Many of our soldiers had problems fitting back into society. Data has shown that the more intensive their combat experience was, the more time they needed to readjust to the life of a civilian, if they even manage it at all.
For those who had quite literally gone through hell, we fear they might never adapt successfully. Because living on the edge for months, years, fighting for their lives while watching their comrades die, broke something in them. It's a powerful combination of survivor's guilt, PTSD, and with a tinge of madness thrown in. Think of Vietnam, then multiply it by a hundred.
The superlative abilities and skills of these veterans, if not carefully harnessed, can be extremely damaging to society.
-Psychological Report Introduction
Andy shuffled his feet nervously as he waited for the lift to reach Diana's apartment. He held a bouquet of roses in his hands, which Bob had insisted he buy just before he dropped off from work.
"It's tradition that a guy brings flowers on a date." Bob had told him, despite all of Andy's protests that having dinner with a woman was not the same as having a date.
Why did I ever agree to this? Andy asked himself. Almost immediately, another part of his mind answered, because you have nothing else better to do.
The lift door opened, and Andy walked out. He came almost immediately to Diana's apartment. He stopped at the door, feeling too nervous to press the doorbell.
No reason for me to be afraid, right? Press the doorbell, damn it! Andy tried to convince himself. But his body stubbornly refused, and he stood there stupidly for a minute, shuffling his feet nervously.
He took several deep breaths, and finally managed to muster the courage to press the doorbell.
Andy's hand was just reaching for the small button when the door suddenly opened.
He stared at Princess Diana of Themyscira, also known throughout the world as Wonder Woman, for a while before he managed to recover first.
"Uh, hi, good evening, Princess." Heh. I could be suave when I want to.
"Hello, Andy. And please call me Diana." She smiled, which would normally send the blood pressure of any male who looked at her to skyrocket.
Her choice of clothing did not help matters any. She wore a long, backless bare shouldered red evening gown with a plunging neckline which accentuated her generous cleavage. She wore a pair of high heel pumps and her trademark red star earrings, with a sparkling diamond necklace borrowed from Donna to top it off. Her long dark tresses hung loose around her shoulders in a pleasing symmetry. She wore little makeup, but then again, she did not need much of it either.
Andy swallowed hard. "Sorry for making you wait so long." He did not exactly have a well armed wardrobe, and the suit he wore was the only one he had deigned to buy and wear whenever he had to negotiate new deals for the limo company if Bob was too busy.
She walked out into the corridor, and held out her arm. "It's all right, I've just finished too. Can we go now?"
Andy gallantly held out his own arm for her to rest it on, and he led her to the lift.
They reached the basement car park, where Andy had parked the well furbished Rolls-Royce he had taken from the company garage. It was meant for weddings and other celebratory functions, and even though he did not have a car of his own, he was more than entitled to use any vehicle of the limo company, since he owned half of it anyway.
Andy keyed his electronic lock, causing the lights of the car to flash momentarily, signaling the doors were unlocked. He walked over to open the door for Diana.
"Thanks," she said as she entered the car, "but I can do it myself, you know."
"I'm used to it," Andy deadpanned as he quickly circled the car to the driver's seat. He noticed her grin in the dark. He started the engine, and the car purred into life.
"Where are we going?" Andy asked as he pulled out of the car park into the city street.
"There's this new seafood restaurant over at First Avenue. I heard that it's quite good."
"Is it expensive? I mean, I don't want you to spend too much of your money."
"Oh no, no problem." Diana replied. Her money that Tony's men had funneled into Kobra had resulted in an electronic trail that had led to several of their cells all over the world being exposed and rooted out. Oracle had even been able to get back the money. "Besides, it'll be nice to relax for a while."
Andy took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. "I've been reading the papers. You shouldn't be putting so much work on yourself." He turned back to his front.
"And you're concerned about that?"
"Luck always runs out, sooner or later. Many of the foes that you're fighting were not exactly pushovers."
"I cannot leave innocents to come to harm," she said softly. Her humiliation at Tony's hands still lingered in her mind, and she had been forced to come to terms with some of the unpleasant truths the unknown bidder had forced her to see.
"And is every death that occurs without your intervention your fault?" She stayed silent. "I know you're trying to compensate for the event last week."
Somehow, the networks had managed to get the footage of her humiliation at Tony's mansion. The fallout had been considerable, even if the worst parts had been blanked out or censored.
Since then, she had been working overtime to repair her soiled reputation, greatly aided by confident remarks from her JLA teammates in her abilities. Her crucial involvement in the crisis that afflicted the human race weekly did not hurt matters any.
"What happened last week was horrifying," Diana shuddered, "if that unknown warrior had not intervened, things would have been much worse."
She continued, "I don't suppose you know who might be responsible for rescuing me, do you?"
"No, I don't. Why should I know? His reply came a bit too quickly, and her enhanced hearing had already picked up the lie from his heartbeat. Besides, she was the goddess of truth, and that was a blatant lie, and from the lie, the truth was obvious.
"Because not a single mobster was killed despite the use of guns by my unknown savior. I thought you might know, since you're somewhat of an expert in that field yourself, and might have run across somebody that good."
"I'm overrated. And I don't exactly move around in those circles." Again, the lie in his reply was evident, but Diana did not want to antagonize him so early in the night. She just wanted him to tell the truth, to speak clearly to her, to tell her why he wanted to be so secretive. She knew it would take time to draw him out of his shell, and an Amazon warrior can be patient when she wants to.
"So, how are your injuries?" She changed the subject.
Diana heard the relief in his voice at the new topic. "The doctors just checked me out yesterday, and I got a clean bill of health."
"So you've gone back to work?"
"Yeah, started today, in fact. But Bob was too worried, and he had me in the office the whole day looking through our operations."
"And how are Mr. Simon and his family? His kids are delightful!" She had grown to know the Simon family during the short time that Andy had lain in a coma, and she regretted not having the opportunity or time to know them better.
"Bob is doing well, though he had to struggle a bit with the business when I wasn't around. The kids are fine," she saw a faint smile appear on his face, "but little Ronnie just lost all his front teeth. Too many sweets, and Bob blames me for that."
From what Bob Simon had told her, Andy had a soft spot for kids. In fact, Bob even told her how Andy had saved his family a year ago, and in many ways he had his kids to thank for Andy's help.
She chuckled, "I remember when I was growing, and my mother would have to tie me down to prevent me from going to the gardens to gorge myself on the berries!"
She asked Andy, "What was your childhood like?"
Diana knew she had set off another minefield from the way his face suddenly clamped up, and the clenching of his hands on the wheel.
There was a long moment before Andy forced his face back into some semblance of normalcy. Diana had been shocked by the rage in his eyes, and the hatred that had imposed itself for the shortest instant. She did not speak, instead letting the silence bleed away the awkwardness resulting from her faux pas.
"We're there," Andy said quietly as the car pulled up near the restaurant beside the pavement. He easily slid the car into the parking lot, then shut off the engine.
"I'm sorry for reacting like that." Andy pulled out the key. "But please don't ask me anything like that again, okay?"
Wonder Woman was relieved. "Of course." But she was still curious about the past of her mysterious companion. "Come on. I'm getting a bit hungry, and you must be too." Andy gave her a thin smile.
They entered the Happy Fish restaurant, where a waiter greeted them. He quickly showed them to a table in a corner, and they placed their orders.
"So," Andy leaned back in his chair, "you were speaking of your childhood, weren't you? How was it like?"
Diana allowed her memories to wash over her. "I grew up the only child on an island of women. They all doted on me, and I was everyone's favorite niece, since I was the only one they had!"
She took a sip from a glass of water. "It was sometimes tense, because we had to guard Doom's Doorway, but by and large life was peaceful."
"As an amazon, I was trained in the use of all weapons, and to use my gifts from the gods effectively. My teacher Phillipus would often stay up late into the night to think of ways to challenge me so that I wouldn't get complacent…"
Andy listened to Diana's account of her childhood with envy. She had been showered with love from the very beginning, with a loving mother and dozens of concerned 'aunties'.
His childhood could be hardly more different.
It was a room full of children, where a lesson was being taught by a middle aged man. The children were all listening attentively, their eyes alert, their bodies upright. They wore identical uniforms, a gray tunic that fitted in well with their drab surroundings. It was not a conventional school.
"Slide the barrel along this part of the pistol here," he pointed to the board, "and then close the lock."
The man was teaching the children how to dissemble and assemble a pistol.
"And finally, press the trigger to confirm that the pistol is in working condition." The man droned on as usual. He did not look at the children, nor did he worry about whether they were paying attention. They were fodder, after all. Only one of them would survive at all, and the others were just scraps and culling for that one survivor, his leader's ubermensch*, and future war leader of the armies. You don't have to treat fodder with care.*
"We will now proceed to the test area. You will be tested on your technical handling ability to strip and assemble the pistols." He gestured to the door.
The children trooped out in twos, heading towards another room where a group of soldiers in uniform were waiting for them. In the room there were orderly rows of tables with a pistol lying on top, the pistol on which they will be tested on.
Each soldier held a similar pistol in his hands.
"Sit at the tables according to your numbers!" One sergeant barked out.
The children sat themselves before the tables without uttering a sound, awaiting further instructions.
The sergeant spoke. "You will be given one minute to strip and assemble the pistols, exactly the way it was shown to you. Pass, and you will live. Fail, and well, you know what happens." He grinned sardonically as the soldiers moved up to each child and leveled their own loaded pistols at the heads of the child before them.
Some of the children started trembling, their hands shaking as they prepared to complete their task. Others were able to control themselves, knowing that failure to maintain their clam could be fatal.
"Begin!" The sergeant shouted as he started a stopwatch in his right hand.
Almost immediately, the room was filled with the sounds of pistols being cleared as the children went through the first step in the sequence of dissembling the pistols.
"BAM!" A sea of red erupted onto a table. The soldier who fired shouted out, "No.56! Incorrect procedure! Failed!"
The sergeant nodded. Failure to follow instructions is punishable by death. There were plenty more of them left anyway.
As the tense minute passed, more shots were heard around the room. Small bodies were shoved off the tables as the soldiers carried the corpses away.
A boy designated Number 39 struggled to press the firing pin back into the barrel. In front of him, another boy had only just dissembled his pistol.
"Thirty seconds left!" The instructor shouted.
The anxious boy tried to speed up his actions, but he was having difficulty sliding the chamber back into the pistol. His hands began to tremble from fear.
"Ten seconds left! Nine, eight, seven…"
He finally managed to slide it into place. He thumbed the lock, but it was proving to be extremely stubborn to moving. By now, he was breathing heavily from the pressure, desperately forcing himself not to wipe off the sweat on his brow threatening to spill onto his eyes.
"Three, two, one…" The sergeant yelled out nonchalantly.
"Click!" He managed to snap the lock into place, and pressed the trigger at the very last moment.
"Zero!"
Pistol shots were heard all over the room, a cacophony of booming roars, before the soldiers reported on their charges.
"Report!" The sergeant barked.
"No. 14, overtime! Failed!" The soldier lowered his smoking pistol, which had just discharged at the boy sitting in front of him. Number 39 stared at the brain gore and blood splattered all over the table of his sibling, along with a half assembled pistol.
"No. 39, passed!"
Andy jerked himself back from the memories just as the food they had ordered arrived.
Diana had ordered plank-roasted salmon, while he had steamed cod with rice. They washed the food down with soft drink, since Andy didn't want to run any risk of getting drunk as he was driving.
"Your mother must have loved you very much." Andy mused. "And you didn't have a father?"
"Believe it or not, I'm really just clay blessed by the gods, and imbued with a soul. I don't have a real father. What about you, do you have any family?"
"Besides Jake and Bob's folks, not really."
"I was talking about maybe your parents and siblings."
My mother was raped and then killed after she had given birth to me, and all of my half-siblings were murdered, either at my hands or that of others. Great family relationship there.
Andy managed to keep his face free of anger. "I have a father. He's still around."
"And how is your relation to him?"
Andy allowed his hate to seep into his voice for once. "The only thing we agree on is that one of us will kill the other."
The vehemence in his soft tone startled Diana, but she recovered gamely. "I'm sorry to hear that. I had strong words with my mother just before she died too. It was something I regretted for a long time. In the end, I was able to make it up to her when the gods allowed us to communicate, but that was an unique exception. Why don't you try reconciliation with your father?"
Andy forced out a pained laugh. "Reconciliation? Your mother was a good woman, a heroine to the world." He leaned forward. "My father, on the other hand, has absolutely no redeeming quality left in him. I hate him and I _will_kill him the next time I see him." He went back to eating, ignoring the stunned Diana.
She said slowly, "Are you always like this?"
Andy stopped with a piece of food halfway to his mouth. He just realized he had revealed more than he should, in a way that was not exactly polite.
He sighed. "Sorry, I got carried away again."
She looked at him with sympathy in her deep blue eyes. "I understand. You must have led a hard life."
Andy shook his head. "That's no excuse for talking that way. My behavior has really been awful."
"Well, I was the one who asked you out. Besides, you did save my life."
Andy hesitated before his next sentence, before going on. "Uhm, about what I saw on that day… Does that happen to you often?"
Diana blushed, her cheeks turning a deep red. "No. In fact, that was the first time my enemies had ever stooped to that sort of vile act. But I think it did give some people ideas, because Tony and his gang tried to do the same thing."
"But they all failed, didn't they?"
"The problem is, more and more of my enemies might try to use such tactics, as they are, against me. You see, I have never been with a man before. And I'm afraid I might be forced to do it against my will."
Andy blinked in surprise. "You must be joking."
"My people fled to Themyscira because of such a similar incident. I was raised to guard my womanhood and virtue with great care, lest I betray our ideals and allow what occurred to happen again."
"And all those rumors in the papers about you and Superman?"
"Just that. Rumors. I admit I have fond feelings for him, but it can never be." Her voice carried a tinge of regret.
He was a bit confused. "So, you are allowed to have sexual relationships, but only under specific circumstances?"
"Yes. Only if we are willing, and even then only with people of virtue."
"But that doesn't explain why you haven't even, uh, done it, even once."
Dian looked down at her food in embarrassment. "I have other ideas. I would much prefer to have a steady relationship before rushing into such things. And the opportunity hasn't arrived yet."
"Oh," Andy chewed a piece of fish, "So, have you been seeing anyone recently?"
"Aside from you? Not really." Andy nearly choked on his food at her reply. She laughed at his discomfort, and reached out to pat his hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just a joke."
"That's one heck of a joke, lady!" Andy took a mouthful from his drink, before swallowing hard.
"I know. It's just that, with everything that's happening lately, I feel quite a bit lonely. It's like all there is in my life is me and my mission." She sighed regretfully. "I yearn for more purpose, but I do not know where to get it."
Andy could not help but feel sympathy for the beautiful woman sitting opposite him. "Maybe you just have to wait for the opportunity." Yeah, but who am I to go about giving advice? He chided himself. For all that he was capable of, he was definitely not Mr. Personality.
"Enough about me, what about you?" She switched the topic, "You're an eligible bachelor, successful, good looking." Diana smiled mischievously. "There must be hordes of women after you."
"Uh, you're wrong." It was his turn to look uncomfortable. "I'm not really the sociable type." He shifted uneasily in his seat.
"Relax! One thing though, do you have anything on later? I'll like to bring you somewhere." She quickly continued on his wary frown, "It's some thing I have to do, Wonder Woman Foundation business. I would like you to come along, that is, if you're willing to."
Diana smiled at the waiter as she paid the bill, which she noticed sent his heartbeat racing. She had long known of the way her mere presence affected both men and women, and she found it slightly amusing.
Well, except for the man now walking beside her as they left the restaurant. Andy Skye had been trying to stay as aloof as possible without actually ignoring her. The amazon princess supposed that his mysterious past had a lot to do with it.
Nevertheless, his resistance was breaking down slowly under her patient assault. She had been shocked by his rage against his father, and she suspected that there might be piles of skeletons in his closet better left undisturbed.
"So where's the place?" Andy asked as they got into his car.
"It's on Smithson Street, beside a bakery. One of my Foundation workers has been badgering me to go there for some time now. She told me that my showing up would be a boost to the people running the home. And the children would love to see me there." Diana explained as Andy drove off.
"That wouldn't be an orphanage by any chance, would it?" He asked.
Diana was a bit surprised. "You know of it?"
"Uh, yeah. I've heard of it." There seemed to be more to his reply than what he had told her, but the former goddess of truth decided not to press the issue. She was more than glad he had been willing to accompany her, since he had admitted that he had no real activity at night.
They made small talk as Andy drove, about the weather, the rebuilding of the city, and the recent outburst of drug activity in New York.
"Well, here we are," Andy said as he stopped the car by a small nondescript building, abut four stories tall. It had obviously seen better days, but the occupants of the orphanage loved their home all the same.
A tall black woman was playing with a few children in front of the building on the door steps, and she looked up in delight as Diana stepped out of the car.
"Hi, Diana! So glad you could come!" The tall woman waved at Diana. "Hey kids! Say hello to Wonder Woman!"
The children did not reply, and simply stood there with slacked jaws, in awe of her sheer presence.
Diana smiled. Shauna King was one of the most enthusiastic members of the Foundation, and constantly finding ways to raise more money without compromising her own principles.
It was Shauna's idea to have her try to focus more attention on the needy and to encourage the rich to donate their money directly to the institutions and homes, instead of relying on state welfare schemes, which would burden the average taxpayer, and also expend the money on unnecessary bureaucracy.
"Kids, don't just stand there with your mouths open. She's not going to bite you. Remember your manners." Andy said abruptly. Most of them quickly reacted to the mild admonishment, and greeted her with a chorus of chirping voices, along with a cheerful "Hi, Andy" which surprised her. Melissa started to usher them into the building.
Another elderly woman, apparently one of the workers at the orphanage, walked out the orphanage door just as the children went in. "Oh, Andy! What a nice surprise! I didn't know you were coming today!"
Diana looked in surprise at Andy. The woman then noticed Diana, and gave her a warm smile, "Wonder Woman! Thank you for coming!" She walked down the steps and took Diana's proffered hand in greeting.
"Call me Diana," the Amazon Princess said.
"I'm Mildred Sommers, the old lady in charge of this orphanage." The lady's grip was not strong, but Diana could feel the sincerity nonetheless.
"Not so old, Mildred," Andy said with a slight grin on his face, "that you can't handle seventy children running around."
"You may be right, Andy. Anyway, come on in, you two, it's getting cold outside." Mildred started to walk back to the door.
Diana smiled as she followed Mildred up the steps. Apparently Andy was well acquainted with the place, judging from the way the kids had greeted him, and the way he talked to Mildred. Shauna joined them as they entered.
"So Andy," Mildred was saying, "what a coincidence for you to come along
tonight! You must know who Wonder Woman is…"
Diana cleared her throat. "Actually, Mildred, he came with me."
Mildred slowed down noticeably. Andy tried to hang back, but Diana managed to hook one arm around his right arm, and she used her superior strength to force him to walk along.
No running away from this conversation. Diana smirked to herself. She continued talking, "We came here after dinner together. It was just a coincidence that I was coming here tonight and that I managed to get him to come along."
Mildred led them down a corridor towards a pair of large doors. "Well, Andy, I'm happy to see you finally opening up. Diana, you don't know how lucky you are to catch him. I think he's been running away from nice young women for as long as I've known him." She added a wink for emphasis.
An embarrassed Andy tried to get a word in to clarify the situation, but Diana spoke first, enjoying the moment. "So how long have you known him?"
"Oh, for a year now. He just showed up one day asking if we needed any help. We got him to become an unpaid volunteer teacher here. Not only that, he would donate quite a tidy sum of money to us every month."
Andy finally managed to garble out a reply. "Uh, I'm not in any relationship…"
His words did not register with Mildred, who carried on. "Of course you are." Diana tried to hide her smile at Andy's discomfort, but she was not entirely successful.
They walked through the door to see the children of the orphanage all gathered in the room awaiting the arrival of the world's foremost superheroine.
After the short program put up by the children, and the obligatory autograph signing session, Diana found herself in the kitchen of the orphanage with Mildred, Shauna, and Andy, while the three other members of the orphanage staff guided the children to their rooms for a good night's rest.
"What do you think?" Mildred asked Diana as Wonder Woman sipped at a cup of coffee. The women sat around a small table, while Andy leaned against a wall near the door.
"Well, you have a great setup here. The Wonder Woman Foundation will be more than happy to help you. What do you need?"
"Well, new beds for the kids, for starters. And more computers. And better food." Andy stepped away from the wall, ready to speak when Mildred raised a hand to forestall his comment. "Andy, I know how much you have given us already, but you gotta start thinking of yourself."
Diana's curiosity was piqued. "Andy, how much do you give them?"
Mildred answered for him. "He gives us at least two thousand a month, more than half his pay." She returned Andy's sullen glare. "I knew of this only because I asked Bob Simon from their company," she explained.
"So?" Andy asked. "Mildred, the orphanage needs the money to keep running."
Mildred sighed. "I know, but we can't keep relying on you and a few other kind souls only. What shall we do when something bad happens? When you got injured a month ago, we had to spend money to hire an extra teacher just to replace you. We can't keep expecting everything to fall our way, we have to start preparing for the future, and Diana here is going to help us do that."
Andy nodded. "I understand. No matter what, the kids have to come first."
Diana placed her cup down on the table. "If it makes you feel better, we'll be putting as much money as we can into a trust fund, so that we won't need to keep hunting for rich old philanthropists to give us money."
"You mean all those dirty old men who you are willing to tease a bit here and there just to get them to donate their fortunes?" Shauna's eyes twinkled naughtily.
The beautiful Amazon blushed. "Well, I never traded in sexual favors, if that's what you're hinting at."
Mildred laughed out. "Hah! Men are all the same! Show them a length of leg, and they'll be willing to jump through hoops just for the chance to get you into bed!" She added hastily on remembering that there was a man present. "Present company excepted, of course."
The sole man in the kitchen offered them a rueful grin. "That's quite true, actually. No matter how much we pretend to think otherwise."
Diana smiled. Hmmm, he can be honest when he wants to be.
A beeping sound suddenly filled the room. Diana did not need to look at her wrist communicator to know that another emergency had cropped up, but she still needed to know where to go.
"Sorry, Mildred, Shauna, I've got to go. The police are having some trouble with heavily armed Valkyr pushers at the docks. I'm going over to lend them a hand."
"No problem dear," Mildred said, "I think Shauna can go over the fine print with me, since you've agreed to help us anyway."
Diana smiled at the older woman, then walked to the kitchen door next to Andy. "Andy, thanks for showing me around tonight."
"I didn't show you around. It was the other way, I think."
"Still, I had a good time," Diana took a deep breath, and said sotto voce, "and thanks for saving me from Tony." She gave him a slight kiss on one cheek. "Good night."
"Wow, Mr. Skye, you must be the luckiest man in the world!" Shauna exclaimed as Diana left, leaving a slightly flustered Andy in the kitchen.
"Like I keep saying, there's nothing between us," Andy denied tiredly for the umpteenth time that evening.
"No matter whether there's anything there, it simply means you have a chance." Mildred said firmly.
Andy threw his hands up in mock disgust. "I give up!" He walked quickly to the door as Mildred and Shauna followed. "I have to go now. It's a long day tomorrow."
"Sure. But remember, Andy, a woman like that is exactly what she is, the finest in the world. You owe it to yourself to try, if nothing else."
Andy paused near the orphanage main door. "Maybe I would. Maybe I won't." He shrugged. "Who knows? Good night ladies." He bowed politely, and left the building.
He walked down the steps to his car, but he felt a familiar tingling of danger almost before he had taken three steps from the orphanage. There was a sensation of danger behind him, an aura of death that a warrior as attuned as he was to the presence of enemies could readily perceive. He almost stopped in mid stride, before walking slowly to his car. No sense in alerting whoever's behind me.
He reached into his front pocket, as if reaching for his electronic keylock, but instead pulled out his pistol instead, spinning around at the same time to confront his attacker in one fluid motion.
The figure in ancient armor and ominous glowing red eyes did not even flinch as Andy drew a bead on it. He knew almost instinctively that this was an enemy to be eliminated, somebody very powerful and dangerous.
Andy fired off one entire magazine clip, surprised that there was no short bark from the firing of his gun. Even more incredulous was the motion of the bullets as they literally halted in mid air near the figure, before dropping to the ground harmlessly.
Oh shit. He knew more or less he was facing now. Somebody with a lot of magical or psionic power, perhaps even one of the gods that walked the earth so often nowadays.
Despite the helmet and his dark visage, the warlord seemed to smile at Andy's attack, his eyes glowing a bright red. He simply stood there without any other movement, not reaching for a weapon.
The human had barely a moment to guess at what his opponent was trying to do before he raised his mindshield in frenzied anticipation.
The psionic blast from his opponent crashed in.
Ares was impressed. The mortal had actually managed to sense his presence despite his best efforts to conceal himself. Moreover, he did not run away in fright at seeing the God of War, and had even the guts to shoot at him!
Yes, he will be a worthy minion, Ares smiled to himself as he launched a mind control probe, to batter aside the personal thoughts of any person and bring them into his thrall.
The god staggered in surprise as his probe smashed into a barrier. It was a flimsy psionic barrier, but a barrier nonetheless. His probe flowed around the barrier, seeking out weak points to exploit.
Interesting._Ares was definitely excited at his discovery now. _Not even the Duke hinted at this. I suppose he must have kept many of his abilities hidden, or maybe he does not even know he has them himself. In any case, he would make a powerful addition to my cause.
Despite his object of his efforts holding out successfully the first time, Ares could see that Andrew Skye was not unscathed either. The mercenary was on his knees on the street, one hand on the concrete pavement with the gun, the other hand wrapped around his nose. Blood flowed freely from his face, from his ears, his nose, his mouth. They dripped onto the ground, onto his clothes. He looked up at Ares with pure hatred in his bloodshot eyes. A rasping growl emerged from Skye's throat. It sounded like something from an angry animal, eager for battle.
Ares struck out with his mind again, this time holding nothing back. Skye's mindshield was like a wooden dam overcome by a tsunami, crushed under by the sheer power of the assault. There was almost an audible 'crack', and Ares seized control.
The god found himself breathing hard from his exertions. By Zeus, that hadbeen very difficult!
He rummaged quickly through the memories of the man, but he was more than a bit surprised to find missing pieces here and there. Ares guessed that Skye had managed to somehow hide away pieces of his own psyche in his mind. Rooting them out would be very tedious. Besides, there was more than enough information remaining for his warrior to operate effectively, information pertaining to tactics and strategy, weapons operation, combat movement.
He quickly inserted new skills and personality traits, along with a whole set of false memories, to ensure his control over his new subordinate.
Ares looked at his minion, now kneeling motionless before him, in the same position as he was when the second attack had been driven home.
"Rise, my servant." The man obeyed, standing up before his new master. Blood still dripped from his face, but the man did not wipe them off.
"Who am I?" Ares asked.
The man replied in a calm voice, "My master."
"And who are you? What are you to me?" Ares asked, savoring the moment. He loved to strike at the Amazon bitch through her friends.
"I am your Marshal of Chaos." The man said, his eyes burning with the infused power granted to him by Ares. "I am your sword, the weapon which will cut down your enemies without mercy, without remorse."
Ares laughed as he heard the reply. His programming had worked perfectly, and soon the Amazon Princess would no longer be a threat! The fact that her downfall would come at the hands of one of her friends was just the icing on the cake.
Ah, Princess Diana, how I have longed for your defeat. And now that I have this fine instrument of war, your doom is assured!
Ares was still laughing when he teleported himself and his new Marshal to his realm, leaving the street empty of warriors and warlords.