The other other Avatar [WW]

[Hal Jordan]

Players: Wonder Woman and Hal
Location(s): Keystone
Plot Summary: An avatar of the Greek god Hephaestus attacks Keystone and it is up to a Green Lantern and a very attractive Amazon to stop him.


Oddly enough today Keystone city was not under attack from the Rogues or being watched over by the blur of a hero that was the Flash. Instead the city of Keystone was seeing green. Hal Jordan flew through the skies with the civils below craning their necks to stare up at him as he tumbled and rolled through the air. Usually Hal was a little more professional than that but sometimes he had to let the thrill out and just have a fun flight.

::Non-terrestrial threat assessed::

...and sometimes that thrill had to be held off on. Hal righted himself midflight and turned upward to gain a bit more altitude. "Non-terrestrial threat? Pinpoint it's location." The ring gave a ping of comply and immediately began directing the Green lantern to the source of this threat. Everything appeared to be peaceful to Hal but his ring gave him the feeling of pending doom, it was making the seasoned lantern a little nervous. Flying closer to the ground Hal followed his ring's details and as he came toward downtown Keystone he saw it. A large burly man with thick brown hair and a coarse brown beard. He looked like the type of guy to play the villain in a 90s action movie. Aside from his size and his exuding visceralness, the bazooka draped over his shoulder also screamed bad guy.

The man's eyes began to glow white and his veins shined through his bronze skin like molten lava flowed through them. Apparently Hal didn't register to this guy because he turned in the other direction, took aim with his bazooka, and opened fire on the building innocently just standing there. Immediately Hal took off into action, his eyes stretching wide when he read the words on the side of the targeted building: Orphanage.

Hal threw his arm ahead of him and his will became solid green energy in the cast of Dolph Lundgren from Rocky IV. The Russian appeared before the warhead and threw a haymaker. The green boxing glove met with the round and snuffed it out before it could reach the orphanage, the resulting explosion only dealt superficial damage to the structure of the building. Dolph Lundgren broken down back into green energy and then nothingness as Hal floated down into the constructs place. "Orphans? Really, big guy? Mind telling me what's your beef with innocent little kids? And I know you're probably going to think your bazooka puts you in the position of power but," Hal smirked his usual arrogant smirk as a green energy bazooka, easily three times the size of the other guys', appeared slung over his shoulder. "Mine's bigger."

[diana]

Diana was attempting to relax in Keystone City, a place away from DC to just unwind, when the call came in. It was headquarters, informing her of the immediate threat to Keystone City. She and Hal were the closest members to take care of the threat, and so Diana was off. Tossing the drink in her hand and stepping away from the outside cafe, Diana used her iconic lasso as her jeans and t-shirt seemed to disappear, replaced by her red, white and blue costume.

Pushing off the grounds with the heels of her boots, Wonder Woman took to the sky, flying towards the threat with the speed of Hermes, the messenger of the gods. The scene Wonder Woman came across, however, was more than she was expecting. "By the gods..." She whispered slightly, watching as the attacker and Green Lantern squared off, comparing the size of their weapons.

Stopped in mid-air, Wonder Woman grasped her golden tiara and threw it at the assailant, a well-placed throw that would hit his hand and force him to drop his weapon. At least, that was the intent when Wonder Woman made her attack. What she wasn't intending was for her tiara to turn around and come back at her! The attacker seemed so calm when he looked at the golden object spinning towards him, then watched it turn back on it's owner.

Raising her gauntlets to protect her face, the tiara smashed into her wrists, stopping it's attack. Grabbing hold of the weapon, Wonder Woman returned it to her head as she flew to Hal, hovering at his side. "This is no ordinary assault. Something or someone much more powerful is attacking this city. One that has the power to control my own weapons. I've seen this mastery of weapons before, and if I can trap him with my lasso, I'm certain my suspicions will come to light."

[Hal Jordan]

Hal didn't feel too threatened up against his current foe, his mind was actually much more worried about the surrounded area and the many civilians that were cluttered in the city space. He could handle himself no matter how big this guy was or how much he glowed. That being said, it was still a bit of a relief to see Diana arrive on the scene. Though Hal had parted ties with the Justice League, and not particularly on good terms, he still valued a friendship with Wonder Woman and viewed her help as only ever welcomed.

Things took a further unexpected turn when Wonder Woman's signature tiara that she had just thrown suddenly stopped its path short and returned to her. The massive being against Hal and Wonder Woman sneered at the amazon then twitched his eyes back at Hal. "Alright buddy, you asked for it!" Big talk, but Hal thought he could back it up. His world virtually shattered in the next instant as his bazooka construct actually did shatter all of a sudden by some unseen weight. Instinct kicked in and the Green Lantern backpedalled, closer to Diana now so that he could whisper to her out of the corner of his mouth.

"You were saying?" "The mortal I'd expect, but you amazon...can you not tell who I am? Or are you just foolish and pompous enough to think your weapon could hurt me" So apparently Hal was missing something. The masked hero glanced between his friend and the burly man with the Odin beard. "Uhh...ex-boyfriend of yours, Di?"

[diana]

Diana was ready to fly to Hal's aid as his own lantern weapons began to turn, but Hal protected himself just in time. Being who she was, Diana was drawn to helping her friends, no matter what terms they were on, or in this case, how Hal left the league. Placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, Diana listened, shaking her head back and forth as he spoke. "I'm afraid it's actually worse than a jilted ex-lover."

Flying away from her friend, Diana came closer to the man, able to look him in the eyes. Though she kept a safe distance between them, she held no fear, having fought people from this family before. "I can't see your wife approving of this behavior, Hephaestus. I always knew she deserved better than you, I told her the last time we talked." The look on the avatar's face contorted with more anger, if that was possible. Always a sore spot for the Olympian, wondering how he had possibly wrangled the goddess of beauty, and if she would leave him for someone better.

As the man turned the bazooka to target on Diana, he fired the massive weapon, angered by her comments. Throwing up her gauntlets once more, Diana's body was thrown back by the impact, though she was left unharmed. Backing away further, Diana's hand rested on her hip, her fingertips touching the golden rope. "Does it scare you Hephaestus, knowing that you created my weapon to be truly indestructible? I brought down your brother Ares with it once, it will work on you too." Keeping her hand tightly over the rope, Diana wouldn't pull it out, not yet. The thought of being trapped in her own rope was too dangerous, knowing she would be powerless to further aid Green Lantern.

Returning to the side of her friend, her voice lowered, Diana's eyes never left the embodied god. "I know my lasso will work on him, but if I pull it out, he'll use it against me. I don't suppose you have had many opportunities to battle a Greek god before?"

[Hal Jordan]

Now Hal suddenly felt like he was in over his head. He never had a problem with the bad guys who popped up and wanted to harm people, not even this guy's size compared to him frightened the Green Lantern. It was the fact that Wonder Woman was so familiar with this foe that had Hal feeling a little worried and uncertain. Any enemy that Wonder Woman was familiar with always proved to be a handful, and more often than not; a god. "Wait wait, Hephaestus? The Greek god of," Hal tried to recall his highschool course that covered greek mythology. "Blacksmithery?" He wasn't entirely sure of what that meant for himself and Diana but he could see that Wonder Woman was not taking Hephaestus lightly.

"Why, because I am lame?!" The god's avatar bellowed at Diana's insinuations, it obviously being something that had plagued him for some time. After Hephaestus fired at Wonder Woman Hal quickly took to the sky. He needed to keep himself in a position of advantage, that meant he needed much space between himself and the avatar so that he had time to think and react. "Ares is a fool! A madman consumed by war and the need to kill. The two of us couldn't be more different, and you know this! But if you are so confident in your ability to wield a weapon crafted by mine own hands, by all means show me." Hal wasn't sure what had ticked this guy off to have him suddenly firing bazookas all over the place but by the way the guy talked Hal could imagine Diana using her lasso would work out better for him than it would for them.

Hal's green aura around his body shined brightly as Wonder Woman took to the skies and returned to his side. Hephaestus may have been a god and he might have been armed with a bazooka, and apparently somehow controlled other weapons, but Hal wasn't the kind to backdown and tuck tail. He narrowed his eyes at the man below, the bazooka he carried in a relaxed position as if he had no intent to use it again. "It's on my bucket list." Hal glanced at Diana and shrugged. If she wasn't in a position to use her lasso just yet then Hal needed to stall for her.

His attention returned to Hephaestus and he dropped out of the sky. Flying at the avatar of the Greek god Hal wielded his power ring and willed into life a green anvil which tethered to his ring. Hal slung the construct and hit Hephaestus in the face though the man did not budge. Hephaestus grabbed the green anvil with one large hand and crushed the construct in his palm. Hal's surprise was quickly swept away by a frustrated glare as his ring fired concussive blast after blast at the god. Hephaestus chuckled mockingly as he swatted the blasts away.

Again his eyes shined brightly and the veins over his body glowed deep fiery red. As Hal watched Hephaestus' bazooka shined as well, then began to shrink until it was no larger than the size of a ring. "This may be the greatest weapon created not by my hands." Hephaestus then placed the green ring on his pinky and threw a punch at the air. Green constructs of lions, bison, centaurs, minotaurs, eagles, and soldiers in ancient armor rushed forth toward the Green Lantern. Hal gritted his teeth and gripped his right wrist as he planned for defense against the coming onslaught, however his ring sparked of green energy only and not a single construct would form itself under the power of Hal's will.

[diana]

These were the battles that tested Diana the most, pulling her between her friends and the gods that gave her life, her very powers. How could an Amazon turn against those that helped to create her? To shape her? Some would not, but Diana's bonds forged on Earth proved to win out above all others. Something about the relationships formed in the Justice League, they were almost impossible to break, at least, in Diana's opinion. Even those who were no longer a part of the group, such as Hal.

"Do not underestimate him." Diana's words were a warning, though she didn't expect Hal to underestimate a godly avatar. Below, Diana could hear the panic on the streets, the screams of civilians as they fled the streets, some by foot, others by car. It was a dangerous situation, and yet, there were the few who stood to watch, to gawk at the scene. Diana took it all in, the surrounding sights, the sounds, anything that could help them in this battle.

As Hal left her side, Diana watched the scene unfold, removing her tiara once more. This time she did not take aim at the man, but at the things he had brought to life. Throwing her tiara, Diana watched as it ripped through the green energy. Though they were not fully formed, Diana was playing Hephaestus' game, she would throw her power around too. She did not fear the creatures, but as before, her tiara stopped itself short of the avatar, flinging itself back at her. A quick motion of her hand deflected the headpiece, sending it flying away, probably only to fall to the ground.

"The wisdom of Athena courses through my veins, the speed of Hermes, the strength of Demeter. You may forge the weapons of the gods, but you are no match against the powers I have been granted." Diana's declaration proved only to make the avatar laugh, a cold callus laugh at that. With the speed of the messenger god, Diana surged forward, hands balled into fists as she ducked out of the way of Hephaestus' punch. Bringing her own arm back, Diana swung at the avatar's mouth, colliding with the jaw bone.

As quickly as she moved towards him, Diana moved backwards, fingers on the golden rope. She hadn't intended to hurt Hephaestus, a blow from her hands wouldn't accomplish that. Diana was looking for a moment, a moment for the god to reel backwards, to close his eyes, to let down his guard. Just a moment. It was all Diana needed as she removed her lasso from her hip, the rope swinging from her hands as though it knew exactly what she wanted. As it sailed through the air, Diana held the end, watching it extend to the length she needed, wrapping itself around the god's chosen form.

Though the lasso surrounded the god, the battle was far from over. Pulling back tightly, Wonder Woman constricted the lasso, using her strength to hold the end as the avatar thrashed about. The lasso was unbreakable, however, it was a matter of wills now. Diana's will would have to prove stronger than the god's, for the lasso to work. "Why have you come to Earth Hephaestus?" Blue eyes narrowed, as she stared down the avatar. His eyes gave it away, though no one else might know his true form, Diana could see it, in his eyes.

[Hal Jordan]

Hal realized that he was severely outclassed and outmatched; the god of weapon craft had even forged his very own Green Lantern ring, a feat Hal would have thought impossible had he not just witnessed the act for himself. Though Hal was clearly up against a foe who was of a level he could not even possibly begin to fathom it was not his first time facing such a threat, and like each time beforehand Hal refused to lie down and give in without fighting with everything he had. Hephaestus' onslaught of ancient constructs charged at Hal and even in light of his ring failing him the Lantern stood his ground, his will would not allow him to flee while he still saw a fighting chance for himself.

Thankfully the familiar glint of amazonian metal entered Hal's vision as Diana's tiara ripped through the constructs that threatened to overrun Hal, though the thrown weapon soon rerouted itself right back at Wonder Woman after slicing through half of the green images or so. By that time Hal's ring answered to his will and sparked into life, forging a green hardlight version of Diana dressed in full Amazonian battle attire. The construct's green cape billowed in the wind as it charged through the horde slashing and hacking away with the green sword Hal provided her. He could see the image weakening and breaking down slowly, no doubt because of Hephaestus' control of weapons, but still the Green Lantern pressed on in the fight.

Keeping his construct in battle with the Greek god's opposing forces Hal flew to the opposite side of Hephaestus as Diana confronted her deity more directly. The ground beneath the sandals of the burly god cracked under the pressure from the force Wonder Woman exerted upon punching the god across the jaw. Quickly Hal Jordan acted to seize the small window Diana had opened for them. A second wave of energy flew from Hal's ring and formed a thick chain of green willpower that snagged around Hephaestus's wrist as he reeled from Wonder Woman's blow. Keeping the god off balance and off guard he was defenseless as Diana's lasso coiled itself around his stocky form and ensnared him tightly. "Yeah, what she said!" Hal threw in a cheapshot with his Diana construct mashing the hilt of her sword into the god's face.

Though he was held trapped by the champion of Themyscira's Amazons and the man with the ring held his arm that controlled a copy of the green power ring Hephaestus did not deem himself defeated just yet. His mouth opened and a hard laugh rolled out of the back of his throat. "You'll have to try harder, Princess! Your lasso is unbreakable and it truly is a powerful weapon, but it is only so powerful if your will outpowers the one you have wrangled. Do you think you're will is greater than a god's?