2014.09.01 - Moon vs Sun

Metropolis at night isn't really that much different from Metropolis during the day. It's a busy, bustling city, and the sun going down can't do much to change that. However, there's one person out and about who normally wouldn't be found wandering the streets at this hour.

Striding along a sidewalk through Centennial Park is none other than Nuclear Man, who gained some small notoriety for setting a good chunk of the theater district ablaze a month or two ago before being stopped by a boy with strange mystical powers. Who knows what he's been up to since then, but it can be assumed from what little the public knows of him that he's up to no good. In fact, he seems to be headed right for that Superman statue, his eyes radiating pure hatred. "Destroy...Superman!" he growls, flexing his hands.

There's another man in the clearing, modestly dressed with a coat against the chill that will set in more when night falls properly and a wool cap on his head, the brim snapped forward. He seems to just be taking a break, though he notices the caped man right away. "Are you alright?" he asks.

Nuclear Man snaps his head toward the man, eyes blazing...though not literally. This time of night, he's lost most of his powers, including his heat vision. "This statue. Why is there a statue of Superman? It must be destroyed." he answers, in his strangely aggressive monotone.

The hatted man's eyebrows raise, and he looks, actually, rather frightened as he stands from the bench he was resting on. "The statue? --The city put that up for him awhile back. I can't remember if it was for a specific thing..what's wrong with it?"

Nuclear Man glares at the man as if the answer should be obvious, pointing angrily toward the statue. "It's Superman. I will destroy Superman." he says, like it makes all the sense in the world. But, really, only to him.

The hatted man woahs, patting the air with his hands in an attempt to diffuse matters, for all that this is a pretty bewildering situation. "That's not even really him, though, right?" he points out.

Nuclear Man growls, advancing on the man in a manner that could be construed as menacing. Hostile, even. Nostrils flared and mouth pulled into a tight scowl, he says, "I will destroy Superman. /All/ of Superman." As he reaches out, seeking to grab the guy by the throat, he adds, "And I will destroy Superman's friends too."

The man looks alarmed, protesting, "I'm just a cab driver!" ducking back, though he doesn't seem that skilled-- Nuclear Man still manages to grab the lapel of his jacket.

Nuclear Man clutches the lapel of the man's jacket with a vice grip that seems appropriate for his size and bulk, yanking back on it. "Superman protects you. You are Superman's friend. And I will destroy you!" he declares, throwing a punch at the man's head. It has plenty of force behind it, but nothing beyond what any ordinary human bodybuilder could achieve.

The cabbie's eyes go wide, but then something seems to click behind them like a key turning in a lock, and they snap narrow. He ducks, shrugging right out of the jacket, and even yanking down on the shoulder of it to try to throw Nuclear Man to the floor along the trajectory of his own overzealous punch. "What the hell is this??" he snaps in what sounds like irritation.

To say the least, this is /quite/ surprising for Nuclear Man, who was expecting the guy to just...well, fall down, or go flying, or maybe explode or something. Of all the results that could've happened, he didn't think it'd be /him/ stumbling to the ground, carried by his own momentum. "What? How did you do that?" he asks, bewildered, as he quickly regains his footing. However, rather than wait for an answer, he simply throws another wide punch, which might be intimidating if his opponent weren't a trained combatant.

The open, helpful expression of before has been paved over with an intense frown, though his opponent flicks his eyes this way and that a moment, as if he hadn't taken stock of his surroundings before. Whatever the case it doesn't seem to have been enough to distract him. Nuclear Man's second punch is caught on his arm, and if it's not too incredibly powerful, he may soon find it caught by the other man, yanked forward and around to send the world spinning and him crashing to the ground again. "Why are we even fighting, who the hell are you??" the now jacket-less park dweller demands, as if Nuclear Man hadn't just explained his motives less than a minute ago.

And again, Nuclear Man's punch is turned against him, throwing him to the ground. Laying on his back, he blinks once, twice, the realization taking a moment to occur. He's weaker, slower, so much so that a /human/ can match him. He can't put it into any eloquent terms, of course, but it's a strange feeling. Of course, it won't stop him from trying anyway.

Launching himself from the ground, Nuclear Man throws his full body weight into a tackle at the man's legs, trying to topple him over. At least on the ground, he can't try any of that fancy throwy reversey...stuff. Right?

the man drops to a crouch with a grim expression to meet him as he leaps, not dodging this time. "We're done talking..? Fine by me." He meets Nuclear Man head on, the sun dropped behind the horizon, the moon and the park lights now offering the majority of the light. They trade blows, but the self-professed cab driver proves frustratingly difficult to land solid blows on-- and even when he does, he seems to shrug them off more than he should.

Nuclear Man is getting quite frustrated as time goes on, and he finds himself unable to inflict any real damage on the man. He isn't sure /why/, but it causes his temper to flare up so that any semblance of skill or strategy that /might/ have been there is completely gone, replaced by desperate anger. "Die! Die! Just die!" he shouts, swinging his fists down in a hammer blow at the strange man, again and again, trying to just pummel him into the ground.

He does connect once, a solid blow to the man's ribs; he hears something snap, and he might for a moment think he's done it-- but aside from a faint hiss, the mystery man if anything lashes out with a burst of speed, an elbow connecting solidly with Nuclear Man's face, this time trying to follow up with a pin.

Nuclear Man grins as he hears that snap, just glad that he seems to be doing some damage now. But that joy quickly goes away as he's smashed square in the face with an elbow, falling back in a daze. Pinning him at this point is really no trouble.

Moon Knight, though he hasn't introduced himself yet, shoves Nuclear Man down in the grass, arms twisted back tight behind him. He pays no mind to his own injuries, checking Nuclear Man over for any weapons or items that ought to be taken off his person while he's dazed, still muttering to himself. If Nuclear Man catches any of it, it's things like 'should have stepped out sooner' and 'idiot' and 'What the hell were you thinking.'

Nuclear Man has no weapons, or really anything other than his costume. He goes around completely unarmed, because normally, he /is/ his own weapon. He grunts as his arms are wrenched behind him, but can't quite muster the energy to say anything. Whoever this person is, they've got him completely at their mercy right now.

Moon Knight sighs, cutting off his muttered litany for now. "Okay, let's try this again, why are you throwing punches at me?"

Nuclear Man finally gets his thoughts together enough to answer questions, struggling a little against the pin. "I will destroy Superman. Superman, and Superman's statue. You will not stop me."

Moon Knight retorts in bewilderment, "Wait, this is all over a stupid statue?"

Nuclear Man answers, simply, "Yes. It is a statue of Superman. I will destroy it."

Moon Knight sighs. "..I know statues have power. But why are you so set on undermining Superman's..? From all I'd heard, he was a pretty selfless guy. One of those real hero types."

Nuclear Man growls in response, "I must destroy Superman." It doesn't seem like Moon Knight's gonna get anything more insightful out of him.

Moon Knight hesitates a bit. "..You must?" he asks, and rather than confused it's almost.. something. There's an odd note to it. "It's your purpose?"

There is a bit of a pause, as Nuclear Man ceases all movement to mull it over. Finally, he nods slightly. "Yes. I was born to destroy Superman."

Moon Knight nods, answering a bit gently, but with steel underneath it, "And I was born to bring justice and vengeance where it was needed. If you destroy that statue, I'll have to see you answer for it."

Nuclear Man may be simpleminded, but even he can recognize when someone's got his life in their hands like this. Something is telling him that it isn't an idle threat, and in his condition, Moon Knight can probably carry it out. So, after some hesitation, Nuclear Man finally says, "Then I will leave the statue alone. But I /will/ destroy Superman."

Moon Knight, not aware of the ebb and flow of Nuclear Man's own power, finds himself not terribly worried about this man taking out the fabled Man of Steel. He nods, apparently taking Nuclear Man at his word, and lets him go, standing up. He even offers him a hand up. "Whoever made you seems irresponsible." he observes, as if talking to a peer.

Nuclear Man is even more confused now, but takes the knight's hand, getting back up to his feet. Glaring at the strange man, he tries and fails to think of something to say. He isn't really /sure/ who made him. So, instead, he simply snarls and turns to walk away.

Moon Knight lets him go. The wool cap has gone the way of the jacket-- knocked off in the scuffle. Under the light of the moon a faint scar is visible now over the man's left eye as he watches Nuclear Man go. One other small thing of note is the silver ankh on a chain, that slipped out from under the man's collar in the fight. Strange charm for a Metropolis cab driver.