17101/Next Level Budo

Next Level Budo
Date of Scene:	05 February 2024
Location:	The Great Stadium
Synopsis:	Superwoman turns to allies the Amazons for ideas on how to fight the Hegemony. Diana Prince delivers.
Cast of Characters:	Alura In-Ze, Diana Prince

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Alura In-Ze has posed:
A crystal spear of sorts is thrust in to the center of the great stadium. It's Kryptonian technology made by Alura. Her presence here today was not a secret or a surprise. She booked in the place for the explicit purpose of seeking the guidance of the greatest fighting force on the planet - the Amazonians of Themyscira.

The tip of the spear is projecting a holographic reality around it in a sphere along with forcefields. It is not limitless in its strength but more than enough to get the message across. That message? Alura needs help learning how to defeat a new foe.

The Kryptonian Hegemony has begun to spread its ships across the galaxy and if they aren't stopped there might not be anyone to stop them before too long.

The first encounter with a Kryptonian from this alternate timeline was terrifying. The captain of his own ship he showed no fear when faced with unknown powers from the heroes who met him there. He was fast, efficient, and using a form of combat uniquely geared towards his super abilities.

The hologram and forcefield being project is one a man in fancy looking golden and crystal armour. So far each Amazon that has faced the hologram has been knocked back. Alura winced a few times at the force of it but the Amazons insisted it was -perfect- ...usually with giant grins on their faces before they ran to rejoin the queue to try again.

Diana Prince has posed:
Something this out of the norm within Themyscira is bound to reach others rapidly. It just so happens to reach Diana, who was making a transfer run of Amazons to and from the Manhattan area aboard the Invisible Jet. She'd heard word of what was happening here, and she'd come to investigate it.

Riding up on horseback, Diana is flanked by a number of her sisters in armored dress. They ride directly in to the open arena where they soon come to a halt when the situation is evidently visible to them. Diana, at the front of the line of horse riders, holds the reigns of her mount, her dark hair gently flowing in the settling winds around her. She takes in the sight of the projected imagery, and those who are gathered around observing it, let alone waiting to spar with it? Fight it? She was not sure.

Diana kicks a leg over her horse, dismounting its rich leather saddle, her wedge-heeled boot touching down on the sand of the arena floor, as the other riders begin to dismount now in the wake of the Princess.

The Princess steps away from her horse, her armored dress glinting in the mid afternoon sunlight as she casually walks toward the line of fighters waiting to challenge this strange projection.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
As one the Amazons awaiting in the line turn and salute their Princess. Alura looks over to Diana and smiles to her. The next in the queue hesitates not however and charges in at the holographic figure. She moves with speed and grace and predicts, accurately, where his super speed will take him.

With a twirl of her spear she is the first to land a strike against him; but the armor seems to adapt to the blade and pushes back the force to the Amazon. Her hands hold true and she is knocked back. Sliding along the ground the hologram charges up and strikes her in the chest with great force.

The warrior lands at Alura's feet and Superwoman winces before offering a hand to help her back up on to her feet. The murmurs all agree this was the best response to the alien warrior so far.

"Diana welcome. Have you come to provide input in to this matter." The Kryptonian Hegemony has been mentioned a few times at the Justice League meetings but this is the first time Alura has been able to put a figure to the mysterious enemy.

"During an encounter against a Hegemony officer I managed to record the fight. I've extrapolated their combat tactics. Much like Superman - these Kryptonians were born in to super powers and a society willing and eager to use them to dominate all. I'm hoping we will develop insights in to how to defeat this super enhanced martial art."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is only a few feet away from Alura when the woman begins to explain. With her eyes traveling from Alura, to the projection, then to the Amazon who had just scored a hit against him, to no avail, the Princess puts her eyes once more upon Alura. "I am sure that will take some time." She says quietly, before she looks back toward the golden armored man, the crystals glinting in the light much like the golden trim of her own attire.

"This is the enemy that your people has been dealing with of late?" She confirms, as she steps forward, moving toward him. She stops just outside of his arms reach, and sizes him up for a passing moment, before she looks to her right toward Alura again.

"And what do we call him?" She asks, as her eyes move to drift back over to his own.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
"This is the reconstruction of Gn-Ga. He has not been forthcoming with information about the hegemony now we have him in custody. But he also seems very sure of our imminent demise," Alura explains as she motions to the golden figure. "Super speed, super strength, super heating, heat vision - he is in the range of Superman or myself. A little slower than Superman, a little faster than me."

"Arrogant and confident underneath that armor he has many battle scars. I suspect a single Hegemony Kryptonian with such a will to commit heinous acts could conquer a planet on their own quite rapidly. At least one that isn't prepared or technologically advanced enough to fight back."

"In the alternate timeline when we first encountered the Hegemony they were in a protracted war with Earth's Amazons and Lanteans. Humanity had not advanced to its current degree as the war began thousands of years before humanity made its first maize field."

"...until now we'd only faced the Hegemony's giant battle robots. Now we know what's inside their ship. There were two crew. The first one died experimenting with alien technology and the second, well, Gn-Ga. They're like the evil version of Themyscira. Their only inclination is to conquer and crush all resistence. But unlike the Amazons, all of them have these superpowers. On top of that they have a great deal of advanced technology I've never seen before - all of it geared towards war."

Diana Prince has posed:
Everything that Alura explains is silently taken in by the Princess, who simply stands before the projected figure of which the Kryptonian is referring to. With the sun at her back, highlighting the dark brown edges of her hair, Diana takes in a soft breath, before she regards Alura once more.

"And do they benefit from the light of a yellow sun the same as you, and as Kal?" She then asks.

Behind Diana, a line of Amazons are forming up, but this time side by side to observe their Princess having come to suss out this training exercise.

When she looks back to the projection, she purses her lips, as she flexes her fingers, her palms wrapped in a dark leather. "Or do they garner their power from some other means?"

Alura In-Ze has posed:
"The yellow sun, just like Kal and myself. However," Alura pulls away the top of the loose tunic she's wearing to reveal a belt. It's a technological marvel and not one she has created herself. "This is a sunbelt. We took several of these from the Hegemony timeline to give us a fighting chance out there in space when we're not near a sun."

"Like a battery it has a limited charge but it's enough to give us a boost when we need it." She then points to the hologram. Now that it's clear what to look for the same belt can be seen integrated in to the Hegemony soldier's armour.

"They are also susceptible to magic. Unfortunately they are always very aware of this and seem to employ counter measures and their own form of magic. I know very little about how they are doing that. Their entire technological tree is based around warfare."

"This might be their fatal flaw. My Krypton's technology was broad and peacefully oriented. We weren't focused on weapons and shields and hacking. When the Hegemony attacked New Krypton I was able to phase the city in to the phantom zone briefly to convince them we had been destroyed. They don't seem to know the phantom zone exists at all."

Diana Prince has posed:
With the sun belt being showed off, Diana's eyes go to look it over. She then sweeps her stare back to the projection to attempt to spy the version of the same technology built in to his armor. "Interesting concept." She quietly notes, before she once more regards Alura. "Do you happen to have one that could be put in to scientific testing? If we can find a way to disable them, through research and development means, it could be a boon to neutralizing them as a threat. The Watchtower research center could be a great place to begin such investigations, if an extra one of these belts is available..."

Diana looks again to the armored man, but this time she starts to walk in a wide perimeter around him, observing him from every angle as she makes her way around him.

"Are you expecting further aggression from them, I expect?" She asks as she moves at a casual pace. "I am guessing so, but how soon?" She ends up on Alura's right side now, her eyes still on the projected fighter's figure.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
"I can spare one. As yet I've been unable to hack in to their systems. A man called Noh-Varr who was with us on the expedition has an expertise and super power related to hacking. He gave it a go and got counter hacked for his troubles. Digital warfare appears to be will within their wheel house."

She watches the way Diana circles around the simulated warrior. "Their ships have a tractor beam which latched on to the jump drive in my scout ship. To escape their clutches we had to jettison the engine. Luckily I had my experimental phantom drive on board. We used that to get away - but they didn't know where we went. Another clue that they are myopic in what they study."

"That means currently they can't see us coming, or going. I may be able to develop a cloaking system too. If we flaunt it too much I wouldn't put it past their scientists to figure out what I'm doing though."

"... from my best guess I would say the Hegemony are trying to acquire worlds, resources, and people. They were doing experiments on the locals they had captured. I think they were trying to forcefully evolve them in to super-powered beings to fight as an army for them. That tells me their numbers are few. It also tells me they're desperate and ruthless. So yes... I expect we will encounter them again."

Diana Prince has posed:
"Well..." Diana says with a contemplative tone and expression upon her face. "Needless to say, let us do everything in our power to ensure that they do not find their way to Earth..." She warns, glancing toward Alura. "Also, I thank you for informing me about this. The wonders of what lies 'out there' within the vast reaches of the universe, shall clearly never cease to amaze. Or concern..."

Without much more adieu, the Princess turns, and begins to walk back toward her horse, who had been brought to stand with the others near to the line of Amazon observers. Is she leaving?

She reaches her mount, and raises her hands up to her sword and shield mounted upon its saddle. The shield is hoisted, and the sword is pulled from the leather and golden sheath it was residing in.

"Let us find exploitable cracks in their combat arts, shall we?" She asks, glancing around to her fellow Amazons, before she once more moves toward the projection, giving her sword a simple flourish as she walks with a graceful stride across the sun soaked sands of the grand arena.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
The simulation resets the hologram back to the middle. A blade extends from the forearm of the golden Hegemony soldier and he stands facing Diana. There's a ripple over his armor - that morphic capability react to his movements and the environment. Alura's ship has been seen transforming itself in this manner but never has Alura ever considered the need to wear such a capability against her skin. Such is the way of a warrior race of Kryptonians. These are their considerations.

"The great unknown of space interests me too. I grew up in a world that always looked inward not outward. It worries me that evil Kryptonians are threatning whatever amazing things are out there." Alura points to his arm, "Be careful. Much like my gauntlet his suit is capable of not only transforming in to an energy weapon emitter but aiding his heat vision. My combat simulator will attempt to remain in his parameters but scale his response to your threat."

Diana Prince has posed:
The Princess observes the simulation soldier creating his own weapon, which shows her a rather capable ability to at least adjust quickly to whatever she's coming at him with. But how much is the sim programming, and how much is the actual soldier's abilities? None the less, Alura says she copied as closely an image of how they perform, and Diana was intent to experience that now.

She stood readied in stance, and armament, hearing Alura's words that followed her own, but she said nothing in response now. Her Amazon sisters prepared for the fight, the horses were taken away by their reigns, and the flags of the Arena became the most prominent sound as their lengths of cloth whipped in the winds coming up the cliffside from the crashing ocean waves down below.

The fight began, and the gleaming blade of Diana's sword, met the hard-light representation of the soldier's own!

The initial fighting began slow, as both warriors began to feel each other out. diana moved quick and with ease, her boots kicking up dusty sand in her wake, as she met the aggressive attacks from the gold and crystal armored figure, her shield ready to block any heat vision, and bash him in to submission until his heat vision would be stopped. Likely lasting longer than any of the women who'd fought him up to this point, Diana was relentless in her assault, wise in her defense, and ready for the man's onslaught of unique close quarters combat techniques!

In short: This is not her first rodeo.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
When Alura faced off against Gn-Ga it was with the aid of M'gann M'orzz, and Kal-El. Two Kryptonians and a Martian. Despite this the fight was messy and bloody. Kal can bring it when he needs to but he wasn't born to fight - not like the Amazons.

Watching Diana move conjures up feelings of her first few months on this world living here and learning to command her unique abilities with the aid of the amazons. She admires the skill and efficiency but she is the only one present who can see what's going on.

The hologram and Diana are moving so fast and intricately that even the well trained eyes of the amazons only see rashes of blurs and stand stills. Alura furrows her eyebrows noticing most likely what Diana is already feeling. Battle hardened but supremely confident he will win he expects nothing less than victory and is willing to take the hits to achieve it.

The strategy the Earth heroes employed was pacifist meant to capture their foe not kill. It is in their nature after all to be merciful. But not the Hegemony. There's a limitation in the programming - the hologram can act arrogant but itself isn't actually arrogant. "Do you see it?," she asks Diana now that she's observing a protracted engagement against the simulation.

Diana Prince has posed:
In truth Diana wasn't looking to simply beat the simulation outright. She was trying to test him, to figure out ways to find avenues toward victory over his style of combat. What was impressive is that they both seem to be doing the same thing to each other, in that regard. But again, how much was the soldier, and how much was the programming of the device that was projecting him itself?

With a roll across the sand, a wwhirlwind kicked up in her wake, Diana is in a low crouch, one knee hovering over the sand beneath her, the other poised and ready to lunge forward, shield and sword at her sides.

"I see a foe that is able to adapt quite readily." She fires back, hearing Alura's words. "But I see many striking opportunities when he is overcommitting to a death blow attack. If you feign defeat, he gains arrogance and opens himself u--"

She is cut off as he strikes at her again, and she darts under his strike, her own coming up to aim for his mid-section, gliding her sword right across his armored torso!

Her follow through has her dashing across the sand, ending up behind him, a half roll leading her back up to one foot and one knee, sand cascading down her armored form, as her eyes go back to him, having just exploited precisely what she'd indicated. 5R

Alura In-Ze has posed:
A hologram pops up on Alura's gauntlet in Kryptonian. A small graph of force. "Now that is interesting. If we modify the weapon you use you could cut through the armor briefly. It'd close in around the wound but I bet it'd reach the wearer inside."

She pauses the program as the soldier - impervious to actual wounds - begins advancing on Diana again. "That is an insightful strategy. One which will take a lot of practice. If I adjust the settings of the simulation to accept such a strike as damaging we will be able to gauge effectiveness of the tactic on a per fighter basis."

Diana Prince has posed:
"He has to believe that he has beaten you for it to work!" Diana says back in a throaty tone of voice, as she engages with the projected man again. Once more they clash and clang weapons together, the figure of the soldier growing more aggressive as he seems to be trying to find weaknesses in Diana's own guard, but her sheer level of reflexes are legendary, to say the least.

When she ends up tumbling away again, she strikes him across his knees, demonstrating her point once more.

This time, however, her roll takes her further away, and her sword and shield are lowered to her side.

With feet evenly spaced apart, she has no longer a combatant stance.

"The danger is great, however, in putting ones self in a vulnerable state to draw out the overconfident attacks. If you truly are vulnerable, he may yet have a rather simplistic death blow to deliver upon you."

She's saying this to Alura, but to all the Amazons still gathered around them observing the engagement. "Watch his feet, he'll unbalance himself as he puts his strength in to his weapon when he believes he can finish you with a flourish attack. You will know you have him then, if you still have enough left in yourself to counter it."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura watches with interest as she rewinds the simulation. A holographic version of Diana steps 'out' of her and moves backwards through the motions. Slowed down to normal speed so that all the amazons can see what was happening; the fight plays out again.

Alura narrows in on one of those attacks where the simulated enemy believes Diana is done for. Not that his simulated weapon would actually kill Diana. It would hurt a lot though. But playing coy, the bunny verse the hawk, the amazons take in what Diana is teaching them.

Alura considers the strategy they employed to save New Krypton. Letting the shields 'fail' so that their attacks would 'succeed' but phasing the city away just at the last moment.

"What's our best approach to training for that kind of tactic?"

Diana Prince has posed:
"It is indicative of their culture." Diana replies, watching the hologram of herself going through the motions that she'd been testing out for the past many minutes now. "They, as you said, are desperate for wins. They are proud of what they have achieved in their existence, but they need something. You said they were likely taking people to turn them in to soldiers, a move desperate to regain footing and not show their own vulnerable weaknesses. If they see them in others, they'll strike with a fierce determination." Diana explains, her right hand gripping the blue leather of her sword's handle. She raises it to point its tip at the images.

"They despise vulnerability, likely because it has lead them to where they are now. If they see it in others, they will act quickly to exploit it, and thus may expose themselves to a counter-attack."

She walks toward the display again, and stands behind herself, "I hate to label it a matter of theatrics to get them to bite, but it may require some measure of it. Fight hard, fight quick, but plan your moves ahead of each. Prepare for when you will faulter, and that is when he will strike with that level of determination that can be his own undoing. It may require more than one strike too, even if weapons can be developed to puncture this rather detailed armor."

She looks away from the images, and back to the others. "There is always a way, but sometimes it takes a path less travelled to find it."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
There is a moment of contemplation from Alura. A small nod is given and then some tension in her shoulders evaporates. They are beatable - this same posture and footing may hold true to their space combat. It may even hold true to their technology.

Her mind starts to race - what if they are forced to push their technology to the limits of breaking. Would they sacrifice that footing with a hope to win. If she can create a better source of power - because only their capitol ship has the same level of energy production as the Fortress of Solitude or New Krypton - then they might be able to break them through superior will.

It takes her a few moments to realise people are staring at her with the paused holograms and Diana's recommendations given. Her smile grows. "I do believe we will have a fighting chance. Would you like me to keep this arena set up until everyone has had a chance to put your strategy in to practice?"

Diana Prince has posed:
"They're not fools though." Diana reinforces, her eyes still on the images before her. "They are proud, and skilled. They have likely defeated untold numbers of very well trained opponents. But their pride might mean they are not willing to push to victory, at the expense of their own bravado. You can see it in their armor itself. It is extremely well crafted, but it is still layered in pomp and flare..."

Diana trails off there as the question filters in to her mind. She looks toward the others, and shows a faint smile to Alura. "Yes, leave it running." She tells her. "Oala." Diana speaks to one of the senior Amazons on-hand at the present. "Form a group of trainers, tell them what I have said and lets get them all brought up to speed on how to exploit this weakness. We will run drills to each and every one of our people over the next several days."

As she says this, she walks back around the holo projected images, and once more returns to Alura's side. "I like this technology. It is quite useful." She says with a small smirk. "We will ensure the Amazons are ready for these foes, but... let us hope they do not end up here at our doorsteps."

Oala begins shouting out some orders, with a few Amazons headed out to send words to other top trainers to make their way here to the Arena.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura chuckles at the approval of the holographic training simulator. "When Kara was young she did martial arts. She loved it. For gradings they'd use a system like this. When I realised I needed to story how the man fought us the first time suddenly it popped back in to my head."

She motions to the crystal thing stuck in their ground, "This one is overclocked. Let it recharge some days in the sun and it should survive until we're done with it." She looks Diana in the eyes, "Thank you for taking some time to help with this problem. I'll be instructing the other Kryptonians to seek time here to train with the amazons and these tactics."

Her head bobs a little, "And yes. A war not fought on your own soil is best. Human history has shown me that. They sent a probe here already. Batman and I intercepted it - I fooled its sensors in to sending back 'empty planet with no useful resources'. But another probe will surely come our way eventually. We're beginning to be a thorn in their side after all."

Diana Prince has posed:
The information about a probe being foiled draws a frown to the Princess' face that is wiped away within a moment. She glances toward her fellow Amazons who are continuing to talk over what they saw the Princess doing, some of them already formulating attack patterns to prepare to do just as the Princess had instructed.

"We should make sure that the Watchtower is aware of that, and perhaps have it ready to instantly react should it locate any such inter-stellar guests from arriving, or when they do arrive. Not that I am sure Batman has not already considered such." She says with a slight smile.

Diana sweeps her sword up over her shoulder to glide it down in to the sheath mounted on her back. "I will help prepare the lessons for this. Thank you again, for showing it to us, Alura." She tells the other, offering her hand to the Kryptonian. "We are ever eager to learn new combat techniques here, as you know, and perhaps we'll discover even more ways to thwart these foes in the coming days and sessions."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura smiles with friendship as she takes Diana's hand. "You're the best there is. In their timeline the Lanterns and all of Oa had been defeated and destroyed. Yet, still, the amazons fought back. In space no less. We have one great asset that they do not - unity. This world is filled with people whose capabilities rival none. The evolution of humans, meta humans, and mutants might be their ultimate downfall."

She recounts, "In defending New Krypton it was Reed Richards' technology which bolstered the shields to give us the time to come up with the plan. The Hegemony has no knowledge of our Earth and what it is capable of. This small blue ball may be the galaxies greatest hope of ever lasting freedom."

A few taps on her gauntlet holographic screen and the simulation resets in to readiness. "Be seeing you Diana. As always a huge pleasure." With that, Superwoman leaps in to the air, up up and away.