Chapter Text
009 woke to a view of the full moon shining its gentle light down on the Earth, fast-moving clouds momentarily obscuring the resplendent sight as they made their journey through the sky. However, the lovely view confused him. His body ached all over and he could distinctly recall battling Apollo and falling into the ocean, so how had he ended up on the beach?
The young cyborg pushed himself up to a sitting position, his body heavily protesting the simple action. The injury at his side flared with renewed pain from his efforts, causing him to wince and instinctively wrap his arm around the area. When his hand contacted the spot what he found surprised him. Rather than the blood and sparking wires he had expected what was there were bandages, delicately applied over all of his wounds and keeping him from losing too much blood. The red-eyed teen stared down at the gauze, confusion written plainly across his face.
“Don’t get up too fast.” A feminine voice instructed from somewhere next to him. He looked in the direction the voice had come from, finding none other than Artemis sitting at the edge of a nearby cliff gazing out at the moonlight sparkling on the water. She spoke without looking at him, “I only did a temporary dressing.”
“You did…?” 009 asked, his mind still groggy from his previous lack of consciousness and the pain in his torso. He looked away from her, focusing his gaze on the ocean, “Thank you for that… but why save me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I wasn’t done trying to bring you around.” The teal-haired girl mused. She paused momentarily, still not looking at him. When she continued her voice held a harsher tone, “To our point of view.”
“Huh?” the brunette questioned her, not quite understanding.
“Humans have been fighting since the dawn of time. They have killed each other over every conceivable issue, whether it be land, religion, greed, politics, jealousy or whatever; and instead of learning from the results each new generation starts the cycle all over again. They don’t pray to their gods for understanding or tolerance or compassion. They only pray for victory.” Artemis explained. Her eyes narrowed into a glare and her voice grew darker with her next words, “It’s a flaw in the makeup of human nature and it’s not going to change any time soon.”
009 stared at the young woman for a moment, taking in what she had just told him. His expression grew sorrowful and he looked away, sighing, “You may be right…”
This admission caught the attention of the violet-eyed girl, causing her to snap her gaze to him in surprise. She swiftly jumped down from her perch into the shallow waters in front of him that formed the blurred line between where the land ended and the ocean began. She leveled her glare at him and demanded, “Then why are you on the humans’ side? They gave you these powers for one reason: to be a weapon.”
“Don’t forget, we were all humans before we were made into cyborgs.” 009 reminded her as he tried to stand. His leg buckled under him as soon as he put his weight on it and he fell back onto the sand, his body still too weak to really move. Despite this, he was still determined to get through to the deluded girl, “And not all humans behave the way you’ve described.”
“Most do!” Artemis countered, taking a step forward and clutching her fists. The young man shook his head, returning with a counter point, “Most is not all. And you’re prepared to destroy all the humans for the misdeeds of some. It’s not a very god-like response.”
Artemis’s grip tightened around her bow, anger flaring in her veins, “Are you questioning our divine right to judge?!”
“It’s more than that! From what I’ve seen I’m questioning if you’re even a god!” 009 shot back, his voice carrying a slightly harsh tone, “All of you may just be humans that were turned into cyborgs.”
A look of surprised crossed Artemis’s face at that, but it was covered up by her glare just as quickly as it had come. It hadn’t escaped 009’s notice. He tried to sound a little more gentle as he continued, “When I see how aggressively Apollo and the others have reacted I can only conclude that they’re really humans. Either that, or humans are simply a reflection of character flaws passed on by the gods.”
Silence stretched between them for a few minutes as Artemis stared down at her reflection in the water below. She seemed lost and uncertain, his words working their way into her mind. Eventually she returned her gaze to 009, looking him directly in the eye with conviction.
“I know I’m a god. I have to be a god…” the teal-haired girl stated. She closed her eyes for a moment, her voice having lost some its confidence halfway through her statement. When she opened them again there was renewed determination on her face, “for the sake of my brother!”
“Are you sure Apollo is your brother?” the teen cyborg questioned, narrowing his red eyes skeptically. The query made Artemis purse her lips in contemplation. She asked her own question in response to his, “How am I to an answer such a question? I have no proof we’re blood relations. We have no memory of our birth or childhood.”
009’s eyes widened at hearing her admission. He had had no idea so much of these people had been erased. However, before he had the chance to question her further Artemis declared, “You must leave this island as soon as possible. Or else, you will all be destroyed.”
The young woman swiftly jumped from where she stood in the ankle-deep sea water back up to the cliff edge she had been sitting on when he first woke on the beach. She looked over her shoulder at him and added, “No one else on this island will listen to your ravings. They would consider them blasphemy.”
“Don’t close your mind! You leave us no choice but to fight!” 009 called after her desperately. These people had been mistreated and used. The last thing he wanted to do was fight them again.
The young cyborg tried to get to his feet again to follow after the teal-haired girl. He got one leg under him and prepared to push off the ground with the other, but he only made it a couple inches before his legs gave out and he fell back onto his rear in the sand, wincing as pain shot through his body again.
“What’s wrong?” Artemis asked him. Her tone was demanding but he swore he could detect something like concern hidden just below the surface. When the pain had lessened enough for 009 to speak he answered with, “I-I don’t know. My body is still weak. I can’t seem to stand.”
The young woman stared at him, pursing her lips. It was clear from her expression that she was contemplating something, warring with herself about what to do next. Suddenly, she nodded once, her decision made, and jumped back down to the beach from the cliff. She moved over to the young cyborg, kneeling next to him and wrapping an arm around his back, under his arms. 009 gave her a look of confusion, though he didn’t have the strength to resist whatever the girl planned to do. She noticed his expression though and seemed to understand, explaining, “I will assist you, but only until either you are able to walk on your own or one of the other cyborgs arrives to claim you.”
At this, he nodded. 009 knew that what little strength he had left was quickly fading. He wanted to thank her, but he couldn’t seem to make his mouth move anymore. As it was, he barely managed to get his arm around her shoulders. Artemis was doing most of the work in hauling him to his feet.
As he was pulled to his feet, 009 cried out in pain. Agony tore through every inch of his being and his body soon began to convulse. He heard Artemis say something but he couldn’t decipher the words. It sounded like they were underwater.
The young cyborg’s thoughts began to slow and his eyelids fluttered, the world around him a blur of colors. He was having a difficult time just keeping his eyes open anymore. It was a battle he was fated to lose. Soon enough darkness enveloped him.
Artemis stared down in shock and concern at the unconscious teen in her arms. She had been planning on assisting him back to his friends. She hadn’t been expecting it when tremors began to wrack his body and she certainly hadn’t expected him to pass out. His condition must be far worse than she had thought.
The goddess was left not knowing what to do for the second time in as many minutes. On one hand, the boy was her enemy and a blasphemer. She could leave him laying here on the beach and he would likely succumb to his injures, resulting in one less cyborg to worry about having to fight. From a tactical point of view it was the best course of action to take.
On the other hand, Artemis didn’t want to let this young man die and she still believed that if they spent some time discussing things they could come to some sort of agreement. He truly did seem like a good person, though his beliefs about certain things were clearly in error. If she could just sway his opinions even a little they might not have to fight. Artemis didn’t want to fight. She was never very fond of violence. It just wasn’t in her nature.
The goddess sighed, knowing already what course of action her mind was set on and how her brother was likely to react. She adjust her hold on the cyborg teen, removing his limp arm from around her shoulders and sliding her free arm under his knees, picking the boy up bridal style like he weighed nothing at all. In a swift motion she turned and jumped up to the cliff she had been on earlier then proceeded to carry the unconscious cyborg back to the temple for medical aid.
Moments later a young man in a red uniform touched down on the beach, deactivating his jets as he landed. He has seen evidence of recent activity in the location and thought he might find who he was looking for there, having flown over the rest of the island only to come up empty handed. The first thing he did was investigate the obvious area where somebody had recently been laying near the water’s edge. From there he tried to find tracks in the sand that might indicate which direction the person went. He found none and instead ended up having to search the entire beach and nearby hiding spots. In his condition, the person he was trying to find wouldn’t have been able to go very far.
“002? Have you found 009?” the worried voice of 003 came through on Jet’s radio. The cyborg sighed, responding back to the entire team, “No. There’s no sign of him. I’m going to do another sweep of the island before I come back.”
002 didn’t wait for a reply before he took off again, making another flight around the island in a desperate search for his best friend.
The gods had gathered near the altar outside the temple where Achilles’ body lay to begin the celebration in honor of the fallen god. Hera, Poseidon, Atlas, Minotaur, Pan and Doctor Gaia were there but when he looked around Apollo couldn’t find Artemis. He put the question out to the others in the area, figuring that at least one of them would have the answer, “Where is Artemis?”
A few of the gods present looked around, as though only just realizing the young woman wasn’t with them while others stated that they didn’t know. Apollo frowned at this, not liking the idea of his sister’s location being unknown with the enemy so close by. With her misguided ideas about reasoning with the cyborgs she was liable to get herself captured by them.
“We must find Artemis before the festivities may begin.” Apollo announced and, with his cape billowing behind him, he made his way back into the temple. Hera, Minotaur, Pan and Gaia soon followed him. By the sound of splashing and heavy footsteps he knew Poseidon and Atlas had gone out to search as well.
The temple was a massive building with numerous levels. It took thirty minutes to locate the missing goddess, who had been in her room the entire time, and upon finding her Apollo didn’t know how to react. The initial relief he felt upon seeing her healthy and well was overshadowed by the anger and outrage at what he found her doing. The god of the sun shouted at his older sister, glowing in his rage, “Artemis, what are you doing?!”
The teal-haired girl looked up at her brother from where she was kneeling next to her bed, a goblet in her hands. On the bed lay an unconscious teenage boy in a red uniform, a large bandaged injury on his torso and another on his right arm. Apollo had thought the boy dead when he had fallen from the cliff in their earlier battle, but though severely wounded the fiery-haired youth could tell that the cyborg was still alive.
Apollo’s exclamation caught the attention of the other individuals searching the temple and they quickly arrived in Artemis’s doorway just in time to see Artemis give her brother a determined look and say, “I’m saving him, Apollo.”
From next to the sun god Doctor Gaia growled, “He’s your enemy!”
“Indeed!” the glowing deity agreed with the human without the need for any persuading, “Let the cyborg die, sister!”
“No!” Artemis replied, not wavering in the slightest. The moon goddess turned back to the injured teen on her bed and continued what she had been doing previously, pressing the goblet to the boy’s lips and tilting it so the thick golden liquid inside would enter his mouth, “He does not have to be our enemy. I have given him nectar. He will become one of us and then he will finally see that we are right. We will not have to fight.”
Apollo was about to object when Hera spoke, “He could be a valuable ally and if he is on our side that tips the balance of power even further in our favour.”
The woman’s statement filled the amber-eyed youth with even more rage. The very notion of working with one of these cyborgs was ludicrous. He turned to the woman, intent on putting her in her place, but from next to him another voice spoke up and said something which threw the god for a loop, “That’s an excellent idea. Why don’t you let me take care of the boy while you go to Achilles’ funeral?”
Apollo looked to the human next to him. Gaia had changed his mind in an instant and now had a grin spread across his face that couldn’t mean anything good.
‘Even unconscious and half dead this cyborg is turning my own people against me!’ Apollo thought, his anger causing his glow to intensify. Inside the room the young goddess of the moon nodded and stood, moving over to the door where she locked eyes with her brother. They glared at one another, a palpable tension forming in the small space between them. It was Apollo that broke their gaze first, turning on his heel and stalking off down the corridor.
“He’s your enemy!” Doctor Gaia growled. How had one of his creations turned out so flawed? He had noticed it when she first woke after her transformation but thought the issue would work itself out over time. It hadn’t, and the past few days had put into perspective just how terrible the foolish girl’s flaws were. Creating Artemis had been a mistake.
“Indeed! Let the cyborg die, sister!” Apollo demanded from next to him. Now, there was a cyborg. Apollo had his flaws as well, but they were so minor they were more of an inconvenience that real flaws. The youth could be over-confident and was far too attached to his “sister”, though recent events had put a serious strain on that relationship.
“No! He does not have to be our enemy. I have given him nectar. He will become one of us and then he will finally see that we are right. We will not have to fight.” Artemis said as she defied her brother’s orders.
Now there was an idea. What better way to get back at Gilmore and prove his superiority than to take one of the good Doctor’s own cyborgs and add him to his Mythos collection. The boy had been defeated by Apollo earlier that day. If he stripped away the cyborg’s troublesome humanity and amplified his abilities then used him to defeat his former team it would prove that he was right all along. Perhaps Artemis was useful for something after all.
It still wouldn’t be enough to save her though.
“He could be a valuable ally and if he is on our side that tips the balance of power even further in our favour.” Hera interjected, clearly thinking along the same line that Gaia had been. Though Apollo typically considered himself the leader it was Hera that was Gaia’s masterpiece. Her potent psychic abilities were unmatched and the persona he created for her had no flaws. She was a truly perfect cyborg.
A wicked grin spread across Gaia’s face as his plan solidified in his mind. He knew exactly how to alter the boy to do the most damage, and perhaps knock Apollo off his high horse as well. With that in mind he looked to Artemis and said, “That’s an excellent idea. Why don’t you let me take care of the boy while you go to Achilles’ funeral?”
As soon as the Mythos cyborgs left Gaia set to the task of getting 009 down to his laboratory. It wasn’t exactly as easy task since the teen was taller than him and filled full of metal but he managed, laying the boy on a table in the room where the other mythos cyborgs had been programmed. He stripped off the bandage Artemis had wrapped around the boy’s wounds and moved a device over the area that would repair them. While the teen’s injuries were being healed Gaia moved over to one of the computers in the room to access Black Ghost’s archive of files, searching for the young cyborg’s design specifications.
Reading through the information Gaia scrunched his nose in confusion. In 009’s fight with Apollo all he had used was his accelerator. It was the same for every other battle Black Ghost had record of. It had always been assumed that acceleration was the only ability the teen had, as he surely would have used his other powers to save himself if he possessed any.
Yet, according to his design notes and specifications Ross had included improved versions of the abilities held by many of the previous models in the 00 series of cyborgs. He could even produce flames, though the improved version of the power seemed to function more like Apollo’s than 006’s.
With these untapped powers in mind and the repairs completed Gaia returned to the boy on the table, taking a cable from the computer at the head of the metal slab and plugging it into the port on the back of the boy’s head just as it would have been when he was first programmed. The scientist began blocking access to the personality and memory files in the boy’s digitized mind and writing new ones.
After he finished creating the cyborg’s new personality he left it to install, returning to the gathering outside the temple. The Mythos cyborgs had gathered near the altar and were already drinking to their fallen teammate. Artemis stepped forward and reverently placed a white flower on the table that sat in front of the altar. Everybody was looking directly at her.
“So, big sister, we’ve decided to make an example of the cyborgs and eliminate them tomorrow morning.” Apollo stated with all of the authority he possessed while still trying to sound casual. After what had just happened Gaia couldn’t tell whether they had all agreed or if Apollo was simply using the royal form of “we”.
The bearded man watched Artemis for her reaction, seeing the shock that momentarily crossed her face before she schooled it into a more neutral expression and said, “Why is everyone in such a rush? In Achilles’ memory shouldn’t we wait-“
“I’ve had enough of these games! Artemis, why are you always on the side of the cyborgs!” Minotaur interrupted, his anger and frustration with the situation betrayed in his tone. Artemis attempted to protest, turning to look at the gathered gods, “I’m not on their side!”
“Then explain why you saved the injured cyborg who was underwater and transformed him into one of us. I know the tactical advantage wasn’t what you were considering.” Hera countered. With her psychic abilities she had likely read the teal-haired girl’s mind and already knew the answer.
“You seem to have more in common with them than you do with your own kind.” Poseidon chimed in, causing Artemis to actually flinch. The young woman gasped and doubled down on her denials, “Wrong! Apollo, I can explain!”
“I know what you’re going to say: You were entranced by his words.” Apollo answered for her, certain his version of events was the correct one. His tone held much less anger now that he was convinced his sister was simply tricked. The fiery-haired youth then turned from the girl to address the rest of the gathering, “That will solve that. You’ve been granted your pet cyborg. The rest must die. Once we dispose of these cyborgs your rebellious streak will end.”
“But that’s not what’s going on here! I have -” The moon goddess protested. The young woman’s words ignited the fires of rage within Apollo once more and he interrupted her, shouting over her as she tried to explain, “That’s enough! Don’t get me angrier than I am already! Remember the pride of the gods!”
Artemis’s expression became one of defeat as she watched her younger brother, his fists clenching and his body shaking with anger.
“Understood…” she sighed then turned toward her friends and commanded, “Atlas, Pan, now Apollo will lead you. Obey him.”
Gaia watched the girl’s theatrics as she walked away, casting her cape to the ground, ignoring Minotaur’s comment. It was about time he corrected his mistake.
He waited a few minutes before following after her, tailing her to the edge of a cliff where she sat on a broken pillar thinking aloud. As he got closer she noticed his presence, demanding, “What do you want?”
“Good evening, Artemis.” The scientist greeted her in a dark tone. She either didn’t notice or didn’t care, stating, “Don’t waste your breath. I don’t plan on talking to Apollo ever again.”
“Actually, that works out quite well as far as I’m concerned. I made you a god, but your programming was flawed. You’ve been nothing but trouble. Now I have somebody to replace you, and I won’t make the same mistake twice.” Gaia informed her, a wicked grin spread across his face. The young goddess stood and turned to glare at him, not quite understanding what he meant and demanding, “Just what are you saying?”
“I have no further need for you.” The bearded man stated, pulling a ray gun from his jacket. He fired a single shot at the young woman before she could react, the laser striking her in the abdomen. Without a sound Artemis fell backward off the cliff and into the sea.