==Artemis 2022==

TW: 18+ | Descriptions of Violence | Mature Language

Terra Lorenz, 18 Years Old

Many months after Erica’s death

Light was all she saw. Terra was engulfed by a bright and blazing blast of light. In the center of a violent, burning battlefield, she stood. With melted, scalding gauntlets, she Illuminated red, she used what she had left in the tank to pin Jilaya down with the Power of Olympus. Her hands and arms were covered with her shattered gauntlets, and her legs were pinned down with her shin-guards. Terra felt her connection with her armor wane, as if this effort was its last gasp for air.

Jilaya’s plan had failed. Utterly defeated and depressed, she failed. Her dream ended there. Her children and husband died, and her father who she had brought to Earth just to see it all, killed by her own hands upon discovery of betrayal. Terra rested her spear comfortably above Jilaya’s neck.

She spoke through gasps. “You’ll shut down the MFI, or you’ll die here.”

Jilaya didn’t seem to be phased. In a raspy voice, collapsed from the final fight, “I have nothing else to lose…”

“You’ll shut it down. Set them free. Think about the damage you’ve already done. I want a confession, and I want you out of my life. Forever.”

Jilaya looked up at her captor. Blood seeped from her forehead from the preceding battle. It coated her eyes in a sort of “warrior mask”. Like she was making her mark on the felled beast that was herself, and yet, she scoffed at Terra’s remark.

“You’ll always deal with the repercussions of your actions today. You may be setting them free, and yet, freedom always comes with a price.”

“You aren’t getting out of this.”

Jilaya spoke with a motherly tone. “I know you hate me. I have nothing against you, Terra. In truth, it would’ve been someone else if it wasn’t you. What you do today will follow you, forever. I’ll turn myself in for my crimes, it will be like a life of luxury compared to what you will experience.”

Jilaya was true to her word, days later, she appeared on a live broadcast that swept the nation. “Many of you know me as Dr. Jilaya Springer. I’ve made numerous technical advances in my age. This is not why I have come before the nation today. My true allegiance lies in a shadow organization known as Meta Facilities Incorporated. We have committed numerous human rights offenses, taken those with strange powers away from their homes to be contained in one of my many containment facilities. I caused an irreversible amount of destruction in my home city, San Francisco. Due to the crimes I am about to read off, I ask that I be taken into custody, and with that I will bring an official dissolution letter of my company. Thank you.”

Jilaya began to read off a long list of her crimes. For the next week, the country stood silent wondering what would happen next. Press and authorities worked tirelessly to free every meta that was contained as fast as possible to reduce the controversy.

Terra walked the streets, watching as the closest encampment to her was emptied. Prisoners were dispersed from a large black truck. They were scanned as they got off, those who were criminals by law were asked to stay. The streets were crowded with reunited families, newly alit bonds, and partners who waited for their lost loves to return.

________________________________________________________________________

In a shaded, dark room, a woman stood. She had short orange hair roughly cut down to her shoulders. She wore a black unitard that cut off at her knees, once proudly suited for armor. She wore a faded white top that had been stained with blood, a sign of the anguish she went through to stand before one of the lords of Olympus.

“Newly knighted sister of Ares, what is your report?” A voice sounded.

“Empyrean, the father of Jilaya Springer, while not an Olympian in nature, has been a large threat to Olympus in the past due to his status as the most dangerous celestial, hellbent on destroying anything that comes in his wake, due to Jilaya Springer’s release of him, my Mother felt it necessary to stop him before his madness could spread.”

The man who stood before her sat in a chair, fully engulfed in black. This was equal parts a combination of his magic and the large black cloak that hid his face. “Mother?”

“Ah…Artemis. In my time with her, she adopted me as her own because I proved myself to be the strongest of her people. She died at the hands of Empyrean.”

“Would you say that it is appropriate for Artemis’ successor to be the strongest warrior she had laid eyes on?” The man asked.

“Well…If that is what the gods see as necessary, who am I to say anything else?”

“Yes. That is a good answer, Delta.”

Delta stood before the mysterious figure. Waiting for the news to be delivered to her that she’d be the successor, that she’d be the strongest. Her mother was dead now, because of Terra, the one who bested her in combat. Delta knew it was her place to succeed her Mother so she could bring peace to her soul.

“Have you ever heard the story of the Phoenix? There is an idea that Artemis herself was the Phoenix. She’d be the one who rose from the ashes after the raid of Olympus. It’s a prophecy that will mean the end of the Olympian gods, and the succession of the new gods. Things must be put into motion if we are to survive.” The man explained. “For that reason, you will not be the successor to your “mother”. The Artemis my father knew thought of her as worse than himself. No Earthly attachments plagued that woman. We need someone better.”

“What are you trying to say?” Delta questioned, a light fury bubbling up in her chest.

“You lie to me. You are unfit to be the predecessor of Artemis, because there is one who bested you in combat and stripped you of your armor. It is a wonder Artemis kept you.”

Delta stumbled over her words. The man in the cloak stood tall above her. He stalked out of the room. Delta sensed the intense power as he pushed past her, shedding the cloak as he left. She didn’t recognize the man, but he was not Ares.

________________________________________________________________________

December, the New Year was finally approaching. Terra’s birthday had passed just as the dust settled from Jilaya’s announcement that swept the nation. She had a newly formed scar that had stretched across her face. It was just beginning to lighten. Ivan had slashed her in a close brawl shortly after Erica’s death.

Many thoughts surfed through her head as she kept up her regular work regimen. Her landlord let her use the communal workout space, which was usually unoccupied. She just finished washing up when she began to leave the apartment, heading for her favorite breakfast place, Bibble and Sip.

As she walked up the sidewalk, a man began to slink behind her from afar. Every turn she made, he made too. Unfortunately, this event had happened before. She got ready to bash someone’s head in, and took her normal route that led to a dead end. She began to take a complex route of alleyways to see if he continued to follow her, when it appeared the man had lost the trail.

“Why do I even have to deal with this…?” She asked herself.

“Terra Lorenz.” A voice called out.

She suddenly turned at attention. Ready to fight back against the mysterious man. When she locked eyes with him, the worry escaped her body. He had no intention of indecency, in fact, his gray eyes almost rang hollow with meaning. Terra couldn’t help but admire his looks. He had curly, flowing gray hair, and a distinguished jawline.

“Are you listening?” He commanded. “The president wants to speak with you.”

Terra stifled a laugh. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“Tempest. Back up. We don’t want to scare her.” A voice sounded from the shadows.

A dark-skinned man in a blue and black suit with spiky hair and an eyepatch stepped out. He towered above both Tempest and Terra. “We just wanted to talk, sorry for leading you astray.”

Terra stumbled over her words as the actual president stood in front of her. She bowed, as it was tradition in her old home. “You want to talk to me?! It’s…so good to meet you sir!”

“You may call him President Bordon. I am Tempest.”

“I want to talk to you about what you did.”

“What do you mean?” Terra asked innocently. “Shutting down the MFI?”

“Now we know you definitely did it. Metas are crowding areas now, people are getting mad. Metas don’t have homes, nor jobs. Another thing, while the ones with true criminal records were sent into new containment facilities, some slipped under our radar. Crime rates are going up. Do you understand? We are here to ask you to clean up your mess. You caused this, so if you work for us, I can pay you handsomely, you can even benefit.”

Terra thought about what she had been doing for the last year. It had been a nonstop chase of Jilaya, all in an attempt to destroy the empire she built. Terra succeeded, and it hadn’t even been a month until she was called into action, and by the president, no less.

“I’m sorry if this is selfish, but I just wanted a normal life for at least a month. It’s only been two weeks since Jilaya made her announcement. I’d love to take a job from you, but you have others who can pick up the slack, no?” Terra felt a frog in her throat. She realized she was on the verge of tears pleading to the president for just a little bit of down time.

“So be it. You cannot ignore the truth for much longer, though.” The President responded. He sunk back into the shadows with Tempest following close behind. He glanced back at Terra before following. Something in his eyes said he was disappointed.

She took a deep breath before following the alleyway back to civilization, when she sensed it.

The slightest interruption of the dirt behind her. She was smothered by a muscular arm that wrapped around her neck like a snake encapsulating its prey. Her training willed her to put her chin down, making it difficult for the man to choke her out. She clawed and bit through gasps of air, attempting to stray from the man’s grasp. Yet, this was no man. Her first instinct said it was a metahuman. No. This was a god, someone of Artemis’ caliber. She felt the same sense from when she had stumbled into her civilization of warriors. She slammed her elbow into the ribs of the god, but it felt like she was slamming her arm into mount Olympus itself. Futile. Finally, he sunk a chloroform-soaked rag over her nose and mouth.

Ending it.

________________________________________________________________________

Terra Lorenz, 18 Years Old

Terra was startled awake when she was slashed with a bucket of cold water. Her head rose to see an unfamiliar god before her. She was chained up on a metal scaffolding. There were chains around her arms, legs and torso, propping her up like she was on a crucifix.

“Greetings, Miss Lorenz.” The voice sounded.

“Who…Are you…? If you plan to kill me, I’d like to know the name of who.”

“I am Phobos. God of fear and son of Ares. I am glad to finally be meeting you, Terra.”

“Likewise.” She announced, bluntly.

Phobos had put on a somewhat human disguise. While all Olympians looked human, he took it a step forward by dressing in a magnificent cream suit. He had dark skin and a buzzcut. A sign of a man who was deeply entrenched in war effort.

“What do you want, revenge for me inadvertently killing a god?”

“Very short-sighted of you. Where is the Artemis Armor?” He demanded, fiddling with a cart filled with torture weapons. He held a rusty sickle at his side. He raised Terra’s chin with it, waiting for an answer.

“The armor? It was destroyed. I lost it in my final fight with Jilaya.”

“Convincing. I’ll have you know I studied you, Miss Lorenz. You are a skilled liar. Members of The Order of Diamond Hearts are known to lie, and still, a weapon of divinity is very hard to destroy.” He mused.

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

Phobos seemed both amused and annoyed by this answer. He felt like his threats got him nowhere with the would-be god in front of him. He sunk the sickle into her side by the top of the blade. It only made the slow progression of pain intensify as Phobos put more effort into the blow. Terra tried to stay calm, focusing on her breathing while snuffing out a scream.

“I want you to understand, I do not do this for pleasure of any kind. I do it so Olympus can be saved. The fall of Olympus is coming. Zeus is only interested in grasping for what remaining power he has left. He cares not about the next generation, nor the death of his daughter. Have you heard of the prophecy of the rising Phoenix?”

“Shut up…” Terra muttered. She had no care for the world of Olympus. When she had met Artemis, she felt more like a cog in Artemis’ and Delta’s family drama, despite contact with the armor granting her the Power of Olympus, she didn’t care about what the inhabitants of Olympus had to offer her. There was enough on her plate.

“The prophecy says that a great warrior will be stained with the mark of the Phoenix. Now, our great Phoenix is gone. Maybe you and Artemis have more in common than you think. Artemis didn’t care for Olympus either. So much so that she cut herself off from Olympus and died just like any other human. What a fool.” Phobos continued.

He held a pole with a metal slap on the end of it. His hands turned to a bright, molten rock. It allowed him to spread a coating of lava over the metal, which had been expertly crafted into a shape of a Phoenix.

Phobos cut Terra down, causing her to fall onto the ground with no control. Her body had completely shut down. “I’m not your Phoenix.” Were the only words she could muster.

“I believe that you will come to save us when the time is right. Unlike my father, I am a patient man. So I can wait. Will you come before our destruction? During? Or will you be too late? I am excited to see.”

He held Terra down, and inscribed the burning hot phoenix onto her back. It burnt the shirt over her back to ash, but it was just hot enough to stop from melting through her tough exterior. She could only scream into the abyss.