DC Genesis

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Nico Minoru

Doctor Midnight was already on his way out the door by the time Neal put up his illusion. "I'll see what I can do about deactivating this," he said on his way out. If he could remotely disable the machine that Xavin was hooked up to, then they could get some speedy cavalry.

"You fools," the Skrull stated, as his arms erupted with blistering flames. They might be invisible, but he could still spread his fire throughout the entire room. "I will burn you all!"

"Water protect us!" Nico shouted, holding her staff forward in her one good hand. A cold barrier of water instantly appeared and spread itself around them, blocking the flames. A hiss of steam erupted on contact but she pushed harder, and then the water was rushing forward like a flood at the Skrull. The water drilled into the alien and smashed through the wall, washing it outside the building, but she knew that wouldn't hold it down for long. She turned to Neal, a look of desperation on her face. "We have to get to Karolina!"

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:00 pm

"You don't have to tell me twice," Neal said after Nico spoke to him. "Let's get the hell out of here before he gets back," he said before quickly turning and making his way to the door. As he did this he glanced around and made an illusion of Neal and Nico standing by the back corner. It wouldn't distract the Skrull for long, but hopefully it would draw enough attention for them to get to Karolina.

With that done, Neal and Nico quickly ran as fast as they could in order to reach Karolina.

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Nico Minoru

"Karolina!" Nico shouted, as they ran down the hall tot he other room. "Karolina!

When they got inside, they found Doctor Midnight standing at a table nearby, examining the detonator device closely. "She's fine," he said, looking back at the sleeping Karolina, who was still out cold from whatever Xavin had done to her in order to take her place. "I think I'm making progress with this thing, but I'm not exactly a tech expert. I am, however, trying to get one on the line." He motioned to the ear piece now inserted into his ear.

"Karolina..." Nico uttered, heading to the girl's side. She took in a small breath, held her staff out, and then shouted, "Wake up!"

Instantly, Karolina jolted upright, eyes wide open. "Xavin!" She paused a moment, turning to look at Nico. "Oh, Nico, it's you... but Xavin, she, she took my place again, she-"

"We know," she replied. "It's okay, we're doing everything we can to-"

"Karolina Dean!" a voice shouted. Suddenly, the wall smashed inward, revealing the Super Skrull once again. And he looked pissed. "You are coming with me!"

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:21 pm

"Well tell them that it's more than an emergency once you get a hold of them," Neal said as he walked with Nico over to Karolina's side. He stood back and allowed for Nico's magic to do work on Karolina and forcefully wake her up. That was one way to do it, and frankly the necessary way given what little time they had to work with right now.

Neal listened as Karolina and Nico talked, right up until the Super Skrull smashed through a nearby wall to make his presence known. "Shit," Neal muttered as he turned his entire body to face the Skrull. This wasn't good, and the guy wasn't going to be messing around anymore either. "Get out of here, I'll distract him," Neal said as he looked over to Nico and Karolina.

"Over here ugly!" the voice of Rose seemed to say from the doorway of the room. Neal basically mimicked the same attack that Rose had actually done only a few moments ago, but with an illusion. He hoped that given what Rose had done to him earlier, the Skrull would turn his attention on her rather than the rest of them.

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Nico Minoru

Karolina Dean

Neal's illusion garnered only a slight glance out of the Skrull. Considering how Rose was only a very mild threat to begin with and how he had already manhandled her, the thought of her coming to attack him again was hardly notable. However, in that one moment where his eyes shifted away, Karolina seized the opportunity.

"No, we're not running!" she shouted, suddenly going rainbow. She flew up off the bed and went straight at the Skull, firing energy blasts at him. "Not anymore!"

"Karolina!" Nico called. Attacking him head on? What was she thinking?!

The Skrull reacted quickly enough, however, forming a force field to protect himself. "How very foolish, Karolina Dean."

But Nico knew she had to help. If she didn't, Karolina was in for a lot of pain. "No more force fields!" Instantly, the Skrull's force field disappeared, much to his surprise, causing the constant stream of rainbow energy to hit directly and blast him backwards.

Meanwhile, Doctor Midnight hadn't moved a muscle, now in contact with someone on the other line of his communicator. "No, Cyborg, there aren't any red or green wires. They're all black and yellow, and quite small. There are three connected to the back of the button inside... yes, there seems to be a battery of some sort at the center. What? Oh... well that does sound simple." With a simple tug, he pulled the battery out. "There we go."

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:42 pm

"Holy hell this all escalated quickly," Neal muttered to himself as he watched Karolina and Nico work together in order to begin fighting the Skrull that threatened them both. The attack seemed to work in combination and knock him back. Apparently rainbows could hit a lot harder than Neal imagined. There was probably a lot more science behind that than Neal knew, but now really wasn't the time.

Speaking of science.....who knew that the solution was so simple? Neal turned and watched as Doctor Midnight merely pulled the battery out of the device. Neal just gave a look of annoyance, as if wondering why they hadn't done this three minutes ago. Still, he knew where his window of opportunity was.

"Batgirl! We disable to the device that will kill Xavin from here. If the wires are tampered with that might still be a problem though. However, we REALLY need some help back here. The four of us won't be enough here."

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Nico Minoru

Karolina Dean

"Right, we're still working on a solution here," Batgirl said. "Victor is getting close, but we're sending backup."

Almost as soon as she finished that statement, Karolina suddenly came flying back into the room, crashing over the bed and rolling into the wall. There was another crackle of spells and fire, and then Nico, too, slid across the floor and crashed straight into Doctor Midnight, who tumbled over her off his feet. Then, the Skrull reappeared in the room, his eyes shifting back and forth between the defeated combatants. Only Neal was left standing at the moment.

"I only need Karolina Dean alive," he said. "The rest of... I will rip limb from- uuuf." Without any further warning, the Skrull rocketed back through the wall like a missile behind him, and standing in his place was none other than Power Girl.

"You were saying?" Power Girl said, with a small grin on her face.

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:02 pm

"Yeah? Well just please hurry up I don't know how much longer they ca-", but Neal cut himself off as he nearly had to duck in order to avoid both Karolina and Nico that were thrown in to the room before crashing in to Doctor Midnight. Neal quickly turned and saw as the Skrull was now fully focused on Neal, the only one left standing in the room.

As Neal was trying to come up with a plan, it seemed like someone else had a better one. Power Girl flew in and delivered a powerful punch to the Skrull and knocked him clean out of the room. "I can honestly say I have never been more happy to see anyone in my entire life right now," Neal said with a smile as he looked up at Power Girl.

"I owe you one, he might have killed us all within a few minutes had you not shown up."

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Nico Minoru

Karolina Dean

"Only happy to help," Power Girl replied. "I've had just about enough of these alien jerks tonight... or this morning." Seeing as how the sun had already come up, they had been at this well throughout the night. "Now, everyone else get out of here while I- oh shit..."

When the Skrull reappeared... he wasn't alone. In one arm, he hugged a bloodied and barely conscious Rose to his chest, while his other arm had shape-shifted into a saw-toothed blade that he held tightly up against her neck, so much so that it was already drawing blood. "I want... Karolina Dean... alive," he stated, breathing heavily. That last blow had taken quite a bit out of him. "She comes with me, or this girl dies."

"Hostages..." Power Girl muttered. She hated it when they took hostages. It turned what would otherwise be a simple brawl into a battle of negotiations. She wasn't terribly good at negotiations.

However, she didn't have to negotiate. Karolina picked herself up off the ground quickly enough with her hands outstretched, urging the Skrull not to kill Rose. "No, don't hurt her! I'll go with you, okay? Just... just let her go, please."

"Karolina! What are you doing?" Nico snapped, barely able to get back to her hands and knees. "You can't just give yourself up!"

"Yes, I can!" she countered. "No one is going to be dying for me today, I don't care who it is. So... so I'll go with him."

Karolina Dean, ever the martyr.

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:29 pm

"Ah damn it all," Neal said to himself as he saw the unconscious form of Rose appear in the Skrull's hand. He knew that he couldn't win, so he was getting desperate to make Karolina come with him. It wasn't a good situation, and one that they could hardly fight against. Any move they made and he would probably just crush Rose with his hands. He was strong, and he easily could.

When Karolina offered herself up, Neal had no idea what to say. He wanted to say something, but what could he say? Rose was going to die if they didn't do anything, and in order to save her it sounded like Karolina was going to have to let herself get killed. No matter what they chose, they weren't going to win this.

Neal just looked over at Nico, his eyes clearly making it apparent that he had no idea what to do.

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Karolina Dean

Xavin

"Then you agree to come with me?" the Skrull said, narrowing his eyes. He didn't let up his grip on Rose one bit.

"Yes," she replied, deactivating her rainbow powers and stepping towards him. "I'll go with you."

"No... you won't," a weak voice suddenly interrupted, from behind them. When everyone turned to look, they would see Xavin standing there, free from the machine but still recovering from her injury.

"Xavin!" Karolina called. But she didn't make a move towards her, for fear of causing the Skrull to get twitchy. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be... you should be resting."

The Skrull narrowed his eyes at Xavin, one of his own race. "Don't try anything, traitor. I hold this girl's life in my hands."

"I'm here... to make a deal," she replied, taking a couple of steps forward. With how weak she was and how fast she had to fly there, she could barely stand now. "Leave Karolina, take me instead. No trickery this time; hand me over to the Majesdanians instead."

"No!" Karolina retorted. "Xavin, I'm not letting you do that again!"

"Nor am I," the Skrull spat, as if insulted by the request. "They figured out you were posing as Karolina Dean before, they will figure it out again."

Xavin shook her head. "Not if I were wearing an inhibitor bracelet. It would prevent me from shape-shifting. Put it on me while in Karolina's form... and I would remain as her no matter the circumstance. No more accidents. Think about it... The Majesdanians only want Karolina, not the Skrulls. Shouldn't matter who you take, as long as you fool them. And this way, you get revenge on me, too... a traitor."

The Skrull narrowed his eyes, as if considering the offer. "That... is acceptable. What is the saying? Two birds with one stone?"

Karolina shook her head, eyes glaring at Xavin. She was trying to fight back tears, though whether they were of grief or anger was a mystery. "You already took my place once! I'm not letting you do that for me again. My parents are the ones that screwed up, I'm the one who has to pay for their crimes. I'm not letting you-"

"Karolina," Xavin said, giving her a stern look. "This isn't up for negotiation. I'm not the only one who would lose you if you left. You have friends, too... your family. If I go... I'm missed by a lot less."

"But they'll execute you!" Karolina shouted, pleading. Sadness, those were what those tears were now. "You can't... you can't leave me like that. You can't just... please."

"Karolina, I love you," Xavin said. "And I will always love you. You know I would do anything for you. I'd die for you... and I will, if it means keeping you safe."

Sinking to her knees, Karolina hiccuped and sniffled back her tears. "No... no, Xavin, please... don't do this," she uttered, shaking her head.

Xavin came forward, kneeling in front of Karolina, bringing herself level to her. Holding the girl's cheeks gently, she gave a gentle, loving kiss, then pressed their foreheads together. "I have to... to keep you safe, to finally put an end to your people's grudge against you... to stop the hunt. There is something you must promise me, though."

Karolina sniffled again, closing her eyes. "W-what?"

"You must not come after me this time," Xavin replied. "You must let me go... you must let me go through with this. Stay here, stay safe, and live a happy life. Please... for me."

"But... but I can't-" Karolina uttered. She wasn't even trying to hold back her tears now.

"Karolina." Xavin's voice was stern now. She gave the girl another kiss, and then stared into her eyes. "You must. Promise me."

There was a long pause... a sad pause. Karolina bowed her head, eyes closing again, though that did nothing to hide her tears. Finally, she sniffled again and nodded slowly. "I promise..."

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:54 pm

Neal stood completely still in shock as he watched the exchange between Skrull, Xavin and Karolina. How the hell did Xavin get here so quickly anyway? That question couldn't be answered right now though, there were far more pressing things on their mind. No...no this couldn't be the way that something like this would end!

Neal quickly turned towards Nico, barely able to control his voice. "Is there no other way?" Neal questioned as he looked towards the girl that was probably feeling almost as much pain as Karolina right now. "Surely there must be something that we can do?"

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Karolina Dean

Xavin

Nico Minoru

"I... I don't know," Nico uttered. Her throat was dry, almost as much as it was numb. Watching this scene unfold before her was... indescribable. She felt like someone had just reached into her chest, ripped out her heart, and then stomped all over it.

She had never been truly close to Xavin. In fact, when her and Karolina's romance had first started, Nico had almost felt like... like Xavin were getting in the way somehow. Ironic, considering Karolina had made advances on Nico before, only for Nico to reject her. As close as they were, Nico didn't like women the same way that Karolina did. Still, for some reason she couldn't help but feel that Xavin had been there to take Karolina away from her. Those feelings had subsided mostly since then, but even so she knew that Xavin would never be nearly as close a friend to her as Karolina was.

And yet, seeing what as happening right now... she wished there were truly some other way, any way, to keep these two together. The world shouldn't be this cruel, this unfair. It shouldn't have to destroy love this strong... and yet, as they had learned many times before, the world was an unfair place that liked to torture you, no matter how good you were.

"Goodbye, Karolina," Xavin said, giving one last kiss before standing straight again and walking back over the Skrull. She quickly transformed into the perfect likeness of Karolina. "Alright... I'm ready."

"Good," the Skrull said, floating off the ground and starting to fly back out of the building. "I'll be taking this girl with me as collateral to be sure you don't try anything foolish... you can pick her up at the warehouse in ten minutes. The traitor and I will be gone by then."

Karolina couldn't even bring herself to look up, remaining there on the floor and staring blankly at the ground. The expression on her face was nothing short of absolutely broken.

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:55 pm

Neal didn't know what to say, what to do, or anything for that matter. How could this be right? How could it come to this? Neal hardly knew these people, but even he could see that something like this couldn't be right. Xavin was going to take Karolina's place so that she could live, she was going to die for the one that she loved. Would Neal do the same thing? With his illusions would he find a way to trade his own life to save someone else?

He didn't know, and that was almost as scary as what was actually going on.

He wanted to walk forward, to say or do anything and find a way to fix this. But they couldn't, Rose's life was on the line and any attempt to get involved would cost her life. Neal tried to gain control of his heart rate and breathing, as he could only stare at what was happening before him.

Kage Posts : 2824 Join date : 2011-04-27

Nico Minoru

Karolina Dean

And then, just like that, they were gone. For the longest time, no one said anything. Doctor Midnight picked himself back up off the floor, at first just watching Karolina for a few moments and then beginning to clean up the mess that the fight had made in his building. Power Girl curled her hand into a fist, jaw clenched as she stared straight out the hole that they had disappeared. She should have been able to do something, should have been able to stop that Skrull, but with a girl's life in the balance... she couldn't bring herself to act.

Nico swallowed a hard knot in her throat, eyes falling on the broken Karolina. She took a few steps forward and started to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, she knelt behind her and reached up to put a hand on the girl's shoulder, but the moment that Nico's fingers made contact, Karolina shrugged away and sank lower to the ground. She lifted a hand to her face and started sobbing harder, near uncontrollably. Rather than try to force it, Nico pulled her hand back and just sat down, dropping her staff to the floor.

"I... I'm so sorry, Karolina," she said, closing her eyes. She could barely hold back her own tears now.

Subject: Re: DC Genesis Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:08 am

Neal didn't know what to do. Well, he still didn't know what to do. He looked down at the two girls as they both showed their sadness and misery, and yet Neal knew that there was nothing he could do for them. He hardly knew Xavin, hell he barely knew them! What words of comfort could he say that could help them now? What could he say that could ease the potential death of a friend and a love?

Maybe there wasn't ever anything to say. Neal hadn't been able to help Rose through losing Zoe either. Those two had been friends, good friends. Maybe all you could do was try.

Neal moved over towards Nico and knelt down to place a hand on her should. "I'm sorry there wasn't anything I could do......really, I wish I could have stopped him."

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