7352/Discord never dies... or does it

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Discord never dies... or does it
Date of Scene: 13 August 2021
Location: Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis: Lady Death and Zatanna have exorcised the goddess. Okay, Hyperion mostly possessed by Goddess of Strife. Two magic powerhouses turned that around. Plot continues!
Cast of Characters: Hyperion, Zatanna Zatara, Hope Svelgate




Hyperion has posed:
    Yes, it's been one of those days. Okay, one of those weeks. Ever have one of those years? Well the goddess of discord has had one of those existences. I mean seriously, she strives on strife... she dines on discord. She is fueled by .. oh you get the idea.
    It should be noted that there has never been an age when humanity was not in strife to some degree or another. Never has the United States been more divided against itself than in the modern age. Why? Well never has there been so many human beings to be -in- strife. Wars fought all over the world. Gangs fighting over territory.
    Then there is Hell's Kitchen, where discord seems to have moved in and started to pay rent... This is where Mark Milton finds himself. I mean sure, he has been living in New York, but in the middle of trying to save someone, he found himself feeling like his mind was sunk in molasses. He can't figure out why, but he feels another presence in his mind. Sure, he is not the goal, but he has a body that will not burn out due to being possessed by the power of a goddess. The good news is... his psionic potential has allowed a portion of his psyche to retain itself. To wall itself off, and to prevent the possessing entity from claiming total control over his powers and abilities.

    Now, wherever Zatanna happened to be at, the surge of power that Eris used to accomplish this would likely sound akin to someone banging a church bell about two feet over her head. For the Mistress of the Hell's Kitchen Church... there is someone nearby who... for whatever reason, may be almost, if not entirely beyond the reach of Death. I mean... Hyperion -is- an Eternal. But something is definitely wrong with the being who has just landed in the middle of the street and been rammed by a panel van... making the man in black and gold turn his head in annoyance... casually shrugging out of the wreckage.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
There are no coincidences. At least not of this size and shape. Discord and practical jokes seem to be working overtime to bring Zatanna back to New York after having left it only days before. Not just anywhere in New York, either. Hell's Kitchen is so aptly named for so many reasons. That establishes the 'where' which doesn't seem to be pure happenstance.

The why is more complicated. Zatanna should be flattered to be wanted this much. She reacted so quickly to the mystical fire alarm that went off that it is a wonder that she's dressed. Of course, when things go sideways then it would be in the middle of the night. Zatanna looks down at herself, saying, "seohS." Which gives her a rather nice pair of high heels, totally inappropriate for magical contretemps. "stalF," she amends the spell and the shoes, getting a good pair of ballerinas.

So, Hell's Kitchen with a mighty mystical alarm clanging. The Homo Magis whispers, "Lady Death." Not a summons but a polite invitation to continue the conversation they had so recently. She had already divined the cause, the lady trickster and spinner of Discord and Strife.

At the end of the street a van smokes, threatening to catch on fire. Someone walks out of the wreckage and even a block away, Zatanna knows something is very wrong.

"Lady," she murmurs again. "I may need your help."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Where Lady Death is concerned it would seem Discord just won't leave her alone. Even when she has tried to find peace, tried to give up the path of endless violence, it inevitably finds her again. Some say she is a woman cursed and the way things always seem to play out it certainly seems that way. So it is only fitting in the end Discord might be added to the list of those she would dearly like to punch in the face, and probably a whole lot more.

Lady Death has little love for the old gods to begin with, where where they when an innocent girl was condemned to burn? Where were they when she was suffering in Hell? Discord probably enjoyed the show. So it is for a whole host of reasons, as selfish as she might seek to appear, that Lady Death has agreed to help Zatanna. That it is happening in Hell's Kitchen where her Earthly sactuary is located only adds to her reasons for appearing.

Like a spider at the center of a web there is little that impacts the mystic skein of Hell's Kitchen that does not attract Lady Death's attention. Smaller things are often left to the street wizard and his lot, even if they seem to attract as much trouble as they solve. But things like this, which shake the entire web, it is such times that the Urban Legend of the White Witch becomes Urban Truth.

From somewhere beyond a sword seems to stab out of reality itself. The Chaos-forged blade 'Apocalypse' glows with fiery blue and swirling orange energies as it cuts through space itself and through the gaping rent steps the 6'4" Hellish albino psychopomp Lady Death.

Hyperion has posed:
    And where he had set down, Hyperion was merely walking out of the street. The bent and wrecked van is left behind, the driver injured and unconscious. But Hyperion doesn't seem to notice or care anymore.

    He turns his head and seems to spot Zatanna in the distance... but Hyperion's senses are Hyper senses, and whomever is in his mind is able to use some of that.

    "Zatanna... run..." his voice croaks out as his eyes begin to glow a yellowish-green. And indication that he is about to unleash his atomic vision attack upon someone or something. He doesn't seem to care about the lady with the sword... not yet. But that could be a mistake. Sure.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
On any other day, Zatanna, not to belittle her powers, would have walked straight into the trap. Not that seeing a friend walk out of a burning vehicle qualifies as normal.

The glowing blue of a rent in reality interrupts her attention on Hyperion. His barely audible croak saves her. Already on alert, spell at the ready, Zatanna reacts immediately, throwing her hands in front of her to ward off the attack, commanding, "!EM DLEIHS" (SHIELD ME!)

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Normally Lady Death is very disinclined to make public appearances, that is without a glamour to conceal who she is. There are too many prying eyes, too many who would get in her way and their annoying /questions/. But a glamour restricts what she can do for her true power will shred it like so much gossamer in the in the wind and she can already tell this is one of those situations where she isn't going to be able to hold back.

The Hellspawned Valkyrie is fast, incredibly fast, when she gets serious. To most onlookers it would appear almost like teleportation the speed at which she imposes herself and her sword, wreathed in both the Energy Arcane as well as Chaos Magic drawn from the ends of infinity, held up and swung to deflect the blast.

"So this is Strife?" Lady Death asks, narrowing her eyes at the possessed Hyperion. "Somehow I expected something less ...male."

Hyperion has posed:
    The blast is incredibly powerful. Enough to vaporize miles of seawater or disintegrate a city block should it be unleashed at full power which... for the first time since coming to this universe, it is. % himself has always held back for fear of causing true harm. Eris -wants- to cause true harm.

    That is not to say that it cannot be deflected. But that magical sword, as potent as the power may be... likely feels like an aluminum bat after basting a steel pole with it... the almost painful vibrations in the grip and all.

    But then he speaks, and it's not a croaked statement coming from Hyperion himself. It is a dual layer voice.. both male and female.

    "Oh, so I have both a naturally born wielder of magic, but also one made into an avatar of power. Now I have options. Which to take... which to take..." the two voices in discordant stereo say.

    "And with so much power at my fingertips to take it with.." he/she adds before blurring into hyper-speed motion. Faster than almost any eye on earth can track... but again, it is fortunate that Hyperion is not asleep in there. He retains some awareness... and limited control. As   approaches Zatanna... Eris' intent being to grab her and try to escape with her... he issues one mental command to himself... STOP! And.. he does. He comes out of hyper-speed at a dead stop seven feet from Zatanna, one hand reaching out to her.

    "Cannot hold long.." comes another croak. "Magic. Body can be hurt by magic. Please stop me." he adds.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna clenches her eyes shut at the light and grinds her teeth at the sheer amount of chaos magic descending on them. Without the magical shield she had erected, when the blow arrived, she would be as deformed as the streetlamp not ten feet from her, listing to the side like a wilted flower.

Lady Death's voice sounds oddly normal and quiet in comparison. Zatanna draws herself up straight with a deep breath, "She hides...Strife the Trickster, master of the feint."

Hyperion crosses the distance between them before she completes the sentence. The homo magi knows death is upon her, she faces it, eyes focused on the oncoming rush of doom. Only to witness Hyperion reassert himself and stop the onslaught.

Separating Eris from Hyperion could possibly separate him body from soul. The magic alone might prove fatal.

"I could kill you..." She doesn't complete the sentence, instead, she casts, calling on all her Magic, the element, she lives and breathes and sizzles in her blood, !WON MIH EVAEL SIRE (ERIS LEAVE HIM NOW! ).

Hope Svelgate has posed:
The sword itself seems excited by the impact, can swords get excited? The orange-red power around the blade intensifies as Lady Death holds it against the onslaught, until it becomes a clash like Samurai caught in a blade lock. Even still her feet slide backward several inches before digging into the pavement of the street itself, before with a great upward thrust the blast is sent skyward, likely annihilating whatever sattelites happen to be in its path.

"The old gods have always been so annoying, they just go on and on and on." She watches the combined form of Eris and Hyperion come for Zatanna, it is lucky for her that her eyes aren't from Earth, like many other facets of her, they were forged in Hell. She lunges forward, with her glowing Chaos-forged blade but it turns out to be a feint, never intended to actually hit Erperion. What follows instead is her fist alight with mystical pure glow of souls that fuels the Energy Arcane, a fist aimed at slamming the composite being in front her right in the gut. That's what it looks like on the surface anyway, in actuality the blow is aimed at Eris's soul itself, to punch her straight out of this super human's body.

Hyperion has posed:
    Attempting to excise a soul is a bit of overkill. And... as potent as a being that derives sustenance and power from strife.. in a world of ten billion people all with conflicts and discord... it might be more difficult than a simple exorcism.

    However, one might think of it as Zatanna's raw magical expertise and power acting like a shoe-horn to let that exorcism get in past any resistances. Now, it should be noted that though the eyes of Hyperion turned to look at the blade, that was the only reaction of the person just standing there, vibrating from the effort of holding it still. Muscles literally spasming due to being told by the brain to move, but at the same time, to not move. Fighting itself to the point of -almost- vibration like one might see from a speedster.

    But that strike hits the gut, and the body does not seem to react to it initially. But then again, there is one soul in there, and the shard of a goddess attached to it like a parasite. The magical spell caused the parasite to briefly release itself... and the punch actually drives the soul itself out of the body... and the parasite shard flickers out and away before vanishing as it is summoned back to its mistress.

    And then to anyone who can see it.. that soul snaps back into the body like it was attached via a dozen rubber bands.... and then Hyperion goes slack before falling to the ground... unconscious as *bleep*.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The sword's excitement is a lurid thing. Does it lust to be wielded in a death blow by its mistress's hand? It exits the scene powered by its lady.

When it arrives, the air displaced by Lady Death's punch pushes Zatanna back, rippling her clothes, blowing street grit into her eyes. She had inadvertently let her shield fall when she tried to prise Eris's grip on Hyperion's open.

Zatanna witnesses the separation on the astral plane. The strobe of energy flickering between light and dark as Eris tries to maintain her hold on her instrument. It is like watching a meteor strike the moon, soundless kinetic energy erupting into the dust that carries away Eris's hold on Hyperion and her attempt to usurp Zatanna's magic and life.

Immediately, she drops to her knees by his side unsure if they had succeeded in killing him or not. Zatanna slumps slightly when she reassures herself that the Eternal lives and she sees his chest rise.

Raising her eyes to Lady Death, her face white from fatigue and fear, "Thank you. I never could have separated Eris from him without your help, Lady. I am in your debt. She likely could have eaten me for breakfast."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Lady Death looks watches the shard of divine power fly free before looking down at Hyperion. There is disdain in her expression, less about the threat he was able to pose and more about succumbing to being controlled in the first place. The conflagration of mystical energies fades from around her blade, though it remains in hand.

She turns to regard Zatanna as the man's body is seen to, "Hopefully you and the rest are safe now and Strife will think twice about showing her face here again. Do not underestimate yourself, you earned your victory today."

With that the sword is raised once more and another glowing blue rent is cut in the fabric of space. The White Witch steps through without another word with the portal closing again behind her, an unspoken sense of 'you know where to find me' left hanging in the air.

Hyperion has posed:
    Indeed, Hyperion lives. If one had to justify it, it might be that magic -is- his biggest weakness, and divine power is pure magic. Able to get past his defenses entirely. He was lucky that he has a psionic link to his body and soul. If not for that, he would not have been able to exert even momentary control.

    But now he lies there... face peaceful in his lack of awareness. At least for a few moments. Eternals are never really out for long. As his consciousness returns to awareness, his power restores his body's functions.. and his eyes open.

    For the first time in his life however... he feels what everyone else has only described to him. A pain that just won't go away, isn't healed by regeneration... this... this must be a headache. "Ow." he mutters.