DTL Season 5-Week 2 (Set 3)

[DTL Commish]

The rules:
This is one of four threads containing matches.
The threads will be in use for 7 days. Days 1-3 (Friday-Sunday) are strictly setup time for owners to plead their cases, tell us their team’s strategies, breakdown the match ups, and do whatever else they can/want to do to try and convince you that their team would pull out a victory. Please, let the owners do this on their own with no help from you, the fan.

Debates will open to everyone on Day 4 (Monday) once I post that they are open. On Day 6 (Wednesday) I will post and tell everyone that voting may begin. Only after doing so will voting start. Any votes cast before I open voting will not count.

Look over the matchups and read the owners strategies and take into consideration how in-character each character is. Afterwards, use your best judgment to decide who you think has the best chance to win the match up. (Note: The length of a writeup is up to the owner. Do not punish owners just for having a shorter writeup.)

To vote, post the team names you think will prevail in each match. Remember, to vote for each match up or your vote will not count! The teams with the highest vote total at the end of the 7th day (Thursday) will get a W while the other will get an L. (Equal votes will result in a tie.)

The battleground for this week is: New York Populated (Marvel)

Zatanna and the Titans of Tomorrow
Zatanna (DU)
Superman (TT) (DU)
Cyborg 2.0 (TT) (DR)
Aquawoman (TT) (DM)
Batman (TT) (DR)
VS.

X
Thanos (Earth Quasar) (MU)
Josef Huber (MU)
Imus Champion (MR)
Patriarch (MR)
The Rival (Max Mercury) (DM)
_______________________________

Dark Gog
Ares (DU) (Bio link seems fairly suspect) - The Olympian god of battle, conflict, and death, Ares grows in stature by the presence of all three, and commands extensive knowledge of his portfolios. He is also a top schemer capable of granting power (mostly in exchange), manipulating reflective surfaces, and various mystical or divine effects, such as very high strength, near-immunity to illusions, altering his shape, healing, and extra resistance against non-magical attacks.
Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) (DU) - The most well-known and perhaps most competent of the Fates. Possessed a high level of superhuman strength and durability in addition to his magic.
Lightray (DM) - Faster than light, superhuman strength and durability, energy conversion, and light manipulation. Lightray is highly-intelligent and possesses a Mother Box.
Reed Richards (MR) - Elastic supergenius. Again, perhaps the only point in need of highlighting here is his little used ability to alter his own mind through his powers.
Vixen (DR)
VS.

Team Alpha Wolf Squadron
Nova (MU): superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, durability and interstellar flight capable of generating a powerful energy beam known as a Gravimetric Pulse. Carries the Worldmind.
Dr. Fate IV (DU): is an accomplished sorcerer, able to match most other wizards in the DC Universe, but not as powerful as true extra-human beings such as the Spectre.
Aquaman (DM):the ability to breath both above and below the surface of water, super-human strength, speed, agility, stamina and keen eyesight adapted to the pressure and darkness of deep water depths.
Mutation resulting in the ability of limited telepathy with surface beings and enhanced telepathy with aquatic beings.
Animal Man (DR): the ability to access a morphogenic field known as the Lifeweb which enables him to take on the attributes of any animal in the known universe.
Mr. Terrific II (DR): genius level intellect, is an Olympic level athlete and has black belts in six martial arts disciplines. His equipment is capable of a variety of things, such as the creation of holographic projections.

 

[Harlekin]

TEAM ALPHA WOLF SQUADRON VS. DARK GOG
WEEK 2 LINE-UP INFO

Nova (Richard Rider) – (MU):
Continuity: 616
Powers and skills: Cosmically powered human with superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, durability and interstellar flight capable of generating a powerful energy beam known as a Gravimetric Pulse. Since the events of “Annihilation”, Nova carries the preserved physical brains of Xandarians collected over thousands of millennium, the Worldmind, who is among other things, capable of detecting weaknesses. The Worldmind also carries the Nova Force, which powers the Nova Corps, which has augmented Nova’s abilities greatly. His alien uniform is equipped with a wide variety of sensors and defense mechanisms.
Resources: Worldmind, carrying all data collected by the Nova Corps.

Doctor Fate (Hector Hall) – (DU):
Continuity: Pre-Infinite Crisis New Earth
Powers and skills: As Dr. Fate, Hector possessed a wide variety of powers. In general, he could fly, was resistant to damage, and had greater-than-human strength. He was susceptible to toxins in the air, however. At his most potent, Fate is an accomplished sorcerer, able to match most other wizards in the DC Universe, but not as powerful as true extra-human beings such as the Spectre. Fate has been observed throwing bolts of mysical energy, crafting solid objects out of energy a la Green Lantern, and transforming objects into other kinds of matter. The full limits of his magical skills are unknown.
Resources: The books and files stored within the Tower of Fate.

Aquaman (Orin/Arthur Curry) – (DM):
Continuity: Pre-Infinite Crisis New Earth
Powers and skills: Biologically typical Atlantian with the ability to breath both above and below the surface of water, super-human strength, speed, agility, stamina and keen eyesight adapted to the pressure and darkness of deep water depths.
Mutation resulting in the ability of limited telepathy with surface beings and enhanced telepathy with aquatic beings.
Resources: JLA files.

Animal Man (Buddy Baker) – (DR):
Continuity: Post-Infinite Crisis New Earth
Powers and skills: Normal human being with the ability to access a morphogenic field known as the Lifeweb which enables him to take on the attributes of any animal in the known universe. Abilities extend to being able to communicate with other animals and focus the energies of the morphogenic field as power blast.
Resources: JLA files.

Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt) – (DR):
Continuity: Post-Infinite Crisis New Earth
Powers and skills: Normal human being with genius level intellect, is an Olympic level athlete and has black belts in six martial arts disciplines. He possesses 14 Ph. D’s and is primarily specialized in multiple fields of medicine, engineering and science. His equipment (his mask and t-spheres) render him invisible to all forms of electronic detection. His t-spheres are capable of projecting holographic images, create laser grids, serve as cameras, link with outside data networks, allowing him to fly by bearing his weight, self-destruct, generate powerful electrical charges, and strike as flying projectile weapons. They are controlled mentally.
Resources: JSA and Checkmate files.

 

[Harlekin]

TEAM ALPHA WOLF SQUADRON VS. DARK GOG
WEEK 2 LINE-UP PREPERATION

First off, the team members introduce themselves. Nova and Animal Man are already familiar from last week’s battles. Aquaman will lead the team onto the battlefield, everything coordinated by tactician Mr. Terrific. There’s no reason for this team not to follow their lead. If there’s any doubt with Nova, the Worldmind will surely convince him to trust Mr. Terrific, seeing as he would be able to analyze Terrific’s effectiveness.

Now comes the planning. The DC characters are cut off from their resources, but the Worldmind will be extremely effective here. As you can see here, breaking into S.H.I.E.L.D. records is extremely easy for the Worldmind. When we see Nova two hours later, Richard is sleeping, and the Worldmind is going through current newsfeeds. Even if the Baxter Building’s security measures were somehow more difficult than S.H.I.E.L.D.’s (which is run by Iron Man no less), the Worldmind should be able to get the team in in a matter of a few hours. This is even without Mr. Terrific aiding him, which should also speed up the process.

Let’s think about the possibilities of that here. Within hours, the team has access to files and equipment from the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. With the exception of what Richards will construct during preparation time, Team Alpha Wolf Squadron has every available data on him and his equipment.

Then there’s the DC opponents. Ares, Dr. Fate, Lightray and Vixen. My Dr. Fate will know everything there is to know about the opponents’ Dr. Fate and be able to conjure up a good deal of information on Ares as well. Animal Man will know just about everything there is to know about Vixen. Only Lightray is a bit of an unknown, but the description the team gets will be enough to gauge his power, and the fact that he’ll be severely limited in a populated area.

The rest of the time can be spent strategizing. My team will focus on three things specifically:
1. Minimal civilian damage.
2. Restricting access to the Baxter Building and other resources.
3. Divide and conquer.

 

[Harlekin]

TEAM ALPHA WOLF SQUADRON VS. DARK GOG
WEEK 2 THE FIGHT

The battle’s begun. The opposing team’s logical leader is Mr. Fantastic, and they’ll be holed up in the Baxter Building. My team will have taken the ruins of Avengers Mansion as a base of operations. Mystically and technologically cloaked by Dr. Fate and Mr. Terrific, the opposing team will be forced to come out of the Baxter building to find and engage Team Alpha Wolf Squadron. This, in large part because A) Ares will want to get this fight over with and because B) my team can take control of the Baxter Building and forcibly evict the opposing team, as I’ve outlined in prep-time.

Doctor Fate’s Amulet of Anubis can see through such mystical cloaking, so he’ll be quick to search for my team. Once he comes close, he’ll be engaged by Aquaman, who can dispel most of what the Doctor can throw at him. This is a momentary diversion, as Mr. Terrific locates Vixen using the cameras in New York, and he and Animal Man are teleported to her location by Dr. Fate. Mr. Fantastic will be busy counteracting the Worldmind’s hold on the Baxter Building, while Lightray is searching for his opponents, unable to go even half his speed in this populated area.

Mr. Terrific and Animal Man vs. Vixen
Animal Man engages Vixen immediately, and they stalemate. Vixen calls up the power of a rhino, Animal Man calls up the power of an elephant and so on. Their fight goes on for a minute or so, until Mr. Terrific is able to create multiple holographic projections to confuse Vixen for a moment. She can see through the illusions by way of smell, but in order to do so, she needs to switch animal powers. Switching to say a tiger to distinguish between illusion and reality, she is quickly pounced upon by Animal Man, using the strength of a Tyrannosaurus to knock her out.

Mr. Fantastic, finally having reconnected to the Baxter Building, engages the two:
Mr. Terrific and Animal Man vs. Mr. Fantastic
First off, there’d be some curiosity as to Mr. Terrific’s ability to stay invisible to Mr. Fantastic’s sensors and the two would likely engage in a dialogue. Since this competition is determined by combat however, they’re forced to fight, and as such, Animal Man engages Mr. Fantastic. While Mr. Fantastic is distracted by Animal Man’s physical assault, Mr. Terrific will be focused on deactivating the equipment Fantastic will have brought with him.

Using the info he collected from the Baxter Building during preparation time, he should be able to do so quite quickly. Mr. Fantastic is ultimately brought down by one of Terrific’s t-spheres, who can discharge enough energy to knock back a being as powerful as Captain Marvel. Especially with knowledge of Fantastic’s powers, Mr. Terrific can have them generate a sufficient amount of energy to take Fantastic out.

The dynamic duo of Mr. Terrific and Animal Man are suddenly surprised when an energy blast fells Animal Man. While normally Lightray would be able to react quickly to a summons from Fantastic, he’s limited by his environment. If he so much as goes the speed of sound, he’s endangering innocent lives. Still, he is able to take Animal Man by surprise and take him out, which leaves him to face Mr. Terrific.

First, we go to another battle entirely:
Nova vs. Ares
Ares is able to locate the opposing team the moment the cloaking spell is lifted and teleports to the ruins of Avengers Mansion, immediately engaging Nova. Although Nova can stand up to Ares in strength, Ares does have superior tactical and battle skills. His greatest advantage is his ability to fly and to attack from a distance, but although he’s in the most isolated part of New York City, he still can’t quite cut loose. The Worldmind will ensure Nova uses his power to its potential in that environment and analyzing Ares, will be able to warn him off impending attacks so something like trying to teleport Nova away would be futile.

They stalemate for a while, but the battle’s quickly joined:
Nova and Aquaman vs. Ares
Aquaman has left the two Dr. Fates to their battle and joins Nova in battling Ares. Just about anything Ares throws at Aquaman can be counteracted by the Waterbearer or his extraordinary stamina. Together with Nova, Aquaman can wear Ares down quite a bit, and at the defining moment take a hold of Ares and let Nova finish it.

Gods aren’t knocked out easily, and Ares is unrepentantly evil at that, so killing is the easiest way here. Nova is a soldier, having taken part in at least two galactic wars now, and he is not completely averse to getting his hands dirty. The same applies to Aquaman, who prefers to leave his opponents alive, but has killed before as well. Although their teammates would most likely disagree with this course of action, Aquaman holds Ares as Nova blasts his head off.

A good time to look towards the Dr. Fate vs Dr. Fate battle:
Dr. Fate vs. Dr. Fate
High above New York, the doctors have been slinging spells at one another. To Kent Nelson, it comes naturally, completely controlled by Nabu. Hector Hall has to work for it, having shed himself of Nabu’s influence. To make up for it, Hector Hall’s spells are generally more powerful and require more skill to deflect.

You see, Kent Nelson’s body is slowly withering away, held alive only by Nabu. Not only that, but as was established by J.M. DeMatteis in his Dr. Fate series, in order to tap into the full power of Fate, a man, woman and Nabu must merge. The exception to this rule, as stated by David S. Goyer in the 2003 mini devoted to Dr. Fate, is Hector Hall. Because of his unique lineage and destiny, Hall is an agent of balance, where Dr. Fate was previously one of just order. This allows him to tap into the full power of Dr. Fate, as stated by Nabu, and then demonstrated, as Hector defeats the Curse. The Curse had fought Nabu in ancient Egypt, when Nabu was at the height of his power. Nabu was unable to properly defeat the Curse, a feat Hector was capable of.

The battle is waged, until finally, Kent Nelson, as controlled by Nabu can’t take it anymore. Nabu is forced to relinquish his hold on Nelson, allowing Nelson to die, and Dr. Fate along with him, as Nabu is unable to act upon his own at that time. Hector Hall stands weakened, but victorious.

Let’s get back to another battle:
Mr. Terrific vs. Lightray
Mr. Terrific is good, better than most, but he is outclassed here. He can’t fool Lightray with his holographic projections. By now, most civilians have cleared that area of combat, and Lightray is able to call on more power. Focusing his power precisely in a doses enough to knock Terrific out, Lightray really only needs one blast.

Lightray would quickly seek to assist his teammates and fly towards Avengers Mansion:
Nova and Aquaman vs. Lightray
Arriving quite suddenly, it’s not improbably that Lightray can let loose with a blast powerful enough to send Aquaman into the ruins, and possibly knock him out. That still leaves him to face Nova and let’s be honest; he can’t stand up to Nova. Not anyway, if the classification of medium holds true. There is pretty much nothing Lightray can do that Nova can’t, and usually better. The battle that ensues is thus quick and after testing Lightray’s mettle, Nova knocks Lightray out with a good blow to the head.

WINNERS: TEAM ALPHA WOLF SQUADRON

 

[X]

Got to finish this ****...

 

[X]

Zatanna and the Titans of Tomorrow (Owner - Xmanblacklight)
Zatanna (DU)
Superman (TT) (DU)
Cyborg 2.0 (TT) (DR)
Aquawoman (TT) (DM)
Batman (TT) (DR)

vs.

(Owner - X)
Thanos (Earth Quasar) (MU)
Josef Huber (MU)
Imus Champion (MR)
Patriarch (MR)
The Rival (Max Mercury) (DM)

Imus Champion vs. Aquawoman

"I'm sorry to disapoint, but you won't be getting into my mind anytime soon..." Imus Champion boasts, tapping his forehead. "You may thank one Thanos of Titan for taking away your sole chance at winning this contest".

Aquawoman charges regardless, confident that her depth born strength will suffice.

Imus Champion paints a strange picture, a nine foot man moving with the agility of a world class olypmic athlete, deftly avoiding Aquawoman's attacks and parrying those he cannot evade with his Wizard created gauntlets. Over cars, swinging from street lamps, Imus Champion fully takes advantage of his agility advantage.

Perched atop a street lamp as comfortably as a certain wallcrawling NYC citizen, Imus Champion makes his move. Drawing a specific arrow from his quiver, he brings his sights to bear on Aquawoman... And lets his arrow fly.

A fine powder coats Aquawoman, and for a moment she almost wants to scoff, to laugh at the feeble attack. All that abruptly ends as the fine powder takes effect, forcefully pulling any and all life sustaining moisture from her seaborn body.

The arrogant Imus Champion saves his usual boastful comments as a single Wizard gauntlet backhand knocks Aquawoman unconscious.

Cyborg 2.0 vs. The Rival (Max Mercury)

"White -- Sound -- Sonics --? Energy -- Blasts? I'm -- sorry -- half -- man -- that's -- not -- fast -- enough."

The Rival's voice comes in broken spurts, seemingly everywhere but nowhere at once.

Pain exploded through the neural receptors of Victor Stone's body as the superspeed equivalent of a buzzsaw cuts through him as a hand vibrating at super speed severs his robotic arm at the shoulder.

"I -- hear -- you -- miss - your -- humanity - Cyborg -- but -- you're -- about -- to -- lose -- a -- whole -- lot -- more -- Ahahahahhahhaa"

The Rival is long gone as the first sprays of oil and blood congeal on the pavement of the city from Cyborg's legless, armless body.

Patriarch vs. Batman

They both stand tall, proud as gods in these dirty streets, as the whole of New York City panics and flees around them. An enigmatic man older than the oldest civilization and a man who's entire life has been dedicated to invoking fear as his mentor did.

Patrirach is not afraid.

Even less so now that he holds the teleported belt of the Batman in his hands. Patriarch grins. Widely. Slowly.

Weaving and leaping through the stampeding crowds Batman leaps at Patriarch, intending to fully utilize the very most lethal martial arts in his mastery of dozens of them. He'll fail to exercise even one of them today, as Patriarch simply teleports away. But not without taking something of his own first...

Tim Drake screams, howls in pain... Such a rare reaction for such a man who has become so stern & hard. But wouldn't you scream as well if your eyes had just been forcibly teleported from their sockets?

"Surely you do not have to be as old as I to of heard the saying "As blind as a bat". And a wide grin turns into bellowing, mocking laughter as he crushes a twin set of eyes in his iron grip.

Batman struggles to remain conscious, to not go catatonic from the sheer pain. He slides a thermite pellet from a hidden compartment in his boot. Homing in on Patriarch's booming voice, using his senses and not his sight in one last desperate gamble... And lets fly towards a man he fully intends to now kill.

The pellet never doesn't make it even halfway to it's intended target.

Batman falls to his knees, gripping his bubbling stomach as it melts and it's contents pour into the street as the thermite pellet melts in the pit of his stomach. Organs spill, bleached white ribs show, and the Batman falls face first into the street, dead before he does so.

Patriarch continues to grin.

Josef Huber (MU) vs. Zatanna

"Such a multitude of options to call upon, especially being in the middle of this bustling city. Should I throw a skyscraper at her? Take a hostage? Make the street explode beneath her feet? Such a variety of damnable mutant powers to call on...

But I... I am a simple man. And so shall the solution to this problem be a simple be."

And so Josef Huber thinks, floating far above the streets of a further panicking New York City.

The time for contemplation ends as they come into view of one another. Zatanna begins to speak her shortest, most efficient means of ending this contest... "Peels!"

She only has half the word spoken as Josef Huber taps into the telepathic powers of Charles Xavier, taking control of her mind and proving that thought is indeed quicker than deed.

"Now, magician.. Sleep"

Twin blasts of energy explode from Josef Huber's eyes, glancing Zatann's forehead and knocking her unconscious.

Thanos vs. Superman

"I... I can't move! I can't fly!" screams Kon, as he floats helplessly. "I..."

"Silence, dolt." hisses Thanos of Thanos. "Do not interrupt your betters. Especially your inellectual betters."

"What I have done, as I'm sure you're unaware, is manipulate your ability to manipulate gravitons. As in what allows you to fly. You now float helplessy above this city, unable to move any of your prodigious muscles."

"My next step" Thanos continues, "Is a simple and yet elegant one."

"You are a solar battery. And so shall you continue to be, powering one of my spaceships in deep stasis. So much more efficient than destroying this city in a brawl, is it not?"

"But for the meantime, you must be depowered to avoid conflict. And so you are, commencing... now."

Thanos presses a stud on his gauntlet, causing his ship, Dreadnought 666, to fire a lancing blast of energy from high Earth orbit into the back of Superman, harpooning him on an energy tendril. Unconscious comes quickly.

Thanos allows himself no more a short grunt of satisfaction before he returns to bigger plans.

 

[X]

Points

Leadership - Just as with last week, my team has a superior leadership and tactical advantage. Thanos has lead a band of no name, miscellaneous band of aliens from across the universe (From over an intercom on his ship, none the less) into a team capable of outmaneuvering and beating a strong Avenger's line-up.

Mobility - 2 out of the 5 members of my team have the ability to teleport, and a third has a high degree of superspeed.

Raw Power - Your team is more than a little underpowered. Batman is a normal human and your biggest gun, Zatanna, is a a fragile, normal human. Even your Aquawoman doesn't benefit from all the powers normal Aquaman has/had, with his water hand, among other things.

Ruthlessness - Every member of my team with the slight exception of Imus and Huber is a complete psycho, and even Huber is an extremely callous man willing to enact genocide. That's a serious edge in a vs. scenario such as this.

 

[X]

Oh, to elaborate...

Huber used Cylclop's blasts to knock Zatanna unconscious.

Imus Champion has arrows patented after Hawkeye's.

 

[Blacklight]

Zatanna and the Titans Tomorrow Match 2

Zatanna
Superman
Batman
Cyborg 2.0
Aquawoman

vs.

Thanos (Earth Quasar)
Josef Huber
Imus Champion
Patriarch
The Rival (Max Mercury's body)


Preperations:

The second and more predominate team, with the co-leaders Zatanna, Connor Kent as Superman, and Tim Drake as Batman, along with the new Aquawoman Lorena Marquez and their enemy Cyborg 2.0, the older Victor Stone who Zatanna defends when the others try to kill him (much like Flash did with Red Arrow) being that she doesn't kill people like the Titans west of the future that she knew when they were kids. Knowing the team that their up against because of Zatanna's vibe detection, she doesn't know the team specifically, but she can sense a being of immense power, two mutants, The Rival's spirit, and another person. She uses her locating magic to find out who their opponents are and what their powers are. Batman and Cyborg then start to make two mutant power nullifiers, one built into Cyborg's arm and one in Tim's utility belt using some of Cyborg's spare parts. Connor would practice his tactile-telekenesis abilities to use in synch with his kryptonian powers, Zatnna would practice her magic, and Aquawoman would practice her telepathy and strength.

Battles soon to come.

 

[X]

Waiting... Waiting...

 

[Dark Gog]

Meetings and Departures?


There is never truly the danger that an open conflict would break out. Not even when Fate gestures with his fingers, and summons his regalia. By this time they know too well they need eachother, that the stakes are far too high to risk, and the New God Lightray is all too painfully aware he is no match to the god of death and conflict. Still, they do not trust him, and for a while it seems that they may go their seperate ways.

In the end, he overcomes them with logic. The carefully structured arguments that apeal to the Lord of Order. The clear necessasity that sways New Genesis' most noble son. Reed Richards is bought with the pledge not to needlessly endanger the city's people. In fact, Ares readily agrees civilans should be cautioned to vacate the city, particularly the areas around the vicinty of the Baxter Building. The Vixen has already served with worse. Once the others have resigned themselves, she is quick to follow.
-----


Alright, so why do I want Ares anyway? After-all, I've spent a good portion of my last debate arguing Nightwing's team will not cooperate. The first reason is obvious; he brings power to the table. Gobs and Gobs of power, to go along with a few fairly nifty abilities. But he's also proven himself highly amenable to working in a team environment, and to coincide with people whose hatered for him is far deeper and more personal than even Lightray's. (Ares killed Highfather after betraying him.)

Once they're past this issue, my team should work well together. They're all capable of taking orders, and most are quite adept giving them as well. This time about creating technology on the spot is somewhat harder, but the setting makes-up for it for the most part.

-----
Lightray allows himself to smile for the first time as they enter the Baxter Building, and the Wargod's features grow both sharper and more stern. The New God steps between its halls in wonder, and for a time the God of War is similarly inclined. Soon, however, he excuses himself, and asks for and recieves the ground-floor, to do with as they discussed.
-----


New Gods have casually upgraded the Watchtower, or so our neighborhood informant X assures me. I don't about know casually upgrading anything here, but a day inside the Baxter Building with Reed Richards as company is sure to be productive.

Whether it's to do with his natural affinity to weapons, or merely because of the sheer expediency of having an inside-man at STAR Labs, Ares (an avatar, to be precise) has shown in the past to be quick to capitilize on any technological edge. And more than just the standard high-tech guns too, but anything from mind-grapplers to portable contained black-holes.

This is as good a place as any to say this; this tournament, and this location in particular, has infinite potential for abuse. I steered clear of raiding Dr. Strange's house and tactics of that nature in my write-up and just stuck to Reed's headquarters, and made what I consider to be rather mild use of the resources there-in, to fit a story-like structure, and in all likelihood, Harlekin's done the same, if not in terms of maximizing his resources, then in regards excessively depending on them at the least. Should it come down to it, however, and we end-up slinging plot-devices at one other, than I note in advance the nearly inexhaustable number of fail-safes that could theoretically be readied here within the time limit, from power-inhibiters to god-touched anti-matter bombs to the Prime Mover. And then there's always teleporting people inside the Negative Zone without appropriate protection.

I do make sure that everyone's equiped with psi-blockers, since we're facing Aquaman. More on Team B'wana's mental defenses later.


-----
Ares finishes his preperations, and steps behind the looking-glass, as it were. The wealth of knowledge this world has to offer is incredible, and soon he is immersed in studying it. Somewhere in this city too exists a group of people who now surely speak his name even as they plot his downfall, and while he cannot interfere with them, he allows himself to branch-out, and learn of them what he may.
-----


http://img108.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img108&image=wonderwomanv2082-12horus.jpg

This is one of the few scans I can provide at the moment, but it's a fairly significant one. Ares has shown in the past he can draw power from several dimension simultaneously, or at-least that he can draw it from Earth while in other dimensions, and what the gods were doing there if they could not find worshipers there is hard to imagine.

It bears mentioning that this was just a human avatar of Ares. (Again, while he was otherwise out of contact with our plane.)




Fate vs. Fate - Part I


Kent Nelson aknowledges his other self with a curt nod, and reflects that fate indeed works in mysterious ways.

This other man before him holds the benefit of knowledge over him, and knowledge has ever proved decisive in their trade. He has studied the twisted paths of Chaos, and has the power to call upon them in his need. But he himself is not without power, and had not spent his time here in this city idle.

He utters a single word, and the battle is commenced.

-----


By now its clear most of us don't really enjoy writing magical duels. They just get way too speculative and arbitrary for most's tastes. Clearly, both these men are of both countering and enacting numerous powers, and accessing more than their fair share of deus-ex-machina. I'll adress those when necessary. For now, let us just say Kent attempts to level the field by tapping into Hades, similarly to what he did in Cosmic Odyssy.



Ares vs. Nova


Ares takes to the fields of Earth again, for the first time in lo' so many years intent on doing battle, and he is garbed in plate, covering all but the red glow of his eyes. He holds a great axe in his maied fist.

Nova strikes abruptly when he does, firing a blast of energy from above and closing-in within a heartbeat to land repetead blows against the armored figure. His power is perhaps greater than a god's, and Ares is retreating.

But even as he does, he feels a power come upon him. With each devastating blow, he grows stronger, and his armor's yet unbreached. He parries another strike and lands the flat of his axe against the Centurion's chest, who relents. Ares blasts him with concussive force, but it is reflected back upon him, and for the first time in this fight, he is struck by a power that could truly harm him.

Only a fraction singes his side, however, as his image fades and reappears nearby. Richards' knowledge of this man suggested he may throw his power back at him, which he's now confirmed. It is a sign of the times that the rest of their intel they have gathered from the Internet.

Nova takes this moment to try and strike down Doctor Fate, but finds it curiously difficult to intercede, and Ares quickly manifests before him. This act brings them in proximity to the Baxter Building, and machines begin to stir.

Rider pulls a strange device, and hurls it at the Wargod, and for a moment he is weary, but fires consume it before it ever reaches its target. The Centurion wraps a charm set in advance by Hector Hall, to channel his energies through.

Ares bears-down on him again, and Nova tries to seize his axe, but fails, and he brings his fist upon his head.

Gun torrents begin to fire from a nearby building, and the Worldmind attempts to override their programming. A virus starts to worm its way into the Mind's systems.

Nova goes for the axe again, and this time succeeds. He hits the god upon the shoulder with it, but it does not rend his armor, for the blade is made of a simple metal of this world, and Ares' hand had never touched it. A dagger slips into his hand, and he stabs his rival with it, a deep but not immediately debilitating wound just beneath the joining of the left arm and the clavicle. The knife disappears, and he claims his axe again.

He laughs then. The times indeed have changed, and he had changed along them, but it'd be dishonest to himself to pretend he did not miss this feeling.

Another bolt of energy jolts him from his reverie, more powerful and focused than the others. Nova stands, his injuries do not yet slow him, nor should they be fatal, but they burden him considerably, and do not heal as they should. These are god-wounds, not easily undone.

Ares wrings at his soul now, but finds his path impeded by another force. He tries at his mind, and meets with more success there. The power that he wields requires calm to handle, and takes its toll upon the psyche.

He tests him with eldritch fire.

He grows twelve-feet tall, and no Earthly substance would have held against the power of the blow he strikes, had it landed on its target. Not even his axe, which shatters as it cleaves the ground. He shifts it in his hand, and directs its other side towards Nova.

Lights and sounds burst from behind him, followed by a final imapct, and he knows what it must mean.

When next they tangle, he hurls them both into the lobby of the Baxter building.

--Where he stands abruptly, and removes his helmet.

He picks a formal looking staff from a fireplace, and raises his other hand as if to speak. There are two chairs set next to a small table in the room.

"I did not bring you here to fight --" he begins, but Nova kicks at him, and he steps back.

"I did not bring you here to fight, but to parley." He tries again, and is answered with another blast. He disappears, and his voice continues from the shadows.

We may press on if we must, but know this; you are now technically within the confines of Hades, and no mortal man who enters it may leave this realm alive and with his soul, unless I deem to will it so."

His voice echoes, and for the first time, Nova truly takes in his surrounding. The hall is vast and lit with torches. It seems to stretch indefinitely in all directions. Suits of armor stand guard along the walls. A rich red carpet lies beneath his feet.

"Is this true?", he asks inside his mind.

"I don't know, Richard. This place is as opaque to my senses as Ares is."

Ares forms ten feet from Rider and speaks again.

"It is for that reason that I chose it. So that you may have a reason to believe I wish to negotiate."

He takes a furtive step forward as he goes on.

"There is no need for our sides to strive here, to die senselessly --"

He moves quicker than at any point before now, and with a power he conceivably did not possess outside his realm. Hades' staff protrudes from Nova chest, and drinks his life away. Spectral serpents bite at him. He is a skeleton before he hits the carpets, and Ares regards his body for a moment. The Helmet catches fire.

"Could it be I was mistaken, brother?", he asks the empty room, "Perhaps I've yet to learn these halls as well as you had."

He moves his fingers as if to play upon an unseen string, and somewhere, a soul writhes in agony.

"Still, I was known as a deceiver before ever I wore dual faces as a god."

A cup appears within his hand, and he sips wine from it calmly before returning to the conflict.
-----



Hades' stuff took both Wonder Woman and Pegasus out of play as soon as he had used it. Stabbing through the heart, I'm guessing it may prove fatal.

Overwritten as it is, this scenario should cover most eventualities, and suggest other conclusions than the solution I supplied. I expect Nova to try and scan Ares, but unless the Worldmind is more accomplished in this aspect than Metron's Mobius Chair, he is likely to have difficulties doing so.

None of the above is set in stone, of-course, and liable to change depending on the tactics used against me. Should Nova try and force a fight with Fate instead, there are several ways to stop him, starting with classic "Face me, or this city dies!" (Ares promised to avoid this, but Nova has no way of knowing this), but he can also plausibly consecrate the battlefield, so that neither one may leave until the other is dead (as he did when Wonder Woman faced Medusa, there with both participants' consent), or simply transport them to his realm immediately. I converted the lobby mainly so as to avoid leaving the battlefield, should that not be allowed. (I did pose this question in the discussion thread.)[/b]



Lightray


Lightray flies above the city, invisible to all but the most studious observer. He does not need Mother Box to warn him of the War God's nature, and he is familiar with the legend of Hermes, and mislikes the comparison, as he's certain Ares had intended. But he knows what must be done now, and never hesitates in the coming moments, even as their plan puts the life of the Olympian within his hands, perhaps only when considering the fate of the heroes they must face.

And so he flies, scanning for the slightest sign of the Squadron. Mari MacCabe, he knows, should still be hidden, and can handle her own battle. And if not, she or any of the others need but speak his name. His role there would be to keep Aquaman from interfering. There, or against Ares and the Fates, should it come to that. But if he may find him first, it would be ideal if he could safely take Michael Holt out of the fight first. With his speed and any luck, he should be able to accomplish such quickly enough.

He sees him now, and he knows it's no illusion. Mother Box scans for hidden traps, and he decends. He feels it then -- Radion! But he is girded in a weave of Richards' design, to ward-off radiation, and alone of all the New Gods, his is the gift of energy conversion. He converts it into harmless light, giving his location in the process, and taps Terrific lightly on the chin as he lands. Mother Box endeavors to ensure he doesn't wake before the battle's over then, and he sets about securing him.

He feels Orin's mind on his before he senses his approach, and has just time to dodge the monarch's blow. A searing flash of life dazzles his opponent, and lets him grip his faculties more fully. He senses another mind at work against his, and guesses Buddy Baker had claimed Aquaman's powers and lent his mind to the attack. But he himself is a god, decended from no beast that fed upon the oceans' floor, and he expels them from his consciousness. Mother Box and the devices they devised serve only

Blind but not impaired, Orin reaches with both mind and body, but Lightray takes into the air and does not touch ground again, and he blasts the King continuously until he falls.


Notes

I have a lot of respect for Mister Miracle's abilities, and with their knowledge, so should my team. He, then Aquaman are the prime targets for my regs, through the agency of Lightray, while Buddy will be left for Vixen, unless help (which she can get from Reed in the interim) proves vital. Aquaman really shouldn't prove too difficult for Lightray to handle, and neither should Michael, obviously, so unless they plan to interfere with the top-tiers (which I've aluded to above), and/or magically augmented*, things should be wrapped-up fairly easily here.


[size=8pt]*Deputized by Nova? Can that be done? This should be counterable at-least in part through both Fate and particularly Ares. In an extreme case, even sharing Mother Boxes, or at-least Mother Box-created gear. I'm just theorizing wildly here, of-course. I have no idea if Nova can just randomly apponint folk.[/size]


Two reasons immediately suggest themselves for Aquaman's inclusion in this week's fight. One is to cooperate with Animal Man. The other is so he can use his water hand against either Fate or Ares.

Another reason, telepathy, should not prove overwhelming here. Twenty-four hours in the Baxter Building coupled with the steps noted in the text should be more than sufficient to provide innitial protection, and Ares has actually pulled the spirits of his sons and daughter (gods unto themselves, naturally) out of mortal bodies with seeming ease in the past, although I do not yet know the circumstances well.



Conclusions


In every story, there are the forgotten heroes, those casualties of war and narrative the books do not tell about, who sacrificed their lives and more so that their cause may prosper. That is because in all good stories lives a grain of truth.

Mister Fantastic lays now broken, having tried to save the woman Vixen. All for naught. Though the fires of her being had been stoked by both the wizard and the warlord, they were overcome by Animal Man, whom they took to be the least vicious of their enemies, when he tapped into the spirit of an animal none of them had known existed. Reed's arm still wraps around Buddy Baker's broken neck, covering his face so as to suffocate him further. If he could, he'd light a match and burn him, for all that he has done.
-----


Cynics will say I only wrote this because time was pressing and couldn't spare enough to their battle properly, and it may be that they are right.

Moving on though:

-----
Lightray lands besides him now, and gently takes the weapon the explorer was to employ, hidden in a tesseract. "An Entropic Enducer", Richards had called it, "I found one first in the armories of Dr. Doom. he'd just meant it to be used against me, to shape my mind and body into total disarray, but I saw the potential, and tweaked it so that it now render targets unconscious when done. At-least," he added, "that is the theory." Blessed by the War God, Lightray takes it now to use against the wizard. Not before leaving Mother Box behind to treat the wounded.
-----

There. Final notes may be up in a bit. I do expect Nova to be somehow armed with magic when he fights Ares, but please note the latter isn't actually vulnerable to it, just further resistant to mortal weapons.



I do apologize profusely for the time it took to post this. I hope this write-up is satisfactory.

 

[DTL Commish]

Writeups are closed

 

[Blacklight]

Dammit! I was almost done!

 

[Dark Gog]

Just post now and get a ruling later, then.

 

[Blacklight]

Just post now and get a ruling later, then.

Nah, I'll let it go. I was probably gonna lose anyways. At least I showed up.

 

[Harlekin]

I obviously underestimated Ares. I'm going to go in full detail here, but then again, there's not much I can contest in your write-up, as I felt it pretty fairly represented the characters. A few quick points though, coming from my write-up:
- The Baxter Building is exactly what you say it is. An endless resource to exploit. Which is exactly why Mr. Terrific wouldn't spent his preparation time twiddling with his thumbs. I feel I've made a good enough case that my team can take control of the Baxter Building, in the battle as well, and it would be a move almost impossible to counter.
- It is, and although that maybe uncommon in comics, a fact that Kent Nelson is weaker than Hector Hall. On multiple fronts. I'm not a fan of mage battles either, which is why I did it as business-like as possible. It may take a while, but the only logical winner of that match is Hector.
- You are correct in the assumption that Aquaman is along to facilitate an easier fight against Ares and Dr. Fate. As I stated a few times throughout my write-up, I doubt Lightray's effectiveness in this location. A fully populated New York should be quite the hinder on Lightray's abilities.

Either way, the write-ups are dependant on who gets the drop on who. I think I've made enough of a convincing case that my team, with their combination of teamwork, tactical abilities and sheer genius (also in the form of the Xandarian Worldmind) should be able to get the drop on your team. The Worldmind is certainly the deal breaker here, as breaking terrestrial technology is like child's play to him. This renders just about anything Mr. Fantastic had planned with his resources devastatingly null until he can get the systems back on-line, something he would be expressly focused on, leading to his downfall.

 

[Dark Gog]

The first thing that occurs to me in reading Harlekin's write-up, is that while hacking into the Baxter Building makes some sense if it can be accomplished, this strategy neglects one crucial detail he'd previously observed himself, and that is that the Baxter Building is now actively occupied.

This is more than significant; even assuming that it was not already better defended then SHIELD, and that Team B'wana is unable to determine Nova's involment in the breach of its defenses, Reed's presence, coupled with Lightray's, and the recent updating his systems undergo, would be enough to repel any foreign access. (Mother Box alone is likely to discern such actions while scanning Reed's records, or interfacing with the building, and can henceforth fill the same role you've prescribed the Worldmind.)

In this context, I'm immediately reminded of the FF annual (#22?) in which Doom states that while The Wizard's quite adept at the field of security of information, and has hacked nearly every system on the planet, even the most secured, he had never compromised his own. This, Doom knows for fact, for he himself has tapped into his systems to be sure. This may be one area in which Doom may prove Richards' better, and yet, when the building is locked-down and access to outsiders is prohibited, things may well prove different.

Moving on, Reed has in the past irrevocably compromised the infinite networks of the TVA itself with little to no prep, and while held in their captivity. We know from the recent example of the Phalanx, that the Worldmind is itself not proof against hostile action, and setting-up a virus to counteract any tampering is already a part of my tactics.


Another, more minor point, is that as Wiki has it, neither Vixen, nor correspondingly Animal Man, are now limited to wielding one power at a time.

 

[Harlekin]

Teams aren't actually occupying New York at the same time during preparation time, otherwise they could just immediately engage. At least, that's how I remember prep times from last season. So there's really no defence against the Worldmind, and it's doubtful Richards would prepare for it either, since he doesn't know a thing about Nova besides what Iron Man could've told him, which is pretty much nothing beyond the fact that Nova is now hella powerful.

Richards would see no reason to have anything beyond his normal fail safes, and it's doubtful they're better than SHIELD's. If there's one guy that is massive on security, it's Iron Man, and SHIELD's resources were easily breeched.

It does pose a bit of a problem though, as Richards would likely reinforce his resources with Mother Box tech. It's a bit of an odd street, but I'd say that considering what the Worldmind has already been able to tap into, he should be able to hack into the Baxter sufficiently enough that the other team is forced to come out.

 

[Dark Gog]

- It is, and although that maybe uncommon in comics, a fact that Kent Nelson is weaker than Hector Hall. On multiple fronts. I'm not a fan of mage battles either, which is why I did it as business-like as possible. It may take a while, but the only logical winner of that match is Hector.

So it appears, and well played on noting it. (Although I do wonder what role such retroactive continuity plays in this League, with characters such as the Scarlet Witch allowed at seemingly their classic forms.) As it happens though, a long battle is enough to suit my plans. My ultimate goal is to subdue Hector through a technological device hallowed by Ares, hopefully proving enough to overcome his defenses, with repetead fire certain to do just that.

- You are correct in the assumption that Aquaman is along to facilitate an easier fight against Ares and Dr. Fate. As I stated a few times throughout my write-up, I doubt Lightray's effectiveness in this location. A fully populated New York should be quite the hinder on Lightray's abilities.

It is partialy for that reason that my team made sure to vacate the area, although I doubt the speed of sound would be the limit of Lightray's range in either case. It's only recently we've seen John Jameson fly experimental vehicles through the same city's skies, after-all, at some points only meters from traffic as I recall. The mechanics of a superhero universe (or of most action films, for that matter) simply do not conform to our preconceived notions in such matters. In this case, Lightray's further aided by his Mother Box, which can partialy phase his being to avoid some of the consequences, as well as possibly altering some of his effects on the environment directly.

In any event, given that New Gods are resistent to telepathy, any battle between Lightray and Orin should really boil-down to Lightray zooming in the air and blasting Aquamen until he falls.

 

[Harlekin]

With that I'll note a few things:
Although it's true that not every thing is treated as realistically, the physics in the Marvel Universe largely resemble our own. The speed of sound will break glass and will hurt innocent bystanders. Considering the length and width of New York, I could see this hindering Lightray quite a lot. Especially in his offensive manoeuvres he'll be limited. And the fact is that New York is populated at time of battle. That's the battlefield. There's no evacuation during prep-time, and evacuation during battle time would be quite perilous.

Still, Lightray has the advantage of flight, which is exactly why I had Aquaman helping the ubers rather than trying to fight him. With my team's strategy successful, it should take time before Lightray is able to engage my team, and he'd go to assisting Richards, who'd be calling for his help against Terrific and Animal Man. I've no doubt that Lightray will take out my regs when given the chance, but he's up against the ubers after that, and that's a battle he can't win.

As for Dr. Fate vs Ares: Technology usually proves inferior to magic. Weakened by his battle against his predecessor, Hector isn't going to waste time against Ares (assuming he can withstand an assault from Nova and Aquaman). He'll be sure to take care of that fight as quick as possible, and since Ares is still very much a physical character, it'll be hard for him to overcome Fate's spells.

 

[Dark Gog]

As long as I'm aware the Worldmind is a computer, and Michael Holt is on your team, I'd want to include countermeasures against hacking. The rest of your argument seems to assume the Worldmind gets to the data first. But either way, while their performance in this area has often been exaggerated, Mother Boxes have filled a similar role for decades, and not merely against Earth computers but New Gods and other technology, some of which is still being used in the 853rd century. Nor should it ever be overlooked how much easier tampering with your own systems is as compared to hacking into another.

Should it come down to it, and we are actively opposed before the bell, I suspect that we will both be barred from further interefering with the database. But we will certainly both know there was a conflict.

As for our use of prep-time, the current letter of the currently law reads as such:

A match consists of a battle between the two teams in a preselected battleground. All teams are considered to have 24 hours of prep-time before the match starts. Prep-time takes place on the battlefield. During prep-time, teams can prepare the battlefiled, but neither team can interact with the other, nor can they leave the area. Resources are limited to what the characters in the match know, have on them, or can use/build in the battlefield. If the battlefield provides a character a way to access additional resources, that is allowed as long as it would be normally accessible to the character. No person outside of the lineups (on the team, or otherwise) can be used as a resource. Teams will be given a very brief description of the opponents in the form of character names, pictures, and basic breakdown of powers (provided by team owners). Teams can visit and prepare the battleground ahead of time.

 

[Dark Gog]

Lightray's given role is expressly to stop Halt and Aquamen, and in particular, to keep the latter from interfering with the heavyweights. After that, it is the regs that are to open fire on Hector, using devices blessed by Ares, which have proved enough to breach his own armor (part of the reason why they're in a tesseract in the first place). He wouldn't necessarily need such, having the Staff to fall back on, and having breached powerful magical interdictions on his own in the past.

He has recently told Circe he has power beyond her*, and even if it clearly weren't meant to refer to any one-time power-ups she may have held, it still puts him outside the immediate sphere of a very powerful magician.


[size=7pt]*It was something to the effect of "-and you've enough power to flaunt Athena's will", "-More power than even you can imagine, witch.")[/size]

 

[Dark Gog]

What exactly can Aquaman do to Ares? I've made sure to respect his abilities in my write-up, but I'm not personally familiar with the extent of the Hand's abilities, both offensively and defensively.

Physically, I'm thinking of A League of One, where Wonder Woman just plucked him from the ground and carried him into Poseidon's torrents against his remonstrations. I see no reason why Ares could not similarly dismiss him, and he if he does grab hold of him, he can just teleport inspite of it.

In regards his willingess to kill a god, isn't he Poseidon's champion? Not that Poseidon would presently be much opposed to slaying Ares. Still, that link may well be enough for Ares to be rather comprehensively familiar with Orin, given the roles other such champions play in the wars of the gods.


One final question: Even if Nova does determine Ares is about to teleport him, how does he avoid it? He does not seem to hold that power himself, or travel in-between dimensions, and opening a stargate would prove massively destructive. Taking that point further, how has Nova Force traditionally fared against mystical opposition?

 

[X]

The Nova/Ares fight was extremely off.

Nova's not "blasting his head off". Nor is any uber in this thing.

 

[X]

Nah, I'll let it go. I was probably gonna lose anyways. At least I showed up.

Thanks for wasting my time.