legionmissions | WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD - Mod Plot [Mission Log Post]

As Kon sent rocks flying towards Stardust, Alexander signaled to the other two to attack at will.

"All the more the fool are you, then," he said, sneering beneath his helmet, drawing the blackened steel greatsword at his back. "And the greater the fool is your master for tolerating subordinates who dare to waste time on meaningless distractions."

Arrogance was the downfall of many warriors, even those with the strength to back it up. If they could cut at her pride, they might be able to enrage her. A dangerous proposition, to be sure, but it would make her easier to redirect her to a more advantageous position for them.

Though he didn't understand the technology or science involved, the Legion support staff had informed him prior to deploying that the mines in the area might have volatile substances or energy production facilities that could be overloaded simply by causing destruction near them. It certainly wouldn't be enough to kill her outright, but it might be enough to destroy her body long enough to deploy the threshold devices and seal her away.

Might being the operative term, there.

He charged forward with his flight ring, dodging around Kon's attacks as he closed the distance with Stardust. He'd been practicing his flying skills on his own, building up enough confidence to do battle mid-air.

"Even a slavering beast knows how to consume," he jeered, darting in and out, making simple, probing attacks at the creature to gauge her abilities. "What makes your mindless master so different?"

He knew he might get himself killed taunting her like that, but the threat was there to begin with. Besides, death held few mysteries for him by now.

It was working. She was getting nice and riled up. Unlike the Silver Surfer, who was calmer and more calculating -- a dangerous combination -- Stardust was rage and righteousness. While that held its own dangers, it also meant it was easy to rile her to anger and carelessness.

Which could indeed possibly be turned to their advantage. Aside from the sun cannon in orbit she could be led up to be in the path of, there were facilities here with volatile energy cores and high-energy mining equipment, as well as other dangers that had never been cleaned up. There were even undetonated high-energy munitions from the Titan-Braal war, duds that had crashed and never exploded, but still had explosive energy cores.

"You dare! You dare insult my master? Your lips are unworthy to even speak his name!"

Stardust moved to blast at Alexander with her staff, but that was when Superboy started pelting her with rocks, making her aware again that there were people around her. It didn't seem to hurt her but it at least gave Alexander a reprieve so that she didn't get to attack him instantly. And that moment would give them all a chance to attack her first.

In some small way, Gohan was thankful that their plan didn't work. He wasn't sure why exactly, but... when she called out their trap like that, Gohan couldn't deny the excitement that shot through him at the idea of getting to fight her directly. Granted, the conscious part of him was still worried that he would mess this up, and was practically screaming at him to stick to the plan, to keep to long range, to tactically take Stardust out...

But the Saiyan part of him, the part that was genuinely curious about how far he could push his abilities, and saw an opponent he could try that out on... that part of him wanted the challenge.

His golden aura flared around him, covering his whole body. Before finally, he moved out of the rocks, and looked up to face the distracted Stardust. He opened his hands flat, and put them both over his forehead, palms facing outward. Bright yellow energy forming in front of his hands, unstable crackling coming from it, before he finally yelled out:

"Masenko... HAAAAA!"

Edited 2016-05-29 00:37 (UTC)

Tadashi didn't try to verbally rile her up. He could see the benefits of doing so, but also knew that he'd be pretty terrible at it. Riling people up was pretty much the opposite of what he'd spent his life up until this point doing. Instead, he cranked the suppressor on his gauntlet all the way down and charged out of hiding with his heart in his throat to unleash a veritable tsunami of fire at Stardust.

Hopefully, between the training he'd done and everyone else being aware of the limits of his control, Stardust would be the only one to get hit.

The blasts from their powers seemed to be doing some damage, but not enough to destroy her -- at least not yet. But it was a start. If they could find some other way of laying on extra damage, like unearthing some of the mining equipment, it might be enough.

At this point, her rage made her words to devolve into angry screaming. With a sweeping circular arc of her staff, the power cosmic surged at them in a dangerous wave. It was possible for them to jump or fly over it or dive under it, but they'd have to move fast.

Edited 2016-05-31 02:38 (UTC)

For Superboy, the answer was up, more out of instinct than anything else. But this time, he stayed quiet, not because he lacked commentary (believe him, there was plenty to say), but because he'd noticed something when he launched those rocks at Stardust. Something strange... but possibly useful.

He had only used this power a handful of times before (or so he thought—that wasn't quite right), but he thought he was starting to understand it a little better. Every time he used it, he figured something else out, so while a part of him realized this probably wasn't the best time for experimenting, Superboy touched back down on the ground anyway, hoping the others would be able to keep Stardust sufficiently busy while he worked this out.

Because he'd actually felt those things underground. Somehow. He hadn't been looking before, but when he'd touched the rocks and willed them to move, he'd felt them.

"I just got a crazy idea," he said to himself. He hadn't used his power quite like this before, but if he could blow things up, who said he couldn't bring them up? He wasn't sure how he'd do it, but if he could find a spot where the ground was loose enough, just like that mound of rocks, and if he wanted it bad enough, then maybe...

As Gohan and Tadashi began their assault, Alexander began to move defensively, staying out of Stardust's reach as best he could, giving her enough distance that he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. Even so, he was still dangerously close to her, so he had a split second to react when she prepared to unleash her attack.

Thankfully, centuries of combat honed his reflexes to the peak of human ability. As she moved to attack, he dove straight down towards the ground, flying low enough to make for a difficult target.

It was then that he noticed Superboy temporarily pulling out of the fight. It seemed like he had an idea, so Alexander decided to trust his gut instinct to go with it. He radioed the others over the comms just loud enough that they could hear him without Stardust getting wind of what they were planning.

"Team, we're providing support for Superboy. I will continue to draw her attention," he said, before tossing a throwing knife from a pouch at his hip, which landed at the pile of rocks and rubble Superboy was concentrating on. "Gohan, Tadashi, continue your assault. When I draw her over the marked location, use your attacks to knock the rubble loose. If we're lucky, she won't notice anything awry until it's too late."

He turned his attention back to Stardust, whom he had been flying away from as he'd been strategizing.

"Come now, beast," he yelled up at her, moving towards the rubble. He hoped to steer her just far enough away from Superboy that she wouldn't notice what he was up to. "Surely you can do better. If this is the extent of your 'power cosmic,' then your master must be truly pathetic!"

By now, Alexander was resigned to dying horribly very soon. It was only a matter of when at this point.

Edited 2016-05-31 16:08 (UTC)

Her rage meant that she didn't overhear their communications with each other. It also meant she didn't notice what Superboy was doing. She was too focused on the subject of her ire.

"You will suffer for your words, you insignificant speck!"

She flew towards Alexander at breakneck speed, sweeping her staff in another dangerous arc. This one shot the power cosmic at him, but also swept up large chunks of stone in his direction.

She was leaving herself wide open. Not only would Superboy have time to work the mining equipment out of the ground, she also just wasn't watching Gohan and Tadashi. She was too blinded by her rage, enough to not even consider that their attacks could drive her into a possible trap.

Edited 2016-06-01 07:24 (UTC)

The power cosmic wasn't too difficult for someone like Gohan to dodge, especially given his trained reflexes. However, it looked like Stardust wasn't a pushover either, if she could take one of his signature attacks like that and still keep kicking. He hadn't been expecting to be able to take her down that easily, mostly just curious as to how much power one of Galactus' heralds could handle.

However, before he could put more of his energy into a stronger attack, Alexander's orders came in.

They had a new plan. Alright, Gohan could work with that. He wasn't sure just what it was they had planned, but he wasn't about to question his teammates when the stakes were this high. Instead, Gohan moved a bit higher in the air, holding his hands out, and peppering Stardust with a constant barrage of energy blasts. They weren't high energy, so they wouldn't exhaust Gohan too much. But they were still fast and consistent, very clearly meant to pressure her and not do any actual damage.

He needed to maintain his energy, after all.

Unlike Gohan, Tadashi pretty much had two settings: off and on. So after he rolled to his feet after dodging low to avoid the wave of cosmic energy Stardust had sent their way, he unleashed another wave of fire. Even if Stardust weren't consumed by rage, she'd have a hard time seeing Gohan's attacks coming through all that fire.

"I don't know how useful I'll be knocking rubble loose," he panted, his words coming out high and tight at the flames bloomed forth from his hands, "but I can definitely keep being a distraction!"

The wave of fire did cover up Gohan's attacks and hiding the energy with energy made it difficult to tell the two apart.

Stardust tried to simply power through it, still trying to go after Alexander. The blasts made her have to dig her feet in the ground with each step to avoid being knocked back.

Everything was lining up. Her back was to Superboy now, so if he could get the mining equipment above ground in the next few moments, they'd finally be poised to take her down.

This probably would've gone a lot quicker if he still had super strength. This thing—no, this machine, it had to be a machine—was heavy. Really heavy. And it shouldn't be, not for him. But he could move it with this power of his, and that was exactly what Superboy was going to do, no matter what it took.

With his hands on the ground, Superboy couldn't just 'feel' the machine, he could also move it... with his mind, probably—that was the only explanation. And he could 'feel' it as the machine moved toward the surface, and while he hadn't been feeling too powerful a few moments ago, he was sure feeling it now.

"Hey, guys, I got Stardust a present," he said, his voice a little strained but cool. He talked big, of course, but he actually had no idea if this was going to work. But hey, gotta fake it 'til you make it, right? With Stardust nearby, he gave the machine one last 'push,' and out it popped from the ground. "You think she's gonna like it?"

He wasn't as strong as he should be, so that alone might not be enough to do any serious damage, but that was fine, because now that it was up here, they had a pretty powerful weapon on their side.

Alexander had managed to dodge Stardust's attacks for the most part, but the spray of rocks she'd sent flying with her assault managed to take him by surprise. Several smaller rocks managed to hit him with sufficient force to send him falling back down to the ground, hard.

Though shaken, he managed to pull himself back up relatively quickly. Even so, this left him wide open for Stardust to land a killing blow.

But that also meant that she'd probably be focused enough on him that the others would be able to finish the job.

"Excellent work, lad," he called over to Superboy. "Someone, get on that machine and use it, we don't have much time!"

He was right on both counts. Stardust was focused on him enough that the others would be able to finish the job. In fact, the position he'd drawn her into was perfect for setting up the high-energy beam drill Superboy had unearthed to hit her from behind. Fortunately, the controls were very easy to use. There was even a little instructional diagram on it.

"Wretch!" she cried out, and with a wave of her hand she created a mini black hole, right there in the planet's atmosphere. Air started to whoosh into it and stones started to rise into the air. "Now you'll be consumed by the darkness, never to speak ill of my master again!"

And with that, she swooped forward and caught Alexander by the arm, hurling him into the mini black hole.

[ooc: The hole will close up after Alexander is tossed through.]

Welp.

He had certainly known that she would end up killing him at some point, but he was expecting something a bit more, shall we say...conventional.

Yet now he found himself sailing towards something that could easily be described as a ravenous, gaping maw torn out of the fabric of time and space. This would likely prove an interesting experience for Alexander, to say the least.

He had little time to react, and he was flung far too hard to redirect his course in time using his flight ring. He resigned himself to dying once more, but not before taking a little indulgence first.

You see, Alexander spent much of his free time reading. Though not a formally educated man, he developed a taste for reading after having spent so much time in Lordran all on his lonesome. After all, such an ancient place was filled with books and scrolls of all sorts, providing him a relatively pleasant way to pass the time.

So upon coming to this reality, he spent a lot of time reading about various things, such as technology, history, and culture. In particular, he was interested in the history and culture of Earth, which in certain ways paralleled that of his own world.

In his reading, he came upon reference to a particular gesture of defiance. One believed to have originated when an ancient band of warriors, just before a battle long lost to history, chose to show their enemies that they could still draw their bows against them. Over time, the gesture took on more vulgar connotations, but the defiant meaning remained.

And so, as he sailed towards the black hole, Alexander twisted himself around, staring Stardust down one last time as he headed towards yet another death, and held up a single finger.

The finger between his index and ring fingers.

Yes, just before certain death, Alexander was staring down a cosmic horror of immense power and flipping it the bird.

After all, he was going to die anyway. Might as well have the last laugh before everything's said and done.

But with that little indulgence out of the way, Alexander reached the point of no return: The event horizon of the black hole. Scientists would likely kill to know of his perspective on what it was like being sucked into a black hole. For Alexander himself, it was a quick process. In an instant, he was pulled in, and everything went black once more.

Edited 2016-06-06 15:26 (UTC)

"NO!"

Gohan hadn't gotten the chance to read up on everyone's powers before they intercepted Stardust. He'd been so distracted by everything involving Galactus, that he simply hadn't thought about it. As such, he only knew their powers based on what he was seeing right now, at least in the case of Kon and Tadashi. In the case of Alexander though, Gohan had been completely blind...

Which was why everything suddenly went red for him.

"You..." He just saw Stardust kill an innocent man. No regret, no remorse, just sheer satisfaction as she killed him in the name of her master. She hadn't even given it a second thought, hadn't even considered that taking a life was wrong. She just did it... and in that moment, Gohan saw Stardust for what she truly was.

"YOU MONSTER!"

All thoughts on holding back were gone. All thoughts on fighting a challenging opponent pushed aside. Gohan felt the dam within him break, and in that moment, he felt white hot rage as his aura exploded around him. He wasn't thinking as he flew right at her, wasn't thinking as he landed a super-powered punch on her while surrounded by energy. All he wanted to do was hurt her. Again. And again. And again.

At some point, his punches knocked her into just the right position for the drilling machine to be used. That had been enough for Gohan to regain some of his senses, even if it was for just a moment. He still wanted to hurt her, to see her dead for what she did. But he'd recovered just enough of his senses to know that he didn't have the power for that...

Not alone, anyway.

"YOU THINK YOUR STUPID POWER COSMIC IS ALL POWERFUL? THEN SHOW ME!" He cupped his hands to his side then, floating a ways away from Stardust. The drilling machine a ways behind her, as he hopefully kept her attention on him. He didn't care how it happened, Stardust wasn't gonna be hurting anyone else. And as a blue sphere of energy began to gather in his hands, it was obvious that he wasn't playing around anymore.

"KA... ME..."

Tadashi cried out in horror as Alexander flew into the black hole. He'd read up on the team, he knew that Alexander's power was supposed to be limited resurrection, but how limited? Was it something that could take care of spaghettification?

Gohan acted first, flying in to hold Stardust's attention, and Alexander was gone, and Superboy was busy holding the drill in place. Someone had to activate it. Someone had to help.

Tadashi took off across the broken ground, taking to the air to avoid stumbling and falling. He swung himself into the driver's seat, scanning the instructional diagram and froze.

He'd spent his life building things to help people. He'd spent the last several years designing and constructing a nursebot, and here he was aiming a mining drill at someone's back. No it wouldn't kill her, and yes, she'd just murdered someone in front of him and intended to murder an entire planet-worth of people and then more, but...

The padding on the handles of the machine caught fire and Tadashi recoiled with a yelp. The flames shot up higher, but the padding crumbled away before the metal got too hot to manipulate.

He had to do this. Someone had to do this, and it was him, and this was how he could help.

Tadashi swallowed hard, aimed, and fired.

The beam caught Stardust at just the right angle to avoid harming Gohan. She screeched a horrible, enraged screech as it tore her apart.

Afterward, a cloud of glowing energy hung there in the air. All they needed now was to activate two of their devices and she'd be safely trapped and unable to coalesce.

They'd done it. Now Galactus only had the Surfer as his herald and there was a chance to convince him to lead Galactus safely away from Braal, into the Legion's trap, without Stardust interfering.

WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD - Mod Plot [Mission Log Post]

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Posting order: Gohan and Tadashi, then Stardust

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Posting order: Kon and Alexander, then Stardust again

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Posting order: Gohan and Tadashi, then Stardust

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Posting order: Kon and Alexander (you can get everything lined up to take her down now!)

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Posting order: Alexander (so he can react) then Gohan and Tadashi

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