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om_mainMojo uses Luornu as leverage to get Midnighter to fight.
She was going to die, Lu concluded as the guards prodded her into the arena to the welcome of hoots, jeers, and scattered applause from those members of the audience who were apparently hoping for a bloodbath.
She was not going to die, another voice in her head insisted. She was going to rock at this. The audience was made up of morons who had no idea what she could do, and that the...okay, that guy was big she admitted as she caught sight of her opponent, who stood well over six feet and was probably about twice her weight. Still, she was fast, and she'd been working with Noriko and Mr. Judd, and...
Oh fuck, the guy was shooting some kind of blasts towards the ceiling. All three voices in her head silenced abruptly, and her eyes widened a little, then darted apprehensively towards the cage where they'd imprisoned Midnighter. She was definitely going to die. She just hoped he'd manage whatever escape he had planned before it was his turn.
The glance lasted no more than a second, and then Purple grabbed control for the first time in years, set her jaw, and walked resolutely into the arena. Maybe she was going to die, but she was going to give a damn good showing of herself first.
Midnighter came to to what was quickly becoming his least favorite sound in the fucking universe: Mojo's voice. The words were a little difficult to focus on immediately; even he would be drowsy for a few seconds upon waking up, before his system kicked the last of the tranquilizer the hell to the curb. It was instinct to get to his feet before his mind got working properly, just in case he needed to spring into action, and he used a barred wall to lean up, his gaze focusing ahead of him at the arena.
He was in the same cage they usually put him in when they wanted him to fight, only this time the gate to the arena was closed. Mojo was a few feet away from the cage, only just out of reach (but he'd slip up one day), and now that Midnighter could focus, he realized what he was saying. He was introducing Triptych for the fucktards watching this shit for kicks.
She was walking into the arena, facing that bastard with the energy blasts who hadn't hesitated for a second when Midnighter had been pitted against him and refused to fight. He doubted that he would show any more mercy when it came to her, only she would feel every wound she got, and she wouldn't heal.
It took all Midnighter had not to throw himself at the gate of his cage; he could tell it wouldn't give. But he did take a few steps to the middle of the cage, jaw tense, his attention apparently focused on what was going on in the arena.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," Mojo's voice boomed out over the speakers. He was dressed in a sharp, dark pinstripe suit that contrasted with his exceedingly pale skin and hair. "PLEASE WELCOME TO THE ARENA THE YOUNG, THE LOVELY, NEW GLADIATOR - TRIPLICATE!!"
He paused for the appropriate oohing and aahing, given Midnighter a little wink as he did so. "HER VERY FIRST FIGHT COMES TONIGHT! AND, AS SHE IS FACING THE INDOMINABLE BLAST-OFF, IT MAY BE HER LAST. YOU MUST PLACE ANY BETS BEFORE THE FIGHT BEGINS!"
Mojo clicked the microphone off as he gave all of the spectators, both live and remote, a few moments to conclude their business. "Perhaps seeing complete decimation will inspire you, eh, boy?" He commented idly to Midnighter.
"Let me out of here," Midnighter growled in reply. He didn't feel inspired so much as fucking homicidal, but he couldn't stand here and watch this without doing anything. If it meant giving Mojo what he wanted, it was a small price to pay to save Triptych's life.
And he was confident he could bring the fight to an end quickly enough to severely disappoint Mojo and his audience. Without killing the asshole energy blaster.
"Now now, it's not your turn yet," Mojo teased. He flipped the microphone on, to announce, "THIRTY SECONDS REMAINING!"
Thirty seconds. Lu eyed her opponent. He had height and weight on his side, not to mention those energy blasts that looked as if they were nothing she wanted to get hit with. On the other hand, she was willing to bet she was faster than he was, and even if one of her didn't like to fight, opponents generally weren't prepared for attackers who could split and combine at will. She might live through this.
You're kidding, right? You've gotta be kidding. Do you think it'll be quick, at least?
I'm not kidding. Stop freaking out. We can do this.
I wonder if we should split.
"No," Purple said aloud, and wiped her hands on her pants as she assumed a fighting stance, though even she wasn't enjoying the adrenaline rush she felt as she heard the cheers of the crowd. Trust me for once. If they were going to die, they were going to go down fighting.
"Let me. The fuck. Out of here," Midnighter repeated, glaring ahead at the two opponents and wishing, with all his might, as if that might make it happen, that Mojo might step closer to the cage. Two steps, that would be all he needed to end his miserable life.
Mojo smirked nastily over at the boy. "Why would I do that? So you can simply dispatch him? I need a show. If you won't give me one, I can provide. As you will see."
"When you finally slip up, I will fucking strangle you with your own entrails," Midnighter retorted, looking away from the arena to direct his glare on the bastard himself. "And I'll make it last." Give him a hell of a show.
The microphone went back on. "BETTING IS CLOSED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. AND SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE INDOMINABLE BLAST-OFF AND OUR NEWEST GLADIATOR, TRIPLICATE!"
This was it, then. Before Mojo even finished calling off her name, Lu was moving, racing straight towards her opponent and attempting to close the distance between them. She saw a beam of energy heading towards her, and leaped to one side, rolling in an attempt to avoid it. It nearly worked, too - he managed to score a burn on one calf, but she'd had worse from the tailpipe of the motorcycle she'd learned to drive on. It was a definitely warning, though - he was faster than she'd given him credit for. On the other hand, he'd taken a few steps in himself, and if she could just...
Another blast missed her by millimeters, and she split, trusting to her momentum to propel her other selves forward. It worked, and Neutral scored a nice kick to his gut while Purple closed the distance.
"Get behind me," she yelled at Orange, and saw her other self instead set her jaw and dive for the bastard's legs.
Midnighter turned back to the fight as it started, walking over to the gate keeping him from the arena. His brain was going through scenarios, basing itself on the data he was getting as he watched. Even split, he really fucking hated Triptych's chances. But she was handling herself so far, so he watched, jaw set, shoulders tense, and hoped that this would be one of the 10.91% of scenarios where she managed to win.
It wasn't going half badly, Purple decided as she landed another kick at the base of her opponent's spine. Granted, he wasn't showing any sign that she was making much of an impression, but the damage had to be adding up. Or at least, that was the theory. If she ever got out of here, she was definitely going to talk to Mr. Judd about what to do against opponents who had some weird stamina thing going. If...
The likelihood of that went down dramatically as he landed a kick on Orange, sending her flying across the arena. The bastard laughed - actually laughed - as the crowd let out a cheer, and smirked as he took aim. "If one goes down, do the other two? Let's find out!"
Midnighter whirled around on Mojo, stepping towards him. "I'll give you the show you want, just get me the fuck in there!"
Mojo nodded to Domo. "Send him in."
Purple and Neutral's eyes met, and they nodded in unison.
"Don't-" Neutral grabbed for one arm and hung, using all her weight to pull it off target.
"Even-" Purple blocked his other arm as it came up to swat her aside, and aimed her knee up towards his groin, forcing him off balance as he tried to avoid the blow.
"Think about it!" Merging, mostly so she could change positions without covering the space in between, Lu aimed a punch towards the bastard's face. It struck home with a satisfying crunching sound as it connected with his nose, but another swipe of his hand sent her flying as well, her uniform burning. She rolled as soon as she hit the ground to put out the flames, wincing at the pain in her hand and desperately trying to figure out what to try next.
Midnighter rolled out into the arena the second the gate had lifted enough for him to fit under it. He took off at a sprint, thankful that Mojo wasn't making any announcement yet. He didn't need the element of surprise, but it would be welcome.
Much as he wanted to just knock the asshole out and be done with it, he'd promised Mojo a show. And now that the bastard knew that he had leverage over Midnighter, he trusted him to make Triptych pay for Midnighter screwing him over. So fuck it, he would get his show.
The other kid was just preparing to release another blast at two of Triptych when Midnighter leapt, and his foot connected with his back, right between his shoulder blades. The guy was muscular enough that it wouldn't do too much damage, but definitely throw him off balance - and, of course, distract him from Triptych.
"Get the hell away," Midnighter shouted to her as the energy blaster got back to his feet. It would be easier to choose the exact way this fight would unfold if none of her were in the picture. "Remember me?" he asked the blaster darkly.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME TO THE ARENA, THE MIDNIGHT MONSTER!!"
"Awww, decided to play this time?" Blast-Off snarked, even as Orange raced towards the others.
"Are you okay?" she asked quickly, looking nervous.
"Fine," Lu lied as she scrambled to her feet. "Get in here."
"B..but..."
"No but," Lu replied, meeting her eyes, and Orange swallowed hard, then nodded. She let out a gasp as they merged, and the reunited Lu turned towards the fight in progress, her eyes narrowing as she watched for her opportunity to jump back in.
Midnighter was, as promised, giving Mojo his show. He let the energy blaster believe that he stood a chance, letting a few of his hits connect but always dodging his blasts. He didn't bother hitting him for now, only using his own moves against him, and staying close so that he would have few opportunities for blasts. He'd just sidestepped out of the way of a punch and watched the blaster bite the dust with intense satisfaction.
"I've already fought this fight a million times," he warned him, in case he decided to stay down. "You'd lost before it even started."
"Does that line ever work?" the other mutant kid retorted, pushing up to his feet and apparently finally clueing in to the fact that the best possible strategy for him was to stand back and only attack Midnighter with energy blasts.
Not, of course, that Midnighter was going to let him get away with that. He was too fast for him, anyway, and he figured he had toyed with him enough to make fucking Mojo happy. He moved in closer, avoiding another blast before taking the guy out with three quick moves - a punch in the stomach, a knee to the head while he was doubled over, and a sweep of his legs to lay him out. All of them perfectly calculated to knock out, but do no lasting damage.
That done, Midnighter glared in the direction he knew Mojo to be. This would be him, soon. And his calculations would have a different objective in mind.
"A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE MIDNIGHT MONSTER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Mojo called out. He clicked the microphone off, and gave Domo the signal to tranquilize the teen for transport. Mojo doubted the boy could see him, with all the lights pointing his direction, but he gave him a pleased smile anyway.
Kid might not realize it, but he'd just lost.
She was going to die, Lu concluded as the guards prodded her into the arena to the welcome of hoots, jeers, and scattered applause from those members of the audience who were apparently hoping for a bloodbath.
She was not going to die, another voice in her head insisted. She was going to rock at this. The audience was made up of morons who had no idea what she could do, and that the...okay, that guy was big she admitted as she caught sight of her opponent, who stood well over six feet and was probably about twice her weight. Still, she was fast, and she'd been working with Noriko and Mr. Judd, and...
Oh fuck, the guy was shooting some kind of blasts towards the ceiling. All three voices in her head silenced abruptly, and her eyes widened a little, then darted apprehensively towards the cage where they'd imprisoned Midnighter. She was definitely going to die. She just hoped he'd manage whatever escape he had planned before it was his turn.
The glance lasted no more than a second, and then Purple grabbed control for the first time in years, set her jaw, and walked resolutely into the arena. Maybe she was going to die, but she was going to give a damn good showing of herself first.
Midnighter came to to what was quickly becoming his least favorite sound in the fucking universe: Mojo's voice. The words were a little difficult to focus on immediately; even he would be drowsy for a few seconds upon waking up, before his system kicked the last of the tranquilizer the hell to the curb. It was instinct to get to his feet before his mind got working properly, just in case he needed to spring into action, and he used a barred wall to lean up, his gaze focusing ahead of him at the arena.
He was in the same cage they usually put him in when they wanted him to fight, only this time the gate to the arena was closed. Mojo was a few feet away from the cage, only just out of reach (but he'd slip up one day), and now that Midnighter could focus, he realized what he was saying. He was introducing Triptych for the fucktards watching this shit for kicks.
She was walking into the arena, facing that bastard with the energy blasts who hadn't hesitated for a second when Midnighter had been pitted against him and refused to fight. He doubted that he would show any more mercy when it came to her, only she would feel every wound she got, and she wouldn't heal.
It took all Midnighter had not to throw himself at the gate of his cage; he could tell it wouldn't give. But he did take a few steps to the middle of the cage, jaw tense, his attention apparently focused on what was going on in the arena.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," Mojo's voice boomed out over the speakers. He was dressed in a sharp, dark pinstripe suit that contrasted with his exceedingly pale skin and hair. "PLEASE WELCOME TO THE ARENA THE YOUNG, THE LOVELY, NEW GLADIATOR - TRIPLICATE!!"
He paused for the appropriate oohing and aahing, given Midnighter a little wink as he did so. "HER VERY FIRST FIGHT COMES TONIGHT! AND, AS SHE IS FACING THE INDOMINABLE BLAST-OFF, IT MAY BE HER LAST. YOU MUST PLACE ANY BETS BEFORE THE FIGHT BEGINS!"
Mojo clicked the microphone off as he gave all of the spectators, both live and remote, a few moments to conclude their business. "Perhaps seeing complete decimation will inspire you, eh, boy?" He commented idly to Midnighter.
"Let me out of here," Midnighter growled in reply. He didn't feel inspired so much as fucking homicidal, but he couldn't stand here and watch this without doing anything. If it meant giving Mojo what he wanted, it was a small price to pay to save Triptych's life.
And he was confident he could bring the fight to an end quickly enough to severely disappoint Mojo and his audience. Without killing the asshole energy blaster.
"Now now, it's not your turn yet," Mojo teased. He flipped the microphone on, to announce, "THIRTY SECONDS REMAINING!"
Thirty seconds. Lu eyed her opponent. He had height and weight on his side, not to mention those energy blasts that looked as if they were nothing she wanted to get hit with. On the other hand, she was willing to bet she was faster than he was, and even if one of her didn't like to fight, opponents generally weren't prepared for attackers who could split and combine at will. She might live through this.
You're kidding, right? You've gotta be kidding. Do you think it'll be quick, at least?
I'm not kidding. Stop freaking out. We can do this.
I wonder if we should split.
"No," Purple said aloud, and wiped her hands on her pants as she assumed a fighting stance, though even she wasn't enjoying the adrenaline rush she felt as she heard the cheers of the crowd. Trust me for once. If they were going to die, they were going to go down fighting.
"Let me. The fuck. Out of here," Midnighter repeated, glaring ahead at the two opponents and wishing, with all his might, as if that might make it happen, that Mojo might step closer to the cage. Two steps, that would be all he needed to end his miserable life.
Mojo smirked nastily over at the boy. "Why would I do that? So you can simply dispatch him? I need a show. If you won't give me one, I can provide. As you will see."
"When you finally slip up, I will fucking strangle you with your own entrails," Midnighter retorted, looking away from the arena to direct his glare on the bastard himself. "And I'll make it last." Give him a hell of a show.
The microphone went back on. "BETTING IS CLOSED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. AND SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE INDOMINABLE BLAST-OFF AND OUR NEWEST GLADIATOR, TRIPLICATE!"
This was it, then. Before Mojo even finished calling off her name, Lu was moving, racing straight towards her opponent and attempting to close the distance between them. She saw a beam of energy heading towards her, and leaped to one side, rolling in an attempt to avoid it. It nearly worked, too - he managed to score a burn on one calf, but she'd had worse from the tailpipe of the motorcycle she'd learned to drive on. It was a definitely warning, though - he was faster than she'd given him credit for. On the other hand, he'd taken a few steps in himself, and if she could just...
Another blast missed her by millimeters, and she split, trusting to her momentum to propel her other selves forward. It worked, and Neutral scored a nice kick to his gut while Purple closed the distance.
"Get behind me," she yelled at Orange, and saw her other self instead set her jaw and dive for the bastard's legs.
Midnighter turned back to the fight as it started, walking over to the gate keeping him from the arena. His brain was going through scenarios, basing itself on the data he was getting as he watched. Even split, he really fucking hated Triptych's chances. But she was handling herself so far, so he watched, jaw set, shoulders tense, and hoped that this would be one of the 10.91% of scenarios where she managed to win.
It wasn't going half badly, Purple decided as she landed another kick at the base of her opponent's spine. Granted, he wasn't showing any sign that she was making much of an impression, but the damage had to be adding up. Or at least, that was the theory. If she ever got out of here, she was definitely going to talk to Mr. Judd about what to do against opponents who had some weird stamina thing going. If...
The likelihood of that went down dramatically as he landed a kick on Orange, sending her flying across the arena. The bastard laughed - actually laughed - as the crowd let out a cheer, and smirked as he took aim. "If one goes down, do the other two? Let's find out!"
Midnighter whirled around on Mojo, stepping towards him. "I'll give you the show you want, just get me the fuck in there!"
Mojo nodded to Domo. "Send him in."
Purple and Neutral's eyes met, and they nodded in unison.
"Don't-" Neutral grabbed for one arm and hung, using all her weight to pull it off target.
"Even-" Purple blocked his other arm as it came up to swat her aside, and aimed her knee up towards his groin, forcing him off balance as he tried to avoid the blow.
"Think about it!" Merging, mostly so she could change positions without covering the space in between, Lu aimed a punch towards the bastard's face. It struck home with a satisfying crunching sound as it connected with his nose, but another swipe of his hand sent her flying as well, her uniform burning. She rolled as soon as she hit the ground to put out the flames, wincing at the pain in her hand and desperately trying to figure out what to try next.
Midnighter rolled out into the arena the second the gate had lifted enough for him to fit under it. He took off at a sprint, thankful that Mojo wasn't making any announcement yet. He didn't need the element of surprise, but it would be welcome.
Much as he wanted to just knock the asshole out and be done with it, he'd promised Mojo a show. And now that the bastard knew that he had leverage over Midnighter, he trusted him to make Triptych pay for Midnighter screwing him over. So fuck it, he would get his show.
The other kid was just preparing to release another blast at two of Triptych when Midnighter leapt, and his foot connected with his back, right between his shoulder blades. The guy was muscular enough that it wouldn't do too much damage, but definitely throw him off balance - and, of course, distract him from Triptych.
"Get the hell away," Midnighter shouted to her as the energy blaster got back to his feet. It would be easier to choose the exact way this fight would unfold if none of her were in the picture. "Remember me?" he asked the blaster darkly.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME TO THE ARENA, THE MIDNIGHT MONSTER!!"
"Awww, decided to play this time?" Blast-Off snarked, even as Orange raced towards the others.
"Are you okay?" she asked quickly, looking nervous.
"Fine," Lu lied as she scrambled to her feet. "Get in here."
"B..but..."
"No but," Lu replied, meeting her eyes, and Orange swallowed hard, then nodded. She let out a gasp as they merged, and the reunited Lu turned towards the fight in progress, her eyes narrowing as she watched for her opportunity to jump back in.
Midnighter was, as promised, giving Mojo his show. He let the energy blaster believe that he stood a chance, letting a few of his hits connect but always dodging his blasts. He didn't bother hitting him for now, only using his own moves against him, and staying close so that he would have few opportunities for blasts. He'd just sidestepped out of the way of a punch and watched the blaster bite the dust with intense satisfaction.
"I've already fought this fight a million times," he warned him, in case he decided to stay down. "You'd lost before it even started."
"Does that line ever work?" the other mutant kid retorted, pushing up to his feet and apparently finally clueing in to the fact that the best possible strategy for him was to stand back and only attack Midnighter with energy blasts.
Not, of course, that Midnighter was going to let him get away with that. He was too fast for him, anyway, and he figured he had toyed with him enough to make fucking Mojo happy. He moved in closer, avoiding another blast before taking the guy out with three quick moves - a punch in the stomach, a knee to the head while he was doubled over, and a sweep of his legs to lay him out. All of them perfectly calculated to knock out, but do no lasting damage.
That done, Midnighter glared in the direction he knew Mojo to be. This would be him, soon. And his calculations would have a different objective in mind.
"A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE MIDNIGHT MONSTER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Mojo called out. He clicked the microphone off, and gave Domo the signal to tranquilize the teen for transport. Mojo doubted the boy could see him, with all the lights pointing his direction, but he gave him a pleased smile anyway.
Kid might not realize it, but he'd just lost.
