When the heatvision blast came his way, Rich threw up a construct and then dodged before the heatvision broke through.
Then the constructs of the Corpsman faded and he changed it up a bit. Instead, he tossed up constructs of the New Warriors -- the original team. Speedball bounced around the battlefield, slamming off of other constructs and into Prime, moving around completely unpredictably. Firestar blasted green ring energy at Prime that looked like flames. Night Thrasher and Namorita got right up in his face, fighting him hand to hand, and Marvel Boy put up green shields that looked like teke to protect Rich (and sometimes Sam) as they shot around the battlefield.
"I fought in a war where an omnicidal maniac was trying to destroy all life in the universe. He killed billions of innocent people. Whole worlds. You're damn right I killed Annihilus. But it wasn't because I was mad."
Sure, he'd been furious. After a war where he'd led the resistance against him, after trying to counter his every move, after failing to stop countless acts of bloodshed initiated by him, after losing the Corps and Xandar to him, he'd hated Annihilus. But that wasn't the only reason, and Rich figured this here was something of a teaching moment, for both Sam and this lunatic that claimed he wanted to be a hero.
"I did it to save all life in the universe. I did it because no prison would've held him, and because the billions of spacebugs that were his troops would've kept fighting unless he was dead. No one that calls themselves a hero should kill someone just because they're mad. Hell, I was mad when a war criminal almost killed my little brother, but her, I arrested, because life could go on if she was alive and there were tribunals to try her and a prison that could hold her."
Rich finally managed to pull off a shot that damaged one of the energy siphons on the suit. It was the same one that he'd noticed Sam get a few hits on, too. Between the two of them, the damage finally took.
"That's what I'm teaching the kid: that unless the goddamn universe is ending, unless there's no other way to save lives, justice is more important than vengeance. Seems like if you think you're supposed to be a hero, it's a lesson you need to learn, too. What you're doing right now? This ain't justice. This ain't saving lives. This is just you acting out your rage on everyone around you. I don't know why you have so much of it, but you're not protecting anyone or anything by doing this. You're just helping monsters that wanna see innocents die."
no subject
Then the constructs of the Corpsman faded and he changed it up a bit. Instead, he tossed up constructs of the New Warriors -- the original team. Speedball bounced around the battlefield, slamming off of other constructs and into Prime, moving around completely unpredictably. Firestar blasted green ring energy at Prime that looked like flames. Night Thrasher and Namorita got right up in his face, fighting him hand to hand, and Marvel Boy put up green shields that looked like teke to protect Rich (and sometimes Sam) as they shot around the battlefield.
"I fought in a war where an omnicidal maniac was trying to destroy all life in the universe. He killed billions of innocent people. Whole worlds. You're damn right I killed Annihilus. But it wasn't because I was mad."
Sure, he'd been furious. After a war where he'd led the resistance against him, after trying to counter his every move, after failing to stop countless acts of bloodshed initiated by him, after losing the Corps and Xandar to him, he'd hated Annihilus. But that wasn't the only reason, and Rich figured this here was something of a teaching moment, for both Sam and this lunatic that claimed he wanted to be a hero.
"I did it to save all life in the universe. I did it because no prison would've held him, and because the billions of spacebugs that were his troops would've kept fighting unless he was dead. No one that calls themselves a hero should kill someone just because they're mad. Hell, I was mad when a war criminal almost killed my little brother, but her, I arrested, because life could go on if she was alive and there were tribunals to try her and a prison that could hold her."
Rich finally managed to pull off a shot that damaged one of the energy siphons on the suit. It was the same one that he'd noticed Sam get a few hits on, too. Between the two of them, the damage finally took.
"That's what I'm teaching the kid: that unless the goddamn universe is ending, unless there's no other way to save lives, justice is more important than vengeance. Seems like if you think you're supposed to be a hero, it's a lesson you need to learn, too. What you're doing right now? This ain't justice. This ain't saving lives. This is just you acting out your rage on everyone around you. I don't know why you have so much of it, but you're not protecting anyone or anything by doing this. You're just helping monsters that wanna see innocents die."