Re: Broken Wings: Main Thread

[Red]

Dressler had made a move, a big one. He created an arena with his own body, filling it with a large amount of toxic fumes that Lucius' tech immediately picked up. Luckily though, his mask and armor was sealed enough to prevent any contact, reinforced by the field of repulsive energy around it. He would be fine, but Andrew? Not so much.That's when Lucius saw it. The Phoenix had given up. Just a little more pressure was all that was needed...... And that's when 'Tyuki' arrived just in time. Xerox put on a great act. He should consider the stage if he ever decides to stop working for Gravitas.

Now Lucius had a bit of an issue. His cold field was still around him, making the fire a little less hot, but none the less this was a massive explosion of flames. What he ended up doing was simply sapping the thermal energy from the fire as it approached. Yes it was cooled down by the conjunction of these two things, which meant he wasn't going to be incinerated, but that didn't mean he wasn't taking damage.

He was launched quite a distance backward, his immovability device being fried on contact with the flames. His armor also took a beating, but even though the repulsive field around his armor now spat and sparked, it was still active. A armor piece on his arm however had been ripped off, revealing a nasty looking burn. He grimaced in pain, but like the determined man he was he got up and acted like nothing had happened.

He held his sword aloft, left handed of course, and looked to Phoenix and his supposedly injured girl. Lucius coughed as he chuckled, spitting up a little blood as his armor had been pushed inward briefly by the force of the explosion and had caused internal damage to his chest. His robotic voice sounded arrogant even now however.

"......Oh Phoenix, still playing hero, even now." Lucius said, stepping forward as his boots stomped the grass under his feet into the earth and broke twigs. He kept his distance, but made sure Phoenix could hear him on a conversational level.

"Apex has left you, some hero in an exosuit he brought along is near death, and your dearest love is in a similar situation. You've lost." Lucius said, now sheathing his weapon and folding his arms behind his back casually. This was almost over. The Talons would be painted as assassins, the real Tyuki would be used for Lucius' own ends, and Phoenix would think she died, just as he himself would. The Talons were done, even if they somehow returned. Rise had beat them, and that would make people never look at them the same again.

"As you lay dying, i want you to remember my face. That face is the face of the one man that actually beat you. It wasn't some world ending event that killed you this time, it was a mere man. My devices put an end to the perfect hero, put an end to the Savior of the World. You've failed, yourself and her. Even if you rise again, i still won today. The devil has broken your wings, Phoenix." Lucius said, stopping his approach now. Lucius didn't have to do anything. Rise was moving in, Gravity Man was moving in, this fight was over.

"When you watch her burn, when you feel yourself fading, maybe then you'll understand. Perhaps then you will see the world isn't black and white, that anyone can fall with the right push, from heroes to pioneering scientists. But if you want to keep lying to yourself, that's alright too. It makes your existence that much less relevant." Lucius said, knowing that Gravity Man was quickly approaching. Lucius had work to do you see. He had to paint the picture, run his little smear campaign. Not to mention finish up what he had planned for the actual Tyuki.

The cool breeze blew his robes back, making them billow in the wind. He took a deep breath, smiling the whole time under his mask. He had no need to be here any longer, this phase of the scheme had been completed. Sure, he wished he had got to Phoenix a bit more, but he still had two benefits that came from this. Tyuki, and a fuel for a scandal that would end the era of superheros patrolling the globe without supervision.

".......I believe it's time i left, i have work to do you see. Assassination attempts have a lot of paperwork involved.  Until the end, or next time." And with that, Lucius was gone in a flash of red. He had gotten to his car, and Daniel, him, and perhaps the main Xerox drove off and out of the magnetic barrier. Soon, they wouldn't even be on the same continent. He looked in the back of the car to see Tyuki Gold. She was beaten up, sedated, yet looked so peaceful and innocent...... This wasn't her fault, she was just a piece on the board. Unfortunately, there was no going back now. There was no room for compassion, not yet. You can't afford to hesitate when you are so close to a checkmate.

I'm sorry

(It is now Gravity Man's turn. Red and Tyuki have left.)

[Proarden (Gravity Man)]

"You aren't normally one for rants...I hope you can put on the show for the cameras." Ink said as she intercepted her boss on his transition between battlefields. Gravity Man let out a small 'hmph' and brushed her off as a large flare went off. Gravitas stopped in his tracks, his head tilting slightly to Ink, whom looked down to her tablet and sighed. "Camera is still intact... if this is a success.... Lucius will owe you more than one." Ignoring her, Gravitas continued on his way, stepping around a tree and looking over the area where the torrent of fire had just been unleashed. With a wave of his hand, the fire before him dispersed as the pressure shifted, allowing him to walk through, leaving Ink behind. This was going to be a message to more than heroes and villains. This was a message to all people. To the Agency, the human race and to anyone and everyone more worthy than them.

"Doctor, desist a moment." Gravity Man ordered in a bit of a gruff order, lightly releasing his control of gravity. Subsequently this would end up causing a small flux to gently tap the subordinate's large body. Carefully enough to alert it, not enough to move or compromise it any more than Phoenix's fire already had. Gravity Man walked through into the clearing, making himself clear and in the open. Utilizing more control, Gravitas made quite the catch as he a flick of the wrist Tyuki was being pinned to the ground, the gravity around her legs increasing until there was nothing less than a sickening crack. Tyuki let out a small scream, but Gravity Man was quick to place his hand over her mouth. "No...I don't think I want her assisting you....actually that's quite cruel considering she had just been poisoned and all you can do is ask her to subject herself to even more torture."

"So Phoenix...I have two questions for you. First we'll start with a simple question. Was it worth it? Was all of this really worth the trouble? To start a fight with the head of state? To sacrifice your friends and lover for some self-conceited drivel you call your morality? Was it all worth some...broken wings and a blood bath?" Gravity Man asked this as he finally released Tyuki's mouth and began walking around, circling her like he was a vulture. In a sense he was, though his part in the plan was important in it's own right. "My next question is a little trickier. Do you know why this happened? You could make any excuse you want, but you brought this on yourself. You antagonized a foreign official, whom had diplomatic immunity, and just to prove a point....your senseless morality has now brought the entirety of the Talons to a different country to attack that man when he was on sanctioned business... The talons, my friend, have just possibly begun the next world war..."

 "...They'll celebrate you for it." He said with a sigh and a little laugh hidden under it, a scoff and then a shake of the head to transition as he walked up to Phoenix. The man was weakened, there was absolutely no chance in Hell that he could even dream of damaging the gyrokinetic.

"I've got nothing against you Phoenix. Your Bravado is actually part of your groups charm. However I intend to make an example of this. An example of you. Of the Talons. Of the double standards people like you bring... People like you assault dignitaries and bring entire groups cross-country in order to trespass and act on information you didn't even have half the heart to thoroughly check. If you had taken the time, done the smart thing, you'd know that you have no business here...but your misguided sense of morality compelled you. Just like mine compelled me to save Detroit... it made me realize just how futile it is to save them... Not that I ever cared too." His speech was coming to a close and he stood straight once more as he turned, walking back towards Tyuki.

"I save tens of thousands of innocent lives. Liberate people illegally detained and held captive....and they call for my blood. You? You break laws left and right and they hail you a Hero... Don't even get me started on your history. Open a book and apply common sense and you can figure out what a mess up you are... you and the rest of this society. This species... It's time to start over. No more double standards. One standard....Survival." He said as he reached up and withdrew a small plastic looking tube from an internal pocket in his cloak. Popping the cap off he withdrew a syringe with a red liquid within it.

"But I am not wholly without compassion....Humans have their charm. So now, I give you...The Phoenix...a chance to showcase that charm. For al the world to see. Real time. Right here...right now. Phoenix...Show me the humans greatest feature; The power to choose." He said as he held the Syringe in hand, the needle pointing towards Tyuki's neck, dangerously close. The silver needle glistened as the sun slid it's reflected light.

"The Talons....or Eclipse." He asked as he held the device in one hand, the second hand holding the needle in place. "A choice that your fire won't save you from." He added as the gravity in the area all around Phoenix and the surrounding company had increased. Flight was no longer an option, even if Dressler's membrane wasn't preventing it.

 "A choice you can't fly from..." He chuckled as he awaited Phoenix's decision. The cameras were in place, this entire battle had been observed. The evidence of Phoenix and his Talons being in the wrong was horrifically clear. Of course there was only one piece left to be seen. The fate of the Talons, and the fate of Eclipse.

[Thorgron]

Things had just become interesting. One moment they had Phoenix stuck down on his knees admitting defeat. Dressler didn't need his abilities to know that injuries and poison were wreaking havoc on his body. But then a familiar voice rang out across the area and suddenly Phoenix was back on his feet, filled with newfound vigor.

As the pressure in the area grew, Dressler could feel the heat increase inside of himself, the ground actually turning to glass from the heat. Phoenix too was glowing, enveloped once more in his pesky fire. You little rat Dressler croaked out in anger into the dome. Then suddenly he saw nothing. Searing pain scorched inside his hollow eyesockets and a gurgling roar erupted from his throat. This, just as the membrane that created the dome exploded like a balloon rapidly overfilled. The convection waves from the escaping inferno pouring forth from inside like the winds of hell, scorching away the membranous flesh down to where it met his body.

Falling backwards, Dressler's back hit the ground making a sound like thunder and shaking the earth. Pain at the moment was his world. Scrambling with a titanic hand he reached to his face, only to find in horror that his eyes had been melted from their sockets. Another blaring roar bellowed from him, this time more from anger than pain.

The flesh on either side of his face depressed, above his eyes extended out two rigid square fleshy structures to either side. Here his eyes would serve only as further hindrances and sources of vulnerability to the pyrokinetic. Heat and electrical sensors however would provide him with pinpoint accuracy, and leave less room for counterstrike.

Pushing himself onto his elbows, Dressler's long and leggy lower half coiled around behind them. The world now was ablaze of reds yellows and whites. Electrical buzzes tickled at the protuberances on his face, hinting at motion and movement. Together they formed a vivid world of view unlike that which sight provided. And now his altered gaze was fixed on the misguided hero. Scuttling his monstrous form towards the man and his injured mate he now wanted only his death. No more distractions, no more taunting, no more games, simply painful death. But once more that punishment was delayed. Instead, one of the other Rise heads, Gravity Man, stepped in to further torture Phoenix. He even went so far as to tell him to desist as though order around some peon and the order was followed with a pulse to his body. A snarl curled on Dressler's maw at the order. This was his kill, this man could not simply step in and take that moment from him. The pack however had to be considered, the hierarchy. Upsetting it now would serve only to destabilize the group and to give the hero a chance at escape. He had no choice but to begrudgingly obey.

Somewhat glad that he had done so, he coiled around the three people as Gravity Man spoke. Dressler's snarl turned quickly to a grin as he found himself agreeing with this head quite closely. The species needing a do over he particularly enjoyed, his thoughts drifting to his own superiority compared to the average human or metahuman. Then another pulse warped over him like a heavy blanket. Gravity Man was living up to his name increasing the relative gravity in the entire area. Being in his current large size, this presented somewhat of a problem. Thrusting out his two giant arms, he used all of his might to support himself. Deep imprints worked into the ground as it audibly popped and cracked from the force.

With Dressler above and Gravity Man below, the fate of the hero was sealed. Dressler began to drool at the thought, thick globules dropping from his mouth and splattering in piles beneath his massive head. Phoenix would suffer terrible weight of choice and only then would he get to suffer at Dressler's own hand.

[Andrew]

"Looks like I got him." Andrew thought before dropping his outstretched arm to his side, while still favoring his limb.
"Jesus this hurts."

Red had made his leave, and he was right. Andrew had failed today. Crossing national boarders. Attacking a private meeting. All of this would certainly make the Talons look bad. That's what this was all about. Red trying to extinguish the eternal flame of hope inside the Phoenix. Beating the Talons was possible, that was displayed today. Destroying Phoenix's hope? His faith in the good of people? His faith in his team. That was an impossible task. Even for one of the most powerful man in the world.
Yet Andrew felt something he hadn't felt in quite some time.
Something that was burning him. He felt pure rage. Elena had taught him to concentrate and not let his emotions get the best of him. Despite the meta in metahuman, there was still the other half inside of him. That was made very much apparent today as well.

That's when a hooded man stepped forward. Andrew sort of recognized him from somewhere, but his head was spinning and he could very well be mistaken.

The man began speaking. "Great another freaking monologue." he said while the man was talking. Still disorientated and frankly not giving a shit about what Gravity Man said. Andrew was going to die. He knew this. He was just hoping The Undertaker look alike would get it over with quick. That was not how this was going down. Rise was going to milk every ounce of rage or pain they could from the hero.

"You might think it's futile, but guess what pal? This is what I do. Not for the fanfare. Not for the tabloids. Not for the interviews. I do it because I failed people I was supposed to protect. I failed then, and I failed today. When the world knocks you down, you always stand up. You always keep fighting for them 'till the sweet or bitter end."

He dropped to one knee, coughing up a puddle of blood.
Trying to activate his healing power but he couldn't focus. The pain was too much, this fight was too much, his head would probably fall off if it wasn't attached to his neck.

"They call me a hero, because I don't refer to what we do as futile. If I can make sure a child is safe from the clutches of a monster like Vexus or Holocaust. I will. My history may not be beautiful, shit it might even have lots of red in its ledger. That doesn't mean I give up. I fight for those who can't. That might not be something you understand or even accept. That's just the gods honest truth.

The hail me a hero because they know I'll always have their backs and want nothing in return. I crossed these boarders today because I thought innocent people were in trouble. The boarders that divide our planet don't make me look at people in trouble as 'not my problem'. This is our planet, and everyone is my neighbor. Even people like you."

Then the choice was given. Tyuki or the Talons. "You're a sick and twisted man." more blood was coughed up.
He looked at the fake Tyuki, not knowing it wasn't her. Not knowing what really was going down. "I'm sorry Tyuki. You know I care about you more than anything, and I love you, but you would want me to make this choice. You would probably beg me." a tear fell down his cheek.

"If there's ever a way to fix this I promise I will, I choose for you to spare the Talons. Please forgive me Tyuki. I know you'd pick the same. We are protectors. You are a the greatest person I have ever met."

Andrew bowed his head, and closed his eyes. Blood was running from his nose now. His demise was all but signed for.
"Just get it over with and kill me."

[Proarden (Gravity Man)]

"I figured as much, however I have to ask....just how much of the Talons will be left?" Gravitas asked as he jabbed the needle into Tyuki's neck. Tyuki dropped forward and began to convulse, a heaving motion as she began to vomit blood. Her body began to turn pale as bones started making a crunching and snapping noise, her arm shooting outwards as her fingertips began to bleed. Bone protrusions slowly edged forth from her hands as the skin on her back began to overgrow where the wings had been, fleshy slabs of flesh compiling and draping like doughy wings that dropped as a rather heavy cape. The macabre transformation was only beginning as her vertebra literally slid from their placed, her back hunching as sharp spines began to form and bone began to fuse. Her teeth became sharp as her lip split, cracked and literally peeled back, revealing bloody gums and blood covered fangs.

  Her tongue formed a large proboscis-like appendage as she cried out, her nose shifting slightly upwards, the bone become a spear-head like horn and her full and once beautiful cheeks began to wither and rot, transforming into sacs of fluid with small slits to allow said liquid to enter her mouth. Her torso began to shift, her rib-cage opening up and beginning to move around, like individual fingers as her height shifted. Within the ribcage it could be seen that several barbs has formed within.

  The once beautiful heroine was now a nightmarish visage in which one would normally only see by taking heroin...

  "Look at her Andrew. Look at her and know that when you die...this is how the world will remember her. All because you were a proud, stupid little man." He said before he whistled, the creature's deformed head jerked to attention as it followed him.  "Well actually...they'll be remembering her as the monster that rampaged and killed thousands. You told me to kill her. So kill her I shall. Legacy and all." he said with a chuckle as he pointed in a direction, the creature slinking off in that manner as he tailed closely behind it.

  "Very sorry for the intrusion Doctor. I just wanted the world to see how far the Phoenix had fallen." He called up at the large Dressler, finally clearing the immediate area for Dressler to take his strike.

[Thorgron]

Finally! Dressler groaned out to the defeated hero below. He could almost feel the sorrow in him. It was delightful, the breaking of the will of a man such as this. And to see Gravity Man's machinations played out truly impressed him, even if he was aware of the trickery behind it. But that was not the point. A broken man knelt before him, a defeated man. Seeing him now so humbled, Dressler felt almost that would be a shame to kill him. After all, if he were dead he could not suffer the weight of his loss for the remainder of his life. But that was a foolish thought. Dressler would instead take so much more from him. With nothing else left, he would now get to take his future, the potential for happiness or sadness or any of it. But of course he couldn't help to add insult to injury.

They call you a hero because they don't know any better. His words dripped with monstrous globs of saliva as he sensed the encroaching end.

People die, the weak die, it is their only natural end. All you serve to do is stir a false hope in the most pathetic of human kind. A blast of air assaulted Phoenix as Dressler scoffed. His lowered now, rows of massive jagged teeth only feet from the man.

And when I snuff out your flame do you know what they will say of you? Nothing. The people you inspire will move on, find new false idols to worship. Because your inspiration your "heroism" is the junk food of a populace with no idea what is good for them. With his right hand Dressler would reach down the broken man and press a single clawed finger to his chest. It's tip would extend and sharpen, ever so slightly piercing the flesh above his sternum.

But I will do you an honor Phoenix. Should your name be whispered in the years to come it will be as a warning, a cautionary tale told to children and impressed on their feeble minds as fact. You will be the man who set out to oppose Dr. Dressler. You will be the example of what happens when even the mightiest of men stands in opposition to ME! Snapping out this final word Dressler would thrust his arm forward, the sharpened limpet teeth spear at the end of his finger piercing straight through the man's breastbone.

He would still be alive as Dressler reared back in triumph, his arms flinging back as a guttural triumphant laugh bellowed from within him, his head thrown back in the cackling. In between laughs he would raise the dying Phoenix to his face once more.

Farewell Phoenix he spat out, an all too satisfied smile cracking his monstrous maw. Know as the Abyss claims you that you die the last patriot of an idea never worth fighting for.

[Red]

END

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