She appears, pink light glowing around her eyes for an instant before the beam blast out and strikes my construct armour on the left vambrace. My construct armour holds it off easily enough, then the beam vanishes as she evades again. Ah, I see. She knows my alternate here, and was assuming that she could take off my hand and disable me.
"Parallel universe. Angelika ended up on-"
Remarkable.
That's not in the bio for the usual Baroness Blitzkrieg. Doesn't seem
too effective, though. I suppose it makes mincemeat out of
regular humans... Guessing she has to pick between speed and energy blasts.
She slows again, and I generate a construct shield as she puts a little more effort into it. Same target, and… Whatever psycho-energy is, is doesn't appear to be particularly good at penetrating constructs. Fortunately, it's not being deflected, because this region isn't that sparsely inhabited and that beam would easily punch through a brick building, let alone a normal person.
Given the all-around upgrades at appears to give the Reiters, I want to see if I can get a sample.
Yes, any
good energy projector would
check their backstop. Still, I guess it's
easier for them to cover up any
accidental collateral damage.
"-our Earth when she tried to save that train?"
The beam cuts off and she doesn't attempt to evade again. Instead she watches me with her arms folded across her chest.
Well,
that got her to start talking. Of course, she made a critical mistake there by
stopping. Then again, she probably has backup en-route.
"What happened to Angelika is common knowledge."
Hm. I can see the Kryptonian influences in the structure of her armour, though obviously she isn't using the sort of solar energy storing system they usually did. The design covers everything… Ah, she can manifest psycho-energy in front of her eyes, not literally inside them! So she can wear a solid visor and still use it.
And yet still
marvellously form-fitting. Though I doubt it's quite as
body-paint-tier as the usual comic-book costume...
"And you don't have any way to test whether I'm from a parallel universe or not."
"Not anywhere I am willing to take you."
...Or could feasibly
force him to go. Honestly, she's probably taking the
best route she can considering his displayed level of power.
"But… You have a radio in that armour, don't you? You can confirm the location of the version of me on this parallel?"
"No."
Huh. So, Paul Freeman could be
anywhere? I thought he'd be accompanied at all times, still.
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that the National Socialists don't have a police state?"
"That doesn't mean we keep eyes on a single journalist all of the time."
Evidently their surveillance technology is a
bit behind other Earths... Or their willingness to
abuse it.
I shake my head.
"Standards have fallen."
Are you seriously taking the moral high ground on
that hill, OL?
"It's nice that you agree with Leatherwing about something. Perhaps after a few years, he will only break one bone each day."
"Ah, well she told me plenty of things about her colleagues', but I imagine that you'd just think I was spying. She used to be really insecure about her infertility and the fact that she was only half as powerful as Karl, who came through earlier today-."
Seriously, I hope he tries to go after OL.
That man needs his head pulled out of his arse.
"He went-! What was he thinking!?"
"I could tell you, but I'm worried that it's a state secret. I wouldn't want to get you into trouble. But from the sound of it, leaping through portals to help people on parallel worlds is something he does quite-."
Huh, so the other heroes knew of a
way to go looking, but not that Overman had taken the
plunge. Then again, it's not the first time he's done it, it seems.
"Silence!"
Because the knowledge that their superman sometimes just leaves the planet for extended periods probably isn't something they want passed around.
Honestly, spin it the
right way, people would applaud it. Claim he's... Spreading a shining example of the
rightness of National Socialism to other worlds!
Just for that
extra irony...
"So..?"
"I'm confirming."
Presumably she'd had an open channel to her teammates the whole time.
"Please tell me that Leatherwing's not in command in his absence."
"That doesn't concern you."
Seriously, I get the feeling the
only thing stopping him from going full Hitler is Overman...
"Do portals to parallel universes made by demon cultists concern you? Because that's where I found this chap."
"Are you trying to die?"
Ah, OL. Rubbing new...
acquaintances the wrong way as usual, just by being
yourself...
"Were you trying to kill me?"
"That-."
Because she wasn't doing a very
good job of it. I'm guessing the
local Green Lantern (the one wielding Alan Scott's old, AI-less ring) is not all that
proficient at anything besides basic constructs and blasts... Could be quite the
eye-opener for the Reichsmen to see a
real Lantern in action.
She's silent for a few moments.
"Does your ring have long range communication abilities?"
Well, looks like someone higher up wants to chat.
"Yes."
"The Bat wishes to speak with you."
That would be young Fledermaus, I take it. Well, not so young
now...
Ring… Ah. I see his desires, and as I make a little effort to correct for Kryptonian stealth techniques I see… I'm going to say 'Owlwing'? A highly advanced aircraft. It's moving fast but keeping its distance, and… As far as I can see, its weapons aren't deployed.
"Ring, open channel."
Good to see he's at least kept his gear up to scratch over the years.
"Hello Orange Lantern!"
"Hello The Bat."
Heh, surprisingly jolly for a Nazi. But then, he's old enough to not give a
damn about propriety.
"Not going to use my name? Angelika knows my name."
"I know your name, but I assume that it's supposed to be secret or you wouldn't be The Bat."
...Still strange that a fascist world
has superheroes. Given the focus on conforming to the norm, anyone who'd dress up in strange outfits to go out and fight evil would have to be a
little unconventional... I mean, they
could be a special forces branch of the military, since weird shit
still happens, fascist state or not, and people
will still get superpowers...
"No, I keep my name The Bat to annoy Leatherwing. Last year, he wrote 'please die soon' on my birthday card."
"Ah. Okay. Isn't that really inappropriate?"
Keep in mind, he was a
teenager during World War II, putting him in his
eighties at this point, at
minimum. Either he's in
real good shape, or he's got access to some good Kryptonian medical tech.
"Not as inappropriate as being on active service at my age. So, what's this about cultists?"
"There's a parallel universe where their version of Overman got possessed by a demon. He wrecked their civilisation and now the survivors live in self-sufficient enclaves or openly worship him. A wizard named Wolf Krieger has been opening portals to this parallel to spread the worship of his master, and according to him the ones you've caught so far are a distraction."
Neatly summed up. Of course, that took about
thirty chapters to
learn.
"Yes, I knew that."
"You knew that?"
Sounds like the Lady Baroness wasn't in the loop.
Huh. Well, without a
proper Batman,
someone has to step up and play 'World's Greatest Detective'...
"What, you thought insane cultists who could only charge at visible enemies were intelligent enough to open gateways between parallel universes, but at the same time weren't intelligent enough to understand strategy? Of course there was a greater aim. But Wolf Krieger? The Thulist?"
"Their history is a little different. He called their Overman his Fuhrer now."
And
wildly understating the difference... Though if Overman gave reports on the alternate worlds he's visited, they
know there are worlds where they
lost.
"And are you from there?"
"No. Some criminals on my parallel are trying to loot the place while everyone is distracted. I came across their Overgirl while attacking one of their warehouses. Overgirl, Overman and our Overman are currently staking out the Kryptonian fortress which he's working from, but that still leaves all of the cultists already over here. I came through to warn you."
...And to dodge the aggressively hostile guards chasing you. Can't forget
that.
"And your friend, there?"
"He was one of their superpowered cultists. What I did to him should have cleansed him, but I can't swear to it."
Fingers crossed he can be made use of, rather than just frothing at the mouth... Assuming he doesn't collapse into a puddle of
regret when he realises what he
did do.
"Hm. Yes, that checks out."
"What?"
"Come to Wewelsburg and we'll do a full debrief."
...Wow, a
reasonable ceasefire? This truly
is a topsy-turvy world!
