“7”
“What is the significance of Seven, Maya?” Diana said as she stood before her new benefactor, stoic indifference written on her face. Ever since she had opened herself up to Alec and the feelings that had flooded in with her new place in the world, she’d found herself not only to be feeling more vulnerable, but also more susceptible to emotions. “The significance, Diana, is that seven are all that are needed in my Elemental World. There is no higher ideal or mystical nature to it; it’s merely all I need,” Maya said in a blasé like fashion, waving her hands around as if almost dismissing Diana. Diana paced before Maya, whose huge size dwarfed her and made her feel even more out of place in this world. A few moments of awkward silence fell on the pair, as Diana searched for something else to say to her huge smiling benefactor. “And what of the outside world, Maya? How is the rounding up of the Mythological creatures going?” Diana looked up, crossing her arms waiting for a response. That was part of the deal after all; Maya would clear the world of the task that Diana was unable to. “It is…a slow process, Diana.” Maya looked away, and then back down to her Earth-Elemental. “Slow in what way?” Diana’s interest was piqued. It seemed that Maya was not just of the Earth, but she had imbued it with certain properties, such as deceit. “It is proving difficult for my agents to corner these creatures and pin them down, Diana. They do not behave in a way that I have encountered before. They are not from my order,” Maya admitted, crouching forwards a little more to see Diana. “Of course they’re not, Maya! They’re born of magic and mythology. If they were part of your order they wouldn’t have been released in the first place!” Diana spat angrily, the lava cracks in her body glowing with her rage. “All nature should work for me and not against me, Diana, and do not presume you can take that tone with me! You are simply and aspect of me, something that I could remove on a whim.” Diana’s balled fists at her side; she stared up into the large eye of Maya, grinding her mineral teeth together. “Do it then, Maya! After all, if we elementals are so replaceable, then you should do it without a moment’s hesitation. Do it then and let me return to my world so I can sort the things that you promised me that you would do.” Before Maya could respond the side of her ‘hide’ at the core of the Earth exploded. Magma poured through the hole in a gush of burning rock, coating Maya in thick ichors of burning rock. She screamed as her attacker burst through. Diana threw her hands up to stem the white-hot tide as the warriors shot through. All men, all dressed in armor that appeared to be modernized Greco-Roman fair. She tried to move forwards but found the tide of Lava to be an almost insurmountable obstacle before her. She was only able to watch as these men flew around Maya, punching, kicking and shooting her with their swords, which apparently had more power than to just be sharp. Diana caught sight of the face of one of the warriors as it powered towards her, sword leveled at her body. It was the Duke of Deception and it was all she remembered as the sword was rammed through her chest, and a burst of energy exploded outwards. The open sky was choppy as John Smith powered himself through the air, his legs now just a blur of oscillating wind. Being an android had certain benefits, like he was not bound by the ability to breathe. In the uppermost aspects of the atmosphere, he expected to find the final elemental floating and recuperating. Instead, he found something he wasn’t expected. A glowing figure was something he was keeping an eye open for, but the sex of the figure was the real tester. A man, holding the sides of his head as aspects of his body jolted out of sight, like white noise across a TV screen. His voice was ragged and breaking with every agonized scream, and John wondered why he hadn’t heard him sooner. He soon found out. As the man screamed again, his voice was turned into light and X-Rays and radiation. He was broadcasting across the entire electromagnetic spectrum instead of just light. Could he be the new Elemental? Was his intelligence wrong? As John poured over his internal database he found that it was in fact the cousin of a member of the JLA, or at least a former member before his untimely demise. Harold Jordan, the man known as Air-Wave. John slowed himself and tried to grab hold of the ethereal man, but his hands simply passed through him. “Harold, it is John Smith, the Red Tornado! I’m here to help you, please try to regain control.” As John finished his sentence, he was rocked as something shot past his face and he felt a pull on his body. The attachments keeping his cloak against his ‘flesh’ tore free and hurtled off to the left of him, letting his cloak flutter towards the ground below. John’s head snapped to the side as he caught sight of another figure floating in the air, his eyebrows raised quizzically as he felt the pull on his body more and more. “Dr. Polaris?” he asked before he fought against the increasing wave of power. Air-Wave began his death scream again, moving out of the audible spectrum as John noticed to the right of him, battling against the polarity of Dr Polaris that a man, no, two men, hung in the air by his body, both producing huge flashes of light. It was Ray Terrill and his father. John wondered what was going on as the polarity lessened along with the flash of light, and he could hear gurgles across the spectrum. It was as though it was moving in contractions. At that moment and on that comparison John came to the conclusion. The Elemental was being born as he thought. The contractions began again. Maya opened her blue eyes, looking around from the blackness of her unconscious state. She was shaken; her huge form was no longer upon the stone throne that she had always been seated at. In fact she was no longer seated at all. She looked about with increasing clarity as she lurched forwards, the clanking of chains letting her know that she was pinned in place. She sucked air in through her bottom lip, biting teeth at her situation. She had not been imprisoned in thousands of years. Before her was a woman coated in oil splashing in the black ocean, coating her body with the sticky liquid. Around here were platforms made from metal, like scaffolding in the sea. Upon each platform was a person of varying builds, ethnicities and sexes. Maya recognized a few of them. Leaning on the railings, cigarette in her hand, was an Egyptian woman Maya recognized as one of Wonder Woman’s old foes, the woman known as Osiria. However, she appeared to be changed from what she had used to be. Gone was her head-dress and short skirt; now she had swapped her costume for a power business suit, the glowing gem that once adorned her head floating on the head of her tie. Across from her another woman stood in an equally impressive suit, holding a wad of cash in her hands, running her fingers through the green leaves as she cast her gaze over to Maya, a smile writing itself over her face. She was the Queen Clea, another of Diana’s foes. Finally, the only other woman in the light held true to her costumed form though she appeared to have one or two new additions to it, in the form of tectonic plate patterns across her uniform. She looked smug and much bigger than she had used to be, standing at a comfortable size of 15 feet and holding herself with pride and strength. Maya felt somewhat helpless as Modo walked from the ocean over to her ancestor. “I am Modo; I know you know me. I’m what you should have been years ago, Maya. I’ve given up on this silly old Elemental system you’ve got going on.” She smiled, black ooze dripping over her yellow stained teeth. “Magic numbers? Powers of nature? Give it up, you stupid old dear,” Maya snarled “That’s not the way of the new world order.” “What do you want from me?” “What DO I want?” Modo grinned, running a hand under her own chin, leaving her fingers to linger on the edge of her face for a moment too long. “I want to replace you, Maya, the way you cast off and replace your own elementals.” “I do not cast them off, I…” “YOU DO!” Modo clapped her hands against her cheeks and pushed her lips together. “You do, you do, you do! You lying little shit, you cast them off like they’re warts on your genitals, until you find a new one to tickle your fancy. Like Diana.” “Diana is a special case, Modo.” “Oh, you mention my name now, do you?” “She is special. She is key to this, after all.” “Oh, God Maya, listen to you! Everyone’s key to your plans! You’re living in the old world where you have your chess pieces and you keep them all. I have pawns and bishops and knights and rooks, and the only thing I’m not willing to sacrifice is the Queen.” “Why use these people. Why target me now?” “Oh, now, that’s easy. Because you’re elementals are all tied up in their own business and your most powerful ones are shaken by events in their lives. Like say…the fact they’re brand new to having their powers?” “As for these people…Diana’s foes are very useful, Maya. They’re full of hate and anger and power, and they’re more than willing to change to get back at her. Something you’re not quite ready to do, huh?” “There’s no need to change for the sake of it.” “Tell that to Diana. Am I right?” She smiled and waved towards a woman holding a large rod and dressed in a skintight battle suit with a domino mask covering her face. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the Mask, right? She’s an abused housewife, aren’t you, dear?” She smiled, rubbing a hand over the woman’s chest and up to her chin. The woman shuddered in pleasure and pulled a handgun out of her holster, Modo licking along the barrel and pulling the Mask into a tight kiss. “I’m sure.” Modo grinned, leaving an oil slick smudge over Mask’s face, as the woman drove the rod through Maya’s stomach, stabbing the pointed end into the ground, pinning the Earth Goddess to the floor. “We’re just about to start, Maya. This will be glorious. Your order is going to be replaced and I’m going to take over and…” Modo smiled, twisting the rod in Maya’s stomach around. “There’s not a fucking thing you can do about it.” To Be Continued... Previous Issue | Next Issue |
