Author's Note:
I'm a fan of Type-Moon and HoYoverse. For the past three weeks, I've had a lot of ideas swirling around in my head:
* MANTIS (Emperor-class - Vishnu)
* MANTIS (Judgement-class - Garuda)
Additionally, I thought of several variations centered around: Archon or Herrscher (Worm), MANTIS - Herrscher (DC/Marvel), Dragon Sovereign (RWBY), Herrscher of Finality (DC), Heavenly Principles (MCU), or original characters who gain the powers of Skirk (My Hero Academia) or Otto Apocalypse (Teen Titans).
I had so many ideas, but I finally chose what to write this time. I hope you like it.
XXX
Story Title: Kaleidoscope Adventure (DC): A Mistress of Finality, Hero, Villain or Other?
Plot: Bialya invaded Qurac, and conquest seemed inevitable, until a little girl prayed in an ancient Babylonian temple. The result was the return of a "Goddess" who devastated a nation in a single day and planted a giant tree. Then she looked at the rest of the world and decided to save it from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, six days a week, obeying nothing and no one, causing a unique international disaster. This "Goddess" wants to help the world, even if it means arguing with the Justice League, the Injustice League, and the Suicide Squad.
XXX
Story Arc: Wandering the World
Episode 1: The Goddess with the Tag
Chapter 1: The Justice League Reunion
Plot: The Justice League has gathered to discuss the disaster that occurred in Bialya and what they should do about the person responsible who is not behaving as expected.
XXX
POV Narrator
In Earth's orbit, inside the Watchtower, the Justice League is holding a meeting regarding an event that has shocked the entire world.
Sitting around a U-shaped table are: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Hawkwoman, Zatanna, Captain Atom, Black Canary, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, Ice, Fire and Vixen.
"We all know what we're going to talk about today," Superman said in a serious voice, clasping his hands in front of him.
"The Bialya Incident," Wonder Woman replied, naming the event that reverberated around the world.
"Which probably involves ancient mystical or divine forces," said Zatanna, being the only magic expert in the Justice League.
"To make sure we're all on the same page, I'll lay out all the major facts, providing information and images I've obtained during my investigation," said Batman, being the one who knows the most about this matter.
"As you should know, twenty-one days ago Queen Bee declared war on the Qurac. Bialya began their invasion, and due to the agreements between the Justice League and the UN, we were unable to intervene," Batman said.
In the center of the room, a huge three-dimensional hologram came to life. The bluish light illuminated the heroes' faces, displaying tactical maps, lines of fire, and the movements of Queen Bee's troops.
Everyone present wore expressions of annoyance, silent anger, or resentment at Queen Bee's move and the UN's blocking them from acting.
"Everyone expected Bialya to quickly conquer Qurac, but instead..." Batman pressed a button on a holographic keyboard.
The military chart vanished, suddenly replaced by a life-size projection. In place of the international television news, a holographic image of a strikingly beautiful woman appeared, floating above the table, bathed in an ethereal light that caught the gaze of everyone present.
"The white-haired Goddess has arrived," Flash said with a dreamy expression.
"A supposed deity. Chances are, she's a powerful witch using old-school magic, a metahuman with a love of Babylonian culture, or an alien woman," Zatanna said, having her own theories about the matter.
The three-dimensional hologram stabilized, casting a bluish light on the heroes' faces. A young woman in her twenties floated in the center of the table. Her biometric data scrolled in phosphorescent green numbers next to her figure: Height: 159 cm. Weight: 47 kg. Measurements: 77 - 57 - 80 cm.
Despite her diminutive stature, her presence filled the room. She had a slender and elegant build, visibly athletic yet sinuous, accentuated by sumptuous and bold attire, inspired by an ancient Mesopotamian aesthetic. Her long, wavy hair, a pure white that contrasted with her pale skin, was pulled back into two side ponytails tied with black ribbons. A majestic black and gold tiara crowned her head, nestled among her locks. A striking gold collar clung to her neck, moving in sync with her large hoop earrings with every breath of the recording. Her left arm was wrapped in a long black and gold glove that covered her forearm, while a single gold bracelet gleamed on her right bicep. She was almost completely barefoot: on her right leg she wore a single dark blue stirrup-style stocking, hooked under the sole of the foot and decorated with elaborate gold friezes, while her left ankle was bare, adorned only by a thin gold anklet.
"...and she appeared, provisional code name Venus." Batman concluded, giving this woman a designation.
His voice remained flat, icy. He was one of the few men in the room who didn't betray the slightest physical reaction, keeping his back straight and his arms folded before that apparition. With a sharp snap of Batman's fingers on the console, geographical maps of Bialya and Qurac spun around Venus's figure, flanked by data strings flashing red from high-powered energy readings.
"At seven in the morning, satellites recorded a massive energy pulse emanating from an ancient Babylonian temple dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, located between the borders of Bialya and Qurac," Batman said, bringing up images of the ancient Babylonian temple, a place of worship that has continued to exist since antiquity.
"Have we been able to analyze this energy signature?" asked Red Tornado, one of the Justice League's scientific minds.
"The energy signature is completely unknown, there's no precedent," Batman said, a hint of frustration in his voice. Not knowing or understanding something is a weakness for the Dark Knight.
"Magic tends to be difficult to perceive or analyze through machinery," Zatanna said, convinced that it was a problem of arcane origin.
'Is it just me, or do I see a slight resemblance between the statues of the Goddess Ishtar and Venus?' Ice thought, tilting his head slightly as he compared the two images in his mind.
"At nine o'clock in the morning, as Bialya military forces began crossing the border and approaching the temple, Subject Venus emerged from the Temple of Ishtar," Batman recounted stoically, continuing his explanation.
The holographic images suddenly changed. High-resolution photographs appeared: steel bodies of military vehicles, and, suspended in midair before the Babylonian ruins, the floating figure of Venus. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her back arched with pride, and her face twisted into a harsh, feral expression as she looked down on the soldiers, like ants.
"She looks scary, but she's still one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen," Ice said, enjoying the subject of the pictures.
The ice-powered heroine's companion, Fire, said nothing, but a thin frown appeared on her face.
"Her dress style isn't bad either," Flash commented, being on the same wavelength as the frost heroine.
The Amazon Princess gave a subtle, reproachful look to the two chattering members of the Justice League, especially Flash.
"Don't look at me like that, Diana. Are you jealous that someone has a more daring costume than yours?" the fastest man in the world said jokingly.
"Bold, yes, but it suits her. She has a Babylonian goddess style," commented Vixen, the heroine with animal powers, who is linked to the world of fashion.
"Perhaps she could be a real Babylonian goddess. Most deities have left Earth for a higher plane of existence or are fast asleep, but if you threaten their temples, you risk awakening them," said Zatanna, having read about such cases in the family books. They are extremely rare, one in ten thousand, but they can happen.
"Subject Venus has no problem using lethal force. When the Bialya military opened fire, she fired back," Batman cut in. His fingers slammed the keyboard, triggering a few seconds of footage. A new holographic screen opened with a buzz. The view shifted sharply, taken from above, clearly a close-up shot of a military helicopter in flight.
The camera zoomed in on Venus.
She continued to float in the air, motionless. Below her, the infantry opened fire wildly: the flashes from the rifle barrels lit up the screen, but the bullets, as soon as they came within inches of her skin, vanished into nothingness with a faint metallic shimmer, as if shattering against an invisible, impenetrable bubble.
Then, Venus moved. With the fluidity of a predator, she raised her right arm. Like a child at play, she closed her fingers, leaving only the index finger and thumb extended, mimicking the shape of a gun.
Blinding bolts erupted from her fingertip. Lasers of electrical energy, fired with the destructive force and supersonic speed of a railgun, tore through the air. The footage showed Bialyan armored vehicles being ripped through and through, crumpling in a roar of flame and metal. In seconds, the armed forces were devastated. Venus then slowly rotated her head upward, her eyes trained directly on the helicopter she was recording. She raised her finger again, a white flash filled the screen, and the footage abruptly cut to a grid of dead pixels.
A heavy silence fell over the room. Many members of the Justice League remained staring into space, their faces darkened with disgust and anger at having witnessed this one-sided massacre.
"Flight, defensive force field, electrically powered ranged blasts." Batman listed the abilities Venus displayed in this short clip.
"Using eyewitness accounts, video camera footage, and satellite imagery, we've reconstructed his movements," the Dark Knight continued, projecting a topographical map of Bialya marked with geometric vectors and temporal markers.
"Subject Venus, having eliminated the military forces surrounding the Temple of Ishtar, flew straight into Bialya at subsonic speeds." Batman's glove pointed to a white line that cut through enemy territory in a straight, relentless line.
"Upon arriving at its destination, Subject Venus displayed devastating pyrokinetic abilities," Batman continued.
A close-up shot of the Bialyan border forces appeared on the screen: Venus floated seven meters above the ground, motionless, while the air around her outstretched hands distorted the light before exploding into spheres of living flame.
"She's a hot woman in more ways than one," Flash said, needing to lighten the mood.
"In about thirty minutes, Venus flew around the edge of all of Bialya, leaving behind flames three hundred meters high at temperatures that melted metal. The entire Bialya was a nation trapped," Batman explained, as he recounted an absurd event that had actually happened.
The mix of images and short video clips that followed took the breath away from those present.
The videos showed Venus hurtling at the speed of a fighter jet just meters above the ground; the mere displacement of air generated by its body kicked up a trail of fire that grew and spread instantly, devouring vegetation and asphalt.
A subsequent satellite image showed Bialya from above: the nation's borders appeared to be drawn with a glowing red highlighter. It wasn't a graphic effect; they were endless walls of fire that cut the country off from the rest of the world.
"Now I understand how runners feel when Flash appears," Fire commented. The green-haired woman could fly and create flames, but she could never do something like this.
"Don't worry, you're still my favorite flame," Ice said, always being particularly close and friendly with her green-haired partner.
"This gives a whole new meaning to the expression scorched earth," Flash added, rubbing his neck as if he could feel the heat released by those images on his skin.
"Subject Venus, once it closed the borders, began attacking the Bialyan armed forces. Its first targets were the fifteen border outposts: small fortified bases, training camps, and surveillance stations located along the hot borders with Qurac and other neighboring nations." Batman continued to discuss the events that had occurred.
Fifteen geometric red dots lit up on the digital map of Bialya. Above each, video windows opened, showing the aftermath of the raids: reinforced concrete bunkers reduced to piles of smoking ash, fences melted, black smoke obscuring the sky, and dust covering the wreckage of armored vehicles.
"After that, the Venus subject took charge of the five major military bases: large permanent installations, including the army headquarters near the capital, the central air base and the military-scientific research centers in the desert," the Dark Knight listed.
Five new indicators were added to the map, pulsing before dying, indicating the total obliteration of the structures.
"Once the bases were destroyed, Venus took over the warfare factories. According to the report, Venus burned to the ground four robotics factories used to produce reconnaissance drones and other warfare technologies, three reverse-engineering plants—secret facilities run jointly to produce experimental weapons—and finally, five conventional weapons factories, chemical plants, and heavy steel mills converted to mass-produce munitions, landmines, armored vehicles, and fuel for the military." Batman concluded the grisly list, while the hologram displayed a series of photographs taken by the factories' internal security cameras before they were destroyed.
In those distorted, grainy frames, Venus appeared as a white and golden specter in the center of the industrial structures, arms outstretched as she hurled lightning and flames in every direction, causing machinery to explode and metal roofs to collapse. Fortunately, the workers had long since fled; Venus began striking the machinery first, leaving the roof for last.
"I hate to say it, but your actions make strategic sense. It prevents ground forces from leaving Bialya and invading Qurac. Attacking military bases and destroying factories is a surefire way to slow or disrupt the war effort," said John Stewart. He spoke with the stiffness of a former Marine, his back straight and his gaze glazed over the holographic maps.
Around the table, the Justice League members with military backgrounds gave a cold shake of their heads, forced to agree with John's tactical analysis.
Batman, however, didn't join in the cynical chorus. His shadow seemed to lengthen across the metal table.
"Bialya's population is 2 million. Its military is made up of 5% of the population, which equates to exactly 100,000 soldiers. Venus' actions have reduced Bialya's military to only 3,000 soldiers, many of whom are severely injured by third-degree burns or worse," Batman said sternly.
The Dark Knight's harshness cut through the air. He despised this one-sided massacre perpetrated by a single individual endowed with godlike powers. If an evil Superman was the nightmare creeping in the minds of many, Venus was that nightmare, walking the Earth, leaving charred flesh and molten metal in her wake.
"That's 97,000 confirmed casualties," Superman said with horror in his voice. Such a massive waste of life was unthinkable for the Man of Steel.
"Victims is the wrong word. They were soldiers. Perhaps from a regime we all disapprove of, but soldiers who knew the risks, especially when they're invading another country without proper justification," said Captain Atom, taking the most objective view. For him, a soldier is a soldier: he fights and dies for his country.
"Queen Bee's actions were wrong, but Bialya and her people did not deserve such punishment," said Black Canary, unable to detach herself from such a tragedy.
"They went to war thinking they had victory in their grasp, but instead they lost everything," Hawkwoman said, slapping her spiked club. The Thanagarians were made of a different stuff than humans and had a much more realistic view of conflict.
"Losing 97,000 soldiers in one fell swoop isn't just losing a war. For a nation of two million, it means wiping out an entire generation of young people, destroying the economy, destroying families, and leaving the country utterly defenseless and on the brink of total collapse," said Batman, knowing full well what would happen to Bialya after this disaster: pure social and economic collapse. For the next few years, perhaps a generation or two, Bialya would remain a hot spot, and not in a good way.
"We can talk later. Batman hasn't finished his presentation," Wonder Woman said, wanting to calm things down. Easier said than done: although the Justice League was a united front, not all its members shared the same philosophy and opinion.
"Finally, the subject appeared in the Bialya capital, Al-Qawiya," Batman said, moving on to discuss the third phase of the Bialya Incident.
The holographic screens multiplied, showing different angles of the city. In the clear sky above the rooftops of Al-Qawiya, Venus floated motionless. She did nothing; her head rotated slowly from right to left, her long white pigtails swaying lightly in the air as she studied the urban topography below her.
"Thank goodness Venus stayed there," Black Canary said with relief, unable to imagine the disaster that would ensue if the "Goddess" were unleashed in the middle of the city.
"After a few minutes' observation of the capital, Venus went straight to the presidential palace, where she generated an electromagnetic pulse that disabled the security system and fried every technological device within a block," Batman explained.
His fingers ran over the controls, mentally stressing the need to further shield the circuits of the Batcave and the Watchtower itself.
The screen displayed its last usable frames: Venus in midair, wreathed in filaments of blue lightning, making a fluid motion, similar to the throw of a baseball. An instant later, the cameras in the area went black in a flash of burned-out pixels.
"According to survivors' accounts, the subject broke through the reinforced roof of the building and entered inside. Queen Bee was captured and dragged into the public square. This portion was recorded by a civilian with an old analog camera," Batman continued, starting the footage.
The projection became grainy and shaky. Venus was flying close to the eaves of the buildings. With her right hand, she was clutching Queen Bee's throat.
The dictator queen of Bialya kicked in the void, her fingers stuck uselessly in the golden wrists of her captor, her face livid from the lack of air.
"A queen against a goddess, it's an unfair fight," Flash said, knowing Queen Bee wasn't a good person, but it was still hard not to feel sorry.
In the video, Venus suddenly opened her fingers. Queen Bee plummeted into the void, a free fall that would have crashed her onto the asphalt of the square.
But a millimeter above the ground, before the impact could paint the stone red, Venus darted down and grabbed her ankle with a sharp snap. The dictator's body swung like a pendulum, an inch from death.
"Grotesque. He's playing with someone's life," said Superman, unable to imagine doing something like that.
"I do things like that to get Gotham's criminals to talk," said Batman, who had a habit of throwing people off rooftops and catching them at the last second with grappling hooks.
"You don't kill, Batman. You scare," Superman cut him off, emphasizing the invisible but impassable boundary between the Dark Knight and the woman in the video.
"It looks more like a charade than an interrogation. He's sending a clear message to anyone watching," Captain Atom observed, crossing his metal arms over his massive chest.
"Venus, with her reluctant passenger, returned to the presidential palace where she started a fire that continues to burn to this day and shows no signs of stopping," Batman said, showing another clip.
The new footage showed the coordinates of the dictator's palace updated to just minutes earlier. Where the building once stood, there was a column of solid, white fire.
The flames had consumed the concrete, the furniture, and the beams, yet they continued to devour nothing, insensitive to the lack of fuel and the pouring rain that evaporated before touching them.
'For such persistent flames to exist, they must be fueled by the leylines of Bialya or be nonhuman in nature, perhaps a demonic or divine flame,' thought Zatanna, needing to do more research on the matter.
"This is a bad omen," Aquaman commented, and not just because of his natural aversion to fire.
"The ability to set an entire country ablaze in a day and create flames that cannot be extinguished by conventional means is a disastrous combination, a calamity beyond a shadow of a doubt," said Hal Jordan, having seen similarly dire situations during his space adventures.
"Once the fire was set, Venus traveled to the Qurac. Arriving in the capital Dhabar, she delivered Queen Bee in front of the Democratic Palace, at the feet of Rumaan Harjavti, but not before neutralizing Queen Bee's power with third-degree burns that mutilated her face," Batman concluded.
Queen Bee's current mugshot appeared on the screen. Half of her face was a mass of scarred, purple flesh, resembling Two-Face's profile. She now lay in a maximum-security cell at Qurac.
"A crude move that gives me the shivers," Vixen said, touching her face.
"But Queen Bee has the power to make men her slaves with her charm, there is some sense in what Venus did," said Hawkwoman, approving of the "Goddess" move.
"Pyromania on a national scale is a bad thing, mass murder even more so, but Venus didn't harm a single civilian and had the good sense to turn Queen Bee over to the proper authorities," Captain Marvel said, analyzing Venus's good and bad deeds.
For a moment, the entire Justice League fell silent. Having seen what Venus had done to military bases and government factories, if she continued her destructive behavior in the capital, Bialya's population could be reduced by 10% or more.
"Once Queen Bee was delivered, the flames around Bialya were extinguished. Venus brought an entire nation to its knees, massacred the army, destroyed the war factories, and captured the leader. All in less than two hours and with disarming ease," Batman said in a serious voice, displaying a mosaic of the entire web of events on the holographic screens, offering a comprehensive picture of the Bialya incident.
"Such a display of power has frightened a lot of people in high places," added Captain Atom, having his own connections in the US military.
"At eleven in the morning, Venus returned to the temple of Ishtar. She didn't come out or do anything for exactly five hours. Then she reappeared, planted something in the ground, and a small tree emerged near the temple," said Batman, having delved beyond the events of interest to politicians and the military.
The satellites showed the sequence. The temple, ancient and solitary in the desert. Then the white figure of Venus emerging from the structure at a speed almost imperceptible to the human eye.
For the first time since she'd appeared, her bare feet touched the earth. She dug her toes into the sand, planting a seed. Moments later, a small green stalk broke the surface.
"The woman whose feet don't touch the ground has developed a passion for gardening, and that should matter to us?" asked Flash, seeing no point in dwelling on the matter.
"By the end of the first day, the stem had grown into a ten-meter tree. Currently, the Venus tree has reached 210 meters tall. And it continues to grow," Batman documented. Time-lapse footage showed the biological miracle.
A colossal structure, its trunk and leaves pure white, towered against the desert sky. Around its roots, the arid sand was changing color, transforming into a blanket of lush green grass. The millennia-old temple was now the heart of a heavenly oasis.
"Now I understand why you investigated this matter, but so far I only see a huge tree fighting desertification," Flash said, spotting an interesting feature rather than a threat.
"I'm no expert on Babylonian mythology, but I don't think Ishtar has anything to do with giant trees. Perhaps she's a priestess who uses the magic of the gods? I thought such arcane art had died out centuries ago," Zatanna thought, spotting inconsistencies.
"After such an action, one might have expected her to target another nation, proclaim herself the new ruler of Bialya, or perform actions typical of a power-hungry megalomaniac or criminal mastermind. Instead..." Batman said, assuming like everyone else that Venus would execute the classic scheme.
"He's stealing our jobs," Flash said in an amused tone, unable to help but joke.
"Despite Flash's failed comedy routine, Venus has started acting like a hero, doing what we do every day, albeit in her own way," said Wonder Woman, having kept a close eye on the situation. Not as much as Batman, sure, but it wasn't hard to keep track of Venus's movements: all you had to do was turn on the TV.
"Since the Bialya incident, Subject Venus has begun a predictable schedule, a routine," Batman continued. A slight frown of annoyance twitched his lips: the Dark Knight found that regularity almost unnatural for a being of such power.
"At 7:00, Venus emerges from her temple, uses a hydrokinesis ability to water her garden, then does some simple stretching exercises and blows up the surrounding desert," Batman said, starting the footage.
The holographic screens synchronized with early morning. At 7:00, Venus slowly floated out of the darkness of the temple. She looked visibly sleepy, her eyes half-closed, and a heavy red blanket wrapped around her shoulders to protect her from the chill of the desert dawn.
At 7:10, the woman flew to the top of the giant tree. She raised a hand toward the sky and, with a fluid gesture of her fingers, summoned moisture from the air, building up a colossal sphere of water, as large as a stately home. With a sharp snap of her wrist, the sphere exploded, releasing a torrential rain that drenched the entire oasis below.
At 7:15, the rain suddenly stopped. The red blanket vanished into thin air, as if dissolved into thin air, and Venus sank weightlessly into a small natural pond at the foot of the temple, disappearing beneath its silvery surface.
At 7:20, she emerged fully awake. The water slid over her slender, athletic body, but an instant later, the air around her vibrated with heat: the water instantly evaporated in a cloud of white steam, leaving her skin and hair perfectly dry. Venus shot upward, completing three high-speed circles around the perimeter of her territory, then landed in midair and began a series of warm-up exercises. Sharp arm movements, torso twists, and straight leg swings, demonstrating impressive muscular flexibility.
At 7:40, the warm-up turned into a destructive ritual. Venus began pelting the surrounding dunes. Flames, ice bolts, crackling lightning, and jets of high-pressure water exploded from her hands in rapid succession. A merciless practice that ripped the desert apart, creating a deep, molten trench that clearly marked the invisible border of her land.
"After what I assume is a warm-up, at 8:00 sharp, Venus flies for a full hour into the Middle East. This routine morning flight has had a mostly positive influence," said Batman, being objective enough to discuss all of Venus's actions, whether good or bad.
The holographic screen displayed twenty different flight paths of Venus spanning the entire Middle East, regardless of state borders or social class.
"Venus's presence has blocked missile launches and terrorist attacks. It has frozen countless terrorist cells and training or conversion camps in its path. These events have then been published online," said Batman.
The screen showed satellite photos and field shots depicting hundreds of armed militiamen, transport vehicles, and heavy machine guns completely trapped inside thick blocks of blue ice, motionless as statues in the sand.
"The counterterrorism forces of legitimate governments and Navy SEALs operating in the Middle East have benefited from this intervention," said Captain Atom. As a military man, he knew full well that the soldiers on the ground were thanking that "Goddess," unlike the terrified politicians in Washington.
"During these travels, the subject displayed additional metahuman abilities: advanced cryokinesis, accelerated cellular healing, chlorokinesis, and a probable form of telekinesis applied at the macroscopic level," Batman listed, scrolling through a triptych of visual evidence.
The first image showed Venus at high altitude materializing a veritable iceberg out of thin air, dropping it into a drought-stricken desert ravine, and then melting it with a weak thermal pulse, creating a ten-meter-deep artificial lake.
The second video was amateur footage taken inside a dilapidated Iraqi hospital, crowded with the dying, the terminally ill, and veterans maimed by war. The video showed Venus floating a few meters from the building's windows, her hands outstretched in a gesture of blessing. The camera panned inside the wards, and those in the Watchtower witnessed a veritable biological shock: a woman suffering from tuberculosis stopped coughing as her lungs regenerated; a man consumed by cancer regained muscle mass and skin color in seconds; a paralytic stood up on his own two feet, while the stumps of the amputated soldiers began to itch and expand, with bone and tissue growing back into perfect, scar-free limbs.
The next images shifted to isolated villages, where famine had reduced the population to living skeletons. The video showed Venus lifting, using only her mind, hundreds of sacks of seeds confiscated from the warlords. She rained them down on the parched fields, then summoned a thick fog, heated the soil with a controlled heat, and those present saw the wheat and vegetables sprout and grow visibly, maturing in minutes, ready for harvest.
The final frame was impressive: it showed Venus along the coast of the Arabian Sea. Without making any physical effort or touching the hull, the woman held a gigantic cargo ship, about to sink due to a leak, twenty meters above the sea level, holding it in the air until it was safely deposited on the quay of the nearest port.
"Batman, with all due respect, I defy you to say these actions have an ulterior motive," Captain Marvel said, spreading her massive arms in an open gesture. Her face showed only honest admiration; to a heart as pure as hers, Venus's miracles were indisputable proof of a noble soul.
The Dark Knight pretended not to hear. Not a muscle in his face moved, nor did his eyes leave the console. He continued with the presentation, relentless.
"Whatever course or action she takes, Venus returns to the Temple of Ishtar at 9:00 sharp. A second later, she disappears completely from satellite radar, shielded by a localized energy anomaly, only to reappear in a completely different corner of the globe. She doesn't set foot back at the Temple until 17:00," Batman explained, pressing a backlit button. The hologram unfurled, transforming into a large, flat map of the globe.
"Subject Venus operates internationally from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., six days a week, for a total of 48 hours a week," the Dark Knight continued. A rigid, geometric digital time grid appeared next to the world map, recording that routine with the precision of an industrial thermostat.
"Does Venus have a time clock to punch at the office and we don't know about it?" Green Arrow asked, crossing his arms over his chest and letting out a half-laugh, finding that bureaucratic approach hilarious for a supposed "Goddess."
"Believe me, Oliver, half the Pentagon is asking the exact same question," commented Captain Atom, his metallic body reflecting the pulsating light of the graphs.
"From Monday to Saturday, for eight straight hours, Venus carries out humanitarian interventions for which it's objectively difficult to find an ulterior motive. And she chooses a different country every day," Batman documented. Dozens of territories began to light up on the map, turning an electric blue.
"Germany, Italy, Romania, Japan, China, Australia, Norway, Greece, Argentina, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Morocco. These are the countries where Venus has appeared," Batman listed, his voice flowing like a magnetic tape as the borders of the nations mentioned glowed on the map.
"I detect no logical pattern, no geographic or political criteria," Red Tornado observed. The microsensors inside his artificial pupils clicked in rapid succession, processing the coordinates without finding a common algorithm. The choice seemed entirely random.
"Out of curiosity, where is Venus currently?" asked Flash, eager to find out the woman's current location.
"His shift is in New Zealand today," Batman replied. With a tap of his finger on the console, he opened a real-time video window, linking to a local news channel.
The live feed was chaotic, lashed with smoke. It showed a massive forest fire engulfing a valley, engulfing a dozen rural homes. Amid that wall of destructive flames and toppling trees, Venus hovered just meters above the rooftops. With calm, precise movements of her bare hands, she created barriers of icy air that froze the fire as it passed, lifting civilians trapped in their cars and placing them safely beyond the smoke line, under the wide-eyed eyes of rescuers on the ground.
'On his first day, he stops a war using extreme methods, but without harming an innocent person. Then, for the next three weeks, he helps the entire world... where's the evil?' Flash thought, forming a somewhat biased image in his mind.
"It helped nineteen different nations, specifically, not the entire world," said Red Tornado, being a being of the utmost precision.
"Flash, we're not here to judge whether Venus is evil or good, but to understand what she's done so far and how we should approach her," Wonder Woman said, realizing that all of this was just a prelude to a strategy meeting.
"Venus's schedule is pretty mechanical. Every two hours, she takes a fifteen-minute break to read a book or check her smartphone, all while floating above a hospital facility, where every single person is miraculously healed," Batman said as he pressed buttons. Four small, glowing red medical crosses appeared within each nation hit by the blue vectors: a pinpoint mapping of her stopping points.
"I heard he did a real healing marathon in Morocco," Black Canary commented, resting her chin on her open hand and thinking back to the incredible news reports that had bounced around the last twenty-four hours.
"The subject operates primarily through three broad categories," Batman continued, as a three-dimensional pie chart took shape behind him, its data glowing coldly. "Immediate rescue missions—such as stopping traffic accidents, performing emergency healing, raising sinking ships, guiding disabled planes to the ground, stopping landslides, or clearing blocked roads—constitute seventy percent of its activity. Environmental cleanup missions—making rain fall in areas affected by severe famine, regenerating farmlands and entire burned-out forests—take up twenty-eight percent. The remaining two percent is dedicated to neutralizing violent criminals, armed robbers, and terrorist cells. This is a distinct minority of its operations."
The graph became colored with three distinct sections: 70% Rescue, 28% Reclamation, 2% Neutralization. The numbers spoke clearly.
"Venus's activity in Morocco didn't follow her usual routine. During her shift, she focused primarily on healing: she visited fifty different hospitals and healed twenty-one thousand people, eliminating health emergencies in a quarter of the country in just eight hours," Batman said, displaying footage from yesterday and today in Morocco.
The holographic screens filled with a pulsating human wave. More than eighty thousand people had poured into the squares and avenues of Casablanca and Rabat to celebrate, dancing and crying with joy for their recovered children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents. Through the screen, one could almost feel the warmth of the crowd, the sound of drums, and the sheer physical energy of a population celebrating an unexpected miracle.
"I'm the fastest man alive, and even I can't help this many people like this," Flash said, metaphorically doffing his hat.
"Such an act cannot be forgotten or ignored," Captain Marvel said with a smile on her face, taking pleasure in seeing so many people happy and reunited with their loved ones.
"Not even ninety-seven thousand people died in Bialya," Superman said with a bitter expression.
"These were no ordinary people, but ninety-seven thousand soldiers going to war against a democratic nation unprepared for such an assault. On the other hand, we have twenty-one thousand people healed in a single day. If we count all the others who recovered from before, what number do we get?" asked Green Lantern (John Stewart), looking towards Batman.
"The estimates are that 49,560 patients have recovered 100% without showing any side effects. Over 50,000 sick people will likely recover by the end of the day, and if Venus continues her routine, the numbers will rise," Batman said, needing to give an honest answer.
"Some would say Venus has half redeemed herself," Hawkwoman commented, giving her spiked club a sharp tap with her fingers.
"You can't destroy one life, save two, and call it a day," Superman said, certain it wasn't right.
"I agree with you, Superman. But the common people out there will say she did more good than harm. Many don't even consider what happened in Bialya a crime," Green Arrow said, having to side with the common people. Venus had done something controversial on many levels, but afterward she had acted as if she were Superman, but oriented on a larger scale and different problems.
"That's not true. Venus's actions, even good ones like those in Morocco, have negative consequences," said Batman, having information on the subject.
"How can you do harm by healing the sick on a mass scale?" Captain Marvel asked, unable to imagine any negative consequences.
"Transport crisis, bureaucracy gone mad, and the crisis of the multinational pharmaceutical companies," replied the Dark Knight, listing three major problems.
"Can you explain?" Vixen asked, raising one perfect eyebrow and leaning forward.
"Twenty-one thousand recovered people are having to return home at once. The roads around hospitals are being blocked by taxis, unused ambulances, and weeping families. Transportation systems in cities like Casablanca and Rabat are being disrupted. Doctors and administrators are having to sign twenty-one thousand discharge forms; the Moroccan Ministry of Health's computer systems are collapsing from the overload. Furthermore, the major pharmaceutical companies that sell life-saving drugs in Morocco are being hit hard," Batman said, providing information on the consequences.
"None of this is really that serious or unsolvable. It'll be tiring and frustrating, but it'll all be resolved in a few days," said Green Arrow, blind to the problem. There's traffic everywhere in the world, and for once, government employees will have to work.
"And since when do we care if the multinational pharmaceutical companies suffer a drop in profits?" Vixen added, crossing her legs with a wry smile, convinced that Batman was grasping at straws.
"As you can see, the subject of Venus is something that divides people on two sides," said Wonder Woman, noting how her friends and comrades-in-arms had wildly differing opinions about her.
"And the Pro-Venus faction boasts extremely influential supporters," Batman continued, modifying the hologram to reveal three new, stable biometric profiles. "First and foremost is the Qurac, led by President Rumaan Harjavti and his daughter Noor. Furthermore, during her passage through Germany, Venus intercepted a plane crash, saving the lives of three key figures in Europe's elite."
The screen displayed details of the three rescued VIPs: Otto Apocalypse, CEO of Schicksal, the richest and most technologically advanced multinational agency in Europe, and an absolute genius in the biomedical field; Mobius Leavtruth, a world-renowned scientist and geneticist ranked among the top five most brilliant minds on the planet, holder of countless revolutionary medical patents; and Irisviel von Einzbern, future matriarch of the Einzbern dynasty, considered the wealthiest woman in Germany and renowned for her impressive philanthropic works, despite persistent rumors about the mysterious paternity of her twin daughters, Illyasviel and Chloe.
"If we do something stupid with Venus, we risk making a lot of enemies," Fire commented.
"It's bad enough that Lex Luthor is trying everything to discredit us. If Otto Apocalypse joins in, we'll have gray hair," said Ice, the heroine who already had gray hair.
"I have a proposal," said Martian Manhunter, speaking for the first time in the meeting.
Continues...
XXX
CYOA Interactive build for the MC (Caesar "Mwisho" Kaslana Tohsaka, alias Ishtar, alias Venus, alias Cocoon of Finality)
**Meta**
You, CYOA, Shards, what are those Shards you speak of?
**Difficulty**
Standard, Higher (Tier 9)
**Scenario & Setting**
AU Alternate Earth, April 7, 2011, Just Better, Anime Logic, No More Planned Obsolescence, Comic Origin, Comic Book Pretty, VFX On [It's a Beautiful World We Have], Huh, isn't that... [Colorful Crowd, Native Variant], Expy Galore x 3, Additional Genre x 1, DC Prime Earth, Lost (Perilous)
**Character**
Drop-In
**Skills**
Parkour [Professional Athlete], Survival [Hunter], Stealth, Ambidextrous, Hand-Eye Coordination, Spatial Awareness, Exercise, Teaching, Learning, Internal Clock, Idiot Proofing, Master Housekeeper [Home Management], Lipreading, Management, Body Language, Sign-Language
**Perks**
Blank, Mental Barrier, Trumped the Trump, Invictus, Well-Adjusted, Reputable, 'Plot' Armor, Thematic, Manton Protected, Ripple Effect Proof Memory [Ripple Effect Proof Body], Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative, Comic Book Physics, Peaceful Life, World Clean, Serendipitous Luck, Sixth Sense, I Don't Get It [I Get It Now... But Not Really...?], Foreigner, Continuity Of Existence, Those Who Came Before, Loyalty Insurance
**Drawbacks**
Conscious Geas x 1, Unconscious Geas x 1, Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair x 2, Unmasked, Wanted (Global) x 3, Wildbow? Where have I heard that before?, Slaughterhouse 8, Rogues Gallery, Morsel, Trouble Magnet, Wild Wasteland, Fated Journey, Child of Fate, Plotbound, Stalker, Villain Target, The Summoning, Extremely Obvious Summoning, Why am I in the News?!, Acclimation, Jet Lag, Quarter Pounder, Nemesis, Native Awakening, Neutral Good x 1, Yandere x 1, High-Tier, Rank 1
**Shard**
Shardless
**Powers**
The Dancer, Instinct (Type-Moon), Magecraft (Type-Moon), Old Magic (Type-Moon) [Old Master], Servant (Type-Moon), Denial Of Heavens, Golden Rule (Type-Moon), Magitech, The Craftsman, Genius of a Previous Era (Honkai Impact 3rd), Item Construction (Type-Moon) [Divine Construction, Perfect Workshop], Obsession of the Celestial Spheres, Roleplayer: True Mother, Territory Creation (Type-Moon), Herrscher (Honkai Impact 3rd), Pioneer of the Stars (Type-Moon)
**Objects of Power**
Maana (Type-Moon), Ancient Name (Genshin Impact) [Engraver of Names, Mwisho: The Final State], Irminsul (Genshin Impact) [Fantasy Tree (Type-Moon), Imaginary Tree Simulacra], Treasury
**Fusions & Upgrades**
Territory of Starry Wisdom, Revelation (Type-Moon), Divine Spirit (Type-Moon) [Mistress of Heaven], Magic Crest (Type-Moon) x 1, Mythically Accurate, Unassailable Divinity [Ineffable Sovereignty], Collector (Type-Moon), Black Box, Singularity; Notes (Type-Moon), Cocoon of Finality (Honkai Impact 3rd) [God of the Collapse], Essential, Infusion
**Equipment & Items**
You're The Star of This Show!
**Companions**
EMIYA (Type-Moon)
**Point Conversion**
+25 SP -50 CP x 5, +2 SP -4 CP x 1, +1 SP -2 CP x 1
XXX
Code CYOA:
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