2013.10.22 - Midtown Showdown

It's late at night and the theater district is full of energy and lights, cars honking, people going about laughing, happy from either being out with the family, lovers and watching great plays, or shows, and in this case people have just witnessed one of the many sessions of Zatanna's new tour, and the crowd leaves the theater utterly amazed at just how this young girl pulls off so many incredible tricks, understanding now why the illusionist community has, time and again, tried to close the doors on her claiming she is a -real- magician. Still, Zatanna goes on proclaiming that her magic is only for the Justice League and other serious cases, and life goes on.

Behind the theater, by the alley, people elbow each other at the chance of seeing the star of the show leave, and sure enough, eventually, Zatanna opens that solitary door, surrounded by bodyguards, cameras snapping at her from all sides, people begging for pictures and autographs. After signing a few for Timmy, Jane and eBay, something capture's Zatanna's attention, a man running away from one of her fans, now on the ground, carrying her purse. Narrowing her eyes the magician shakes her head and strikes a pose, much more elaborate than it needed to be.

"Elkcahs eht feiht dna gnirb mih ot em!" , a perfect smile on her lips as the man yelps and, shackled by glowing serpents of light, her is brought back flying to face the crowd, that claps, the old lady who got robbed thanking the magician as she smirks at the criminal.

"You cannot be -that- stupid. Don't you know who I am!?"

Would he like to be back in Kahndaq, enjoying the company of his wife and brother in the paradise that is his palace? Of course. Is the corrupt and filth-ridden city of Metropolis still in existance? Unfortunately, yes. And so, with a heavy heart, longing for home, Black Adam floats effortlessly through the sky, gravity completely failling to have any affect on him. The crowd around Zatanna catches his eye, and for a moment, he watches, bemused by the mortals and their silly fascination with tricks and illusions.

And then someone up and snatches a purse. It's like they're /asking/ to die.

It takes him just under half a second to drop from the sky and come to a hovering halt just behind the bound thief, his narrowed eyes on Zatanna from over the man's head.

And then his fist emerges from the center of the man's chest. "Scum."

In the crowd, watching the show...J'onn is incognito. And just that bit too slow to react to Black Adam's approach. Joy. The man needs a leash putting on him...but short of changing his mind (which would be unethical,) J'onn's at a loss as to how to do it. So, instead, he...appears, lifting out of an alleyway at speed. Slower, mind, than any speedsters in the area.

Kyle whistles and cheers along with the rest of the crowd, applauding as Zatanna catches the would-be thief. Apparently he was in with the rest of the crowd, watching Zatanna's illusions and show. There's magic and there are illusions, and while magic's practical, illusions are by far more fun.

"That woman's got some real talent," Kyle says to someone next to him, grinning enthusiastically. "She's got a-

Kyle's jaw drops. "Holy... MOVE!" he bellows, struggling. It takes him a moment of vain struggling against the crowd, and then Kyle simply /leaps/ up, clearing the crowds as emerald energy surges around him, a black and emerald uniform flickering onto him. He literally flies at Black Adam, a ring glittering on his extended fist, and he aims a bolt of pure force for Adam's chest, with enough force to knock a tank over.

Jubilation Lee wasn't about to miss a magic show this well publicized, even on a school night. Okay, so she doesn't have a chaperone and she really should be studying and she had to sneak out. It's a /magic show/. And the star's a real magician, or so she claims. That's like finding out that Batman's real! Been there, done that, so she'd know!

Still, seeing a totally awesome show and getting to meet the star are two different things, and she's really pushing her luck staying here behind the theatre. It's /majorly/ crowded back here... Wait, did somebody yell over there? They did! And someone's pushing his way throuh the crowd! With the expertise of an LA native, she begins shoving her way into pursuit, taking advantage of both her small size and the people who are clearing away from his path. Suddenly stepping into the open, she finds herself being outdistanced. He just has longer legs than she does!

Okay, so much for the subtle approach. Plasmoids flare into life around her hands. "Hey, Jerkoid!"

Only Jerkoid is doing some flaring of his own! And he's flying back towards... /Zatanna/?! A smile of delighted awe breaks over the teenager's face. "Holy fudge... she /is/ a feal magician!"

And then a shadow drops from the sky. One that's short-spoken. And then he /punches right through the purse-snatcher/! Jubilee catches herself staring in horror after doing it for a few seconds, blinking and shaking her head to get it working again. "Gross-a-rama! Dude, seriously, haven't you ever heard of 'let the punishment fit the crime?!'"

In town on unrelated business, Barry Allen had found himself in possession of a discount ticket to see Zatanna's performance. It is because of this spot of luck that he is outside when the commotion over the young illusionist finds a few seconds of reality. Things look well in hand, a little encore to the main show, when Black Adam drops out of the sky and replaces most of the thief's chest cavity with his fist. Time dilates, a second stretching toward infinity as Barry turns from a spectator into the Flash, lightning snapping its way down his red suit as he zig-zags quickly through the crowd. He stops at Zatanna's side, stirring up a gust of wind as his momentum ceases, "Can you help him? Even if I take him to the hospital, I'm not sure he'd make it." He's sounds pained by the admission, ready to move the instant Zatanna offers an answer.

Magic shows aren't really for Hawkman. He's seen real magic so the idea of sleight of hand, animals hidden in hat compartments and mind freaking isn't really his thing. Going to a "magic show" is like returning to the kiddie coaster after riding an adult rollercoaster after seeing the real stuff. Still, the night is young and needs a winged guardian.

Staring down at the crowd below Hawkman just observes. Light barely reflects off of his green pants, the leather of his straps, belt and the various pouches, even the mace, his old familiar friend, doesn't gleam of the moonlight. His helmet is equally dull. Any night air is ignored thanks to the harness. Spreading out his wings Hawkman is getting ready to push off when a familiar face forces him to stay close.

The person drives a hand through a would be purse thief that was in the process of being reeled in by some real magic. Only after when the man marvels at his handy work does Hawkman recognize the face. "TETH!" he screams and dives downward at the man. Suffice to say Hawkman and this guy are far from friends. Pulling out the mace that hangs at his waist Hawkman hopes to rearrange Teth's face.

Zatanna has seen many gruesome things she would give an eye to forget, but she has never seen death treated so casually. The thing about demons and spirits is that they never act -out- of their motives, and you can usually understand why they do what they do. For a god like Black Adam to simply destroy a man like this... it stuns Zatana for a moment, her beautiful face marked with more ethan a few drops of scarlet blood, her steely-blue eyes wide as she just stands there for a moment. Was she to blame for this man's death? "W-What's happening...", she whispers breathlessly, before Kyle and J'onn show up in a heartbeat. She can't dabble in her own shock right now. Not with other heroes around, so swallowing down her insecurities, Zatanna adopts her stage persona, the confident heroine Zatanna.

Still angry, though.

And then Barry is right besides her, and it somehow it doesn't startle the raven-haired lady, it only boosts her confidence. Looking straight at Black Adam she smiles wryly "There is nothing he can bring up I can't put down.", oozing confidence. Inside, she is not so sure, but it doesn't matter. "Just take him away from here!", and saying that, she approaches the fallen victim, swallowing down some. "Help me, father..."

Black Adam casually drags his fist free from the man's chest, opening his hand with a flick of the wrist that sends a small amount of blood cascading down on the crowd below. A crowd that is, almost certainly, running and screaming. "Mortals," he spits out like a curse, "Always so weak... and tiny." He's just about to start levitating upwards when his shouted name catches his attention and he looks up just in time to recognize the face -- and voice -- of, "Khufu.." Then?

He takes a mace to the face. The sound is less like crunching bone and more like a sonic boom. Some massive force meeting another in a violent clash, as Teth is sent 'stumbling' through the air, regaining his balance just in time to be /nailed/ by bright green energy that finishes the job Carter started and sends him hurtling backwards, bending a car in half with the force of his impact with the ground.

For a few seconds, he just sits in this new pothole of his, staring up at the sky, wondering why exactly the fools insist on trying to accomplish the impossible. Perhaps there's something about human nature in that... On the other hand... With the car bent in half, it makes two perfect projectiles to be hurled with reckless abandon at Hawkman and Green Lantern both.

Well. At least Hawkman is distracting Black Adam. J'onn moves between the fight and the civilians...most of whom are trying to get out of there at this point...red eyes grim as he regards what's happening between the two. Flash and Zatanna are trying to save the victim. Green Lantern and Hawkman are containing Teth...for now. Which leaves him to help clear the area, empathic abilities reaching out to calm people down JUST enough to keep them from trampling each other. Not too much, of course.

Kyle skids to a halt in midair and throws both hands out, barely in time to arrest the half-ton of steel being hurled at him like a torpedo. Green light flashes around him, a byproduct of the actual forces at work. He manages to shelter the crowd from the hurled projectile, if barely, and shoots skyward, separating himself as a target from the crowd.

"Everyone, better get clear!" Kyle shouts down at the onlookers. "This isnt the kind of party you wanna stay for!"

The young Lantern jukes sideways, still controlling the car, and gets enough altitude to get a better view of Teth. He spins around twice, like a man hurling a chain, and cuts loose, throwing the car at the downed Teth.

And he promptly follows it up with a spiralling pair of bolts of force, twining around the hurled car to strike where Teth stands.

Focused as she is on the monster who's punching through people's chests, Jubilee still catches sight of a streak of red appearing next to the star of the magic show. Coolness. She's not doing this alone. Okay, alone except for Zatanna. Credit where it's due!

Still, the sight of the magician's lovely face in that moment catches her off-guard. Anger. Shock. Uncertainty. Vulnerability. And then confidence, even a smile. Mask, totally. But been there, done that too. In an instant, the beautiful magician has an ally. A small, weak one, compared to the titans that are also coming to her aid, but help's help, right? Right!

She's barely noticed a scream from above and a flare of green from the side when /something/ comes flying her way! She ducks instinctively, barely avoiding a collision with what turns out to be Chestburster Man. He continues on to rearrange the landscape. She, on the other hand, is straightening up and looking to see what dumped him on his super-pants. 'Cuz she might be dodging it in a second, too!

Well, there's a guy with wings and a mace that she's sure she's seen on the news. And a green guy with lots of muscles, who is going to feel a psychic hole in the crowd if he's sensing as well as emanating. And a certain familiar greenness! "Green Lantern! Coolness!"

Two halves of cars flying at Green lantern and the winged guy... not coolness. Not at all. Well, she can send things flying, too. "Oh, no you don't!" she cries, holding out both hands and unleashing a rainbow double-torrent of plasmoids at Chestburster Man. It. Is. ON!!!

Still, she's slowly backing in the general direction of Zatanna and the poor guy with no chest. But slightly to the side as well. She might be ducking Chestburster Man next. No point in leading him back towards the magician.

There's relief in his eyes as the Flash nods to Zatanna's words, his attention returning once more to Black Adam and the fallen man, the former at the center of convergence for a number of heroes. With the crowd dispersing as rapidly as fear will allow them, and a lot more safely than it might otherwise be without J'onn's empathic guidance, he moves to get some of the stragglers to safety as Hawkman and Green Lantern use Black Adam to do some body work on an unfortunate's car.

Red lines of motion trace his path as the Flash does his best to get as many as he can to saftey amidst the brewing battle. Bursts of green and a rainbow torrent of plasmoids sends a cascade of odd shadows over the fight as he also moves to away from Zatanna and the wounded man. Lightning crackles about his body, the glow adding its own illumination to the mix as he speeds over to the leftover husk of half a vehicle where it lands and begins hurling scraps of metal at Black Adam as rapidly as he can throw them.

Hearing about the plan to move Black Adam away from the civilians he looks at her. Hawkman stares at Teth, "You're weak like your kingdom," the words are whispered filled with venom. On that note Hawkman pushes off the ground. Trying to get Teth to follow him Hawkman move to the rooftops, "I mean all weak and feeble like Khandaq! Oh what a sad state of affairs it must be as the worthless king takes his throne!" the taunts continue as Hawkman waits and prepares to take a few shots from a very angry Teth. Breathing out Hawkman puts the mace back in its place. "This is gonna hurt," he thinks to himself.

Zatanna has that frustrated smirk on her face as she looks down at the bloody thief, a man on his fourties with a very thick beard, now drowsily looking up at the bright lights.

"Damn you, damn you... I should have let you go, stupid old man...", she mutters, her once-white gloves now bloody red, the marks of blood on her face as the magician, looks at the wound. There is a -lot- of missing bits there, she can tell, even not being a doctor, and to make matters worse there's a lot of screaming and fighting around her, her eyes slowly showing more and more of her helplesness when facing this situation, eager to simply jump in the fight and have someone else heal this man. But then again, none of them would be able to.

"I can't do this, damn it!", she curses, finally realizing she doesn't even know where to start, reaching for her hair, running her bloody fingers through it in a reflex, her hands shaking visibly now. "No, wait, breathe, Zatanna... breathe...", even remaining awake being hard for the magician as panic attacks. One hand on the asphalt bellow her and one on her chest, the raven-haired woman keeps staring at that man, at his mortal wound, for a long time, before she remembers her father.

"Nothing is what it seems, Zee...", she whispers his words to her, the First Rule, closing her eyes tight, and suddenly she has an answer. Taking her lipstick from the purse, the magician starts to scribble things all over the floor, looking around and finding an odd asian girl there, looking at her. Marked with blood and with her mascara running down a bit, the magician beckons the girl over. "You! Give me something important to you! Quick! Those glasses will do!". Ripping the robber's shirt away, she begins to scrible strange symbols over the man's stomach and chest with her lipstick.

"Emoc htruof, emoc htruof, Nalrka eht Rekamkcolc, eht retsam fo tfarc. Emoc htruof, emoc htruof, ot ym eciov, raeh ym saelp, tpecca ym gnireffo dna esaelp emoc ot em!"

Black Adam watches as his makeshift projectiles fail to inflict harm whatsoever, and indeed, one even seems to be coming back at him, now escorted by more of that damnable green energy. With a smirk of amusement, he leaps /towards/ the incoming half of a car, turning effortlessly in midair to catch hold of the front bumper and swing it around like a weapon at both of the green bursts of energy, and then follows it up by tossing it towards Jubilee, making sure it follows the same path the incoming plasmoids are on.

He's managed to remain surprisingly calm through the whole ordeal of face-maces and lantern attacks, but as soon as Khufu's taunts reach his ears, the rage boils to the surface in one violent outpouring of hatred. "Your words only quicken your doom, False King! I will rain your lifeblood down on these mortals and teach them what happens to those who defy a god!"

BOOM!

The sound barrier shatters into pieces as he takes off after Hawkman, steering his flight straight past the Lantern as he moves for his ancient foe, fist drawn back to attempt to deliver a mighty blow to Carter's lower back, followed by a swiftly moving kick to his side to try and send him hurtling back towards the ground.

Fleeing civilians have much of J'onn's attention, but he's not obvious to the strain on Zatanna. Very quietly, he sends a tendril of empathic support her way; carefully designed to support her will and courage rather than potentially distract from the spell she is cashing. He can feel how much she needs it. Physically, he's moving to make a shield for the retreating non-combatants. True, he probably could hit Black Adam pretty hard. He's just trusting Hawkman and Flash to handle it. They're all professionals here.

Damn. Classic hero's choice. Kyle makes a snap judgement call and reverses his course, hurtling in a tight corkscrew. He flings his hands out and arrests the car's flight a scant foot before it crashes and tumbles through Jubilee and Zatanna, a green web of energy criscrossing around it and letting it scrape across the ground and throw up sparks.

Once the civilians are more or less protected, Kyle turns in place and explodes in a clumsy motion that sends him hurtling after Black Adam and Hawkwman. He thrusts his ring hand forward again, as lashing chains of energy whip towards Black Adam, aiming for his wrists and ankles in an attempt to restraint the raving maniac.

"Dude, I have no idea what you're saying to him," Kyle informs Hawkman, "but it seems to be pissing him off. Maybe he's such a lousy king because he's, uh, compensating for something?" he asks, with a meaningful bob of his eyebrows. "Flag only flies at half-mast, eh buddy?" he asks Adam.

Okay... so she's not much more than a distraction, even on Full Burn. Jubilee can live with that, so long as she /is/ distracting him.

The sudden demand catches her by surprise. Jubilee looks, and finds the source to be none other than the lovely magician she came to see! This would be a very magic moment if there weren't a HUGE SUPER-FIGHT going on around them both. "My shades? But they're just..." They've been replaced several times. Really, not that important.

But there /is/ something important. Her yellow raincoat. It's the lucky one with the Dazzler autograph on the inside. It can't possibly be replaced, and she's worn it through thich and through thin. She hesitates only a moment, then quickly shrugs it off, catching it behind her back and offering it to Zatanna. She doesn't even take the bubble gum out of the pocket. "Here... this is important to me. It's all yours," she says softly. On impulse, she leans around those gloved hands and gives the enchantress a quick, bolstering hug. "And for the record, I think you're doing great, totally. Seriously righteous. 'Scuse me, I need to go back to being a distraction, 'kay?" Oh, wait... somebody else is a better distraction! Fine by her, since it means Chestburster Man won't be...

Oh, crapsicles. He /will/ be. She's not even in traffic and she's about to be hit by a car! And she can't possibly blast away that much metal in time! Blue eyes open wide in the sudden realization that there are about to be /two/ dead people in this alley. "Oh, Jean... I'm so sorry I snuck out, and now I can't even apologize for it..." She shuts her eyes, unable to watch the half-ton of metallic doom coming.

And then... wait, what? Nothing? No smash? She opens one eye, then the other, blinking in astonishment at her somehow-unsquishified self. "I'm alive?"

That flare of green tells her all she needs to know. "Green Lantern... make that /total/ coolness!" She waves joyfully. "Thank you!"

With a command to Jubilee and the sound of unfamiliar words spoken, the Flash feels some relief that the purse thief is being seen to, even as his frustration mounts against the relative futility of his own metal barrage against Black Adam. The self-proclaimed god's skin is simply too much for even supersonic pieces of metal, the taunts appearing to leave much deeper wounds as he throws the remaining half of a car at Jubliee and rockets toward Hawkman.

As the Green Lantern's construct nets the car and stalls its forward momentum, the Flash sighs to himself, mumbling, "I hate this part." One stride, then two, and he's at full acceleration, tearing up the side of the building Hawkman had stopped on, his path one long trail of blurred red and gold before he unleashes a single, speed force backed punch at Black Adam before zipping past and back down to the street below.

The first blow doesn't phase Hawkman too much. It hurts but not as much as it should. Although so much time is spent prepping for the first shot the second comes as a surprise. Teth sends Hawkman bouncing off the rom. He slides across the roof then catches himself, "What did they call you back then? Little Adam," Hawkman rose up and holds out his pinky. "Little Adam," this time when Black Adam comes at Hawkman the corners of his mouth pull into a smile. At the back of his belt rests a knife that he unsheathes and sees the Flash blur toward the man. The plans to stab Adam are thwarted as the Flash makes his move. Seeing this brings an idea to the forefront, "Oh the little king can do nothing to stop what he would consider a peasant!" Hawkman breathes out waiting looking toward the man as he wats to see what Black Adam will do, "OH HOW YOU CAN'T EVEN COMMAND POWER OVER ANYTHING! LITTLE KING! LITTLE ADAM, HOW SAD YOU ARE!"

The more Zatanna chants, the more she feels at ease and in peace with her role in all this: everything will be fine, she can do this. Yes, she trained her whole life for this, she can do this. Maybe somewhere her father will see what she is doing and be proud of her, and just like that the raven-haired girl turns to face her emergency assistant, now smirking as she takes the raincoat and places it over the man's body.

"Nepo eht setag rekamkcolc!"

As she begs the glyphs she wrote on the man and ground burn bright, glowing throught Jubilee's coat as strange long cuts slowly destroy the significant piece of clothing the girl has offered. The more cuts show up, the more a portal opens before Zatanna glowing in a golden light. "Okay girl, I need you to run away. Demonic negotiation is -not- for everyone!", Zatanna says clearly, a very heated wind coming from within the light portal.

Anyone in the alley will hear many, many clocks ticking, from different sizes and from different spots. Witnessing that Zatanna whispers and bows her head "Clockmaker... I beg you to fix this man's body while there's still life within.".

In a flash of light Zatanna disappears, and the man coughs under the shreds of Jubilee's coat, getting on his fours and looking confused.

Suddenly green chains. Why? Why do they insist on it? They could just as easily give up and let Adam do what he needs to do. But no, they must insist on sticking to their misguided beliefs that crime can be properly stamped out through gentle treatment of the vermin. Can't they see how well Kahndaq is doing without the parasites clawing at the innocents -- his people even love him for it. Clearly his way is the right way...

And now with the phallic humor!

It's interesting, how rarely anyone ever reaches past pure fury into what lies beyond. It takes a certain kind of man -- no, a god -- to make it there. Today? Today is one of those days that they push him over the edge...

The Flash's strike? It sends him hurtling backwards as speed fills in for strength. He doesn't react. He doesn't shout. He doesn't so much as flinch as he crashes into the wall of the next building, sending glass cascading down to the ground far below. Slowly, he pulls himself free and looks up to the two above him, still calling out their threats, still taunting a god.

"ENOUGH!" The force of the bellow shatters nearly every window in the nearest building, his arms tug and pull, held for only a moment before he severs the chains that bind him and... Disappears.

Most likely only the Flash can follow his movements as he hurtles towards Hawkman and GL, his hands reaching for the wings of the former and the throat of the latter as he utilizes the god-like strength at his disposal to try and swing both of them overhead, looking to put them between him and the sky...

"SHAZAM!"

There's a flicker of energy as Black Adam slams into Kyle. A bubble of force flickers into place before Kyle's nervous system can even process Black Adam's motions, the ring taking over his defenses automatically.

The force of Black Adam's impact sends Kyle flying backwards with shocking velocity, a perfect, slightly translucent green sphere flickering brightly in the daylight before Kyle smashes a bowling ball hole through the apartment building behind him, winking out in the dust and collapsing rubble.

Run away? /Demon bargaining/? Okay, not something you hear every day. And it's not like she can help much anyway at this point. "Good luck!" Jubilee calls, and dashes for the entrance to the alley, surrounded by ticking sounds from /clocks that aren't there/. Totally not creepy! She doesn't get far before there's a sudden flash of light... but though she winces at the brightness of it washing over everything in eyeshot, she still can't resist looking back. Gone! The magician's just not there anymore! But the injured man is coming around, and not pleasantly by the sound of it. She moves back that way, shaking her head ruefully. "Dude, I wouldn't move. You're alive... just be glad of it. You almost weren't."

Another surge of clocks can be heard, the sound of many, many clocks being heard to anyone close to Flash as a sudden burst of light is seen, and Zatanna comes out of it, several feet above the ground, hitting forehead first on the pavement in a wet, sickly noise. From the way she fell the Justice Leaguer seems to be unconscious, her clothes torn as if she was attacked by a taloned beast, streaks of red marking her arms, face and legs. What's worrying is the circle of red that she has on her vest, right over the spot where Black Adam tore into the helpless thief.

"Such a waste of good spares...", the deep voice whispers from within. The portal closes and the magician is left laying on her side on the pavement, her coordination lacking as she drags her feet along the ground, helpless, spitting some blood as she fights to whisper. "B-Barry... Oh gods... please... anyone...".

From the clouds above, another black streaking blur comes down, changing it's own angle midflight. Most present would notice it, however most would be hard pressed to track it. The blur reveals itself as a black garbed boy of maybe 20, touching down next to the shredded Zatanna. His gaze turns toward Adam for a moment and he frowns. "I am sorry Adam.. " He mutters aloud, and stoops to pick up the injured Leaguer, her weight next to nothing in his mighty arms.

He lifts off again, and relatively... slowly flies away, still managing around 70 MPH, carrying her away, in the direction of Metropolis general.

Running out of effective counter measures to Black Adam's fury-based strength, the Flash had just begun preparing for another assault on him when there's a flash of light and a wounded Zatanna is suddenly picked up by someone looking very much like Black Adam. Halting his attack action against the black-clad god, he blurs away after the flying figure, intent on ensuring Zatanna's safety.

Seeing the Flash clear the area makes Hawkman smile inwardly. Only an idiot and fool would attempt this. So quite clearly he is both and probably a lot more for thinking it. Seeing the lightning bolt coming down Hawkman lets his mace free once again. Holding up the mace he braces for the lightning bolt to it, the light becomes so bright he closes his eyes. A loud boom noise echoes in the air. Light explodes and cascades before darkness. A figure falls from the sky going downward. As the figure grows in size it's becoming clear they're not falling but flying downward.

At the moment not a sound can be heard as Hawkman swoops down. His green pants are riddled with hole as are his boots, surprisingly the helmet and wings look unscathed while everything else is torn and smoking. Even his hands look quite burned thanks to the blast. Normal people should be dead and have no hands. Clearly something is different about Hawkman.

Nearly everything is ignore by Hawkman except the constant ringing in his ears and one sight, Teth Adam. With mace up high he goes in for a strike. Unlike before the mace is spitting sparks, it glows with a gold energy that's cascading into an orb that touches and forms thanks to the rounded tips on the weapon. Putting everything he has into the blow Hawkman swings. Another flash of light will happen as the magic energy lets loose from the weapon. Whether something great or something bad happens he collapses onto the nearest rooftop. Taking a blast from a God-like being will do that to the best of us.

Sometimes being merely mortal, and not too powerful, has it's drawbacks. Like seeing your new favorite magician drop to the concrete through a portal with clothes and body all torn and hurt and not being able to do a thing about it. And that's before you count in the black streak that drops to the ground, resolves into a man's shape, picks up Zatanna, and makes off with her! Jubilee is left standing with her mouth hanging open in horror, then despair. "Oh, fudge... Zatanna! Oh, no..."

And then the winged guy blasts out something from his mace and falls onto a nearby rooftop. "Oh, wow... that looks bad."

At least she can do something about this. If only run up a lot of stairs, find him, and call an ambulance. Sometimes the best power is a Stark-phone and young legs. So she sets about doing just that. The purse-snatcher can stay where he is for now. He doesn't look hurt anymore, just confused.

He's far from the only one, but at least now there's someone Jubilee can ask a few questions of. At least, once Hawkman wakes up. Maybe she'll at least find out his name.

Just once. /Once,/ Adam would like that move to actually work. When Carter manages to intercept the mystical lightning with his mace, Teth just stares upwards at the oncoming strike. The rage seeps from his bones, the intensity burned itself out far too quickly, and that results in a god that no longer cares.

When the mace strikes him, there's a moment where he just seems to... hang there. Then, with a bang, he's gone, his form shifting and morphing, back and forth between Adam and Teth as the strange energies of the Nth metal mace combine with his own transformation bolt. It's pure luck that he's mostly Adam when he slams into the wall of the alley he comes to rest in several blocks away, but when he pulls himself to his feet, he's simply Teth, the mortal...

"I despise, New York."