Chapter 6

In the Penthouse, where the former team and now the remaining members of the Justice League met on Earth, two new recruits of the team fought each other. One of them was Stephanie Brown, Helena's successor as Robin, who decided to be a crime fighter instead of just interviewing them on her podcast. The other one was the original Thea Queen, Arsenal. Off to the side, Sara observed their progress and made corrections. The younger/original Thea was getting a bit agitated for some reason and that was a situation to watch.

Further off to the side, unknown by the new recruits, Harry viewed the situation with interest, along with Harry, Karen, Iris, Helena, and Dinah.

"Not one bit of news about the Thunderbolts?" Iris asked.

"No, not from the usual sources, only they're supposed to be the new alternative to the recently disbanded and disgraced Justice League," Helena said.

Yes, they all heard the reports. Given Lex's power and his influence, he could buy a media spin which would cause everyone to reil.

"Oh, how fickle the public becomes," Karen remarked with a comment. "Seems to be a trend."

"I wouldn't judge the whole of the public by the actions of a very vocal and obnoxious few," Dinah said. "Granted, with Godfrey riling everyone up, they have someone to rally their voices to be heard."

"Unfortunately, he is entitled to have his moment and be able to speak out," Harry commented. "Although, he's not a source of news I would trust, and he's more about provoking a reaction, then he is about giving honest facts."

"Something which is getting to be too common in the media," Iris said with a wistful sigh. "It's all about the ratings."

"The authorities are giving us some problems when we try and do our job because of this," Dinah said. "Although it does vary from city to city."

"Gotham's actually been one of the most receptive," Helena said. "Although...there are some criminals who are starting to get a little bold. With Batman currently off, I'm afraid that Batwoman doesn't really put the same fear into the hearts of criminals just yet. They're learning about Huntress, and Robin and Batgirl, well, I don't know, there's something about Batman who gets things done. I don't know how he does it. I've come close."

Yeah, Helena figured that some of the more bold criminals in Gotham City would try something, and it would end up very badly.

"I disagree, you can be pretty intimidating when you want to be," Harry said.

"Nothing like him," Helena said. "Nothing like him and….oh she's not too happy."

The original Thea almost threw her arm in frustration and was having a brief conversation with Sara about something. Stephanie looked very apologetic with what she was doing. Another new recruit, Ruby Arias, the Blue Beetle watched the situation and seemed to be secretly glad she was not in the midst of this little fight.

Original Thea still had some problems settling in. Given what she was through, it was hard to not see why.

"We're working with her, but after her time at Cadmus and in the Red Room ,she has a lot to work through," Dinah said. "I've been working with her and Thea...the older one, she's been mentoring her while she could, but you know, one day at a time."

Dinah could see there was a challenge.

"So, I'm heading out to Vlatva tonight," Harry said. "Perdita's birthday party."

"She's legal now, right?" Karen asked with a knowing smile.

"In two days," Harry said.

"Things are getting a bit tense over there," Iris said. "I mean on the other side of the border, between Vlatva and Latveria."

Yes, Perdita mentioned it. While security had been ramped up, Harry had a feeling that some people could see it as a challenge.

"I won't be going there alone," Harry said. "Whitney, Donna, Artemis, and Kara are going with me."

"Mmm, a full team?" Helena asked. "That's almost like you're expecting something to go down."

A high profile public event, in a country like Vlatva, it could be a concern. Harry really hoped that there were no problems, but he was a realist. He shared those concerns with Perdita, who assured him her guard would be on high alert and there would be no issues.

Harry hoped his concerns were unfounded.

A raucous crowd gathered for Queen Perdita's sixteenth birthday party where she would legally celebrate being considered an adult and would have more leverage in her decisions. She moved over to greet Harry as he arrived.

"Thank you for coming!" Perdita cried out in pleasure.

She wore a very elegant pink dress which showed her developed figure. The Queen threw her arms around Harry and smiled when she pressed against him in a hug. She kissed him in front of everyone, not caring who saw it and pulled away.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Harry said. "You remember Whitney?"

"Oh, who can forget her," Perdita said. "Thanks for coming."

"Wouldn't miss it," Whitney said. "And it's nice to see you're well."

"I wouldn't be as half as well if it wasn't for you," Perdita said. "Oh, and there's snacks over there, if any of you want them. Don't worry, they tested clean for most major poisons."

Whitney stopped when she heard the words "most major poisons." Artemis chuckled and Kara looked very amused.

"And now eternal battle begins," Artemis said. "Happy birthday, Perdita."

Perdita smiled and cordially greeted her guests.

"Kara, Artemis, nice of you to come," Perdita said. "And Princess, I'm glad to see you made it. It's always a pleasure to have one of the noble Amazons, although I hope your sister will return home soon."

"We all do," Donna said. "Trust me."

Harry caught the eye of another guess. Queen Shuri stood at the edge of the crowd and casually mingled with everyone. Harry walked over to join her with a smile.

"Hadrian, I figured you would be here," Shuri said. "It's an honor to meet with you tonight. And I'm here to strengthen the ties between Vlatva and Wakanda, if you're wondering. And because...well we have a mutual enemy, and therefore we might want to work together."

The two moved out to share a brief dance and talk to each other.

"Did you get my proposal?" Harry asked.

"I did," Shuri said. "And I agree, the United Nations are not acting in the interest of the world. Which is nothing new, but it's more unsettling now. There's something very wrong going with them, as they are not acting logical. But, it has been Wakandian policy to act in the interest of neutrality."

"And you personally?" Harry asked.

"If you need my help for anything, you know how to get in contact with me," Shuri said. "Or you can just sneak into my quarters, past the Dora Milaje . They're very interested in having a piece of you, in more ways than one."

Harry just smiled and caught another familiar face in a shimmering black dress. Nora Darhk always knew how to make herself known and Harry excused himself from Shuri.

Nora just smirked when she saw her lover come towards her.

"For the record, I was invited," Nora said. "And I'm not here to cause trouble."

"And yet, trouble seems to follow you," Harry said.

"And trouble might be coming from the other side of that wall," Nora murmured. "Hope you and your team are ready for it tonight."

"We are," Harry said.

Perdita walked up to the podium and they all applauded the birthday girl when she moved up.

"She has done well in building her country to a brighter future," Shuri commented when she walked over. "Although she does have a long way to go."

"Tonight, I'm celebrating my birthday, but I would not be able to see my sixteenth year and become a woman, if it wasn't for the help of Superman, Kid Flash, and the rest of the Justice League," Perdita said. "For, I owe everything to them, and most importantly, I owe my life to them. Today, I unveil my tribute to the man who is responsible for saving Vlatva."

Perdita unveiled a magnificent statue of Superman. Everyone applauded.

"And now, I'm going to have to commision a bigger statue," Nora murmured in Harry's ear. "Because, there's no way I'm letting her be more shameless in worshipping your divinity"

Kara, who had overheard, laughed. Harry had no idea whether or not Nora was being serious or not.

Harry and Perdita went off for a dance. She moved closer to Harry. Harry wrapped his arms around her and steadied the dance.

"You've grown up to be a remarkable woman," Harry said.

"Thanks to you," Perdita said. "Without you, I wouldn't be the woman I was today, and I'm….grateful for everything that you've done for me."

Harry moved back as the music played. He noticed the glistening necklace on Perdita's neck and a few seconds passed.

"It belonged to my mother," Perdita said. "I feel it, some kind of power. I don't know what and I don't know how to access it, but..."

"Maybe I can take a look at it?" Harry asked.

Harry put his hand on the necklace. Perdita's cheeks went pink as her hero's hand brushed so close to her breast.

"Mmm, maybe," Perdita said. "I actually wanted to see you in private. I had hoped to get your attention. With the remarkable women that you surround yourself with, I feel I'm having uphill struggle."

"Trust me, you are remarkable," Harry reported. "And you're beautiful, Perdita."

"And you are quite the catch yourself," Perdita said. "You are fit to be a king."

Before things could go even further and Perdita could drag Harry off into her quarters to do with him as she pleased, the sounds of something rattled in the distance. Something, several somethings, appeared.

Robots, zoomed all over the wall and landed down, to rattle the party guests. Because, of course there had to be.

"Oh, are those….they are aren't they?" Whitney asked.

"Doombots," Artemis concluded grimly.

"You will not deny the will of Doom!"

Donna jumped into the back of one of the Doom Bots and went directly on the attack. She plunged a blade into the back of the robot and caused sparks to fly everywhere with. Donna flipped off of one of the robots. One of them caught her into mid-air until Artemis fired an arrow at it which caused it to overload.

Shuri took a blade made of Vibranium from a holster strapped against her inner thigh. She jumped up and drove it into the back of the "neck" of the Doombot and sent sparks flying in every direction. Shuri jumped down and rocked the Doombot with a very vicious assault.

The Girl of Steel used her heat vision to take the Doom Bot out. One of them blasted red beams at her. It appeared to be like red solar energy, so Kara resolved not to get hit.

"Okay, Doom has been fortifying his defenses!" Nora yelled.

"Didn't you expect an attack?"

Nora sealed two of the Doombots behind a barrier and caused them to blast each other, thus killing two birds with one stone. She looked up into the sky, for Harry to drive down onto the Doom Bot and rattle them with a very vicious attack.

"Not such a direct attack!" Nora yelled.

Nora caught three of them in a wave before one of them slapped what appeared to be magically suppressing cuffs on her. Kara dove down into one of the Doombots and smashed it. It's head popped off from the impact.

One of the Doombots made a lunge for Perdita. Harry dodged an explosive mine to get in and protect the Queen.

"Get away from me!" Perdita yelled.

Her hand started to glow in surprise along with the necklace. Perdita's hand zipped out and slammed into the Doombot to explode it into pieces.

The remaining Doombots, although not that many, rose up and left the area. What they had been looking for, they had received.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked her.

"I….I did that?" Perdita asked.

Kara, Whitney, and Artemis secured the area with Shuri's help while Nora and Donna moved along with Harry to secure the Queen.

"Well," Nora said. "It appears the Queen has magical abilities."

Whitney and Kara took apart one of the inactive Doombots to get a closer look at it. Perdita sat down with Harry right beside her. She tried to duplicate what she did, but nothing was happening.

"They're looking at me to do something next," Perdita said.

"Strike back," Nora said.

"Excuse me?" Perdita asked.

"Look, I know you want to be diplomatic, but that's not going to work with a nutcase like Victor Von Doom," Nora said. "He understands one thing and one thing only and that's force. You need to strike back and you need to strike back as soon as possible, because otherwise you're going to be rolled over. He will not back down and he will keep attacking until you crush him like an ant."

This statement caused Donna to frown.

"Because, violence always worked so well for Biayla in the past," Donna said. "You should try and open a discussion with Doom."

"You want to discuss something with that lunatic?" Nora asked. "Oh, Princess, he doesn't care about any discussions, unless it's one where you bend at the knee and give him everything he wants."

"We have to find out what Doom did what he did," Shuri said. "Because, despite the tensions, him sending Doombots to the country in such a public show of force is out of character."

"So, what are you saying?" Perdita asked.

"I say you should gather as much information as possible," Shuri said. "Before, you decide on what to do."

"But, I don't….I don't….people are expecting me to…."

Despite how poised she was most times, Perdita was still a teenager and still prone to irrational bursts of anger. She breathed heavily and Harry wrapped her tight.

"Do what's right," Harry said. "Do what feels right."

"And in the meantime, let's see what we can find out about this Doombot," Whitney said.

Victor Von Doom, Doctor Doom, looked over a series of complex equations. In the background, a young boy, who resembled and acted like an eight year old child, passed back and forth.

"You waste your time with that!" the child whined. "Don't you know that the necklace is the key? It's the key to ultimate power!"

"Your childish dreams are almost amusing, if they had not been so tiring," Doom said. "But, I've gathered what I need to know to help save the world."

"You never take me seriously!" the boy snapped. "I can have that necklace, I can rule. Mother promised me I could rule, but it's been centuries, since Camelot, and I haven't gotten close. Meanwhile, that little bint gets to rule and gets practically handed her own kingdom, it's not fair!"

Doom managed to block out the child's petulant whining. While he grew tired of the brat's arrogance, he was still needed. Doom required the stone within the necklace to unlock the final piece of the puzzle for unfathomable power.

"These peculiarities are quite strange," Doom murmured. "I'm going to have to study my guest. But the plague she will create may hold the key in curing the Amazon's virus for good and restoring the birth rate for males. I will succeed where that charlatan Richards failed."

While that child belly-ached about the kingdom he wanted, and Doom only tolerated him due to a promise he made the boy's mother, Doom worked to save the world.

If this illness gripped the world, and became worse, then nothing else mattered.