3043/WMAT A1 The Desert Marvel vs Cortex

WMAT A1 The Desert Marvel vs Cortex
Date of Scene:	17 September 2015
Location:	WMAT Arena - Gizard Wasteland
Synopsis:	It's Cortex versus N'Raha in the WMAT!
Cast of Characters:	626, 769, N'raha Tia
Tinyplot:	WMAT 2015

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Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    A location that Cortex hasn't fought yet! Which is understandable given he has only been in one match so far. They're pretty deep into the tournament now and he's only just having his second match. The first one had been quite eye-opening. Now here the psychic super hero is, ready to face another. His goal in this tournament isn't to have fun. It's to win. That prize money is needed for the charity that Dr. Vasilikos is setting up. A charity that will help the people of Paragon City get the medical care they need, even if they can't afford it, and hopefully pave the way for similar charity hospitals to be set up all across the Multiverse.

    For that reason, he can't fail here. Or so he's hoping.

    Dressed in his standard black jumpsuit with purple swirls across its surface, the top half of his mask lying open for his blonde hair to stick out of, leather gloves and boots... And various hidden pouches in the costume itself for storying evidence, communicators, and so on, all of which are empty right now except for several cylindrical objects... That's the entirety of his ensemble. He doesn't carry any obvious weapons, because his power is his mind.

    Dinosaurs in the area makes for a very interesting battleground, but hopefully if he doesn't fly around too much, Cortex won't draw their attention. That's why he's going to try to remain ground-bound as much as possible in this match.

    Unless a t-rex shows up. Then he's not sure what he'll do. Probably try to defend the bystanders in the audience until they can escape? Best not to worry about that! He puts on a bright smile and looks around to see if his opponent has arrived!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Well if you were looking for a superhero or someone to face off against Cortex, that's... not really what you're getting tonight. Tonight, it's a simple catman, a simple guy in a suit of red armor, carrying a big axe.

    Though, the catman is pulling quite a crowd with him so far. Among those out to watch are folks from Ul'dah, out on a grand adventure to the outer reaches of the Multiverse. You've got some of the kids from Alexander academy come to watch 'Spaz Cat' fight, I guess. He's still not sure of that moniker.

    But most of all, N'raha of Thanalan is here to represent himself. This isn't for the prize money any more, though that's a nice bonus if he gets it. Miss Setsuko ha given him a goal to reach, and by Twelves he's going to strive now.

    The shimmering red armor catches a sunbeam, and the Miqo'te hefts the axe over his shoulder. "Ahoy there!"

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    N'raha would be absolutely correct in assuming that some of the students from Alexander Academy have come out to watch their fellow student battle it out against a psychic superhero. They stand out just a little bit amongst the crowd since most are wearing their school uniforms.

    Though Kyra's normally around WMAT fights for medical duties, today is just a little different. Today, she's chilling in the commentator section, set up with a few bits of sound equipment, plus a headset with a microphone attached to it.

    After her intro over the broadband, she continues playing the rest of Sandstorm.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    There are a wide variety of unusual people in Paragon City. Yes, most of them are human, or human derived at least, with aliens being somewhat uncommon, but mutants can look like many things, and with visitors from the rest of the Multiverse coming through for months now, there's not much surprise to be had from meeting a catman. Instead, Cortex just smiles at the greeting and replies with, "Ahoy there, yourself! I'm Cortex. Nice to meet you!"

    Well, meet and fight, but he doesn't enjoy the fighting part.

    Kyra's voice in the announcer's area/booth/what have you drifts towards the fighting area, and Cortex tries to psyche himself up for this. There's a lot riding on his victory. But just like the previous match, he has to conduct himself like a hero. Fighting people who aren't villains... He doesn't LIKE the idea, but he's getting used to it a little. It helps if he views it as training and friendly sparring.

    But it's hard to justify using psychic powers on good guys as 'sparring'. Sparring is usually done with fists and stuff, right? The dilemma of being a super hero who abides by a code of conduct instead of justifying every power usage away! Sometimes it's harder NOT to stick to such.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    The Maurauder smiles a bit at the psychic, and rolls his neck. He'd gotten at least some heads up here that he was going to be running into 'A Guy Who Can Throw Stuff With His Mind' and 'Maybe Peek In Your Brain'. So, well.

    He's not even a little bt sure how to prevent that stuff. He looks pretty ready, but there's something he's gotta do first. It's very important. He plants his feet, strikes a pose with that axe, and looks to the crowds and the cameras. "My name is N'raha of Eorzea, the Desert Marvel!" And then to Cortex. "AND MAY THE FLAMES OF THANALAN TAKE YOU." There, that bit of Gladitorial Nonsense out of the way and N'raha- Moves a lot faster than a guy in plate mail ought to. That tail flicks and swishes as he balances himself on a full out sprint, that axe coming around into his grip. There's a faint trail of energy along the weapon as he comes in for a gauging strike at the superhero.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Cortex frowns slightly at the announcement that the Desert Marvel wants him to catch fire or somthing. But he eventually decides that unless he ACTUALLY gets set on fire, he probably shouldn't worry about it. Maybe it's like a pre-battle tradition or something. He grins when the catman seems ready to begin and--Whoah! Cortex's opponent certainly is quick! And with his restricted his usage of flight, he's not evasive as he could be. Still, he manages to stumble backwards, only taking a painful scratch to the cheek thanks to his awkward dodge. "Yow! I don't want to get hit directly with that thing!"

    Then, rather than going for his psychic blasts right away... He reaches into one of his hidden pockets... And pulls out a tranquilizer dart! He throws this backhanded at N'raha! A chemical compound of his own creation, it may be enough to make a non-Elite fall asleep briefly, but it's only likely to cause slight drowsiness at most if it hits the axe-wielder. If that! Mostly, it's just a short-range weapon that doesn't use mind-bullets. A way to start things off that isn't too extreme.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    The Miqo'te's slitted green eyes sparkle, and he grins under that hat. "Well, you probably will, that's why we've got the me-"

    And then he's stuck with a needle by someone that isn't Kyra or Xiao. He staggers back a little bit, looking slightly dumbly at the jab in his arm where it just snuck through a seam in his plates. A distressed noise as one of his arms goes dull and numb, the axe shaft shaking a bit in his hands. "Well, that's n-new."
    He looks over at Cortex, seems to be gathering his breath, and then there's a surge of energy, a wash of revitalizing energy sweeping down that arm. Though, he looks concerned. Awful early to be trying to spend energy healing yourself, N'raha.

    He growls and takes another pair of steps in, an effort to get inside Cortex's personal space, and then he swings that axe again, trying to brain the fellow with the flat bits.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Stylish though his mask may be, Cortex doesn't have much in the way of head protection, and as some weird hybrid of Blaster and Controller, he isn't exactly built for taking hits. One direct blow to the head has him staggering in pain and disorientation! Not exactly helpful for focusing one's thoughts, let alone focusing mental powers! Even so, wincing and trying not to waste time rubbing his head, he Sprints around the area, trying to keep some distance between himself and his opponent, before putting both hands on either side of his head and releasing a pink blast of concentrated psychic energy, trying to build off that earlier tranquilizer (though it seems to have been cancelled out) by slamming the Desert Marvel's sleep centers to induce even deeper drowsiness! It's also rather painful if it works.

    "Can't keep taking blows to the head..." he mutters.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Well, if Cortex doesn't want to get axed in the head, it's just as well that N'raha doesn't want to eat Mind Whammies. But it looks like the brawler doesn't have much of a choice in that one as he's slammed with the pink mind stuff and...

    He yowls, tail puffing up as he slumps forward to a squat, trying to keep upright. The drowziness slaps thorugh him like a bag of sand, and he struggles to get upright again. Though, there's a hissing under his breath as more aether builds up inside him. There's a red glow to his axe now as he comes in once more. This time it's less of a heavy swing and more acrobatic. A twirling combo of slashes high and low, trying to tag Cortex.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Without even Hovering to increase his Defensive options, Cortex's evasion is pretty sucky at the moment. He can't get out of the way of his opponent's acrobatic strikes, the speed and finesse landing and chopping into him in three places, in the leg, arm, and chest. Being a super hero, he's made of tougher stuff than an average civilian, so he doesn't lose any limbs or anything, but that still hurts pretty bad! "Augh!" he cries out before retaliating by, of all things, simply trying to punch the catman in the face! Who would expecting a psychic to resort to such trickery!?

    ...Also the punch was not his main attack, and is followed closely by Cortex's other hand, pulled back, being thrown forward to release a blast of raw telekinetic force to try to hurl his opponent away, and then immediately bringing both hands up to his head to unleash another mental attack... This time attempting to interfere with N'raha's ability to remain aware of 'reality' by trying to lock up parts of the Miqo'te's own mind! Elites, of course, are generally resistant to such mental tampering (usually), but the combination of fist, force, and brain blasting might take a toll regardless!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Punch. That he can handle. He ducks his shoulder into that, but it still hurt. Superheros get to do that.
    Mind Blast! The catman snarls into that, feeling the kinetic energy slap into him, ratting his armor and shoving him backwards, furrows of dirt and rock casting up from his path thanks to the physics of this place. Thanks DBZ Zone.

    It's the Dominate that might have been a mistake. The catman's eyes go glassy, pupil dialating all the way out as he stands transfixed for a moment or two... before he growls deep in his chest, and clutches at the axe. There's a crystaline 'ding' of energy from somewhere, and Cortex will feel that Domination be forcefully broken by something Outside of N'raha.
    He shakes his head, murmurs words of thanks, and charges in. He lowers his shoulder and simply aims to shove Cortex into the dirt with a shoulder tackle, followed up by a SLAMMING downward chop of that axe. "COME HERE!"

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    "Ooof!" Cortex lets out as he is shoulder-tackled and hurled off his feet, and then CHOPPED in mid-air with the axe! ...Actually, he sure seems to have some pretty significant hang-time there. Why isn't he hitting the ground? Gritting his teeth against the pain, his costume torn somewhat, but still standing up to the attacks from the Desert Marvel (better than Cortex's body is too), the super hero remains floating in the air. As long as he doesn't go TOO high, he should be able to manage THIS much. But even this is meant only to be temporary.

    Cortex straightens up in the air, raises both hands above his head! "You sure hit hard... But so can I! ...I hope!" he yells out as he swings both fists downwards, in a double axe-handle aimed to knock his armored opponent down instead!

    He's not TERRIBLY surprised that N'raha was able to Break Free from the Hold effect. He himself can do that sometimes, and so can other heroes. Those with powerful wills are not easy to simply lock down. It's just another bit of evidence that this opponent is no fiend. And just another thing to make Cortex regret fighting the Desert Marvel instead of fighting alongside him.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Well. Let it never be said N'raha didn't respect spellcasters. He gets grumpy about them but really doesn't get mad. Well, until now.
    He is starting to hollar. "Get down here, you jerk! can-"

    And then he's SLAMMED into the rock, face first. There's a cratering impact as he yowls and something snaps inside that armor. That's a greenstick fracture, somewhere. Another yowling snarl from the catman, as he yanks himself out of the rock, steps up to bat and swings for the fences. "THIS ISN'T OVER, CORTEX!"

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Cortex 'ooof's once again, though this time there's a more serious note of pain to it. His ribs ache from that one! Drifting slowly backwards, he HAS to take the time to hold his side after a blow like that. When he engages full Flight, he still stays close to the dusty terrain, just trying to put plenty of room between himself and his foe. Every breath hurts. But he has taken more serious beatings. He has trained to keep his calm and focus in situations like this.

    But the fact it's not against a villain... It just jacks with his entire concept of 'reason to fight'. He's not violent by nature. He was a student at the university in Steel Canyon before the attack on the campus by that extremist ecoactivist, Hamidon Pasalima, shut the place down. These powers Cortex has are the results of testing the serum he was working upon on himself. Studying and learning and advancing knowledge of super powers is what he used to want. To better humanity as a whole, through exploration, imagination, and understanding.

    Now he's in this tournament, fighting people he doesn't want to fight, because if he succeeds, the prize money may help save lives. Well... Saving lives is what heroes do. But he's still aggravated with himself for not having a better option. And he channels that frustration into his next attack, as he lands again, no longer even hovering, and unleashes Focused Rage in his telekinetic attack!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    This is a bad situation getting worse. Sure the guy isn't going too high, but he's still flying, he's still moving, and he's still shooting mind bullets. What's worse is that N'raha simply is having a hard time keeping up now.
    His body is battered, there's blood coming from his nose and ears from the repeated blasts, and something has once again kinked his tail the wrong way. Not good.

    There's a howling mad snarl of Fury from the catman, as he simply starts to glow, magical bursts of Aether popping off across his body. There's another wet snapping of setting bones in his body as he does that self healing thing again, but it looks like it's only enough to get him up and mobile again. "COME ON NOW. STOP PLAYING AROUND. I AM YOUR TARGET." He charges in, that axe trailing a red glow of flame as he comes in. There's a leap from the catman as he hop hop hops up a scattering of large boulders, leaps high into the air, and tries to bring that axe down on top of Cortex.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    The ground-bound hero can't do much against an attack like that. The flying cat comes down on him hard, and slams him into the dirt, leaving a pretty nasty injury on his left shoulder: a gouge that goes nearly through to his collarbone. Cortex has to struggle to roll away from any further attacks, and struggle even more to get back up again. His anger is subsumed in his pain, and it takes a lot of effort to focus himself enough to regain some of his combat ability, when he'd much rather just lie there and wait for someone to make the hurting stop. A brief Respite and a chance to Catch a Breath are all he can manage right now in the heat of battle.

    And even now, even like this, facing an opponent who is losing control it seems and starting to attack him with anger... He can't find it within himself to WANT to be here. He can't concentrate to his utmost. Not without knowing what he's fighting for. Yes, the prize money... That's why he's in the tournament. But why is he fighting THIS person in particular?

    Down on one knee, fist to the ground, Cortex focuses on restoring his energy and his ability to keep going, and makes no further move to attack. Instead he speaks. "Wait, stop! Hold on a moment. I'm sorry to interrupt our match, but I have to ask you something." He pauses for a moment, organizing his thoughts as best he can with all the pain he's in.

    "Why are you in this tournament, Mr. The Desert Marvel? What are you fighting for? I can't focus fully on this match, and upon fighting someone I don't see as an enemy, unless I know what the stakes are."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha... just stops as the other man tries to take a breath, take a respite, but he can't. He can't he can't not now he can't he's gotta fight gotta...

    No. NO YOU DO NOT GET TO DICTATE. He shoves his Rage into a cold place for a long moment, and hisses under his breath. "Beat me and I'll tell you, Cortex. NOW STOP STALLING." He waves to the cameras, to the stands. "What do you think all this is for? Philosophy? COME ON. We've got a MATCH TO FINISH!"

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    What did he expect? A heartfelt discussion? A speech? A shocking revelation of a tragic backstory? Maybe. Cortex looks at the Desert Marvel somewhat dully, in mixed tiredness and pain, before getting to his feet. "You're right. I'm sorry," he says. "I guess I was jut being naive." After his first match, perhaps he thought he could reach some kind of understanding with his opponent. "I didn't enter this tournament without the resolve to fight. Faltering now won't help anyone. I thought I'd learned in my previous match that I have to put the needs of others before my own desires, my own comfort. But I guess I needed to be woken up again."

    The hero takes in a deep breath, and then lets it out slowly. "Okay. Let's go."

    Then he leans forwards and releases a wave of psychic energy that, if it hits N'raha, will do so like a wave of disembodied screams in his head. A wall of voices in the axe-wielder's brain that aren't his own thoughts, but a cacophony of meaningless and painful images and sensations.

    It's meant to be used against a group of opponents. But right now, the only ones here are Cortex and the Desert Marvel. No one else is part of this. So he has to shut them out, and focus on NOW.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    "I am who I am, Cortex and this is what I do. I /fight/. GOOD. YES. COME ON TH-"

    And then he is awash in the voices, in the pain, in the suffering. His brain shuders, his body staggers, his chest heaves and he falls to a knee once more. Splotchy bruises spread across his face, a black eye blooms under that helmet, but...

    That red glow doesn't fade. The Fury doesn't go away. Not until he's sated. Not until he's FINISHED. He snarls and there's a sudden shift in the air, a massive wrenching sensation in the Aether, the ki, the id of this place. Cortex will know this, if he's studied his foes at all. N'raha's mind shunts itself away, and his Fury takes command. But it's not a blind rage. Not this time. He charges in, that axe whipping up and around to swing in an arc around his body. The axehead gathers energy, the shaft shimmers and there's a heady, tactile burning to his motions. "THIS IS WHERE YOU STOP, CORTEX. HERE AND NO FURTHER."

    He brings it around and leaps into the air, coming down in a blasting cratering attack that shoves energy across the battlefield in a monsterous wave.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Cortex has not actually studied his opponent at all. So he is caught completely off-guard, not understanding what's coming, the mechanism behind it... He has no way of knowing if there's a way to defend, or to counter. And if there is, he's probably not capable of it. Especially not after the attack lands, destroying the ground before and round him, and hurling him all the way across the battlefield, only to come to a stop in a smoking heap. Bleeding, and seemingly unconscious. Controller+Defender does not equal Tanker, or even Scrapper.

    But just when it seems like the fight is over, Cortex, lying on his back, coughs. He coughs for several seconds as he rolls onto his side, and then onto his belly, before pushing himself up onto his hands and knees.

    Civilian, scientist, super hero, and now... What is he? What's he doing here? This isn't the place for him. He doesn't CARE about the tournament. He doesn't LIKE fighting. If this is what the Desert Marvel does... Just fighting for the sake of fighting... Is that the kind of person you have to be succeed? To be strong like that? He feels an odd pain in his leg. Dull, not like all the other injuries everywhere else. The fog in his head lifts for a moment, and he tries to figure out what that is poking him.

    He feels around and then realizes it. Oh. All those tranq darts in his pockets. Thankfully they have rubber caps on the tips to keep them from stabbing HIM in the event of an accident. An accident like this. But one of them must have come loose from the holster when he hit the ground.

    Rising to his feet, Cortex looks at his opponent, all the way on the other side of the battlefield, and then remembers how he started. Not as a super hero, but just as a man. That's how he's going to finish this too. One way or another.

    Cortex--No. CORY, begins to walk towards his opponent, then jog, then run, then Sprint. The non-melee combatant is apparently just going to charge his foe head-on and attack him directly! What a foolish plan!

    If he gets close enough without being taken out somehow, he brings both hands around, as though to chop N'raha Tia in the sides of the catman's neck. But in each hand is a fist full of tranquilizer darts.

    "Yes. This is where I stop fighting. One way or another," he agrees.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    The catman is... well, he'd be winded if the Fury would let him be winded. But right now he's still boiling inisde, that anger at the world snarling at his hinsides, boiling away his fear and doubts and pushing his limits behind him.

    But the other man still stands. Cortex closes the gap with him, and even as he tries to get to his footing again, he's...

    Needles, soo many needles. Needles everywhere. He staggers. He stumbles forward again, head lolling to his chest as those drugs course through his body, ruin his momentum, blast him towards the Long Goodnight.

    But there's a spark, deep inside. Another crystal blue ringing sensation within him that Echoes. It reaches across the plaza, across the plateau, it smacks right into those drugs and he just.

    The Inferno Axe is lifted again, as he tears off that helmet, and his bruised and sweaty face is freed. "S-sorry. I'm just a guy with... an Axe. Who solves the world's problems... as best... he can."

    A lopsided grin, and he plants his feet, rears back, and makes a lumberjack's chop at Cortex.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Cory is distracted by his opponent's reaction to the attack, his removal of his helmet, his words... He is busy staring, in surprise, fascination, horror, sorrow, and sheer incomprehension. He doesn't really get it. But the moment he feels right before the attack lands is sympathy. Then he is chopped in the side, and falls to his knees again, taken down by the pain and his own tiredness.

    He's breathing hard, gasping for breath, even though the act itself draws fresh agony. Gritting his teeth, GRINDING them, vision red with pain, head full of dizziness... He looks up at the Desert Marvel who has revealed himself to be... Cory doesn't even know. But he forces himself back up onto his feet, both arms holding his ribs, which are damaged on both sides now. Then he raises a hand, tempted to peel off his mask in a mimicry of what N'raha did. But on Multiverse-wide television is simply a bad place to do it.

    He instead takes that raised hand, balls it into a fist, and replies, "You and me both."

    Then he tries to punch his opponent in the jaw, not having the strength remaining to do much else.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    And.... And N'raha's fury gives out. There's nothing left. There's nothing more for that catman to hand out tonight. He's just... gassed.

    Also he just got cold-cocked right in the jaw by a super hero.

    The cat's energy dissipates, his body crumples.. .and he falls to the sands.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Meanwhile, Kyra finishes up the very last bit of commentary before she scrambles out of the announcer section, grabbing up the GLEAMING GRENADIER'S CURE-ALL as she makes her way down to the field-in particular, she makes a beeline right for the unconscious N'raha.