2014.03.07 - Megan is a Monster

It's a typical day on the Kent Family Farm. Megan is going about her chores, feeding the hogs, the chickens, gathering the eggs, milking the cows, moving the hay bales, and various other things. It's no real effort to her. She is completely at peace, here, in her new home, with these wonderful, loving people...who have accepted her as one of their own, and given her their last name. She pauses to take a look in the direction of Pa, who is planting seeds in the rows she furrowed, earlier this morning. It took her seconds, where it would've taken him hours. At his age, she won't risk him being over-exerted. With a smile, she turns and looks back toward the house, where Ma is baking a pie for lunch. She can see, with her various levels of vision, the kindly old woman stooping to pick up a dishrag that fell on the floor... She exhales a deep sigh of contentment. Yes, it's horrible that bad things have been happening... It's terrible that she's been unable to help... But, she knows she'll carry her weight, soon. Anything she can do to help the family. Anything. She gets back to milking the last, stubborn cow, and wonders, idly, where Mae is. Mae's always the best at getting Lucy's milk to drop.

Far off, without a whisper to betray his arrival, a sleek form appears in the distance of the farm. Careful, calculating patient, eyes experienced from centuries of subterfuge and infiltration carefully observe the girl milling around. He does not recognize the person who is out in the farm with Pa, having known of only two defenders. Is it some unknown hero...? No matter. Kanto is equipped with fire, and even enough kryptonite to insure this operation succeeds. The only true barrier he had is the presence of Matrix, one with no easy exploits and a physical capability he would struggle against alone, let alone when there is two. And that is why he has chosen now to strike, after watching and waiting for two days beneath a cloak of Apokolyptian technology. He is loathe to use such toys, but against beings where his skills alone are insufficient, he must make... sacrifices.

Pa Kent is indeed exhausted by the ordeal outside, watching Megan with genuine appreciation and admiration before saying he's going to get a glass of water for her and himself. Time is taken to give Ma a kiss, and tease her playfully that she should be cooking those pies faster, if they are to smell so good.

The moment a small eyepiece zoomed in shows Megan looking into the house and then back to her work, Kanto moves in a blur, discarding the shielding cloak that he had used until now. Approaching the house from the opposite end that Megan toils, he has been keeping an eye on her habits. Constantly checking on those in the house, habitual reassurance and likely some measure of affection. If she is Kryptonian as Kanto assumes, then the house offers no barrier to his presence and his skills in stealth are useless... beyond feet and movement that betray no presence, to distracted super-human ears. He might have only a minute to move before she glances again.

But he only needs thirty seconds.

An open window allows him to slither through, landing in a three-point crouch. He has not breathed since entering the house. The very beat of his heart so minute, it might be lost to the ambience. An almost meditative quality as he raises up behind John, unaware as he washes at one of the glasses. Ma Kent remains in the room, but both have their back to Kanto, as if he were a ghost in open view.

Easy. Pathetic. He makes his first and only mistake up to this point. Drawing a dagger from his hilt, there is the subtle rasp of steel on leather within the house. Too quiet for the Kents to notice. But for Megan, it would stand out like a sore thumb, and a quick glance would confirm an unknown figure in purple and yellow, beginning to raise the blade for a strike...!!

Megan works tirelessly at her chores, happy to do them, not actually tired by them, but energized, pleased, proud to do them. Before Clark found her and took her in, she'd wandered the Earth invisible and intangible, in complete silence, for years. Mourning the loss of her parents. The loss of the happy lives they could've had. And, sometimes, the fact that they'd died to save her. She'd felt it was such a waste, for them to die in saving her, but... Then, she realized, she was MAKING it a waste by not living. By not enjoying all the life she'd been given by them, both by giving her life and saving it at the cost of their own, she was making their sacrifice a vain one. And, that would never do! So, when she met Superman and was taken in by him and his loving family--her now-sister Mae, her big brother Clark, her beautiful cousin Kara...--she began to feel at peace... She let the chores send her to a meditative state of gratefulness and love for her new family... And, so, it is as she hears the rasping sound...the steel against the scabbard... Megan is fast. She is almost faster than Superman. One moment, she is in the barn, milking an ornery cow named Lucy.. The next moment, the stool is spinning in place as Megan seemingly teleports away, faster than the blink of an eye. She shifts intangible, so she makes no sound, invisible, so she cannot be seen---JUST IN CASE...this isn't a dangerous moment. In case, for example, Pa decided to sharpen a blade. She can't take chances on scaring them unduly. She's had many such moments like this since the Bad Things started happening. However, as she bursts silently and invisibly through the walls of the house, one by one, in yoctoseconds, she can see that it is NOT a false alarm. She doesn't know who this person is drawing a knife, whisper-quiet to all but her, but she is NOT letting him hurt Pa. From behind him, Megan goes tangible and visible, still in her rolled up flannel shirt tied in a knot at her belly button, and the cut-off shorts she was wearing before. And, and she moves to lock her arms crushingly tightly around the evil-doer, in the hopes of pulling him away from Pa and slamming him on the floor hard enough to daze him...so she might yank him outside, where it's safer to fight.

Megan isn't deterred by the knife slammed down at her hip--it does cut up her favorite cut offs, because these are actually clothes and not her skin that she's wearing, and that makes her irritated. The knife does, indeed, shatter and whatever scrape the force of the blade caused to her flesh is quickly repaired by her body's natural instinct. It does suck, and kind of jar her slightly when her downwards slam doesn't go off smoothly, but getting this evildoer outside is the most important thing! So, when she manages to haul his wicked self outside, she grins in triumph! "No WAY, bad person!" she cries out, her eyes wide and her brows furrowed. "You were trying to hurt Pa and that's not okay!" she yells, right in his face. "Tell me who you are, evildoer!" she demands, squeezing even tighter. "Or, I will hug you even MORE painfully!" she threatens, her innocence seeming perhaps a little silly, but no less dangerous for how tightly she's holding him.

This is something wildly disconcerting to Kanto. It has become immediately clear that physically, he is inferior to the girl presently hugging him with reckless abandon. Tensed muscles and a durable New God physiology help, but in the end if she wished it, her crushing would eventually succeed. But there's one tool he has upon her; centuries of training, both the brutal work of Granny Goodness, and more practical experience than two hundred of her current lifetimes.

"Alright." he states, hissing in genuine pain. With his biceps pinned, he no longer has the ability to procure or use one of his more effective weapons. "I will acquiesce... let me go, and I'll tell you why I am here..." He stops resisting, although certainly remains poised to fight back if Megan instead opts that popping the weasel is a better course of action after all.

Megan stares intensely into Kanto's eyes, her mind racing. The Rules are important. She has to follow them, at all times. The Rules are very important! So, though she doesn't need to, she bends her knees and kicks off from the ground hard, leaving a little dent in the grass, and flies up very high, where the oxygen is thinner and a fall would be very painful, indeed. "NO," she yells in a panicked voice. "I will HUG you until you tell me who you are and why you want to hurt Pa!" Her mind races through the valid Rules in this situation. He cannot die by her hands or neglect. People in Smallville cannot see what is happening! Ummm, yes! "We are going on a trip, bad person! We are going to a place where it is SAFE to fight, because you are MEAN and will definitely want a fight before you're done!" she says still overly loudly, and then, the wind is whistling and rushing painfully fast against her body as she begins zoooooooooooming toward the best, most deserted place she can think of---near the Fortress of Solitude, but not right /to/ it.

The sudden ascension causes Kanto to grunt, but he doesn't seem as perturbed by the whole ordeal as the incognito Miss Martian is likely accustomed. Thin air? He can survive in space without issues. Yet he is not one to be deceptive. Such a show of desperation lacks class, and is not befitting one of his station. "I already said... I would tell you." Kanto repeats, speaking plainly and articulately, as if dealing with a child. His head begins to hurt, but it has little to do with the pain of being grappled. The Kent farm is now far behind, and what should have been a simple slit throat and escape was foiled by this surprising... hero? There's a brashness to it. He doesn't believe it to be Kara Zor-El, but all indications point to Kryptonian. Only how did she enter the house without him noticing...? Cool and calculating, every minute of the trip is spent in thought.

Once things begin to get rather cold, he complains. "Really. This treatment of someone attempting negotiations is untoward. I have always disliked this weather. Can we land yet...?"

Once she's far away from other people, she lands--very quickly, with no deceleration--with a WHUMPH, driving her feet deep into the snow. "Ohhhhhhh, I'm sorry you dislike this weather, Mister Meanie!" she says, squeezing tighter. "THAT'S CALLED SARCASM!" she shouts, in case he didn't catch the drift. And, with the landing complete, she finally relaxes her hold enough to--well, there's no polite way to put this--she attempts to //PUNCH// him away from her with her stomach, which thrusts out in the shape of a giant fist.

Okay. That was pretty surprising. Kanto had begun to turn, only to find a literal fist slamming into him from out of nowhere, sending him flying backwards with a spray of blood. His shoulder hits the snow, but a moment later reflexes and training kick in, and he springs in an acrobatic fashion, doing a number of flips to abate the force before he can skid to a stop in a crouch.

That is no good. He took a blow far harder than he expected with no guard... A hand rests on his stomach, breath coming in ragged gasps with a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. This is no Kryptonian. Amorphous molecular shapeshifting... how she managed to slip through the walls without his notice... just the slightest smirk flows on his features. He did extensive research on the defenders of the farm. It seems he's confirmed which one this is.

"Wait." A hand holds up. "I'll talk. ...Do you know why it is I am going after Pa Kent?" It seems a genuine question.

When Kanto rises from the snow, Megan looks...altogether different. She is...HUGE. And, monstrous. Seeing the blood of her enemy spilled, misting in the air...awoke something inside her. Something that's been dormant for years... Bloodlust. Her form is chalk-white. She looks a little like a dragon and a human mated, and had a giant child that walks on two legs, but does not even remotely resemble a human, otherwise. There is still a queue of long red hair that trails from behind her head, but the sound that comes out of her mouth when she opens it...is more akin to a pterodactyl screech and a lion's roar, at the same time. Her shoulders are heaving, up and down, as she stares at Kanto with blood-red, glowing eyes. "WHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYY?" she shriekroars, flicking her claws skyward and growing elongated claws. "TELL ME WHY YOU WANT TO HURT THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE ME," her awful voice grates like nails on a chalkboard. She is...truly hideous.

"...What?" is the first thing Kanto says, eyes wide in surprise. But the other girl might find that there isn't the slightest hint of revulsion or disgust. In fact, it might be closest to admiration. She looks little more monstrous than a Parademon, shrieking as it's dumped from the genetic tubes. Yet knowing it to be an alien, something bred on this dimension... "You are not a Martian..." All of his careful plans, backup-plans, and defenses just fell out of the door. If she is, he has no knowledge of information on it!!

A step backward follows, happening before Kanto realizes it, sweeping beneath his sash and grasping a much more alien looking piece of technology. "Because Superman broke a promise." This rings out simple and true. "He swore to the Lord Darkseid to drop his mantle, and to live a mundane life on the farms. Every drop of blood, every fight, every conflict... is because Superman went back on his word."

He narrows his eyes, intently. "It was you. The heroes of Earth, who rallied around him, and convinced him of this folly. There would be no battle, no conflict, no war... if he had simply gone back to the life he was given...!!"

M'gannster's head falls back and she ROOOOOOOOOOOARS to the sky in rage, her eyes pulsing dangerously, with trails of red smoke wisping off of them in the blinding light of the snowy area, as she lowers her head, again, to look at Kanto. "WHAT I AM IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE!!! ONLY THAT THEY ARE THE FAMILY I LOVE," she shriekroars, advancing slowly--three-pronged digitigrade clawfoot by three-pronged digitigrade clawfoot. "YOU... AND YOUR KIND... WILL LEAVE THEM ALONE," comes her horrible voice, like glass breaking and children's screams. "YOUR...LORD DARKSEID," she spits, here, to one side, a stream of acidic liquid burning the snow and stinking of danger. "LIED, TOO," she points out, jabbing a clawed arm forward, toward Kanto's retreating person. "HE LIES, BECAUSE HE IS EVIL. HE HURT PEOPLE. HE MIND-CONTROLLED PEOPLE. SHALL I CONTROL YOUR MIND? MAKE YOU DANCE LIKE A BALLERINA BEFORE ME?" she shriekroars, weaving back and forth on her odd legs. "WE...HEROES OF EARTH...WILL NOT STAND FOR YOUR EVIL, BAD MAN. WE WILL NEVER...EVER...EVER," she bellows, stomping closer and closer, "EVER...STOP FIGHTING, AND WE WILL WIN!" She laughs, here... And, it is the worst thing, yet. It sounds...just awful, beyond descriptors. If she weren't a good guy, you'd /swear/ she was on your side. "COME. COME TO ME. LET ME HUG THE BADNESS FROM YOUR BONES," she stretches out her strange arms as she advances.

Somehow, with the force of resolve only possible by a man who has witnessed countless monsters in his day, Kanto holds firm. His eyes are wide and body tense, finally drawing forth the metallic object. It seems to be nothing more than a hilt. "Excuses." Kanto offers, voice still smooth and calm. "You can demonize my Lord all you desire. But Superman was not coerced. He was given a choice. He could say yes, and get his father returned. Or he could say no, and keep his powers. Instead, he desires both. Selfishly seeking to regain the power he openly bargained, and similarly expecting his father to remain unscathed...?!"

Kanto crouches down, shifting into a combative stance. Sweat is rolling down his forehead, despite the frozen tundra that weaves snow and ice about. Such monsters call themselves heroes?! Twisted beings, with childlike mentality?! "Know this. I would have given Johnathan Kent a quick, painless death. A professional courtesy. There are alternatives you cannot fathom. What if Lord Darkseid had descended here in my stead, content to banish him to eternal agony...?! Could you have stopped him?! Your words reek only of the naive justice, of one who does truly know how the world works!!"

His weapon suddenly erupts, a burning orange plasma beam stretching out past a meter. Snow melts away from it in a gout, hiss of steam and water flowing upwards.

"EN GARDE!!"

"YOUR STUPID POOPHEAD LORD DARKSEID EXPECTS SUPERMAN, THE BEST OF ALL HEARTS, TO LAY DOWN WHILE INNOCENTS ARE BEING ABUSED AND KILLED?!" M'gannster laughs, shaking her monstrous head. "THAT IS, LIKE, SO DUMB! DO YOU EVEN //KNOW// WHO HE IS?! TO KNOW HIM IS TO KNOW HIS PURITY OF HEART, HIS LOVE FOR MANKIND, HIS DUTY TO THE EARTH," she screams, even as the weapon erupts and melts snow near her. She hisses like a thousand vipers and spits acidic liquid in Kanto's direction as an answering salvo. "MAYBE I CANNOT STOP DARKSEID MYSELF, BUT I CAN WITH ALL OF MY FAMILY. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT DEFEAT, LOSERFACE!" she roarshrieks and, scooping a giant handful of snow with a hand that forms the shape of a shovel, she slings it at Kanto and his orange sword.

"Those innocents being abused and killed while his cape is layed down... is from the foes within your own world. Do not blame Apokolips for such things. If anything, blame Superman. A man with such duty, love, and passion for the greater good... made the most selfish decision possible. Can you truly say... his conscious is clean? Ask him this, creature. Ask him, and see the look upon his face when you see that what I claim is true."

But the battle now is on. The spit is dodged with a quick burst to the side, and Kanto moves to close in. His torso hurts from broken ribs, yet his legs remain true. An eruption of snow is in his wake, a whirling slash striking the snow as he twists, heated water hitting his back instead of his face. And then he strikes down with the plasma blade, shifting forward in a series of thrusts and strikes, immediately showcasing a martial prowess able to take down even one of the Goddess-blessed amazons!!

M'gannster roars in anger at the words, her eyes beginning to BLAZE with anger. She can't believe her ears, all the horrible things being said about her big brother. "HOW DARE YOU CAST ASPERSIONS ON MY BROTHER?! IF YOU HAD A FATHER YOU LOVED DEARLY AND HE HAD BEEN STOLEN FROM YOU TOO SOON, AND YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SEE HIM, AGAIN, YOU CAN'T KNOW WHAT CHOICE YOU WOULD MAKE," she shrieks, dodging most of the lunging slashes, though a couple of them slice along her arm, one against her calf. High and low, not really predictable, Kanto's method. She screams out with each 'touche,' and hisses horribly, again. Her mind is racing with fighting tactics--she has no idea where they're coming from. Perhaps it's just part of being a white Martian? She begins lashing out at the various openings she sees, beginning to take note of patterns. She uses the snow to her advantage, too, whipping it at Kanto while simultaneously striking out with another limb. She becomes a writhing mass of limbs, to confuse, and overwhelm, her strange, non-body transforming into tentacles that whip out and try to wrap around his ankle, to unseat him...

"My father was a Lowlie, a peasant of the conquered glass that lives in the garbage of Apokolips. I had a chance to climb out on my own merits, and I never looked behind. Parentage means nothing in my world. Only who acknowledges your power. They had no use...!"

Kanto seems to be one step ahead, in the game of patterns. He is a master at feinting, building up what seems to be an exploit only for it to abruptly become a liability as he ripostes, lashing out at striking limbs. A few blows come near him, snow deflected and often causing his onslaught to abate long enough to finish regenerating and drive him on the defensive. "Such cheap tactics... are you desperate, perchance?"

But then she suddenly erupts into a tentacle beast. That sheer level of transformative powers catches him off-guard. So many attacks coming in at once, from so mayn directions... A few brutal lashes follow, aiming to sever a few of them, but while shifting to avoid one towards his leg, the other snags his ankle. Immediately he snaps his blade towards it with a grunt, but not before there is time to take advantage.

Legs fly from beneath him, although he twists to plant one hand upon the snow rather then collapse prostrate and helpless. But it's the most vulnerable he's been in the actual brawl, and the ache in his chest resurfaces with a vengeance. "Nnngh...!!"

"WELL, THEN, THAT DOESN'T REALLY APPLY, DOES IT, DUMMY?! I //SAID//, IF YOU HAD A FATHER YOU //LOVED//... BUT, CLEARLY, YOU AREN'T CAPABLE OF LOVE, YOU BUTTHEAD!" M'gannster growls, rolling and dodging this way and that. With each strike landed, she screams, but lashes out with one of her own---like a knee-jerk reaction. Strike landed, strike offered. "NOT DESPERATE, JUST USING EVERYTHING TO MY ADVANTAGE, WHICH IS SMART. I HAVE NO NEED TO BE 'NOBLE,' BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW MY WORTH, AND IT'S GREATER THAN YOURS," she laughs, "BECAUSE YOU'RE A STINKY POOP WHO FIGHTS FOR THE WRONG SIDE!" Certainly, some of the tentacles are severed in the process of Kanto's wild wheeling with his plasma blade. M'gannster screams with the losses, but they grow back. They just keep growing back. As Kanto falls on the ground, all of the tentacles begin slamming toward the ground, aiming to pound him into unconsciousness. Tentacle after tentacle, it's endless. And, they seem to be getting bigger. SHE, this odd, creepy thing, seems to be growing with her rage.

"Love is a useless weakness, girl. Look what it did to your Man of Steel... and all those fools who will rush to their deaths to save him!!" A few heavy bruises are welling up through Kanto's flowing uniform, scant hints that would strike him to the snow if they landed true. His mind is sharp like a laser, although the ability to handle this attack was dependant on it functioning in a manner that he had that extensive research in.

The converging tentacles are the only reason Kanto is not crushed beneath Miss Martian. At least, outright. A desperate shove away with his hand clears the first volley, but a brutal tentacle strike lashes out and hits him in the face. He goes spinning, landing upon the ground face first, heavily stunned with his extinguished blade landing adjacent. "Nnngh..." A moment later, he's snagged once more, and being dragged bodily back towards the tentacling of his life.

"You fool... There is no other side... only service... or annihilation!!" Still he fights back desperately, striking at one tentacle as another slams into his midsection. Blood gurgles up, before another and another blow. Teeth grit through crimson, before he suddenly thrusts the blade at Miss Martian's twisted head. She's too far away to reach... until it suddenly extends in less than an eyeblink to a dozen meters, attempting to penetrate her right between the eyes so he can attempt a vicious strike downwards. Likely the last assault he will be able to manage against the ruthless Martian. She fights like a wild beast, unchained!!

"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG! LOVE IS THE MOST WONDERFUL STRENGTH IN ALL OF CREATION! IT KEEPS US ALIVE, IT MAKES US FIGHT HARDER, WE ENDURE SO MUCH MORE THAN WE THINK WE'RE CAPABLE OF...FOR LOVE. I WILL REFRAIN FROM KILLING YOU...BECAUSE I LOVE MY BROTHER," M'gannster roars, "SO, YOU SHOULD BOW IN PENITENCE TO THE ALTAR OF LOVE, WHICH SAVES YOUR PITIFUL LIFE, DOO-DOO BRAINS!" Then, Kanto's blade drives at her head, between her eyes, the plasma cleaves her skin like a hot knife through cold butter and she howwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwls in pain. Suddenly, all of her tentacles are withdrawn and she's scuttling backwards, letting her wounds reknit, heal themselves, let the pain subside. She's once more in her regular monstrous form, crouching in the snow, glaring in Kanto's direction. "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME, BAD GUY, SO GIVE UP. YOU'RE BLEEDING INTERNALLY, YOU HAVE LOTS OF WOUNDS INSIDE, YOUR RIBS ARE BROKEN... I CAN KEEP GOING. I'M NOT EVEN TIRED. I WON'T KILL YOU. BUT, YOU'VE FAILED YOUR MISSION AND I WON'T LET YOU SUCCEED. I AM ALWAYS THERE. ALWAYS. I WILL KNOW TO LOOK FOR YOU, NOW. DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO HURT YOU WORSE?" she asks.

Kanto's hand thumps into the snow, blood beginning to speckle down as he starts arduously rising. His breath is coming quicker now, and with great effort he gets back to his feet. The blade is brought back to his side with a flourish, energy humming gently. A few heavy streams of crimson run down his face, but there is not defeat there. A resolution. "You... are a Martian, aren't you? Yes. The color is peculiar, and the appearance, but everything else adds up." He exhales slowly, trying to gather his focus. "You should know, then. That if there is such a great, inspiring force... then so must it's opposite exist.

Spitting a tooth to the side, Kanto has something of a snarl. "Fear. Fear makes us endure. Fear makes us fight harder. Fear... and reverence, for a being that allows us to exist at his whim. I am not like you. I will kill, and I do not fear death. In fact, I do not know fear. But do you...?"

The hilt extinguishes suddenly upon his plasma blade. And a moment later, there's a great roar of flame; a blade of true, genuine fire has manifested, assuming a scimitar-like curve. It smolders and crackles, wave of heat washing around. It is not close enough to render Miss Martian powerless, but it may have suddenly changed the dynamic.

"No. I speak false. Fear to me is failure. Fear to me... is not death, but oblivion. There is nothing you can threaten worse than what He can do...!" He attempts to take a step forward, but Kanto is in little condition to rush forward now, one of his legs broken. Truly it is like some monster movie, waving and brandishing that torch-like weapon in an attempt to keep the white beast back!! "What if I set the house ablaze?! Burned the fields?! Scorched the very city?! Do you think... defeating me is the end? That more people, ruthless and powerful beyond your kin, will not descend to take the debt that is owed...?!"

M'gannster glowers when accused of being what she is. She doesn't like to think of herself as Martian, white OR green. She hisses, her back arching like an angry cat, as Kanto gets up. "I AM A SUPERHEROINE. I AM M'GANN M'ORZZ IN-ZE. I AM SUPERLASS. I AM FAMILY TO SUPERMAN AND ALL HE HOLDS DEAR," she retorts, shifting from side to side, preparing to attack or defend, depending on how Kanto moves. "FEAR IS ONLY USEFUL TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE," she retorts, but as that flame blade comes out, she does, indeed, show fear. She cowers down lower to the ground, backing away from it. As long as she keeps her distance, she's okay... Looks like...ranged attacks are all she has left. So be it. "YOU WON'T BE AROUND TO DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO TIE YOUR LEGS IN A KNOT, YOUR ARMS INTO A BOW, AND I'LL SET YOU ADRIFT IN SPACE," she snarls. And, with that, she uses her percussive breath, inhaling deeeeeeeeeply....and sending hurricane-force winds in Kanto's direction, blowing snow along with it.

"Yes... there is always something to lose. There is no mistake more fatal than thinking where you stand cannot be worse." With a grunt, Kanto shifts to twist and pop his knee back into alignment. That pain certainly affected him negatively. Damn. If not for this snow... Kanto has nothing to set alight. Nothing to increase the threat he holds. Even the flame is having difficulties, within the winds and snow. "That's not very heroi--" Kanto begins, before suddenly he's struck with a great gout of air. No longer mobile enough to evade, he's sent bouncing head over heel a good hundred meters away, skidding to a stop. Only afterwards does he realize he has lost his sabre. "No... no, no..." That's definitely bad. He scrabbles about in his vest, pulling out a small grey box.

Megan...is now, once more, in her human form. The flame is extinguished. The bad man has been blown a little ways away. She zooms over to him, picking him out easily with her infra-red vision. Just as Kanto's realizing he's lost his sabre, Superlass stands before his broken-down, bloodied form. "Bad man, whatever your name is... You'd better run away, now. Give up. Promise to do badness no more!" she demands, her hair blowing in the snowy winds. She sees him fumbling with some grey box. "What is that?" she asks, reaching for it.

"Kanto," is offered, reasonably. His tone isn't truly angry, although a faint pain is within it. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Ms. M'Gann M'orzz In-ze. Your brutality is commendable. It's my loss." When the interest is shown in the box, the master assassin simply smiles. "Nothing much of interest. Here. You can have it, if you'd like." His hand extends the strange item towards her. Grip upon it firm, for whatever reason.

Megan's eyes narrow at the sudden change in temperament. All this time, Kanto's been mean and totally against everything she's said. Yet, now, he's offering for her to have something? Surely, that means it's BAD. So, without being polite or gentle about it, she delves deep into Kanto's mind, locking his limbs and scanning his mind for the truth. What the box does, what he's intending on doing. "Your mouth is so used to lies that it doesn't know how to form the truth," she says in a tsking voice, as she does so. Her eyes glow as she searches.

Megan presses into the mind, and instantly realizes the box is a teleporter. One to Apokolips. However, he is fully aware that he was just intruded, if not the extent. Time is limited. "A shame. If you touched it, you'd have been sure to visit with me..." He then releases his thumb. Immediately behind Megan there's a great CRACK of white energy, collapsing inwards; in a few more moments it coalesces into a near singularity, concentric circles expanding away towards Kanto. And beyond is a twisted, metal world of endless fire and heat. A great suction begins, whirl of snow starting to flow towards it, and threatening even to Megan if she does not get out of the immediate way!!

The instant Megan realizes the box is a teleporter, she backs away from it. She has no desire to go anywhere Kanto's planning on going! And, when the portal opens, revealing the horrifyingly awful world beyond, Megan instantly goes intangible, so she has no solid mass to suck into the singularity. "I hope you'll learn that there are better places, Kanto, better ways! Maybe, here, you could be loved! Someone could make you dinner every night, and hug and kiss you in the morning! Life doesn't have to be all death and murder!" she calls out, even as the suction begins dragging Kanto's broken body inexorably toward the singularity.

"You truly do not understand our world." Kanto offers, with almost a hint of sadness as he's slowly dragged towards the open Boom Tube. "Love is ripped from you with pliers. It is a blasphemy and a weakness. The thought of another life alien and twisted." But he smiles, and it is something wicked. "But I will admit to you, my dear girl. I /revel/ in it...!" And then he's sucked up, whirling within the portal before with a great CRACK it shuts down once more, leaving disrupted snow to settle.

Megan watches in fascination and horror as Kanto is dragged into the portal, telling her he loves his horrible, awful, wicked ways... And, she shakes her head, squinting her eyes as the portal snaps shut with a loud cracking sound. She watches for another few minutes, just in case.... Then, with a heavy heart, she sighs and leaps high up into the air and begins flying home... For some reason, she feels very sad. The interaction was successful in that she stopped Pa from being hurt, but... at what price? She badly hurt that man, and he still would've kept going if she hadn't managed to separate him from his sabre. Maybe until he died. So, she flies home...and doesn't look forward to explaining things to her big brother... Nor that she faced someone so dangerous all on her own. She sighs and wipes tears from her cheeks as she flies very, very fast, in the direction of Smallville.