H.A.T.V

Packed into the circular room STRIKE Operatives from various divisions of the semi-functional organization stood for Agent Line's brief.

"We need to decide, what we do next? We have an increased presence in Valor City, but to expand the way we want to, we gotta start recruiting."

Line preached making eye contact with the respective heads of each branch. Since the departure of Ruby Gallagher a couple of years prior, various agents within the STRIKE organization took their talents to more prominent firms, firms offering more money. Most notably Agent Barnes and Norfleet.

"STRIKE Command" was supposed to be a paramilitary entity with the ability to maneuver all across the globe to maintain peace. I like the vision, but to be honest, we had that when it was just STRIKE . That's our new goal. We need more people, meta, mutant, gods or aliens that can do the task we need them to do."

Line's eyes cut toward two blonde women arriving late to her brief, the audience gaze soon followed thereafter leaving both Maya and her Dupe to wave sheepishly.

"Dismissed" Line commanded, but not before releasing a sigh of irritation. It was no secret she and Maya weren't on the same page, Line thought Maya was untrained, unqualified and unprofessional. Maya felt Line was out of touch with the world today, and even argued that it was the reason Ruby was ultimately chosen over her in the first place. Agent Line's eyes cut to the newcomer, but the mounting tension between them was cut by Maya.

"Listen, you said you want to bring in more people, I have a candidate. I'm heading out to meet with him now." As Maya stormed off the Dupe moved in tow curious as to what she meant.

"If you're going to do, what I telepathically saw you doing. I don't think it's a good idea; you don't know what the stress of battle will do to your body. What happens if you pop out another dupe, how the hell will you explain that?" She could hear the frustration mounting within the Dupe's voice.

"The same way I explained you, you're my Lesbian cousin Pamela, whose here on Summer break. Watch out for Agent Fields, by the way, I think she has the hots for you" Maya joke strapping a watch to her wrist before moving in the direction of her helicopter.

"Damn...that's a really good explanation" 'Pamela' said under her breath. Maya's helicopter fired up and was gone in a loud burst of sound and wind.

"We can fly...why the hell did she take a helicopter..."

Undisclosed Island

The concerns of 'Pamela' hadn't fallen on deaf ears, she knew she was taking a risk challenging the Iron Warden; however the limits of her abilities needed to be tested. She couldn't do that with anyone in STRIKE, plus with Agent Line's panties clearly so far up her meat trap; an opportunity to kill to birds with one stone presented itself.

Maya's uniform was unlike anything she'd ever worn, white and gold. She specifcally chose this one because it was hers, the black one with the "S" bolt in the middle; as well as the all white with black spots belong to Pam.

The hideous red white and blue star spangled outfit belong to a dupe Pam reffered to as "Lil Mimi"

The all blue with the gigantic uniform belong to an unnamed dupe, but were also a red, and black uniforms from Maya's time in Omega Justice those belong to Lonestar. Alternate attires for different memories, memories she couldn't recall.

Hovering just lightly above the terrain, the Golden Goddess formerly known as Solace made an orb of light energy in the palms of her hands. She'd met Iron Warden back in Valor City, he and STRIKE had almost caused an incident over his axe. She knew if there was anyone that could test the limits of her abilities it'd be him.

Undisclosed Island

Metal arm glimmering under the pale sunlight, Aron "The Iron Warden" stood at the edge of a cliff. Watching the waves crash against the cliff's rocky foot, Aron breathed in the salted air and his mind pulled back to thoughts of what he'd seen in the Black Hallows. Ezra Strix was a monster, a nightmare creature that preyed on anything and everything. But with the Soul Lavaliere in the Mad Strix's possession? The monster's hunger'd grown. Souls were being consumed in the thousands. Sighing in frustration, Aron turned round at the heel, "I need to find Abigail. The girl's an expert on handling threats no one else can. But", he paused, a slow smirk curling on his bearded as his eyes lifted to catch sight of Maya hovering some feet above him, "That shit can wait".

"Heh, don't tell me you're here to stare off at the sea too? We can't all be clichés", he taunted, his smile and tone playful. Crossing his tree-trunk arms over his muscled chest, the Man of Steel continued, "Haven't seen you since that incident back in Valor", he chuckled, still amused over his and Brian's heated exchange. "And to be honest, I wasn't expecting to see you again at all. We barely know each other. So if you came all the way here, I'm guessing it must be something serious. Which works out for me because I could use your help with something. The Lavalieres", Aron frowned, uncrossing his arms, his brow scowling an inch, "We need to find them. But one of them's now owned by Ezra Strix. As much as I hate bringing other people into my own shit, I'll need you and some others for this. Unless of course, the safety of the general public doesn't concern you", he shrugged, "In which case, as you were", he teased, his smile returning.

"So", the Man of Steel paused, "Why've you come here?".

@iron-warden:

He showed, and apparently, he was in search of something as well. "Unfortunately I'm not due for another mental breakdown for a while; so ocean gazing will have to wait. I came here looking specifically for you" She replied dropping to the plains beneath.

He was a hulking figure she could tell in the air however on the ground the difference in size was apparent. "Yeah, Yeah. All that is the reason I came looking for you" She said crossing her arms.

"As you know, I'm the leader of STRIKE. It's our goal to deter acts of aggression while stabilizing the climate across the globe. We have to take action, first by making sure the lavalieres don't end up in the wrong hands, which apparently ones has. I need you to be apart of STRIKE, I need you to help STRIKE succeed. You don't have to answer right now, but I'm asking you to consider it."

"And..." she started with a wide grin and a balled fist. Without warning, Maya's photon energy crackled around her golden gloves illuminating her calm blue gaze.

"I need to get a better handle on my powers, Dig deeper; gain focus, but most importantly establish what my limits are. So what do you say..."Iron Warden are you sharp enough to strike a goddess?"

Maya's energy soon swooned over her body, swirling in a manner that nearly uprooted entire patches of grass and even some weak trees.

Pending his answer she didn't intend on playing fair if he'd accepted her challenge, from point-blank rank a devastating Photon energy beam would charge directly for his Herculean chest.

@maya_summers:

"Alright", Aron shrugged, muscled arms crossed over his chest, "I'll join your team. Besides", he smirked, a low chuckle floating with the whistling winds sweeping through the cliff, "It'd be a real dink move to ask you for help only to later turn my back on you". Meeting Maya's gaze, the Man of Steel watched her eyes catch the warm glow of the energy flailing round her fists - and smiled. "Ah I see. I got you", Aron nodded, his smile roguish and gruff, "Fine. I need a good warm up", he taunted. Rolling his neck and cracking his knuckles as the Golden Goddess drowned the cliff in a sea of energy, Aron caught sight of the trees being torn from their roots, and the very ground being ripped asunder.

Maya was powerful. And his heart couldn't help but flutter with a rush. THOOM! Maya's blast erupted, roaring like thunder as the air expanded hot and fast. Blown back by the shock-wave, Aron felt the energy boil over him and the heat rake his flesh till the pain swarmed him like hundreds of burning hornets. Gritting his teeth and slamming his metal hand on the ground, his fingers burrowed deep, his hand gripped tight, and he rose to his feet. Smiling. "Not bad. Ruined my favorite shirt", the Man of Steel joked, tearing off his burnt shirt and dusting the ashes from his chest and shoulders, "But not bad". With a single step, Aron burst forward, superhuman muscle fibers twitching fast and explosive, body blurring as after images trailed him. Aron was strong, that much was true, but he was also quick, supernaturally so. Fist closed and right arm shooting forward, Aron jabbed, aiming for Maya's face but intending for her to do as the shorter fighter should - duck.

Duck under a jab that wasn't a jab but an open that'd grip the back of her neck and press down to break her posture, stifle her movement, limit her vision, and hold her in place for violent uppercut as his left arm, gleaming and forged from metal, closed it's fist and shot it up to smash into like her chin like a silver comet - and send her flying up through the air.

@iron-warden:

Maya's opening gambit proved a success, however, the damage sustained on his behalf wasn't what she anticipated. "Suddenly starting to feel like this was maybe sorta kinda a bad idea." She thought to herself.

"You didn't need the shirt anyway if it was hiding a body like that" She flirted while shifting into a more flexible position something that would allow her to maneuver fluently in the air.

Maya trained under Andy Summers, Sarah Lockhart, and Ziccarra Liafador of her time, she was taught to assess the capabilities of a combatant through every stage of a fight. This time out, she missed the very first step--The assessment.

Aron closes the distance parting them in speed she nearly didn't register. Zoning in on the attacks as they happened, The S.T.R.I.K.E Admin ducked, but soon realized it was a feint as Aron massive bear-like bore down on her neck.

"How the hel..." His fist slammed into her jaw, sending a jarring almost paralyzing pain into the jawbone. The uppercut was packed with so much raw energy, she could faintly make out the top of a summit in the distance.

Her ascent was so sudden, her own blood was hesitant in pouring from her jaw.

Kicking her legs up over her head Maya used the momentum and angled her body back down towards the Earth. Once again charging her photon energy in her palms, she sent a volley of heated light energy raining toward the Earth, but she knew this wasn't going to get the job done.

Bursting back to Earth in a flash of light she fired another strong straight blast towards Aron. Its trajectory was hindered by her ailing jaw, but she just needed to keep him off balance long enough for her healing factor to take effect.

Again, moving as light energy Maya sought to return the favor by delivering a devastating light enhanced punch to his gut but spinning around his body to deliver an elbow to the back of his neck. She'd then glide back to the front attempting to use her Photon energy as a defensive maneuver by shining so bright he would be unable to pick up her next few movements; she'd end with another powerful photon energy blast towards his chest, hoping she'd weakened him up enough to do more damage than it did the first time.

@maya_summers:

"You didn't need the shirt anyway if it was hiding a body like that"

"Hahaha, well", the Man of Steel paused, the familiar curl of a bearded smirk, "You should've just asked", he flirted back, teasing her with a bold bounce of his pecs. Blue eyes following Maya's ascent high into the air, Aron watched as light flared across, it's golden glow a precursor to the hailstorm of energy blasts that rained from above. Hearing the air boil and feeling his skin tighten from the heat of Maya's energy, Aron folded both arms before his chest and stood like a statue rooted to the ground. I don't even have to dodge this one, his thoughts dismissed before his eyes closed shut and the energy swallowed him whole. It was hot, falling from the sky like molten rain. And against many others, it'd have burned flesh from bone, burned bone to ash.

But Aron's body was as strong as his mind, and it withstood - until Maya roared back down like a golden comet. Eyes widened and his forearms brought up as a shield, Aron felt Maya's second blast bathe him in the fury of the gods. "That's more like it", he grinned, his skin bubbling and bones heating as the pain swarmed through him like a bolt of lightning cooking him from the inside. And yet, as the Man of Steel held on, testing the limits of his own body, Maya's energy blasts grew hotter still. The air around him expanded fast and hot, the heat rising till shock-wave after shock-wave tore it - and Aron's flesh - open. Teeth gritted, blood boiling from the split lacerations on his flesh, Aron caught the loud crack of something fast in the air - and felt Maya's fist blast deep into the pit of his gut. Though wincing, winded and with bruised side, he bit down and ducked under the Golden Goddess' elbow. Metal arm crackling and humming with energies powerful and unknown, Aron swung it back, and with thunder's low rumble, flash-forged his weapon of choice; the Iron Ax.

Fingers wrapped round it's handle, Aron breathed in the hot air around, tapped into his well of mountainous strength and hurled the Iron Ax through Maya's energy blast, it's blunt edge threatening to smash into the Golden Goddess like a meteor of metal and lightning. Chest heaving as the pain tightened over his body, the Man of Steel roared, the chaotic chorus from his and Maya's attacks tearing the island asunder twisting his battle-cry into something bestial. And though blinded by Maya's blasts, his senses zeroed in on the bio-electric twitch of the Golden Goddess' body. He didn't need his eyes to "see" her. Exploding forward behind his hurled ax, Aron pounced, threatening a standing arm-triangle to trick Maya into spinning to free her arm. A spin that Aron'd prey on by sliding his arm under hers and grabbing her back for an underhook that'd see him use his size, strength and the momentum from her spin to swing her around, off-balancing her and levering her arm away from her body with his underhook - exposing her soft liver to a knee that'd shatter steel.

The Man of Steel would rinse and repeat, driving his knee up to pulverize Maya's gut. Left hand shooting up to grip the back of her neck and break her posture as he'd done before, Aron'd tease a knee to draw Maya into dropping her hand to block it before swinging an elbow over the top of her lowered arm - to smash into her skull and send her flying across the battlefield. "If I can still walk after this", he grinned, the wear and tear showing on his burnt and bruised body, "We should wine and dine. One last good time right before shit hits the fan with the Lavalieres".

@iron-warden:

Initially, there was a reason for concern, Maya's photon energy blast while spot on; again didn't do the damage she initially intended--in fact, it looked as if he would withstand it all together. However, as "Prime's greatest export" dug deep with her light-based attacks the sheer intensity finally manage to off-put him, her light-based strikes finally rattled and manage to draw blood, but that alone wouldn't be enough to put him down.

There was little time to actually plan, his mighty ax, blessed with the power of the Gods, cut through her light chasm, and she was the endpoint.

Crossing her hands in "X" style, Maya crafted a light barrier. His godly weapon slams into her light shield sending a shockwave below them uprooting the already disturbed terrain, but the Golden Goddess wasn't fast enough to react to what came soon after.

He grappled her, fast enough for her to involuntarily spin into his pre-calculated manuever "This ain't good." She grunted while flailing to free herself from his grasp.

His first knee made contact with her gut, so powerful, so pain forceful enough to knock the air from her body. The second brought her back, causing her body to quiver in pain until like mitosis her body split depositing another life form on the ground below them.

More came, faster and harder as ever, until "God's greatest creation finally thought of a plausible counter" As the Iron Giant faked his last knee strike the Golden Goddess bent the light around herself allowing her to phase out of tangibility, effectively freeing herself from his grip and his would-be final gambit.

Now she was exactly where she needed to be, close range with enough built up energy to finally use one of her devastating maneuvers, initially taught by Ziccarra of Prime. Maya absorbed the Earth's magnetic power, focused it and condensed it within herself before releasing a magnetic explosion mid-air; hoping to catch Aron in the suffocating blast.

The moment her energy subsided the Golden Goddess plummet to the singed surface, her power needed to replenish, it would--but more so she needed time to recover from his brutal knee strikes that almost spell the end of this spar. Plowing into the ground not too far from what she could only assume was a new dupe, Maya hunch over trying her best to force her healing factor to speed up to no avail. Blood drip from her shattered jaw, she didn't even want to look at the damage done to her stomach.

Dropping her shoulder for leverage, she pushed her knee's forward until she was able to use her momentum to return to a vertical base.

"I-I don't know what good dinner is going to be if I don't have a stomach to eat sh!t" she complained before dropping to one knee. Her eyes peered right, the woman that was deposited was a young woman wearing a star-spangled uniform, and from the looks of it, she had braces. "Fck...teenage me."

"I...I'm not done yet!" She screamed out, unable to make out Aron's exact location in the dense smog that came after her Magnetic Explosion.

@maya_summers:

"Hmm?", Aron's brow rose, voice humming with curiosity at the sight of a second Maya - split from the first like bacteria - falling to the cratered ground. "What the..", his brow furrowed, confusion wrinkling his face as the moment of his distraction saw the Golden Goddess catch him off guard. Light flared bright and hot, and a storm of charged particles swallowed the Man of Steel whole. Thick arms brought up to shield himself, Aron felt it all. Heat searing his skin, boiling his blood and cooking his bones. Magnetic fields ravaging through him, almost twisting his atoms, almost flattening their electron clouds as Maya's blast threatened ruin upon the biochemistry that kept him alive.

Dropping to a knee as the pain swarmed through every inch of him, Aron felt his right arm go limp and his mind fade in and out of consciousness till he gritted his teeth and roared. Left forearm up as a shield, absorbing as many charged particles from Maya's blast as he could, the Man of Steel drank their electric charges till his intra-cellular processes were revitalized - and he leaped out the explosion's reach. Burnt and bloodied, Aron was slow to his feet. Right shoulder dislocated, left eye blind, and his blood still sizzling as steam climbed out his pores, the Iron Warden stood to his full height. Knees buckling from his first steps, Aron chuckled in astonishment of Maya's power, "Funkin' hell". Wincing and panting, his good eye glanced down at his own body. His clothes were no more, turned to ash, and he was badly wounded. But still conscious. Heart still eager for battle.

"I...I'm not done yet!"

Catching Maya's scream, his ears recognizing the warrior's pride in her voice, Aron couldn't help the low laugh flowing out his throat. She was more lioness than goddess. "Good", he answered, left hand crackling with sharp crack of thunder as an unseen force beckoned the Iron Ax back into his grip, "Because I can do this all day". Ax-arm brought back, the Man of Steel poured the electric charge absorbed from Maya's explosion into the Iron Ax and swung, smashing it into the ground with seismic force.

Cracked open and shaking like an earthquake, the ground under Maya's feet threatened to slide off the cliff while an electrical charge roared free from the Iron Ax, expanding the air hot and fast till a shock-wave roared alive and sought to blast her into the distance.

@iron-warden:

Maya's gut burned in agony, his knee strikes reduce her abdomen to a visible purple mesh of flesh. Maya's gingerly rose to a slouched posture, throbbing jaw painting a physical manifestation of agony on her face with blood dripping uncontested from her mouth.

"G...ood" She spat gutturally. She was taking more damage than her body could heal, working her healing factor to the max.

Through her battered eye, Maya could see the energy crackling and popping off his mighty ax, her energy. Somehow he manages to absorb Maya's power into his own.

"Ah...I think this is about to hurt..." His eyes released a sinister cackle before plowing his ax into the Earth searing the topsoil on impact. Thrusting one hand outward Maya constructs a light shield to protect from the flailing debris, but underneath her, the ground yield to the power of the lightning god.

"He's...destroying the island..." she grunted watching as the electricity surge through the crevice ripping Maya's from her stance as the ground gave way. His powerful rebuttal caught the Angelic Blonde's balance was thrown off leaving her completely vulnerable to Aron's shockwave.

Initially, she couldn't feel it; her skin tissue took the force of the attack so fast her nerves couldn't process the pain. Rocketing backward, she eventually plunges into the ocean where the salt water begins to molest her seared skin forcing the Golden Goddess to awaken from her pain-induced coma.

It was hard to make an honest attempt back to the surface, she had to do something or surely she'd drown. Focusing what little energy she still had, Maya manipulated the magnetic poles again, using the power to circumvent her body causing her to involuntarily levitate back toward the surface.

Above the surface, she gasps for air, trying arduously to get her body on a regular breathing pattern. Aron's attack left massive embers in the soil, with enough soot to nearly block out the sun. "...hnnn..." She moaned trying her best to remain right side up in her magnetic safety net.

It wasn't over, not yet Maya's eyes glazed over with a pure white, she peered into the future. Precognition was one of her most hazardous skills, if it worked she could exploit what she saw to her benefit; however, if it didn't, it often left her open to a massive blow. One could argue that it wasn't truly precognition because the future was always changing.

She saw what she needed to see a small opening, but to achieve that opening she'd have to be as fast as light. Extending her damaged palm toward the sun, the Photon Princess begin to absorb the energy from the sun preparing her next attack. The sun's rays beam down toward Maya's palm allowing the photokinetic Goddess to harness it's energy as she saw fit.

"You...re...not...the...only...one" She spat, thrusting her hand backward before firing her massive beam of light, a laser so powerful that it threatened to swallow the entire island.

Acting quickly, Maya sought to channel her magnetic abilities to place a "hold" on Aron's ax attempting to make it hard for him to move with it, if she timed it correctly he'd be swallowed by the full force of her solar beam.

@maya_summers:

Blow after blow, energy blast after energy blast, the island was being torn asunder. Once lush and beautiful, it was now little more than a smoldering wasteland. Clothes burnt to ash, and his flesh battered and scorched, Aron felt the blood rushing hot in his veins. Stepping forward and standing firm, he glanced up at the sky, mouth pulling back into a smile at the soot blocking out the Sun. "Damn this is getting good", he chuckled, the laughter flowing out his throat low and deep. His bones ached but his spirit roared. Eyes looking on ahead, the Man of Steel felt his smile shrink to a grin. There she was, the Golden Goddess, as battered as he was yet still climbing into the air to do battle till her body failed her.

"What. A. Thrill", his smile returning and his grin fading. Fingers wrapping tighter round the Iron Ax's handle, Aron breathed in the scorched air, then out. And as Maya's eyes glowed white, the Iron Ax crackled as arcs of electricity surged round it - and him - like a lightning storm. Watching as the Golden Goddess gorged on the Sun for energy, the Man of Steel twirled his hammer, spinning it faster and faster with every twirl of the wrist till the air around it boiled over in a wave of charged particles. Yet just as his muscle fibers twitched ready to hurl the Iron Ax with a mountain's strength, his ax simply fell. Too heavy for him to move as though tethered to the ground by an unseen force. The trap had been set, and as he strained, the heat around him rose, climbing higher and higher till the air itself flared bright white. And he'd never felt anything like it. The heat roared over him, and the energy nearly tore him asunder as the smoldering maw of Maya's blast devoured the island whole.

Defiant. Willful. Bold. Aron planted his feet into the ground, and stood firm, roaring back at the blast till it swept him it into the air and sent him crashing into the other side of the island. His bare back on the burnt ground, his body broken and scorched, and the Iron Ax still in his grip, Aron looked past the haze of molten dust glowing in the air and chuckled. Moving, struggling to his feet, he heard it, the sickening crack of bone. Something was broken. Panting, his body as bloodied and broken as it was mountainous, the Man of Steel bit down, growled at the pain swarming hot through him, and hobbled back to where he'd last seen Maya. "You owe me some new clothes", he joked, wincing from the laugh. "Let's do this again".