From Mortal To Divinity

Bludhaven, New Jersey

2002

The first thing that my attention is brought to, upon our materialization, is the stench. The alleyway that we currently find ourselves in is dark, however with my enhanced senses I can easily see as if it were daytime. Unfortunately, this serves as a double edged sword as the alley also smells heavily of sewage, feces, and even drugs.

"E" whines Mordred as she pinches her nose. "This place is disgusting."

"Indeed." agrees Azula as she wrinkles her nose in disgust. "Our location of arrival must be the slums."

"Please." says Morgan with a roll of her eyes. "The whole city is a slum. Afterall, this is Bludhaven, and according to Ambrosius' information, the city is what Gotham would be like without the Waynes."

Having said her piece, Morgan places a barrier around us that stops the smell from reaching us.

"Now that we are no longer suffering from the smell,-" comments Scathach. "-I believe that it is best to plan our next steps."

"Our first priority should be to create identities for ourselves." I answer.

"How?" asks Mordred with a frown.

"With the Motherbox of course." answers Scathach as she reaches into one of five duffel bags that was transported into this universe alongside us.

Each duffel bag can carry an infinite amount of items as long as they fit through the entrance. As such, they contain 10 million dollars along with any other item that was bought with cp and can fit through the entrance. It was a gift from ROB. As for the bigger items, such as the javelin, they are in my warehouse.

Grabbing the Motherbox, Scathach removes it from her duffel bag as she straightens herself back up. As stated by its name, the Motherbox is in fact a box slightly bigger than a smartphone. Unlike a smartphone however, the Motherbox is not a screen, but instead what seems to be smooth circuits that travel along its surface.

"Motherbox, connect to this planet's system of interconnected computer networks." orders Scathach.

In response to her command, the circuits on the Motherbox light up as it beeps in reply.

"How do you know what it's saying?" asks Mordred with curious wonder on her face.

"I simply do." replies Scathach with a smile. "Besides, it is not an it. Rather it is a sentient computer."

With a few more beeps, the Motherbox seems to deliver good news to Scathach as her smile turns into a smirk.

"Motherbox is connected to the internet." informs Scathach. "She is also able to access any system that is connected to the internet regardless of its protection."

"Perfect." I answer. "Before we can have our identities forged, it is best if we obtain information for this universe."

"Motherbox, what are the most impactful events of the past ten years." asks Scathach.

Similar to before, Motherbox answers with a series of beeps that I do not comprehend. Surprisingly, it does not take Motherbox longer than a few seconds before it once again beeps back at Scathach.

"Well, this certainly has been an uneventful past few years." comments Scathach. "Nothing of importance happened until 1998 when rumors of a 'Superman' and, a magician of sort, fighting crime and saving lives began circulating in the media."

"What do we know of the magician?" I ask as I cross my arms and think.

"I believe that it is Zatara. According to the media, he wears a suit, and seems to perform his feats of magic by speaking backwards." replies Scathach.

"Superman and Zatara are active." I comment as I rub my chin in thought. "Are there any others?"

"Yes." replies Scathach. "Gotham seems to have a Bat problem as of 1999, Central city received a speedy protector, and Wonder Woman has restarted her career last year after her hiatus in 1946, with a rookie Green Arrow and Aquaman joining in."

"Have any of them collaborated with one another?" asks Azula

"No, they seem to strictly operate within their self-designated cities." answers Scathach.

"Very well, what can you tell us about Bludhaven?" asks Morgan.

"Certainly nothing good." replies Scathach. "Bludhaven was a former whaling town until the inhabitants decided to transform it into a manufacturing and shipping center. Ever since then, the town has had a generally poor socio-economic populace."

"Corruption must be rampant then." comments Morgan.

"What do you mean?" asks Mordred with a frown.

"Considering its location,-" says Azula as she begins to explain. "-Bludhaven should be teeming with business. Even if they failed as manufacturers, its shipping business should easily overshadow Gotham's thereby providing them with ample business to help with its economy."

"So the people who run this city are corrupt and are taking advantage of their power?" questions Morgan.

"Yes." I reply. "And considering the state of this alley, I would not be surprised if this city also has to deal with gangs that deal in drugs and human trafficking."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's start taking those guys down." says Mordred as she punches her right fist into her left palm. "We can even do it as superheroes like Superman and Wonder Woman."

"No." Morgan, Azula, and I say simultaneously, causing Mordred to frown.

Moments like these always manage to make me question whether or not it was right for her to be raised as she was. We knew that she would most likely die prematurely due to her heritage as a homunculus. As such we raised her with one purpose in mind, the completion of her dream of becoming the greatest Knight of Camelot. Her education consisted mainly of martial arts and warfare, as such she is as naive as any child when it comes to subjects such as these.

"I refuse to prance around in brightly colored spandex beating up petty thugs." comments Azula, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Things are not that simple." instructs Morgan. "As stated by Azula, beating up criminals will not solve the problem."

"So what? We just let them do whatever they want?" replies Mordred with a frown. "As a Knight, I cannot allow that."

"What makes you think that we will not deal with them?" I ask her with a smirk.

"But, didn't you guys say no?" asks a puzzled Mordred.

"They did." answers Scathach as she gently places a hand on Mordred's shoulder. "However, it is not because they wish to ignore the problem. Rather it is because your method would prove ineffective. This problem must be solved from both within and without the system."

"It would also be unwise to draw attention to ourselves this early." I say in addition.

"To solve this problem, we will have to tackle it on multiple fronts." says Azula as a smirk grows on her face.

"Indeed, I believe that we must each choose a way to help based on our skills." says Scathach. "I will be working on the business front of things to see if it is possible to turn this city into the booming shipping industry it should be."

"I will infiltrate the criminal elements of this city." claims Morgan. "Crime cannot be completely snuffed out, however it can be controlled. It would be best to remove components such as drugs and human trafficking."

"Then that leaves me to deal with the government." states Azula a smirk on her face and a glint in her eyes. "How lovely."

"What about father and I?" asks Mordred as she crosses her arms.

"I have my own goal that I will be pursuing." I inform her with a shake of my head. "As for you? Well that is up to your mother whether you will be participating or not."

"What?!" exclaims Mordred. "Why? You know that she's become overprotective now. Why would you let her decide?"

"I am not overprotective." answers Morgan. "You are simply too brash and refuse to think things through before acting."

Knowing that her mother is correct, Mordred turns to me for help, prompting Morgan to follow suit with a glare. Had this been a few centuries ago, I may have sided with Mordred. Unfortunately for her, not only is Morgan correct, but her magical abilities have reached the point of being effective even with my magical resistance. As such I decide to simply step back rather than angering a super powerful witch mother who happens to be one of my loves. Besides, I happen to agree with Morgan on this subject.

Seeing my reaction, Mordred pouts and crosses her arms while Morgan simply gives me an appreciative nod for not challenging her.

"Will you be staying until the completion of our identities, or will you be leaving now?" asks Scathach.

"I will be leaving now." I answer. "I wish to at least attempt to complete my objective as soon as possible. That way if I fail then I will not have wasted too much time."

"When will you be back?" asks Morded as she tightly hugs me.

"I will be back in one year at the latest." I reply as I gently pat her head.

"You better." answers Mordred as she lets go of me.

With her no longer hugging me, I say my goodbye to Azula, Scathach, and Morgan before making my way out of the alley.

Sensing the Atlantic off to the East, I make my way there undetectable to the city's occupants. Throughout my walk I cannot help but notice the horrible state of the city. Between the broken roads and buildings, homeless men and women, and the gangs loitering around, Bludhaven truly is in a worse condition than its sister city, Gotham.

Arriving at the docks, I attempt to enjoy the ocean's breeze, only for me to wrinkle my nose in disgust at the water's pollution. With a sneer of revulsion, I dive into the water while making sure to keep myself dry before propelling myself down and forward. Once far enough from the city, I speed up and quickly break the sound barrier.

Before I can get far however, I feel my control over the water wrest from me and used to immobilize me.

"What an interesting demigod you are." booms a masculine voice around me. "I can feel your connection to me, yet I do not recall siring you."

As the voice finishes speaking, the water in front of me rearranges itself to create a male form. Once the form stabilizes, I am easily able to make out the man as Poseidon himself. Standing at around eight feet tall, Poseidon has white hair, a neatly trimmed white beard, a deep tan, and sea-green eyes. While his lower body is that of a mermaid with green scales, his upper body is n.a.k.e.d, showcasing his strong and defined muscles, and his hands hold a golden trident.

"Tell me demigod,-" he says as he approaches me. "-how did you come to exist? I would very much remember having a progeny such as you. Especially one as powerful as you. You are practically leaking divine power to those who are looking."

Even without attempting, I know that resisting would be futile. I am in Poseidon's domain where even Zeus himself would find it difficult to resist. As such I decide to simply answer him and deal with the ramification of my answer later.

"This is not my universe, and my father is Neptune." I answer through gritted teeth.

"Interesting. Truly interesting" comments Poseidon as he circles me like a predator surveying its prey. "That must make you a child of my avatar Neptune. Yes, that makes sense. It would explain why I do not remember. Not all of us can remember or know what our avatars have been up to like Zeus."

As Poseidon continues to ramble on, I cannot help but notice how he spitefully mentions Zeus. It seems that they are currently not on good terms with one another. Hopefully their poor relationship will serve to make him 'forget' mentioning my existence to Zeus.

"Well, you have my permission to leave. You no longer interest me." comments Poseidon as he relinquishes his control over the Atlantic to allow me to move. "A word of warning however, refrain from drawing Zeus' attention. Olympus is no longer in harmony, and Zeus has grown paranoid."

Having said his piece, Poseidon's water avatar falls apart as his presence leaves the sea to most likely return to the dimension from which Olympus is located.

Once his presence is completely gone, I cannot help but curse excessively in latin. It seems that the gods here are closer to their pre new 52 selves, making them far too dangerous for me to face without suffering some form of consequence.