The Bird To The Serpent

Andrew Pettiglio. The man who had lost everything. Sitting in The Talons HQ, he looked over the New York City skyline with a bottle in hand. Sure drinking wasn't the greatest habit to fall into when depression wraps it's ugly talons into you, and drags you off like a worm.
He didn't care. He encountered the hero Pain a few times in his career, and the last time Brock told him alcohol "makes the grey sky blue." Clutching the bottle and swallowing more, the rainy city didn't show any color. He had lost to Rise, he had lost the love of his life, frankly Andrew had lost himself. He wanted to get strong. No, he wanted to become indestructible. He never wanted to hurt again. Life is not black jack, and it does not deal aces. There is a certain level of unfairness that we all tend to just accept as it's very opposite. After becoming desensitized to things not going your way, human beings find solace in accepting that as fair. Human beings had difficulty pushing that boundary. There was one person Andrew needed to see. She could remove that threshold. She would mold him into a stronger warrior. Even super heroes had dark desires. The white knight possessed shade inside his heart. He had spent his life drowning his own demons by exercising others'. Today his demons would swim.

Polishing off a bottle he clutched his hand around it's base and let ice crawl its way around the bottle. Almost slithering up the glass. Once the entire bottle was enveloped in his frozen casing he squeezed and shattered it into pieces.
"Another one down."
Walking towards the computer he felt his face warming, the booze was behaving today.
"System. Set coordinates to the outskirts of Las Vegas."
The hero wasn't wearing a costume today. A pair of tight black jeans, a grey plain t-shirt, a black hoodie, and grey boots.
Where he was going heroes weren't welcomed especially him. No where he was going was a world he never thought he'd go to.

Grabbing a hold of the dog tags , he pressed the button and his body vanished.
A wind swept through the alley he materialized in. There was one homeless man that sat there in awe.
Andrew put his dog tags back in his shirt, and put his hood up.
Keeping his head low, he made his way to a location he had been investigating. The apparent hideout of a certain evil genius.
"Too late to turn back."

As he walked into the small cave like structure he noticed it was much bigger on the inside.
"How does she pull these things off?" he wondered stepping into his newest mistake.
As fast as he entered, 10 identical clones spoke in unison.
"Leave now or face execution."
Andrew cocked his head to the side, they were holding heavy machine guns.
Something about them seemed automaton like.
Creating a katana of ice, he pointed one finger at a clone.
"Bang"

A tiny piece of ice came flying out of his pointer finger into the leg of the watch dog.
Looking at the wound, no blood seemed to be escaping.
"You failed" a voice played in his head.
"Shut up!" he yelled out.
He dashed at the guards as they began firing a barrage of bullets at the hooded man,
Slashing his blade, two of their heads rolled off.
"You think you're gunna kill me too!" he screamed with nothing but hate in his voice.
The room seemed to shake when he released those words.
His eyes had fire in them. His heart had nothing but pain and emptiness.
The remaining 8 tried to run deeper in to the cave.
"Oh no you do not."

Raising his palm up, he froze all them men where they stood.
"You think you can escape!"
They were lifeless. One of their heads were sticking out and he was screaming.
"Don't kill us. She made us!"
Andrew walked slowly walked towards the only one not completely frozen.
"You expect me to believe you? You spoke in unison. You know who does that? Robots. You know what I do to robots that try and kill me? I break my rule. Guess what that means for you?"

Andrew took a step back and created a large block ice above the men.
"Mess with a broken man, and you shall join him."
Snapping his fingers the ice fixture collapsed and smashed the men into pieces.

He continued walking down the hallway, swinging his ice blade like a gentleman would a cane.
He reached the main foyer and there stood his target.
She almost showed signs of surprise.
"Teach me."
He removed his hood, and got down on one knee.
"Train me to never lose anything again, Vexus."

Elena Vexus, the woman who had experienced everything. She sat comfortably poolside, looking out from the roof of her hotel on the coast line of Ibiza with a martini in hand. She had not a care in the world. This was her way of celebrating a successful Rise mission. Granted, there were now more threats to her lifestyle popping up almost every other day, but this was a time to relax. She would deal with such issues at a later date. With the victory of Rise and the traumatic death of her nemesis Phoenix Elena had not a worry on her mind.
"I'll have another Cosmo please, dear." she waved to the server walking about.
This was the life. She could so easily run away from reality and just stay in this paradises that lined the oceans of the world. There was nothing holding her down in the states. Yes, Rise is a large concern, however they are perfectly fine without her. They have plenty of powerhouses and strategists through the organization that could do her part. The server brought back her fruity pink drink on a silver tray. Lifting it slowly, she took a long sip. Leaving back on her lounge chair she let out a sigh of content. The sun was warm, the drinks were strong, life was good.

Or was it?

Only a couple sips into her Cosmo the same cabana boy brought to her a cell phone on a platter.
"General, this had better be good..."
"Yes, madame. You Las Vegas location seems to be under siege."
Elena immediately sat up in her lounge chair and explained.
"What!? By who!?"
The man's identity is currently unknown. His face is concealed by a hood. His abilities are not registering in any of our databases. There are no suspected Meta's with level of Cryoke---." he was cut off by Elena
"Ice?! I'm well aware of all ice manipulators. NONE of them have ability to penetrate my defenses. Do not hold back. Eliminate this threat immediately.
"Yes ma'm."

Vexus knocked back the rest of her drink and snapped her finger for another one as she wet to her room to change. This was a pressing matter. Someone who managed to push through most of her defenses at one of her heavily guarded facilities. She threw on a knit-mesh Balmain dress and activated her Celestial Eye. Slipping on her sunglasses Elena marched back outside to the pool, grabbed her drink off the server's platter, slammed it back in a single swig, threw the martini glass in the pool, and continued out towards the edge of the roof top, her gladiator sandal heels clicking with each dramatic step.
"Initiate the hologram. I'm on my way..." Elena said into her phone as she took a sip of the cosmo, and walked straight off the roof. Groups of people rushed with screams to see her hit the pavement, but there was no sign of her. Vexus had dematerialized herself into Technomatter and was racing across the world back to her laboratory. This was the last thing she was expecting. She had not packed a teleport in order to get her back to a location in case of an emergency. This would take a much longer than she wanted to...


It had taken her already thirty minutes before she had even reached the East Coast. There was a program that would step in her place and stall before she arrived.

The voice of the man spoke.

"Teach me."
...That voice...!?
He removed his hood and the hologram of Vexu's eyes widened.
"Teach me to never lose anything again, Vexus."

The hologram stood from the throne like seat it sat upon and began walking closer to Phoenix. It was being operated by her General offsite, which made the reaction more genuine rather than computer generated. He spoke through a voice modulator, and the sounds of her heels clicked against the floor were flawlessly recreated.

15 Minutes.

"Phoenix... This is quite unexpected... she stopped quite a distance away from him.
"You, of all people, barging in here, destroying my artificial bodies, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and then having the audacity to ask me to train you!?"
She place her hands around her back as she began to pace in a large circle around him.
"Have you not considered the YEARS of inconvenience you have posed to me? Was being killed in action by Lucius' hands not insult enough?!"
The hologram flickered out, as with the rest of the lights in the room. Despite being underground and completely surrounded by cement, a violent wind picked up inside. The monitor screens turned to static, eerily lighting the area. Technomatter began to swirl around with the wind and slowly close in on Phoenix. Through the whirlwind the faint pink glee of her Celestial Eye came into view. The Technomatter would attempt to force him to his feet, and the raise his body slightly above the ground, restraining his arms, and legs. Vexus' hand began to materialize from the torrent of Technomatter tearing through the air. She began to slowly reach for his neck.
"How DARE you... I should put you back in that shallow grave you decided to drag yourself out of..."
Her finger tips would just barely graze the boy's neck, and if he blinked in the next instant he would have missed it.

Everything stopped. The lights returned. The strange wind subsided.The Technomatter vanished. Phoenix would be put back down on his knees. Vexus was sitting on her throne-like desk chair, glaring at him with such a look could tear the siding off a battle tank. There was a long pause before she stood up to approach him again.

"...However I am not going to do that. Not today, at least... Such a quick death for you would not give me nearly enough enjoyment."
Her heels continued to click across the floor with an eerie sense of superiority.
"Training you, Phoenix, doing as you ask me to do, is something I cannot do. This is going to be torture... No brazen bull, or water boarding, or being buried alive. Far, far worse.- Vexus now was nearing the fallen hero.
-I've been around for nearly 130 years, child. You think you have experienced pain? Despair? Pitiful. If you manage to crawl through this with any bits of your sanity still attached, then, and only then, I might be able to consider you as an equal..."

Standing in front of this broken man, she held out her hand...[/b]

Andrew lifted his head slightly while the hologram spoke.
"Don't call me that." he screamed over her.
"I am not The Phoenix anymore."
He lowered his head once more.

A slight menacing crawled across his lips when she mentioned he destroyed her work. What was this sweeping over him? This ruthlessness. This darkness? It was wrapping around his mind and kissing his forehead. Letting him know it was there for him. He couldn't feel his fire anymore.

The room went dark.
"Here come some theatrics." he thought without moving an inch.
the technomatter filled the room, and wrapped around him.
Lifting the man off his feet, he stared straight ahead. She wasn't going to kill him, not here, not now. He knew this, he knew how smart she was. Trying a fight right now wouldn't be fruitful for either of them. Especially in this near flaccid state he dangled.
It wouldn't satisfy her ego. His either.

He felt a finger brush his neck. It sent chills down his spine, and he liked it. Another grin danced outwards from his lips.

She let him back down, and he raised to his feet. "Oh Vexus."
Ice began to coat the entire room. "I'm desensitized to despair at this point. I NEVER want to lose again. If that means torture, if that means agony, if that means I must become the very monsters I'm swearing to defeat then so be it."

His eyes weren't their usual bright brown, they were duller. More empty.
He waked slowly towards Vexus.
"I will never lose a loved one again."
Getting down on one knee, he took her hand, and places his other over the top.
"I accept."

Elena glanced around the room as the walls were coated with a thick frost.
[color:742c=#pink]Interesting... she thought. He expressed how he never wanted to lose again. Understandable considering the mayhem he had just endured, be though as it may, still an impossible dream. Losing a battle, or a loved one. It will always happen. Death is inevitable. Nevertheless, he still wished to follow her guidance. She allowed her hand to slip from between his hands as she walked back to her chair. Tehnomatter began to eat away at the ice at the walls.
"So glad to hear that you are willing to commit wholeheartedly. However you must lose just one more time... You are going to have to lose yourself. Not in the sense of how one losses themselves in a good book, but reinvent yourself. I care not what you call yourself currently. You will earn a new title once you have completely disowned yourself as Phoenix."
This was still completely unexpected. It would not be immediately easy to break him, but it would be done.

Elena sat down in her chair and snapped her fingers. With a loss crash, her mechanical bodyguard appeared in front of her. He removed his cloak and engaged all four of his arms. There was one sword in each hand, blades composed of supertechnomatter. An experimental body brought a glad of wine over to Elena as she crossed her legs.
"No abilities." she said as she took a sip of the dark red liquid. She raised her index finger and a highly condensed, five layer lighting spell formed just above her finger nail.
"Any use of ice or flames will result in the painful removal of a large section of your body. and be careful of the speed of yours as well..." she had another slow sip of wine.
"Some-what nonlethal..." she followed with casually.

The General began to spin the top two of his blades while keeping the bottom two separate and steady. Once in range he would strike at Pheonix's feet before slicing in a right diagonal, followed by a left. Elena's Bodyguard would continue to aim lethal strikes at the boy while adequately dodging any attacks. The goal was of him to retaliate and damage the robot despite his enhanced armor and incredibly deadly weapons. Elena would intervene if either of them sustained enough damage for her to be satisfied.
She wanted to see how he would work in a cornered situation. Eventually she would start implementing different obstacles if he continued to succeed against her General. Elena sipped her wine again as she watched the battle continue. This was a new opportunity. Being able to study her emery so closely was rare. Even more so that she was now able to mold him as she sees fit. Change would come.

"I've already rid that name. The Phoenix was a hero, and icon. He was a man of nothing but nobility and respect for life. I'm just Andrew Pettiglio today, Elena. Andrew Pettiglio wants nothing more than as much power as he can achieve. For your help, you get one free pass from me in the future. However, I have to make it look good."

She sipped her wine so elegantly. It's not everyday you see a goddess enjoy a beverage on a throne.
"I'll be strong like her." he thought as the general made his way towards Andrew.

"No abilities eh? Fair enough."
He let the sword in his had disintegrate into nothing.
"No worries about the fire Vex, I don't feel it anymore."

The general meant business. He seemed calculated, yet chaotic.
"Those top two hands are probably just to keep me at a distance while the bottom two carve me up."

He dodged the first strike by hopping backwards like boxer would in a ring, switching his dominant foot forward. Pieces of the floor were broken up, and a smile appeared on the face of Andrew.

The next slash made the man drop all the way to floor, before rolling a few times to dodge oncoming attacks. As he was rolling he grabbed a few sharp shards of the glass.
Pulling the hoodie off himself, he through it at the face of the general, followed up by throwing 3 of the 5 pieces he gathered directly afterwards in the area of the robot's face. Incredible force went behind their trajectory.

Doing a double back handspring, Andrew kicked the floor on his landing and created more weapons.
This time the chunk was large.
Grabbing the dagger looking object, he rushed at the robot, and threw it with force at the stomach of the machine.

He rolled after he tossed, tumbling under any oncoming attacks.
"That's got to have done something." he thought standing back up in his fighting position.

The child was doing well to avoid her guard's attacks for the time being. As expected, his resourcefulness shone through as he utilized the surrounding debris in order to fight back. Grabbing some shards of glass, he threw a few at the general who managed to narrowly avoid them. He clocked their speed and force that they were moving at, noting that being hit by anything throw at him would cause this experiment to cease.
He began to put more distance between the two of them, which the General made effort to close as quickly as possible. Noticing Andrew break up more of the floor, he proceeded with caution. The four blades flared out, ready to strike down Andrew once in range. The ex-hero threw a large dagger like object at the bodyguard at very impressive speeds. Vexus' eyes looked upon the situation for the first time to see if her creation would manage to avoid it. While still moving forward, the cyborg jumped slightly making his body parallel with the ground. His body twisted  clockwise very rapidly, slicing apart the projectile and continuing to attack Andrew. If he managed to dodge the drill like attack, the General would regain his footing facing backwards and looking over his shoulder would continue to aim lethal strikes at Phoenix. His body would mechanically reposition itself to face his opponent, towering over him at an looming seven feet. He would make sure to remain at such a close distance that Andrew would not have the opportunity to grab for any more makeshift weapons. Keeping things in such close quarters would drastically reduce the time he has to react.
Vexus wanted him to resort to using his abilities to defend himself.

If the boy was unable to pass her tests in such a simple combat exercise, she would leave him immediately. Despite their previous encounters, she was confident in his abilities. He had displayed them on a multitude of occasions. If things were not settled soon between her and her bodyguard, she would move on in his 'conditioning'...