Civilisations React, Round 1, Part 1

City of Vael

Sylmara

Watching the vision through the seeing mirrors in the war room, Sylmara’s stomach clenched in on itself. This…this couldn’t be real? Ashara was supposed to be the hero of Laena, yes, but not like this. She was supposed to represent them in a championship of the gods, not in this perverted harem fantasy.

Gods, Sylmara had trained Ashara. She had trained the young girl to fight and save Laena. She had trained her for the prophecy, prepared her for this day all her life. Sylmara thought she was helping Ashara, but she never imagined this.

Sylmara was a high elf, one of the most powerful paladins in Laena’s history and the head of the Order of Paladins. She had spent lifetimes honing her craft and committing herself to her vow to serve Laena, often thankless work with no reward. That was their oath: 'I take no glory, I take no pride, I take no pleasure, and I take no reward. I serve only Laena’s light.' It was an oath that Sylmara had never swayed from in her centuries of duty, and she had only become stronger with every day.

But there was another part of their oath that was unsaid, a loyalty and brotherhood that kept the paladins strong and united. They would never leave a member behind, whether to demon, dragon or Orbita herself. The paladins never allowed anyone to suffer at Orbita's malice.

"Listen up." Sylmara said, even before the voting for this 'Harem Hotel' had finished. She was alone with two other paladins. A human woman called Elena and a dwarf called Muradin. Both of them were as loyal and virtuous as the greatest of paladins and she trusted both of them with her life. “I’m going to suggest something incredibly treasonous. If either of you wants to back out, then I won’t blame you.”

“Sylmara?” Elena warned dangerously, eyes narrowing in worry. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

Sylmara took a deep breath, her eyes briefly closing. “I know the Blue Wizard has said that this is Laena's last chance against Orbita, but I have lived many of his lifetimes and fought in wars against darker evils. In all of them there were times when things seemed hopeless, but the Order of Paladins stood together, stood united and found a way. If we abandon Ashara we’ll be abandoning the principles Laena has stood by forever.”

Elena’s jaw dropped open. “You want to rescue her? From a god?!”

Sylmara smiled grimly. “I’d understand if you’re out. We’d be alone, no help from the Monarchs of Laena, nor the Blue Wizard but-“

“Ha!” Muradin lifted his warhammer over his shoulder. “Sounds like a worthy way to die! Count me in!”

“This is a bad idea.” Elena warned, but her heart wasn’t in it. “But we paladins stick together no matter what.”

“What’s the plan, Sylmara?” Muradin asked gruffly.

Plan? Sylmara turned to the wall where Ashara’s prophecy had been sketched out by the prophets.

Laena’s hopes lie in the Blue Wizard’s daughter, only she can save the land from slaughter. She will be summoned by beings greater than the divine, it will be there that she must shine. She will be challenged to a contest of nations, and must compete against several other representations. Should she succeed, peace will return, but should she fail, Laena will burn.

It was a grim prophecy, but Sylmara did not believe in fate. Paladin or not, she had always made her own fate and she was certain that she could find another way.

She turned to her other paladins in the war room. “Listen up, we do this ourselves. The plan is to prepare for this new Master’s arrival.” Sylmara shouted excitedly, a beam on her face. “This is the day that Aphrodite has prophesied for aeons. Our new Master!”

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Andromeda purred, a Nymph who was a recent member of Aphrodite’s order. She’d been kicked out of the mage academy for having sex in the potions closet, but that was exactly the sort of initiative that the paladins of Aphrodite needed. “Not exactly sexy, though. Think he’ll need some help with that?”

“He is Alex, our Master, Andromeda,” Elena said curtly, her arms folded. “I don’t think he’ll need to change. If there are inconveniences, wouldn’t it be us who should change?”

“Ugh…” Andromeda’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Guess you’re right. But don't we need to make sure he's a good fuck? Vows of the Pussy and all that?"

"The vow of the pussy dictates that we must learn to enjoy serving our Master when he comes, Andromeda." Elena sighed, rubbing her forehead. "It isn't about changing Aphrodite’s vision.”

“Meh, surely Aphrodite wouldn’t mind. I’m sure this Alex will be happy enough to know he’s a better fuck, wouldn’t he?” Andromeda said, wiggling her hips and unable to keep the desire out of her voice.

"You're both missing what's important here. We have three vows to remember here: body, heart and pussy. And it's important that we get Laena prepared for our new Master Alex's arrival." Symara declared, slamming a fist onto the table, but bringing a smile back to her face. "We know that the Paladins will be loyal to him, but what about the rest of Laena?”

“You’re right, Sylmara. We need to prepare for any potential backlash. Dwarves especially, maybe. There aren’t any in the order, so they might be least open to Aphrodite’s prophecy.” Elena said, worried. “We must be certain to make sure they don’t cause issues. Especially if they don’t understand the benevolence that life under Aphrodite’s rule will grant us.”

“Plus, you know dwarfs don’t have sexy women,” Andromeda said with a bratty smirk.

“Don’t be cruel, Andromeda,” Elena said sharply.

“What?” Andromeda shrugged. “You know it’s true.”

“In any case, I’m certain that Ashara will be busy working her charms to convince this Alex to visit Laena, and it is imperative that he enjoys what he sees.” Sylmara interrupted. “Perhaps he should stay at the elven palaces. They are perhaps the most luxurious places in all of Laena.”

“And the girls with the biggest tits!” Andromeda said, wiping drool from her mouth. “Don’t pretend you weren’t all thinking it.”

“Shame that the elven transformation didn’t pan out, though. It would have given the elves an edge in the war if all they had to do to rejuvenate their magic was pump out an orgasm instead of meditating for eight hours.” Elena noticed Sylmara’s expression. “Don’t pretend we’re not thinking that too.”

“In any case, we need to get ready. I will visit the Elf Queen and try to prepare a good room for our Master to stay in” Sylmara said, already her pussy getting wet in anticipation. “I just hope we won’t have much issue with the Elf Queen.”

“Also, Ashara will have to make sure that he's eager to come here," Elena mentioned. "That's a lot to gamble on this girl."

"Don't worry, Elena. I have faith in Ashara." Sylmara smiled proudly. "After all, I trained her myself."

Malica

Velthara

Their Queen was gone. Disappeared in a flash of light. As soon as she was gone, Velthara felt a hole growing in her heart, a hole that had once been filled by her family and her sisters in the Wood Elves, but her magnificent Queen had emptied it with her magic and replaced it with herself. Panic and emptiness had filled Velthara's heart until she spotted her Queen on the Crystal Orbs.

It was supposed to be me. I was supposed to be the one in this Contest of Nations.

The fact that it had turned out to be this 'Harem Hotel' did not bother Velthara much because, in the end, her life was nothing. It wasn't hers. It belonged to her Queen Orbita, and it would always be Velthara's pride that she was serving her Queen.

“It should have been me,” Velthara repeated, out loud this time. She was angry, angry at this Hera and angry at herself that she couldn’t be right there with her.

Velthara watched the show, fury growing with every moment. Then it came time for the transformations. Velthara had no Gods except for Queen Orbita, but if she did, she’d pray for the Mother of Monster Girl transformation to win. The thought of anything else, anything that might hurt her queen, was inconceivable.

She felt her heart jump when the final score was revealed. It hadn't been close. Her Queen was safe.

But that relief didn't last long because that was when the changes happened. She felt neither the pain of limbs splitting nor the numbness of anaesthetic. Rather, it was like it was normal for new legs to start splitting out of her torso. Two, four, eight new limbs broke out of her skin, extending like scythes as her old legs started to form together. Melting together like candle wax until they became one entity.

Then Velthara's spine started to morph. From the waist upwards, it was normal, but it started to extend as Velthara felt her centre of mass shift. Glancing backwards, Velthara saw her rear expand into a gigantic chitinous form.

Velthara gripped a marble pillar to support herself, and she summoned a magical mirror to examine herself. She was no creature that had ever existed before. Now she seemed to be some kind of spider woman. A large spider behind fused to her torso like a centaur.

“This… this will take some getting used to,” Velthara growled, trying to get a feel of her new legs. It was like walking on stilts, and several times she almost fell. “Oh, and I guess these-" Velthara lifted her breasts, which had grown a fair amount. "-were part of the package."

She looked over her shoulder. She twisted her carcass and found that her body did indeed respond to her. "How exactly am I supposed to be a concubine when they turn me into this? What is Alex even meant to use?"

She started to move, walking forward tentatively. Each step carefully measured, it was slow progress, and she was like a toddler taking her first steps. Annoying thoughts like 'this is stupid' and 'I look ridiculous' crossed through her mind. She climbed her way out of the study, ill with dread of what this could mean for the armies of Malica and her Queen Orbita.

She must work quickly. If the Kingdoms of Laena took advantage of their weakness, the results could be disastrous, and without their Queen's genius to lead them... It was up to Velthara to lead Malica, and to make sure it didn’t fall apart.

Stone Hills

Volutia

Five minutes ago Volutia had been a sea spawn, one of the creatures that their Queen Orbita had grown for their intelligence. With a tentacle-like face and beard and slimy suction cups for hands. The sea spawn had been created for their intelligence and leadership in order to lead Orbita’s armies.

At least that was what she had been before, but now she had been transformed by some magic she didn’t understand. Volutia’s body was still that of some kind of sea creature, but that’s where the similarities ended.

Now she was some kind of top-heavy monstrosity. Impractically large tits were squeezed into an absurdly revealing set of armor that would protect her from nothing. Her legs split outward, becoming tentacles rather than humanoid. Against the cold ground of the stone mountains, it was freezing.

“What the hell is going on here?” She screamed, bursting out of her command tent and seeing her army transformed. It seemed like none had been spared from this new magic. Each and every one of her soldiers had been transformed into different breeds of women, each with huge breasts. "There is no spell that could have done this."

A shiver of panic went through Volutia's spine. If the armies of Laena found them like this then could they fight back? Volutia had been tracking a dwarven army for weeks, one sent to relieve the siege of Iron Mountain. She assumed that it would be an easy battle. She outnumbered their army three to one, and the dwarves should be under the delusion that they have the element of surprise.

She glided back to her tent, struggling to find her grip on the snowy floor as she reached for her glowing red crystal orb. "My Queen, the people of Laena have developed some kind of new attack. My armies have been- where is the Queen?"

On the other side of the viewing crystal was not Queen Orbita but her Spymaster Velthara, who now seemed to be some kind of spider-centaur-like creature. "Our Queen is indisposed, and as such I will be leading the lands of Malica."

Velthara explained to Volutia all about this 'Harem Hotel' and how their Queen had been kidnapped and forced to compete for this boy Alex's affection. About this woman, 'Hera', and how she wielded magic and power beyond even what their great Queen Orbita was capable of. Volutia's mind went to work. Their Queen was gone, unable to respond, and Malica was vulnerable right now...Well, their Queen had given the Sea Spawn a certain degree of free will for greater strategic thinking...

"We will be returning to Malica immediately," Volutia said, a greedy smile on her face.

"Excuse me? You are needed to prevent the Bronzehammer army from taking-"

"And how exactly am I supposed to fight them like this?" Volutia gestured to her new body. "And besides, I am needed back in Malica to ensure that all things proceed smoothly."

Volutia ended the spell, her three new hearts thumping in her chest. She could barely believe what she was doing, and perhaps she might not go through with it. There was every chance that she could back out, but if there was an opportunity that Volutia could take...

Queen Orbita told her army to be led by the strongest. But if she had to fight for this 'Alex's' hand, then perhaps she wasn't the strongest. Perhaps this 'Alex' was, and perhaps then he was the one Volutia should serve.

Earth 372

Golden Warrior

Golden Warrior could not decide whether she should be relieved or afraid by what happened. It should have been her up there in this contest. She was the one who pushed this idea forward. She was the one who volunteered, not this Synergy woman. Not this idiot.

But then the nature of the contest was revealed and Golden Warrior was given good reason to be relieved. This whole thing, this whole enterprise, was just a sick joke. An excuse for a sad little boy to life out his incel dreams of owning a harem.

But still, the Vestra Virus was still a thing, a looming horror that destroyed all life as they knew it. Only a year had passed and the world was falling apart already. Perhaps Golden Warrior deserved the fate of this ‘Dr Synergy’, it would be her chance for redemption after failing to stop the Cult of Vestra. Perhaps this was what Golden Warrior deserved.

It mattered not because fate decreed that it was not to be Golden Warrior but instead this ‘Dr Synergy ’, and from what little Golden Warrior had seen of this woman, she could already feel a headache forming. “What do we know about this Dr Synergy?”

She looked to her fellow heroes, her trusted champions of justice. They had fought together against a thousand different villains and plots, and won every single one of those times, except one. The only time they’d failed was the virus, and it was that failure that defined them and tied their fate to this ‘Harem Hotel’.

“No idea.” Wolf Hound admitted, throwing a pad onto the table. He was the world’s best detective, and yet he seemed stumped.

“Nothing?” Apex Alien asked in disbelief. "I thought you knew all the villains by heart?"

"I do. At least the important ones." Wolf Hound said in his gravelly voice. "But I'm no supercomputer. I can't keep track of the names of seven billion lives-"

"Eight billion."

"Seven billion now." Wolf Hound repeated, his voice grave. "Whoever this girl is, she's a nobody."

"Had to be someone with a chip on her shoulder." Iron Mace sighed, facepalming. "Couldn't have been anyone else. This is going to be a nightmare."

"It's not up to us to decide the cards we've been handed." Serene Soldier said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "Even if they were chosen for the most arbitrary of reasons. We must make do with what we have."

"Would you still think that if the Comic Control transformation had won, Power Girl?" Black Widow asked, searching their database for any sign of Dr Synergy. "We'd all be wiped away."

Power Girl looked at that deadly description and felt a pit form in her stomach. But as leader of the Justice League, Power Girl had to put on a brave face. She turned to Black Widow, the Russian superspy who Power Girl trusted to coordinate all the Justice League’s intelligence from across the world. It was a worrying day whenever the coldest and most professional member of the Justice League seemed to have a face of pure dread.

"Look, I'm not saying it isn't bullshit. This whole thing is bullshit. But it didn't win, only got..." Power Girl said, pointing at the screen. Their livestream of the Harem Hotel broadcast had been cut off at the transformations, leaving them with just a score of the results of the vote. "It only got a third of the vote. So let's not worry about what didn't happen. There's no point."

If Power Girl was honest with herself, she was lying. Perhaps more to herself than anyone else. There seemed to be nothing to control about the situation. This bitch Hera seemed able to play with reality like it was made of clay, but what choice did they have?

And Power Girl couldn’t back out now. She was the one in charge, and she had been the one to push for this after the League of Shadows unleashed the Vestra Virus. She couldn’t afford to show doubts, not now when things were so dire.

"And what do we do if there's another of these 'transformations' down the line?" Storm asked, raising a divinely sculpted eyebrow. "What exactly are we to do then? We can't exactly stop it."

Storm was the X-Men’s representative on the Justice League Council. When it came to the superpower lottery that all mutants could be born with it’d be safe to say that Storm had won big. With a gorgeous, almost divinely beautiful body and the power to control storms and weather, she had chosen to use her powers for good and heroism despite the prejudice the mutants faced.

"Perhaps we can," Zatanna suggested helpfully. Zatanna was the expert when it came to all things magical, and was the Justice League’s go to expert when they need to deal with any sorcery. "I mean, perhaps I might study this magic that's affected Synergy, see if I can find some kind of countermeasure."

"You really think you can do that?" Power Girl asked, almost falling over herself with relief. If Zatanna really could do that, if they could find some way to avoid the transformations, then that might just let them have their cake and eat it too.

"I don't know. But I think it's worth trying." Zatanna admitted. She clenched her fists. As soon as she said it Power Girl felt her hopes dash, the world it seemed wasn’t so kind. "But I'll be giving it my best shot, one way or the other."

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Zatanna. And you'll have the full support of the Justice League." Wonder Woman said, putting a comforting hand on Zatanna's clenched fists. "But for now, it seems imperative that we get this Synergy woman to cooperate."

"That will be tricky Diana." Storm admitted. "Women like that do not often listen to reason. We may have to use force."

"We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it, but first let us see if we can reason with her." Wonder Woman said, hands stroking her lasso. "It is always best to give others the chance first, Storm. You'd be surprised what can happen with a little compassion.”

Times like this was why Power Girl appreciated Wonder Woman’s support. Wonder Woman was an Amazon from the island of Themiscyra, a warrior culture consisting only of women. Despite conservatives and idiots trying to paint Wonder Woman as an hysterical feminist or brutish warrior, Power Girl knew her as a voice of compassion and love that always helped keep the Justice League grounded.

"Hang on a minute, I have something." Black Widow said, holding up a hand. "A woman calling herself Dr Synergy was apparently arrested just a few hours ago by Ms Marvel. She apparently was a complete unknown until then, so we might get some more information from her."

"It's better than sitting around here and watching this drivel." Power Girl got to her feet. "Come on, let's roll."

"One moment, Power Girl. A word." Black Widow held up a hand just before Power Girl was about to fly out of the hanger bay. "Alone, if you don't mind."

Power Girl could immediately recognise the seriousness in her friend's voice when Black Widow was gearing up for an unpleasant conversation. "Of course, if that’s alright with everyone."

"We'll go on ahead. Don't worry about us." Storm strode out of the room with her head held high. Wonder Woman and Zatanna followed behind her, brainstorming different magics they might be able to say.

"What is it, Black Widow?" Power Girl knew the answer, though. A chill had formed in the watchtower, and Black Widow's shoulders had slumped as they often did when she had something difficult to say.

"Look, Power Girl. We're both realists, aren't we?" So Power Girl was right. It was going to be one of those conversations.

"Yeah, sure we are. What about it?" Black Widow saw through her almost immediately.

"Don't play dumb, Power Girl." Black Widow sighed. "We both know that there's a good chance that Zatanna won't be able to shield us from this." It was a euphemism. There was very little chance that Zatanna could shield them from this magic, even with the help of every magic user in the world. "We might be forced to play their game."

Power Girl let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, sounds about right. But I didn't want to say it in front of Wonder Woman. We both know she'd throw a fit."

Black Widow nodded glumly. "If it comes down to having to seduce Alex, then I volunteer. I've seduced plenty of men in my work, and my own reading of him has him nicer than quite a few of those bastards. But it's Hera I'm more worried about."

"Yeah, I don't think she's going to be content with him sleeping with just one person." Power Girl swallowed deeply. "Like you said, we're the realists. We might have no choice but to play her game. And that Synergy girl won't make it easy."

A/N: Uploading these chapters at once given how closely they play off of each other, though I'm still working on the results for the remaining four transformations. We'll also be seeing their civilisations' reaction to those as well. This has been uploaded before the second half as I didn’t want you all waiting.

Special thanks to OnAndOn_Anon and PandaPalace for proofreading.

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