2099/Apokolips Now: The Furies Final Frenzy

Apokolips Now: The Furies Final Frenzy
Date of Scene:	20 September 2017
Location:	Metropolis
Synopsis:	The Furies return to set a trap for the heroes who defeated him on the eve before ... but are surprised.
Cast of Characters:	Doctor Doom, Terra, Andromeda, Magneto, Hellion
Tinyplot:	Apokolips Now

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Cassandra Cain (1129) has posed:
    Across Metropolis, and the world at large, Darkseid's forces of parademons and other creatures and New Gods are fighting heroes. The battles are hard-won, and even while the heroes and military of Earth seem to be, overall, holding ground, there is still no -real- certainty that victory is clear, yet.
    And while cities like London, Moscow, and Tokyo all suffer, the true source, the center of the contention has clearly been Metropolis. Perhaps because of the Hall of Justice which was attacked only last evening, on the evening of the first attack launched against the planet Earth. Perhaps because it is the home of the Kryptonians, such as Superwoman who Darkseid tried to recruit - and when she turned him down he threw her into the city and created a massive crater, kllling hundres, inuring thousands.

    But, Metropolis has been the epicenter of it all.

    Only an hour ago, in Apololips, this was made quite clear. Granny Goodness had once again stood in front of her Furies, this time looking far more stern. Her voice is that of a vicious, angry grandmother, "You disappointed Granny last night, girls. Here I am. I have nurtured you. -Trained- you. Taught you. Granny has given -everything- to you. And, how do you repay her? With -failure-."
    Granny presses a rod she is holding into a black metallic box that seems to have no openings. Inside, a young woman, Gilotina, screams in agony. "You don't want to disappoint Granny again, girls. I'm sending Artemiz with you, this time, since Gilotina failed us the most."

    Bernadeth's eyes burn. "They will pay. They will -all- die, Granny. I swear it," she oaths.

    Granny looks barely mollified. But, she nods to Bernadeth. "Good. Gooooood. Yes. Make them pay. Bring a victory back for Granny Goodness, and -all- will be forgiven, girls." Only now does Granny smile, spreading her arms wide, before the Boom Tube opens.

BOOM.

    The sound, by now, is an all-too famiiiar one to many heroes, to many people, in Metropolis.

    The tube exits them where they last were, in front of the Hall of Justice -- in front of that massive Daily Planet Globe that the Phoenix had wrested from its purchase to throw upon Stompa.

    It is Wunda who arrives first - a dark skinned New God, and she surveys her surroundings, fingers twitching as she does so. The New God, and the New Fury is ready to put her skills, and abilities, to the test.
    Stompa comes next, followed by Lashina who looks absolutely enraged, and a very much healed Mad Harriet. Bernadeth comes last, her knives already hovering around her head.

    Bernadeth tells the team, darkly, "We wait for them to arrive. And, we target them. You will follow my lead, this time, girls."

    Each of the Furies nods. And, then Bernadeth nods to Stompa. Who jumps up into the air, and slams both boots into the ground sending a huge crack in the earth to spread out from her boots, away from the Hall of Justice and towards the Daily Planet instead, causing the building to rock. "That," says Bernadeth, licking her lips, "Will get their attention."

Doctor Doom has posed:
    Doctor Doom stands at the Latverian Embassy, specifically the sub-basement where he does his scientific work. Examining the readings, he smiles beneath his mask. "So, the invaders have returned according to these readings. But this time, they will pay for their temerity of invading my world, for they do not understand that this world is under my protection. And as a result, they are... DOOMED." His grin grows, as a nearby Doombot clicks out in a mechanical voice.

    "Excellent finish for the monologue sir. Shall we withdraw to Latveria?"

    Doom glances at the Doombot, "No. The technology these invaders have is useful, and this is the opportunity to seize it, for Doom." With that, he moves to the teleportation circle inscribed into the floor of the laboratory, uttering the eldritch phrases to get him to the approximate location of the latest incursion.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Attention -is- drawn....as the ground shivers after a moment, a low rumble heard, before the crack in the building's foundation starts to reseal, the fissure filling itself in as the rock pulls itself together, healing up allllll the way back to where Stompa is standing, right under the woman's booted feet.

    A moment later a good sized chunk of the pavement comes up to meet her as shoots up like a rocket in an attempt to hurl Stompa up, over, and then right back down...under the rock, which smashes into the ground again at a much higher velocity than it should.

    Part of the ground peels back as a second pillar rises into the air, opposite the Furies, the groudn shaking as large chunk rip themselves free, reforming into orbiting shields of stone, the pieces of rock swirling upwars in a spiral around the woman riding the rock pillar upwards.

    Atlee looks down at the invaders, then says, in a voice that carries. "Go home. There is nothing for you here." The petite girl's voice is calm, steady...even if the wounds she still bares from the original invasion are still visible, a pink still healing slices visible across her right temple.

Andromeda has posed:
    There was plenty for Laurel Gand to do, if she wasn't actively fighting (and there was plenty of that) she was helping dig people out of rubble or even stand on a serving line keeping soup kettles warm with her heat vision. Though what was happening on Earth was a tragedy, it was still a good time for the Daxamite - she was able to go all out, not having to pull any punches. She had learned the hard way that just trying to disable Parademons did not work. They didn't stop fighting. Well, neither would she.

    She had arrived too late to help the Justice League and their allies fight the Furies the previous evening, so she had been keeping an eye and an ear out for the place. Criminals always return to the scene of a crime, someone once said. and so though she had been lurking around in orbit watching for Apokalyptian space weaponry she was instantly ready when the Boom Tube opened up for round two at the home of the League.

    She blazes back to the surface, as fast as she dares in the atmosphere, but rather than engage the Furies she stops a couple of thousand feet above the ruined Hall... a sonic boom from the instant braking heralding her entry into the airspace. There she floats, a figure of red and blue, Superman-blue cape drifting around her in the wind. Her arms are crossed in front of her.

    Andromeda is not pleased.

Magneto has posed:
Unlike many of the vaunted edifices of mankind, the island nation of Genosha has remained a safe haven through the onset of total war against the Earth and its inhabitants-- but Magneto is not fool enough to believe they will be spared in the long term, nor heartless enough to believe that massive-scale alien genocide and devastation is a path forward for -anyone-.

The Master of Magnetism arrives like a bolt high above the chosen battleground, his initial appearance little more than a brilliant, flickering light in the distance, illumination cast by the crackling blue-white sphere which surrounds him.

Within his protective bubble Magneto reaches out with his senses, scanning over the forces arrayed on both sides, sensing signatures both familiar and very, very not. In the chaotic rubble from the previous fighting, rebar shudders of its own accord, torn wiring shreads itself asunder and snakes forth from its burial mounds like unearthly tendrils or slender serpents, beckoned forth by a the sternly frowning Messiah of the Mutants. This is -their- world; not Darkseid's.

Hellion has posed:
     New Troy was only a stones throw away from the Academy of Tomorrow, where Julian lived. He had seen on the news the breaking story of the incoming invaders.

     As safe as the Academy provided for its students, the headstrong teen felt he needed to be there. He was never one to stay back and feel safe, the danger was exhilarating, and he also took pride in knowing that his 'gifts' would prove useful.

    Grabbing his leather jacket (and with his Magneto was Right tee shirt), he takes flight towards the battle, as fast as he can. Soon, the jet-haired teen is in the action, steeling his nerve to bring the hurt to whoever needs it. He stays in the air, maintaining the high ground as he assessed the situation.

Cassandra Cain (1129) has posed:
    Even as Doom's portal deposits him into the area of contention within Metropolis and as Andromeda appears to survey the scene, Stompa is upended, and put onto her back as the Geokinetic known as Atlee comes into view to save the Daily Planet from potentially collapsing entirely and to contfront the Furies. But the large woman is not down for long, as she's clearly far more reilient than she looks - which is already quite a damn lot. The mountainous woman slams her front foot forwards -- not causing, this time, an earthquake but rather sending out a shockwave of seismic proportions that will obliterate a few of Atlee's rockshields as well as send the girl herself back a few feet, pitching her floating platform but not upending it as the shields absorbed much of the blow.

    Then, the Master of Magnetism makes his appearance known with an impresive display and show of abilities, twisting metal and rubble together to make intricate weapons out of what was nothing. A show of power. A show of power that makes Mad Harriet begin to laugh, which transitions into a crazed cackle, and a devlish grin twists upon her sickly features. She begins to run, first towards Doom but then she backflips, twists, and seems to make for Atlee, and then changes direction to turn 'round yet again, before she handsprings up, and well over those twisted metalworks of Magneto, vaulting high, into the air, twisting her body towards him with a crackling energy in her fists that he will realize -- too late -- is going to bypass his magnetic self-protected shield literally punching a hole into it. It slams into Magneto's arm, and Mad Harriet lands on her feet, jumping backwards towards Stompa to cover her 'sister'.

    "The Kryptonian," states Bernadeth, presuming Laurel is another one of Superwoman's Kryptonian friends that Darkseid had spoken of. And, the two Faren knives rocket towards Laurel, sharply, and suddenly separating to move towards the Daxamite from opposite angles and make them far, far, more treacherous -- even as Lashina moved forwards as well, sending lashing electrical whips towards Laurel.

    Wunda is caught, briefly, by Magneto's wirey prison and tendrils, but a beam of light eminates from her hands to decimate those metal bonds efficiently, and cleanly as she readies herself, eyeing Doom, and the newly arrived Julian warily, before drawing forth on her own light-powers to create for herself a spear, which she throws at Doom, ... and the thing moves. Fast. Towards it's target.

    The Furies aren't backing down. Not without a fight. And they want revenge. This, clearly, is not a fight to hold anything back on. Not today.

Doctor Doom has posed:
    Doom doesn't even flinch, staring down the spear as he recites an incantation, having prepared himself for these Furies based on prior reports. Completing the spell quickly, his platinum-armor suddenly goes jet-black in hue, the armor drinking in the light around him... and it seems to just devour the spear before it hits him.

    Then he gestures, chanting more arcane words as dark tendrils of shadow slither out from the ground and his armor, reaching out towards Wunda to absorb more that of that delicious delightful light energy. And if they get a little greedy and absorb her life force too... well, Doom is an understanding monarch.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The shockwave washes over Terra, as she crosses her arms, the concussion causing her to slide backwards before the ground shifts, providing her with footholds to dig in, as shards of rock go flying towards her, washing to either side of the dark haired girl. She sighs inwards. Just a bit. There's always the hope that someone might actually take her up on the whole 'go home without doing bad things'. She wasn't seriously expecting it, but still...it's a fight then.

    Her lips twist in a frown as she gets a determined expression, her fingers curling as the shards of rock spinning through the air past her halt, then shoot upwards, reforming like a river behind her. The stream of rubble and rock curls up over her, rising higher into the air, then spreads out, forming a larger cylinder, right before the pieces crashing down like a wave towarsd the nimble Harriet and the solid Stompa, as she tries to catch the acrobat before she can clear the area. There's some definite pepper in those shots....Atlee isn't holding back this time. These can take it...and the longer they're and fighting, the greater the chance that they'll hurt someone else.

Magneto has posed:
As the energy-laced Fury rips inexorably towards him like a homing missile, Magneto is confident. Too confident. He -does- realize moments before she blasts a hole in the too-casual barrier that the power on display is sufficient; even massive. As his shield is penetrated, an arm stretches out as if beckoning to the blast, tearing off substantial portions of that power into the ether through force of will even as he erects a secondary, localized barrier behind it.

The eruption is painful, the impact still gets through, and he's set reeling in the air, armor reforming where it's torn from his freshly injured limb. A dark chuckle leaves the Master of Magnetism's lips, no stranger to pain.. and his own proverbial gloves come off. The copper tendrils answering his beck and call cease attempting to restrain his adversaries-- and instead coil and strike with suddenly sharpening, needlelike ends at soft points, prioritizing Mad Harriet herself. Her eyes and ears, to be specific.

Several waves of rebar fire like super-powered railguns at Stompa, pairs coming in tandem from opposite directions. He has no compunction about seeking to slay these invaders, at least in this moment; later, with more of the backstory, he may ponder more fully the tragic irony of these womens' lot-- of their alleged fate.

Andromeda has posed:
    A sonic boom echoes over the Hall again as Laurel break the sound barrier from a dead stop, she's headed straight for Bernadeth to give the lucky lady her blades back, Laurel hopes. Well, that and over a hundred pounds of Daxamite going about Mach six plowing into the Fury. Even at this speed the girl is very manueverable, so she should be able to make last-moment course corrections if the Apokalyptian should dodge. So what if they both get buried in the concrete near the Hall? It might be a knockout blow for the good guys.

Hellion has posed:
     Julian puts on his game face, a mad scowl before he watches the barrier Magneto had put up for himself falter, if only a bit. That wouldn't do for the telekinetic.

     Julian holds out two hands towards Mad Harriet a green glow forming all around Hellion, as he attempts to pull one of her arms off of her torso, if not just keep her restrained to receive a mauling from Magneto. Bets are off, and he's expecting much blood to be shed. Probably some of his.

Cassandra Cain (1129) has posed:
    Wunda leaps back, up and over those deadly looking shadow-tendrils, so that she is next to Stompa, and Mad Harriet as the rain of rocks from Atlee begin to pepper down, slamming and crushing against the light-shield she's formed -- it would seem that Wunda has some light-based powers -- though how far she can manage constructs or abilities remains to be seen. So far, she is certainly not on the imagination or construct level of a Lantern. Still, her light-based shield holds, even through most of Magneto's attack as it shreds the metal and the sounds of twisting, crashing, and straining fill the air. It breaks, under so much strain though and Stompa is impaled against her shoulder, and Harriet several more times as she was the intended target. And while Stompa pulls out the girder and turns towards Magneto's armorment to slam an earthquake into them to bury them completely in a gasping hole of earth, Mad Harriet is busy laughing. Busy, -not- pulling out her own protrusions. She instead wonders as if she were almost -glad- for them, then, "What -did- they call it, Lashina?" She giggles, her pitch odd, and disturbed as she does thus. "Oh. Yes. A Mad-Ball Special. Do it. Doitdoitdoitdoitdo---," and while Mad Harriet is chanting, Wunda grabs Harriet's arm, twists around and leaning back, she -throws- Harriet, fast, hard, like a rocket towards Doom ... "iiiiiiit!" The insane creature of twisted form is -laughing-, madly as her name, as she twists over-and-under until she corrects herself in air as she rockets into Doom, slamming her fists into his armored chest with a heavy force to rival that of The Thing and energy gloves powerful enough to bypass nearly any other energy signature -- which magic is, just as magnetic fields are. Luckily for Doom, and unluckily for Harriet, Julian has latched onto her and is attempting to rip her arm off. Oh, it hurts, and it locks her into place. She stares at Julian. Just stares at him, and then she begins to laugh more, and begins to swing, back and forth in the air on that suspended arm. "You're a deadman," she gleefully tells Julian. There is, however, a popping sound.

    Bernadeth sees it coming. She is not quite as fast as Laurel, she realizes this in the instant that it's happening. But, she's a proven warrior. She has survived Apokolips. So while she can't avoid the blow, she -can- roll with it. Even as she's plowed into, and even as the two are buried in rubble, Bernadeth is grabbing onto Laurel to twist, as much as she can so that the impact into the ground, the crater is shared.

    Lashina's whips missed Laurel -- and now that she's buried with Bernadeth? Well. Not much she can do there at the moment. They're both down one. So instead, her whip lashes out at Doom, to wrap around his leg and send a massive font of electrical power at him. Into him.

Andromeda has posed:
In the crater, Laurel becomes a blur of fists and knees and headbutts and heat vision. She's not playing around now. She knows that Burnadeth is tough, very tough, so she doesn't hold back. They came to Earth to destroy and murder, so she hardly deserves mercy. Laurel will keep it up until one or the other of them is disabled or unconscious. There's not a lot of room but there doesn't need to be.

Doctor Doom has posed:
    For his part, Doom is knocked back, a visible dent in his armor as he is dropped to one knee from the impact. Rising to his feet, he doesn't react when Lashina's whip connects, surging electrical power into his armor...

    Which, Doom might not mind, as the armor capacitors absorb and redirect the energy, >> POWER LEVELS 280%. <<

    Doom then smiles, "My thanks for the power boost." Taking that captured power, he then uses all that excess energy into a massive blast from his gauntlets, aimed right at the telekinetically-held Mad Harriet. Hoping to take her out of the fight, and possibly out of this realm of existence. Either way would be fine with him, at this point.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Temporarily, at least, Terra is left alone on her perch, her eyes flicking between the more mobile or more ranged heroes and villains as the last of the plummeting stones slam into the shield. Undaunted, she glances to either side of where the Furies are, then checks where Earth's defenders are. She narrows her eyes as the ground rumbles again as Stompa slams her boots down to create her earthwake fissure. Even after the initial shock passes, however, the shaking doesn't stop, as Terra flattens her hands horizontally.

    The large fissure suddenly expands rapidly back towards Stompa, breaking apart to let her plummet down, as the ground...collapses with a thunderous roar of rock and asphalt breaking, forming a bowl-shaped sinkhole, a rounded inverted cone of a pit, that rapidly expands, the ground crumbling the Furies still on the ground as it attempts to swallow them, and send them all rolling towards the center along the steep sides.

    The only places that don't crumble are where Doom stands, as he's suddenly left on his own little spire of rock to look down on all the mere mortals nearby, though the ground does crumble slightly slower under the others, giving them time to take to th air where they'll have an advantage over those too slow to get out of the sinkhole in time.

Magneto has posed:
As his onslaught yields some measure of positive results, Magneto smoothly descends to be in better range of vision of the battle-- for his own benefit, despite the associated risks. Rocks and shrapnel blasted his way are deflected en masse with a wave of his hand and a crackle of his redoubled shielding, and as he senses that massive surge of electricity... the Master of Magnetism smiles.

Flexing fingers reach out to the massively charged whip, beckon it to heed his call, and amplifies its output in renewed fashion... against Lashina herself. in a brilliant flare of wildly luminescent power that dwarfs even the weapon's normal output, amplifying at Lensherr's command, the weapon lashes (see what we did there?) back at its user like a lightning bolt. The mutant commands the fury of storms and they heed him; generates power enough to fuel a city through his own might. And now, he seeks to deal the Fury a rather ironic injury. Or worse.
.

Hellion has posed:
Julian keeps his scowl while he keeps ahold of Mad Harriet, though her reaction to his actions garners a little bit of a shudder. That visceral popping just is harrowing. "We all gotta die sometime." He responds to the fury.

     He continues to keep a hold on the Mad one, while he flies towards her, a telekinetically enhanced haymaker reaching itself for her. Short of attempting to rip someone in two,

Cassandra Cain (1129) has posed:
    Bernadeth -is- tough. And Laurel, perhaps, is just a bit tougher. The two trade a few blows, back and forth, but Laurel is clearly getting the better of Bernadeth, early on in their rubble-encased crater. And, as Atlee creates her own entrenchment to trap the Furies further, they're further buried, now - though, quite unintentionally. Still, the shifting ground and the very basic, if not very effective attack on Bernadeth does seem to have a price.

    Mad Harriet get roasted by Doom's Guantlets. And what would have fried a normal woman and turned her body to literal ash only blackens Mad Harriet's skin, fries her hair, rips holes in her clothes after burning them asunder. The Mad One goes inert, for the present. She is either playing possum, or truly extinguished. Hard to say.

    As the Furies tumble, Wunda creates a 'light slide' of sorts. The slide with the momentum Atlee gave them, then, her and Stompa both, and Stompa turns to create a shockwave in the midst of her slide to propel Wunda fast, and furiously forwards, towards Atlee. She throws several light-blasts towards the makeshift rock-shields, until all of them are spent, even as she herself flies into Atlee, hard, foot first into Atlee's face. A light-javelin appears in her hand, and she skewers Atlee's side with it, even as the Strattan goes down. "This," Wunda hisses, "Is our home now," finally in response to Atlee's earlier statement of demand.

    As Stompa moves into her own realm, she surveys what's going on. She sees that they're losing. Again. That Bernadeth is still buried. And, being buried cannot use her faren-knives. That Harriet is getting Haymakered by Julian, and seemingly out of the picture, by all accounts. That Lashina is screaming, as her own ship betrays her to Magento's will. That she, and Wunda are the only two up, presently. She has to buy them time. She turns, and she begins to slam her foot down, turning a few degrees, slamming it down again. And again. And again. Every second. Until, there are six or seven earthquakes radiating out from her massive bootworks, and a sea of them spreading towards the outreaches of Metropolis. Buildings will fall. Shatter. And, people may get hurt - those evac crews, emergency services, the poor and unwilling to leave.

Doctor Doom has posed:
    Seeing Stompa starting to cause earthquakes, Doctor Doom glances up at Magneto, "Quickly! Stabilize what you can, Magneto." He launches into the air, then lands down behind Wunda as she gloats over Atlee. Calmly, he grabs Wunda by the back of the neck, "This is not your world. This is your prison." And with that, he whispers that Darkforce incantation again, just channeling the darkness //directly// into the light-user to try and incapacitate her for good. Or worse. Doom's patience is nearly exhausted at this point.

    That said, he does look at Atlee, "Can you counteract what that large one is doing with the tremors? If so, do it quickly before it's too late."

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Terra requires focus to move earth on this level...and she isn't ready when the slide carries Wunda and Stompa right back out of the pit, her shields spinning in front of her to try and blunt the oncoming attack...but it's just rock. And she's just flesh, as Wunda's boot slams into her face, knocking her flying off her pillar to fall spinning towards the ground, as the Fury rides her down, the two creating a new crater as they hit with a *CRUNCH* of asphalt giving.

    Then the javelin comes down.

    There's a wet *SHUNK* sound as Terra's violet eyes go wide as the spear punches into her upper body just above her costume through her breast. The girl makes a gurgling noise, then a loud groan as Doom hits Wunda from behind, the spear jerking free as she's hit from behind.

    She coughs, then her eyes flick to Doom as he speaks, her lips working as she makes a wet, wheezing noise, trying and failing to speak. Instead, she coughs up a bit of red, before closing her eyes and concentrating.

    Her fingers curl against the ground, knuckles whitening as she reaches out, trying to focus as the ground shakes and building sway, reaching out into the earth under her.

    And holds as the earthquakes vibrate through the ground, holding it together...small fissures forming, and some windows shivering, a facade of an older building starting to crumble...

    But she holds. And keeps holding, her chest trying to work in hitching, sucking gasps for air.

    And the earthquakes slow....then stop. The buildings sway, but still. The worst of the fissures seal...raggedly, but they seal.

    Atlee's eyes open as she stars up at Doom as her lips twist in a faint, quiet smile of triumph.

    Before her eyelids flutter, then she goes limp, her head tilting to the side, her breathing labored as a shimmering pool of red slowly starts to spread around her.

Magneto has posed:
As that resounding circumference of shattered city and reverberating destruction rages outwards, Magneto needs no direction to do what must be done. Already, a sphere like the one shimmering about him crackles to nigh-instantaneous life around the whole of the battlefield, the air distorting wildly as a massive confluence of magnetic power surges to oppositional life in a brilliant, formidable wall.

What could have been a city-destroying blow rocks instead into a nigh-impregnable barrier-- and in short order, proves it pregnable. The wall of force wavers, buckles, explodes outwards... but it's done its job, absorbing the bulk of the impacts in a moment of intense strain, beads of sweat forming on the Master of Magnetism's face, largely hidden by the iconic Corinthian helmed shrouding his head.

The buildings nearest the impacts rumble, shake-- and then steady, their framework becoming uncannily resilient. Untold numbers of lives, uncountable value of property, invaluable morale is saved in that instant, that instinctual act of protection. Will they thank him for it? Lensherr rather doubts it.

Hellion has posed:
Julian releases Harriet from the hold, satisfied for now that he's done a good job on her, along with what Doom had done to her as well. The telekinetic seems satisfied with himself, crossing his arms while keeping in the air.

     Once the earthquakes reach out, the telekinetic takes to the epicenter of the quakes, Stompa. He reaches back out with his hands, attempting to keep her off the ground, keeping her from doing any more earthquakes, hopefully.

Cassandra Cain (1129) has posed:
    Wunda is grabbed by the neck by the teleporting Doom, unexpectedly before she can finish off Atlee. Still, the damage -is- done. Or, some is. And, as the darkforce begins to crawl into her skin, Doom's magic and Wunda's light powers wrestle for control. Light, afterall, does not always beat darkness. Nor the other way around.
    She reaches back, grabbing the hand of Doom that is on her back, grasping at the wrists. She begins not only to crush that armored gauntlet, and wrist with her New God Strength with her right hand, but with her left, creating another javelin which she thrusts back towards the midsection of Doom, repeatedly, and hard, to get him to release her. His armor might protect him, it might even absorb some of that light-power, but it's going to -hurt-, and crinkle and crush more of that armor, in the effort.

    Lashina collapses. She might've withstood, or gotten back up, before yesterday. Before she took Aquaman's trident in the gut, impaling her. But the combination of her as-of-yet not fully healed wound and the supercharged electrotherapy has her unconscious. As unconscious as Bernadeth is, now, no longer capable of trading blow-for-blow with Laurel. And, as unconscious as Mad Harriet is.

    The defenders are proving more resilient than even what the Furies had assessed they would be, with the new might of new heroes, untested by them, and after their injuries. And Stompa, lifted in the air, twists her face as she recognizes this. Removed from the ground, held in suspension, she is a 'sitting duck', as it were. But she is going to take a beating, before she goes down. And maybe give one back? Hard to say.

    With the dual efforts of Magneto, and Atlee, however, the city is indeed safe from Stompa's multi-faceted attack to rend Metropolis to its knees.

Andromeda has posed:
    Chunks of rubble fly out of a crater and a moment later a battered hand reaches over the lip of the hole. Another follows soon after and then a mass of blonde hair, matted with persperation and concrete dust.

    Laurel pulls herself up and out of the pit, then collapses on the deck. She rolls over on her back, basking in what's left of the sunlight. Her costume is a mess - shredded in places, her cape full of holes.

    "I have a headache." she moans. "I hope there aren't many more like her lurking wherever she comes from."

Doctor Doom has posed:
    Doom is nothing if not persistent, even as the armor is dented between Wunda's light-javelin and her clutching at his wrist. However, his armor starts giving him structural integrity warnings as between Mad Harriet and this, he's taken some serious damage. With that, he flings Wunda away with the full strength that his powered armor allows. With that, he fires another energy bolt at Wunda, using his other hand to shoot as he does seem to favor the hand that Wunda was attempting to crush.

    He then passes a glance towards Laurel, "Regrettably, there's still two that are still somewhat functional... though we are working to remedy that situation." He glances meaningfully towards the suspended Stompa, seeming to smile beneath his armor.

Magneto has posed:
Magneto sees the clever opportunity Julian has yielded them, and he capitalizes upon it. Once more, Lashina's whip crackles to life-- but it is not the Fury who wields it.

Instead, the weapon, electrified by its own potential and then well beyond it, whirls through the air as if of its on accord, as the Master of Magnetism seeks to wrap the implement about Stompa's face and neck several times, at alarming velocity that would shear a normal being more than in twain; it would be like putting someone's head through a paper shredder.

But then, these New Gods aren't quite on that 'well beyond decapitation' threshhold, are they? Even so, Lensherr gives it a solid try-- and follows up that initial onslaught with a precision volley of rebar and piping, rock and girder.

Cassandra Cain (1129) has posed:
    Stompa is propped and prepped for Magneto's combination attack of electrified steel whips, girders, and other debris smack into the giantess of a New God, and - after some struggle, and effort, send her into unconsciousness as well. Their bodies lie either buried, or over open ground much changed after the alterations of Atlee, and the war of Stompa's efforts versus the wounded Strattan champion of justice.

    Wunda is blasted, much as Mad Harriet was, but with not quite as much force. Still, the darkforce energies have done their work, as did Doom's grasp on the back of her neck, and she, too, collapses in a mass of flesh and clothing, burnt, singed, much like the motionless Mad Harriet.

    The defenders seem to have won, for the time being. The city will not fall. Today. The Hall of Justice remains. Doom's armor is wrecked. Atlee is bloodied, and savagely wounded. And Magneto felt the power behind the fists. But nobody, yet, has faced Darkseid. Or his generals.

    ... War. War never changes. It is the same, regardless of who fights. And where it is fought. But one thing is certain. Presently, those forces of Earth aligned have kept the invaders at bay, but the war is escalating. Rapidly.