the base, they looked rather primitive, although their structure was at least at the level of spatial charms and banning spells. But this module, which resembled the shape of a Moebius strip, definitely belonged to the school of space.
The ba-hion used in the copying spell seriously altered the original weave. I spent an hour trying to figure out what was going on. I might not have realized it if the Mother Cube hadn't started glowing again, activating the strange structure around it.
"What's going on? - Hippolyta was right next to me.
"Hmmm... Right now the crate has created a portal and is distilling an oodles of energy somewhere.
"Why is he doing this?
"I suspect someone is being teleported somewhere through a boom tube, or maybe changing the landscape somewhere. From what I understand, the structure created around the box is for remote control.
"Are you saying.
"Yeah, I created a terminal for the thing and gave it to the horny bastard.
"We need to break the connection now!
"No. If we do that, the Wolf will attack the island again, realizing he has a decoy in his hands.
I wonder why I care more about the warriors than their queen.
"Our destiny is to fight evil!
"With a donkey. As long as you have the real Cube, Darkseid can piss himself. Without all three artifacts, he'll never be able to enslave Earth and turn it into another slave factory. My copy is great, but it won't be able to pass through the box when the terraforming resonates. There would be a big bada-boom, when the copy would be torn from the excess energy, and all the nearest enemies would be annihilated.
"Your words make sense.
"Huh, of course," I smirked. - But we should still try to protect the other two Cubes, or at least the one that was given to people," I said the last part of the sentence more thoughtfully.
There is an opinion that Atlanteans will not allow a man even a couple of kilometers closer to the relic, because they realize what it is. But the people who simply buried the artifact in their custody are unlikely to resent me when I come for it. Maybe the box was dug up a long time ago and now it's dusting in some museum. It's worth bothering Bats with this case, but first I need to return to the big land, which I informed Harley sitting nearby, who was pestering the local guards with a request to demonstrate various reinforcing buffs.
It didn't take long to pack. Our things were always packed in our pockets, so in half an hour our splendid tandem was on its way back. The hiccup was due to the protective charms that had been restored over Themyscira. According to the description from the library, they act on the principle of Taboo and prevent you from remembering the way back, well, and bonus create a large-scale illusion of a boundless ocean, while affecting the mind, because of which people even following the devices, go around the island in a large arc. In fact, you can only get here by accident, given to the will of the elements. Naturally, I wasn't going to give up local knowledge, so I had to spend some time building a magic beacon. Three times a day it would send a signal to an artifact paired with it, which I hewn from a suitable pebble found on the shore and decorated it with a couple of charged diamonds.
We got back just in time. To think that Ivy was so worried about our long absence that she was about to interrupt Babs' transformation and go to the rescue. By the way, it would be interesting to look at the latter, because the protective spells over Themyscira have already been restored and it is hardly possible to reach the city-state of Amazons without a beacon.
Ivy's actions were understandable; after all, we had promised to leave for only a couple of hours, but we stayed for more than twenty-four hours. Besides, the use of the Cube, or rather the creation of a gap in the divine spells over the island, had stirred up the magical background quite well. And though the dryad did not possess true sight and could not see all the riot of energies, which were still reminded by the blue-red divisions in the sky, she still felt the echoes of the creation of the breach and got worried. Well, and let's not forget that we had successfully botched Christmas because of all this stuff. It was planned to celebrate properly in a couple of days, when Mouse woke up, but that didn't change the fact that it was possible to give some presents and organize some kind of dinner yesterday.
It was too late to do that now, and there was no time, so after calming the red-haired beauty and handing her the comfort bracelet I'd created, I began to sort through the spoils. The corpses of the parademons were already starting to smell a bit, and they should have been broken down into ingredients or processed for fertilizer as soon as possible. The same half Hound had shown no signs of rotting in the past month and a half. Although it would be wrong to compare a fully magical creature whose existence depended on the amount of demonic energy to an obscure half-magical hybrid.
Anyway, pushing aside moral quandaries about the parademons' origins and sanity, I busied myself with gutting the most intact creature while Harley enlightened the dryad about our sudden neighbors and told her about another adventure we'd accidentally gotten ourselves into.
I didn't know if I was lucky or not, but as it turned out, the wings were part of a high-tech armor implanted directly into the flesh of the non-demon. They did contain magical energy, and even, sort of, the kind I needed. The metal wing, which resembled the shape of a dragonfly, was not perfect, but still responded to the thin stream of air mana from the runic converter.
On the other hand, I was already in the mood to play a crazed maniacal ripper, so I continued rummaging through the unlucky freak's innards.
After two hours of not the most appetizing occupation and the dark green blood of the stone slab, set on a clearing near the cliff of the island, we can conclude that these creatures got only a small part of the demon and it would be more correct to call them cyborgs.
In place of eyes are relatively primitive, but still quite effective implants, which are very likely designed for a wider range of perception. The mouth is fitted with a metal prosthesis with an impressive set of sharp teeth. All large bones are additionally reinforced with thin, strong mesh, and the spine is made up entirely of metal segments with armor connectors. The lungs have been replaced by their more efficient counterpart, as well as the digestive tract, which left only a semblance of a stomach filled with a rather caustic acid. Of course, not the level of the Alien's blood, but it began to eat away at the rubber glove quite sharply. The brain had also undergone modification, and now another high-tech bioimplant was replacing some of the contents of the skull. At least, this blob of blue flesh with thick gyrations and a couple of black pins sticking out of it clearly looked alien against the green half of a "normal" alien brain.
Incidentally, some magic was also present in the body of the parademon, but it was as if it was distorted and looked rather vile in true sight. It was as if black and red veins ran through the heart and the rest of the monster's brain, only slightly touching the rest of the body.
Needless to say, I kept these organic parts, along with pieces of armor and wings, for myself, in order to study them better, while the rest was to be disposed of.
I wrapped the alien's remains in a thick tarp, and set out to create a portal. I didn't want to bury such a thing in our corner of paradise, even at a depth of twenty meters, and I didn't want to dump it in the sea, but Gotham had a nice crematorium, and I had to go to the city to talk to a latex lover anyway. So in half an hour Harley and I were off to rendezvous with Gloomy Mouse, leaving Ivy in charge.
To be honest, this kind of running around didn't suit me at all. I was planning to slowly improve my magical and technical knowledge, to get acquainted with the buffs of the Amazons, to fuck a couple of sexy beauties, to study my soul, after all! But instead I have to save the world from another asshole.
At Wayne's estate we were met by the usual unflappable Alfred, who first of all thanked me for a great present, and afterwards escorted our gorgeous couple to his boss. We hadn't been to this part of the Batpit yet, the more surprising it was to find a huge hangar with no less huge black cargo plane with predatory contours behind the steel bulkhead of the already not so small lair. In the transport, as well as in all Bats' equipment, was clearly traced fly-mouse style, and the presence of a bunch of weapons, ranging from a couple of normal machine guns and ending with a set of air-to-ground missiles, demonstrated that my friend is clearly preparing for something very serious. No, what kind of intuition it is necessary to have! I went to the Internet on the way to the estate to read the news, but, except for the arson in the temple of Amazons and the attack on S.T.A.R. Labs with the kidnapping of several employees, nothing significant or interesting had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
As he got closer, his hearing began to pick up two voices, and while Bats's voice was recognizable, the voice of his companion was not. There was something familiar about it, but the echo made it hard to recognize.
Judging by the way the butler accompanying us tensed up a bit, he was unaware of the guest's presence, so I didn't hesitate to cast an illusion on myself and Harley, changing my appearance, and prepare magical fetters.
"...Darkseid, the enemy is here," the unknown woman said, and then fell silent as she clearly saw us approaching.
Well, there are hardly many people on this planet who are aware of the invasion, and even with the name of the mastermind, and given that it is a woman, the choice of characters I know is not so great.
"Damn it, Diana! - I said as I turned the corner, remembering that I'd forgotten that I'd prepared a present for her. Of course, it was hard to call us acquaintances, but she was a pretty girl, so why not? Moreover, no one canceled the additional magical practice.
"Hmh, I haven't been called a devil yet," the beauty replied with a smile, relaxing a little and looking at our awesome couple in gorgeous costumes of a crazy psychopathic clown and his incredibly sexy assistant.
Fortunately, I can't be embarrassed by that sort of thing anymore.
"But a hell of a lot of times," I return the smile. - Artemis says hi.
Then I could see how the brave warrior's beautiful face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, dominated by disbelief and surprise. The mention of an old friend had clearly knocked the Amazon princess out of her rut.
"But... How... Where..." she couldn't quite formulate a thought.
"I had a little trip to Themyscira the other day. I must say it's a wonderful place. Sandy beaches, spacious plains with emerald grass, endless forests, beautiful Greek architecture, buffet, cool entertainment program, during which you shoot flying anthropomorphic bugs, and then fight with their horned leader...
Diana's face reflected so much lingering pain and hope that I fell silent.
"You... You can take me there..." the girl asked quietly, unable to cope with her excitement.
"I left a lighthouse on the island, so, theoretically, it could..." I didn't have time to finish my sentence, because a steel grip closed on my ribs.
"Thank you!
My bones creaked protestingly, and my imaginary core sped up its pulsation to experience the princess's joy. Man, if we had sex all of a sudden, Jay Jr. would be crushed. I need to spend more time working on prana and dealing with the Amazon buffs.
-A little easier," I wheezed, trying in vain to fill my lungs with life-giving oxygen.
"I'm sorry," I was released though, taking a step back.
"Ugh. Yeah, okay, just be gentle next time," I winked.
"Hmph," Mysh mumbled, drawing attention to himself and completely ruining the pleasant atmosphere. - Since you've been on the island, you should know better what we're up against. I need detailed information on the enemies and what they are after.
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