Reconciliation for the Divine

There was no doubt that Father Time and Mother Nature were not very fond of Ms. Vexus. She had been eluding, outsmarting, and breaking their rules for quite some time now. Elena is more than welcoming to hear from them, a conversation between those three would be something to behold. However due to time and nature not having physical forms, such a meeting would need to be held another time. Right now Vexus was ensuring that her current body would continue to withstand the pressure she was putting it through. She had most recently obtained and relatively mastered a set of ancient spells. Because of this she had definitely set herself ahead in the world. Despite the world not being completely aware of her existence, it was still a very nice cushion. Only during her own training had she subjected her body to any extensive magical output, And so far the result have been most pleasing. The ongoing theory was that the utilization of her Celestial Arm was the soul cause of her need to replace her body. The amount of decay that her body undergoes while the extremity is active is unparalleled. She had considered removing the arm so that she would no longer have a need to replace her body. Anyways she had grown quite fond of her current appearance, be though as it may that was besides the point. Elena needed to keep the arm. It was far too powerful of a weapon to simply dispose of. And in keeping this arm, there were a few preparations that she needed to install. Just in case.

Elena Vexus has a number of laboratory locations not only in the United States, but also all around the world. Most of them are in the States, however they do not hold nearly as much information as the others she has hidden away in the locations across the Atlantic. After checking in at a number of locations across the board, she ended up at an Arizonian location. This was her highest security location. The U.S. Government hides a military base that 'doesn't exist' out here so why couldn't she hide a underground laboratory. Its location was very obscure, and difficult to find even with satellite technology. Within the Navajo Mountain very near to Lake Powell her base was hidden. Through the many winding paths of Lake Powell, in a single inlet was a cave entrance that could only be accessed by an outsider by swimming through. The cave would slope down to a point where an individual would have to dive down and take a chance and swim through another narrow passage. This small entrance would take them to a grand opening that may seem untouched by human hands. There are pillars of rock that stretched from the ceiling of the underwater cave all the way down into a dark abyss. Though this was still not the laboratory, as the walls of this opening is littered with entrances varying in size. Some lead to the surface, some dead end, some are just a circle. There is only one that would take someone to the next section of the puzzle. However your typical explorer would have more than likely turned back at this point.
The next opening was a very elaborate hologram. Though By this point, Elena would have already been notified of a potential intruder. She can control the current of the water in these caves, she can release toxins into the water or even electrical currents to stun or kill those she does not want to wander any further. The holograms in this underwater room are designed to take anyone in a complete circle no matter what. In actuality, it is another very large opening. A computer simply generates different openings and passage ways to keep people moving and allowing them to think that they have gotten lost. Occasionally she cleans out the bodies from the bottom of this part of the maze. There is no designed exit for this part of the puzzle. Even though, the walls and tunnels that the computer create are only holograms she has managed to release very minute electoral pulses to trick a human brain into thinking they are touching underwater rocks. However a sufficiently advanced individual may be able to outsmart the illusions. At the bottom of this entrance in the very corner, generally concealed by corpses of animals or people, is an 'Alice in Wonderland' type door. Though what makes reaching this door nearly impossible is that Vexus has drilled so deep that the sheer pressure of the water would make it impossible to reach for most. But through this door was a completely dry, very well lit room. Interestingly enough, she has run into a couple people who have made it this far. Granted, they are now just experiments sitting in suspended animation, but they still made it this far.
This metal room is nothing special. Its no grand ending, or fabulous door that will lead straight to Vexus' lab. Its just that. A room composed of metal. It cannot be exited from. If someone managed to make it this far, then they would die a slow death in this room. Nothing but a trap. Elena Vexus and her General do have teleport coordinates to this room in order to remove bodies, other than that there is no escape. There is what seems like miles of rock between this room and the true laboratory. Of course Ms. Vexus simply uses a teleport in order to enter her base. This completely unnecessary and overly elaborate labyrinth is just to throw off those looking for the base. In the adventuring community, its expressed as a cave of no return. A handful of daring cave explorers have lost their lives 'never to be found'. To heroes, governments, and world powers it is heavily rumored that an extreme level of human experimentation is taking place behind those rock walls, some where deep within the Navajo Mountain. Though for decades it has been impossible to reach...

Inside of the mountain Vexus held one of her greatest laboratories. The only time there is ever a beating heart within these walls were either her, or a live test subject. Elena has returned to this location in order to set up the subjects in suspended animation as potential replacement bodies. They will get a new genetic code, one to match her current body, with a couple of enhancements. Each body would be altered down the line in order to withstand even higher amounts of magic. It would take a considerable amount of time for the bodies to be completely converted. In the mean time, she began to work on cultivating her own bodies. Creating them from scratch. An artificial body, created by Elena Vexus for Elena Vexus. It was one thing when she had created the perfect robotic body, but now she was incorporating magic abilities. Something she thought she would never indulge in. However the power they granted her was nothing like she had ever experienced before.
She had developed an entirely new technique in order to use these new powers. She needed to be precise. She needed to be deadly. She could not waste a single move. It was a new level of refinement, and she enjoyed it very much. Things would only move forward from here. Though, it was an interesting feeling that she had acquired with the magic. Elena felt immortal, unbeatable. But not in such a way that went to her head. Not in a way that made her over confident. But in a way that made her almost humble, in a sense. Because she had so much power, she did not want to use it against people. It seemed wrong. As if she was breaking some unspoken rule. A fusion of Technology and Magic. This was now Elena Vexus. She had become a very dark, and troubled being. Even so, she still continued on. No matter what advancement she made. No matter what level of power she achieved, there was still something off. It was never all okay for her. There was something missing. Her General and a Clone were managing organization locations in Chicago and New York while she set up these experiments, but it was not them that she was missing. After over a century of existence and shaking the hand of the devil himself and laughing in the face of god, she still searched for purpose on this rock suspended in infinity.

It was time. Andrew had made peace with all he needed too and it was time to get back to his hero duties. Little did he know where this journey would take him. A paper trail lead to Arizona. It was a familiar trail but it seemed to easy to track. While he did have Sean by his side something felt...off. Little did he know it was his old friend Elena Vexus who had grown more powerful than he could have ever imagined. While he himself had grown very powerful, as had Sean. The last time the three met the gathering was less than ideal.

As they were approaching the location where they were tipped off to go, Andrew's stomach knotted up. Sure he had his full hero gear on but he still felt naked in an unfamiliar area.
"Sean let's approach with caution. This cave of no return business seems to really give people the spook."
They were tracking human experimentation.
Something through The Phoenix's travels he had found especially disgusting. Humans were not toys or machines to be taken apart and put back together how one saw fit.

As the approached the water in front of them Andrew nodded to Apex.
"Well if it's real it'll be through this way"
As the duo swam they came up on the other side to a giant opening. "Oh my god." spoke the hero.
"They weren't lying Sean."
As Andrew pulled his bow staff off his back, he swung it and sent a giant blast of wind up through the tunnel.
Nothing seemed to be blown apart.
"Seems sturdy enough... Right?"

The heroic duo made their way in to what looked like a maze.
"Sean. This seems oddly familiar doesn't it?"
Elena Vexus had set them back up with a maze before when they were Talons.
"I think. This is all fake"
Blasting fire in every direction nothing was destroyed. "It is fake"
Making their way forward there was a large metal door in front of them.
As soon as Andrew kicked it open he saw a few bodies hanging from the ceiling. "What the hell?"
Before he could say much more they were telported outside into the desert.
Andrew was blinded for a moment. Across from him stood a figure that looked to be a woman.
"Hello?"  Andrew shouted.
"I'm The Phoenix, I'm a super hero, this is my friend Apex. Are you lost ma'am?"

A familiar cackle shot from her mouth and shivers went up Andrew's spine. He awaited Sean's reaction, as well as the woman's.

"Oohh... What do we have here..?"
Vexus looked over to one of her monitors alerting her that there were some incoming intruders. She paid in no mind and continued her work. The defensive systems she had in place would keep her experiments perfectly safe, for the time being. As Elena continued about in her lab, her monitors alerted her again that the individuals had gotten further into the maze. For someone to have reached this far it eliminated the possibility of them being just simple explorers. It was now that Elena paid a little more attention to the individuals. Her cameras coincidentally could not focus in on their faces. She rolled her eyes at the irony. All she could do was watch as the reached the final sector of her labyrinth. She figured that the two would make it to the end if they had made it this far. No doubt she would need to encounter them herself. She placed her hands together and began to intently focus. After a few moments, another Elena split from her body.
Once they entered the dry chamber, she flicked a switch and had them teleported back outside into the desert. Elena threw on her sunglasses and a more combat appropriate outfit and had herself teleported to their location. She was unsure on their identities, but they had gotten too far with far too much ease. Elena needed to discover their purpose.

She began to walk towards the two, the heat waves distorted her form slightly. Strangely enough, they seemed familiar. Though once one of the men spoke it became all too clear who they were.
"I'm The Phoenix"
A smile crept across her face and she couldn't help but laugh a little. And not to mention a fellow by the name of Apex was accompanying him. Cold this be just like old times? Elena was fairly positive Phoenix would not be able to recognize her right away, since she had undergone number changes of faces since their last encounter. Be though as it may, it would only be polite to re-introdce herself.
Once she came into view, she removed her sunglasses and looked the two boys in the eyes..
"Goodness me. The Phoenix? Why, I am honored by your presence. I was almost certain you had perished... I've missed you, my old friend."
She noticed as his partner took a slightly defensive stance. A closer look at the boy she thought she recognized him as well.
"And do my eyes deceive me? Son of the Crimson Witch, is that you? Well isn't this just the grandest of unions? How's your mother, dear? Is she still breathing? Send her my regards, I'd love to catch up over tea with that old bag" she said with a causal chuckle.
Elena still had an evil smirk on her face. If they had not figured it out by now who she was, it would be apparent soon enough.

"I have changed my face quite a number of times since we last encountered each other, boys. But I will put your doubts to rest, I am genuinely the Elena Vexus that you know, love, and have missed so dearly." she said with a smile placing her hand over her heart. She then place her sunglasses back on.

"Well then children, don't stand there all flabbergasted. Tell Mama Vexus what brings you little derelict demons to this neck of the woods..." Her tone changed in the last sentence. She knew the two of them were powerful, and she needed to know why they had come to her laboratory. If a fought erupted, she knew that right off the bat things may not fair well. Elena would not be the one to strike first. If she could find out their employer, and their motives, she might be able to simply make a dash and take out the problem at its source. The plan was good in theory, but she would see how well it went in practice...

Through all his training with the other world's Elena Marie, Andrew had grown a little sensitive to magic. "Vexus was a robot last I battled her. What is this power I'm feeling? It's coming from this woman. Sean, she clearly knows who we are. Is this really her?"

Andrew was completely baffled. He couldn't believe that this woman in front of him was his enemy all those years ago. To her he was a child, but six years had gone by since that blast above New York City. Most people thought that Phoenix had seen the end that day, but most people were wrong.

"I didn't perish, to you that was two years ago, I was in another dimension training, getting stronger, faster, smarter. More than half a decade has gone by for me."
Andrew was gritting his teeth a little. The subject was still sore. Losing Tyuki on top of missing out of 6 years of his life. Granted he was more powerful than anyone knew, even Sean didn't quite know of his extent yet.

"You're a genius Vexus, you know why we're here. The Talons are back. We heard about your human experiments. They end today. There doesn't have to be a fight. There doesn't have to even be a disagreement..."
Fire began to form a giant dome around the three of them. Before long the three were entirely surrounded by walls of flames.
"However, if you don't stand down we'll have to make you stand down. To much evil has gone unpunished. Now you remember me as a hot headed teenager who couldn't control his power or temper."
The entire dome vanished with a snap of Andrew's finger.
"But I'm not that kid anymore. Let's end this madness."

Andrew pulled his staff off his back, in his full superhero attire he was ready for anything that Vexus could throw their way.

"Sean things go south I got your back brother. Remember attack pattern Alpha? She moves the wrong way or attacks, we go on my mark."

Turning back to the demon he took a deep breath and let fire start to form a circle around his feet.

"So I ask again, please stand down."

Phoenix put on a short display of the new control he had over his abilities. It was nothing unexpected, if had been gone for as long as he claimed she would have hoped for some improvement. He was a productive boy, she was sure he could stand up to her a little better than he had in the past. Not to mention Sean over there. He seemed improved in a peculiar kind of way.
"I'm sorry sweetie, despite how good of a relationship we have I have simply invested too much time and money into my work just to stop so abruptly."
She noticed a circle of fire form around Phoenix's feet. They had mentioned an attack formation, and after refusing to stop her human testing she was sure they would not hesitate to unleash it, whatever it was.
"Oh wow really? You got all the kids back together? I'm sure that's adorable. Though I won't put you down too much, there's no doubt that some progress has been made with all the little ones as well. Genius or not, I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to attack all of you at once...
There was a slight pause as she crossed her arms and her faced changed to a dark glare.
"However now only two of the Talons, that might just be doable."
A slight breeze grazed the open desert, kicking up a little bit of dust between the three of them. The tension was incredibly high, so Elena thought to bring back a casual air.

"In truth though I cannot stop my actions. There is far too much invested in my laboratory as it is. Plus even when you do manage to put me down, which I am assuming is your next ploy, I'm not even sure I could access my laboratory from the outside."
Vexus kicked the dust on the ground casually, like a child.
"So as you're tearing my body apart, just make sure I can still talk. Otherwise you'll never get what you came here for."
She gave a seductive little wink after her sentence. It'll be interesting to see how far she can push this body against these two. She adjusted the Prada glasses on her face as they analyzed the two of them throughly. Hopefully whatever battle formation they decided with would shine a little bit of light on their abilities...

"I see, there's no other way. At least I can say I tried. No amount of money is worth a human life Elena. You have more money than god, and yet you still choose to play him time and time again."

Andrew released the fire that was under his feet and let it spread 300 yards in every direction underneath the 3 of them.
Before long large walls built around them, followed by a roof.
As far as they could all now see fire was blazing below, on the sides of, and above them as a roof formed.

"Angels fall Elena. Imagine what your mind could do for good."
Looking over at Sean he nodded.
"Alpha pattern, now."
Dashing full speed, Andrew began to circle Vexus at incredible numbers.
In this attack pattern Sean would be running counter clockwise around Vexus while Andrew ran clockwise.
Andrew was the scapegoat, to draw her attention, and create an opening for Sean.

As The Phoenix sped through this blazing prison, he began letting fire blast from all directions at Vexus.
They appeared as spikes but fire wasn't solid.
Every direction, even if Vexus dodged, another spike of fire would form.

"Now Sean!"
Andrew clapped his hands together and the entire fire construct collapsed in on Vexus.
Doing a triple back hand spring, Phoenix began to spin his staff clockwise, creating a wind tunnel in the direction of Vexus.
He awaited her move as he rapidly spun his weapon with intense winds traveling at the demon.

Typical hero banter. She might as well start keeping track of some of the lines she hears from kids like this. Though as expected they went off in their designated attack pattern. The fire manipulator created a barrier of sorts around the three of them. Their attack formation was called for, however it was their speed that Elena had not expected. Her classes were clocking them at speeds faster than sound. She immediately activated her physical boosts, though even then she was not able to adequately keep up with their movements.
In the same instant Phoenix started to barrage Elena with spears of fire from all directions. There was no reason to waste energy attempting to dodge them, let alone calculating their trajectory. She simply took the attacks head on. Cuts and sever burns appeared all over her body, though despite the heavy damage she was taking her abilities were able to keep up with the injuries. The fire was hotter than anything she had experienced in the past, however a burn is a common injury and very easy for her regeneration to heal. She couldn't help but curse under her breath, it would have been far less painful to dodge. But a battle against these two was bound to consist of compromise and sacrifice. Everything she has done, and will continue to do, will be nothing but strategy.

Her eyes darted to Phoenix as he shouted "Now Sean!". Clearly something was coming so she brought her arms up in a X and tucked her head down behind them. The very same moment she felt herself surrounded by fire. Every inch of her person felt the power of the fire for a brief instant before she was released. Her glasses had been completely destroyed, though she had managed to gather quite a bit of data in those few seconds. Her clothes were still pretty much intact. They were designed to not get completely destroyed in combat like this, however the heat they had just endured was not normal.
Elena now faced Phoenix with Sean behind her. Though the fire based hero had not wasted anytime putting some distance between the two of them. He then wielded a long staff and began spinning it, generating an enormously powerful wind tunnel. She was able to stand against it for a little while, and then went to her knees to lower her center of gravity. Surprisingly she was still being pushed backed after that. With her increased strength she dug her fingers into the dry earth as an anchor. A slight glance behind her she was able to see Sean safely out of range of the wind attack. Vexus then tugged upward on the earth, uprooting a huge slap of rock that she leaned against diffusing the gust slightly.

She took in a breath and then slowly exhaled. In one smooth move she launched herself from the slab of earth with such power and speed that it cased it to shatter into dozens of pieces. Elena used Phoenix's wind in her advantage to carry her at speeds she would not normally be able to obtain in this body. This allowed her to appear next to Sean and out of the wind tunnel in nearly a blink of the eye. In between leaving the rock and appearing next to Sean, she had placed her hands in one of her specific formations. This allowed her to unleash a devastatingly powerful blast of fire right at the boy the moment she appeared near him. Elena made sure to pay very close attention to how he reacted when faced with the fire. However she also used this fire as a sort of rocket to propel herself away from Sean in order to recreate the distance between them.
Once she landed, the distance between the three of them formed a crude triangle. Regardless of how Sean took on the fire, another hand formation would be made and her entire body could be seen swelling dramatically. Elena took a stance, with her body slightly twisted around. She took in a very deep breath and send herself off in a violent spin while also releasing an incredibly concentrated stream of water. She was rotating so quickly, the water was being sent out in nearly all directions creating very deep cuts in the ground as it flew about demonstrating its cutting power.

In all honestly, she was not expecting to get very far with her first round of attacks. This was all observation. She had not encountered either of these individuals in quite sometime and a little bit of in-field research would be required for her to better prepare proper retaliation against them. This would be one of the very few times that Vexus has gone into combat 100% serious from the very beginning. She is cold, calculating, and focused. It may be an old cliche, but if someone as powerful as Elena Vexus wholeheartedly sets her mind on doing something, there may not be a single entity in the universe that could prevent her from doing so.

Phoenix watched as Vexus braced for Sean's attack that wasn't coming yet. A smile formed acorss his face. "She fell for it." he thought to himself. Andrew's first wave of attacks were merely scratching the surface of his new abilities, and if this was the Vexus he knew, she would be testing him before going in for the kill. However, Andrew was testing her.

As Vexus took a deep breath The Phoenix prepared for whatever she through at him, while ending the wind tunnel and putting the staff back behind him.

She was sent into a violent spin, before water began to spurt from her. Andrew let the water hit him in the face to show, no, to display a bit of his new durability. It felt like a mosquito grazing him. "This can't be the real Vexus." "Either you haven't grown stronger or you're not the real Elena. The last option is you're holding back, but you're far too arrogant to let me get away with out flinching on an attack of yours, Vexus."

As he finished his sentence his mask ripped and fell from his face. Revealing his full features. "I stand corrected. You were able to cut through fabric."
The Phoenix that Elena knew was sarcastic and a joker. This Andrew meant business.

"Don't tell me you've gone soft on us Elena" Andrew spoke.
He spun a tornado of fire around himself before letting it dissipate, drying himself off. "Attack pattern Gamma Sean."

Andrew did a double back flip and blasted a dragon of fire at Elena, which broke into two smaller dragons, then into 4 good sized dragons. They circled her before all diving in at once to land a hit.
He made a straight dash for Vexus before setting himself on fire and aiming both legs at the torso of the woman.
If it hit he would back flip off her and fire a point blank wave of extreme heat. If she dodged he would send a barrage of blasts at her that would impress the gods. Either way he was still playing scapegoat while Sean prepared for some heavy hits.
"What's it gunna be?" he thought to himself as he flew through the air prepared for either outcome.

Vexus spoke not a word as Phoenix claimed her to be a fraud due to her apparent lack of power. She was more concerned at figuring out what Sean was capable. He had been able to easily withstand her flame attack at point blank. Only slightly knocked off balance. There was something complex about him that she was working on diagnosing. So far Phoenix had been relatively easy to define. At this point in time, his abilities were straightforward. However the limitations are what she would continue to test.
"Don't tell me you've gone soft on us, Elena."
Vexus' expression did not even budge. If there was any robotic nature she had retained across her different appearances, it was her ability to keep a poker face. He then announced yet another attack pattern and he set off in a couple of back flips. With her body healed, she took a stance. With her physical boosts still roaring strong, she tightened up everything causing a small shockwave to escape resulting in the ground spiderwebbing slightly.
Phoenix continued with releasing a large fire dragon which eventually split down in to four individual flame dragons all approaching from a different direction. Judging by their trajectory, they were all going to slam down on top of her. With a quick bolt, she dashed out to the right narrowly avoiding the attack. With her eyes forward, she glanced slightly over to keep tabs on Sean. In the next instant, Phoenix was bolting towards her from a flaming drop kick. Elena had not even stopped moving from her last dodge, so she simply dropped down into a slide as Phoenix flew over head. Immediately she was back on her feet, facing Phoenix but keeping Sean in her peripherals.

He unleashed a volley of fire which, even in her heightened state, Elena would not be able to properly avoid. Her eyes followed the blasts of fire and only dodged the ones that would cause the most damage. Any aimed at her vitals, face, or neck she avoided. Most other struck her arms, legs, lower torso. Other she allowed to strike her back, but soon leapt out of range in a powerful pound that overturned the ground beneath her feet. The moment her feet touched the ground, she was struck across the left side of her face with a powerful punch lead by none other than Sean. She quickly regained her balance, but was met with quite the barrage of punches. Vexus refocused and began keeping up with the punches, blocking with her hands and forearms. The punishment she was withstanding was excruciating. Each punch she blocked fractured her hands and arms just a little bit each time. She needed to respond, and in a powerful way.

Elena grounded herself, and dropped her guard in order to put together a single hand formation. In that quick instant she sustained a bone shattering blow to her sternum, causing her to cough up an unsettling amount of blood. When Sean went in for what could have been the final blow, Vexus would latch onto his arm with her left hand and unleash a catastrophic amount of electricity. She kept a close eye on him and his body as she unloaded overly lethal amount of energy into him. If all proved successful, she would launch herself back and away from the two individuals. Taking a knee, her physical increases would fade away while she allowed her body to heal up.
If Vexus did fail to grasp Sean's arm, she would simply unleash the bolt of lightning from point blank, or whatever distance he may be able to put between them.
Keeping both of the combatants in sight, she would regulate her breathing as best as she could. This would optimize the healing process, which unfortunately, she could feel slowing down. It was impressive that these two managed to wear down her body in such a short amount of time. This too she would consider in her calculations against them, but she was not dead yet.

Andrew watched as Vexus took a shot from Sean that would level a building.
"Ouch" he thought before noticing she was taking the attacks on purpose.
"Sean, she's setting you up!" Phoenix yelled at his team mate before dashing towards him.
As he approached the two fighting he saw Vexus was preparing to grab him after his next move. Andrew tackled Sean out of the way before back flipping twice and landing on the ground releasing a wave of fire at Elena.

As he spun around on his hands back to his feet, he blasted fire from all directions creating an almost helix of flames that would be sent right for Vexus.

Once back on his feet, he gave Sean the "sorry she can't know the full extent of your new ability look."
Taking one last deep breath Andrew conjured up a small army of flamming figures.
There had to be 100 of them.
He sent each of them in the direction of Vexus and they would explode on any impact.

"Sean make a move but not the big one." he spoke whizzing by his teammate at super speed. Only he would hear it.
Coming to a complete halt opposite of Sean, Andrew waited on Elena's next move.
Some of those flame figures would certainly hit, but if he learned anything about Vexus it was he tenacity.
He dropped to one knee and began to charge his energy appearing to be gassed. Hoping Vexus would catch a glimpse of this and think he was out of energy Andrew put one arm behind his back and began to charge a very dense ball of fire.
"Your move brother." the hero called out to Sean.