The Staff of Ra

The bright Earth sun beats down on the sand of the Eastern Desert as the hot currents of wind flow through the humid air. Footsteps are easily audible throughout the entire desert. Slightly to the right of the hill of sand, there are a dozen men are seen guarding a wooden crate. They are wearing white robes and have the mark of the thief on their faces. From the blue sky a man in grey colored armor appears before them. His skin is light blue, like the color of lightning, and is constantly moving, as if it had too. As the man floats down to where he is slightly above them, they abruptly stop and stand guard of the wooden crate.

“Stealing is only a crime if you are weak, old, or poor. Those who are rich do not steal according to your planet, they apprehend, they siege, they take what belongs to them. Call it what it want, but you are still committing the same act as one another. You are taking what you think belongs to you.You see, I do not plan on taking what I think belongs to me, I am taking what is my right.” Voltage says as the men all stare at him confused for a short second. As they finally catch up to what the Skadusian is saying they begin to burst into laughter. The one who seems to be the leader of the group steps towards him with a smile on his face.

“Listen, flying boy. You think that we don’t prepare ourselves for you meta-shithead scum bags who think just because you have powers that you are better than all of us normal thieves? You are nothing to us, and you aren’t taking an’thin from us, do you hear, ya balaw bialyd brik?"

“Too bad I no longer have testicles you sorry waste of a life. I know what you have in this wooden crate is of no use to me. I can feel the electricity in it. The thing is maybe worth one decent town whore, if even that. No, no, no, what I am on the search for, is a lot lighter than this little Ancient Egyptian trinket. It is the staff of Rha.” Voltage yells without a care to the world. “I have been traveling the Universe, going from planet to planet in search for this staff. Who knew all nine of the Skadusian ancient weapons were here.”

“The staff isn’t real. It be something we made up, just to sell a piece of wood for a quick fuck. You know how it is, don’t you? I’m sure before you got smoothed that you had plenty of women wherever you came from. Maybe I even found that same woman later in her life and shown her what a real man feels like.” The man says to Voltage with a smirk on his face. The self-proclaimed God loses his patience and drops down to the ground. The twelve men all attempt to stop him, but he manages to open the crate with his bare hands. The men all stumble back as the ground begins to shake. Inside of the crate is the staff head of Ra. Also in the crate is a battery for a Tank. Voltage stares at the battery, and quickly two bolts of lightning appear into his hands. He quickly tosses one up into the air and it shocks eleven out of the twelve men standing around him, leaving the leader standing unharmed.

“So, are you going to tell me another lie on how there is no staff of Ra? Or are you going to tell me where you have hidden the rest of the staff? You see, unlike these “metas” you may have been able to fight off, I am a product of my father. He thought he could create an obedient machine out of me. You remind me a lot of him. So here, before I kill you I will tell you a story. I was the youngest of my nine brothers, and so I was treated with more special treatment than the rest. My brother, Larvarrius was never made smooth, because he was exiled. Well, I fell in love. Something looked down on in my culture. So, when I came clean about it to my father, he made me prematurely smooth. And to top it all off he had his oldest son, Larvarrius fuck the love of my life just moments before my father would also have her executed. He turned me into what you see today. I never got to kill my father, but I gladly put a lightning rod in the back of my brother. Now, you will get the same fate he once did.” Voltage shouts as he cocks his arm back to stab the leader in the back with the lightning rod.

“Wait, please don’t!” The leader pleads. “I will tell you what countries they are located in. I swear it.” The leader says, with tears streaming down his face. “The base of the staff is located here in Egypt in the Great Sand Desert. The dagger of Anubis is located in Tokyo, Japan now. And the spear of Ptah is located in the United States somewhere. Now can I please go?”

“Let me think on it, no.” Voltage says as he stabs the leader with a lightning rod. “Now, there is no denying that the Leader of this fine organization heavily guarded the base of the staff. If I am to retrieve it, I will need more help than I’d like to admit. Especially at the state I’m in right now.”

In the midst of their globe-trotting, Alan and Aurora had found themselves in the desert lands of Egypt. A region with a rich history that was steeped in mysticism and the supernatural. The architecture was world-renowned too, as was evident by the Sphinx and the pyramids which almost anyone who has picked up a history book will know of.

"Hmm, it says here that when the Pharoahs passed on to the afterlife, they were buried in the heart of the pyramids alongside their riches so that when they arrived in the Underworld, they would not arrive penniless ...or something along those lines," Alan recounted from the pamphlet he was reading while looking about the desert sands from under the shade of a palm tree, "Gotta say, this is fascinating stuff, what you think, Aurora?" When he didn't hear a reply, he looked over to see his partner asleep at the tree's base with shades covering her eyes.

Normally, this would annoy the former human but considering where they were and the fact they had a long flight ahead of them if they wanted to see the pyramids, he felt he could let it slide this time. As such, he went to lay down as well...only to stop at seeing some sort of figure in blue descending from the sky just off the horizon, "What the..." He shook his partner, "Aurora, wake up, we got a problem."

"Can it wait? A girl needs her beauty sleep, after all.." When he didn't stop, she grudgingly sat up to look where he was pointing, just in time to see jagged lightning bolts light up the horizon. The two nodded to each other and fused back into the Siren before flying off to get a closer look. They arrived in time to hear the talk about some sort of staff before seeing the man get impaled by a lightning rod.

"Oi!" She called out, floating out of cover and folding her arms, "Mind telling me what's going on here and who you are? Or do I have to jump to conclusions here and beat the snot out of you before I drag you in for questioning?"

Israel had not been to Egypt in a long time, and for once in an even longer amount of time, he wasn't there on business, but simply to visit.

Israel loved the culture of Egypt, though he may well have professed to love every culture on Earth, or at least bits and pieces of them.

The mythologies of Egypt, however, were special. Along with a number of other religions, they traced a connection with many of the religions of the Earth, even Christianity. That said, it was often if not always the case that this link was strongest the further back in history you went, and as time went on for the culture of Egypt, more and more Gods were invented.

His favorite example of this was probably Wosret, meaning "Goddess of Wos," a small and rather unremarkable province within the Pseudo-Thearchal Kingdom that was Egypt. Yet, in spite of this, this little goddess of an unremarkable town shot up the proverbial popularity charts of Egypt until it became a "major" Goddess, or at least a well known one throughout the land.

As Israel was simply thinking on these things, admiring the ancient architecture, and absently reading the hieroglyphs, he sensed a sudden shift in the electrical fields of Egypt, as well as death... 11 flames of life had been swiftly and suddenly snuffed out. Extinguished.

He expanded his perception to sense miles around and recognized a familiar voice, and felt a familiar mind accompanying it...

Two minds.

Siren? He thought, locking onto their aura and teleporting to a short distance away from them.

Immediately, he could see a man with a checkered soul before him. Alien, apparently, and his clothes were organic in nature; alive.

Interesting. He thought. ... That I can never just take a vacation.

He sent out twelve bands of "cloth" from himself toward the bodies of the twelve fallen men, wrapping them each in turn and applying healing chi energies to their person. Provided that the man did not have some way of stopping these bands from reaching their destination in less than a second, he would quantum tunnel each of their bodies away, following his standard procedure of injecting part of himself into each of them to aid in removing and repurposing clotted blood and the like before defibrillating their hearts and giving them a second chance at life. Still, that life would likely be in a jail cell or perhaps even cut short once they went through the legal system of Egypt... But that was for the Egyptian government to decide.

After sending out the bands of "cloth" he would also immediately address Siren.

"Ah! It's you again. Have you thought much about the offer I proposed to you at Gettysburg?" He would ask, seemingly ignoring the man for the time being. (Though, in reality, this was far from the case.)

As Voltage saw people begin to surround him, as if he were burning down a city he had no choice but to address them. Usually, he cares little for other people’s thoughts, but if he wanted to take over modern Egypt he would need the support of not just himself, but others.

“These men attacked me, so I defended myself in any way possible, if that meant their death than so be it.” Voltage says as he hides the staff head of Ra.

He then glances out at a nearby tomb and smirks a bit as the other man examines the bodies. Voltage shuts his eyes and concentrates on the electrical currents. Suddenly his feet leave the ground and floats in the air in front of the two men.

“Is this going to be a journey of three to the Tomb of Ra, or a journey of one?” Voltage sarcastically exclaims as he awaits the answer of the two other individuals.

At realizing she was no longer alone, Siren let her shoulders sag a little from relief, content in the fact there was no longer a need to face this situation by herself. Pinnacle had proved himself a powerful ally during their last encounter and she had no doubt he would pull through again, "Good to see you again, Pinnacle. I'd love to chat about that offer of yours but right now I feel we should deal with Electro over there," Upon seeing the bodies of the fallen though, she could already feel her blood starting to boil.

The alien hero listened to the figure before her and right away she did not like him one bit. Maybe it was the "holier than thou" attitude he was giving off, or the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't telling them the whole story which was especially evident by the empty crate nearby and how hollow his answer sounded. Either way, this guy was looking, at best, VERY suspicious.

"Pinnacle..." Siren looked over to him with a steely gaze, "I don't know about you but I don't feel right letting this guy go on his merry way. I mean, a person who electrocutes a dozen people nearly to death and acts like it was self-defense with an attitude like his? No way," She glared back up at the lightning man and floated up to his level while still keeping a fair distance, "You didn't answer my questions. Who are you and what is it you're after? You're not going anywhere until we get the truth out of you."

Pinnacle nodded to the dual entity known as the Siren, before sending her a telepathic message:

"I do not recognize in his genetics any code that would imply any means of teleportation, only electrogenesis and electrokinesis. It would appear that he can utilize these abilities to ride electric currents in order to fly as well."

Even while sending this message, at the same time, he spoke with the man before him. "You know, I can see that staff head behind you. I can see many things that most people can't, including the technology contained within it. It also matches the description for one of a number of artifacts that bear the name 'Staff of Ra.' It's not the only one, yet I am sure that it is the only one that  you are interested in, given its apparent origins being similar to your own, correct?"

It was a presumption, but an educated one, based on both personal observation and E.C.L.I.P.S.E. intel.

Voltage thought for a short second before answering the hero known as Pinnacle’s question.

“I am Voltarrius, but most on this world know me as the self titled god, Voltage. I have been alive for 3,650 Earth years, which makes me almost 37 years on my world. This staff head, if connected to its original staff, could grant me a piece of what I used to be. It could help me regain myself and become Voltage, the modern day Ra.” Voltage says as he begins to float back towards the two heroes.

As Voltage’s feet touch the ground, little streaks of lightning shoot off of his organic boots. As the Egyptian sun continues to beat down on them, Voltage quickly and precisely uses the box’s top as some cover for him.

“So to answer your question, yes it is of similar origin. But it is also my property and should be returned back to me.” Voltage exclaims.

Siren listened to the man's explanation, folding her arms and nodding along, letting him have his ten seconds or so of grandiose self-importance. "You're not buying any of this, right partner?" Alan asked his other half.

"Not even for a second," Aurora rolled her eyes, "Seriously, you think someone who's been alive for over 3000 years would've become a  decent storyteller at some point. Can we kick his butt now, please?"

"In a minute, partner," Aurora groaned in annoyance but said no more, allowing Siren to speak up at last, "With all due respect, Mr "Voltarrius", do we really look like idiots to you?" She motioned to herself and Pinnacle, "For one thing, if this staff was so important to you, you could've gone to the Egyptian government and worked something out. Instead, you decided to play god with the lives of a bunch of common thieves whom I'm pretty sure were no threat to you...".

"Secondly, why is getting this staff so important to you? How do we know we can trust your word and that you aren't simply planning to use its power for your own gain?" Deciding to test him, she held out her hand, "I could easily take the staff head from you, but I believe in civility, so if you want to show us you aren't a bad guy, why not toss it over to me and I'll hold on to it for safekeeping? Once we work things out with the government, maybe we'll see about you getting you your staff back."

"I understand that this staff is important to you... But killing people willy nilly isn't really something legal on this Earth." Pinnacle said, picking up where the Siren left off. "Perhaps the staff head really is an heirloom of yours. That's perfectly alright. I'm sure E.C.L.I.P.S.E. can arrange something to ensure its return to you." He added in an amiable voice.

His bands, having now completed their tasks, materialized beside him, connected to his waist once more.

“Are you saying I cannot have what has been entitled to me? If you wish to anger the Modern day Ra, then you shall face the consequences.” Voltage says as he begins firing bolts of Lightning at the two heroes.

Suddenly Voltage’s eyes begin to have little streaks of lightning flow through them. As he raises his hands into the air a storm of lightning begins to crash down around the two heroes.

“Do you see what you have done now? You have truly angered a god!” Voltage says as he continues to fire bolts of lightning at the two heroes. “Help me find the other half and I will debate whether I should turn it in or not. If not, you can always try fighting me. But you see how well that worked out for the petty thieves.” Voltage says as he smirks at the two heroes.

Siren morphed her arm into a shield to withstand the blast that came her way. More lightning forced her closer to the earth again. Despite the urgency of the situation, they couldn't help but smile just a little, "Fell for it, hook, line, and sinker," Aurora had her arms folded and nodding in satisfaction, "Figured going after his precious toy would make him show his true colors. I'd ask for a high-five if we weren't dodging lightning right now."

"Same here," Alan admitted as a bolt passed by their head too close for comfort. When bolts started falling all over the field, Siren was left mostly a sitting duck and forced to once more endure more of the lightning wielder's theatrics and inflated sense of ego, feeling that an actual god would at least make an attempt to be above throwing such childish temper tantrums...but then she remembered the way that Greek Gods tended to act in their own mythologies and stories and quickly shut down that line of thinking.

"We're never going to get close to him with all this lightning he's calling down, "Alan commented, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am, though I can't say I'm looking forward to it," His partner admitted with a resigned sigh, "But in times like this, you gotta do what you gotta do."

Siren turned and flew back towards Pinnacle, "Pinnacle! I'm about to try something crazy! Whatever happens next, don't worry about me, ok? I'll be fine, just focus on getting close to that guy for now!" Without waiting for a reply, Siren saw a particularly large bolt fall from the sky in her direction...but instead of avoiding it, she stayed in place and braced herself, taking it dead-on and gnarling her teeth as the bolt's energy was seemingly absorbed into her skin. The shock of it though was still enough to send her flying through the air.

Pinnacle did not move, as the lightning arced towards him slowly in his minds eye, he simply watched it, an amused half smile sliding onto his face as he did so. He was about to send his bands of "cloth" over to help protect the Siren when he noticed her surface thoughts and refrained from doing so.

At length, each of the bolts of lightning arced through his form harmlessly, its energy being partially absorbed as it approached him and subsequently passed through his body into the Earth.

His feet left the ground as he slowly floated into the air, and upon hearing Siren's request to approach the would-be god of the sun, he did so, moving to within a foot of the man's face so quickly that a plasma cone would form around his body for the split second that he did so.

The shockwaves and heat would be rather immense, but he quantum tunneled a band from himself in front of Siren to absorb the heat and shock heading in her direction, and behind this new Ra to keep him from being blasted back too far, as he very likely would be.

The band behind "the new Ra" in particular would absorb the kinetic energy of his motion so that he would stay mostly in place.

Then, it would stand by to heal him from any injuries he sustained, though, Pinnacle would not heal him right away... This man was unstable, and possessed an obvious god complex, after all.

"Power does not make one a god, Voltarrius. Neither you, nor me." He says calmly, putting his hands behind his back, and standing in the air in front of the man as if upon an invisible platform. "And regardless of your claims to ownership of the object, like the confiscation of a once legally owned gun from a killer, if you are this temperamental even without the full staff, I don't believe that we should help you get the rest of it. Could you honestly say that you would not do the same if you were in our place?"

[OOC: Carter told me to just go ahead and tell Gamer that he should post, because his character would simply ignore mine and continue to blast lightning at everyone.]

In response, Voltarrius simply sneered at the so called "hero" the stood before him in the air, ignoring the pain of the temporary heat and shockwaves, intense as they were. He didn't bother dignifying the man's statement nor his question with a reply and instead, continued to hail the area with lightning.

Pinnacle stood where he was in the air, a bit disappointed, as more lightning simply passed through him. "I don't think he's a very good listener." He said to Siren directly to her mind.

"Yeah, that much was obvious..." Siren conceded, still groaning in pain from taking the bolt to the chest. However, it seemed their little stunt had worked as they could feel their whole body buzzing. They shakily got up and flicked their wrist, causing sparks to appear on their fingers. "I guess our only choice now is to make him listen by force..." With that said, Siren decided to get to work. She directed her electrical power inward so as to fire up the electrons in her brain, causing everything in their vision to seemingly slow down.

As she flew back upwards, she used her new vision to help her narrowly avoid the bolts falling towards her. With a snap of her fingers, she began creating lightning bolts of her own and began hurling them towards the self-proclaimed god while dodging his attacks.

Spoiler:

Meanwhile, Pinnacle eyed the man before him, (throwing off lightning as he still was,) and sighed.

"So be it then, I suppose. If you insist that you are Akhenre, even though the title of Sutekh would fit you far better as he was the Egyptian god of chaos and storms..." Pinnacle said, changing his appearance in a moment to resemble flowing Egyptian clothing covered in ancient Heiroglyphs, even more ancient than those seen on the temple reliefs. His attire possessed gold elements and golden ibis wings, as well as a golden crown with a sapphire Hedjaten disk at its center which extended over his face as an emerald-jade mask of the ibis-headed god of wisdom, Thoth. His skin itself took on a luminously reflective gold sheen, and from within him shone a brilliant silvery blue light.

"... Then I shall reveal myself to be Akhendjekhwati. Thrice Great Master of the Khemenu, the eightfold gods of the primordial infinite. Advisor, messenger, mediator, and mentor to the gods of Khemerets." He said in a calm and controlled voice, gazing upon Akhenre with the sacred eyes of Wedjat, his shimmering golden wings outstretched.

"I am the architect of truth, wisdom, and peaceful negotiation, Akhenre, and a firm believer in one's right to his property, but I am also a staunch defender of one's right to life." He adds, waving his hand and healing the aspiring living image of Ra that floated before him, as he was very likely injured at least a little at this point.

"Calm thyself, and remember well the confessions given to Maat that one may reach Airu beyond the Duat."

Voltage stops casting lightning at them for a moment and stares to the sun’s light. He notices the damage he has done, and slowly lowers back down to the ground. As the sand touches the bottoms of his feet, his eyes shut and for the first time all day, he smiles. For a short moment the area is calm, and the wind is heard once again. Voltage rotates his fingers on his right hand, creating a little ball of electricity as he walks closer to Siren.

”Maybe we should talk, seeing as me throwing lightning at you both is obviously not working for me, and is just tiring you both out. So, how would you wish to go about this? Peacefully remove yourselves from my direction so I can retrieve what I travelled for, or will I have to turn you both into coma patients to get what I need? The choice is up to you both, but you have little time to decide. In fact, your buzzer just beeped. No answer, very well then. I can’t say that I’m not happy neither of you could come up with a solid answer for me. And we were so close to a compromise, too.” Voltage says as he pulls out the now beach ball sized orb of electricity.

Voltage tosses the orb directly at Siren, but before it can even make it towards him he floats out of it’s radius and starts shooting strikes of lightning at them both again. Voltage flies over their heads slowly as he continues striking lightning down on them as he attempts to slip by them with the art of distraction. Voltage drops back down onto the sandy desert ground and continues to fire shots of lightning at them until he randomly falls through the sand down into what seems to be a secret entrance.