7905/The Rebellion Will Be Televised

The Rebellion Will Be Televised
Date of Scene:	21 September 2021
Location:	Gotham Park, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Thanks to the efforts of Gotham's valiant defenders, Princess Amethyst is saved from her Gemworld pursuers and the forces of darkness are beaten back! ...for now.
Cast of Characters:	Amy Winston, Conner Kent, Eddie Brock, Wanda Maximoff, Ruby Lasertrava, Tetsuya Wakao, Sandra Wu-San

---

Amy Winston has posed:
The city famous for its brooding cloud cover is actually having what passes for a nice day for change. It's not too hot, the breeze is pleasant, and the sun is even peaking through the clouds. Needless to say the rare and lovely weather has drawn many of its citizens outdoors to enjoy the rare phenomenon.

So it is that many find themselves in Gotham Park, one of the city's safer parks if only for its downtown central location. There are joggers, cyclists, picnicing families, and children running about enjoying themselves.

That is until a series of strange phenomenon begin to occur. First there are several flashes of purple light and the park suddenly about a half dozen more people then it did before. The new arrivals look like they're refugees from a Renfaire with an extra emphasis on crystal jewelry.

One of them in particular, a tall blonde young woman decked out in purple Amethyst is shouting to the others, "Okay, I think we're clear!" But a moment later when she turns around the relief turns to shock. "Oh no!"

The air seems to take on a darkly tinted opaline glassy sheen across a long window thin area of the park. "Run!" The girl clad in Amethyst adorned armor shouts to the parkgoers, though most seem to regard her like a crazy lady paying her little mind, it's kinda pretty after all.

That is until cracks begin appearing across the crystalline air. There are screams from across the park as the phenomenon shatters, and what lies beyond it is a world unlike Earth, a magical, fantastical place. That'd be pretty cool, if it wasn't for the hoard of frightening Orc-like creatures that start pouring through.

"We have you now Princess Amethyst!" Shouts the lead beastman in a guttural voice, "For Dark Opal!"

Conner Kent has posed:
Nice days in Gotham are so rare they are almost mythical, so Conner got out of the Roost to have a look and ended in the Park, waiting in the line to get ice-cream from a cart.

Of course, it couldn't last. It is impossible in Gotham. It all starts with a pretty blonde girl screaming...

Conner hesitates between going to see what he can do or ice-cream. After about ten seconds, he decides maybe ice-cream can wait and starts towards the blonde. But by then it is a bit too late to ask about the problem. As the problem punches a hole between realities and shows up in green and orcish.

His casual stroll becomes a run, but in the opposite direction most park-goers are starting. Instead he seeks to interpose himself between the beastmen and the crowd.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Eddie Brock walks along the street at a quick pace. He's wearing jeans and a hoodie overtop a t-shirt, with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. He pauses for a moment, looking around with a slight frown as he looks for a street sign. Finding one, he starts up again, his location confirmed.

   <<Venom>> "I do not mind the beach. And your friend serves good food. But I hunger for more than barbecue Eddie."

Eddie gives a quiet sigh, talking to the Klyntar symbiote sotto voce so people he walks past don't hear. "I know. It's been awhile since-"

   <<Venom>> "Since we encountered someone bad enough for you to let me eat them."

"Yeah, that," Eddie confirms. "But it's been a great vacation. Gwen's happy. Got a nice tan-" But he's cut off again by the voice in his head.

   <<Venom>> "I have gone along with your 'rules'. But that will change if I do not have a chance to sate my hunger fully from time to time."

The sound of the events in the nearby park draw Eddie's attention over that way. He stops walking, standing and looking at the portal of crystal or whatever it is, as it shatters open and monstrous creatures stream through it.

   <<Venom>> "What is that!?"

"That, my friend," Eddie replies, "Is the dinner bell."

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
It started off as such a beautiful afternoon. Business brought Wanda to Gotham, but the chance to jog through the park and enjoy the autumn keeps her present. The paved routes weaving past people having a good time is the sort of thing to warm the soul, and she has every reason to ease into a longer run.

Her bouncing auburn ponytail sways from side to side as she grooves to Euro-pop switching up with classic rock filtered through a pair of earbuds. They're black, not red, like her workout clothes. When flashes occur, she slows to get her bearings. The headphones don't block out all the peripheral noise to her magical senses. Pulling out one bud, she stuffs it in her pocket. Then, the strange sheen superimposes itself over the park and the rhythm of her trainers on the path picks up. People would probably run away from the source if they could detect it. The Avenger predictably jogs to the window when a hoard spills out.

She has to quickly take in details. Ren Faire garb. Hulking not-Hulk orcs. Danger all around. "This had better not be Morgan again."

A shrill whistle follows, aiming to pull the orc-like monsters' attention her way. "Welcome to Earth. You really want to stop now before you get sent back in pieces."

Ruby Lasertrava has posed:
Ruby Lasertrava, officially licensed* relationship therapist and member of the Star Sapphire Corps, has had a great time in Gotham. Ruby's background means she literally cannot tell that Gotham is... Gotham, compared to New York City; at most, she can tell the buildings are a little different.

What she DID like is that there were very accomodating precious metals dealers, *AND* a very accomodating credit union two blocks down. The credit union is almost certainly run by the mob! Ruby deals with this by not knowing what the Mob is.

ANYWAY: Having managed all of this, Ruby has purchased more traditional local clothes at the eclectic economical-choice outlet. This means that she is wearing high-waist jeans suitable for the 1980s, a dancer's top, a pair of round-rimmed sunglasses and a floppy hat suitable for fishing while reading a paperback novel and eating a sandwich, all on a patch of grass in Gotham Park.

And then -- there is a flash of purple light.

Ruby pauses and looks around at the first one, then reaches into her top to tug out something on a chain. She glances at the something, which is small and not easily glimpsed from afar. This does make her sit upright. Then she can spot the people who weren't there before, and she leans forwards as she says, "Oh! Is that -"

Ruby tilts her head and has a brief, one-sided conversation with the object.

"Then who are they?"
"That's disappointing. Is there a reason for that?"
"Of course I'm going to find out for myself, but I was eating lunch."
"Yes, lunch furthers-- oh, right, automatic."

At the darkening sheen in the air itself, a vertical plane in space, Ruby seems to finally decide that it is time to stand up for herself. She dog-ears her page in the novel, she wraps her remaining sandwich, and she takes the chain off of her neck, fiddling the object loose, which she slips on her finger. Her fingers curl.

Violet light flicker-flashes around her and the thrift-store-chic peels away to be replaced by something more garish and alien, but - and this is important, if perhaps not to the onlookers - not the same *style* of garish and alien as the emerging individuals. Ruby takes a deep breath and strides forwards, head tilted slightly upwards as she comes down the hill.

"You!" Ruby says, snapping her fingers with a flash of light that vastly amplifies the sound into something of a decisive CLACK or a small thunder-clap. She points at the entity in the lead. "STOP right there and STAND UP STRAIGHT and explain WHAT you are doing HERE because this is not some kind of mustering zone where you can just run around and cause problems, and I don't care what Opal says!"

Ruby's eyes turn towards the purple-clad warrior who had emerged, and almost says something to her -- but seems to stop herself, to think better of it. (This might just be military, she tells herself, but whoever these people are, THEY certainly don't own this planet.)

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
Tetsuya was out on a morning jog. He had come to Gotham on a business venture and being a consultant, and found out the park was the best place to get a nice job since his hotel wasn't that far from it. Fortunately the company was paying for him to come out here and see whatever crazy product it was that they wanted to get started up.

That had resulted in his being around whenever the purple light occurred and his stopping to duck behind a tree and some handy bushes. And well... he sees what has to be something out of a movie happen.

That has him staring, especially as his mystical sense goes off like crazy. It's enough that he has to rub his eyes. And sighing. "... I'm starting to hate this country."

He looks to make sure no one is around or watching, especially for security cameras that might catch him before he disappears into a smoke cloud. What emerges from the smoke cloud is a bonafide ninja. Tetsuya in his Soryu Gear, complete with mask, definitely strikes a lot different cultural difference. Especially whenever he tosses out a handful of smoke bombs at the oncoming orcs from the side that doesn't have heroes. Brine smelling smoke meant to sow chaos and confusion.

Otherwise, he pulls out a spear. An odd one, but it's still a spear. Almost like a trident. The difference is one of the tines is facing down instead of up like the rest. Said spear is leaned on his shoulder as he looks over at the other heroes, but otherwise he says nothing.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
'Concert' is a strong word for it, but somewhere in the shockingly lush depths of Gotham Park, one young woman sits on a stool with a flute to her lips while another layers the crystalline melodies unfurling into the air with her funereal voice; whether it's truly for the sake of the crowd - a dozen or so souls frequently filtering in and out on their way from/to the varied other delights of a nice day in Gotham Park - or themselves is difficult to guess from the outside.

Perhaps it's that uncertainty that's caused one member of the crowd to hold her post well to the rear since shortly after the duo began their ~set, hands loosely clasped before herself as she leans back against a tree trunk.

Perhaps it's the nicks and scrapes winding etched into the dark wooden flute, suggesting any number of stories waiting to be told about the trials that brought it to this moment, those lips--

... or maybe she's just blessed with a sixth sense, given her curious arch of a dark brow -- in stark contrast to the shrieks and trampling feet that erupt from the rest of the crowd as violence abruptly spills into their world.

Given the thin, ghostly line that could almost be interpreted as a smile--

Given that as Wanda tries reason and Ruby goes for intimidation, Lady Shiva's first instinct is to stroll, deliberate and decisive, towards the invading beastmen's flank.

Amy Winston has posed:
The orc creatures continue to pour through the portal, large, brutish, and mean. They don't seem to care about anything getting between them and the people in the Renfaire garb. The icecream car is overturn and several other food stalls smashed as the small army moves forward. The parkgoers that don't run fast enough are batted aside like insignificant ragdolls. These creatures have an objective and they are dead set on it. In their wake thundering steps can heard that almost seem to shake the ground and following behind them are a trio of Giant brutes, not unlike Asgardian trolls though clearly a different species, they are easily 20' tall mountains of muscle.

And walking in the wake of the giants, at his own leisurely pace like everything is fine and normal is another Renfaire reject, this one a middle aged man dressed in the striated orange tones of sardonyx.

"Surrender Princess Amethyst." Lord Sardonyx snears from where he comes to a stop at the edge of the gaping portal, not one to put himself in harm's way. "It would be a shame if all of these people were hurt trying to get to you. I know you have a soft spot for First Home." He adds with a wicked smile.

"Sardonyx, you bastard!" Princess Amethyst wheels around, a purple crystalline sword manifesting in one hand and a buckler of similar material forming on her other arm. She grits her teeth as she and the other rebels are surrounded.

Conner's quick thinking gets him between the orc creatures and a large number of people, it is however a large open space and not the most difficult to flank. Thankfully most of the parkgoers have taken a hint and are now running for their lives.

The smoke bombs exploding along the periphery give some of the beastmen pause, however after a few moments nobody seems to be burning or melting it only really leads them to close their ranks more tightly as the girl in purple armor and her compatriots are surrounded.

The attention of a few orcs is drawn by Wanda's whistle. "Not your business. We are catching fugitive rebel. Do not interfere." The closest one snarls at her.

Several Orcish heads turn towards Ruby, they do not stop however. "Capture fugitive amethyst!" One of the closer ones growls before taking a warning swing, "Get back!"

When Lady Shiva tries to stroll into the beastmen's flank however, ranks are quickly closed to block the way. They're not letting anyone through without a fight.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner sees how the first parkgoers and vendors fare and decides he is not going to attempt diplomacy just yet. The first orc to bat a Gotham citizen gets a punch to the face, delivered so fast and so hard that the beastman goes flying 20 feet and loses several teeth along the way. The one that smashed the ice-cream cart gets kicked on the chest, has several ribs broken and goes flying into a group of orcs.

Conner is not even wearing any kind of uniform, he is just a guy with jeans, a white t-shirt and a leather jacket. But that 'flank' of the horde is soon looking pretty bad, with a large number of injured or unconscious soldiers.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Despite the anticipation that Eddie can sense, a family with four small children fleeing catch his attention. The mother pushing a stroller while the father is trying to scoop up the other three kids. Only the smallest, a girl of about four, pulls away from the adult, trotting back towards where they had a blanket set out for their picnic.

She picks up her Snuffles the Unicorn stuffed animal that got left behind in her parent's rush to get them away from the strange arrivals to the park. Her father is yelling to her but other people are yelling back and forth as well, confusing the little girl. And then the smoke is drifting through the area, and she starts to cry!

"Come on, your mom and dad are right over here," Eddie's gravelly-sounding voice says. He offers her his hand, and while he's a stranger, he's a stranger with a human face instead of an orc face.

The girl reaches out her arms for him and Eddie Brock scoops her up. He turns, waving over towards her father as he begins jogging the little girl back to her family, where he helps them get to the edge of their park and to the car.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
"Oh?" Wanda tilts her head to the side slightly, and the ironic smile touches her lips. "I will." Her eyes take on a brilliant pomegranate glow. "You cannot say no one warned you," she replies, the heavier Slavic overtones permeating her words.

Not a scary person in a pair of yoga pants and a shirt, not compared to some. But the gloves come off when red lines scroll across her brow, shaping a filigree coronet and she starts to float off the ground. Conner won't be fighting alone with her shifting to a position off his flank, the better to react. When the orcs start batting aside frightened visitors like plastic bowling pins, she is ready.

Her wrists roll in a casual flick. Blossoming ruby light that engulfs her hands sends out delicate tendrils and catches two of those victims sent airborne. A gentle cushion of force arrests their progress and brings them to the ground, while she rapidly aims to stop the next people from pancaking on the ground or being blown through the walls. All those hours of practice come good. Through the smoke and the cart being hurled, she is fast when it comes to shifting the odds in her favour and those of her hapless targets.

Anyone able to sense magic will feel hers firing out as nearly invisible lines to catch civilians. She anchors to the nearest leyline, equalizing its flow through her.

Ruby Lasertrava has posed:
It seems, Ruby thinks to herself, that dominance didn't work. They must not - Then a thought occurs to her, making her squint in what might be a slightly inimidating way towards the incoming forces. Especially when a Lord appears, dressed in striations. Her lips move for a moment, and then go wide at the point where Amethyst names him.

Gems! They're named for gems!

What does it mean? Ruby thinks to herself. I have no idea! But it is a relief.

Then one of the creatures is smote. "Is that a super-hero!?" Ruby calls, with a sudden burst of excitement, before floating up into the air with an after-sweep of violet light, presenting her ring forwards towards the centermost of the trolls.

And it is not simply a BLAST - it aims to encase that veritable TITANIC SLAB OF MEAT in an equally enormous and equally garish pink-violet crystal.

"Listen here, you little snot," Ruby tells Sardoynx, "do you even know what planet this is? You said FIRST HOME, didn't you? Are you from this planet originally? Well, even if you're authorities on YOUR planet, you're going to need to get in the queue and sign up to make your extradition request or HOWEVER it works, and while I'm not absolutely totally one hundred percent sure," and here her eyes widen,

"I'm PRETTY sure it doesn't involve marching troops into a park! Sister, get clear!" (that last part WAS actually aimed at Amethyst)

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
Soryu hums. He eyes what has happened, then huhs. "Well trained, I see." He says more to himself than anything. Then he leaps forward in a burst of what some might see as minor magic. Right into the smoke. Once inside the smoke, however, is where the real fun begins for him at least.

The ninja's only trace from the smoke is a small trail that seems out of place. Once he's in almost range, he drops a bit of minor magic that made him disappear, the air seemingly to ripple like water as he appears in striking range of the orcs.

"Konbanwa." He says simply. And then he's among the orcs with more smoke bombs going off. There's screams from the orcs as he starts in on them. The spear being used to break bones, skulls, and various extremities. Especially ones wielding any kind of weapon. Mystics can actually follow his movements as he seems to dance and flow through the smoke cloud quickly.

Confusion on one flank is surely a blessing in this case. Especially as said ninja does not fight fair and areas below and around those shields are fair game to the ninja's attacks.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
Dark eyes switch to raised arms.

The ground trembles; those eyes roll up, up, up--

-- and by the time they settle upon the orcs, a thin and ambiguous smile has sharpened into something much more decisive:

Their ranks are reinforced by hulking mountains that move almost like men;
and they aren't letting anyone through without a fight.

"You have a mission," Lady Shiva acknowledges, unclasping her hands.

"Your numbers are superior; your target is in retreat," she observes, hands shifting behind her back as she takes several steps closer.

"Victory is yours; you have but to take it."

Nevermind Conner's rippling wave of vengeance sweeping towards she and they; the ruby scintilla twisting physics towards the parkgoers' benefit; the hot pink field caging one of the trolls-- they're the superior force, aren't they?

Nevermind the woman with the arctic affect--
    -- who takes the skull of the first orc in her path between her hands--
        -- then flicks his sword from his limp fist into her own grasp as he collapses a beat later, head turned towards a distinctly unnatural angle.

Nevermind the nigh-indulgent pause Shiva takes to briskly scroll her eyes up one of those giants' bulk; they're just a handful of interlopers.

What's the worst that could happen?

Ruby's already on top of talking cash shit to Sardonyx, but Shiva nonetheless tries to catch his gaze as she lunges into the ranks of the orcs, burying her blade in a beastman's chest until it bursts through his back. And as she shifts from yanking her stolen weapon free, collecting a fallen spear, and weaving past incoming blows to insert herself a few steps deeper into the fray. And as her index and middle fingers find a strip of exposed flesh in roughly maintained armor and hook another orc's windpipe free from its throat...

Every time an orc falls, Shiva pauses long enough to gather whatever it happened to be wielding and add it to the increasingly awkward collection gathered beneath her left arm. Her meticulous dedication to battlefield cleanliness and lack of power rings and/or TACTICLE TELEKINESIS slow her down considerably, but her gaze remains locked on Sardonyx through each bloody, deliberate step.

Amy Winston has posed:
When orcs literally start flying through the air a whole lot of attention becomes laser focused on Conner in an instant. "Get that one! Stop him!" Lord Sardonyx commands. "This is most strange. Magic should be dead in First Home, such beings should not exist." He looks up at one of the hill giants, "Take him!" No sooner has the command been uttered than Conner is beset by 20' of solid muscle swinging a club the size of a small tree in an attempt to smoosh him flat into the Earth.

Wanda's magic goes a long way towards preventing what might otherwise have been a nasty body count. The initial impact is bad enough but its often the sudden stop at the end that kills you. The sudden stops have all but been eliminated, replaced by magical cussions, though they'll still almost certainly be in need of medical treatment when the dust settles.

Sardonyx makes a face when Ruby encases one of his trolls in pink-violet crystal and then addresses him. For a moment he seems to be regarding her in a different light but then pushes it aside declaring, "You are not of Nilaa. I do not expect you to understand." No real actual concern is shown for the imprisoned giant troll creature. "I will not be letting her get away again. The price for failure is far higher." He waves dismissively. "Than whatever you are. Get her!" He commands the third giant creature, likely hoping that super imprison technique isn't something she can easily repeat. The giant beastman lumbers towards her attempting to bat Ruby out of the sky with another tree-like club.

With the civilians mostly fleeing now, Amethyst turns to regard the orcs around her looking for an opening. Three crystalline points appear in the front of her shield before launching into the chest and face of one of the creatures, causing it to topple over. She lunges at another with her sword driving it back, as a small pillar of Amethyst erupts from the ground beneath her feat and she uses the motion to vault up and over the encircling line. However it is out of the frying pan and into the fire as more orcs continue to lunge for her. "I'm not leaving my allies!" Amethyst shouts when Ruby tells her to get clear, trying to fight her way to the closest one. Said allies are trying to fight free themselves, but it is a losing struggle. Of the five who emerged with her, three have already been incapacitated.

Shouts and confusion go up among the orcs once the ninja is among them and laying into their ranks as a skilled weapons user. Their formations begin to fracture as they try to deal with the now active threats. Swords slash and spears stab as they try to stab the interlopers.

And then there is Lady Shiva moving their their ranks like a human terminator on trash duty. Sardonyx doesn't like this. He doesn't like it at all. This was supposed to be a simple snatch and grab with vastly superior numbers, but the tide seems to be turning against him.

Still the Lord of House Sardonyx is not without his tricks. Pulling out a striated orange gemstone, he crushes it in his grasp and blows the dust into the air where it becomes hot wind and then a growing sandstorm twister heading for Tatsuya and Lady Shiva, without much care for friendly fire as several of his own forces are injured or tossed aside in the process.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner is not finding the orcs very dangerous. Sure, they seem a little stronger than normal humans, but for a moment he believes he can knock them all down in a five minutes.

Probably Sardonyx noticed that, which is why he sends in the giant. Conner barely avoids the first club swing, which catches him by surprise. But for the second, he is ready, and he meets the tip of the club with a fist of steel, shattering the club head and snapping the tree trunk in half.

"You attacked and injured a lot of innocent citizens," he tells Sardonyx, pointing at him. "You are going to jail with all your thugs. If you have some kind of authority, you get to explain that to the judge. Now stand down or I am going to drop your pet giant on your head!"

Eddie Brock has posed:
After delivering the little girl, and Snuffles the Unicorn, to her parents, little was seen of Eddie Brock. The man disappeared into the smoke. No doubt having run away with the other people in the park.

Elsewhere the open fighting breaks out between the orcs, their quarry, and others who were in the area. The battle cries raise in the air and the sound of struggle, of weapons crashing against one another or cutting into flesh. The whirlwind blows up, twister scattering the wise who get out of it as it heads for Tatsuya and Lady Shiva.

And then something comes barreling out of the smoke. A black sheen like midnight, interrupted only by white eyes and teeth, and a mockery of a spider emblem on the chest. Claws on hands and feet rend the ground as Venom charges forward and bowls into the body of orcs. Tentacles whip out, one snatching a sword out of a hand and impaling it into the head of the original wielder's ally. Another gabs an orc by the face and spins him around, knocking down a half dozen others before flinging him at a unit who are just starting to level spears as a group, breaking up their formation.

Venom gives a blood thirsty howl. An orc steps forward to slash at him, the Klyntar's arm elongating and shooting out to grab a shield, whipping it back just in time to block the sword swing. Venom swings the shield's edge up into the orc's face then, staggering him.

The symbiote jumps on the orc, massive maw opening and closing over the orc's head down to his shoulders. There is a sound of bone and sinew ripping and the rest of the orc's body falls to the ground, while Venom hastily finishes chewing and then spits out a helmet. "Dinner's up!"

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda's focus remains on the civilians. When a large giant comes wading into the fray toward Conner, she is prepared to shift that focus but the young man proves himself blindingly competent dealing with it. One less concer to worry about then as the whirlwind of battle engulfs them all.

The strangers, then, stand in the msot danger as far as she can tell. An invocation pulls on the leyline energy held in reserve, her hands spreading in a wide arc to send that arcing crescent at the orcs confronting Amethyst's standing and fallen friends. No traces of chaos persist, this is classical work for a Master of the Mystic Arts in her prime. She murmurs in Tibetan, carefully giving shape to the complex spellwork that she wants.

The surging ribbons of light only manifest when coming in contact with the orcs, creating flexible bonds that inhibit movement and springing onward to the next. But they aren't made of ribbon, the energy forged into the links intended to hold much stronger foes than the average caster.

Pinning down a respectable section will hopefully even the balance, but if not? She's first and foremost a child of shifting the odds, and playing with loaded dice, as needed.

Ruby Lasertrava has posed:
Ruby puts her hands on her hips, because that's how she lives her life. "You're being surprisingly polite given how hard I'm shouting at you," she answers Sardonyx. "I appreciate that. Look, who's going to punish you? Talk about this, you're terrifying the children! Does your lord command you to do that? Even if you have to execute your mission, you're going to have losses! That big guy I froze is going to be fine, but I don't think the ones that warrior is hitting will be, and every moment, you get more of --"

Ruby cuts herself off because that club is swinging towards her. Sardonyx seems to be absolutely correct that she cannot simply lock down his entire force, and if he was also betting that Ruby's carrying-on meant that she was not the most adept fighter in this impromptu response force, he is also correct. The club strikes Ruby in the side and she goes flying merrily out of the park, presumably killed or at the least broken.

NOT QUITE!

However, Ruby is briefly in a semi-conscious state of sheer shock. The glowy construct-wrap around her, forming the uniform of the Corps (if not a very uniform uniform) means that the strike was at least significantly defused. And, of course, Ruby didn't hit anything right away.

"oh klono's sake," Ruby says, before the ring produces a sort of drag chute that begins to decelerate her passage. She turns her head to look behind herself -- and that is when she sees the fifth story window of a nearby building, against which she impacts.

Impacts... but doesn't break!

Fortunately, it is an office - and also fortunately it is empty. Peeling herself off, Ruby falls two stories and then begins to fly back towards the scene of the affair.

"Listen, skelkrak," Ruby says, "I'm not of Nilaa but I *am* of Zamaron and Glak'thir and I'm going to tell you right now that you're going to win zero friends and influence zero people. More than likely you're going to get killed by a superhero, or thrown in jail - which can in some ways be worse - and you are RESPONSIBLE for these -- troops, aren't you? Are you going to let them all perish for THIS!? Why don't you ask THEM what THEY think!"

Saving her butt and flying back has prevented Ruby from taking more than rhetorical action, for better or worse, although she is descending into the approximate area of Amethyst and her comrades.

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
Tetsuya, feeling something amiss in the smoke cloud, bothers to send one poor orc outside of it with a strike. At least until the smoke cloud is dispersed. And then he turns and the masked face looks up at the twister.

"Spear of Currents, don't fail me now." He says more to himself than anyone else.

Then he brings the spear around, sweeping orcs away before he literally stabs the twister.

That's when the magic users will see something weird, odd, and that probably shouldn't be quite possible for someone who's decked out in enchanted gear. Magic literally ripples as it tries to disperse along the twister, even if it's just to save the spear wielding ninja and anyone in his immediate area, it's still a sight to behold.

With an effort, the ninja follows the twister as the spear's blade glows a bright blue that seems to suffice the very air. A slight deep blue-black of watery depths seems to go over the ninja, the spear, and a bit of the twister. It's not enough to just disperse the entire thing, but it's enough to at least give one hell of a chance for someone else to possibly do so.

Seeing the one non-orc also in the twisters path, that ninja yells at Shiva, "GO!"

The bad part is that despite the flashy show, it's obvious that Tetsuya, or Soryu in this guise, is just holding back the twister for the moment. And stuck where he is until it does disperse hopefully. Or whatever power in that spear gives way to the more formidable spell power of Sardonyx.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
The sandstorm is a problem. A sandstorm cannot be intimidated. It cannot be parried. It cannot be killed. It can -- perhaps -- be avoided...

... but not only is Lady Shiva still bristling with stolen weapons, she's wholly uninterested in giving them up; this narrows her options further, since hitting the ground with an armload of blades is-- unwise, to say the least.

So she compromises, driving a spear deep into the ground as she draws a deep, deep breath into her nostrils. Her fellow magic sandstorm target gets a brief glance; his well-being isn't her problem, but the question of just how he'll deal with the storm is worth a spare thread of attention. Shiva's knees bend, and the black leather clinging to her legs ripples with wickedly honed muscle; as she exhales, the dead-eyed woman launches herself into the air, gripping the spear's handle firmly in her free hand. Twisting on a dime, her body does a hundred and eighty degree shift, allowing her to press herself steadily upwards until she's perfectly parallel with the embedded weapon and ready to--

-- to--

It's the persisting stillness that tells her something's amiss, a split-second before--

'GO!'

Before it turns out that magical sandstorms can be stopped. Just stopped, dead.

"... hm."

Shiva doesn't dwell, however; she moves on. In this case, 'moving on' means 'pushing off with a quick turn that leaves her poised atop the spear, only to immediately spring free, flying ever deeper into the fray', though, because now her attention's settled on the giant that tried to murder Ruby. Before hitting the ground, she hurls another spear towards the giant, aiming to embed it deep into the monster's back. After hitting the ground, it's time to run.

Time to run closer to the giant, slowing only to spin past or hurdle over battle-mad orcs-- and hurl another piece of weaponry towards the giant each time she does, until she's empty-handed.

Amy Winston has posed:
By this point media choppers have begun circling overhead, apparently the rebellion really will be televised.

Sardonyx rolls his eyes at Conner's speech. "You are quite a troublesome brat. Do me a favor and die." He shouts as he draws out another sardonyx gemstone. It glows for a moment in his hand before he throws it towards Conner. Midflight the gemstone seems to shatter into countless razer sharp crystal shards all flying straight at Conner.

The last thing the orcs seemed to be expecting is magical bonds of light and their shock is evident as they struggle against Wanda's magic but to no avail. Their surprise is understandable given information generally available on Nilaa. As far as they know, First isn't supposed to have any magic left.

With their adversaries shackled the rebels are quick to take advantage, dragging their fallen friends and pulling back. With her allies safe, Amethyst is now free to turn her full attention towards Sardonyx and his forces. To anyone taking a closer look, she is clearly hurt and breathing heavily and probably not fighting to the fullest of her abilities. This battle was likely raging for some time before it spilled over into this world. But it isn't only her, there is this grand impromptu alliance fighting too. They can win this time, she just knows it!

"He has commanded far worse than that." Sardonyx informs Ruby just before the giant sends her flying, amusement showing in his expression at the sight. The amusement quickly turns to a grimace however, annoyance becoming apparent, when Ruby manages to make her way back. "They don't matter. They serve and die, that is their purpose." He says of the orcs and giants. It's all very matter of fact, a complete disregard for their lives.

"Oh would you just shut up!" Amethyst shouts at Sardonyx. "Do you ever get tired of hearing your own callous sanctimonious crap?!" That's not very princessy talk, but Amy has had enough this shit. Gathering what power she can must she hurls of a blast of violet gem energy at the giant that has been menacing Ruby catching the huge beastman in the side of the head, it isn't quite enough to bring it down but it certainly rings his bells as he drops his club momentarily stunned. "We're going to beat you, you're going to lose!" She glares at Sardonyx even as she drops to one knee from the exertion.

More magic, Sardonyx shows pretty genuine surprise at what Tetsuya is able to do to his twister, his grimace of annoyance growing to a full blown headache as the man in strange garb is able to pin down his spell with a spear while it burns itself out.

This leaves Lady Shiva free to act, what's more with the giant troll creature already having had his bells rung by that blast from Amethyst there is little stopping Shiva from planting that second spear right where she wants it in the small of the creatures back. It lets out a giant bellow as the pain brings it back to lucidity but it is now without a club and has a spear in its back that it can't quite reach no matter how hard it tries! If only she were done, but the poor giant is not so lucky as weapon after weapon is flung in its direction, imbedded deep into its flesh until it is bleeding from, well everywhere, like a giant pin cushion. But still it does not fall, trying to aim a lurching fist at its attacker even as it is in agony.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner wasn't really expecting Sardonyx to surrender, but he was irritated by his pretenses of having any authority. Looks like he will have to drop the giant on the gem-wizard head after all.

But then the villain decides to attack him directly. Which is usually not very effective, but those shards are magical! Conner has his telekinetic forcefield and magic is not as dangerous to him as it is for most Kryptonians, most of the shards shatter before reaching his skin, but a few hit hard enough to go through the telekinesis, and his invulnerability fails to protect him.

Bleeding from a few scratches and some painfully deep cuts, Conner snarls at the wizard. "How about no, and you do me a favour and BURN." His eyes glow red, and Sardonyx might feel how he is hit with a wave of scorching heat. Not really deadly, but more than enough for clothes and hair to catch fire.

Ruby Lasertrava has posed:
Ruby's eyes go wide as Sardonyx expresses his opinion of his troops. "Are you SERIOUS? Sharra and K'ythri, you're saying this where they can HEAR YOU? I've heard brutal things about officers but you're just saying it -- aloud!?"

Ruby sweeps her hand around to indicate the people being brutally pummelled. "These don't seem like some kind of robot made of flesh to me - I see people here! People who are behaving intelligently - they're reacting like comrades, I saw them earlier, when that person with the ocean bombs" (Wakao, who Ruby has only kind of glimpsed) "went off. And no matter their origin, anyone who can behave like that has the seeds of love within them. Seeds that you're throwing away, like so much trash!"

Ruby tells Amethyst, "I'll be right back," before flitting over to her abandoned lunching spot, reaching into her handbag. She draws something out - it doesn't seem like it quite fit the bag but it is in her hand nonetheless. Her eyes turn up towards the remaining giant, standing near --

That guy's shooting lasers out of his eyes, Ruby thinks. Wow! He MUST be a superhero! Out comes the object - a piece of violet statuary with a handle. No it isn't. Her ring-bearing hand is twisted towards a port on part of it. "For hearts long lost and full of fright; for those alone in blackest night," Ruby says, as the object erupts in transient, glamorous luminance.

"Accept our ring and join our fight; love conquers all..." The light surges, curls round, and seems to pour into the violet ring on the woman's finger, an enormous liquid pouring that surges and gathers and fills: "With violet light!"

"Big guy!" Ruby shouts, after a moment of shivering delight. "Think fast!" The ring is oriented towards the troll's face, as Ruby sinks to a slight crouch-- except that the burst of stunning force actually leaps out at an angle, aiming like a small shellburst near the troll's ankle! A moment later, "Hot guy, look out!" because Ruby realized (a moment too late) that he was the most likely victim of TROLLFALL.

Sandra Wu-San has posed:
The tip of a leather boot lashes towards a fallen spear; a split-second later, it's spinning towards Lady Shiva's waiting hands. A heartbeat away from destruction, she combines a vertical leap with a downward thrust; the spear rips through the giant's wrist until it hits the ground and sticks, pinning it.

Briefly, her attention shifts:

"'Sardonyx', was it?"

... and then it's back to more pressing matters, like leaping to the giant's thrashing middle digit, sprinting right over the knuckles, and jerking the spear free on her way to the giant's forearm. The bloodied weapon in Shiva's left hand gets a brisk twirl, its weight instinctively tested as she races up to the crook of the monster's elbow then launches herself from that fleshy groove to the opposite bicep. That the creature's already wounded makes its more dangerous as long as it's still ambulatory, if anything; the assassin thus moves with the purpose of a woman intent on remaining a step ahead of death, tracking bloody boot prints up the giant's body with each new bounce away from a flailing hand or thrashing limb.

"Your MASTER chose poorly, entrusting his forces to a coward who's never seen battle!" Lady Shiva shouts from her perch atop the giant's shoulder. "Don't worry:"

Suddenly, the assassin pivots and thrusts, driving the spear deep into the giant's neck and bathing herself in a warm, red fountain.

"Your features twisted into impotent rage and agony will tell him all he needs to know when I've delivered him your head!" she swears before disappearing down the giant's back to avail herself of her makeshift weapons ladder.

Amy Winston has posed:
Sardonyx seems displeased when his magical gem shards fail to shred the Boy of Steel. Even more displeased when he begins firing full on /eye lasers/ at him. The Lord of House Sardonyx is not one to go down easily though it would seem. He brings up a hand and similar to the one Amethyst created before him, a sparkling shield of striated orange crystal manifests in front of him to deflect the red beams of superheated light. "Burn? Gems don't burn boy." He sneers, but his facade is beginning to crack as the tide of battle has clearly turned and once the meat shields are exhausted it is entirely likely not even his considerable magic will be able to hold off all of them. Their intelligence of First Home definitely needs an update.

Meanwhile the sand twister that Tetsuya managed to pin down, without being able to move and absorb burns itself out. Chalk up another point in the worsening odds for Sardonyx category.

"They know their place and their role!" Sardonyx retorts through gritted teeth to Ruby's speech. "Win and earn glory, lose and die. That is their way." He watches Ruby fly away again and then comes the flashy lantern speech. The violet light earns a narrowing of his eyes, along with that crystal prison of hers it is far too close to the magic of House Amethyst for his liking. As another giant troll is toppled, Sardonyx's frown deepens and he actually takes a step back so that he is standing on the other side of the threshold of the magical gateway. "It appears this world is greatly changed from our understanding of it."

He then watches Lady Shiva make swift work of the largest of the trolls. There were still humans on First Home with such skills?! Seeing that is is clearly over with zero chance of victory, Sardonyx raises a metal booted foot over a large glowing gemstone on the Nilaa side of the portal that seems to be feeding the opening between worlds.

"Flee then Princess Amethyst, because if you ever return, we will be waiting." The boot comes down crushing the crystal and just like that the gateway collapses. As it does the creatures left behind howl in pain and as a glowing wave of disintergration spreads across their bodies. Without the magic of their homeworld to sustain them their bodies begin cannibalizing their own magical essence in a fleeting bid to survive in Earth's magic starved environment until they just wink out of existence as if they never were.

For a few moments stillness returns to the park in their wake, leaving only Gotham's weary defenders and the injured and exhausted Princess Amethyst and her compatriots, before the silence is shattered by arriving paramedics and emergency crews to tend to the wounded. The day is won, at least for now.