10337/Sorcerer's World: The Ritual

Sorcerer's World: The Ritual
Date of Scene:	04 March 2022
Location:	The Doomstadt and Surrounding Town -- Latveria
Synopsis:	Felix Faust's ambitions to reorder the Universe have been thwarted. But for the residents of Latveria they will have to come to terms that a new reality has been imposed on their unfortunate nation.
Cast of Characters:	Hal Jordan, Michael Hannigan, Diana Prince, Morgan Finn, Zatanna Zatara, Meggan Puceanu

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Hal Jordan has posed:
It is a rare thing for anyone to look upon Latveria as one of the prized destinations to visit in Europe. Understandably so. Being ruled by someone like Victor von Doom has a dampening effect on tourism, no matter how quaint the villages might be, or picturesque the general scenery.

But the Latveria from a few minutes ago is positively a garden spot compared to the current situation.

Felix Faust and his allies made a grand entrance, swooping down over the Doomstadt and the surrounding two that is laid out around that picturesque castle in such enticing fashion. Swooped in and brought the storm that is currently raging over the capital city, rain absolutely pounding down almost hard enough to cut skin, the skies constantly alight with rippling waves of lightning and great booming echoes of thunder that positively rattle windows. Not a night to be out and about, not fit for man or beast.

Which is actually fortunate. Because the streets still crawl with demons, demons summoned up by Faust but truly unleashed by Mephisto -- revenge against the lord of the land for his impertinent theft from the depths of Hell itself. Despite the efforts of Hyperion and Green Lantern, the streets are still not cleaned of the beasts and with little prey to be found out and about, the forces of Hell are increasingly breaking into the surrounding buildings. Hunting.

Despite that, the initial battle for Latveria and the Doomstadt that stands at it's heart has not been all bad. Mordru, fifty-foot tall Lord of Chaos has been imprisoned, literally entombed, covered in earth and stone and thereby had his powers stripped thanks to the efforts of Zatanna and Wonder Woman. The last of the ancient line of druids, Blackbriar Thorn has been put into a slumber, his power over the elements eased. The Demons Three have been pounded into insensibility by Superman and Hyperion, left battered and sprawled over the battlefield. Even Eclipso has found himself defeated -- no matter how fleetingly -- as Meggan has managed to bring hope to the trapped consciousness of Dr. Bruce Gordon within, locking the former Spirit of Vengeance in his own, internal struggle. And poor Amos Fortune, a rotund non-factor in the fight stands soaked and seething in the rain, given even more reason to hate the League.

And as for Faust? That is another story entirely. He has found his way to the caverns, deep beneath the Doomstadt, found himself gifted with the rainment of a Dr. Fate from an alternate reality. With Excalibur and the Seige Perilous in hand, he has slipped in between the passing of seconds, the cavern seemingly split in two by refracted images, like something seen through a shattered crystal. Scenes that all show the mad sorcerer progressing rapidly with his ritual. The ritual that will forever upend the natural order of the universe and insure that magic reings supreme over science.

That Felix Faust rules supreme over all.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
A less flashy figure zooms, the raven's purplish black feathers blending quite nicely in the extra darkened, early evening sky. "First Demons," The phantasm mutters, wings flapping as he flies towards the chaos, "Then Angels, Wonderland, now this..."

The funny thing about all this is that, technically Nick shouldn't be here. But because of all the damn delays from all the other things popping up, tonight was the only night they could reasonably make up the concert for this area. (Which- if things don't get resolved quickly enough is probably going- Oh who are we kidding? The concert's probably cancelled Which means it'll have to be rescheduled for one of the less helpful times with even MORE bureaucratic bulls-nonsense.) "Of all the days to do this-" He continues complaining despite having no one to listen in, "WHY NOW?!" Perhaps the press was right. Maybe Nick's tour is cursed.

Regardless of the answer, there's an unhappy, not so little raven flying on over to see what's going on. And if possible, speed up the resolution?

Well. Maybe a little. One can hope.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is doing her best to clear the streets out of demons. She's hunting them in the rain. Her hair is held slick down behind her back by the water pouring down from the darkened skies, as she prowls through the streets with her shield held up, her sword ready at her side, and her eyes peeled for more creatures of Hell.

Her senses are peeled, and as she hears the scurrying of feet, the snarling of demonic breath, the Princess lunges forth from an alleyway and slams her shield in to two of the demonic creatures. They writhe and flail behind her Themysciran steel round shield, as she pins them in place, then sweeps her sword over the edge of the guard.

When she pulls back, the wet sounds of flopping bodies in the water is heard, and soon after that, the sounds of Diana running through the streets is followed by the sight of her leaping over the very roofs of an entire row of buildings!

Morgan Finn has posed:
Normally Morgan prefers to fight with his metal-shod bo-staff, but fighting demons is the work of a blade. Decked out in his full Wonder Boy armor, with a shield in one hand and a brutal short sword made of honed Themysciran steel in the other, the young hero is moving athletically through the streets engaging with demons as he finds them.

He /was/ loosely following Diana but then she did the tall-buildings-in-a-single-bound deal. Frowning, Morgan murmurs to himself, "Well that's just great." From behind him a growl. He whips around and sees a long-tailed demon leaping on him. He raises his shield to deflect the tail, but it's long and wraps past the shield, laying open a wound on Wonder Boy's sword arm. As he thrusts the weapon in the demon's chest, the wound on Morgan's arm is already rapidly healing.

Over the comm on his ear Morgan says, "I can't jump over buildings, you know!" He runs through an alleyway in the general direction of where Wonder Woman went.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Leaving the town overrun by demons to the care of the outrageously powered Hyperion and Superman would seem on the surface to be the right decision. Diana and the others would certainly save as many of the townspeople as possible. But Zatanna is torn.

Lightening flashes illuminate the destruction in the hall. They light Zatanna's pale face, and dark hair wet from rain blown in through the destroyed windows. Faust is nowhere to be seen. All traces of his darkness no longer linger in the recesses and shadows.

"!mih dniF," she commands, circling in place and pointing downward as if dowsing for his evil.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Since the disappearance of Superman through the rubble of the wall or pretty crenellated structure of Doomstadt, Meggan fully turned her attention to pursuing Faust. The demons are many, but a secondary concern for the moment.

"I almost wish I brought along my army," she says wistfully to Zatanna. An idle statement that's neither here or there. Instead, more pressing matters demand their attention and she offers her hands to the raven-haired mistress of prestidigitation. "This way may be faster?"

Be that as it may, Felix Faust has a signature. Magical, the smell of him, the intangible elements of everything else. Her eyes narrow, glittering emerald, and her features gain just a slightly more fae cast than they had before as Gaea's younger daughter taps into something more primal than merely elemental.

If Zatanna lets her, she flies them both in whatever direction that spell might give or her own senses allow, and the issue of, say, a wall or a floor? No issue at all if it has to be torn apart or bypassed by a perfectly nice staircase. Whatever it takes.

Hal Jordan has posed:
With Blackbriar Thorn dealt with the almost viscious weather does moderate, just a little. The sheer amount of power necessary to call up a storm like this is clearly too massive to just dissipate all on it's own it would seem, but at least it has begun to slowly grow less. The rain is not quite so biting, the thunder not quite so deafening, or the flashes of lightning a constant source of illumination in the otherwise dark sky.

Though anyone out and about may regret that fact as those periods of darkness slowly begin to stretch as well -- not necessarily a comfort when demons roam the streets.

And roam they do, dozens of the creatures, in all shapes and sizes still flit about the city, still seeking out the ordinary citizens of the troubled little country. Seeking to wound it's lord and master by taking what he considers his; the lifeblood of his people. Here and there screams do sound, no longer completely muffled by the constant strums of thunder, here and there there is a crash of a door being broken down, even a hole ripped into the walls of the quaint, high-topped homes that seem popular. A half dozen demons sweep through the air on bat-like wings -- fortunately indifferent to the flight of those few birds -- or not true birds -- that linger, their purpose guided by their lord and master. Other demons -- thick and bulky and impossibly strong or else sleek and wiry and inhumanly quick roam the streets, though their numbers begin to decrease with increasing swiftness as Wonder Woman and her protegee join the field. Of course as Wonder Woman takes to the rooftops a trio of those winged demons swoop down at her, taloned feet and hands seemingly prepared to shread the Amazon Princess. Nor is Wonder Boy left out as a pair of those lean, almost shadow-like demons advance on him with that inhuman swiftness.

Faust has used great deception and the powers of his allies to hide these past weeks, but the overwhelming sense of magical energy around him makes hiding no longer an option. No spell or trick could hide away the sheer power of the artifacts he has gathered to himself and both Meggan and Zatanna will not find it hard to find themselves tugged through the throne room of the Doomstadt -- it's master still missing in action -- towards the staircase that winds downward into the earth. To where Faust has already begun their ritual.

Even as they start to descend another pair swoops after them -- the Golden Helmed Dr. Fate and Green Lantern with that emerald glow -- though still sporting the blue cloak and sword that he claimed from the realm of Fable. "Fate says the ritual's already begun," Hal says grimly as he catches up to the pair. "And given the strange readings my ring is picking up, I believe him. I don't think we have a whole lot of time..."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Ok. One thing is certain. There is a LOT going on down below and there's a good chance that the Johnny Come Lately musician turned bird is not seeing everything. So it's time to just focus on what's going on below. So guess that means it's time to go h-

What?

A familiar figure comes into sight. Well then.

Hello Meggan.

Course adjusting, the raven zooms on down, flying a bit quicker than one would attribute to a natural raven. But it's for good reason. He's trying to catch up. And if anything's certain.

Nothing about this place is natural.

Diana Prince has posed:
Up in the sky, Diana goes shield-first right in to the cloud of flying devils! One takes hold of her shield and tries to fly off with her, but the silvery blade of the Athena-blade sweeps upward and severs its wings from its body with a wet sloppy crunch!

As the others descend after the falling Princess, Diana spins around, hearing the words over the team coms.

<"There is always a way around, or through."> She says back to Wonder Boy as he means to catch up.

The flying demons try to surround Diana, and with her weapons at her side, she backs up toward a brick wall before she lunges backward at it, plants her feet upon the stones, then leaps forward AT them! Sword out!

By the time her motions are complete, a nasty demonic ichor is being washed away by the rain, and their bodies lay in heaps upon the street at her feet.

<"If you find civilians in need, call the Jet to pick them up. It will take them to safety."> Diana instructs the young gladiator who is likely dealing with his own problems!

Morgan Finn has posed:
Speaking of which! Just as Morgan emerges from the other side of the alleyway that he ran through he sees a pile of demon corpses courtesy of Wonder Woman. "Not bad," he says to himself. But now another group of flyers is raining down to seek retribution for the deaths of their kindred. They rip off the door off of a small house and start shredding the walls as they pull screaming civilians out.

"Shit."

Wonder Boy jumps as high as he can -- he's quite athletic but lacks the supernatural strength of his mentor -- and punches downward with his shield, dropping a child-carrying demon. Landing back on his feet, he twists and spins, twirling sword and shield like a little tornado. Demons start dropping but there are so many of them in this swarm. He's not going to be able to get them all before they can start carrying people off with them.

<"If anyone is near my comm signal, I could use a hand! They're carrying people off!">

Wonder Boy shoulder smashes a demon, caving in its face with the reinforced plating of his armor.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The world is about to end. Magic users like herself will surely benefit from magic replacing science. Yet, the homo magi wants nothing of it.

Sapphire eyes riveted on Meggan, Zatanna whispers, "Take us below. So fitting that he would disfigure all reality from underground than in the open air."

She doesn't announce their destination to the others, wanting whatever element of surprise she and Meggan might have.

"Let's get him, sister."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"This isn't something we can throw a lot of magic at, can we?" Meggan has the good grace to look particularly worried. Her frown deepens into a settled curve. Golden hair streams behind her and leaves a contrail that sparkles nearly the same green as Hal's ring at the edges. Abrupt turns on the head of a pin are her stock in trade, though she does keep in mind Zatanna is not likely to appreciate the immediate zags or hard turns that her body absorbs as second nature. In one of those switchbacks to avoid art pieces or whatever Doom decorates with, she more feels than spots a raven.

His signature is enough to ping memory. "We've got mates coming." Of course they do, Diana is somewhere up there possibly with half of Themiscyra. "Always welcome to have another helping hand aboard." To Fate and Hal, she gives a hopeful smile.

"Mm, are the things he was holding only going to answer him?" Another question awaits the raven as much as Zatanna and Doctor Fate. "Specifically him or his magical signature? This is important 'cos I've a terrible plan you can tell me not to do." Those inhumanly green eyes of hers speak to the dazzling thrum of the earth's energy pooled under Doomstadt, spread into the countryside in rebellion. "That's basically confusing the items on who's boss."

The sharp cast of her features shifts away again, golden hair suddenly dark, short, giving some impression of her bone structure being no longer what it is. Her shapeshifting is not magic, but a point made for that 'terrible plan.'

Hal Jordan has posed:
The demons continue to fall, sometimes one at the time at the end of a sword or shield, sometimes more brought low by one of Wonder Woman's attacks. And while the capital of Latveria is more town than great city, it is still sizable enough and they can't be everywhere at once. No doubt other foes of Faust are out there, but that's little consolation to the innocents caught up in a struggle they know little about.

Once more their lord and master's enemies have brought conflict to the doors of their homes.

The skies are at least cleared -- for the moment -- and no more demons sweep down out of those stormy clouds giving Diana unimpeded access to the rooftops. But despite the fate of their brethern, it would seem that the demonic hordes just can't resist a challenge. Even as she dispatches the air support, the artillery starts up, a half dozen of the great beasts of monsters ripping sections of wall from buildings or tearing up lightposts, hurling them towards the Amazon. Nor is it long before Wonder Boy finds himself under a similiar assault.

Not mindless beasts then, but ones that have learned the lesson of trying to take on two such foes at close range. And failing miserably. Now it would seem they are content to pelt them from a range away. More than a few of those dragged from their homes but rescued by their efforts go scrambling for cover as pieces of their own city begin to rain down on them.

Of course Hal heards just what's going on over the comm, that long, blue cloak he dons fluttering around him, radiating it's own magic. He glances down that stairwell, fists clenching at his side before giving a little shake of his head. Faust has to be stopped. But they can't just leave the citizen's of Latveria to die and while he has immense faith in Wonder Woman and her protegee, no one is better suited to helping a mass evacuation then himself. He's already started afterall.

<< Go. >> Dr. Fate says simply, glancing towards the Green Lantern. << I will lend such powers as I still have to the fight below. >> the sometimes Lord of Order assures the man. And apparently it is enough, because with little more than a streak of light, Hal is off leaving Fate in the company of Zatanna, Meggan and... a bird?

<< I suspect that the artifacts he wields will hold little loyalty to him. Excalibur is a weapon of good, and may actively strives to bring him to ruin. The Seige Perilous is more... nuanced. As for the Rainment of Fate that he has compelled from my misguided peer, I believe I may be able to assist there. >> Fate says in that unearthly voice. << Failing all else, we do have this as well, >> he adds, the box holding the Candle of Neron appearing in his gloved hand.

Down below in that cave the scenes continue to play out through that shattered lense. In one facet Faust sits in the middle of a pentagram drawn on the cavern floor, time seeming to flow so slowly that the candles around him can barely be discerned, the flames atop them barely seeming to flicker at all. In another facet he moves swiftly, like some figure on fast forward as he lays out that pentagram, as he lights those candles. In another, Faust can be seen chanting, gesturing, though any sound is lost inbetween those fractions of a second he seems to exist in at the moment.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Do you know how much magical energy has to be released in order for a Phantasm to sense it? Well, Phantasm doesn't know the exact amount but as he reaches the entrance way- he could tell you that whatever it is going on inside, it is enough to register. "Damn." The bird comments, zooming in and doing his damndestto catch up with those who know what the hell is going on.

He manages to catch up in time to catch a glimpse of Meggan starting to shift forms. The wings spread out and he slows down, landing upon her shoulder after she finishes taking on her new appearance. "Funny running into you here. Skipping to the point. How can I help?"

Diana Prince has posed:
There hadn't been time to raise an entire Amazon army to come to the aid of Latvaria, but what had come was the invisible jet!

As the demons try to gain range on the Wonder Duo on the ground, the rainy dark skies open up with the form of blue hot plasma fire, as the Jet targets some of the flying demonic shapes in the sky, and begins to rain a new kind of 'hell' down upon them!

Demonic bodies that are hit by the alien plasma will undoubtedly be burned to exploding piles of goop!

The Jet screams over the buildings of the small city, and continues to try and find targets in the sky as it keeps a perimeter over where it knows Diana, and Morgan, are located.

In fact, as Morgan shouts for help, Diana's lasso sweeps through the rain, and comes to his aid, pulling a enemy away from the young combat hero in training!

The demonic being is yanked right to the Princess who slams her shield in to its face once, twice, thrice! The beastly monster is dropped in to a black puddle with a wet splash, and the Princess marches onward.

She looks in to the sky to the Jet, able to know where it is through her link with the craft.

<"Archers on the roof of the tower."> Diana says, and moments later a group of four Amazons appear out of the night sky, and deploy to points on the roof of said building. Their gleaming bows are notched with arrows, and they instantly begin to fire at demons trying to utilize range of their own!

Morgan Finn has posed:
With assistance from Diana's lasso and from Lanis, the Invisible Jet's onboard AI, Morgan dispatches the last of the demons that were tearing apart the house. The family patriarch looks at Morgan with pity in his eyes when he sees so many wounds on the boy. But they literally stitch up before the man's eyes, and the rain washes away the blood leaving Wonder Boy none the worse for wear.

"Get your family inside in the basement," Morgan says to the man, hoping he speaks English. Either he does or he just instinctively understands that taking shelter down there is for the best because he starts herding his wife and children inside and downstairs.

<"Lanis, I could use a lift,"> Morgan says into his comm. A chain ladder drops out of the emptiness of the night air. Slinging his shield on his back and sheathing his sword, Wonder Boy lithely climbs the chain ladder. He stumbles a few times on the rain-slicked chains, but he vanishes into thin air as he climbs aboard the stealth craft.

Morgan climbs in the familiar seat on the right side of the Invisible Jet's cockpit.

<"Diana, I'm on the Jet. What do you need?">

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zee knows the roller-coaster quality of travel unique to Meggan. She briefly measures the pain of whiplash against the pain of reality changing and opts for the former.

" Raven coming with us?" is barely out of her mouth before they arrive in a hall of mirrors.

Reality refracted multiple times, and in each iteration, Faust is performing his mad ritual. Evil chokes the air. By rights, only Merlin can use the Seige Perilous, judgement awaits its user yet Zatanna witnesses the Seige Perilous glowing held high in the air, in a shard. Still in another, Excalibur shines pure despite the evil hand on its pommel.

Silently, mind to mind, Zatanna sends to Meggan, "We must take back what is not rightly his."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Fate's answers soothe the need to stay in an unpleasant form, that of a strong-jawed, aquiline-nosed caster on the other side of the magic circle. Meggan still remains dark-haired with a worried expression. "Raven's a friend." There are even shades of the magician's tone there.

The chamber brings no lightening of the heart until she spots Excalibur in hand. Of all the many insults and offenses he conducts, Faust probably curls her lips back in a snarl because of that alone. "No Superman," she whispers to the three with her. He is nowhere to be seen. Her thoughts are crystal clear to any who can read them, weirdly transparent in a way humans aren't. <<I don't like this.>>

That doesn't stop her from centering herself on the reckless charged magic swirling around them to try and identify its nature. Zatanna or Fate can use a precision like Diana with her sword and Morgan climbing into a jet. She has more instinct of someone who grew up in Avalon's shadow, reaching for the circle without trying to trigger whatever could lie there. Earth built it. Earth might taketh away.

She snaps her fingers and the air explodes as a wave of elemental flame scorches a rapidly spreading hemisphere. Unlike a certain John Constantine, she doesn't wield hellfire for this and doesn't need to. The other hand calls the air to rapidly condense and evoke water, even though it literally means part of her body turns aqueous, generating a surge that ripples out to crash against the barrier, foaming and seething to erode the salt ring.

Hal Jordan has posed:
None of those present, defending the town and castle might have any great reason to like Doom, but fortunately it would seem that they are willing to step up for the people who he lords over if nothing else. Despite the formidable number of demons still stalking the streets and skies the odds rather abruptly shift a little towards the League and their allies as those Amazon archers take to the towers, helping to start clear the battlements of the Doomstadt where pockets of demons still are busy dismantling the robotic armies of Doom.

And of coruse there is the advantage of air power, the invesible jet pumping out those blasts that tear into those monsters that do show themselves on Latveria's dark streets. It's effort is joined a moment later by a squad of green fighter jets, streaking through the rain drenched skies, dropping payloads of emerald fire on the demons below. Though this fire would appear to be much more of a precision instrument, landing on foes below but spreading no further and leaving the surrounding homes untouched and undamaged. At least from him.

Trailing just a moment after that attack wing, Green Lantern comes into view, a beacon in the night sky, that emerald glow a much better substitute for the constant lightning as he increases that luminesence around himself to provide a glow over the city below. He nods to Morgan and Diana, expression serious. "Faust has started the ritual but our more magically inclined are headed down to try and stop him. He's in a cavern under the castle," he says, letting them know the situation. "We should evacuate anyone we couldn't get to earlier. If you can provide cover and deal with the demons, I'll try to get as many more out of the city as I can," he suggests.

And sure enough, down below on the streets giant, oversized buses begin to form out of that same emerald energy. "PLEASE PROCEED TO YOUR EVACUATION BUS," he bellows through a bullhorn the size of a small building that leaps into existence in front of him.

He might have learned that one from Black Canary. He at least manages not to break any windows. At least none that the demons had not already smashed.

Down below in the caverns, Faust has found a rather ingenius solution really. Certainly it was enough to daunt and turn aside the Man of Steel. As strong as the Last Son of Krpton might be, he cannot casually slip between seconds to pursue. Nor is it as simple a trick of taking refuge in the Mirror Dimension, though the distortions in the air might seem similar. No, Faust has hidden himself in time itself, between one moment and the next and thereby all of them at once. A place where few others could pursue him, where he can finish that ritual without interference. Almost clever -- at least for him -- and as those shifting scenes of him going through the necessary steps play out it is clear that he is awfully close to succeeding.

Of course, there are those practioners who are more than equal to even such subtle uses of magic, and fortunately they number amongst those present.

Hal Jordan has posed:
As they reach that cavern, as they can see thay myriad of scenes paly out before them -- almost as if there are a dozen ceremoies being completed instead of just one -- Dr. Fate nods to each of the others. He doesn't seem surprised as the Raven speaks -- but then with that faceless, golden helmet how would anyone know -- and instead offers up << Should you be willing to help I believe I can bore a small hole in Faust's fragments of time, enough to allow you to enter one, or perhaps more than one, of his fragmentary seconds. Enough to hassle and distract. But I cannot say that it is without risk, >> the Lord of Order says gravely, as good as his word as a portal in miniature appears in midair, just barely large enough for a bird even as he moves to take up position on the other side of the cavern, spreading out to surround Faust as much as possible with Meggan and Zatanna.

Then the first strike comes as Meggan unleashes some of that elemental power, the fire burning a hole into thsoe instances allowing water to wash over that pentagram, held back for an instant before washing away the pentagram entirely. There is a surge of power, of light, almost blindingly so and for a moment it is impossible to look towards where Faust and his fractured time existed. But as the light dies, his true deviousness becomes plain.

One of those fractured crystalline views shows utter devestation where Meggan has interfered with the ritual, wiping out the magical barried before those energies could be safely channelled. But those other fragmentary scenes? They still exist.

Faust is performing the ritual a dozen or more times over, each in a different instant, each at a different stage. And already two of them appear to be completely, or nearly so, his golden helmed visage glowing with power. With triumph.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
The bird turns his head as Zatanna inquires to the status of their avian tag along. Well hopefully the bird is coming because it looks like they traded a Green Lantern for him. No matter how bad the trade might look, he's coming. Hearing Meggan vouch for him was pretty nice though. Although the indication that Superman was here and most defintely isn't anymore?

Not as nice.

Being that the comments traded mentally weren't shared with him, it is when Megan visibly starts to shift that the raven launches up again in flight, giving her the freedom to move about as needed.

The raven turns his head, listening to Fates suggestion. "Distract and annoy?" The bird replies, "Sure I can do that." Whether he had any reservations of the stated great risk or not it is unclear as he adjusts his flight to dive towards the hole, seemingly getting smaller before reaching the portal. Once on the other side, the visual of a bird appears on the bits of mirror. But each image seemingly different as there is a general progression of form moving from the sweet raven Dr. Fate spoke to, to a Grey wolf bearing its fangs, and a black shrouded form human like in shape only with the jagged teeth and glowing eyes as the only semblance of a face in the dark abyss of the cloak, brandishing claws.

That's a hell of a distraction.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's eyes are on the dark sky as she sees Morgan up in the air going in to the Jet as it leaves the Amazons on the roof of that center city tower.

Hal's arrival has Diana nodding her head before she speaks to Morgan on the jet. "Take it out to the perimeter of the town. Make sure that there are no demonic beings trying to get away in to the wilderness. Use the Jet's scanners to look for any who may already be out there... If they are alone? With no civilians? Then light them up."

Wonder Boy's favorite words while on the jet. A command to blast things to gooy puddles!

The princess jogs out of the alley then, past one of the busses that Hal conjures up, she looks up to the tower to see her sisters firing off arrows that scream in to the rainy night, pegging targets in the head, neck, and bodies, to try and drop more that are stalking the city streets. Some climbing the tower now, Diana shakes her head and vanishes in to the air!

She flies right past the tower, severing the climbing arms of one of the demonic figures, as another one takes an arrow right to the eye (so much for its adventuring days!)

Morgan Finn has posed:
Now for sure Morgan is a superhero nerd and when Green Lantern lights up the sky, a smile spreads over the kid's face. The Justice League. Morgan just loves every one of them. "Hal's here," he murmurs to himself with a cocked smile on his face. Lanis chirps an agreeable sound.

"Lanis, I'm taking manual control," Wonder Boy informs the Invisible Jet's AI. Several cockpit control panel lights change configuration as Lanis releases control to Morgan.

~Just don't crash me. I just got re-painted.~

With a laugh, Morgan responds, "You don't get painted, you nerd."

Throttling up the engines, the kid who doesn't even have a drivers license yet steers the plane out into a wide perimeter survey.

Over the League open comms: <"All quiet outside the town....wait a sec. Uh, Diana, Green Lantern, there is a, um, demon over here. I mean, it's like a...a tank?">

Then the proximity alarm inside the Jet's cockpick starts to rapidly beep, which can clearly be heard over the open comm line: ~Alert. Incoming projectiles. Alert. Incoming projectiles.~

Wonder Boy banks hard left and punches the throttle. On the ground, approaching the town, is a demon that can only be described as a many-legged, hard-shelled insect the size of a semi-truck. And on it's back are protrusions that are presently firing massive flaming phlegm balls at the Jet.

"Lanis, re-activate stealth mode. Prepare to target that thing."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Elemental magic washes over the room, erasing the pentagram but invigorating Zee. She smiles, white teeth glinting in the myriad of candles reflected in Faust's shards of time. A lesser magician might feel their very skin thin and abrade away under the concentration of power.

At the open-palmed flick of Zee's hand, an ancient clock appears floating above them. The click of its main and escape wheels loud in the room, the tick-tock of the pendulum nearly deafening. With another gesture, Zatanna stops it.

Still awash in Meggan's magic, they are free of time, and the spell-casting becomes slow-motion as Faust stutters through time. Raven's wings flap at normal speed.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
All pretenses of a human form evaporate. Meggan's thin grip on humanity shifts with the tides, her feminine silhouette retained but the flesh and bones gone. She doesn't need them to stay as a cohesive energy form. The flames dancing from her call rise in excitement, the water hammering back all that harder. Her hand made of energy is held up, giving the victory "V" fingers to the raven and the homo magi.

Then she closes said hand into a mana-infused fist, and quite unlike her rapscallion better half, swings with a hell of a punch. Magical barriers might ring furiously from the collision. Better yet, if they don't, then the follow through leads to her purposefully trying to tackle at least one or two of the Fausti off their perches to give the others a chance. Tossing men or spellcasting bits and bobs about to disrupt their spell may just be plain fun.

Add to that she sings an old Romanischal -- Romani of Britain -- travelling song while she hurls herself into the fray. As a strategy goes, it's far too direct, but the maelstrom of an elemental on the loose is meant to give the Themyscirans above time, the Lord of Order below an opening, and her mates a fighting chance.

Hal Jordan has posed:
It will not take long for the sheer audacity of what Faust is trying to accomplish to hit home. Stopping him once would have been difficult enough. Stopping him a dozen or more times? For all that his vainity and pride has doomed him in the past when facing off against the League, it would seem that he may have taken some small lesson from it. Or perhaps it was something whispered in his ear by Mordru, or Eclipso.

Or perhaps this is Mephisto's doing. It certainly seems diabolical enough for the Lord of Evil. He might not truly count himself an ally to Faust, but clearly he is more then happy enough to use him to enact a measure of revenge on Victor von Doom.

But he is not up against just anyone. There might not be two more powerful mage associated with the Justice League then Dr. Fate and Zatanna. And with Meggan and a certain bird that seems to have a surprising array of shapes at his disposal Faust had better be as clever as can be.

The sheer amount of magic radiating from that distortion of time that Felix Faust has wrapped himself in is, frankly, disturbing. It does not seem just a boast, not just a hollow threat. The power he is channelling really could reorder the universe it seems. It is the sort of power that could likely obliterating anyone in this cavern. Everyone in this cavern. Everyone in this city. But Faust doesn't have the luxry of redirecting it as he would. He cannot simply turn it against them without risking having it slip from his control -- the effects of which have already been shown in one of those fractured glimpses. No, he can only continue onward.

And that abruptly gets much harder when Zatanna unleashes her next gambit, proving that the mad sorcerer is not the only one who can put time to go use. Suddenly, those multitude of images that seem to hang in the air, flashing and changing second to second seem to become far more static. Or at least Faust's part of them does, becoming more painting then motion picture. And yet while he slows, the birdm the wolf, the shadowy figure seem to move freely, snapping and tearing at Faust without opposition.

Meggan's 'brute force' approach proves surprisingly effective as well, especially with Faust in no position to oppose in this instant, that mana-infused fist crashing into the physical manifestation of the spell and visibly cracking those flickering shards of time that seem to spin around that rooted place in the cavern. Between those multitude of distractions, between his spell to step between the seconds visibly cracking apart, yet another of Faust's time duplicates flares, the lighting blinding for a moment but leaving another burnt out facet in it's wake.

Bit by bit, they are literally tearing Faust's spells apart.

But at least two of those rituals are complete and the first visible effects finally manifest. They too seem slowed by Zatanna's magic, that pillar of energy that suddenly flares and begins to shoot towards the roof of the cavern moving more like a speediny plane then a beam of light. Still, it hits the roof and keeps on going as if that barrier of stone was not even there. Moments later it errupts from the courtyard of the Doomstadt, flashing upwards into the sky. It pulses, and glittering, rainbow waves of diffuse energy seem to begin to spread out, quickly billowing to the very edges of the Doomstadt. The demons it envelops, even the Amazon's it covers show no real effect. But those shattered robots on the ground? Suddenly they are transformed into broken suits of armor. The communication array that justs out of one of the Doomstadt's towers? Vanished in an instant, replaced by poles and pennants.

Hal Jordan has posed:
With Wonder Woman providing cover, with Wonder Boy out clearing a path, Hal focuses on getting people aboard that bus. Getting them out of the city and harms way. And soon enough those glowing green buses are rolling. "I'll be there to lend a hand momentarily," Hal starts to say to Morgan over the comms.

Which is when those rainbow waves begins to roll out of the castle. "Hold that thought. We have a situation here..." he says, splitting his concentration once more, his ring sending an answering field of emerald energy to try and contain that discharge. Will, channeled through the Power Ring meets that magical field... and Hal watches in shock as that emerald shield simply vanishes. That magic simply dissolves the ring energy as if it was nothing at all.

As those waves slowly expand out, the changes multiple. All traces of modern life are seemingly washed away under that rolling tide. Houses begin to shrink, slate tiled rooftops replaced by thatching, crude stone cimneys sprouting as if from nowhere as the scent of woodsmoke begins to rise into the air. Cars vanish, replaced by wooden carts, paved streets by cobblestone and dirt. A milenia of progress, wiped away in an instant.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Given an assignment, Phantasm performs it dutifully, distract and annoy comes in many forms. The chipper 'Hi!' from the bird flapping it's wings around the face. The snapping of the teeth towards various appendages that present themselves and-

Oh lord. The shadowy figure is not pleasant at all. Scratching and jabbing away with the claws it has. Perhaps that is why there's less frames of him than the others. But the question is if that's in consideration of Faust or the person having to be that thing.

"Hi!" SNAP! Swipe!

"Hi!" SNAP! Jab!

"Hi!" SNAP! Stab!

"Hi!" SNAP! Swipe!

"Hi!" SNAP! Jab!

"Hi!" SNAP! Stab!

"Hi!" SNAP! Swipe!

"Hi!" SNAP! Jab!

"Hi!" SNAP! Stab!

You get the point. And he gets several!

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is returning her sword and shield to the back of her leather harness when she watches the Jet sweep over the city. <"Enjoy this a little less than you are, Morgan."> She says to the boy aboard it, though she knows he's enjoying flying, not the carnage.

As she's walking toward the bussese that Hal provides, she sees the light eminating from the castle and it makes her pace slow to a calm walk...

As the change begins to unfold across the land, Diana lets her gaze go about the town, watching it unfold around her.

The Amazons up on the tower have to backtrack toward one another, eventually jumping down and sliding down the roof of the building side by side until they drop on to the street that Diana is on and start to watch this change as well, each clutching their gilded archery weapons.

Diana rounds what was once a vehicle, and is now just a cart...

<"What is this?"> She asks over the team communicator.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan doesn't even realize that there is a change going on at all. He is so focused on this absolutely ginormous demon bug tank insect thingy. Once he has evaded the flaming phlegm balls, Morgan banks around with the jet and starts heading back toward the massive thing.

"Lanis, target that thing with primary and secondary weapons and fire!"

The night sky is lit up like it was high noon as a massive barrage of kinetic and energy weapons emit from the Jet like it was some sort of wrath of the gods! Explosions rock the ground and the very night as the aircraft releases a ridiculous amount of firepower onto this massive armored demon.

Then the barrage ends and the area is plunged back into night.

<"Well scratch one giant bug demon,"> Wonder Boy says over the comm with no small amount of satisfaction in his voice. He managed to take the thing out long before it got close enough to be a risk to the surrounding residents.

<"Diana, there is a huge group of refugees building here. I'm going to get them safety and send the Jet back to you.">

Wonder Boy brings the Invisible Jet down to a gentle hover near a group of residents whose homes were completely destroyed. He coaxes them into boarding the plane. It vanishes into thin air as he activates stealth mode and whizzes off into to the night to get them to safety. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, the Invisible Jet autopilots back to Diana.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The FIST of MEGGAN: A tidal wave of power punches through the room. Shards crack and explode, splinters of time and magic made into projectiles. For a moment, distortions powerful as an exploding atomic bomb flare. Zee can see the bones of her outstretched hand.

Then, finding true north again, while the Raven tears, snaps, and jabs at Faust in his many forms; the homo magi summons the Siege Perilous. She has no desire to possess the jewel or use it for her own ends. Intent counts in this vortex, and possession is /not/ nine-tenths of the law. The ceremony must end.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Phantasm's impressive battery of Faust isn't entirely unnoticed by Meggan, though the world is so strikingly blinding for her anyway that she cannot possibly focus on the blur of movement. The ritual going off only hastens her actions, and slowly pushes her to more extreme measures. She shatters parts of the spell with hits that intensify for every smash but those slow-motion seconds bleeding away still cannot be retrieved.

Reality bends. Magic changes the scope of things in a way she is unprepared to let happen.

Progress reduced to Middle Ages technology or older isn't so entirely strange for the glowing elemental woman. She lived in Faerie for long years and walked places where technology coexisted weirdly with much older ways. She sat at Merlin's table and deeply vexed him.

A hallmark of that time and place rides Faust's hip. A wrenching murmur of apology is on her lips and in her thoughts -- she has no right as the waiting King, but begs forgiveness to save that world Arthur fought so hard for. But fighting her way to Faust, braced for every step over broken glass, she reaches for that sword again.

Like she did once before in southern Britain, several months ago. Now, to briefly take Excalibur as a blooded goddess of the faerie, to bring it safely back home.

The ceremony must end.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Those rolling waves of rainbow energy begin to pick up speed, rapidly moving outward from the epicenter of the ritual. And everywhere they pass, it is as if things are hurled back in time, back before technology had truly taken root, before advancements began to change things for the better, before the science of the world around them was understood. In seconds the Doomstadt and the environs around it are transformed, going from a quaint if modern town with some truly high tech displays thanks to Doom's technical prowess to something that looks like a city out of the Middle Ages, those technological touches increasingly being replaced by what appears to be casual displays of sorcery. Hovering, flaming balls of light lining the streets intstead of lampposts. Animated, empty suits of armor standing at attention, keeping a wary gaze on those streets. And... is that a dragon in the distance, a great flying beast briefly illuminated by a flash of lightning.

"Whatever it is, I've got a bad feeling about it," Hal says over the comms. "Fate? Zatanna? Are you alright?" concern replacing some of the irreverence that sometimes tinges his tone instead. Retreating isn't something that he normally does -- not something that he normally needs to do -- but the Green Lantern slowly gives ground until the buses reach the evacuation site, until Wonder Boy is able to start to get them out, to fly them to safety.

If there is going to be such a place when all is said and done.

And Hal? Well he doesn't have to give ground anymore. Instead he turns, he flies towards that expanding dome of rainbow energy. His ring flares, his near limitless will poured into it as he sends up a flare to light his way, piercing green energy flooding from him, poured into that barrier to stop it, to shatter it. He plunges ahead, that beam of willpower seemingly swallowed up without effect. And then he hits the barrier himself.

Hal hits the barrier and continues on. The only issue? All traces of that green glow that normally surround him simply vanishes. The ring on his finger simply vanishes. His costume vanishes, leaving him back in a t-shirt and jeans. And of course the blue cloak fluttering around him and the sword at his waist. He keeps flying forward. And then he starts to simply fall. "Oh shiiiiiiiitttttttt...."

The distractions, the attacks, all of it is too much. Another Faust is consumed as that power he tries to channel runs wild. And then another. And another. More of those crystalline facets go dark, scorched, the rituals thwarted.

"Nooooooooooooo..." comes Faust's shriek, his voice suddenly audible as his spells begin to collapse, as he's ripped from the few surviving fragments of time. For a moment three separate Faust's stand there before they are abruptly jammed back together. It doesn't look pleasant -- or sound pleasant -- and he kneels on the ground, on all fours, breath heaving from him as if he has just completed a marathon. Or a dozen of them. In some ways he might have.

It is somewhat less painful for Phantasm as those differing forms are merged back together, helped no doubt by the fact that he has at least a couple of friendly eyes keeping tabs on him. Still, he might not be in a hurry to volunteer for that sort of assignment again.

Faust tries to regain his feet, tries to bring his powers to bear. He starts to lift the Seige Perilous, perhaps to summon new allies -- only to have it ripped from his grasp as it flies across the room to land in Zatanna's outstretched hand. He fumbles at his side for Excalibur, only to have the same thing happen again, the sword that brought a golden age into being racing with almost grateful alacrity into Meggan's awaiting hand. Even Fate's regalia suddenly pulls free, coming to a rest at the feet of the floating Dr. Fate.

Hal Jordan has posed:
<<It is over Faust,>> comes that unnatural voice from behind the golden helmet.

Those pulses of rainbow energy continue to flood outward. But now they flood outward from Faust himself. "Is it? You may have stopped me from reordering all of reality," and his lip curls as a pained expression crosses his face. "But I have reordered this piece of it. Latvaria is mine. I am supreme here. Magic is supreme here. Begone."

It is as if some great force, some great unseen hand simply plucks everyone in the cavern, plucks every invader outside the walls of the Doomstadt and sweeps them along in a tumult of rainbow energy. In nothing more then seconds they find themselves deposited at the very borders of the nation so recently ruled by Victor von Doom.

Now ruled by Felix Faust.

Walls of shimmering rainbows reach skyward, seemingly right up to the heavens, apparently completely encircling the borders of Latveria. On one side, reality as they now it. On the other, Felix's Faust's dreams brought to life -- if on a far more modest scale then he had intended.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
As the various forms merge together and the target ends up hitting the ground. The various forms of the phantasm slows down. As they're being merged together and perhaps due to some good fate, the growing fatigue does NOT make the darker more agressive form victorious in the fight for dominance.

Instead the gentler, more coherent raven flops to the ground near the collapsed Faust. "Ugh."

And then after the exchange of banter he is flung outside of the country. "UGH." His form shifts.

Nick Drago starts to sit up. Bringing a hand up to rub the side of his forehead and looks towards the direction of Latveria.

Yep.

Concert's canceled.

"...Guess I'm going to need a new hotel."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Will it be called Faustburg?

Meggan goes tumbling hilt over tea kettle when the wave of rainbows throws her out like all the others. It may be absurd that she actually might be found to enjoy the experience, at least as far as 'flying over and over' through the air is involved. As chaotic as the wild orbits are, they still are exciting!

She cradles the precious sword to her chest until the gyroscopic wobble stops, almost grateful for the security of something not full of sparkles and rainbows.

"I need to get you home. I promised to keep you safe." You? That could be anyone but she happens to be talking to... the sword.

Nick?

Her feet?

"Ooh! I know one! We stayed there before we invad..." Pause. "Visited Latveria. Another time."