Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned, or used in this story
Peter stared at his larger half-brother as he got into his fighting stance. He activated his suits combat systems and rolled his shoulders for the coming fight. Even though this was a spar, Kalibak had a tendency to go a little over board.
'He seems to forget that one good hit from him with too much force behind could cripple me!' Peter thought a bit annoyed.
Kalibak smirked at his brother before he placed his club on the ground "You're going to need the handicap."
Peter felt his eye twitch under his mask "Thanks how considerate of you… jackass."
Kalibak smirked before he ran towards Peter's tense form, when he was close enough he sent a punch towards the small New God who used his superior speed and agility to dodge the titanic blows. Peter waited until Kalibak sent an arm out too far before he leapt on to his shoulders and delivered a powerful punch that emanated a powerful shockwave.
KRAAAAAKOOOOOOOM!
When Kalibak's face didn't so much as move, Peter quickly jumped back to avoid the man's approaching hand. Peter's lenses narrowed has he scanned his half-brother's form, in terms of raw physical strength Kalibak had him beaten a thousand times over at least. The older son of Darkseid was also incredibly durable, like he could take a planetary explosion and walk it off kind of durable. Hell, he's withstood blasts from father's Omega Beams of all things.
'So brute strength won't bring him down and I'll have a better chance at surviving father's Omega Beams at full power then causing any real damage to him aside from his pride at least.' Peter thought as he mulled over his options. His spider-sense flared again causing him to leap backwards from a surprisingly fast kick from Kalibak. 'Oh yeah, he's faster than he looks too.'
Diana was watching the entire spar and she couldn't help being slightly impressed with Peter's skill. He was right in saying he was no warrior, she saw that his combat stance while good was basic at best and full of quite a few openings that could cost him victory against a better fighter. Still his agility and speed were astounding, and how he seemed to know when an attack was coming even when he couldn't see it.
Though she noticed that he relied too heavily on his suit to aide him in combat.
'At least he's smart enough to rely more on his speed then brute force against someone like Kalibak.' Diana thought as she watched the spar with an attentive gaze.
Peter rolled under another kick sent by Kalibak and shot several strands of webbing at his one leg from both his wrists and from four spider like legs he formed on his back and pulled with all of his might. Kalibak's eyes widened as he crashed to the ground on his chest. Peter then shot several more strands at his larger brother before he began to swing the larger man around in a circle, using a combination of his strength and Kalibak's weight to build up momentum.
Suddenly Peter released his brother and sent him flying towards a part of the wall that was slightly damaged from En Sabah Nur's and Grayven's earlier spat.
BOOOOOOOM!
The collision sent a small shower of debris flying in the arena but for the most part the wall held. Kalibak gingerly rose from the small pile of stone that collapsed on top of him and looked to his brother with an amused look on his face "Heh, that tickled!"
"Umm mercy?" Peter squeaked out with his lenses wide as Kalibal launched himself at Peter with his arms held wide open.
Peter activated his suits anti-gravity harness and flew above his large brother and raised both his arms at Kalibak's back. Red and black bio-electricity gathered around his arms and hands before it was shot out in a series of arcs towards his brother.
ZZZZZAAAAKKKKKKK!
The oddly colored bio-electric bolts slammed into Kalibak who grunted in annoyance. The power in the hit while notable wasn't enough to really bother someone of Kalibak's level, Even Grail would at best feel a slight tingle than any sort of pain.
Kalibak turned and raised an arm to defend his face from the red and black lightning and held out his hand. His club suddenly flew towards it's master and activated mid-flight. Kalibak grinned at the sight of Peter's widening lenses.
"Impressive light display brother, but I believe it's time to show you real power." Kalibak grinned savagely before shooting a beam of dark red energy out of his club. The energy beam tore right through Peter's venom blasts and nailed him right in the chest.
"AGGGGH!" Peter growled out in pain, while Kalibak's club was at its lowest possible setting, it still hurt like a mother. The power that it was at now alone would have knocked Peter out in pain, luckily or unluckily in this case, Peter's suit was able to absorb a fair amount of the beam.
The force of Kalibak's club however sent Peter flying into the ceiling and caused a multitude of cracks to appear when he slammed into it. He was barley able to grip on to the partially destroyed ceiling to keep himself from falling.
'Note to self, increase power absorption of suit as soon as possible...' Peter thought as he hissed in pain. Smoke and sparks emanated from his suit and the left lens had a slight crack in it. Peter looked down at his brother's smirking form "Are you trying to kill me!?"
"No…" Kalibak said with a shrug "…But there's something amusing about watching you wither in agony."
"I hope Lemenus bites you later and it doesn't heal or grow back." Peter groaned out before he launched himself at his brother's surprised face and delivered a punch with all of his strength in it, he had his suit take the energy it absorbed earlier and use it to enhance the blow even further.
KRACK!
This time Kalibak did stumble before he quickly gathered his bearings and smacked Peter away who sadly was too injured to dodge fast enough. He tried to form a sort of shield with his four spider legs but they quickly crumbled under the might of Kalibak's strength and shattered.
"GAH!" Peter let out a shriek of pain as Kalibak's fist made contact with his chest and emanated a rather loud 'Crack' and sent flying out of the arena and rolling across the floor until he came to a stop at Diana's feet.
Diana immediately crouched down to check Peter for any sort of injuries that required any serious attention. His suit was heavily damaged and covered in burns and tears.
"Relax, he'll live." Obb-Eve'na said as she stood behind Diana with an air of disinterest around her.
Diana gave her fellow Fury a look of annoyance "Need I remind you that he is a son of Darkseid?"
"A lesser son!" Obb-Eve'na shot back.
"But my brother regardless, you will do well to remember that Obb!" Kalibak growled out in a low tone as he approached the two with heavy strides.
The molecule manipulator gave Kalibak a respectful bow while Diana slowly helped Peter sit up.
"Oww" Peter groaned out before his mask receded into his suit, showing a few minor burns on his face. He clutched his chest in slight pain before giving Kalibak a dark glare "You broke several of my ribs!"
Kalibak frowned slightly at the information and Diana saw a hint of regret in his eyes before they hardened "Be grateful it was me who did so Peter. Had it been Grayven, Fidilen or even Zunn… they wouldn't have stopped at a few broken ribs."
Peter let out a growl of annoyance before steadily making his way to his feet with the aid of Diana. Peter gave her a questioning look "Why are you helping me?"
Diana frowned "There is no shame in accepting help when it is offered."
"He means why are you being nice to him." Kalibak said as he placed his club on his back and folded his arms "After all, he did replace Superman as your husband."
Diana sent a glare towards Kalibak who smirked in return.
Peter was about to speak up before suddenly Vision appeared, having phased through the ground "Ah sir! I have good news."
"Is it done?" Peter asked his fateful assistant, hoping for some good news.
It wasn't bad enough he got totally owned in front of his own wife, but now he needs her help to stand. He could practically feel Grayven' gaze boring into him along with a few other members of his father's court that were here.
"Affirmative sir." Vision nodded before frowning at the state his creator was in "Sir, do you require medical attention?"
Peter snorted in grim amusement "Medical attention, on Apokolips? Vision I dare say my comedic genius is rubbing off on you!"
"Great, another smart ass." Kalibak said with a roll of his eyes before he turned to see En Sabah Nur approaching "Sabah…"
En Sabah Nur nodded towards the older son of Darkseid before looking towards Peter "We leave by nightfall."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Peter said with a wave of his hand before looking towards Vision "Help me to my lab so I can change and fix myself up a little."
Vision looked at Peter for a moment then towards Diana "But sir shouldn't your wife aid you?"
Peter's lenses narrowed at his assistant before he looked towards Diana "Well what do you think honey? You willing to help your man to his lab?"
Diana gave Peter a deadpanned expression "I'm sure you can make it their yourself, sweetheart…"
"Heh, ouch. That sounded like it hurt more than my punch." Kalibak smirked before he looked towards the approaching forms of Steppenwolf and Justeen "Well, might as well see what the old man wants…"
"Tell him I said hi." Peter said in a sarcastic tone.
Steppenwolf was one of Peter's least favorite people, he doesn't know why, but there's something about his father's uncle that rubbed Peter the wrong way. And he's not the only one, En Sabah Nur, and a few other of his half-brothers like Zunn, Golin and Raan have said the same thing. Kalibak seems to tolerate his granduncle for the most part and Grayven seems to like the man well enough.
Peter let out a sigh as he made to leave the training area when he suddenly felt his leg give out underneath him. He would have fallen had it not been for Diana quickly grabbing him by the arm and steadying him on her shoulder. He looked towards her in slight surprise.
"Uh thanks I guess."
"Don't mention it… ever." Diana said as she helped escort Peter to his lab much to the man's hidden embarrassment and displeasure.
En Sabah Nur watched them go before he turned to see Grayven, who was still being attended to by Kunla, glaring at him. En Sabah Nur gave the older New God a blank expression before turning on his heal. He needed to gather a few things from his quarters and see to a few minor errands before he and Peter leave later tonight.
Meanwhile Diana was helping Peter towards his lab with Vision following them close behind, preferring to hover rather than walk.
"So… how'd I do?" Peter asked with a slight groan as he felt his healing factor begin to kick in and reset some of his bones that were either cracked, broken or fractured in his spar with Kalibak. It'd take a while for his bones to heal properly.
Diana was quiet for a moment before answering "You fighting style is descent…"
Peter snorted "Buuuuut?"
"But you lack any real technique, you have far too many openings, but I do approve that you use what advantages you do have to their fullest degree." Diana said as she adjusted her grip on Peter.
"And what are my advantages?" Peter questioned as he and Diana entered a gravity lift.
"You have great reflexes and agility, some of the best I've seen and your speed while not up to the likes of which I've seen is still impressive in its own right. I also noticed you seem to know when your opponent is about to attack, even when you can't see them." Diana stated.
"Cameras on my suit." Peter lied, Diana may now be his wife but there are a few things that he's going to be keeping to himself.
Diana gave him a side glance; she could pick up that he was lying but decided to drop it as they continued on in silence for the next several minutes. Soon she was able to make out the door to Peter's lab, she also saw someone standing outside of it. She felt Peter tense as he saw the figure too.
The figure stood at around 5'6 and was wearing a black hooded cloak with a red Omega symbol on his chest. The face that was partially covered by the hood and its shadow was pale and had some kind of respirator on that covered their mouth and nose. Their eyes seemed to be glowing yellow with the veins around them also glowing the same.
"Vision, go see what the good doctor wants." Peter said in a low tone as he and Diana slowed there pace a bit while Vision shot ahead and landed before the person.
"Who's that?" Diana questioned quietly as they approached the man and Vision.
"Dr. Bedlam, father's chief scientist and technically my superior." Peter said in an annoyed tone 'Great it wasn't enough for some of fathers most influential elite see my sorry state but now him too!'
"I gather you don't get along?" Diana asked in a dry tone.
"Nope!" Peter said as they finally made it to his lab.
Before they could enter however Bedlam spoke in a sort of electronic voice that had this odd echoing effect to it "Ahhh Peter! I was hoping to speak with you about something important."
"Later, I have things to do and then I have to meet with En Sabah Nur." Peter said as he mentally commanded the doors to his lab to open as quickly as possible. He was not in the mood to deal with the older scientist.
Bedlam's eyes narrowed at the answer "Like what exactly?"
Peter and Diana entered the room along with Vision and before Peter had the doors closed he looked back at Bedlam with his lenses narrowing "Bending my wife over one of my tables and fucking her!"
Bedlam's eyes widened at that just as the doors slammed shut in his face leaving Peter and Diana standing there in the darkness before the various monitors began to click on and illuminate the room. Peter looked to Diana to see that she was glaring at him with a tint of red on her cheeks.
"What?" Peter asked.
Diana rolled her eyes in disgust as she let go of Peter and moved away from him "That was the best excuse you could come up with? Bending me over and taking me like some animal?"
Peter quirked his head to the side in confusion before understanding what made her upset "Oh that? That's just something to get him to leave me alone. I'm not actually going to that… unless you want to than by all means pick a table. I have a few hours to kill."
"I will not!" Diana said in outrage "If you want someone to bend over for your desires, then look for Warbird, from what I've seen and heard from the other Furies she'll have no trouble fulfilling that desire!"
Peter's mask retracting back into his suit as he made his way over to a particular work station that had some sort of black substance floating in a stasis field. "True she wouldn't but she's not my wife. Wouldn't be right to cheat on you, even if you are giving me the go ahead."
"Thought I'd never see the day." Diana said with a roll of her eyes as she crossed her arms under her chest "A son of Darkseid with honor and respect for women."
"If I recall correctly, Orion is a son of Darkseid and you and the Justice League seem to like him well enough. And he's married to a rather great woman." Peter said with a slight edge entering his tone that Diana was able to pick up. It looked like she struck a nerve of some sort.
"He's different." Diana said with narrowed eyes.
"Because he was raised on New Genesis?" Peter said with a sarcastic tone "HA! That place as pretty as it looks is every bit as twisted and corrupt as here! The only difference is Apokolips doesn't try to hide it behind fancy buildings and 'peaceful acceptance'. We gladly embrace ourselves."
"And look what that has gotten you! Apokolips is one of the most hated and feared places in the known universe!" Diana said angrily.
"Ohhh so that's why you don't like it here, never thought you were that petty." Peter said with look of understanding on his face as he had the suit he was currently wearing remove itself from him and gather up on the table. Leaving him in a sort of black sleeveless shirt and black shorts.
Diana gave him a confused look "What do you mean? How am I petty?"
Peter chuckled "You can't stand people not liking you! That's why you don't like it here, because your now part of something that everyone hates when you'd rather be part of something everyone loves like that Justice League thing you were part of."
"That is not the reason why I hate it here!" Diana said with anger as her hands tightened into fists.
"Sure seems like it." Peter said with a shrug as the stasis field deactivated and the symbiote he's been experimenting with immediately latched itself on to him.
After a few moments it settled and created a white spider symbol on his chest and back, similar to the one on his other suit and formed white lenses over his eyes. Peter held up an arm and examined it for a moment as a small white square formed on his hand with a small black spider symbol in the center before nodding in acceptance.
'Good, the bonding process is going smoothly.' Peter thought to himself as he turned to see Diana looking at him in surprise. He gave a chuckle as he gestured to the suit.
"Next generation combat enhancing techno-organic suit." Peter said with a hint of pride in his tone.
"Techno-organic?" Diana said more to herself "Like some sort of cyborg?"
Peter gave her a nod "In a manner of speaking, but vastly superior. I based its nature off that of a symbiotic mutualistic relationship I've observed some organism's possess. It needs a 'host' to survive long-term and in return it helps its host by enhancing their abilities."
"What's to keep it from becoming a parasite?" Diana questioned.
"Heh, I built a countermeasure for that into it as a precaution." Peter said as he turned to look at the clock "Well I still have a few hours to spare…"
"I am not sleeping with you!" Diana said with a growl.
"Didn't ask." Peter said with a snort as he approached a table that contained a mother box he's been tampering with for a while "I'd rather finish up with a few things before I leave. No telling how long En Sbah Nur will be gone. Vision, be a dear and escort my beloved back to our quarters, I'm sure she's exhausted after today."
"Yes sir." Vision said as he floated over to Diana.
Diana gave Peter's back a look of annoyance "Enjoy your trip!"
"I'll try…" Peter said with a shrug.
He listened as Diana gave out a noise of annoyance before she turned and left the room with Vision following close behind. Peter waited several minutes until after the door had closed and he was sure that Diana and Vision were a reasonable distance away before he got up and approached a small platform.
He punched in several codes before it activated and he stepped on it. Several seconds passed before a glowing orange light encompassed him and he felt a slight burning feeling inside his body. The, machine he was on was accelerating his healing rate by several hundred percent. Instead of taking hours to heal, it would now take minutes at most.
Soon the pain and burning feeling faded and the machine deactivated, completing its task. Peter stepped off feeling much better than he had earlier and looked around the room for anything he might need on his trip with En Sabah Nur.
'We shouldn't encounter any problems but I should still bring something, just in case.' Peter thought.
In the end after several minutes of looking he decided on taking a small energy blaster with him. He didn't think he would need it given his abilities but he figured it might come in handy some other way.
He left his lab but not before grabbing a small com device that he uses to call Vision and began to head for his room. While she'll likely be happy to see him go, Peter felt he should at least say good bye and maybe apologize for the whole bending her over thing he said earlier. Though in his defense he was in a bad mood and was embarrassed at the time. Getting tossed around in front of his wife and more powerful siblings then having her nearly carry him back to his lab in front of them made had put him in a bitter mood.
It was part of the reason why he wanted Vision to help him get back.
'I'll deal with Vision later.' Peter thought a little tired as he approached his quarters. He saw that the synthetic was standing outside his door with his hands clasped behind his back.
Vision noticed his approach "Ah sir! Is there something you need?"
"No, head back to the lab." Peter dismissed his assistant with a wave of his hand as he entered his quarters "By the way, Diana may have need of you so I'm giving her my communicator."
"Very good sir." Vision replied as the door shut.
'He's going to rise up and kill me one day.' Peter thought sarcastically as he scanned his room for his wife. He saw the door to their bedroom was open slightly 'Like a healing patch, quick and no hesitation. The sooner I do it the sooner I can leave.'
Peter approached the door and without stopping pushed it open and paused at the sight before him.
Diana was standing by their bed with her helmet and top portion of her armor off and stretching her arms above her head, giving him a wonderful view of her breasts. Peter stared dumbly at the sight of his wife half naked before him. He was aware that she was an incredibly beautiful woman, but to see her in such a state really hit home on how attractive she truly was.
'Wow… on second thought I should take my time in apologizing to her.' Peter thought.
Diana lowered her arms and looked to see Peter standing in the doorway. She scowled at him as she crossed her arms across her chest, cutting off his view "What?"
Peter stared at her for a moment longer before answering "Just wanted to say sorry about the whole bending over one of my tables thing."
"Apology accepted now get out!" Diana said annoyed.
"…Why?" Peter asked with his suit's lenses narrowing.
"Because I don't want you to see me in this state!" Diana stated.
"You're my wife." Peter countered.
"Well your wife doesn't like being stared at half undress." Diana said with a glare.
"Fine." Peter said with a sigh as he turned his back to her and crossed his arms "I won't stare at you…"
"That also means leave!" Diana said aggravated at Peter being a smart ass.
"My room too." Peter shot back with a shrug with his back still to her "Gonna have to get use to the fact we'll be seeing each other naked from time to time."
"Forgive me if I don't look forward to it." Diana said as she made her way to her closet and threw on gown that covered her chest.
Peter was quiet for a moment before speaking "You know, I'm leaving soon…"
"Enjoy your trip!" Diana responded form inside her closet.
"If you need anything just call for Vision, I'll leave a way to summon him on the bed." Peter said as he left the small com device on the bed. He looked to see she hadn't emerged yet and sighed slightly 'Guess she really didn't appreciate the comment earlier or me walking in on her…'
He turned and left the room and made his way towards the citadel's hanger where En Sabah Nur will be waiting for him so they set out for Aegis seven.
'Something tells me that I'm really going to hate the next few days.' Peter thought as a sudden feeling of foreboding hit him.
…