Legendary

After that meeting, all assets of the Justice League and Avengers were turned toward Egypt. Tony knew somebody with a private satellite used for combing the Earth for precious minerals, and got that satellite in geosynchronous orbit over Egypt, mapping sites (including some possible undiscovered ruins for exploration), and producing multispectral and hyperspectral images. Hawkman analyzed the images and pinpointed a site around the Aswan High Dam. The area is rich in important ruins like the northern and western quarries, Kalabsha, the tombs of the nobles, Philae temple, and, of course, the great temple complex of Abu Simbel up the river a bit. Disturbances in the ground and traffic in the area at a distance behind Abu Simbel indicated that an underground base was being either constructed or used, and an otherwise inexplicable drop in the water level at the dam indicated that water was being diverted.

Hawkman, predictably, was furious and Hawkwoman tense and concerned. He was cursing quite proficiently in ancient Egyptian. Tony spent a few weeks coming up with tiny cameras that looked and behaved like big flies and sent them into the installation for a closer look. Underground was a highly modern military installation buzzing (sorry) with Typhon employees and some of the principals were seen in the images. A terrifyingly impressive arsenal was being built, and what looked like an antique Greek war chariot was glimpsed briefly before somebody swatted our fly. It was on a conspicuously elevated dais and actually roped off so that the peons couldn't touch it.

It was decided by the council that it was time to act before the arsenal could get any larger, and there was a six day period where nothing but the op was planned. February in New York was cold and slushy, so I couldn't say that I minded a brief visit to the warm sands of Egypt. I loaded up with as many weapons I could lay my hands on, including my two swords. If I was outed because of it, so be it. I was planning on quitting being Valkyrie anyway. Damian helped me carry my personal weapons cache into one of the quinjets and the taskforce set off for Aswan. Well, not Aswan directly, we flew to Lake Nasser, where special boats were waiting for us. They had hulls of wood and the mechanics were shielded and sound-protected so that our approach would be as unremarkable as possible. We pulled to shore just past midnight about half a kilometer away from the temple compound and Quicksilver and Flash went ahead to scout the terrain and report back. I felt oddly uneasy. The Norse gods had declined to intervene directly; this was nowhere near their centers of influence, and even the Norn, who had been burned when their Ragnarok prophesy was blown up out of proportion, declined to provide me with anything helpful. Although the swans had left me alone this time. Apparently the bribes of snails and swan chow were having an effect. Not even a ten pound box of luxury chocolates could pry information from the Norn, however. Loki had visited other Typhon installations and worked his magic; reports were that the fabric of the organization was fraying badly. This strike might just do them in.

I edged over to the Hawkpeople while we waited. "I don't suppose you could could pray to the gods, could you?" They looked at me, taken aback. "I have a bad feeling that this is going to blow up in our faces and we may not have time for it later. It wouldn't hurt, would it?"

"You're serious, aren't you?" Hawkman asked slowly. I nodded.

"Yeah. And whatever animosity there is between us doesn't mean that I don't take your gods seriously if you say they're watching and waiting. I just feel that we should do everything possible to help favor our side. I'm ready to believe in their existence and power even if I'm not prepared to worship them." The Hawkpeople looked at each other and nodded. They peeled off and moved rapidly toward the temple complex, where great statues of four major gods could still be found. I hunkered down next to my husband for comfort.

It took awhile to get the ball rolling. We were all silent and waiting. I nervously checked and rechecked my armament and counted my arrows, but at length our speedsters returned with information about shift changes, which would be happening in just over an hour, while it was still dark outside so as to keep the public from noticing people coming and going from a facility that wasn't supposed to exist. Our field leaders, Cap and Superman, made assignments. Because I wasn't trained in their group tactics, I was going to be stationed outside to pick off people if they escaped the facility, and let's face it, they would. You don't build a war chariot just for the aesthetics of it. About twenty minutes before we were go, the Hawkpeople came back. They'd made devotions to the gods and asked for their help in keeping the lands outside of foreign control, and that's all that could be done. Then it was time.

We took several different approaches so that there wasn't a solid mass of people on the move. I found a convenient low outcropping of rock off to the side that would provide me with some cover and set up shop, carefully arranging my javelins and bundles of arrows. Hawkeye had lost the toss and was stuck out here with me, but on the other side of the opening. Damian knelt beside me until it was almost time. "Keep yourself safe," I murmured to him. "You're precious to me."

He bent his forehead to me so that our heads touched. "My world revolves around you, Petal. I won't take unnecessary risks if you don't." I smiled and stuck out my hand. He grinned, shook it, and faded off. I drew the energy pistols from their holsters by my spine and concentrated as dark shapes silently entered the facility.

I had a longer wait than I'd thought; then I heard the first boom. I grinned with the prospect of action. Soon after, a few people ran out, headed to where a concealed parking structure held a small fleet of vehicles equipped to go over sand more easily. Hawkeye and I took care of them easily, then it became more difficult as more people emerged, panicked and motivated to get out while they could. Soon the trickle became a flood of underlings who'd lost their nerve. We let the ones who looked like they just wanted to get out leave, but those who looked more disciplined were brought down. Doing that drew fire, and I was glad for my rock. Then I sensed more than saw the passage of a speedster, and Flash took a breather beside me as the garage blew up. I handed him a big pack of specialty energy gel that was designed specifically for speedsters. Their energy needs were enormous.

"It's going well in there," he said. I hadn't heard anything alarming over coms but the reassurance was welcome. "Quicksilver and Kid Flash should be almost done mining the supports for the facility; Liberty told them where to place them once she got a look at the place. Then everybody will fall back and the serious fighting will start." We bumped fists, and right on time, our team started running from the building. The three of us counted so that everybody would know if anybody was still inside, and as the last person --Uncle Bucky, as it turned out--exited, the explosives detonated. The concussive force literally made the sand around us roll and I fell forward onto my rock, clinging until the shaking subsided somewhat, then joined the others in picking off the Typhon foot soldiers. The difference in philosophies between the Avengers and the Justice League was clear: the Avengers were playing for keeps and the League shot to disable. As I drew on a bad guy who was aiming at my husband, I firmly aligned myself with the Avengers.

I was beginning to feel pretty good about things when the ruined doors to the Typhon complex blew outward, hitting the sand and continuing to slide along it, taking out more of the Typhon fighters. Steve was clipped by one, but he had that healing factor; he'd be fine in a couple of minutes. Then we started to see individuals in deep red uniforms stream out of the doors through the smoke; they were disciplined and started sighting on our people with their weapons. Others shouted orders to the soldiers in black; if they couldn't conquer their panic, their own people shot them.

Then I heard a new sound that I couldn't quite place; then two panicked horses plunged through the doors, pulling a chariot behind them. There were three men in the chariot--a young man handling the reins of the horses, a lion-headed man facing back out of the chariot, firing as they moved, and a confident man in the middle who could be none other than Ares. His armor was shining white and he wore no helmet. One hand lightly gripped the rail along the top of the chariot and the other held a sword. The red-garbed troops cheered as the chariot raced forward.

But their joy was short-lived: the horses, maddened by the explosions and smoke, broke free as the chariot mired in softer, thicker sand. The chariot lost a wheel and it tipped its occupants onto the sand. I barked a laugh; it looked like a farce.

Then waves of terror and dread rolled out from Deimos and Phobos as they stood, glaring malevolently. It took everything I had to stand my ground, but I was trembling.

Then Ares roared, and he began growing until he was about three times as big. I started to shake. We were fucked.

Then a hand fell on my shoulder. I looked around to see Diana. "See past the fear, my sister," she said. "Look, we are not alone." I looked to the north as she nodded, and saw a woman in a chiton, her face indistinct under the helmet she wore, carrying a spear and shield. I felt resolve strengthen me, grabbing onto the intellect of strategy as Athena strode toward us.

"Athena," Ares greeted her mockingly. "Your forces are pathetic. It's barely worth my time to be here."

"Yes, I noticed your grand entrance," she said mockingly. Ares snarled and he and his sons stalked toward the goddess. Artemis faded into being beside Athena, and a winged woman appeared as well, bright as the smile on her face. I felt an instant kinship with her. The wings, you know. She carried a shining shield in her left hand and a palm branch and laurel wreath in her right.

"Nike," Diana breathed. "Goddess of speed, strength, and victory. She bears a palm branch for peace and is prepared to crown the victors of the combat." Her hand squeezed my shoulder and we stood straighter. It helped that the focus of Deimos and Phobos was distracted from the rest of us.

As the gods walked toward each other, the red-clad soldiers showed that they hadn't forgotten us. The combat started, fast and fierce. The charge in my energy pistols ran out; I called for Tony.

"Give me a boost, Sparky?" I asked him, and he picked me up as he flew by and tossed me into the air. My wings snapped out, and I flew just above the range of energy pistols as I shot arrows at the people in red uniforms. It wasn't easy because of the dark, but just then, the top curve of the sun broke the horizon and I was heartened; Apollo was the god of archers, even if I knew that the sun was a giant gas ball rather than a blazing chariot.

But damn me if the light didn't get more intense. And headed our way. A magnificent chariot, shining with the light of the sun and drawn by massive white horses licked with flame, touched down behind the goddesses and circled behind the gods. Fiery arrows found their marks in Ares' sons, and they snarled and turned to pursue the god.

The distraction was bad for me; my lack of attention cost me when a bolt from an energy rifle hit my wing, punching a hole through the sail just under the bone, shredding things there. I was going down, and I'd only shot one quiver. I landed not too hard and persuaded my wings to fold away; I'd wrenched the muscles in the hurt wing some. The benefit to energy weapons was at least that they cauterized the wounds they made. After that, I drew my swords and went to work. The tip of one sword caught one of the red masks that concealed the identities of Typhon's elite soldiers, and I found myself looking into the face of the Riddler. I cut down and severed the hand that was holding his gun. He howled and grabbed his forearm. I smiled, even though he didn't see it, and turned away.

I searched through the crowd and caught sight of a familiar silhouette. The smell of just-rotting meat made the identification certain, and I grabbed the Joker's shoulder, throwing him off balance. He staggered as he turned, and the pistol that was coming up paused.

"Ah, Pretty," he crooned.

"Joker." I studied him. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right here." His lunatic grin lit his face.

"Because you can't," he said smugly. "Your association with the Bat means that you won't kill."

I pushed back my helmet and pulled up the mask so he could see my face. "You're wrong about that," I said softly, putting our faces close together. Ew. "I owe you for so many things. What you did to me. Breaking every bone in your body, as I promised I would do if you bothered me again, will take too much time here. Killing Bruce. I told you I would if you hurt anybody I cared about but you scuttled away like a cockroach before I could. You're nothing but a pain in my ass and you're too stupid to take the hint when I tell you to leave me alone." He grinned as his pistol started to rise again, and I drove my sword through his gut, feeling the point push through his back. His face froze in shock and he began to sag. "And I think Barbara Gordon deserves some payback." He'd shot her once, paralyzing her until an experimental treatment restored her ability to walk. I pulled the sword out and slashed as he turned, severing his spine.

I turned away from the mess and took stock. There were more Typhon soldiers than heroes, and not all of them were the principals we were looking for, but we were holding our own. I turned when I heard Ares roar. "This land will be mine," he taunted Athena, who had taken some cuts. "And when I rule here, you will bend your knee to me in defeat... and after that, we will see."

There was an immediate silence, just for a moment, and a feeling of pressure pushing me back. "Look!" somebody shouted, and all heads turned to the back of Abu Simbel.

Uncanny figures, part human and part animal, stepped out of nowhere, pacing toward us. I saw Hawkman--couldn't see Hawkwoman--prostrate himself, blood from a cut on his arm staining the sand. The robe of one who looked just humanoid brushed him as he passed, and when I saw Hawkman next, his wounds were healed.

"You do not belong here," one of these newcomers said coldly, addressing not just Ares and his sons but the goddesses and Apollo. He carried snakes in his hands.

"Heka," a voice said in my ear, and I jumped to see Hawkwoman. "God of magic and medicine. Look, there is Pakhet, the lioness, a hunting goddess known as 'She Who Scratches." She is the vengeful side of Sekhmet. And Mekhit, the roaring lioness, a war goddess, the vengeful aspect of Ra. Sobek, the crocodile-headed god, god of unexpected death. Maahes, the Lord of Slaughter, the Scarlet Lord, that lion-headed man carrying a long knife. The falcon-headed man, Horus. Neith, Mistress of the Bow and mediator of the gods' disputes. Over there--" She broke off as another set of gods appeared from the mist, opposing the group led by Horus. "Set," she whispered. "God of war, chaos, storms, pestilence. 'Destroyer.' It takes both Osirus and Horus to balance him. Reshep, another god of war and pestilence, Apophis, the serpent, a destructive force--" She broke off as the battle resumed.

These gods felt different than any I'd met before, and it was disquieting to look at them; not only the half-human, half-animal forms and animal forms, but there was a mummy in there, and they all, even the ones who looked human, radiated an undefinable force that seemed to warp the air around them. I understood immediately and completely why Hawkman was so cautious. The Greeks faced off and the Egyptian gods were joined by others, their numbers roughly the same. I remembered what the Hawkpeople said about the crucial importance of balance. The humans focused on each other, and I turned my attention as much as I could to those in the red uniforms. It wasn't easy; the fighting the gods engaged in disturbed more than just sight; sound and perception were affected as well, and a feeling that I interpreted as wrong mingled with a sense of incredible age. I shook my head to clear it and threw my last javelin at somebody who looked to attack my husband from behind his back. I was down to my swords and blades now. I reeled as my suit turned aside a blade, and my head snapped back as I was punched. I tripped during a wave of that terrible distortion pulsed past and grabbed a khopesh from the ground. Waste not, want not, and it denied the enemy a weapon. I looked around as I scrambled to my feet.

My attacker was R'as. "Rash," I acknowledged, and his lip curled back.

"You will pay for your disrespect," he snarled, and attacked. He was in his prime and I had my hands full defending against him. I had to wait for the next disrupting wave before I could attack; I launched a flight of throwing knives before following with the khopesh. It was a bad choice; it felt odd. Apparently Typhon also invested in some protective technologies; R'as' suit protected him some, but mine was better and turned aside his attacks. The next chance I got, I stuck the khopesh between the straps on my back and drew the two swords, grateful that my suit turned aside a cut from R'as. My blades felt natural to me and I was immediately more formidable. R'as recognized this and stopped toying with me. We went full out and I brought out my wings; I couldn't fly right how, but the feathers had been treated and they were integrated shields. The claw on the unharmed wing ripped through his uniform and snagged on his collarbone. He screamed and tried to get away, but what he did just broke his collarbone and hurt my claw. I took advantage and snapped my swords forward, gutting him. It was a terrible wound, but not necessarily fatal. I looked down at him thoughtfully, flicked my blades clean, then picked up his shamshir--newer than the one Damian had claimed in victory as a child-- and added it to the collection on my back.

When I turned back to the fight, It seemed like more of the Egyptian deities were appearing on the battlefield all the time, but the supply of red-suited opponents was virtually nil. I recognized the strength of the gods and that I had no place in their battle. Awkwardly, I put the wings away, took off my backpack and turned to look for the fallen, helping my own team first. Quicksilver had a broken leg that I popped a quick-inflate air cast on and helped him hop away from the fighting. There was a line of some sort of low bushes and grasses near where we arrived on the scene, and I decided to use this as a place to park our wounded, convenient for getting out. Scanning the skies, I saw only winged gods in combat. I helped a few more wounded good guys over to Quicksilver, then some of the less badly hurt heroes--including Damian, my uncles, and Tony, I was thrilled to see--started bringing ones who needed more treatment to me, and I stayed at my staging area, patching people up. Damian and Tony brought Bruce in last; he was suffering a severe laceration that I managed to close up with a suture gun and slapped an antibacterial dressing on it. Then those of us still on our feet looked at each other.

"How are you fixed for supplies, sweetie?" Bucky asked, and I reported that I still had some. Steve looked at me, and I nodded grudgingly. The heroes spread out, looking for Typhon principals who could be helped. Wanda was afraid to use her abilities in this environment and I couldn't blame her; I sent her down to the boats for our supplies of water. All of our speedsters were injured or I'd have sent them with her, but Superman went with her. His damage was mostly to his costume. She was really freaked out and I figured she could use the distance more than anyone else. As I watched Steve haul in the Riddler, who'd managed somehow to slow the blood loss with an inadequate tourniquet, I saw a red-robed figure lunge toward Damian, sword upraised. Before I could do anything more than open my mouth to scream a warning, the oddest thing happened. A small black cat shot through the chaos, past my husband, and in an instant transformed to a woman with the head of the cat. I slapped a hand over my mouth as Damian turned, seeing both the threat and the goddess, but my vision was disrupted by another uncanny wave. When it passed, the red-clad figure was on the sand, not moving. I sagged to my knees in utter relief and Damian bowed to the goddess. Cats don't have human expression, but I gathered that she was pleased; she looked at him and her eyes squeezed shut the way that Signy's do when you're petting her and she's happy.

Then I started to work on the villains. I registered that I had help, but I didn't look up until I'd depleted my supplies and looked over to see a kindly older man in a white garment tending to Scarecrow. The man hadn't taken off the burlap bag that his patient used as a mask, but he'd apparently frisked him because a pile of vials that Scarecrow could use on his victims was a distance away. I knelt beside him, handing him a bandage after he finished smearing an unguent from an alabaster jar over a wicked burn. "Thank you for your help," I said after the individual had finished bandaging the Scarecrow and picked up his pot. I bowed my head in respect, wanting to know who was helping, but felt it best not to question these gods in any way.

"I am Imhotep," he said, smiling slightly before rising to his feet and moving toward the fighting. I knew who he was: one of only two humans to be deified, Imhotep had been the vizier to the pharaoh Djoser and was originally a skilled polymath credited with the invention of the step pyramid and the use of columns in building but who later was worshipped as a healing god.

A disruption on the battlefield drew my attention. Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Nike had Ares and his sons down on their knees and Athena was speaking to Ares. He nodded, refusing to look at her, then he and his sons got to their feet, walked away, and vanished. Athena surveyed the battling Egyptian gods, then looked over at us. Diana was helping the injured drink water, and she lifted her head in time to see her goddess salute her with her sword. Athena looked over at me then and inclined her head slightly. Nike tossed the laurel wreath in our direction, landing just shy of our wounded, and that group of gods vanished as well.

With their departure, the pitched battle among the Egyptian pantheon eased, and the two sides ultimately ceased their antagonism. Neith stood between them and spoke. She seemed to adjudicating something as other gods spoke. Unspeakable creatures faded away. Arms went around me and I leaned back against Damian. "Are you ok?" I asked quietly. "Who was that?"

"In order, nothing that the accelerator can't fix, the cat-woman was Bastet, as I think you guessed, and the person who was trying to kill me... was Talia." I twisted around to look at him.

"Are you ok?" I repeated my question.

Damian was silent a moment. "I don't know. She was trying to kill me, but she was my mother." I nodded and slipped my arms around him. "Did you see R'as in all of this?" I nodded again and told him what had happened, including that I'd left it up to fate whether he survived or lived. He sighed and looked around, over my head, at the injured Typhon principals. "I don't see him." He was silent a moment. "For the life of me, I can't decide whether that's good or bad."

Things were evolving over at the gods. An enormous cobra who looked unsettlingly benign moved unhurriedly between the two groups of gods, coiling up and resting as it seemed to speak. It was joined by a woman wearing a crown with an ostrich feather, then jackal-headed Anubis, and hawk-headed Ra wearing the solar disk and serpent. After a time, the sun beating down on us, things seemed to relax. The group in the center was joined by a well-fed green god wearing a pharaoh's false beard and a headdress of water plants and a ram-headed man. The center group turned, followed by the rest of the gods, toward the Nile. The pudgy green god laughed and clapped his hands, and falcon-headed Horus beat the end of his spear on the ground. The earth shook as what sounded like an enormous explosion occurred. We heard the sound of rushing water.

Aswan Dam had been burst.

Those of us who were mobile ran for the edge of the cliff, and even as we got there, the level of the river had dropped so much that we could look down and see the original location of Abu Simbel, before it had been extracted from the cliff and placed on top to save it from the flooding caused by the construction of the dam. My mind was kind of stuck and I couldn't imagine what would happen as the full might of the river returned to Egypt. We began the walk back to our companions in time to see Osiris summon Hawkman and Hawkwoman. They approached the gods cautiously before prostrating themselves. The god spoke to them, after which they backed away toward us, and the gods dismissed us entirely, turning with anticipation to follow the water, moving with unmistakable authority down toward to the former dam, and probably, I felt, down to Thebes and Memphis and the other great sites of their authority.

I wondered what was going to happen now.