3809/The Price of Victory

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The Price of Victory
Date of Scene: 05 February 2018
Location: LV-1024 - Deep Space
Synopsis: Vicky gets a real taste of her new master's true nature.
Cast of Characters: Mon-El, Ares, Redstar




Mon-El has posed:
    Lar Gand was out exploring deep space just beyond the outer rim of the Sol system, you know--just to take one of the Legion's vessels for a joyride. Quite a few neat little bells and whistles of some of them, thanks to all of Brainiac's tinkering. At least, joyriding was what he -meant- to be doing, originally. Because he really ought to be staying out of the 'heroing' business, especially given all the problems he's caused lately due to his missing memories.

    But... when that panicked transmission from the nearby planet LV-1024 at least according to the Legion's records, he couldn't help but investigate and find out it was coming from some primitive pre-space natives begging for help because their government was insisting on going to war against a force of invading Khunds...whom they really had no chance against.

    Lar figured this was probably a bad idea, but he couldn't just let the Khunds obliterate these people! So what does he do? He goes after all their weapons! Ship's guns, handheld guns, cannons, melee weapons, even simple knives. And not just the invaders, but the natives too. All of them! It's a lot of work, but it's doable, for someone as fast and strong as a Daxamite juiced up on yellow star radiation.

    With all the currently used weaponry destroyed or otherwise disabled, now he just has to go after the Khunds' only arsenal planetside--the one at the heart of their forward base. He expects they'll all be headed there, since that's their last repository--and he needs to get there before they do! Oddly enough though, upon arriving he finds the entire force gathered but they are still unarmed and haven't started accessing their own vault yet.

    One of them, likely the leader of this particular operation, steps forward and points angrily at him as he floats a few feet above them. "You! Daxamite!" he shouts. "You think that simply disarming us will prevent us from -taking- this planet? You're a fool. Face us like a real warrior, or we'll slaughter those pathetic primitives--weapons or no weapons!"

    Lar stares at the lot of them as he descends to the ground. There has to be at least a few hundred here. Could he take them all on at once like this? "Look, I don't want to hurt anyone. Leave this place, and it can stay that way."

Ares has posed:
Ares was training Vicky in his godly realm of the Areopagus. the world itself harsh and unforgiving, but paradise to the God of War himself. It was made in his image after all...he was War. Alas, he fed off of the battle between the Khunds and the primitives on the planet...then some Daxamite had to go and spoil the fun. He was already going to go just to see if he can feed off of the conflict..not just the conflict of their blades...but the conflict of their hearts. Alas, the fun is ruined...and that makes Ares a little unhappy.

As it stood, he'd been training Vicky for two days straight.

"Hmph. Seems like you will have a chance to show me what you've learned. He approaches Vicky then and puts a hand on her shoulder as his clothing was replaced with pure black armor that covered all of his body, minus his head. a black tattered cloak flowing from his shoulders that falls all the eway to the floor and then some. "Be ready."

and with only a thought, the two teleport to LV-1024...

In the middle of the battlefield. The arrival of the God of War would likely cause many to -feel- his divinity and otherwise cower...but he's a God of War in -many- cultures. after all...he's well traveled. Crimson red eyes fall upon Mon-El for a moment...

no words are spoken.

Redstar has posed:
Vicky has been battered, bruised, run ragged, and pushed past what she could have sworn her limit was. She had finally been allowed a few hours sleep and had woken to more excercise and training. The easy smiles were still in there, but she was serious now. Seriously tired, seriously ready to give some of what she had been getting.

Blue eyes lift from the massive creature she had just managed to take down as he spoke. Rising from her knees, still bloodied and dirty, she blinked and they were somewhere else. Not Areopagus, not Earth, and those were not people she had ever seen before. But they were people. And Mon-el.

~Oh great, that guy,~ Starr said sarcastically as Vicky's eyes fell on him. ~Careful, he hits you and it is going to hurt.~ Vicky's eyes narrow as she remembered the previous encounter. It hadn't been something she'd been particularly happy about.

"I've met him before, Master," Vicky says softly, her body tensed and ready, eyeing the Daxamite uncertainly.

Mon-El has posed:
    The Khundite commander glares at Lar, determination in his eyes. "-No.- We are Khunds. We fight, or we die. We -never- run. If you can truly battle all of us singlehandedly and still emerge victorious, then so be it, you'll have earned your triumph. But if you fail, we take this world and destroy the natives. There will be no peace. It's us, or it's them--your choice, Daxamite!"

    Lar's eyes widen, his frustration growing as he realizes that this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. Even if he destroys the weapons, they'll -still- fight, won't they? Then suddenly, Ares and Vicky just...-appear-. The Khunds turn to stare at the strange pair, and although they do not recognize Ares, there's just a strange...majesty about him that causes them to cower in fear and reverence.

    Lar also turns to stare, having no idea who Ares is but recognizing the girl he'd nearly killed earlier, and neither of them look happy to see him. -Great-. Instead, he narrows his eyes at her. "-You-." he says at the mutant. "'Master', huh? Look, I'm sorry about what happened in New York that one day--I promise you I didn't mean to hit that hard. But right now as you can see I'm a little bit busy. So why don't you and your 'master' go find something else to do and I'll get back to you like, tomorrow?"

Ares has posed:
Ares watches as the people start to cower before him...and rightly so. He keeps his yes on Lar then before Vicky pipes up that she knows him. "Oh? you do, do you? Perhaps this may be a good test for you." he smiles softly at the idea in amusement, before Lar starts acting arrogant. Then Ares takes a small breath.

"Vicky...be a dear and play support this time." he starts to rise to Lar's level then as he levitates into the air.

"Be careful of your words, boy. I would hate to remove the tongue of a daximite." he says as he grins softly. "But then again...I remember killing quite a few Daximites. What's one more to the collection?" he asks Mon-El then as he keeps his arms crossed. "Though I wonder if this one even begins to live up to their names." yes, he's intentionally trying to provoke him. He knew he was already on par with Mon-El. if he can stand toe to toe with Superman and win....

the conflict will only make him taht much stronger. "this should be entertaining at least."

Redstar has posed:
Vicky frowns at Mon-el as he mocks her and Ares, a fire that wasn't there before burning like hot embers behind her cool gaze. The idea of going one on one with Mon-El was not her idea of a good time. Especially since she was pretty sure he was resistant to her cold powers. "You have no ri-" She begins to speak when the Daxamite tells her to shove off, but stops as Ares speaks.

She bows her head at his words, "As you wish," She says before taking a few steps back and crossing her arms. "Now you went and stuck your foot in it," She tells Mon-El as she watches the god of war lift from the ground, shaking her head. "I'd apologize," She suggests helpfully.

~I have a feeling his ego might be bigger than mine,~ Starr purrs in amusement, attention rapt on the upcoming confrontation. Vicky snorts at the comment and glances at the aliens thoughtfully. ~Oi! I was watching them!~ Starr complains as her view is shifted with Vicky's.

Mon-El has posed:
    "Whoa whoa." Lar holds up his hands defensively as Ares starts to approach. "What's your problem, dude? I don't even know you. If you're mad about what I almost did to your little protege there...like I said I'm sorry. I really didn't -actually- want to kill her, just give her a little taste of her own medicine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an arsenal to destroy." He turns away and starts to fly toward the structure, aiming to punch right through the walls and use his thermal vision to set off every explosive thing in there at once. That is--unless someone gets in his way.

Ares has posed:
Ares doesnt even glance to Vicky as she submits to his wishes, but he notices Lar surrender from him, if only to destroy the arsenals of the battlefield. While Lar would fly towards the walls, he would hear a voice.

"Now, now...that won't do." and his fist is caught with someones hand. Solidly...and there is Ares, right in front of him, with an arm still crossed over his chest and a hand looking like he caught his fist effortlessly. "see, I was already going to lend the peasants a hand, if naught but to even the odds." if Ares was on the losing side...the losing side was going to win by a near-effortless amount. But suddenly....his other hand would make itself visible...with magic bursting to life in an attempt to blast Lar to the ground.

"....but it appears this got alot more interesting."

Redstar has posed:
Vicky takes a running leap. One of the things she'd been practicing the last few days. Her aim wasn't great yet, but it was better than it was. And the landings were easy with wings. Over the crowd of Khunds she soars, then glides, before coming to land well within helping distance of Mon-el and Ares.

~Nicely done. You're learning to show off. Look at them gape.~ Starr says with mild delight. Vicky turns and peers at the Khunds. The look of shock and awe for Ares, though a few look at her in fear too. Vicky's frown deepens as she sees the fear there, but turns away from it and back to the God she has given herself too. ~Never leave an enemy at your back.~ Starr's voice whispers and Vicky sighs.

As she turns back the weather turns bitter and cold. Though of little notice to Lars and Ares, the arctic conditions that suddenly sweep the army is ravaging. Men and women shivering in the bitter cold, many of them turning to flee what is likely to be the site of devastation. There are powers here even they don't want to mess with. And Victoria Jones is the least of them.

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar is almost shocked when he finds that Ares has managed to stop him. There are few people in this galaxy who can actually do that without using magic or telepathy or some other mind trick. Then the blast hits, and he is knocked to the ground, creating a small crater in it. Getting back up, he dusts himself off. "Even the odds? For what, so that they can wipe each other out? Is that what you want? Not on my -life-." He rises into the air and bolts at Ares full speed, sonic boom causing atmosphere around him to pop with the shockwave that is generated. If he hits and keeps going for long enough, they'll both smash into the outer wall of the arsenal.

    Meanwhile, the Khunds seem to snap out of their enraptured state when they heard that Ares had been planning on -helping- the primitive savages! That definitely didn't win any brownie points with them. And when Vicky starts blasting them with cold, that doesn't win any points, either. Despite the lack of weapons, these guys are pretty strong and resilient--given they are cyborgs. They start to charge at her and attempt to engage her in hand-to-hand, which they are quite skilled at given their military training.

Ares has posed:
Ares watches Lar fly straight into the ground...though it looks like his plan worked. Conflict and bloodlust arose in all of their hearts....and it only serves as a form of worship to Ares....and as such, he becomes more powerful as time goes on. "hm.....there we are." he looks to Vicky then, smiling. "Show me what you've learned." he looks to the opposing forces then before returning his attention to Lar...throwing his own punch to meet Mon-El's. the shockwave that happens would be enough to wipe out a small village without a trace, but Ares barely budges from the blow itself. He starts to smile a wicked smile as he throws a flurry of powerful blows at Mon-El! using eons of experience to try and outfight the man with a knee aimed for his gut and an elbow aimed for his temple!

the battle begins....

Redstar has posed:
Vicky narrows her eyes as the Khunds begin to find their anger despite the cold. ~Now what are you going to do?~ That infuriating voice purrs. That same voice has been a source of fuel the last two days. Her hands ball into fists and she cracks her knuckles as the cyborgs advance on her.

"You get one chance to leave. I do not want to kill you," Vicky says to the advancing Khunds. There was still that part that hadn't been worked out yet. The part that couldn't quite take a human, or even humanoid, life yet. She'd beaten several unconscious, sure, but even that had left her quite and reflective.

When they don't listen she gives a small leap, rising into the air some twenty feet over their heads. She sighs as the cold deepends, going into the negatives. And the first line of Khunds find not only the environment attacking them, but their own bodies as well. Ten Khunds fall as their body temperatures drop despite their internal systems. "I warned you," She says and swallows the lump in her throat.

As the boom rocks through the air and Ares and Lars begin in earnest Vicky dives, wings extended far, straight at a cluster of Khunds. As she hits them her wings catch many of them across the shoulders, necks, and helmets, throwing them to the ground. Two are unlucky enough to have the spars on her wings pierce and rip through a shoulder, the other his arm.

~Yes!~ This is the reason she has only helped and encouraged, in her way that is, the events of the last few days. As blood splatters across Vicky's face from the shoulder wound. It just adds to the grime already covering her.

(You may take pleasure in this, but I do not.) Another achievement of the last few days. Vicky is able to think and speak quietly with Starr, without it ruining her concentration. Another ten men fall as their internal temperatures drop into the 80s.

Mon-El has posed:
    The shockwave that results from Ares's counter to Lar's charge is indeed massive. Even bigger than the one the Daxamite generated earlier just from the sheer speed. It radiates out from the pair, smashing into the arsenal and causing the top of it to crack. Large portions of the top of the structure near the two powerful beings start to crumble and fall away, tumbling down toward the ground where Vicky is fighting the Khunds.

    Speaking of which...yes, she managed to kill many of them. Although there are still at least a couple hundred left. Despite the impending danger from the falling debris and their fallen comrades, they don't seem to let up. One of them comes up behind her and puts her in a headlock while another picks up a sharp piece of debris that has fallen from the weapons repository and hurls it at her like a spear. Still a third attempts to grab her leg and pull her to the ground as if attempting to prevent her from escaping. She really needs to get away from this avalanche of falling building!

    Meanwhile, Lar throws up an arm to block the elbow but takes a knee to the gut. This time though, he's more prepared to take the hit. He darts a short distance away--into the crumbling arsenal through the massive hole they'd just made, then lets loose with a full intensity blast of thermal vision at Ares.

Ares has posed:
Ares sees Vicky having trouble in the instance that Mon-El briefly retreats to get some distance. Thus does he lend a hand...as suddenly a circle;s worth of blades come down to strike at her attackers for lethal intent. Juuuuuust to give her a little room to operate whilst giving her some toys to play with.

Theeen his attention is on Lar, taking the full bront of the thermal vision and seemingly flying straight into a wall. leaving a full crater in it...only for when the dust clears? Ares is sitting there as if he were in a throne. physically unharmed...gods damn invulnerability...

"hm...that tickled." he smiles softly to Lar as he stands up, cracking his neck. "let's have some fun!" and a mace appears in Ares's hand...the head of the mace itself brimming to life with a powerful magic energy as he charges at Mon-El, appearing in front of him in less than a second with a full swing aimed for his face to knock him back to the ground....hopefully in the middle of that Khund Army.

Redstar has posed:
Vicky snarls as she is swarmed by the Khunds. The men grabbing her finding their bodies unresponsive as deathly cold grips their bodies. Instead of kicking them off one by one she hunkers down. They pile on only to discover just why she did so. An explosive leap and flare of wings throws men around her even as the blades fall.

Wings beating she arrows out from the falling debris to safety with ease, snagging a blade as it falls past with one hand. She arcs over them, high above, her gaze hard and cold. Inside her stomach turned as she saw bodies below. Bodies she had made. (They would have killed me.) O o Vicky steals herself with that thought, before diving on the army again.

Soldies are bowled over, sent flying dozens of feet in direction as she dives into their midst. Wings flaring, throwing people back like a second set of large and dangerous arms. The blade slashes out, more a deterrent to them getting close than to injure. Instead she uses brute strength and the ever present cold. Ten people drop every couple of seconds as her mind flicks from small group to small group, sending their internal temperatures to hypothermic levels.

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar watches with a degree of satisfaction when Ares takes the blast to the face and goes flying into the already damaged walls. Of course, he doesn't seem to have so much as a scratch. Not that it surprises the Daxamite. It wouldn't have scratched him, either. Well it's a good thing he's not too conerned about scratching this guy. It's the arsenl he wants gone, and he's already halfway there as it is.

    During the brief reprieve from sending his opponent flying, he zips over to a vault full of explosives similar to C4 and rips the door off. Score. If he sets one of these things off, -one-, it should set off a chain reaction that will destroy the entire facility. And then Ares is coming at him with a glowing mace. The swing sends him into the back of vault, cracking the far wall. Ugh, -magic-. Why did it always have to be magic?! That might even bruise. He fires his thermal vision again--but this time not at Ares. Instead he aims for the explosives, and the fireworks begin. The entire structure nearly instantly turns into a blazing inferno while Lar zooms up, up and away, using the explosion as cover to get away from a fight he -really- didn't need.

    Vicky has cut the Khunds' number down a good bit by the time she gets into the air and the blades created by Ares come down. Though they still seem determined to fight. As she dives down the survivors rip the blades from their fallen comrade's bodies and start to hack and slash at her from every angle. The machinery in their bodies continue to attempt to push against her thermokinetic manipulation, but even so they really are just extremely stubborn!

    By the time the arsenal goes up in flames, she has finally snuffed out the life of the last Khundite soldier...the ground littered with the dead all around her. But now there's a bunch of hot explosive gas and debris coming flying her way. And a Lar Gand just ahead of them. But he doesn't attack her, instead he just attempts to throw her straight up into the air, hoping to get her out of the way of the explosion in time. She has wings, so he figures she can catch herself. "There, I saved you--are we even now?!" he asks.

Redstar has posed:
Vicky throws the last soldier from her. Scratches are already healing across her body, the blades having done some damage due to their magical nature. Yet she stands, breathing heavily, turning slowly about. The sound of the explosion makes the slow turn into a world. Surprise registers on her face as Mon-El is right THERE with an explosive cloud right behind him.

Through the air she arcs from his 'helpful' throw. Sure enough her wings snap out to control the unexpected launch. Twirling in the air and coming to hover she stares down at the devestation below, mouth slightly open, this vantage far worse that the ground. "Hells bells," She murmers as she shakes her head. The battle below is done, but her own inner turmoil is roiling.

The dust and concussive wave passes and she lands lightly among the dead, her face pale and drawn. Until her God calls her she moves among them, closing eyes, and silent tears making clear lines in the gore and dirt on her face.

Ares has posed:
Ares watches the arsenal go up in flames and he just laughs a moment then, his mace flickering out of existence before he looks at the Khund army....and saw that every single one of them were dead. In two days time...she had already improved that much? He might have a prodigy on his hands. descending down amidst the chaos without suffering any damage from that explosion whatsoever...he sees Lar apparently -attempt- to save Vicky.

So what does the god of war do now? He looks to the primatives..and simply smirks at them. They now had a God to worship. before he watches Lar and Vicky, curious as to what one may do to the other.

Seeing as how this ended peacefully (between Lar and Vicky, anyway), he allows her a moment of solace to toughen her heart. It's never wrong to mourn worthy opponents. Eventually, he calls to her with but a word. Her name. "Vicky." and that alone will be enough. A final glance to Lar with a small smile on his face before the God and his Disciple leave the area with but a 'voosh' of wind. Teleportation.