PART V: When Giants Collide
Day of the Attack
Ziggursky Rehabilitation Penitentiary, Brickstown
Eight years. It had been eight years since Xanatos last saw
Sovereign. No mere name. More a title, a birthright. A being of pure evil. A time-travelling terror from the year 5404 AD. Sovereign was, without doubt, the most powerful villain Xanatos had ever fought.
The two had first met in 2002, not long after Xanatos founded a supergroup known as
The Defenders of Paragon. The group had been in action a mere year before Sovereign first came into conflict with them. He killed them in droves. The likes of Tomorrow Man, Titan, Eagle-Eye, Magestar, Toxin, Wildfire, Garbage-Man, Shadow Star, Shrike, Godly-man, and many others. The monster had his motives. Time-travelling villains always do. But rarely do they matter in the present moment. And in this present moment, all that matters is that the barbaric behemoth, capable of butchering battalions of brave heroes, now stood face-to-face with Xanatos and
The Imperial. Two of the most powerful heroes on the planet. Two men hopelessly outclassed.
The first blast happened in an instant. The taunts of the wicked warrior turned to whispers in the wake of the resulting explosion. Xanatos was thrown backwards as the blast connected with his chest - slamming him into an empty prison cell. That old familiar pain; the burning and despair that came with it. A hole in his costume. The first of many to come.
"Imperial get down!" Roared Xanatos as another beam hurtled towards his oldest living ally. In the distance Sovereign remained stock still, a sadistic smirk lighting up his fearsome features.
The Imperial did not dodge however. He was one of the old school. The ones who liked to take a licking and keep on ticking. With a manoeuvre one part skill, one part experience, and both parts superhero, the golden age grandpa met Sovereign's beam with a weapon of his own: The weapon of legend renown enough to rival the old man himself:
The Sceptre of Kings.
Mace met beam to the thunderous applause of prison cell doors, as they rattled back and forth on their hinges in the dark empty prison. Empty, save for the two icons now fighting for their lives against a monster more than capable of taking them.
Xanatos, now having found his feet, once again joined Imperial's side. Together they stood as one, and charged, pale faced, into death's open arms.
Sovereign responded in kind, slamming his hands together violently; sending a shockwave of energy towards the two heroes. Xanatos reacted first, using his powers of flight to soar above it. The Imperial reacted slightly slower, dodging under it, his gray whiskered face inches from the shockwave of destruction.
The two heroes continued their charge unabated. And with momentum on their side, they crashed into Sovereign.
This was going to be their one shot at ending the fight on their terms.
This was going to be their only shot.
***
Day of The Attack
Old Guard Academy, Steel Canyon
"Rave Spider?"
Sat, exasperated, in the damaged dojo of the Old Guard Academy, were the two superheroes known only as
Rave Spider and
Johnny Turbo. They had been told to stay behind. To watch over the students. To house sit. Despite all of their collective power and ability, they had been placed on
monitor duty. It had been tremendously boring. But if the buzzing from Rave Spider's comm-link was any indication, things were about to get interesting.
"Rave Spider are you there?" said the monotone robotic voice at the other end of the line.
Without turning away from the card game, Rave Spider pressed the receiving button on his comm link.
"This is Rave Spider, who is this and what do you want?"
"This is
Joe,” said the robotic voice. It sounded almost panicked in tone despite being obviously synthesised, "There has been a breakout in the Ziggurat."
There was a pause.
"According to reports from
Paladin and other heroes operating in the Steel Canyon district; every single one of Xanatos's enemies are heading in your direction."
In unison, both Rave Spider and Johnny Turbo dropped their cards.
"What's their ETA?" Said Rave Spider as he hauled himself to his feet. He began to crack his knuckles as he checked around the room idly.
A sudden loud bang answered Rave Spider's question. The explosion was so loud and so powerful that the Old Guard Academy had actually started shaking. Apparently the rogues had arrived, and they were already causing havoc. Despite this, Joe continued to answer in his robotic monotone voice:
"Five minutes ago,"
Rave Spider narrowed his eyes. This was not good. He looked over to Johnny Turbo. Despite the gravitas of the situation, Johnny had taken the opportunity to pick up Rave Spider's cards and look at them.
"Johnny?" said Rave Spider.
"Sup!" Said Johnny Turbo mock-innocently, slyly putting the cards back down on the ground. Etched across his features was a poker face Sonata himself would be proud of.
Rave Spider shook his head, smiling. No matter how grave the situation, Johnny could always make him laugh.
"Take my hand Johnny." said Rave Spider, offering it.
There was an awkward pause as Johnny Turbo eyed Rave Spider with as much contempt as he could manage. The look on his face reminiscent of a child not wanting to eat his vegetables.
"Dude…gay." Said Johnny Turbo, who placed his hand, hesitantly, in his friend's regardless. As he did so, Rave Spider's eyes glowed a dull orange. He was able to mimic powers, and he would need Johnny's superspeed for what was about to go down.
"Okay Joe," said Rave Spider as he and Johnny Turbo sped out of the dojo and into the Academy proper, "What do we need to do?"
***
Day of The Attack
Ziggursky Rehabilitation Penitentiary, Brickstown
The police line outside of the Ziggurat was still in position, guns trained on the single entrance to the prison. No-one got in or out except via this entrance. (Or at least, that is what was
usually the case.) Today was going to be an exception. High above the policemen, three super powered beings blasted their way out of the side of the Ziggurat; showering the area with rubble as a hole roughly the size of a wrecking ball was blown outward through the thick prison walls.
The three beings slammed into the concrete streets of Brickstown with a thunderous crack. Each of them rolling as their bodies made impact, carried forward by the momentum of their descent. Xanatos was the first to his feet, turning briskly to the policemen. Policemen that were still watching, guns trained, completely dumbstruck.
"Run!" roared Xanatos, all pretence of superheroics gone from his voice. It was pure survival at this point.
As if to prove his point, a loud laugh echoed from behind him, as the gargantuan form of Sovereign raised itself to its feet. His eyes burned a bright red, little fires dancing in the rapidly approaching moonlight. The Imperial was unconscious somewhere, though Xanatos couldn't see him.
"Impressive hero," said Sovereign as he walked slowly forwards, "But not nearly impressive enough."
With speed deceptively quick for a beast of his size, Sovereign was upon Xanatos, his right fist connecting with the golden-age hero's chin like a freight train. Xanatos was thrown backwards by the indefensible attack, his body slamming into, and through the wall of, the nearby Architect Entertainment building. His body continued to be thrown backwards through the foyer, before crashing into the reception desk and coming to an abrupt halt.
"R-run..." Xanatos managed weakly as the Architect Entertainment staff looked on in horror. In the distance, Sovereign was swatting aside police drones as he lumbered forwards towards the fallen hero.
The pitter-patter of footsteps flooded Xanatos's ears as the AE staff began to scramble for their lives. Within minutes the building was empty - not a single person had stopped to help him or see if he was okay - collapsed as he was on the broken remains of what had once been the reception desk. The building now evacuated, Xanatos pulled himself to his feet, ice already forming around his hands and arms as he prepared to take on Sovereign by himself. As he finally found his feet, the lumbering form of the demi-god was standing there before him. A wicked snarl painted across his features.
"Die," said Sovereign simply, as he fired a beam of pure dark matter at Xanatos's chest from point blank range. The blast struck home, sending the hero flying backwards. Not wanting to prolong the fight, Sovereign immediately created a wall of solid energy behind Xanatos, causing the hero to collide into it and come to a crashing halt.
Xanatos fell to the floor weakly. He was undoubtedly one of the most powerful heroes on the planet, but he was little more than a child compared to Sovereign. As he pulled himself to his knees, another energy blast struck his shoulder, laying the hero flat out on his back. He blacked out for a moment, it was only seconds, but it was seconds enough for Sovereign to close the gap between them. As he came to, Xanatos felt a large boot connect with the side of his ribcage, cracking several bones, and sending him flying into another wall. As brick, mortar, and glass showered the broken hero, Sovereign looked on unimpressed.
He was growing bored.
Sovereign sauntering over towards Xanatos, a hero so broken he could barely stand. And with the nonchalance of a demagogue, he picked the hero up by his neck, holding him aloft with one large hand clasped tightly around his throat.
Xanatos's body began to shake and convulse as Sovereign began to squeeze...
I also would be hesitant to call a redraft if we only have like 4 or 5 free agents or some kind of low number, or if it were just 1 or 2 teams interested.