| ' | |||||
| |||||
| What: In an attempt to refocus the League, under new leadership, Batman holds a training session. | |||||
Training Facility
The League Training Grounds. This was not the gym facility further down in the Watchtower. This room was the place heroes could have gone to actually train in costume. The room was fifty by fifty with an observation deck. Unlike other training facilities this place worked with not only holograms, but Z-8 units also. The Z-8 unit was a bot that corresponded to the holograms of a scenario programmed in at the observation deck then they became that role. They had the ability to become targets and civilians with protocols to act like their appropriate part.
The walls to the place were extremely thick in case someone lost control of their powers. Like the walls, the floors and the ceiling appeared to be tiles, but they were anything but. Each tile was a holographic projector. Lots of power was needed to run the place, but the room could have been programmed for anything. Someone just needed an architectural or vast computer design background to set the program in motion.
Seeing that only two members of the league had bothered to show up was very disappointing to Batman. They had to show up in larger numbers for bits like this one. Holding back his disappointment, he just began to punch in buttons. Slowly, the walls started to change. To the eye it looked like the tiles were flipping over. If anyone had ever been to metropolis they would have reocognized the posh Historic District. This was the older side of metropolis that was already extremely expensive before hipsters and historical junkies upped the price even more. Everything was beautiful as the various houses had a British Suburbia Architecture feel. Everything was picture perfect in the daytime. If it wasn't for the fact that the floor and ceiling were still metal tiles those inside the facility could have become confused.
Grass, concrete walkways and paved road started to "flip over" replacing the floor then the ceiling overhead became a pristine sky blue akin to many picture perfect spring days. Even the control tower winked out of sight.
Now, it was just Power Ring and Lor Zod on a street. Everything could have been seen, heard, felt and practically tasted. Birds chirped in the air before they flew off hastily. "Boom!" "Boom!" the ground beneath the pair shook. People were running toward them. Their screams sound so very real and the look upon their faces could have foold the most analytical of people. The source of the booms came from two hurled cars that just exploded. Standing a good ten years away from where the vehicles were thrown was a man, about 6'7" and a good three hundred pounds of muscle, but it was hard to call him a man. Whoever it was had two beady red eyes that were sunken in tat black shadows formed around them. Where a face, nose and mouth should have been the features were a flat and completely non-descriptive like a blank slate. This person clearly had some power behind him.
Power Ring sends a message to Lor-Zod *I need to get within about 20 feet to analyze weaknesses. Can you distract this creature while I do so?* This is supposed to be a lesson on teamwork. She has her defenses up, she knows Batman is not going to pull punches much, things will hit hard enough to feel, even when she is defended. If she is not...it probably will not kill, but proken bones are not beyond possibility.
Lor-Zod's widen as the room changes, and he says something in Kryptonian that sounds like the equivalent of 'awesome'. Then, there's a boom, and he lifts into the air before the second one. Nodding to Power Ring he says, "No problem." Then, as fast as he can, he's flying forward with a fist aimed at where the figure would have a jaw.
The entity did have a jaw. However, as Lor came in hot the entities eye's flahsed one. As Zod flew down with all of his might, the silvery person moved just as fast as the young Kryptonian out of nowhere. Suddenly the created tried hit a now exposed Zod with a hammer blow filled with super strength.
There was a problem with Power Ring's plan. Her ring exposed the fears anyone that felt fear. All of the little failures that ate at people deep down, every drop of it based upon some kind of fear. This target felt no fear. There was nothing for the ring to latch onto in that regard. Batman had chosen this particular enemy to put Power Ring WAY out of her element, because even what it was based upon had not the ability to feel anything. It did not know joy, it did not know pain and it certainly had no fear. Seeing the other person the target moved back. Then those eyes fell upon Power Girl's ring. It started to examine that gleaming green piece of jewelry.
While fear is the easiest thing to detect with her ring, there is much more she can do at close range, she can find out nearly everything about a target. It requires her to be close...and generally takes enough concentration to lower her defenses...thus generating additional energy for the ring. This is presumably a hologram or other simulation, thus it has no fear, but it should have weaknesses. She waits until it seemsdistracyted by Lor-zod them moves into range, sendng outthe scanning beam and seeing what it reveals...
Lor-Zod is sent flying back and into a nearby building. It takes him a moment to pick himself up and shrug off the rubble. "Ow," he says softly. Then he flies back out of the building, and into the air above the figure.
As the ring found the following on the target: The target had the ability to copy and manifest powers of those around it. That also meant particular weaknesses could be used against it as well, a green ring appeared on the creature's left hand over the appropriate finger. Extending the ring, Jessica saw visions of a mob, but it wasn't any old mob. It was the one she was running from. The one that always made her look over her shoulder. Weapons were pulled out from the individuals that appeared as clear as day. They were taking aim at her, trying to finish the job. There was a difference between feeding the fear and giving into it. One of her worst fears was going to kill it, they were getting ready to pull the trigger.
The all silver man kept the ring focused on Jessica, he floated in the air as Lor Zod was approaching. Again, those eyes started to glow. Unfortunately, this time the result was very different. Energy lanced outward toward Lor Zod, heat vision to be exact. It was very clear more than just Lor's strength and speed had been copied.
For a while now Jessica has been saving energy in...well she never quite figured out where Volthoom is storing it, the concept is way over her head. Things like the chemical energy of the bombs she has disabled, for example. She figurs it is a good time to USE that energy...but first she lets herself bathe in the fear...the fear that kept her in hiding for four years...it seems almost petty compared to some of the things she has felt since the ring came to her. She manifests a green shotgun, pumps it, and discharges it adding her saved physical energy to the magical energies of the ring. If it has copied Lor-Zod and has not realized that the rings does not defend it automaticly...well a Kryptonian is said to be vlunerable to magic.
Lor-Zod had been thinking along similar lines, apparently. His own eyes start to glow just as the silver figure's does. He ends up meeting its heat vision with his own, leading to a singularity of heat where the beams intersect. "Wait," he says, even while holding the heat vision, "Another Kryptonian?"
Sensing the danger the silver entity disengaged, taking some of the blast from the heat vision. Part of the metal was scorched, but the shotgun had missed entirely. Since he was in theiar there was a chance it could have hit Lor Zod. The images of Jessica's family vanished. Instead it had focused on Lor Zod. Slowly, an image started to appear.
Peering down at the young boy was a man in black fabrics and designs not of this world. "You should be ruling this planet," the man was older and had a military look to him. His eyes were narrowed at Zod in disgust. The image then looked down at Jesisca and fired several bits of energy from its own eyes. "And you care for these insects too," the creature had made one of Lor-Zod's fears come to life, the image of his own father.
Jessica says to Lor-Zod, "The creature does not feel fear, this weakens the ring it bears, it can only feed upon YOUR fear, not amplify it with its own." She, of course, has the reverse problem...she has only her own fear, not any fear from her foe. She creates a large green sphere, she may not be fast enough to hit it directly, but once she has a sphere around it, she can collapse the sphere inward to contain it.
Lor-Zod manages to get out of the way of the shotgun blast, but he freezes at the sight of his father. Well, rather, his angry father. "But... Jessica's words make sense, and he seems to try to clamp down on his fear. Not very successfully, though.
Now, the creature had a choice. It could have either kept the illusion on Lor-Zod or try to free itself from the bubble closing around him. Zod vanished away then a giant crowbar appeared. Wedinging itslf into the dome that had yet to close the entity focused on getting out. Fear from Lor-Zod freshly charged the ring as focus ont he crowbar was maintained. However, that meant Lor-Zod now had a very easy target that was still because of focus needed for the crowbar. Jessica was going to need to maintain the orb just to keep the target busy.
Jessica knows that if this thing gets free it can crush her, she is decent, but not up to fighting a Kryptonian...well not one also armed with a power ring anyway. That makes her more afraid, increasing her power...and she throws this thought at Volthoom, "You are not going to let this pretender beat you, now are you?"
With redoubled power, Jessica crushes down on the entity. It will learn that frightening Power Ring is generally the last thing you ever do...
Lor-Zod blinks as his father vanishes, then turns to the creature again. He frowns and his eyes begin to glow, and then beams of heat vision blast out at the creature.
The heat vision stays focused on the creature. He tries to fire out his own, but all Zod had to do is change his flight trajectory a little. Eventually the silvery skin started to bubble. "Blooping" noises started to become more dominant. Liquid metal eventually splattered a little. Bubbles began to form all over the place, the silvery skin started to darken as red formed underneath. As the thing became hotter the dome closed as it was hving trouble focusing on the crowbar. Seconds after the dome closed suddenly there was a "BOOM!" and metal was everywhere inside the green bubble. The Z8 unit could be seen. Tiles began to "flp over" again revealing the metal underneath it all. Images of metropolis faded away. The team was still in the training grounds.
Jessica says, "A good challenge, it is important to know your own weaknesses...not just for defense, but for those occasions when you face someone with a duplicate of your own powers." She is tired, that was tough, but she is not letting her gurd down...Batman may yet attack again.
Lor-Zod looks exhausted as he floats down to the ground. "I only meant to disable, not kill," he comments, softly, as he looks to the bot that was the creature.
"Hit the showers, both of you," Batman spoke over the speaker. They worked well together. However, Batman wished more attended. They needed to work well as a unit. Two of them worked well together, and Batman was sure they hadn't teamed up before. This was a very good thing. He just wished to see the phenomina across the board. "You did good," Batman spoke again giving credit where it was due.
Jessica says, "Thank you Batman. I understand you are quite the expert, so that is a compliment indeed." She has been working on multi tasking, splitting her attention without weakening each thing she is doing is TOUGH. She needs to do it though, more than a Green Lantern does in fact.