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*Are we going with them, ma'am?*
Kara holds up halting hand to some intra-squad conversation as she stares at William's retreating and cape-bedecked back.
'Negative. The blow-hard made this bed. Let him sleep in it. Also, -if- his dumb plan is going to work, our presence there might complicate things.
*hee* We can always ride in to the rescue. That's fun too.'
The ten LexCorp employees and one relation descend to the floor and let the tension drain out of the room. A few start walking the perimeter, a few more start checking some of the more standard computer systems, keeping an eye out to make sure the power and O2 stay on.
The situation stable, for the moment, Imagine turns her aforementioned uncomfortably attractive face and favors Gigabyte with a smile while they watch Unhuman's plan take shape.
'Whaaa?? Li'l ol' me??? Gah, for starts, daddy -hates- loafers. He's only okay with me goin' freakcore so long as I'm travelling. Since I'm in the States now, it's either this or, ugh, real work. And we can't have that can we?
Besides, been there done that. Totes t3h bores! You can only mind-control so many hot virgins into public stripping before it gets old. An' the lush way, I smash something through a glass window, it gets in all the papers with headlines about "Wut wrong wit her" an' stuff. I do it here, I get a parade. Or at least I would if I wanted one. Huh. I might do that. You want a parade when we're done here? Gov'ment'll pay for it.
Also, world getting blown up, 's bad for biz. Supes might'a been fine not gettin' paid, but daddy gives me stock options for every city I save that has LexCorp assets in it. D00d, you should -see- my 401K.
So, you really think he'll pull it off?'
At the arrival of the Braniac bots and the classic Justice League, The Martian seems confused. He spins about in the air, taking in the images, casually swats aside a bot that gets too close, and then
"Kitchen control, the scenario has malfunctioned. You are supposed to be displaying a historical record of the encounter between the Burning Martians and the Lords of Order. The founding members of the Justice League should not be present in this simulation. Please shut down and reload the scenario."
He returns his attention to the beam of green light emanating from the city and waits for a response.
'Superman' starts to float in mid air, now clearly at odds with the more automous members who mindlessly followed his orders. William sends a subtle message to gigabyte to falsify some heat vision on his signal, to help solidify his facade. "I'm afraid that's my fault J'ohn. The computer was long overdo for repairs in the first place, and using my override codes seems to have triggered this scenario."
He pauses, flexing his index finger as a sign to blast a robot who came to close. "Mind telling me what this is about? I received some sort of distress call from Victor, and I come back to see you flying off and watching old movies."
"Kal-El of Krypton, you have come seeking your friend J'onn J'onz. He is no more. His weakness has been purged from our genetic structure. We are the Burning, the true rulers of this solar system. You have named yourself a protector of the primitive beasts that live on Earth, but that must end. You are nearly as powerful as us, Kal-El. If you agree to serve us, we shall allow you to serve in our armies of conquest."
Standing on air, he floats closer to Superman.
Will glances to his left, where he last felt Fate's presence. He the turns his head propped in order to cover up his tell, and observes the far off city against the backdrop of destruction.
"'The Burning'...?" He trails off, before turning back to the Martian with a frown. He doesn't bring up that topic for now, and instead tries to speak to J'ohn as a friend, asking what happened down there on Earth. They had known each other for years, with Superman easily being the closest of the league with him, which was evident in stories J'ohn used to tell William.
"What happened?...J'onn was attacked. Some sort of machine. Hurled fire at him. He panicked. Lost control. The fire burned him. He was trapped, trapped in his own mind. And then visitors came...Came into his mind. And freed him. But didn't realize it wasn't him. The thing keeping him in check wasn't him. It was something else. It was a restraint put in place millenia ago. Keeping us in check. Free of the constraints of those who would keep us from our rightful place, afraid that we would outgrow them."
Fate searches the memories of Nabu from the depths of time, but Az' link with Nabu is nebulous when it comes to tapping this information. But he knew one thing: this evil must not be allowed to stand.
Fate prepares to attack with a powerful mystic blast, but waits for Unhuman's lead.
He speaks with his face twisted in confusion, "Freed him but didn't? You're not making much sense J'ohn, you've clearly been through something very traumatic. Why don't we take you home and find some help." He naively reaches out as if to grasp the Martian's shoulder, opening himself up to a potential attack if he were to turn violent.
"J'ONN IS GONE SUPER-MAN. DO NOT DARE TO TOUCH THE BURNING!"
The nimbus of fire surrounding him coalesces as a burning halo around his head, which he directs through his eyes, beams of heat vision blasting into Unhuman.
Unhuman yells in pain as the fire lashes at him, loosing concentration of his disguise and revealing himself. He grasps at his arm in pain, too shocked to react.
"NO MORE!" Fate says, becoming visible.
He sends the magic he'd prepared up against "THE BURNING".
Will Save (DC 27, I believe).
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'Nailed it!' Imagine announces as things go t@%! up. 'Whoa. It's just TOO bad that someone didn't see that coming, eh?
Alright, Giga-saur-a-byte-ous, I gotta go save the day. And say 'I told you so.' Maybe in that order, not sure yet. Keep me in the loop in case I -don't- have to go all ultraviolent in the next six seconds. Bye-ee!'
Imagine flies over to the entrance of the holodeck, the LexSec guard following her lead. They all pile up at the entrance, ready to room-burst it. Their internal comms alive with tactical chatter.
***Grenades, Captain Attero?***
***Negative. Allies are already in CQC.***
***Make us do it the hard way, eh?***
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"Wait Imagine!" shouts Gigabyte as Kara and the Lexmarines prepare to break in "Take Unhuman outta there, you and your guys fly faster than I do. I'll... ugh... draw his attention with some tasty live bait... Godammit, I hate fire... Why did it have to be fire?"
The cyborg readies himself to enter first and quite literally throw himself to The Burning.
With a last moment thought, the cyborg quickly sends a message back to the Hall "If things go ploint shaped in there.... delete my browsing history, V.I.C."
The Burning is startled by the sudden appearance of Fate, but recovers faster than thought.
Nabu, after all this time, you are waiting for my return. Have you nothing to do but Vex us.
The Martian charges Fate, smashing into him with a terrifying fury.
His fists enlarge, striking Fates helm again and again. D.C. 33 Toughness for Fate.
You guys need to hit 22 and toughness is +18 (Impervios 10) this round. You can resolve your attacks since I am partly out of commission.
The Lords of Order will not permit your return!
Toughness Save
Fate shrugs off the powerful onslaught with only the slightest of effects. We're too evenly matched. Hopefully the others can turn the tide.
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'Hmm? What?' Imagine calls back to Gigabyte. 'I seem to recall the plan was for Un-not-plus-double-un-good-SuperHumanMan to talk J'ohnn J'ohnnEbeeGUD into become a baker and making us all tasty apple tarts. Now that FRICKIN' LAZER BEEMS are coming out of one certain martian's eyes, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that all plans formerly-known-as "plans" are now null and void.
Also, "evacuation" isn't "exactly" my "style." I'm more a "hit it until it breaks or wants to go out with me" kinda girl-thing. If we hit J'ohnn and he breaks, then Bill isn't in trouble anymore. Boom. Winning!'
The speech goes by fast as thought and the LexSex funnel in, each column of five going along one of the walls to present a maximized field of fire.
They all fire at the Martian, but their plasma bolts have no discernible effect on the burning man.
'Hmmmmm. Alright, I guess we're gonna do this thing. Congrats, big boy! You get a shot at the title.
Also, Mind Control.'
Imagine is curious to see if he's as insurmountable awake as he was asleep.
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"Dammit, Luthor, stop trying to steal the spotlight away from my stupid noble sacrifice!" yells Gigabyte as he darts inside the room and beelines the Superhero Formerly Known as Martian Manhunter.
As he is about to reach the Burning, Gigabyte turns up to 11 his voice and says "Smile for the photo, Cinderboy!"
You will fall, as in olden times, fiend!
Fate attempts another mystic blast:
Fate's mystic blast catches The Martian firmly, penetrating his defenses and momentarily disrupting his control of his physiology.
Gigabytes punches defore The Martian, reorganizing his face and chest as though he is made of clay.
Fate considers the best action. The possessed martian has proven remarkably resilient to both physical and mystical attacks. Perhaps something to slow him down for others with more "punch" would be more effective.
Grabbing metal plating from a nearby wall using his magnetic control, Dr. Fate wraps the metals tightly around the martian, hoping to allow the others to continue capitalizing on his helplessness.
William manages to finally bite through the pain, looking on at his once master. "J'ohn, please, you need to snap out of this! I know you're in there somehwhere, this isn't you!"
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'That's cute, Bill. Maybe if we offer him some fresh croissants and a frapachinio he'll -really- be our friend.
Or maybe you just have to keep asking. Fortunately you're gonna get that time.'
The ten armored suits of the Lex-Sec charge forward head-long, their heavy metal feet clanging down in the rush of angry men trained for combat, and as one they flow over the Martian's form. Each man is an Olympic-class hand-to-hand fighter, and they currently posses strength to rival even top-notch heroes. They each seek arm or leg-locks to immobilize they skilled foe, as Imagine leads the attack with telekinetic grappling of her own.
The Martian's expression, and indeed even his facial features, soften, becoming more like J'onn's typical features. He speaks into your minds, "Unhuman, not here, the threat is not here. There are more of us, back on Earth. The League hid them, wiped their minds. The Burn is like a virus, changes DNA. Project Deep Wells. Look it up. Hidden beyond your clearance, but Vic can help--"
J'onn arches in pain as his mind is overcome, shaking through the LexSec squad. His features blur again, sharpening and elongating, becoming The Burning Martian once again.
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"Vic, did you copy that?" said Gigabyte to his technospiritual liege through the comm before throwing his right hand back, glowing with electricity... "We'll need as much info as you can dig up!"
With a grin, the almost mint condition cyborg said "Hey B.M., tell J'onn I'm sorry for this." as he threw his punch forward as hard as he could.
Since fisticuffs are once again en vogue, Fate will attack the Martian as well, once he gets a chance.
He launches a heated glare over at imagine, before turning back to his corrupted mentor. "He is still in there... But this, 'virus', it's strong."
He pulls back his fist, hesitating, "I'm Sorry J'ohn, but I will save you. I promise."
His fist flies forward!
"J'onn is gone, weakling. And perhaps you are too polluted to return to our Greatness."
William's fist flies into the burning Martian, and he pulls it out still covered in flame.
The Burning Martian sags within the metal plates and armored figures surrounding him. The camera circles the group, taking in the expressions and poses of our four heroes come together to down a powerful foe.
Az looks down, somewhat amazed at what he's just participated in. It seems his mentor Nabu's people, the Lords of Order, have some sort of history with this guy, but it must be something that hadn't yet come up in their studies. For all that Fate was a combined entity, the peculiarities of which parts were Az and which were Nabu were a little confusing even to him.
Az wondered briefly what Jessica was up to. She had some things going on in her life that he felt he'd like to help her with, but...
The others notice Fate standing pensively. It's hard to tell if it's just his usual silence or he's deep in thought.
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Imagine purses her lips and taps her foot. 'No, srsly, are we killing this thing, or just punching him until he goes under? I can help with either. Just, uh, just let me know.'
The LexSec continue to cinch in their vice-like joint locks, uncaring of how long they must maintain it. Holding someone and punching them is a drill they run every week.
William reels away from watching his hurt mentor in despair, rage in his eyes. "'That thing' is one of Earth's greatest heroes, and he had no choice! Something, some... Virus has poisoned him. We can fight this, we can change him back! We are not going to kill him because of something he couldn't control!"
He takes a shuddering breath, pushing down the rage inheritant of his Martian mother. "I'm sorry, that was... Too much. He's he's out right now. But he'll be up soon if we don't find a way to keep him under. Gigabyte, this facility... Did it have cibtainment cells? Somethibg that'd negate or counter his abilities?"
Taking off his helmet to reveal a brown-haired young man in his late teens or early 20s, Az sits cross-legged with the Nabu artifact in his lap, and begins to meditate on his teachings from the compound on how to contact spirits. He's looking for the information from Nabu on how the Lords of Order imprisoned The Burning previously.
Arcane Lore
Drawing on his memories, and inspired by the scene that was being played out by the simulation, Az reaches deeply into his collected memories.
The Lords of Order went to war with the Burning Martians 20,000 years ago. During that time, the planet Mars was inhabited by a violent, powerful and chaotic race of beings known as the Burning Martians. This frighteningly intelligent race were not only barbaric and ruthless but brilliant as well. The species reproduced asexually with fire being a catalyst in the spawning process with psychic suffering faced by others combined with a roaring inferno being important aspects in their reproductive process. As such, the species was seemingly made to simply cause suffering whereupon they burnt and bred in an endless cycle of destruction. The Lords of Order feared that this race could spill across the universe in a wave of destruction in only a few more centuries.
The Lords of Order were not willing to eradicate the Martians, and so they inserted a psychic and genetic lock into the Burning Martians, causing them to be afraid of fire, vulnerable to fire. This lack of fire would keep them from getting off of their planet until they developed anti gravity technology, and prevent them from causing suffering across the universe.
Fate explains the general gist of his vision.
So what went wrong? And how do we flip the switch and get J'onn back in control. Because in the end, it's gonna have to be him that wins this battle. All we can do is restraint.
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"Containment here is superb, guys... but it isn't "Overpowered flaming evil masterminds can't escape" levels of superb." comments Gigabyte "Perhaps we could stick him into the Phantom Zone or something while we look for a more definitive solution... but anything sort of that will fail in the end."
After Fate has spoken Gigabyte says "Well, I think I know what went wrong: he got the fire he needed." Kyle turns to Unhuman "How can I say this... can we be sure you... you know... won't go "Praise the fire!" and turn on us?"