Fly Along (Closed)

Participants: Diana Prince + Jessica Cruz
Open/Closed: Closed
Location(s): Space!
Time of Day: N/A
Weather: N/A
Summary: When a certain Green Lantern okays attending some space cop business with the League's leader, they're surprised to not only have it accepted, but company, too.

The scene wasn't what one might expect to come upon in the Watchtower of the Justice League. Diana Prince, known to the wider worlds as Wonder Woman, was in her personal study. Distinctly lacking was her iconic costume, diadem and gauntlets. Dressed in a positively mundane, yet stylishly chic, white pantsuit, the only well-known element could be easily overlooked. The golden cord wound around her middle as a belt was secretly the Lasso of Truth, glittering in the light of the room.

Diana was sat at her desk - a wooden thing at odds with the metallic norm of the Watchtower. Actually, the only way the room betrayed its incredible location was the sweeping, star-strewn tapestry of space framed in its tall, narrow windows. The Amazon bent her attention on a long scroll of brittle parchment; news from the other-dimensional Skartaris, believed to exist at the earth's core. Leading the Justice League came with a whole host of unglamorous chores, but Diana reveled in them.

The work kept her busy and whetted her mind. She almost felt like she was back at the Themysciran Embassy, acting as Ambassador for her beloved home. Diana was halfway through the missive when the door to her study slowly slid aside, retracting into the wall. The yawning portal showed one of the League's newer, but highly promising members. "Jessica," Diana smiled and beckoned. "Please, come in. Do you need anything?" Her brow creased in earnest curiosity and compassionate concern.

It was times like these when Jessica knew her life really had changed. The smallest sign of this change was that she was in space. It was ridiculous and incredible, but, y’know, it wasn’t like it was the most impossible thing. She’d dreamed about being an astronaut when she was five so, who knew, maybe some different paths taken and she would’ve ended up here anyway. A much larger sign was the incredibly powerful ring on her finger powered by her will alone. Not only did it give her the sleek little suit she was wearing, but it was kind of only limited by her imagination. Crazy. She was also currently in the Watchtower, headquarters to the Justice League, the biggest and most powerful superhero group… ever. She was also sort of a member and that was crazy.

The biggest sign, though, that her life was forever altered? She was at the Watchtower, in space, with the Justice League, and she was bored. Who’d have ever thought that was possible? Not she.

She decided, optimistically, to view it as a sort of progress. She still felt somewhat like an intruder whenever she walked down these halls, but not quite as much as she used to. It was probably because she was forcing herself to come here more often than she actually felt like. Exposure therapy is what her therapist called it. So, she’d signed herself up for more shifts at the satellite. She’d been nervous—terrified, really—but so far it was mostly just staring at the stars and waiting for an intergalactic crisis.

She jumped near a foot in the air when her ring suddenly beeped. Uh oh.

---

Just do it Jessica, she thought to herself tensely, staring at the door in front of her and willing her hands not to shake. It’s Wonder Woman. She's supposed to be the kindest person ever, right? Unless you were a baddie, of course. Which Jessica wasn’t. Right? Right.

Still undecided, she took a step closer to the door, willing herself to just knock and get it over with. Turned out unnecessary, as the door just slid open right in front of her and a jolt of panic shot through her because oh crap she was so not ready yet.

With great difficulty, she stomped down the urge to just bolt and forced herself to face the leader of the Justice League, the pinnacle of heroine, the Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman’s greeting was warm and Jessica attempted a smile that she hoped her nerves didn’t mangle too much. “Hi, sorry to interrupt, Miss- Wonder Woman.” She shuffled her feet, threaded her fingers together to stop their shaking. “I just… I just got a distress call from Sector 2802. There’s apparently a group of, uh, rabid aliens invading some planet and I’m the closest Lantern right now, so, I… just want to make sure that was… alright?” Did she sound stupid? She sounded so stupid.

Diana looked softly encouraging, eyes locked, lips in a gentle smile, as Jessica trudged into the study. She didn't need her divine blessings to know that the Green Lantern still wasn't adjusted to her new path in life. Diana disliked greatly whenever she intimidated others - it was never her desire, and even cause a filigree of guilt to prick her heart when it happened. Unfortunately, she was also aware that it seemed quite probably impossible to not intimidate a little. Even Bruce and Kal still harbored quiet kernels of it toward her.

"Please," she responded to the greeting, smiling wider and tilting her head, "call me Diana." Then, with a tip of her hand beckoning Jessica onward, the other woman cobbled together some sentences. The Amazon's demeanor shifted toward the more serious and pondering at news of an invasion. She still wasn't altogether sure why Jessica had sought her out, until it became clear: she was seeking permission - leave to respond to the interstellar threat.

Emotions joined together in a heartbeat within Diana - the desire to get to know Jessica better, to make her more comfortable; faint stir craze from being cooped in the Watchtower so long; but above all the genuine urge to help. She stood, revolving once so quickly the naked eye couldn't follow her as she did. Golden light pulsed around Diana, leaving her bedecked in her suit - tiara and all - by the time she was fully upright. "Of course," she reassured, striding around her desk while adjusting one of her gauntlets.

"May I accompany you, sister?" she asked, coming to a stop in front of Jessica.

(OOC: Feel free to move them to traveling through space in your next post if you want!)

Jessica Cruz

Diana agreed to let Jessica go easily and some of the tension in the Lantern’s shoulders eased. Really, she’d been overreacting. Why wouldn’t Wonder Woman let Jessica go save some innocent aliens?

Boy, that was a sentence.

Jessica was still blinking away the light from Diana’s costume transformation—one that made Jessica’s look really boring—when Diana was asking to accompany her. Really? Wonder Woman wanted to team up with her? Just the two of them? She’d also called her “sister,” which she probably called every other lady, but Jessica still briefly had the sudden feeling that the two of them could take on the entire patriarchy. Compared to that, some alien invaders would be nothing.

“Of course!” Her voice was probably a little too high, but hey, she wasn’t running away to hide yet, so that was considered a win.

---

Arriving at the planet was a lot more uneventful than Jessica had expected. It was totally silent, which, obviously, ‘cause space. There also weren’t any “rabid aliens” in sight. Jessica frowned in confusion as she slowly circled the planet from a distance. “Maybe it was a false alar-?” Nope. There it was, hidden away on the other side of the planet: a huge ship and myriad of explosions as two alien races battled. It was a good thing Jessica’s ring had given them the one-oh-one on this planet, or else she probably wouldn’t have known who were the bad guys and who were the good ones. The good ones—the natives of planet Unpronounceable Name—were, well, best described as blobs of goo in clear humanoid shells. The bad ones, it seemed, were the ones that looked a lot like snakes but with lots of arms.

It was kind of like a fever dream, but… weirder.

“Scratch that. So is this the part where we make a plan or- oof!” She was suddenly being slammed into the back by one of the snake aliens as it coiled tightly around her. Crap. This was starting out just great.

Diana smiled, and some genuine gratitude peeked into the expression. She hadn't expected Jessica to turn down her request to join on the mission. Even so, there wasn't any restraint or reluctance in the Green Lantern that the Amazon could detect. Some nervousness, perhaps, but Jessica seemed almost excited to work alongside one another. That made two of them.

- - - - -

The clear apparatus adhered around her mouth gave an indefinite, clean source of oxygen - one of many Justice League resources that came about with the marriage of Earth, Themysciran, Kryptonian, Martian and Thanagarian technology. With that secured, the blessings of Olympus that dwelt eternally in her skin countered every other peril of existing in the vacuum of space.

Jessica lead the way, and Diana followed dutifully, hoping to feed into the very real fact that this was her operation and Wonder Woman was there to aid, not take over. When they arrived at the planet in question, Diana's brow furrowed at the apparent tranquility, just as confused as her guide. Together, the two warriors continued their orbit far enough to reveal the opposite side of the celestial body, and the war raging there.

Diana's grey eyes glinted. Her limbs burned with a desire to intercede, but wisdom favored the precautious. Jessica voiced Diana's thoughts exactly, talking about coming up with a plan. And they very well would have done, except, as war was prone to do, it fell on them unawares in that moment. All in one heartbeat, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern were sucked into the chaos, and the time for planning was over.

"Unhand her!" Diana drove a fist into the side of the serpentine creature. It hissed in pain and all its limbs flailed, unfurling, including the one that held fast to Jessica. Diana's expression spread in faint surprise. "Their nervous system appears to be set up similar to a hydra's." The Amazon held up one arm, and the teeth in the alien's maw shattered on her gauntlet. "This I can work with," Diana said, and unleashed a decisive uppercut to the throat of the creature.

Jessica Cruz

Jessica was suddenly freed, spinning a bit before righting herself. Another alien was launching itself at her and, more prepared this time, she had a shield up in time for the alien to smash its face into it. Wonder Woman said the things were similar to a hydra—which was crazy because Jessica hadn’t known those things were real—and she blinked. All that told Jessica was that she should avoid cutting off their heads. “And, uh, what does that mean?”

The alien blocked by her shield moved quickly, almost seeming to slither through the zero gravity of space, but she’d been keeping her eye on it. Her shield instantly transformed into a net, wrapping around the alien. It thrashed wildly and gnawed on the hard light and her brow furrowed as she concentrated on keeping it together.

“Can they speak?” she wondered aloud, but the alien just continued to hiss and yowl animalistically. She was going to have to take that as a “no” for now as it seemed a small swarm was breaking off from attacking the large ship and making its way toward them. Jessica flung her captive at them, managing to knock aside a few of them. She then fired several blasts of energy from her ring, picking off a few more, but they were approaching quickly. Adding to it, there was apparently starting to become a mass consensus that the two women were a large threat, as she could see another cluster start to make their way toward them.

Jessica's question came just as Diana's uppercut sent a spray of saliva spiraling out of her opponent's maw, spittle careening through weightless space. "It means," she grunted, and twisted like a cyclone in place, dodging a retaliatory swipe from the beast as she turned horizontally in a barrel role. Her leg lashed out, channeling the bundled inertia from the maneuver into a kick that clipped its temple and caused it to go unconscious at once. "That Athena has armed me with the wisdom of experience for this battle."

Diana caught a snapping maw coming her way, one hand holding fast to a tooth; one from the top and one from the bottom row of teeth. Her biceps strained as venom dripped from the fangs and the forked tongue lashed the armor on her torso, refusing to let the mouth close. Jessica asked another thoughtful question at that time and Diana pursed her lips in mild frustration.

Her attention was stolen by the oncoming reinforcements. They were scattered by Jessica's impromptu projectile, but doubled in size when another unit from the distant battle swelled their numbers. "I am always willing to try," Diana answered belatedly. With a bit of finesse, she abandoned her grip on the teeth and slipped narrowly out of the bite that followed. Her lariat blazed at her touch, and with a deft flick of her wrist, the middle of the serpent creature was bound in its length.

"Peace!" Diana ordered, using the power of truth in the lariat to transcend the boundaries of language, species and evolutionary chains. "We are not necessarily your enemies."

(OOC: I have absolutely no idea where to go from here lol. We can either have Diana's attempt completely implode, or Jess can watch her back while she gets a bit of info or understanding across. Completely up to you!)

Jessica Cruz

Diana’s lasso wrapped around the alien and Jessica with a huff of concentration, manifested a large, green bubble to surround them and keep off the coming horde while Diana made her attempt. She jumped slightly and almost lost concentration as a voice she recognized a second later as her ring, chimed in her ear: “Direct translation unavailable. Creature’s emotions are volatile and appear to be instinctual. Temper is synced with others, suggesting a hive mind.”

“Hive mind” she mumbled to herself. Huh. Ok. Not totally useless information. Hives usually had queens, right? Someone pulling their strings? She bit her lip, looked at the huge ship where these aliens seemed to be coming from. Well, one theory was better than none.

“I think their leader’s in that ship” Jessica said, pointing as if there was any other gigantic ship Wonder Woman could possibly think she was talking about. She winced as more aliens piled onto her bubble, but continued: “If we take her- it-whatever out, maybe they’ll disband or something.” She hoped that didn’t sound like some crazy, crackpot theory, but they couldn’t just float here picking off the strays forever.

As soon as she let her bubble down, they’d be completely surrounded. She clenched her fist, determined, and waited for Diana’s ready signal. As soon as that was received, she pulled the bubble in, but then the energy was instantly released back out as a blast that scattered the horde.

The lariat was not a one-way road. Just as the truth wasn't. Diana's intent rolled down it, imparted without doubt or concept of subterfuge to the alien. So, too, in return did the Amazon feel the anger and immovable intent stinging her palms in reverse. She grit her teeth, muscles tensing in her jaw and neck. Before Diana could chart a next course of action, Jess had snared them all in an orb for some space to breathe.

Diana nodded in thanks toward Jess but didn't take her keen silver eyes off of the creature in her bindings. Jess's voice rang out, a terse grunt, and Diana exhaled. Frustration and affirmation all tangled together. "I see," Diana replied. The depth of emotion and will she felt through the lariat made more sense with the revelation of the species sharing a hive mind.

"The head of the serpent," Diana echoed Jess's sentiment about the crown of that hive mind being in the nearby space vessel. "If it cannot be reasoned with, there are other methods to prevent wider bloodshed." She sounded determined, but sad at the prospect that all of this might not be resolvable without meting out harm. Jess gave a preparatory look and Diana's grip on her lasso shifted in reply.

"I'm with you, sister." And Jess propelled the bubble of jade force outward on all sides, casting the aliens that'd clotted on the exterior away. Diana retrieved her lasso and with a flicker of Hermes's blessed speed, had put her back to Jess's at once. Facing the bulk of their enemy, she brought her gauntlets together, releasing a ripple of divine force that further scattered the horde as they tried to reassemble.

Turning, Diana pelted after Jessica, the two heroines turning into ribbons of emerald and gold side by side. "Allow me to knock," the Amazon called to her ally. She raised both hands over her head, balling each fist together and drove them down, colliding with a place where two scale-like panels of the hull met.

Jessica Cruz

While Wonder Woman knocked, Jessica held off the attacking hoard of aliens. She had a machine gun constructed in her hands in the blink of an eye and was picking off aliens. Their numbers were growing, though, as obviously their attack on the mothership was quickly being considered the priority threat for them. The gun shifted into a giant fly swatter, smacking aside the approaching clusters and sending them hurtling through space.

It only took a few swings from Wonder Woman to break through the hull of the ship—something Jessica definitely would’ve needed her ring and a lot of willpower for. They slipped through the hole and Jessica took a moment to use the ring energy to push the metal back into place to stop, or at least slow down, the pursuing hoard outside.

She took the next moment to let out a breath she’d been holding and take in their surroundings. They were in a… hallway. Just a plain, totally blank hallway. Which would be fine, really, if there weren’t about a dozen other hallways from various points along the one they were in.

“I don’t suppose your lasso or something knows the way to go?” That probably wasn’t how that worked, but couldn’t blame a girl for hoping. Especially since she could hear the approaching snarls from several of the connected hallways.