2013.03.30 - You Will Kneel, Finale

You will kneel. Finale

Within This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.--Francis Bacon

Within the past hour, SUPERMAN has been apprehended by General DRU-ZOD's Kryptonian Clones. In response, General "Thunderbolt" Ross of the United States Army met with heroes and hatched a prompt attack plan. Using military technology garnered from a mysterious green meteor that landed on Earth last summer, the government has fashioned a last resort. With Superman's assistance, they have fashioned weaponry based on the rock, which proved to be toxic to the Man of Steel. He thought he was helping prevent a catastrophe if he were ever to turn to evil. He never thought the weaponry might be used to save him.

The weaponry sends tiny shards of kryptonite. A few shots on their own will likely only injure the clones and incapacitate them, if the research by STAR LABS can be trusted. In any event, it is clear from the beat down that our heroes received that all stops must be pulled or the fate of New York, and later the world, will be at stake.

In the sky, General Zod's large ship is easily seen at the edge of the atmosphere. Now that their prey is in tow, and they feel self assured of victory, the clones have returned to the ship to await Zod's next order. The city is eerily quiet.

The fact that Green Lantern listened to the plan is a marvel in itself. Yes, he's done the whole military thing but he's always been one to fly by the seat of his pants. He wasn't even here during the last attack (planet-devouring monsters over Septoid IV, go figure), but all reports indicate these Kryptonians are no joke. So, like a good soldier, he waits for everyone else to ready themselves. He floats above the Metropolitan skyline, a faint green glow about him, and stares up at the ship in the atmosphere.

Sue Storm heard the call for assistance a bit late to help with the initial attack, but the moment she could get to the gathering point (as relayed to her via Stark's AI computer JARVIS, of all sources) she arrives in time to see all of the suspiciously advanced weaponry being handed out. Since she didn't take the time to get her hero costume, she looks very out of place in her regular clothes... or she would if she weren't moving about invisibly. She avoids the military types -- they're usually all about talking and not listening -- and moves toward one of the few people she finds to be familiar. Hal Jordan. Even if she's never met him, she's certainly heard enough about the test pilot from Ben Grimm. Both good and bad. "Are they really planning on going in shooting?" she asks quietly, and then realizes probably a second too late that she might startle the green-clad hero.

Muck and water. That's all Hulk sees, at first, as he rests on the bottom of the river. Fish float by, a few nibbling at him curiously before swimming on.

And then he remembers. Being dropped, and hitting the water on his back at terminal velocity. That hurt. Remembering that hurt makes Hulk angry, and while his roar can't be heard above, it ripples across the water for miles. He leaps up to the surface, and... just manages to get his head above water.

SECOND TRY: The Hulk comes sailing out of the river, soaring across the sky until he lands with a monumental SMASH a few hundred yards away from where the guns are being handed out. He shakes the water off of himself (not unlike a dog) then stomps over to the group. "Mine," he says, snatching one of the weapons for himself.

The doors to the bridge open smoothly and two guards bring in a standing gallows-type device where a standing Kal-El of Krypton is brought to see the general from Krypton 56a. His hands are bound to two metal stands and an intense, red light is being shown at his body. Clearly, it's some fabrication of concentrated red-sunlight, rendering Superman's powers useless.

On his throne, Zod's head kicks back as he lets out a throaty laugh. "Ah. Kal-El. Lovely to see you once again." Superman's eyes lift to meet his jailer's, his face bruised from the earlier melee. He says nothing.

"This is my favorite part of the cycle, Son of Jor-El. This is where we execute you, take over your planet, and squeeze it until it pops. They will cry for your aid, and you will not come."

"And after your Earth has been burned to ash, we will move on to the next target. And the next. And the next."

Superman finally speaks, "You seem pretty sure of yourself."

"Absolutely," retorts Zod. "This is our 13th cycle, and it shall go precisely the same as it always does." The General leans forward and looks deeply at his prey. "It was extremely difficult to break the bonds of the Phantom Zone, but with the technology and the scientists that Ursa brought for me in Krypton's dying breath-scientists that felt the way as I did and the way your father did-I was able to build all that you see around you, find a way out, and most importantly, develop a way to skip across dimensional bonds like a stone upon a still lake. I seem very sure of myself, "Man of Steel" because I am indeed very sure of myself."

_____

Gradually the heroes begin to make their way via whatever means necessary towards the target. While the military did provide the weaponry, the tactics are outside of their preparations.

Those who can fly are brought upwards towards the ship. Banner-well let's be honest: It's not clear if Banner's even in there when the Hulk is out-is being brought up on a high-tech Stark Hoverpad that gradually makes its way upwards. The controller eyes the big brute and scoots a little farther away in his seat, which overlooks the pad to the right. He does not get paid enough for this.

Green Lantern looks over the weapon he has been issued curiously, turning it about in his hands as he mutters, "Doesn't seem right using guns, regardless of the situation." Still, he doesn't drop it and instead keeps it in his off-hand as he flies with right fist outstretched. He ascends, keeping pace with the rest of the heroes and the flying machines that the earthbound types are resorting to.

The Hulk isn't exactly the smartest guy around. But a gun, he understands. Pull the trigger, destroy stuff. Simple. He can't get to the fight down here, though, so when he's directed onto the pad, he frowns but steps onto it. The guy driving it gets a Hulk side-eye when he scoots away. Yeah, the big guy can smell fear. After a few moments, he grunts out "Faster". This is taking too long. Hulk wants to smash!

Sue Storm blinks and looks after Green Lantern as he just moves on without answering her, but she doesn't take offense. Things are kind of tense right now. She didn't bother to take one of the weapons because she arrived late, and she's playing catch up still. Using her force fields and staying invisible she zooms faster to catch up with the floating platform conveying the Hulk. Maybe she can sneak in and get Superman out before anything happens to him? It's worth a try.

"Uh, right, Mr. Hulk." The controller of the pad brings the pad up as fast as it will go. Wind ripples the Hulk's hair as he gains altitude. Though the green giant feels no fear, any mortal definitely would! The Earth disappears below them and the darkness of Space grows near. As it approaches the craft, it's now close enough for the Hulk to leap to, should he so desire.

It might seem a bit ludicrous for the heroes to just enter through the main door, but the exposed hangar is the only real entry point on the strange craft. As the heroes shoot through the opening, a few of the Kryptonian Cloneguards have their eyes nearly explode from their heads. What? Earth's heroes on the counter attack? So brazen to enter through the front door? Surely you jest! One signals the alarm, as the other one floats down from the control perch to intercept the heroes. He stands with hands on hips and looks at them arrogantly. "So, you didn't get enough down on the land? You've taken to the skies to receive a bigger beating. This time, there will be no survivors."

As quickly as the words exit his mouth, a door at the far end of the hangar opens and out comes a small platoon of CloneGrunts. They're not sending the whole cavalry since they don't seem to be too convinced it'll be much trouble. They just sort of think y'all are insane.

Meanwhile, Sue also enters the hangar without incident. Though she may know Kryptonians can use X-ray vision, it's not clear if she will still be concealed or not. Of course, they need to know to use their powers. Let's hope for the BlondeBombshell's sake there is no reason to!

Green Lantern deftly touches down when the solid flooring of the hangar is beneath his feet, gun held in one hand and ring glowing on the other. He's been lost in his own thoughts the whole trip up here, but he's snapped out of it by the clone descending towards the assembled heroes and mocks them. A cocky smirk crosses his features, and Hal lifts the gun to level it at the guard who spoke, "Shut up a second, I want to see if these things work."

Then, without further ado, he fires at the clone.

Sue Storm moves through the ship as close to the ceiling of the hallways as she can, hoping that they can't see past her force field and that they aren't in the habit of looking UP. She's still trying to find where they've got Superman, and is peeking through every open doorway she has the chance to. Where are you?

This is taking forever. The Hulk waits. He's not good at waiting, at all, and as soon as the big ship- or rather, the way /into/ the big ship- is within view, he crouches down and then jumps.

Maybe he's not Banner-smart, but somehow he manages to calculate that leap perfectly, because he lands right in the middle of the open hangar. And right in front of the platoon. "SMASH YOU!" he shouts, and after firing off a flurry of rounds from his shiny new gun (Hulk likes it) he rushes at them. Hulk bowling ball? Meet clone bowling pins.

There's a piercing sound as Hal pulls the trigger of his over the shoulder Kryptonite Cannon. It spits out a hail of tiny Kryptonite slivers that pierce the big lug in several spots. A horrified look of surprise and pain comes across the face of the clone as his veins begin to flicker green. He falls to his knees and then onto his front, never really understanding how some human could have done this.

Meanwhile, Sue floats above the fray with a grace and quiet that allows her to sneak past the entrance from where the platoon came. She sees many offshoot pathways, but most of the commotion seems to be coming in front of her. Clones seem to be hurrying about as they respond to the heroes entrance. Once the reports come through that they dropped one, you can be sure that things will get even more hairy.

Hulk's shots take down a handful of clones who writhe in pain. Though they won't die, at least not immediately, they're definitely taken out of commission. As the Hulk approaches, one particularly brave Clone steps up to meet the Hulk.

SMACK!

The Hulk gets the better of the shot, and though he too is knocked back, the clone is definitely the worse for wear.

"Alright, so the magic bullets work," GL calls out to the rest of the assemblage, jogging forward to fire at the clone who just attacked the Hulk. Green people have to stick together, after all, even if one is a walking natural disaster. Green Lantern steps up to one of the wounded guards, still smirking, "Take me to your leader."

It's like a matador and a bull, except the bull definitely got in a good gore or too. Hulk reels backwards, stumbling, looking /very/ confused (how often do people charge at him?) but you all know the Hulk. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking. A few more shots are fired off, randomly, and then he rushes into the fray, one massive fist swinging as the other actually aims the gun. Hulk with a gun, guys, be afraid.

The weakened guard looks up at Green Lantern with hatred in his eyes, "My leader will never cave you, earthling! Tonight, General Zod shall dine on your flesh and sip from your blood!"

As the Green Lantern bends down, however, one of the clones resorts to heat vision, taking aim at Hal!

Meanwhile, Hulk is burrowing through Clones as though he's a shovel during a snowstorm. The beast is knocking Kryptonians left and right as he moves his way farther into the ship, and creating a wide lane for other heroes should they decide to take it.

Sue Storm gets farther from the noise of the fighting and can't help but silently hope she's not getting lost inside this ship. So she keeps looking. She /thinks/ she sees a few things that might be important to keeping this ship flying an dmakes mental notes to slice through them on her way back out. But Superman takes precedence, so she keeps going on the sneaky path.

"They don't have Burger King on Krypton?" Green Lantern smirks at the wounded clone, grabbing him by the front of his uniform and lifting him so they're face to face, "I'm going to ask again, now, and not as nicely ... "

But he's forced to stop his impromptu interrogation when the blast of heat vision flies at him, lancing through his force field and causing him to hiss in pain. In his right hand, a medieval-looking shield of green light suddenly forms and he holds it up to block any further beams. The other hand levels the Kryptonite gun, spraying it in the general direction of the clones.

A shot here, a punch to the head there, and Hulk is making excellent time through the clones. Not that he has any end goal in sight, which really isn't his thing, but at least he's coincedentally helping out by clearing the way? It could be worse, after all this /is/ the Hulk. He stops once he gets to the door that the bad guys came spilling out of, then turns around, looking back at the other green guy. Then he lifts his gun.

And fires at the clones leveling heat vision at him. Green guys gotta stick together.

If it was not clear that the heroes have come to turn the tide, it may well be now.

A sound like thunder mingled with what might be the clash of a planet-sized gong abruptly splits the room, and a beam of light pierces the air. It is joined swiftly by another, and then another, until that tiny point of light is strobing with beams of light, beams that sweep across the chamber, banishing every shadow and bathing the entire hangar in radiance.

The chamber is washed out with light, and as it fades the after-image of a glittering ankh, nearly as tall as the ceiling, shimmers into being. Floating in the center of it, arms extended to his sides and cloak billowing behind him, is none other than the Doctor Fate. From within his shimmering, ankh-shamed field, he raises his hands higher, speaking in a voice that vibrates the very walls and bulkheads of the ship.

"Invaders. You have violated the dimensional barriers, the laws of Earth, and the honor of its people. Your FATE is manifest upon you by your own hand!"

One might expect the speech to be enough to resolve the matter, but even if the Kryptonian clones CAN repel melodrama of that magnitude, what happens next may well serve to justify the onslaught of verbiage. Those streaming shafts of light suddenly focus into tight beams, beams of golden power that do not strike with force, radiation, or other known, quantifiable forms of energy. Rather, the beams are pure magic, disrupting any piece of invader technology that they touch--and as a result, they cut through the otherwise nearly indestructible Kryptonian materials like hot laser beams through butter.

Within moments, the ship is fragmenting. Barriers, doorways, and other obstacles fall away as Doctor Fate literally carves the craft apart around them.

Susan slips through the hallways undetected. Just when she's feeling that gnaw at her stomach; that fear when you think you might never find whatever it is you're looking for-when sweat begins to build just north of your brow-she hits pay dirt. She stumbles upon the throne room itself. There General Zod stands in front of his throne, berating the Man of Steel. The latter is encased in some sort of red energy field. Though Sue would probably not recognize its distinct purpose, it's clear the rays are taking his powers. He's very clearly a prisoner.

The second wave of heat ricochet's off of Jordan's impressive shield and burns a hole in the roof. The hail of kryptoshrapnel coming from both green guys takes out his attacker in a double attack for the ages.. All that's left is the backtalking guard, the moans of clones, and the Hulk at the end of the hallway. Though he doesn't realize it, the green monster is only a few leaps from the throne room itself, but more and more clones are coming, trying to squelch this suddenly very worrisome threat.

Just then, Fate makes his sudden reappearance. The Kryptonians had mistakenly thought they'd taken care of him with a tackle sandwich that would have made even the most tough Quarterback squirm. But he was only knocked down, not out. And when he returns, everyone on the ship takes notice. The immediate response is fear. To the light, the clones cower away. The ship itself is cleaved into a handful of parts, leaving vast parts where reinforcements would come from, breaking away and falling towards the sea. There is mass confusion and terror. Somehow the remaining part of the ship-the hallway leading to the bridge-stays upright and afloat, giving our heroes a quick, straight shot to where Zod and a handful of guards keep the Man of Steel.

Sue Storm floats over Zod's tacky chair and Zod himself, putting the imprisoned Man of Steel between her and Bernie McPompous over there. She approaches very cautiously, worried about hitting barriers as invisible as she is, or finding out that this odd red light makes her invisibility nil, or something like that. Her plan: to get close enough to Superman to let him know she's there, then as quick as can be make him invisible too and run away. Very fast. No, wait, not run away, more like retreat to a safer ... no, that's not right either... oh, whatever. Run away. Brave Sir Robin would be very proud.

That's about as much help as Hulk cares to give. He's not a very generous fellow, on the whole. So he resumes his stomping, this time through the door and down a corridor. Obviously he has no idea where he's going whatsoever, but there are a bunch of clones coming from one direction, and he's looking to smash more things, so that's the way he ends up heading. Luckily for him, it means he's on his way to the throne room. Except the ship is /falling apart/. Someone is doing more smashing than him, and that makes Hulk angry. /He/ does the smashing around here! Oh, look, there's Superman- who Hulk doesn't pay any attention to because there are more clones to fight. This pleases Hulk. So he starts fighting, hands coming together so he can bring them down on top of one clone's head.

The spears of light fade, and Doctor Fate, still glowing with his protective aura, shoots smoothly along the tunnel through the ship that his efforts have created. As he approaches the bridge alongside Sue, he raises a hand, casting the glow of his power upon Zod and his minions. When he speaks, his voice no longer echoes throughout the ship, but it still resonates with obvious power. "Zod. You cannot win here. It is not to be. The powers of Order will grant you a chance to withdraw." He pauses, glancing back toward the green behemoth tearing his way through the clones. "I cannot speak the same for The Hulk."

Brave, Brave, Brave, Mistress Storm fades in under the red light and she'll notice that it has no effect upon her whatsoever. She can make Superman invisible, but the problem is the bonds. No matter, Miss Fantastic can split through those easier than Ma Kent can slice through a pie. Superman's eyebrows come together in confusion, and he immediately looks up to Zod.

"The treachery of your father will be avenged a million fold for the rest of my days," Zod says triumphantly. "Bring the knife! I shall cut his throat myself!" Cheers from the guards ring out, and Zod does a little twirl thing in his theatrics. Like Bilbo at a party, Superman just sort of 'winks out,' and the general does not even seem to realize it at first.

CRASH!

The Hulk comes smashing through, turning things from confusing to even more concerning as clones go bopping to the left and to the right. He brings a fist down upon a nearby clone's head, the latter of which is knocked easily to the side. As he gets more and more fierce and angry, the Hulk is getting stronger. The clones meanwhile, made with spliced DNA, are not quite up to the task of carrying on the Kryptonian legacy.

There's a moment when Zod's eyes meet the Hulk's. The older man glowers.

The staredown is interrupted as Fate's bellowing voice comes to him. "Dare you defy me? You will kneel before me, Conjurer. Kneel before ZOD!"

Sue Storm puts an arm around Superman to help him get away, not sure if he's able to stand once the restraints are broken. Either way, she makes sure they both hover invisibly near the ceiling again, hopefully out of the Hulk's smash-range. "Hope I didn't startle you too much. I wanted to move fast."

Hulk doesn't glower. He does, however, smirk at Zod, because psh. Does Hulk look scared? He may or may not be outmatched by Zod, solely because of the man's training, but the Hulk doesn't generally consider those things. So he picks up one of the clones he smashed through earlier, by her foot, and chucks her at him. It's just a distraction tactic (or maybe just an opening salvo, because tactics Hulk? Notsomuch) and then runs at Zod.

Sorry, Fate. No chances for Zod to withdraw. They're not really Hulk's cup of tea.

Fate, seeing that Sue is attending to Superman's rescue, steps back, well out of The Hulk's way. Clearly, the sorcerer knows better than to trifle with THAT particular force. There's a sort of silent expression of "so be it" from him, and then he raises his hands, once again gathering his focus. A golden circle of power shimmers into being around Doctor Fate as he begins to gather his power, wisps of light swiftly rising from the circle.

"Beggars can't be choosers. Who are you?" Superman asks. His X-ray vision isn't working. For all he knows she's an angel who's come to save him. The pair float along the roof and begin their exodus to the hangar, leaving Hulk and Fate to deal with the final group in their own. . .creative ways.

Hulk's heave of the clone takes Zod by surprise for sure, and does the trick of distraction. The General moves into action laser quick and catches the clone, setting her down. He's open for Hulk's attack, though.

Fate is on his own, left to bring his spell to fruition. Most of the attention now is upon the Hulk, giving him the needed time.

"Susan Storm, sir. From the Fantastic Four. Am I that forgettable when I'm not wearing a skin-tight bodysuit?" She smiles at Superman to take the sting out of her words, proof that she's poking fun at the man. She leaves the Hulk and the gold-masked man to finish dealing with Zod and his clones, though she can't help herself. They pause in mid-air and she looks down and back at the General, and then a brief shimmer of faint blue appears to smack Zod upside the back of the head in a manner all but trademarked by a character in a police procedure TV show. Then they zoom away, heading toward where she last saw the military vehic... no. Toward the Baxter where there are ZERO slivers of green crystal lying about.

Taking the time to set the clone donw was a mistake Zod might regret for a long time. Because it gives Hulk an opening, and I think we all grasp that if the Hulk sees a chance to smash, he's gonna smash. In fact I think I'm starting to get repetitive, here. The Hulk's running turns into an almost perfect football tackle (don't ask how he knows that one, Bruce never played sports in school) that slams Zod against the wall, and then Hulk's massive hand surrounds Zod's skull so he can slam it against the wall. Several times. There's a noticeable dent left behind. And then, continuing the sports theme, Hulk lifts Zod up in both hands so he can PUNT him across what remains of the ship's throne room.

Right at Fate, for the finishing move.

There is still sufficient atmosphere within this section of the ship for a thunderous CRACK to echo through the bridge as Zod, hurled mightily by The Hulk, makes his violent impact with Doctor Fate's shield. The shield, instead of repelling what strikes it, instead holds Zod in place, secure for a moment as Fate continues his focused spell construction. For a moment, all is still.

Then, a mote of light appears in the air before Fate. The wisps of energy from his circle of power swirl into this pinpoint of light, not unlike water swirling down the drain of a cosmic sink. With a surge, the vortex expands, the light swelling outward in an expanding sphere of energy. It washes over everything nearby, sweeping swiftly outward to envelop the entire ship.

"It has been stated. This world is not yours, nor shall it be. From across the void you have come, and thence you shall be returned. By word of Order, by dictum of Fate: so mote it be!"

In that instant, all sound vanishes. All motion, all energy seems to hang, suspended within the sphere of power, for a long instance. Outwardly, the orb shimmers and swirls, and then, with a rushing more felt than heard here in the vacuum of space, the sphere begins collapsing in on itself, shrinking back down into the microscopic point of light where it began. All quite abruptly, it's over.

Where the orb of light was, now all is normal. The energies have returned to their extradimensional point of origin. The spell cast, space hangs in its usual serene silence in orbit over the blue, green, and white orb of the Earth, the sun just cresting its curvature in the distance. Doctor Fate hangs, arms still extended, in space beside The Hulk. Sue and Kal-El continue their journey to freedom.

And with the vanishing of the sphere, all trace of the invading Kryptonians, their ship, or anything else they brought with them has vanished--or, more to the point, been banished to the extradimensional realm from whence it came.

Superman raises an eyebrow at Susan, "I'm terribly sorry ma'am." His face reddens and he almost seems ashamed for a split second. "I try not to look at the paparazzi pictures. I mean, you are linked with that Reed Richards fellow of course. But I gotta say, that woman, you have some impeccable timing."

As the bonds of reality intermix with the surreal, Superman turns slightly in Sue's grasp to watch as his tormenter is banished back to whence he came. Is Zod gone forever? Perhaps this Zod. Perhaps not all Zods. But what's important is that Earth and Metropolis are safe.

As the heroes float downwards, the crowds have begun to come back to the Big Apple. People begin to cheer madly, saved from extinction. The four heroes and the former captive descend slowly towards the soil, and once they do, they begin to be mobbed by well wishers, and cheering. Even kind of sort of near Hulk. For the next few hours as the sun sets on New York, people are partying in the streets and thankful, now more than ever, that their world has been blessed with such heroes.