2013.10.18 - The Mother of Vengeance

Having left the Iron Patroit, the two Karas and the group of heroes or wouldbe heroes far behind. Ursa continues on her speedy flight with her son held firmly in her arms, taking a sharp turn suddenly in a more remote corner outside Manhattan, where she has worked out a passage to a long forgotten section she discovered in the NYC Subway System. Somewhere where no transmissions would pick their conversation, and no visitors frequent. Somewhere safe and secure. Switching on the lighting she fixed in this makeshift haven, she puts down Lor-Zod on his own feet and looks at him directly in the eyes. "Are you well, Lor-Zod?" She is still covered in the blood of the men she mangled, but aside from some of her own blood drying about her ears, she looks rather well.

For a split second, Lor-Zod is starting to think Ursa knows where the Terminal is, but then no, she stops somewhere else. He rubs at his own bloody earsa little, but then nods and says, "I'm fine. But wish I could shut off my hearing sometimes."

"This is the vile work of a man we now hold in contempt. Lex Luthor." Ursa informs her son, cocking her head to the side as he complaints about his hearing power, only to add, "we must harden your resolve. The time away from me has made you soft." She then glowers at her son with disapproval, noting, "I saw you did not join me in punishing those who hurt us. Explain yourself. You are not becoming weak of heart, are you, Lor-Zod?"

Lor-Zod shakes his head quickly as she calls him soft, "No! I'm not. It's just my ears. Always my ears. You never taught me how to handle noise that hurts so much, that stops me even thinking..." He blinks at the next question, and then says, "They welcome heroes here, but they have rules. Killing's supposed to only be a last resort. I was just following the local laws. Besides, there was more to the battle, father taught me never to commit more forces than needed to one part of the battle when those forces could be used somewhere else. You didn't need my help." All excuses, of course. He can't admit he just doesn't want to kill anybody.

Before Lor-Zod can even finish complaining about how Ursa didn't teach him to handle noise that hurts, she flashes a fist that sails right towards Lor-Zod's nose. If he's alert, he'll manage to block or evade, otherwise, he'll likely hurt more from the unannounced fist. "I was unaware we shall ever find ourselves in a solar system that enhances us thus, even so, I have taught you to ever be prepared to survive. No matter the odds. No matter the enemy. Do you not remember that much?"

Ursa doesn't look pleased at all, it's likely a result of finding herself forced to flee an encounter for the first time since arriving on Earth, but it wouldn't for Lor-Zod to even suggest as much. It's unfortunate for him that his father is not there to hold Ursa down from getting too hard on her son.

Thankfully, Lor-Zod's years of training with his mother has let him come to expect random punches. He brings up his arm in a blocking motion that, were they still in the Phantom Zone, would have protected him at the cost of bruising on his arm. But, there, the difference in strength is just that between an adult and teenager, but here the scale is skewed much further in Ursa's favour, and Lor-Zod finds himself slammed into the subway tunnel wall. There's a flash of that old fear in his eyes as he looks up at his mother from where he landed, but carefully picks himself up without saying anything.

"Not bad, you were prepared," Ursa states as if she just gave him a 'B' in literature or some other benign subject. "But you can be faster than this." She notes there's room for improvement, before glowering at Lor-Zod, making sure he knows she's serious. "The laws of this planet do not concern us when others seek to harm us. You understand that, right Lor-Zod? We are Kryptonians, and these humans live free at our pleasure. It is fine and well when they keep to themselves, but if they come after us?" Ursa's tone becomes darker, as she looks at Lor-Zod, expecting him to answer, "what do we with enemies?"

There's definitely temptation to argue in Lor-Zod's eyes, but fear wins out and he just nods a little obediently at Ursa's lesson. "We destroy them," he answers reluctantly, and unhappily.

Ursa moves closer to her son, her cold glare never letting go of his visage, as she notes his lackluster reply and presses, "Lor-Zod, you sound apologetic. Would you rather our enemies have destroyed us? That coward in a robotic suit to crush us? Is that what you want? Enemies are to be DESTROYED without mercy." She looks at Lor-Zod expectantly, waiting for him to challenge her words.

Lor-Zod shakes his head, and says, speaking honestly now, his voice holding some confusion, "But here, on Earth, when you kill, you make more enemies. It doesn't make sense to kill one enemy to get three more, and if you kill them you get more, powerful enemies like the Avengers or Kal-El. All when that first enemy is so easily defeated they don't need to be destroyed, how does that make sense?"

"It sounds like someone has been enfeebling your mind, Lor-Zod," Ursa looks upset, "you realize that if I was not present, that coward with technology could have killed you?" Ursa presents a potential scenario, and she adds in a thundering growl right after, "NO HUMAN GETS TO KILL MY SON! Is that clear!?"

She takes a moment to force herself to calm a bit, as she turns her back on Lor-Zod and shakes her head, "Kal-El...I have not met that scion of the House of El, but he is of that accursed house. We do not fear the House of El." She doesn't seem to make much of anything of the Avengers, at least for the time being she doesn't think much of anything outside of her affairs, and her affairs turned into hunting that Iron Patriot.

Lor-Zod bites his lip and then nods a little. "Clear," he answers, more sure this time. He can't really argue against his own protection. He says, then, "I'm not afraid of Kal-El, I just don't want him as an enemy. He makes a better ally." He's not going to say the word 'friend' in front of his mother, at least not about Kal-El.

Ursa turns to face her son again once he seemed to have come to his senses, "I'm not sure if I should keep a closer eye on you Lor-Zod, don't worry me with a lack of resolve in the face of adversity in the future. When someone makes himself our enemy, he deserves nothing short of utter destruction. That girl I came to help, I don't know her, either of her...but she is of our kind, a Kryptonian, and those men deserved to die for inflicting pain on her. Understand? Kryptonians come first..." Ursa then pauses a moment, not looking too pleased, as she soon admits, "which is why we may need to have a friendly conversation with this, Kal-El..."

Lor-Zod nods a little bit again, and says, "I won't let you down again." Then he nods again and says, "The best place to find him is the Hall of Justice. He leads the team known as the Justice League. He also has a fortress of Kryptonian technology, he calls it his Fortress of Solitude, it's amazing... but it's secured except for the one time I was invited there for a celebration."

Arching a brow, Ursa seems most interested in that bit of information, "you mean to tell me you know where Kal-El resides? You have intelligence on his very headquarter?" Ursa almost sounds pleased, "it's good to have this information should the need arise, for the time being, there is the matter of this Lex Luthor I mentioned. I intend to pay him a visit, and I think it is a good idea for you to accompany me so you see how we deal with his ilk." Ursa studies Lor-Zod's response closely, wanting to read his real take on this rather than focusing on his word, as he does tries to please now and then. "Would you like to punish him for creating a weapon that can hurt our kind?"

Lor-Zod's eyes widen a little, "Lex Luthor created those weapons?" He nods without hesitation to the question and answers, "I would." Of course, he knows his idea of punishment and Ursa's are vastly different, she might spot it in his eyes, but he's answering honestly from his point of view.

Ursa is certain his time on Earth away from his parents has affected Lor-Zod, and she doesn't like, but now that they're together again, she's firmly set on ensuring he will be the best he can be. She would not allow him to become a disappointment. "Very well, if you're all better, you may go as you like. I will call for you when we're ready to visit that Lex Luthor." She turns around and starts to practice a kata of Horu-Kanu, she does quip before Lor-Zod can have a chance to leave, "if you meet that man in robot suit again...kill it, or inform me, so I can kill it."

Lor-Zod nods again and says, "Thank you, mother." He turns to start to leave, but pauses as she gives the order. "I will," he answers, not clarifying which of the two options he'll do, but then he's gone, a gust of wind blowing through the room in response to his speed.