MLDC Next Generation: Teen Titans

by Michael_Ravencroft

Secret Origins Part 2: Wings of War, Unseen Peace

Anthea was a pretty energetic girl, despite being partially blind, she never let it stop her from enjoying life or hanging out with friends. She grew up in an orphanage, left there as a baby, and came to be raised by her orphan siblings, Amber Lily, Hot Head, and Lucky Star. The three of them shared a close bond, although Amber acted as the big sister and sometimes mother figure to them, she was mostly a big sister to Annie. One day Annie wandered out of the orphanage by accident, she could see colors in blurry blotches, but nothing too identifying.

It was a young woman by the name of Fluttershy who found Annie, she immediately felt for the orphan girl and upon helping her find her way back, talked to the matron of the orphanage and asked if she could adopt Anthea or Annie as she liked to be called. The adoption was approved and from then on Annie lived with her new mother Fluttershy, who specialized in veterinary medicine, and volunteering at the same animal shelter since she was a teenager. Annie loved her new mother and her new school, Canterlot High. It was here that she met her first friend, a freshman girl, small for her age, but no less intimidating.

Her name was Starburst, she was the daughter of one of Fluttershy’s close friends growing up. Starburst came off as a serious girl, and a bit of a buzzkill. Which was funny seeing as how the two became friends, even though Annie was partially blind, she could still attend regular high school, albeit with braille textbooks. Some of the girls at school thought it would be funny to pick on her since she was a sophomore. Starburst just couldn’t take, her sense of justice wouldn’t allow it, and so she promptly scared off the tormentors and from then on became Annie’s friend. Finding out later that their mothers had been friends since middle school.

In the months following, both Star and Annie got to know each other better. Star found out rather quickly that Annie had a risqué sense of humor, not embarrassed at all at telling a dirty joke, making the occasional perverted comment, and of course, her surprise grope-hugs. Star may not have had much upstairs but she still found it embarrassing nonetheless. Despite all that, she also saw Annie’s sweet and caring side, and her determination in everything she did. It was odd to have her as a friend, but she wouldn’t forsake it for anything.

Annie also learned a lot about Starburst as well. Besides being serious and a buzzkill, Star was quite the athlete. She got up early in the mornings to jog around the block before school started, played for the Canterlot High soccer team, helping out at her other friend’s farm, and did a little kickboxing in her spare time. More than once she made Annie freak out when Star collapsed from exhaustion, one minute she’ll be talking to her and then suddenly she just pass out. Annie had asked her why she was so determined to push herself to the breaking point, and apparently she wanted to join the military, become an air force pilot like her father, Flash Sentry.

So she trained for the day when she could enlist so she could be ready for whatever they threw at her. Course, because being short for her age, Star didn’t think that they’d take her on as a pilot, but she was determined to prove them wrong. Another thing that Annie noticed about her friend was that she didn’t have a very good relationship with her mother, they were complete opposites. Her mother, Twilight, was a teacher in advanced physics and quantum theory at Canterlot University, but from the time she spent with Twilight, Annie found Star’s mother to be adorkable, as her husband described.

Her little brother, Night Light or Nighty as he liked to be called, took to Annie right away. Star later informed her that he had a crush on her, she found it cute.

Nowadays the two girls, who were complete opposites and yet the best of friends, were preparing for Summer Break, and Star was particularly happy because the air force base where her father was once stationed at, was having fair going for the community.

“C’mon Annie, please come with me?!” Star pleaded.

Unfortunately, her father and mother had a previous engagement that would take most of the day, but Star really wanted to go onto the base and see whatever else was going on. So she had come to her best friend to ask if she would accompany her while she was there.

“I don’t know Star, military stuffs not my cup of tea, and you know that. I’m all for what they do, but…”

“But I can’t go alone out there…I wanted to go with my family, but Mom’s got this seminar that she has to be at the University for, and my egghead brother’s going as well, and of course, my Dad, the loving husband, went to support her. But I really want to and they said I could so long as you and your mom took me!”

Annie was a pacifist at heart, and military things didn’t interest her as much as they did Star. But when it came to Star she just couldn’t say no that pleading, desperate, cute tone in her voice.

“Alright Star, I’ll go with you.”

“YES! Thank you Annie!”

“Just do me one favor though.”

“Anything, just name it!”

“I know we’re best friends and all, but…straddling me while I’m wearing a tank top and panties is kinda pushing it, don’t you think?”

Star’s mind stopped for a moment as she took the time to process Annie’s words. She looked from the milky-blue eyes, past the long locks of green hair, to the thin pink tank top, and lower to the same colored underwear. Star’s face immediately turned redder than an apple as she jumped off of Annie’s bed and quickly turned her back to her.

“Jeez Annie, you could’ve told me sooner!”

“You rushed into my bedroom and pounced on me, and started pleading for me to go with you, didn’t really have a chance to work that in there,” said Annie.

“W-Whatever, just get dressed so we can go!”

Starburst hurriedly exited Annie’s room. The blind girl rolled onto her stomach, propping up her head on the heels of her hands, and kicking her legs back and forth like a Cheshire cat wagging its tail, and had the grin of one to match.

Sometimes it’s just too easy to embarrass her like that, but that doesn’t make it any less fun!

Star, wearing her violet-pink sleeveless blouse, blue skirt with a starburst pattern on it and spats underneath the skirt, and nice black shoes, entered the base with Anthea and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was wearing a leaf green blouse, with khaki pants, while Annie wore a pink tank top, of the more public variety, and jeans. She stuck close to the two girls, allowing Starburst to take the lead in most of the activities. Fluttershy let the two girls have some space, hanging back just a tad to keep them in earshot, but not too close as to impose on them.

Several times during the fair guys wouldn’t stop hitting on Annie, she found it flattering and did talk to them, but she wasn’t seeking anything romantic from them, good looking as they were. Of course, Annie knew this kind of put a damper on things for Starburst. Her adoptive mother was, what many referred to as, a natural beauty, needing next to nothing as far as cosmetics or any of the anti-aging stuff, she still had a youthful appearance and glow about her, even in her thirties. Annie was the same way, and her being sixteen only made that trait more prominent. So it wasn’t a surprise that guys would hit on her from time to time, but it was disheartening when they passed over Starburst.

But Starburst didn’t let it get to her that much, she was enjoying the tour of the base, the games they had set up for everyone and of course the food, Star’s metabolism was crazy fast, she could eat a lot and not gain a single pound. Soon the crowd was called to a stage in front of one of the hangers. A man stood before a microphone, he wore a sky-blue business suit, with a red bowtie. His white hair slicked back as he gazed upon the crowd of hundreds before him.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Canterlot City, I trust you’re all having a great time!”

The crowd shouted back their response, Annie had to clap her hands around her ears, since her eyes were partially blind her other senses got stronger to compensate, particularly her sense of smell and hearing.

“Who is that guy?” Annie asked.

“That’s Mr. Stagg of Stagg Industries, he’s one of the military’s biggest contractors and has created many different inventions for both domestic and militaristic use! Guess he’s here to show off one his new products or something,” explained Starburst.

Mr. Stagg held out his hands, signaling the crowd to simmer down. “For years Stagg Industries has strived to be at the forefront of technological advances, both for the betterment of mankind and the safety of our men and women in uniform. That is why I am proud to unveil our newest product! The Stagg Centurions!”

The hanger behind Mr. Stagg opened, the sliding doors slowly parting to reveal dozens of six foot tall, weaponized robots. Each one had the Stagg Industries logo stamped on the left side of their chests, but had the flag painted on both shoulders pads. One half of the robots, colored gun metal gray, had mini-guns mounted to their shoulders, and a missile pack on the other. Their large forearms indicated that there was probably one or more weapons hidden underneath the armor, and the sides of each of the lower parts of their legs had a large box object, possibly housing rockets or missiles. The other half were white and had wings on their backs, obviously these ones were made for aerial combat. Both forearms had two barrels sticking out from them, possible machine guns, The wings themselves had panels that were probably where the missiles and rockets were housed, these robots looked less bulky than the others, but that only made sense seeing as they needed to fly.

“The Stagg Industries, X97-Aero Centurions and the X98-Terra Centurions, both equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, and the most advanced computerized systems that allow them to distinguish from friend and foe! These machines will revolutionize the way we do combat, no more will we have to sacrifice the lives of our young children by sending them off to war, with these we can usher in a new age of modern warfare and insure that all lives are protected, all freedoms enjoyed!”

The crowd let loose another roar of approval at Mr. Staggs speech about his robotic weapons. Anthea didn’t like the way the man sounded so happy about creating something that was essentially going to be used to slaughter and kill many people, but she supposed if it kept others like Starburst from getting hurt and coming back then she guessed it was okay, maybe. She felt Star’s hand tighten around hers, Annie looked to her friend sensing her tension.

“What’s wrong?” Annie asked.

“Using robots to fight? That’s just wrong!”

“Why’s that?”

“Because what’s stopping war from becoming some video game? Just send in the droids and let them hash it out, there’s no one on the other end to make the moral decisions and split second judgment calls that a human can do…” Star sighed heavily.

“And that also means that there will be no point in soldiers or pilots, right?”

Star nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault, I understand what he’s saying, and it’s smart, but still…does that mean all the training I did was for nothing?”

“Oh Star…” Annie placed her hand on Star’s other shoulder, bringing her in for a comforting hug.

Normally Star would allow it and then shrug it off after a few seconds, but right now she needed a little comforting. This did not go unnoticed by Fluttershy, giving the young girl a sympathetic smile.

The robots came online, marching in perfect sync as they made their way to the stage. Once there, all six-hundred of the robotic warriors then stood at attention and saluted the crowd, and Mr. Stagg saluted back to them. He then turned around and bowed to the crowd, basking in their awe and admiration. But that’s as far as the peace went. Suddenly the robots’ eyes glowed, the Aero’s blue and the Terra’s red. There was a chorus of weapons being loaded from the assembled robots, making the crowd flinch. The wings of the Aero’s shot out as if preparing to take flight, and the Terra’s mini-guns all shifted from their safe position and pointed them right at the crowd, their five barrels spinning rapidly in preparation for discharge.

“Now, now, it’s just a demonstration, nothing to be afraid –”

Mr. Stagg never finished his sentence as the sound of one of Sentinel’s mini-guns whirred to life and fired! A stream of glowing hot bullets poured into the first line of people and to a few behind them. Blood splattered everywhere as body parts started flying off from the sheer force and speed of the bullets as they pierced through their targets. A scream was let out and the crowd began its stampede away from the psycho-bot. Fluttershy and Star couldn’t believe what they had just seen and what was still happening as the robots began rampaging and killing innocent people at random, shooting them as they ran away. The Aeros took off into the sky, attacking the hangars and destroying their fighter jets while others went off to pick off the grounded soldiers.

“W-What’s happening?!” Annie asked.

She felt something wet splatter against her cheek, she used her right hand to touch it and brought it to her nose, it was a familiar scent, too familiar. The irony, copper smell, it reminded her of…

“Blood…Star! Star!”

“I’m right beside you!” Starburst shouted.

“I’m here too sweetie!” Fluttershy shouted.

“Are those robots actually shooting at people?!”

“Can’t talk, we have to run! NOW!!!” Fluttershy ordered.

Starburst gripped Annie’s hand tightly and Fluttershy did the same on the other hand, both keeping Annie between them as they ran away from the robots. Explosions and rapid gunfire could be heard all around them, along with the screams and death rattles of the ones who were hit or dying. Star and Fluttershy passed by several dead bodies, soldier and civilian alike, all with body parts either shot off or blown off. One of the soldiers, they witnessed, used the bayonet attachment on his M4 and tried to stab the robot where the armor wasn’t as thick.

The Terra Centurion didn’t seem to take kindly to the back stab, turning around and knocking the rifle out of the soldiers grip. From below its right forearm, a four foot blade extended outwards, the robot thrust that very blade into the soldier’s chest, twisted it, and then pulled it out. The soldier didn’t even get the chance to scream as he fell to the ground, a pool of his own blood forming beneath him. Two other soldiers fired their rifles at it, trying to bring the automaton down. But the Terra Centurion just turned towards them, bullets bouncing off him like little pebbles. Its missile pod got into position, opening to reveal its silos. The pod fired off three missiles, two of them hitting the their human targets, and the third aiming for a fueling truck that exploded into a giant fireball!

A flood of people bombarded the group of three, all three of them tried to hold onto each other for dear life, but the stampede of frightened people was too harsh and strong, all three lost their grip on each other’s’ hands. Annie was swept away by the crowd, while Fluttershy and Starburst were left behind.

“ANNIE!!!” Fluttershy cried out.

“Dammit how could I let her go like that?! I’ll go get her Ms. Fluttershy!” Starburst yelled.

Before Fluttershy could protest Starburst had already made a big gap in the distance between them, she knew she’d never catch up to the athletic girl, and realistically, Star was the best chance of Annie getting back in one piece. But still, she couldn’t just let her go alone. Unfortunately the choice of whether to go or not wasn’t hers to make, a group of soldiers had come along, gathering civilians and herding them towards the exits, the whole time Fluttershy kept screaming out for Star and Annie, but her cries fell on deaf ears.

Anthea was panicking, she had lost hold of both Star’s and her mother’s hands and now she was adrift in a sea of fear. The sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out in a never ending symphony, the smell of gunpowder, blood, and burning bodies wafted through the air, filling her nostrils with its disgustingly pungent order. It was the smell of death, death was all around her, and she was alone. People and things moved in swirling blurs of color, melding into an impressionists’ painting of a nightmare. Annie couldn’t take it, she had no idea where she was, no clue how close she was to one of the slaughter-bots or where her friend or mother was.

As bad an option as it was, Annie ran as fast as she could, trying to push her way out of the crowd of people and screams filling her ears. She aimed for the only space that seemed devoid of anything tall or orangey. With great effort, Annie finally freed herself from the sea of people, falling to her knees and panting hard from exhaustion, her body shook from equal parts fear and adrenaline as she hugged herself, trying to calm her mind and body down before she had a full blown panic attack in the middle of this crisis, and right now that would only make things worse.

Star…Mom…where are you?! I don’t want to be alone, please! Please find me!

Annie held her breath when she heard powerful thudding sound rumbling through the ground. She then heard mechanical sounds and she knew that it was one of the robots coming for her, she didn’t know what to do, running wouldn’t help, nor would begging for mercy. Annie looked up at the approaching gray mass, stopping just a few feet in front of her. Her eyes widened with fear as tears streamed down her face, she knew this was the end, she was going to die here, alone. Annie watched as something long and gray moved towards her face, letting off a whirring sound. Only one name came to mind, one name she wanted to cry out for in futility, but prayed beyond all hope that it would reach her ears.

“STARBURST!!!!!”

“GET AWAY FROM YOU TIN MAN, REJECT, BASTARD!!!”

Starburst charged towards the robot, holding in both hands and M4 rifle! She stabbed the weapon right into one of the gaps in the automaton’s armor, Star pulled the trigger once the muzzle was inside the robot, firing off all the rounds that were inside the magazine as she let out a primal battle cry. The robot stumbled backwards, breaking off the barrel of the M4. It stumbled backwards as its insides caught on fire, Starburst tossed the broken weapon and put her back to the robot, using herself as a shield to protect her friend.

The robot’s chest exploded outwards, falling onto its back and ceasing all function. The ammunition in the robot set off as secondary explosion, causing a few of its bullets to whiz into the air, one shot right through Star’s left thigh, while the other pierced her right shoulder. Star yelped in pain, but grit her teeth to stay standing and protect her friend! Annie, who had covered her head from hearing the explosion, looked up and saw the familiar colors of her best friend, along with some red in places that there weren’t supposed to be.

“OH MY GOD STAR YOU’RE HURT!”

“It-It’s no big deal…! Are you alright?!” Star asked.

“Y-Yes, but forget about me! We need to get you to a hospital now!” Annie yelled.

“Don’t think we’re going to get that far,” said Star, clutching her shot arm.

Annie listened closely, hearing the thudding of several more metallic footsteps. Star looked around them and saw at least five of the artillery heavy robots surround them, apparently considering Starburst and Anthea a threat for taking out one of their own.

“Star…”

“I came to save you…but instead…we’re going to die here…”

Annie reached out and held Star close to her. “Why didn’t you run away with Mom…your mom, dad, and your little brother, you’ll be leaving them behind…”

“I couldn’t leave my friend behind, my friend…plus, who else is going to make sure your ass is safe.”

“Oh, you’ve been staring at my ass have you?”

“Shut up…”

Both girls chuckled, as grim as the situation was. Their humor ceased when they heard the whirring of the mini-guns starting up. Annie held Star tighter, and Star held on just as tight, not wanting to let go as they both shut their eyes tight in anticipation of the end.

I don’t want to die here, I have to protect Annie! Dammit if only I was stronger!

I don’t want either of us to die, this can’t be it, there’s still so much left for us to do!

At that moment the screaming and explosions all went silent, deathly quiet. Star dared to open her eyes, feeling a strange weightlessness. She gasped upon seeing herself and Annie floating in the air, below them were their huddled bodies, still holding onto each other. The bullets from the robots’ guns had stopped in midair, frozen as if all time had stopped. Star’s body was outlined in a red light, while Annie in blue. Star thought that they had died or were having an out of body experience before dying.

“Annie, open your eyes!”

The young girl did as she said, and was surprised to see, well, to actually see Starburst. “Star…I can see you, I mean, I’m not blind anymore!”

“What’s going on…? I don’t understand!”

Suddenly, both girls felt a great force pull them up into at breakneck speed! Higher and higher the two girls went, the clouds and scenery blinding together until they were nothing more than colors passing them by. Up ahead, Annie and Star saw a light, and within a few seconds they shot right into the light. It was blinding for a moment, but a minute the light faded away, revealing what was around them.

Star and Annie were standing on top of some platform as a vast expanse of stars and colorful streams of energy flowed around them. Annie stepped closer to Star as she caught sight of other beings, they were standing on platforms, far away from them. The beings were divided, an equal amount on one side and on the other. A sphere of light appeared above them, alongside it appeared a sphere of energy that swirled about with different dark colors and lashed out in every direction. The spheres broke apart, transforming to into two humanoid figures.

The on the right, across from Annie, stood a woman at least five stories tall. Her hair looked like it was made of shimmering cerulean and amethyst crystal, her eyes were a gentle shade of lavender, but behind them Annie could sense a great and powerful force. She wore a dress made of pure light, her fair skin making her an almost blinding sight to see.

Opposite the glowing maiden, across from Star, the figure that appeared from the chaotic ball of energy was a man. His chest was bare, save for the golden clasp around this neck that connected to his robe that glowed with varying colors of black, white, green, and purple, and on his back he had wings. One wing was that of feathered bird’s wing, and the other a large bat wing, he also had one long fang protruding from his upper lip, giving him a sabertooth like grin. His irises were glowing red, while the whites of his eyes were yellow, he had an air of mischievousness about him, but Star could tell that this guy had the power to do some real damage if he so wished it.

“Greeting young ones, I am Harmony, Chief Lord of Order,” said the woman.

“And I’m Discord, Chief Lord of Chaos,” said the man, taking a bow while making a top hat appear out of nowhere.

“W-Why are we here…? Are we…dead?” Annie asked with dread.

“Yes, you’re both deader than a doornail, and we’re deciding whether or not you go upstairs or downstairs!” Discord announced.

OH CRAP! Annie and Star thought at the same time.

Harmony backhanded Discord upside the head and shot him a scolding glance. “Discord, behave yourself, they’re already uneasy enough as it is.”

“Oh lighten up Harmony! It was just a bit of fun!” Discord shot back.

“Your idea of fun, as I recall, was playing pinball with a newborn star and a red giant and watching what happens when they bounce between planets.”

“Oh you just can’t let that go can you?! I got bored one millennia and now I’m branded!” Discord crossed his arms and then huffed in annoyance.

“Excuse me, but are either one of you going to tell us what the hell happened to us?!” Star shouted at the two supernatural beings.

Discord and Harmony looked back down to the two girls, Annie hid behind Star chastising the younger girl for yelling at two giants.

“Hmmm, I like her, she’s got some balls! In fact –”

“NO!” Harmony ordered with a booming voice.

“Fine.”

Harmony sighed and took a moment to compose herself. “Forgive Discord, his humor is not often for everybody.”

Star glanced over her shoulder at Annie and looked back up at Harmony.

“Believe me I understand completely.”

“Hey!”

Harmony nodded. “To answer your questions, no, you are both alive, for the moment. We have simply called your spirits here to the Astral Plain. A place where magic is in its purest, where mind and matter are parted and the spirit can find enlightenment. That is why you can see Anthea and you Starburst are not injured.”

“Not that w-w-we’re not grateful for you saving us, but why did you bring us here?” Annie asked.

“The simple answer is: We want you to become the keepers of balance in your world.” Discord explained.

“Say what now?” Both girls asked.

“For eons, we, the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos, have kept the balance of Chaos and Order within the realm of mortals and magic,” said Harmony.

“But something is coming, more than one some things actually, that will threaten the balance of Chaos and Order. We’re not allowed to directly influence the world, but we can choose agents on our behalf to keep the balance for us. Two to whom we bestow our respective powers to, so that they can go out and beat up whatever it is that’s causing the imbalance.”

Harmony let out an exasperated sigh. “Not just to combat it, but if possible find a peaceful solution to the problem if one exists.”

Annie stood at Star’s side again, less afraid of the giants than before, now more curious than anything. Star however was mulling over the information they were given.

“So why us? What’s so special about two high school girls?” Star asked.

“Well it seems to be a popular theme nowadays. Teenage girls going out to battle supernatural forces with strange otherworldly powers, and wearing skimpy revealing outfits! So we decided to follow the trend and we got you two,” said Discord.

Annie blushed at the thought of fighting bad guys in skimpy, revealing outfits, although if they were cute outfits she’d doubt she’d mind it. Starburst on the other hand was face palming herself and groaning, her face a slight shade of red, afraid that this guy was telling the truth.

“We chose you because of who you two are!” Harmony corrected. “We are hoping that you two will accept the powers we will bestow upon you, and defend your world from the coming threats. For instance, Anthea, I chose you because of your kind and caring nature. You value peace among others and try your best to resolve heated situations, but at the same time, you are not afraid to fight for that peace should you have to.”

Discord leaned down and looked at Star. “While you’re not exactly as humorous as your friend, I chose you, Starburst, for another reason. You seem to have a knack for combat, an aggression and ferocity that, despite your size, is as big as I am. You seem to hate the guts of those who would use power to oppress others and aren’t afraid of getting your hands dirty to put an end to it. For this, you align well with my chaos power.”

“And then there’s a third reason,” Harmony added, “the deep sense of friendship and love you have for one another. Specifically your willingness to comfort and protect the other in times of great strife and peril, it was this trait you both share that will allow you to balance the powers we give you.”

Star and Annie briefly glanced at each other, blushing as they remembered their little scene when they thought they were facing their mortality.

“So, what happens if we don’t chose to become…whatever it is you want us to be, are you just going to send us back to be killed by those machines? Because the last time I checked, Annie and I were about to be used as target practice.” Star queried.

Harmony shook her head. “Not so, should that be your wish, we shall move you two away from the danger. This is your choice to make.”

Annie looked to Star curiously. “What do you think Star?”

The navy-blue haired girl didn’t know what to think. They were essentially being offered great power, and the responsibility to safeguard the world against forces that would threaten their world. In a way, it was no different from what she really wanted, which was to be a pilot in the military and protect others. The thought of being a protector of the world did sound enticing, but this wasn’t her decision alone.

“I don’t want to drag you into something you don’t want to do Annie. Just tell me and I’ll say no.”

Annie almost couldn’t believe it, Star was leaving the decision to her. She knew that this was right up Star’s alley, and she’d no doubt make a great protector, but she never really thought of herself like that. There wasn’t that much she could do with her blindness, truthfully her fear was being burden to her adoptive mother, but if she could repay that kindness, to her mother, by making the world safer for everyone, and bring peace to the fearful, then, maybe this was her purpose, both of theirs.

“I…I want to do this!” Annie proclaimed. “I want to, if…if you do too, Star?”

Star smiled and nodded at her friend. “Okay, Discord, Harmony, what do have to do.”

The Chief Lords of Chaos and Order smiled approvingly at the two girls. Both of them held out their right hands, in their palms formed orbs of light, one red, and the other blue. The two orbs shot out of their hands and flew down to meet the two girls, stopping a foot away from them and bursting apart. Before Star hovered a blood red hawk, and before Annie, a bright blue dove.

“These are your powers, the Hawk,” said Discord.

“And the Dove,” finished Harmony.

“Speak their names and you will be transformed into the Avatars of War and Peace, with the powers to fight against all that would seek to bring imbalance to magic and the realm of mortals.”

Annie and Star looked to each other once more, with a confident nod, they stared their respective birds right in the eyes and shouted.

“HAWK!!!”

“DOVE!!!”

The two birds’ eyes shined as they shot towards them, enveloping their souls. Where Star’s soul shined crimson red as she sported to large red wings, her eyes blazing white. Annie’s soul was bright blue, with two elegant wings, and the same white eyes as her friend. The two souls flew up, spiraled around each other, and then dove back down, heading back for the mortal world where their bodies awaited them!

A dual explosion erupted from the spot where the two young girls were being shot. The robots were thrown back from the sheer force of the explosion, their circuits scrambled from the strange light that emanated from the detonation zone. When the light faded, both Annie and Star were alive and standing, but they were very different from before.

Starburst had crimson metal gauntlets on her forearms, the fingers each sharpened into claws, and crimson metal boots. Most her body was covered in a white mesh like suit, reminding her of some kind of scale-chainmail, but it was smooth to the touch. On her waist was a metal belt, further up was a chest plate. A helmet covered her head, white from behind, but around the face was more crimson metal, slanted out into sharp features that gave Star’s white, narrowed eyes a fearsome edge to them, and at the center of her forehead was a red ruby with the image of a black hawk’s head inside it. On her back were two large metallic wings, they flexed and moved like normal avian wings, but the movements of the metal feathers sounded like sword blades being unsheathed from their scabbards.

Annie was less intense. Around her neck was a cape made of downy white feathers, held together by a metal silver clasp, at the center of the clasp was a sapphire with the white image of dove in it. She wore no armor, emphasizing her peaceful visage. The cowl was white, but an outline of blue indicating where her eyes were. They eyes themselves were more oval and rounded, a stark contrast to the narrowed sharpness of Star’s helmet. It covered most of her head, but allowed her mouth to be seen as well as letting her braided, ponytail hair to flow out. Around her waist was a silver metal belt, allowing a short white skirt to flow from it. Her forearms were covered by white gloves, the ends of the glove having a feather pattern to them, it was the same for her boots, which sported a three inch heel to them. The rest of her body was covered in a sky-blue mesh suit which form fitted to her, but was sleek, the gloves and boots seamlessly blinding into the suit itself.

Starburst looked over her new form, flexing her clawed hands, clenching them into fists as she sensed the power coursing through every fiber of her being. She was surprised at how easy it was to control the wings, although metallic, it only took a mere thought to make them move. She was aware of the danger around them, of the mayhem and carnage, and she knew its source. A malicious aura lapped off the robots, all of them, but it was the leftover aura, someone else’s aura that left an imprint on them.

Meaning that this wasn’t an accident, someone wanted this to happen!

Annie found out that she could see, not with her eyes, but her power, her mind’s eye painting a vivid picture of her environment. She could see everything happening around her, and with her perception of color, it made everything clearer. Her danger sense was attuned differently, she could sense danger yes, but it was the endangered lives of the innocent people. She could hear their cries for help and feel their desperation for it as well. Her heart ached for them, wanting to end their blight, all of which stemmed from these automatons.

“Star we can’t let this slaughter continue,” said Annie.

“Well, I’ve got an idea,” said Star.

“What is it?”

“Those things seem to go after whatever’s the biggest threat to them, otherwise they just slaughter everything. So…”

Star eyed one of the Terra Centurions getting back up, she dashed towards it and in the blink of an eye was right in front of it. She then thrust her right hand forward, spearing the machine right through its chest and ripping out its internal circuitry. Her gauntlet was covered in the mechanical oils and battery fluids that acted as the machine’s blood, making it look like she disemboweled the poor thing. The robot fell to the ground, ceasing all function.

“All we have to do is make ourselves the biggest targets and they’ll come running to us!”

“That’s your plan?!” Annie asked incredulously.

“Got a better one?! Love to hear it!”

Annie unfortunately had no other plan of action. “Fine, but we need to hurry!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!”

Star wasted no time in attacking the ground troops. She leaped into the air, brandishing her crimson claws and flaring her wings like a bird of prey! Star landed on top of one of the robots and ripped its head off! Another one was about to fire on her, but Star chucked the robots head right at the other, smashing it into its head. The Avatar of War vaulted off the robot she was on and performed a flying kick to its chest, caving it in and sending it flying till it exploded. A shower of bullets started to rain down on her, from above and from her sides.

Star looked up and saw five Aero Centurions firing their Vulcan cannons from the air, while five Terra Centurions used their mini-guns. Star willed her wings to cover her, and they obeyed. The large red metal wings lapped over each other, forming a protective cocoon that shielded Star from the hail storm of bullets. Star kicked off from the ground, pirouetting around and making the bullets ricochet off her and right back at the robots. Nine explosions rang out around her as her wings opened up and revealed Star, standing on the tip of her left foot in a dancer’s stance.

Suddenly, the red eyes and blue eyes of the two divisions of robots glowed. Their processors rewriting their target priorities to Starburst.

While her friend was busy going medieval slaughterhouse on the robots, Annie searched for victims of the robots. Thanks to Star, she now knew she could move with super speed, dashing around burning debris and dodging bullets like it was nothing. One of the robots got in her way, so Annie slid between its legs, like a baseball player sliding to a base. Not losing momentum, once she was past the robot she continued onward. Her power was telling her that there was a group of people holding up somewhere and that they needed help.

Annie arrived at one of the buildings, a gymnasium from what she could tell. The door was locked, so she gave it a good push and knocked it off its hinges.

“Oops.”

She quickly entered the gym, she spotted a group of people, mostly kids and two or three adults trying to keep them safe and quiet. Annie slowly approached them, but one of the adults, a woman soldier, stepped in front of them and pointed a pistol at Annie. The Avatar of Peace stopped in her tracks and put her hands in a peaceful gesture.

“Stop or I’ll shoot!” The soldier ordered.

“Please wait, I’m here to help you, there’s no need for that.” Annie spoke, her voice carrying a soothing and calm tone.

“I don’t know who or what you are, but stay back!”

Annie could see that the woman was panicked, no doubt having seen many of her comrades killed in front of her, and now she was desperate to protect these people behind her.

“MISS!” A man yelled. “They’re getting worse!”

The soldier turned her head for a split second, but that was all the time Annie needed. With a single step she closed the distance between them, and in one fluid motion, grabbed hold of the gun and gave a very light push to the soldier. The sudden force made her release her gun, and stumble back a few steps. When the gun entered Annie’s hand, a wellspring of knowledge was opened up to her about the weapon, specifically, how to disarm it. She flipped the switch that made the clip fall from the butt of the gun, and cocked back the slide, making the bullet that was still in the chamber fly out onto the floor. She then tossed it to the floor and walked over to the group. The soldier, momentarily stunned from how fast all that went down, got into a fighting stance and was ready to combat Annie hand to hand.

“I am not your enemy, let me help you. Please?”

“MISS!” Yelled a teenager.

The soldier grunted and growled, but she seemed to care more about those behind her. She exited her attack stance and went back to see what the problem was. Annie did the same, sensing near loss of life as she got closer. When she did, Annie gasped. Lying down on the ground were three children, two boys and one girl. They had severe injuries, having been shot or hit with shrapnel from exploding debris. The soldier, apparently a medic now that Annie noticed her red cross patch, was busy trying to figure out how to save them, but the amount of blood their wounds released was making that impossible, on top of their internal injuries.

The children and adults parted as Annie got closer to them, kneeling down beside the medic, she saw tears running down her face as she gripped the loose fabric of her fatigues.

“I can’t do anything for them! If we were at the hospital wing I’d at least have a chance but…” Her tears flowed down as she bit back an urge to break down and sob.

Annie placed her hand over the woman’s in a reassuring way. “They won’t die. I won’t let them, or any of you!”

The Avatar of Peace rose up to her full height, the power inside of Annie spoke to her, answering her wanting to help everyone there. Her body began to emit a radiant white light, it was so warm and soothing, granting them all comfort and peace. The power of this white light bathed over the injured children, the blood that was seeping from their wounds ceased altogether, the pained expressions on their faces giving way to relief and then joy. When the light faded, the three children rose up, checking their bodies for the painful injuries they had sustained. Everyone gasped, seeing them completely healed. The medic looked up to Annie and smiled.

Annie smiled back, but it didn’t last. An explosion rang out from where she had entered the gym, and four Sentinels were standing there ready to kill. Their sensors locked onto the group, their missile pods opening to launch. Four missiles were fired from their silos and aimed directly for them, Annie put herself between them and the group. Her hands glowed with bright blue energy as she thrust them forward! A barrier formed before her as each missile struck it and detonated harmlessly on it. Annie was surprised and very impressed by this.

The automatons moved closer, two of them extending their combat blades. Annie knew she needed to take them out quickly, but she didn’t have sharp claws like Star did or giant metal wings. But then she remembered how strong Starburst was to smash through one of them, and surely she had the same strength. Taking a chance, Annie shot forward past her barrier, aiming for the center robot. Instead of a punch however, the voice of her power instructed her to flatten her palm and strike with that. Seeing as her powers hadn’t steered her wrong yet, Annie did as instructed.

She appeared in front of the robot and did a palm strike right into its chest, a concentrated force wave blasted through the robot and blew out a ten inch hole in its back. The robot was thrown back from the delayed reaction of the attack and exploded outside. Annie surprised herself, she hardly put that much muscle into the attack, but she wasn’t complaining. Another robot came up behind her was about to cleave her in half. But she was faster. Annie concentrated, summoning another blue light sphere to her right hand. Annie, with the fluidity of water, evaded the blade and positioned the sphere right at the head of the machine. The sphere launched and smashed into its head, shattering but not before completely taking off its head.

Annie formed two more, this time aiming them at the guns and missile pods, effectively disarming them. From there she moved to close quarters, getting right in front of one robot, she broke the arm off one, threw it like a spear at the other and having the blade lodge itself in its chest. She then leaped into the air, did a somersault, and ax-kicked the de-armed robot down the middle. Both robots exploded into pieces from their damage, nothing more than scrap metal now. Annie then brought up her right hand in a sort of prayer position.

“I’m against violence, but I have no problem taking apart a machine!”

Back outside, Starburst was locked in aerial combat with the Aero Centurions. All of them swarmed to her, designating her the biggest threat and in need of elimination, just what Starburst wanted.

She currently found herself surrounded by ten of the Aeros, each them with guns pointed her way. During the course of the battle, Star had discovered another ability. Her hands glowed with red light, holding them outstretched before her. A flash of red burst forth and in both hands she held two broadswords. Their hilts and guards were normal enough, but the blades were as red as her armor. Star took off with blinding speed towards one of the Aeros, she spun out and slashed it in across its abdomen, destroying it in one blow. The robots fired off their guns, trying to bring her down.

The Avatar of War wasn’t an easy foe, she was completely attuned to the rhythm of the battlefield, these machines had no soul or heart, so they couldn’t know, couldn’t fathom how she moved or how she was going to attack! Star moved like a red streak, pin-balling from one to another, hacking and slashing at one robot after the other, igniting the sky with the fireworks of their explosions. One of the kill bots was coming at her from at her from behind, Star quickly turned around and tossed her sword at it. The blade spun about like a buzzsaw, piercing the machine and destroying it before disappearing into a red wisp.

“As fun as these medieval weapons are, it’s still too slow in close combat, I need something else!”

Star heard an explosion going on down below, her telescopic vision honed in on Annie, who was currently in the middle of smashing one Terra Centurion after the other. She flew down to her partner and landed, feet first, on another robot, demolishing it under her boots.

“You seem to be doing alright,” said Star.

“Thanks, but I’m mostly just listening to how our powers work – KYA!” Annie did a spinning jump kick, taking off the head of one robot and kicking it like a soccer ball to another.

“‘Listening’?” Star had one robot by the throat, using her claws, she ripped its robotic throat out and summoned a shield to smash into a charging one. “How?!”

“Just feel it out,” Annie fired two mana spheres, “you’ll know!”

Okay, listening, c’mon powers we need to end this faster, how do that?!

Star looked around seeing the destroyed parts of the robots, her eyes stopped at an undamaged mini-gun. She heard the screech of a hawk, as if it was telling her to get it. Star grabbed the mini-gun with her right hand, as soon as she did, red energy shot out and wrapped itself around the weapon. Her gauntlet and the mini-gun fused together, becoming a cooler, although warped, version of the weapon. Star gasped at the new weapon, she could still feel her hand inside it, but it seemed to be holding onto some kind of handlebar.

“What is that?!” Annie asked.

“I don’t know! You said listen to my powers! I just grabbed it and now I have this thing!”

“LOOK OUT!”

Star looked up and saw twenty missiles flying towards them, instinctively she raised the gun and willed it to fire. The barrels spun out rapidly, whirring loudly as they unleashed blazing red beams from their muzzles. The beams sprayed at the missiles detonating them in midair before they could reach them. Annie and Star looked at the new weapon, and Star was a maniacal grin on her face.

“Oh hells yeah! I can use their weapons against them!”

Starburst pointed her weapon at the ground forces and fired once again, the beams shot through one robot after the other destroying them where they stood, but after a minute or two, cracks started to appear around the weapon. Within a few seconds the weapon shattered apart and Star was left with her gauntlet back to normal.

“Looks like it only lasts couple of minutes, better make them count!” Annie observed.

Starburst found another undamaged mini-gun and a missile pod. “Noted!”

The crimson light flashed and fused the weapons to her gauntlets once again. Her right gauntlet had taken on the missile pod, its six silos resting on top of her forearm, leaving her left hand free.

“Think you can handle these guys?!”

“Please, give me some credit.”

Starburst smirked and took off into the air. The Aeros went after her, but this time things were going to be different. She aimed her two fused weapons and fired a barrage at them. The pod fired red hot, fireball-like blasts in the shape of a missile, each one locked onto a target, chasing it down till it hit and exploded. Star quickly found out that these weapons had infinite ammo, for the two minutes she had with them, it was a good payoff. She hovered in midair, turning slowly as she fired in all directions, hitting the swarm of Aeros no matter where she aimed.

The familiar cracks began to form on the weapons, making Starburst click her tongue in annoyance. After one last volley, the weapons shattered, but Star wasn’t too disappointed, she knew where to get more. She spotted one of the Aeros and flew towards it, Star planted her feet on its chest and grabbed hold of both its forearms.

“Sorry, I need these!”

Starburst kicked off against the machine, ripping off its forearms. Once in hand, her power set to work on fusing them to her again. The end result was her gauntlets gaining twin barreled Vulcan cannons on each arm. Star summoned two katanas to both hands and shot into the swarm, a trail of explosions followed in the wake of red streak.

Annie on the other hand was busy with her own enemies. The Terra Centurions were swarming her, each one out to kill. Annie kept her barrier up, watching them closely as they gathered around. Closer and closer the robots approached, and yet Annie did not counter attack.

Not yet…Not yet…Not yet………NOW!!!

Annie slammed her palm against the ground, a wave of blue light layered itself over the ground beneath her feet, spreading out fifty meters and stopping. The blue energy shot up, forming a dome and closing itself. Annie jumped up high into the air, somersaulting once and landing on the other side of the dome with the grace of a dove. She looked behind her and saw that the robots were firing their weapons, trying to breach her barrier. Annie raised her hands up and the dome rose as well, it phased through the ground, picking up only the robots and making them tumble into each other. The Avatar of Peace brought both her hands together, slamming them into a prayer position.

The sphere suddenly shrunk in size as muffled explosions and metal crunching sounds echoed out from the now basketball sized sphere. When it was silent, Annie brought her hands back to her sides, letting the sphere disappear into particles of blue light. She then let out a sigh of relief, glad to have that done. Multiple explosions went off overhead as the sky was set on fire from the destruction of the remaining robots, Annie didn’t need to look up to know that Star was done with her work.

Speaking of which, the girl in question landed on the ground with a thud, landing in a kneeling position with her right fist against the pavement and her wings flared out. Star rose up, dusting herself free of the ashes and scraps of metal that were on her armor.

“I see someone had fun,” said Annie with a knowing smile.

“Hell yeah I did, so where are the rest?!” Star asked with anticipation.

“That was it, we got them all.”

“What?! No way?! I’m still pumped up and ready to go!”

Annie sighed. “With as much power as we got, I don’t think you’ll feel tired. Heck, I’m not even tired!”

Starburst let out an annoyed grunt as she crossed her arms in front of her. “So, we definitely got them all…you’re sure?”

Annie could hear the concerned tone in her voice and nodded. “Yes, your plan to have them attack only us worked, they were too busy trying to kill us to go after the people. I don’t doubt that there are a lot of dead and injured, but at least we were able to keep it from escalating to something much worse.”

“Good, can you sense your mom?” Star asked.

Annie took a moment, letting her power search out for her mother’s life force. It didn’t take Annie long to pinpoint her exact location, which brought her comfort knowing this.

“She’s alive Star, waiting for us.”

“Well let’s not keep her waiting any longer or else she’ll worry herself into coma.”

Author's Note:

Starburst's Bio
Anthea's Bio

If you are wondering if the powers displayed by Hawk and Dove are their actual canon powers, no they are not. I decided to go with my rendition of what their abilities should be, because their canon powers are just too bland. Same with their outfits, made Star's more suited to her, and keeping her large wings. Same with Annie, I took the cape idea from another of Kilala's characters who's, ironically, named Dove.

Comments

[thelostfather]

Is this story an AU Continuation of your SHAZAM one or a standalone?
Either way it's pretty awesome.

[Oubliette]

Hawk's abilities seem like someone took 4th Berserker and gave him wings, then made him a teenage girl. For Another's Honor is an amazing ability.

[jmmovieboy]

It's funny if never even heard of Stagg until arkham knight.

[The Portal Passer]

6161752 , I've never heard about Stagg until Eobard Thawne (A.K.A the Reverse-Flash) killed him

[The Portal Passer]

can you just put a link to the pictures that were supposed to be on?