Re: A sun rises on The Big Apple (Crisis thread, Invite only)

[Atlas]

Asura slid down the shattered remnants of the streets collapsing above her, eyes scanning around the dimly lit section under the city. It was different than expected from a cities sewers, walls undulating as if made of an unknown material. "Now this is interesting,” She muttered under her breath, hearing the sound of something rumbling deeply in the distance. Shaking the city to the core like a tumultuous earthquake.  The room around them was a dimly lit looking passage way,  lights blinking on the upper limits of the wall. "you here masked guy?” She questioned, looking around with fingers clenched tightly around the hilt of her vibroblade and rising to her full height to consider everything.

Someone had rapidly built a tunnel network under the city or perhaps overlayed on the current underground. How had something happened like this? Did this have anything to do with the attack on the city? ”Watching Atlas fall a second time was my intention but catching Humanity in my web, well now that is quite the prize,” She watched the undulating material rapidly close over above them as if no hole had been created. ”watching the avatar of mankind take down the physical god before us, it weas breathtaking really.  I want to see what else you can do,” The voice sounded male, modulated in a way that suggested they didn’t want to be known. Someone was messing with them, that much she knew but for what reason was unknown.

"Don’t know who the hell you are or what you want with this guy, but I don’t want a part of it, ” She growled, looking for any exit save for the hallway which stretched out beyond and behind them. Seconds lasted be fore the walls behind them began to squirm and then close in, as if trying to consume them like an avalanche. Quasi-mud that was trying to eat them much like a massive maw. "shit shit shit,” She cursed under her breath, turning and quickly looking over the branching passages ahead of them. "you don’t have to trust me but I’m pretty sure whoever’s doing this won’t care if we die from this,” She extended a hand as if offering to carry him down the hall, the speeds less than sonic but hopefully enough to outrun the death coming for them.

This would lead them to a larger section that would have been one of those wide open sections within a sewer, but reformed with the stranger matter. Sterile lights shining upon them, with only one exit once the one behind them closed in on itself.

[Humanity]

This was one of the few things that Humanity could honestly say he wasn't expecting today. Not the concept of an unseen threat, but moreso the nature of said threat. Humanity looked to the Woman's hand. Moments ago she was willing to just leave jump ship because she wanted no part in this. He had half a mind to swat her hand away. He kept himself composed as he looked to the viscous mud-like substance The way it moved, the way it seemed to hungrily but almost lazily shift towards them. The speed began to pick up as he stood. He'd seen this before, he'd encountered this before. But it was such a signature ability. The modulated voice was not anything he'd tie to the progenitor of such an ability.

No, this isn't her. She's far to vain. If this were her she wouldn't hide her voice, her pride wouldn't allow it. So if her signature power is influenced by others.... Humanity hadn't even managed to take consideration as to how or why such a power was present in the rebuilt roadways, until it clicked in his mind. He recalled all about the charity work of the woman who faced Ouroborors, and her durable roadways. "Well shit. This brings a whole new meaning to the game 'The Floor is Lava'. doesn't it?" He said, though not quite realizing just how out of character it was for the Humanity Persona to make such a comment. Growling a little he turned and took the woman's hand, actually believing that she was making a gesture for a temporary alliance, but instead he found himself being ripped and carried through barely subsonic speeds to outrun what Humanity had hypothesized to be remnant Technomatter, serving under a new master.

The entirety of the scene shifted in a moment. It was a reservoir center. A large opened area, the kinds of which one might find an Otyugh in the eons of a realm long forgotten. Within this expansive shape there was but a single exit ahead, as the area seemed to be unnaturally lit with the same, odd sterile lights one would expect to find within a laboratory. The Exit behind them seemed to quickly vanish, and Humanity became fully aware of exactly what this individual had stated when they said "In my web" previously. Humanity released the woman's hand and stepped off to the side, looked about and focusing. There was only one reason he had the capacity to even move without wobbling at this point, and he had hoped to God he wouldn't need to move so quickly again.

"I'm not sure you know what you're asking for." Humanity said out loud, addressing the modulated voice. He seemed to focus in for a moment, waiting on a response of some kind. His hands slid to his side as his head was on a swivel. Focusing in on the beating heart within his chest his mind cleared as he began to rely on instinct, the pressence of the mind and body, his foot shifting. He didn't look as if he had any form of threatening position or stance, but at this moment he was completely on the defense. He took a mental note of his arsenal and hummed as he seemed to formulate a plan in sheer seconds. "Seven minutes....Seven minutes is all I have time to indulge you..." He seemed to inform the voice, telling them his time table before he was finished with them, whatever the conclusion may be.

[Atlas]

"This isn’t one of your nemesis types is it?” She questioned, feeling antsier than ever, watching the room around them which screamed obvious trap. Could have been the lights or the fact there was likely only one prescribed exit for them. What kind of plan did this unknown voice have, especially for this Humanity person? It was likely a coincidence that she was here in the middle of the little showdown but then again that didn’t matter either. She had an interest in a good fight, which meant playing along until something was thrown her way.

”Asking for? Well, I’m not asking for anything. I want to see your skills in person, unless of course you don’t mind being swallowed by Elena Vexus’ creation. I wouldn’t mind that either way but I would be quite disappointed to see your end to be so…sad,” She could hear it, the disdain within his tone. Not that the word choice itself left any room for doubt. They were dealing with someone with an overly high opinion of themselves. They saw this as nothing more than some kind of screwed up test, though for what she couldn’t figure out.

"and where does that leave me? Doesn’t sound like you care much for seeing my skills,”

”Not particularly, no. ”

Figures. She wasn’t often accounted for in eggheads and their plans. That was when a bright orang light broke the darkness of their only exit, Asura having only a second to bring up her weapon. Sending the beams of heat careening into a wall and dragging out a deep groove as she deflected it. “So, this is the guy who wasted Atlas. Expected him to be bigger really, ” The voice was a bemused woman’s, wearing what looked to be black armor meant to take a beating with dark colored hair formed in braids and bound into a pony tail. It was possible she was one of those types with the same abilities as Atlas. Either way she rushed without prompt, darting around the arena at hypersonic speeds and slashing her weapon for the back of the neck.

That is until they seemed to duck under the weapon and with a step forward slammed a fist into her stomach. Sending her slamming into the nearest wall with impressive force. “Seven minutes huh? Shit, I’ll only need a minute to rip your scrawny ass apart,” She was arrogant, but anyone given an iota of power tended to be. She seemed to pause, muttering something into an earpiece and frowned. Eyes glowing a bright color. “Well maybe not pieces, boss says he wants you in one but…I’m sure he could make a few exceptions,” With that she made a show of her own speed, dashing forward at speed several times over the speed of sound and going for a simple haymaker. Something that to any normal human would have taken their head messily off.

[Humanity]

Technomatter was something he was all too familiar with. He'd faced off against it more than once and walked away all the more knowledgeable. He'd even had the time to experiment and observe it's existence for a time. He knew some of the finer points of this substance. The only question that now came to mind was "What kind" of Technomatter was this? If it was from the roads, then he couldn't help but think that perhaps that it was your standard. Dark Technomatter was actually far too brittle in comparison, and the "Super" Technomatter had only ever been observed once, due to the excessive strain it took. The levels of energy required....

That was it. It was all too clear at this moment that Humanity would be playing the longer game. Reaching into his phone he pressed two buttons and then dropped it to the ground. Stomping on it and kicking it aside. As he did so there was an introduction to a new challenger. An orange blast of concentrated solar energy fired out. The unlikely ally seemed to defend and deflect the plasma-like beams with relative ease. The feeling of pure heat seemed to waft from the blade as the deflected blast seemed to carve out a nice groove into the environment.

"I'm unimpressed." He said as he seemed to open a small little cloth and empty the contents into a sheath, his dagger following the powder into it's home. His focus tunneling in, drawing forth his awareness. He knew that keeping up was impossible, so he needed to stay ahead. He withdrew a small hilt from his back and flourished a blade, it's nature was akin to that of a katana, yet the blade seemed to be like that of a pyramid blade, upon closer inspection it was clear that the blade was actually layered as well, having a secondary blade set just behind the first, giving the weapon a thicker appearance. Rising the blade up and his one eye closing as he seemed to feel out, perceive the world not only as it was now but the possibilities that could be. With a deep breath in, he not only looked, but waded into the future as he assumed the fighting style he relied on with nearly all opponents of unknown or faster persuasion. The way of persistence, and the way of perseverance. "It is curious however. I wonder what makes you so certain of your capabilities when I see little more than a child playing 'Atlas'."

[Atlas]

“Playing Atlas huh? I’m going to enjoy this you little shit,” She barked, seemingly both annoyed and impressed by the man’s avoidance of her opening strike. Skidding along the ground until she came to a full stop. A show of his skill, or perhaps something beyond skill. “I saw what you did. Don’t think your little tricks gonna work on me,”

"Weak dogs always love to bark don’t they,” She complained, removing herself from the section of the wall she had been impacted into. Watching it close in behind her, as if no damage had ever been done to it by her or the heat beams released from their shared enemy. She looked down to the blade in hand, flicking a small switch as a field of energy buzzed to life along the edge of the weapon. Something that might do her better here, hopefully. "let’s see how long that lasts,”

With a hard press, two more of the modules on the shoulders of her armor spun extended, releasing two more of the ‘seals” she had released before . The Atlas woman didn’t charge him this time, instead unleashing a beam of plasma from her eyes, impressive enough force behind it that no human could keep a weapon in their hands if they tried to hold onto a weapon. Even if it could hold together from the sheer heat. “That’s the issue with Damien. He probably wanted to fight you fairly, let the idea of heroism or some shit poison his mind.”

Were he to dodge he would be assailed by a procession of heat beams, something to dodge but possibly wear down on stamina. Specialized focus on Humanity meant his ally could make her move, faster than before darting around the room and slamming a kick into her side. A boom exploded through the room,  causing the Atlas empowered to skid a bit as she actually paid attention to her now.

”Don’t forget, you’re fighting two of us. I haven’t even started getting serious,” A flash of her weapon and a deep cut slashed across the woman’s cheek. "don’t disappoint me now,”

[Humanity]

Speed was always a complicated thing to deal with. He treated every foe as if they would have Atlas-level capabilities simply because of situations like this. There was, of course, always going to be a boss battle that lived up to the expectations he set. Setting them lower didn't help at all, he tried that and got hurt way too many times doing that. The woman and her braided hair-tail had already done well to put him on his back foot. So far he was seemingly anchored into one spot, forced on the defensive for a moment as he tried to keep himself alive. She hadn't even moved yet, and she was already able to pin him. Judging by the metal wedging of his blade and the way it began to turn orange VERY quickly, he knew he didn't have time to simply endure. He seemed to let out a small grouwl and reach back to his belt. Releasing the weapon in his hands he dove to the side and with one hell of a fast-ball he releasing a small spherical device careening right towards the woman.

The high pitched screeching was bound to screw with her senses. If she even winced that was going to cost her, especially with an incoming enemy. With a sheer second of tunneling, he improvised his Jotun form to work on the offensive, seeing where the enemy would be as he launched the explisve ballistic knife, twirling it in hand before sticking it back into the sheathe, as the next projective blade loaded into it. Taking a quick reach he then took a second, different style of sphere into his hand as he watched. If the eyebeams somehow persisted he'd simply begin moving to avoid them. It was a rather simple task, with all things considered. If the beams at any junction left him, the Atlas woman would find herself in a rough patch real quick. With his other hand, now unarmored he began to toss small little discs with a maetallic apperance upon different areas of walls.

"...I'd be more inclined to fear my dog." Humanity added after he heard the woman with the power-limiting seals. Immediately he began to note how much faster and how much stronger this woman was as she fought the Atlas-styled woman. Though he was left to sit there and recall exactly what he had just noted. She refered to Damian by his name, rather than his alias. It's true, his identity wasn't nearly as secret or guarded as most others but...to refer to him almost personally. These aren't just scared, or oppressed metahumans rising up. These are terrorists. No kind of insurrection such as this is ever designed for the greater good of a collective. It sheerly uses and manipulates a collective for the gain of a few. but how does this tie in...

It soon became clear that he was going to be a more passive participant in this fight, however whatever he gleaned from this...he needed to survive. He reached from his pocket as a cut went deep into the face of the woman with the Atlas powers. He withdrew a small cylinder of sorts as he slipped it behind his head somewhere. He observed the area around him, looking for some kind of camera, or some sort of observation devices. He knew there had to be some around here. They needed to go... Now.

Asura seemed to follow the blade slash through as she turned her whole body with the powerful slash and drove her foot into the Atlas-like woman, sending her back as a loud bellowing sounded out. The woman was left in the wall an indent around her form as she used her eye beams yet again, this time catching the pursuing Asura off guard and blasting her back with smoking impacting points. Humanity had taken advantage of his time perfectly and ensured he had everything directly in place where he needed it. He looked to the woman and seemed to crack his neck.

"If you've seen what I can do...why not finish this already? Send me to my maker, child of Amaterasu." He said, retaining his Jotun form as he began to expansively reach out his awareness and harmonize with his surroundings.

[Atlas]

The first hitch in the flow of combat was the sound of a sphere releasing a high-pitched screeching sound. Just long enough to cause the one responsible for the eye beans to wince, from sharp senses enflamed in pain from the sudden sound. Asura even found the sound agitating to some extent, though that didn’t stop her from making her moves. Making a point to prove herself as much a threat as the man in his black armor. Drawing herself a drop of blood and seeming to cause pain to flavor that expression of hers. "Come on, let’s make this a little fun,” In a blur of motion even for the woman Asura moved, two arms more like four as they struck out in a flurry of blows that came in contact with arms meant to bloc them as well as her stomach and even face which just couldn’t fully be protected.

The flesh beneath was like hitting solid marble, sending shocks up her arms with each contact but that didn’t stop her. The looks of discomfort and even pain from her punching bag was enough to know that she was doing something. This was followed by her ending the barrage with a strong strike to the gut, throwing all her weight and current strength into the blow. Speed and strength working in unison, knocking the woman’s breath from her lungs and sending her flying through the air. "for someone supposed to be like Atlas, I’m not impressed. Doubt he would’ve even budged from something like that,” She taunted, seemingly almost pleased by someone taking so many strikes without being reduced to mulch.

More of those laser beams but now she was focused on the violet haired woman, deftly dodging the beams and running along the walls which didn’t have the time to even react to her. Amping up the speed to her current max, leaving those without the perceptions to follow likely dumb founded as large defensive gashes appeared on the Atlas woman’s arms and anywhere else the blade could cut. Not deep enough to kill but deep enough to hurt. Even if Humanity did nothing, it was obvious this predator would eventually go for the throat.

At least that was the assumption until her body was consumed in a corona of light and heat, melting the concrete beneath her. No longer was her skin a dark color but like molten gold brimmed beneath it, as she reached out in a random direction and grasped Asuras ankle. Gripping tightly and throwing her across the room to collide with the wall and seemingly bring a good section of the wall tumbling down with the impact. Energy bubbling from within the injuries knitted them closed, leaving her with ruined armor but flesh seemingly untouched.

“I’m gonna burn all of you to ash.” She growled through clenched teeth. This time she moved to smash Humanity, monumentally faster than before. Angry and out for the kill.

[Humanity]

She was angry. For all of his mocking this is EXACTLY how he needed her. She was hot, physically and thermally inclined as she charged forth, ready to smash at him. As she did so the spheres in the surrounding area exploded, sending a chilling frost of coldsnap as the area became entirely filled with a frosty mist. Humanity's own Jotun form spared him the death that would have awaited him from such a fast and powerful attack as his dagger came forth and he dropped yet the second sphere. It broke open as his visage disappeared in a tuft of smoke The ground beneath him cracked as the cacophonous boom was heard, causing the ceiling to crumble and the frost that coated the walls to reveal cracks in the walls from the thunderous blow.

   In an instant as the smoke cleared there was rubble and a mask that was left behind. Frayed and torn, chipped in some areas. It was a mask that she had focused on the whole way in. The mask of the champion of mankind. He had tried, used his smokescreen but was apparently too slow to escape the powerful blow, and was roughly buried in the rubble that remained. She moved her hand and gripped the mask, pulling it out slightly. Coated in a tarnished blood, human like teeth and wiring stitched to create a horrific image. There was a sudden sharp pain that pierced into her side. Her hand came across as if to tug at whatever it was, but in a fleeting moment, her strength failed her. She turned to look, seeing the dark armored and hooded figure, wearing a different mask, one that was pale and featureless save for the red circle against the grey scape at the top. The eyes narrowed as she looked in rage, trying to push him off with what should have been relative ease, yet he persisted. His eyes looked down to the point of impact, as she looked down as well.

  A beautiful and fearsome draconian visage from the hilt of the small dagger, as the blade sunk under her armor and into her flesh, finding purchase in what one might assume to be her kidney. The wound was glowing as cracking veins of illumination seemed to be arching downwards. Her entire form lost it's warmth and light as he looked her in the eyes. There was no voice modulator to this mask. Only his own voice.

    "It's over..." He said, unlike the terrible and merciless voice that was Humanity, this one carried a different tone. A new tune that was accompanied by an almost uncharacteristic look in the eyes. The way the eyes looked, the way the tone was calm and almost comforting it was....an apologetic tone. A tone of regret perhaps. The woman seemed to refuse this fate as Humanity simply reached up and gripped her shoulder, not allowing her to remove herself from the blade. "I had created this for Atlas. I never intended to use it though. I had...hoped he would have done what needed to be done by then. That I would no longer have been able to..." The words seemed to well up as he seemed to search for something to talk about with this woman within her final moments. He sighed and shook his head, realizing just how much he relied on the modulator to actually disguise the tones of remorse, regret and shame he felt whenever he had taken such actions.

  "Atlas, and all of you whom share a similar power are entirely dependent upon radiation from the sun. The displacement and absorption and displacement of isotopes. This makes you, by nature, radioactive. All things radioactive have a period of time in which the radioactive effect is reduced. This is called the half-life. The Half-life can be elongated and nearly halted when time is dilated, or external factors simulating time-dilation are introduced. Normally it would require some chronosomatic components to reduce the half-life but...you are, at your base, the same as I. Only human. That makes this, well. Complicated." Humanity said this as he looked to the Woman. Her body began to feel weak. This was not simple blood loss however. Her joints began to lock as she looked to him, his face slightly beginning to cloud. She could still see him, but she could also feel her lungs seeming to find difficulty. She knew that this type of attack shouldn't be doing this to her, and she seemed to reach up and grab at his face. The man twisted the dagger, causing her arm to withdrawal as she once more attempted to grip his wrist.

   "I've introduced to your body a powder...something I designed for Damain. Something I didn't use. This powder, unlike the one I used on Damian does not simply soak up the radioactivity and hinder your powers. This powder displaced more isotopes and acts as an accelerant to your body, and ultimately the half-life of your radioactivity and, ultimately, your body as well." The feeling of her armor became heavy and she wheezed a little as she reached up, a gauntlet falling off of her hand before she realized exactly why her body ached, her joints locked and breathing became difficult. A slightly wringing a weathered hand had slipped from the gauntlet, pruned as if it had spend the better part of the day within a pool. She looked to the man, anger replaced with horror as she realized what he had done. "You're going to die down here. Like a Sun whose radiation had ended you will burst in a radioactive blast not minutes after you've passed. Don't worry. I've tested the Technomatter in the area, thus the reason for the cyro-disks on the ceiling and walls. It's a substance called "Dark-Technomatter" and it's primary function is the absorption of all energy. You won't harm a single civilian overhead. You will die here. A rebel without a cause..."

  Humanity withdrew the dagger from within the woman's body and allowed some dark colored blood to ooze out before letting her fall back, staggering as she tried to catch herself. He reached out and pulled the mask from her hands with ease. His dagger seemed to glow, though he sheathed it quite quickly due to the radioactivity and risk of carcinoma through exposure. He would listen to hear if the woman had anything to say, turning his head to the side and removing the Bloodmoon mask, slipping it back along his shoulder before sliding the mask of Humanity back onto his face. After the woman had her chance to speak he looked down to her, his face proudly back on his face and the modulator perfectly disguising his voice once more.
 
  "By the way..." He stated, the sounds of remorse and the somber tone had left the voice of the human. "You're minute is up." He said as he turned and began briskly walking towards the exit. He knew that Dark Technomatter didn't move once frozen, unless it was heated up. He didn't need to fear anyone manipulating it or moving it to endanger civilians. He played his hand as perfectly as he could, though his body was aching, sore and he wasn't quite certain if he could continue to keep up within these fights. Especially if he needed to continue focusing on his fighting styles so much. He had about one minute until the woman's body erupted into it's final sunburst, which was more than enough time, as far as he could tell.

"It'll be a small one, but I don't want to be here when she bursts. You might be okay...Nice moves, by the way." He said as he walked past Asura, making his way for the exit.

[Atlas]

Asura hit the ground, a shock of pain lancing through her form from the impact with the solid technomatter wall. Stunned but she was sure nothing broke, nothing she needed anyway. A slow breath, standing to her feet as Humanity dispatched his enemy with whatever tactic he might have drummed up. Watching what looked to be the woman they were fighting wasting away to almost nothing, as her light faded. A shame really. She didn’t want the fight to end like this, when she was finally beginning to enjoy herself. “Yeah sounds about right,” Was all the woman could say, beyond fear and the quick coming death. There was only bitterness and resignation, even her limbs losing what strength they once had. Nothing could be done, though something told Asura that the voice would have done nothing anyway.

"She’s going to burst? What the hell did you do anyway?” She questioned, seeming to walk without an issue with Humanity. She didn’t need this guy thinking she was weak by any metrics, and they still weren’t out of the lion’s den yet. Not until they were above ground, where plenty of fun was to be had.  The path ahead split ahead of them, though illumination remained for the two of them.

”I can say I’m quite impressed. Not as flashy as your showdown with Atlas but just as informative. You do not disappoint Humanity, ” The hallway shifted around them, seemingly splitting the two of them off with Asura relegated to the right and Humanity the left path. ”I’m sure you’re expecting a convoluted gauntlet of combat ahead but prepare to be disappointed. I thought a little test before we met would get  a few things across. I’ll be waiting for you ahead,” he could try to go backwards or even do so many other things. Should Humanity choose to continue onwards, he would walk down the hallway, with the sound of the occasional rumble moving through the impromptu underground facility.

Descending a bit until he came to what looked to be a door shaped opening, leading to a small room. Monitors lined the wall, showing the battle happening across New York city. Buildings collapsing in ruinous heaps, people flying and releasing street ruininous beams of heat from their eyes. Heroes trying and mostly failing to fight back against them, save for the few that had some power of note. Still they managed to only add to the damage being done. A metal table took up the center with a chair turned away from him, turning upon the moment he likely looked into the room. The one sitting there was dressed in a fine, fitted black suit. Likely nearly 6 ft tall, with a simple domino mask, though something seemed to make catching any distinctive features near impossible to catch beyond the groomed beard that formed along their jawline.

He was smiling, a controlled looking smile.  ”I’d expected you to kill her but the method, now that was inspired. Though I do wonder what makes you care so much for the deaths of civilians, all things considered that’s an interesting worry,” He gave a short chuckle, seemingly not bothered by the concept of being face to face with someone that could kill him. Perhaps he had his reasons.  ”but now that’s just me giving into pointless grandstanding. I’ll leave that to those more obsessed with it. This is afterall one of those confrontations yes? You’re here to get out, kill a few more Atlas’ right?,” No obvious moves to defend himself but looks were always deceiving.

[Humanity]

That was brilliant. His head twitched as his eye seemed to flutter for a moment. He swallowed hard as he tried to stave off the cotton-mouth he felt kicking in from an overall lack of hydration. He began to wonder to himself when the last time he drank water was. His kidneys were almost in as bad a shape as the poor girl back there. For the first time in a long time he was wrought with grief. He didn't even know why. The woman was nothing, she was a terrorist. But he could hear those scolding voices in his head. Stoic, Charlatan, Khaos, Frtiz, Minister and more. All of them condemning his actions and his rush to violence, none of them understanding what it was he was trying to do here. The worst part was that he AGREED with them, he knew just how messed up his actions were. He knew that the only thing he was "The best of humanity" at was being a total fucking trainwreck on the mental and emotional level. Steady yer storm boyo. After all...time heals all wounds heeeehehehehe.

"Heh-haha. Ahhh." He chuckled to himself, not even truly understanding what it was that he found so humorous. He knew his coping mechanisms had always been strange. Laugh instead of cry. Laugh instead of fear. Laugh instead of love. Laughing was the best medicine in many ways. Rage and Embarrassment seemed to be the only things that laughter didn't fix, and at that rage eventually always lead to laughing anyway. So perhaps that wasn't exactly correct. His mind shifted though his wits were still about him. He was informed to take a path, to which he looked at the woman. "I'd wish you luck in your battles...but you've got more than enough skill. Hopefully I'll never need to face you." Humanity said to Asura, realizing that in truth there was no way possible for him to combat that. Not alone, at any rate. There was a primordial sense of dread contemplating combat with the woman. He followed his path the way he was intended to, his eyes shifting about, but his mind still numb.

He eventually himself in a room with monitors, standing across the room from a man with a domino mask a black suit and an aura of so much levels of bullshit that Humanity just couldn't even handle right now. This guy had the vibe of Shadow Broker raped Tuxedo Mask and raised it under Black Mask. I don't...even get half of these references. He thought to himself, the numb feeling in his brain still tingling. He seemed to clear his throat as the man spoke to him. He made a few comments, seemed to assess Humanity a little as he seemed to be oddly "confused" by Humanity's care for civilian life.

"Yes. So if you've got business with me, I would ask that you table it until AFTER the current crisis, or you touch the point in a timely matter. Not to be rude." He said, the usual tone and candor of Humanity drained from the voice, the modulator essentially carrying the tone as an almost quieted or calmed spirit. Thought no one had ever truly seen Humanity talking in a civil way before, so perhaps this was the natural tone for such exchanges. Humanity could perceive this threat before him, but it was the unknown behind him, all around him as he seemed to let out a slight sigh. His own defense was important, and he began to observe the monitors slightly as his eyes wandered the room.

[Atlas]

”My business? Yes, that is important isn’t it,” He turned the chair to the right ninety degrees, clicking a small remote which changed one of the larger monitors to reveal what looked to be a rather massive battle. The lower half of The Statue of Liberty jaggedly rising from the ground like a lowly spire with the upper half smashed across the span of the island it normally stood on. Sections had sunk into the ocean and others were getting close to doing the same, though the grand spectacle of Atlas clashing with the woman known as Amaterasu was playing now. Massive booms from the two of them clashing and smashing anything too close, bringing up waves that hit the shores of the city not too far from them. ”to say I wasn’t distracting you would have been a lie. I didn’t want you doing what you did to Evangeline to Amaterasu. She has her own purposes for this whole thing, though your defeat of the hero of New York was quite the inspiration for things happening now instead of later.”

He turned back towards him, expression from what could be seen more neutral.  ”Getting rid of an annoying broken prototype and seeing you in action for myself was a bonus too. The mercenary wasn’t expected, though she didn’t change anything. What you do now is up to you, though I wonder what that would be. I’m not overly interested in fighting with you, though I will if I must. I cannot exactly stop you from pursuing that route and you might think my not being as strong as your last opponent a good enough reason to try so,” Now he was speaking, a little too much though he didn’t produce any weapons to follow the idea of fighting him. ”ah, here I am knowing your moniker but you don’t know mine. Some have come to known me as Iskandar, because calling myself Alexander The Great would have been a little gauche,” The ghost of a laugh came from between his lips. ”so if you don’t mind, I do want to know what made you want to defeat a god? Was it one of those human desires to prove your might or a moral decision? Maybe even something pragmatic?” He interlaced his fingers and waited for a response.

[Humanity]

This next one will be easy... He thought to himself. Though he quickly seemed to have a new distinction within his mind. Rather than resist anything inside he humored it a bit. Oh, and if not? He would muse to himself before there was a sudden rasp inside. ...more fun! The idea seemed to humor him more than it should have. He seemed to snarl beneath his mask. This man was a living mockery to him at the moment. A living parody of something that should have been quite clearly a moment of truth.

"Where?" Humanity asked. At that moment the man sat there, his fingers still laced though a slight twitch surrounding the mask made it clear he was slightly confused, possibly attempting to rationalize where Humanity had misheard him.

”Where?” He seemed to repeat back, like a parrot. A parrot in a mask with absolutely no reason or apparent cognitive prowess. Where is a very straight forward question. How did he not understand? Though after a brief moment to his own thoughts he understood the mix-up...it was a lack of information. A breakdown of communication. No matter, easily rectified.

"Where is...the exit? I figured I would try asking nicely." He attempted to reiterate exactly what he was looking for. The man seemed to understand now, which was good. Very good. His head was beginning to hurt from the pointless noise that came from the hole beneath the mask. His head began to hurt just slowing his mind down from plotting and planning to have a conversation. His eyes still darting from monitor to monitor, until finally he saw three helicopters, armored and mounted as several agents in different colors seemed to appear, extracting a few of the Atlas creations that he had rendered useless.

"Your mercenary friend has probably found it by now. If you turn back i'm sure you'd find it in a few minutes, or you can entertain my question and I can give you a swifter exit." The man said, though Humanity was quite honestly done with it at this moment in time. He looked to the scales of combat, seeing how poorly everything had gone. He looked to see Damian on the screen and his heart sank.

T'was always bound ta 'appen lad. Better to ye then ta 'er for the ferst  round. The voice came to his mind. But he brushed it aside, looking to the man in the mask. Then he looked to the screens again, focusing on Damain from what he could see. He seemed detached from the conversation with the man. Perhaps ye can still 'elp ol Atlas, eh? Just take a wee bite of ol' boyo's throat, Aye? Take a nice mouthful, whatcha say?

"This isn't a call to arms. This is a shock and awe tactic. You need a figurehead to be seen, someone to establish as a piece on the board, someone that you can easily stand to lose and pass the blame off on, but someone that would be perfectly suited to face Atlas. Someone he can't win against, or even if he won against them it would cause such a schism in the mind that...." Humanity looked to the screen then looked to the one who called himself Iskandar. He then looked back to the screen and then back to Iskandar. "...His mother. As the sound of a cannon fires out we realize it was not the sound of a fight for out liberty, but a fire upon our liberty, as we walk the isles left in ruin in the quake of a conflict lost. Demoralized we walk the world, turning in search for a new god we put out paltry faith in. No greater a God-king was there than Iskandar. It explains the premise of your power as well...or rather your phaux-power with the Technomatter." He said to himself, though he spoke the words without an attempt to hide them. He looked to the man and shook his head, looking back to the monitor, paying him no heed.

"Reclusive and defeated, nod dead, but worse. Truly defeated in mind, body and soul. The sun dims and under dark clouds new leadership. But the sun rising is inevitable...I know you're on the board now. I also know what comes next. Right there. He said as he pointed to the one monitor with the Statue of Liberty in frame. He made no attempts to leave, nor any attempts to answer the man. He simply stayed in the one space, watching.

[Atlas]

The strange man known as Humanity seemed to interest, perhaps even amuse the man who had called himself Iskandar. It might have been the way he spoke, as if already expecting to be understood. Sure, he could have guessed his reasoning but that would have taken time the exchange just did not offer. He could lap into a violent blood frenzy, or perhaps even begin asking the big questions like he had part within this whole thing. Why he was paying so much attention to the fight between the two solar powered individuals, but instead he spoke. Waxing poetic dialogue that suggested he knew something or perhaps had guessed something from the few clues presented to him. Truly the ideal representative of mankind or perhaps the next step in them. Not what humanity was but what it could have been, had not sedentary lives done them in.

”My faux-power? That’s an interesting way to put it. Elena Vexus weaved her substance throughout the city in its last reconstruction, practically begging someone to investigate it and reproduce it. The beauty of ingenuity is taking something and fine tuning it to your own ends, ” He examined the room, watching the material undulate ever so slightly. He weas always keyed into those small details, away how the experimental transmitting within his mask would function. He didn’t know what exactly Vexus had used to control the substance, but he managed to replicate the signal needed to do the same. Perhaps she just had a psionic ability to control it, some manner of metahuman or extra dimensional capability. ”so long as there’s a grain of it, it can always reproduce when you give it the right nudge. It’s really a miracle substance when you think about it,” Genuis afterall called to be respected and he was always one to give a person their due.

He turned to the monitor and considered what was said. ”Stars die Humanity. Eventually their light will dim and they will go out in one last grandiose explosion. Sometimes they become something darker, that sucks in and destroys everything around it. Had he not been defeated before, this would be seen as nothing more than a harsh disgrace. Something that could in time be ignored like the old hero Pain before he faded to obscurity. Twice in such a short time, especially with the damage done there is no recovery. Not really,” He had his reasons and the mask covered his voice well enough, should the vigilante be recording him in any way. He wasn’t stupid enough to reveal his hand. ”so you have my thanks Humanity, for making this possible.” He interlaced his fingers, and watching the show.

The two figures vie for supremacy and Atlas likely will try and stop the collateral damage that was happening regardless. He could do nothing to stop it, even if his heroic heart so desired it.

Because Amaterasu was simply too strong for a well made fake.

--

Damien felt the impact, faster and harder than the last few punches that hit his face. The pain was beginning to grow, along with the faint taste of blood from what he assumed was  a split lip. The shockwaves rung in his ears and his sight swam as the woman he had been fighting seemed to wash herself in golden light. Faster, at times too fast to follow and so strong it was everything he could do just to keep awake. He knew she wasn’t even using her full power, which boggled his mind beyond all possible understanding.

He collided with the remaining fragments of an island, feeling the ground crack and splinter on impact despite his attempts to slow down. He spat a globule of blood from his mouth and looked up to her, floating weightlessly and looking down upon him with the same smug ease she had through the entire fight. ”You’re looking tired Atlas. Don’t tell me you’ve already lost all that heroic bravado you once had,” She was far away but he could hear her beyond the sound of chaos spreading through the nearby city. Those people wrecking it with the exact same powers he had.

It hurt, to see and he wanted to stop them. Yet this woman was everything standing in his way and she was a wall he could not break through. Still yet he had to fight on.

With a deep breath through gritted teeth he lifted a section of the statue of Liberty, feeling it rise from the water and flung it towards Amaterasu. Hurling it through the air like an off kilter, impromptu javelin. This was followed by him leaping upwards, darting through the air and slamming into the back end of the fragment. Turning it into a fast-moving spear, that being until it collided with something and shattered into pieces. Leaving him still moving forward to the fingers that wrapped around his throat in a blur.

Sure, he didn’t need to breathe but that didn’t mean the pain from them digging into his flesh was gone. A low, pained croak came from his throat as he slammed a fist into his stomach, bringing more of the taste of blood. Another and another followed until he was sure his internal organs would explode, but even if they did they would regenerate.  ”Still you fight on, which I suppose is admirable. Ever the servant of humanity, despite the fact we both know the truth.” He struck, slamming a fist with as much force as possible in her face, though all that seemed to do was force her head to turn slightly.

”The moment you make a mistake, they’ll call for your death. It’s already happened twice in this world, the persecution of our kind and their pointless deaths. They had the potential to destroy so they must be destroyed. Useless politicians wringing their hands while they did nothing more than pay lip service. We ask for permission to exist, bowing and scraping by to be given the most minute chance of a normal life. I won’t accept that anymore. We won’t accept that. Humanity wanted monsters, so we’ll give them one,” A fist slammed into his temple, leaving his sight quite foggy.

She turned their position of floating as if making a point. ”Today the idol of New York falls and soon, your other cities. So,thank you son for being my first example,” Pain blossomed through his chest, as he if he felt his ribs all splinter at once. Still, the air around him was blurring until he didn’t know what was happening aside from the blood now filling his mouth. He wanted to scream but there was no sound.

Then he collided with something.

The impact was hard but made no noise. Grey sand and rocks flew up around him as he felt his broken body begin to knit itself back together. Droplets of blood floating through the air. Floating? His eyes open and he kept from breathing it, looking out to a vast black void and the blue/green marble that floa6ted within his view. He struggled, pressing against the ground until his legs dislodged from the deep canyon carved out from his impact and realized that his legs still needed time to fix. They were still whole but agony to even stand on.

Still pain was not a good enough reason to sit still. He had to stand up, return and finish this. Even if he had to expend every ounce of energy, he had within him. That was when something blurred past him, turning his head to see Amatarasu, still brilliant gold and brimming with solar energy.  Her gold lips still a cock smirk, though is for a moment shifted into pity. He didn’t even have time to respond. Not when she was now an inch infront of him, seeming to think.

The punch he threw was as fast and as hard as he could muster, though a raised palm blocked it. All she could do was shake her head. His limbs grew weak as if something were being pulled from him. Then the pain came again.

He was plummeting, his body burning hot. Hotter than he had ever felt before and then an explosion rang out as his body gave into all consuming pain which deafened. Swallowed him like a sea of blackness and he knew nothing.

--

Iskandar had watched in stunned, almost bemused silence as what he could follow of the fight unfolded and the star fell to earth. What remained of the island that once held The Statue of Liberty crumbled, decimated to the seat and the tilde wave that followed seemed to wash over a good section of New York. ”Seems Amaterasu went overboard with her coup de grace didn’t she?” He shrugged, giving a golf clap to the performance and standing up. Considering Humanity as he pressed a button which caused a section of the wall to open within the technomatter make. ”You wanted to escape yes? Well the tunnel to the surface is right over there, now that I’ve gotten what I wanted.” He watched Amaterasu fly off, perhaps to help her “allies” or perhaps simply to escape now that she did what she wanted to.

”Have you heard of Lucius Alba? Known head of the pro-metahuman group Rise and Prime Minister of Belarus? Most know him for that but few know what he was truly brilliant for. Revolutionizing teleportation technology. Portals, and at times even the kind of thing you’d see on Star Trek. You know what that is yes? Anyhow, I found his research interesting and since that kind of technology is easy to get ahold of if you ask the right people, I managed to replicate his achievements to an extent. ” He produced a small, strange looking sphere of black metal with a single button in it. Smiling easily, as if he were talking about a macaroni sculpture he had made. As if he had done something anyone could do. Shrugging to add to the affect of ease he had going on. ”I even made the power core small enough to be portable. Anyhow, it was interesting meeting you Humanity but I do have other plans to make. Perhaps we can do this again sometime,”

With a slight bow and a flash of light he was gone, leaving Humanity with his exit route and the city in chaos.

[Humanity]

It was all a game at this point. His entire body went slack a bit, or that's how it would appear to many. Rather he was in a state of total self control, something that was somewhat of a terrifying feeling. To feel the heart pumping and the blood calming. To feel the warmth of the oxygen enter your lungs and tranfer into the bloodstream. Feeling that oxygen carry as the capillaries of your body filled and an overall rush of energy seemed to come as your muscles relaxed. For once the entire world was at peace. He looked to the one known as Iskandar, his eyes not blinking before he returned attention to the monitors.

"Of course they die. I just killed one in the other room." He said quite plainly, no emotion to his voice rather just a matter of fact as he could hear the words in his head. Something driving him and pushing him to not lash out. He had the advantage here, it was truly now or possibly never. But he stayed, he didn't feel urgency to push he just felt the nagging voices in the back of his head. Promethean, Misery and even Marshal telling him about how he was just another murderer. Just another killer, who didn't care about what happened to anyone else. The pain of it was gone, there was no wound there, nor even a fragment of despair as had been previously. There was only emptiness, loneliness and the sudden revelation of failure. He watched as Atlas was propelled into the atmosphere.

His mind flooded in this moment of things he would need. Things he hadn't prepared for. Things that he had yet to talk of or answer, or even discuss with this Iskandar. But in the end he remained mostly quiet. He had yet to actually answer Iskandar, in fact there was a bit of a display of intellectual subversion there. He had not answered anything of Iskandar, yet he learned so much, given the fact he was able to see the man face to face, as well as hear and understand his mind. That was where the victory was won. Even if Humanity had answered these questions, this man for all of his unerring intelligence wouldn't be able to feel it. To make the leap, to close the gap and risk his limbs to uncover the truth. The truth they both had to face.

Was it an empty victory? Was it a grandstand of a victory? Neither, truthfully. It simply was a victory, one that existed. A small battle won in the large war that was lost. But it was clinging to those small victories, that kept things into perspective. But the man was quite right about a few things. Signals, wavelengths and the technomatter. He was doing quite a wonderful job in his villainous exposition that he actually seemed to be actively trying to NOT make an exposition. Matthew didn't fault him. You could tell that this was the first BIG thing he had really done. Everyone got a bit excited.

"You're making quite the exposition of this." Humanity said, not even irritated simply the same drull voice as earlier. He looked to Iskandar and tilted his head a little, his mannerisms changed ever so slightly.  Signals, wavelengths and the technomatter. He was doing quite a wonderful job in his villainous exposition that he actually seemed to be actively trying to NOT make an exposition. Matthew didn't fault him. "Don't worry. You can tell that this is the first BIG thing you've really done. Everyone gets a bit excited." He said, almost as if actively coaching the man on how to properly go about being a villain.

The ending had come. There was a loud crash and suddenly where there was once a most sacred symbol, there was nothing left. The exit was revealed and the man made his disappearance. He continued to talk more and more. Humanity simply walked to the monitors, to where the man was sitting but moments ago and picked up small cords and began to pull. He ripped electronical equipment out, things that seemed to have made no snese at all as he began to reap and reave the pieces he would later need for something he wasn't even sure of yet. Monitors dismantled, towers and other pieces before he left into the exit.

He was quick to pass off a ton of equipment to those whom were beneath him in Thrones, a designed assignment specifically to ensure those made it to his private workbench. He shooed people off quite quickly and ordered a track on Amaterasu, something he knew all too well was possible. He then turned his attentions to Atlas. He found himself rushing to the scene where Atlas had impacted. The poor fool could still drown if he wasn't careful. He started towards the bridge but found police at every which way. Guns trained on him. He looked to all of them and they seemed to hesitate. Over the projection system one yelled out.

"Humanity, You're under arrest! Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head or lethal force WILL be used." The warning was only going to come once. He stood there, at the edge before reaching out and tossing his ballistic knife over the edge and putting his hands up. He turned around slowly as he saw a few cops swarming, others with their guns still trained.

"I hope you're water-proof" He said, seemingly to himself.

"Oh? Here I thought you were just planning to make me watch." The voice came back to him. Humanity took a step back and like a mass of bricks, he dropped into the water. There was no chance to float as the armor he wore was far too heavy, especially as the armor began to morphs and changed, mechanical parts shifting, gearing up as Matthew felt water assault his face. Trapped in a heavy suit he sunk like a rock, darkness taking over as water continued to assault him. It was just as he began to feel consciousness fade that the armor he wore, Guilty Spark had generated a propeller type system to push the water out from inside him. Matthew was caught in a coughing fit for a few moments as he looked to the side and saw his ballistic knife sitting upon the dirt bottom of the body of water.

"N-next time maybe a little faster." He said with a gasp of oxygen, to which the Machine seemed to let out an almost Gladyos type of laugh.

"So, to compensate for your wound, you wear me into combat. Yet you don't utilize me or my speed at any part in your encounter. I feel as though you were perhaps showing off for the Mrs." Zodiac said as he began to allow Matthew to step forward. It was true, he had planned to use Zodiac to stand against Amaterasu, yet that was something that never came. He also felt the shade that Zodiac was tossing in his direction, only able to really groan in pain as he walked.

"Not now. Find Atlas, and make sure any memory you have of the man we just met is properly safeguarded." He tried to dismiss everything Zodiac said with a grain of salt, yet at this moment in time he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

"Was I supposed to be recording?" He asked, the question made Matthew perk up in a sudden burst of fury, only to recall that as a robot the entirety of what he processed would need to be stored, thus making actual memories for the A.I to follow and grow from. Tampering with those was all kinds of unehtical, but that was fine. He contemplated murdering children before, so this was nothing too concerning.

Eventually he found himself a pile of rubble, and Zodiac's light seemed to reveal a hand from within. Zodiac began shifting his form once more, reinforcing arms and exoskeleton structures to begin vibrating at intense speeds, shattering rocks on top of Atlas. With quick precision, Matthew grabbed Atlas and on his command Zodiac charged, sending his core to the absolute max before speeding off beyond the sound barrier, running and running for quite some time. Eventually he made it back to land, then started running across the ocean, holding onto Atlas and trying to keep his velocity at a manageable range for the human inside of him.

           Traveling at mach 35, or 26,854.4 miles an hour, and the distance between Egypt and New York City being only about 5,735 miles the trip didn't take long at all. In a matter of minutes he was there, holding a drowned and battered Atlas amongst the desert. Humanity coughed and set Atlas on the ground. He began to exit the suit, Zodiac opening in the back and allowing his mentor to exit before Matthew fell to the ground. Clamoring on the sand he seemed to crawl to Atlas and turn him over, Punching him in the back. Noticing what he was attempting, and failing to do, Guilty Spark reached to Atlas' back and began to vibrate his hands rapidly, forcing Atlas' body to regurgitate the disgusting water of New York City.

"Atta boy. Cough it all up bud!" He said as he looked and nodded at Zodiac. The machine simply tilted its head to the side and shrugged.

"In this heat, you will experience discomfort. Would you like me to take you elsewhere?"

"No, he needs the heat and the sun. I'll be okay. Come back for me tonight, around 10pm." Matthew ordered as he began to check Atlas' vital signs. He seemed to heavily ignore the machine at the moment, though Zodiac did not seem to mind. It simply acknowledged what Matthew had said, and sped off at a vast speed, sending and all through the air.  

He began to cut at Atlas' uniform a bit, wringing pieces of it off and trying to give his body more exposure to the sun, all while trying to also keep him decent and cool. He wasn't quite sure why he said Atlas needed the heat, it was mostly the radiation that was required. He began to look around, searching for any sign of civilization and finding none. He would be fine for the few hours he needed to last, but he genuinely feared for Damian at this point...

Atlas had fallen, leaving Humanity a wreck. With the impending war that was coming...he only had himself to blame.


********************

   He awoke from his slumber again. The test subjects on the monitor, still in his cell. He looked throughout his lab space and saw in unfamiliar handwriting a dozen of post-it notes all over. Each one ranting about a man of some kind of persuasion or other. He didn't truly pay much attention to it. That was, of course, until he wandered to bed. He reached up to rub his face, realizing that there was a sick, thick feeling. It was as if old ketchup had found it's way to his hand as he smeared it over his face. He shot up and looked down, seeing his coated hand as dried areas of blood had been adorned with coagulated, thick clots that had yet to dry. The gore was fresh. He took a shaking breath in as he looked around, assessing the situation before rushing to the bathroom.

   A warm shower to cleans the unknown source of blood, leaving Matthew quite satisfied to realize that he was not missing any of his extremities. He rubbed the towel through his hair and turned sat on his bed, checking it to be clean. After sitting himself down he looked to his phone for a moment. He read a text message that was just a silly cat gif from one of his friends, leaving him to chuckle a little and roll his eyes. Setting the phone down he saw the television, a warning from the anchor that there was intense graphic and morbid things ahead and that viewers should remove their children from the room. Horrific images of gore ensued as Matthew's stomach dropped into the pit, a gagging reflex kicked in despite he had slowly disembowled people before and never felt anything.

   In the center there wasn't even a person, just feet upon feet of intestines and stomach wrapped into an intricate set of knots. The knots seemed to resemble that of an atomic orbit, while in the center there was a set of stomach and lungs. Bloody etchings lined with smaller sections of intestines that formed what appeared to be almost rounded versions of trapezoids circling the inner circle of gore. From there there were several corpses, bodies of people covered in blood-soaked white sheets that all hat their heads pointed inward towards the gore, feet pointing outwards. Each body was long and extended well past where it should have been though, as if bodies had died in a way akin to Braveheart.

   He sat there and looked in horror, his heart racing for a moment as he felt his eyes well up, a pang of fear hitting him deep inside as he realized the symbol that was made from an overhead view. It was a Vergina Sun, and all the victims were in the same armor as those whom had once possessed the power of Atlas. He heard a slight yawn all throughout his mind, echoing in an omnipresent manner.

 


     Never rested better hehe...

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