[center][b][u]July 8th, 4:50 PM Sakakah, Republic of Arabia[/u][/b] [color=orchid]"There...there wasn't much left,"[/color] Lady Arcana stared down at the desert sands before Mr. Luneburg, her fist clenched with enough force to turn coal into diamond. Their bodies had been pretty much reduced to burned out skeletons when she got there. [color=orchid]"It looks like they barely had time to react."[/color] She was doing her best right now to keep from shaking. Growing up in [i]The Wedge,[/i] she was no stranger to death. Before she became Lady Arcana she would hear it every night in the gunshots that served as ambience for their community, an unrelenting reminder of where they lived and who they were to society. Sometimes she would stumble upon a body callously stuffed into a ditch on her way to school, flies darting about a human being forgotten. Even so, she hated it. She hated the loss of life more than anything. It was impossible for her not to dwell on if she could have possibly done something to save them. Something to keep their families from having to hear that their sons, brothers, husbands or fathers had just been killed. It was the same for all of the people she had disabled within the Federation Army, too. After all they had undoubtedly suffered up to this point, did they really deserve to lose a member of their family too? Emerald Knight didn't know what to say. He could practically feel the emotion radiating off of Lady Arcana, but he felt so helpless when it came to saying anything that could help. Preston had not seen a lot of death growing up. Funny, considering that his idea of fun was picking fights in bars on the weekends, but it was true. His goal was to make sure as many people lived to see the next day, but even during his travels through space, he knew that not everyone would leave the battlefield on their own two feet.  "We still have a job to do." Emerald Knight had to look just slightly up at Lady Arcana. "If this is any sign, there are more weapons just like that out there. We need to find them and disable them. Or throw them into deep space." His tone was strained and grim. He wasn't used to talking about things like this. If he were being honest, him being on his home planet and seeing such serious business was a tough pill to swallow.  It was to be expected, but he had hoped at least one of the pilots had survived. Seemed that whatever had shot them down was ruthlessly efficient at its job. The heroes seemed unnecessarily stuck on that small detail, but having known war for longer than some countries had existed, Raymond had moved past it almost immediately. "Unfortunate, but expected. We cannot save everyone. I'll radio back to NATO Command and alert them to the threat within the Federation's borders. For now it may be best to draw battlelines within the Arab Republic and defend what we can until we have more information. It's clear that Asad has powerful weapons at his disposal, and while the two of you have done much to turn the tide, I doubt you can hold the entire war-front on your own." Emerald Knight's head tilted. Raymond was right. Even with all their power, not even the two of them could hold the war by themselves. Lady Arcana cupped her chin in thought at this. Raymond had something of a point here. Neither she nor Emerald Knight were willing to kill, which limited the speed at which they could disable the enemy. Even if they could be a decisive presence in one area, they couldn't fight a war across several hundred miles of desert continuously without there being a breach. And at this point, a breach was all Asad's forces needed. The military of the Republic of Arabia appeared to be almost completely broken at this point. She didn't want to think about how many had died in the hours before she had arrived here with Grim. [color=orchid]"Neither of us can be everywhere at once, that's a fact,"[/color] Lady Arcana admitted. [color=orchid]"But anywhere that we are is pretty much a guaranteed victory, I feel confident in saying that. So it just comes down to where you think we would be most useful right now."[/color] Raymond thought on the statement for a moment, taking a glance over at his radio operator and gesturing for a tactical map to be set up. The soldier rolled out a thin digital screen over a hastily setup table, plugging it into a laptop linked with NATO satellites. It didn't show quite everything going on in the region, but enough for some tactical awareness. "Here in the center and eastern fronts are areas of primary concern, though the defeat of the central army will set Asad back for a time." He gestured to confirmed enemy troop movements to either side of Sakakah. "NATO marine and air elements have been harassing the western army which has slowed their advance, but the group moving along the Persian Gulf is virtually unopposed. If one of you stalled the eastern army, and the other took on the western army, we would have a more even front. Once reinforcing elements arrive though, we can take care of the western front." Lady Arcana quickly nodded. [color=orchid]"I'll take on the Eastern Army. Let everyone else hit the Western, and together you should all be able to drive it back pretty easily."[/color] "Guess I'll handle the west with the rest of the forces." It made sense to Emerald Knight. A powerhouse like Lady Arcana didn't really need assistance. Emerald Knight being with the rest of the army meant that he could easily bail people out in a pinch, as well as help drive back the attackers.  He wanted to get a head start on attacking. It seemed like Raymond and lady Arcana had things handed here. With that, he took off to where he needed to be. She felt confident that she could handle the army group on her own, as she tended to be pretty attention grabbing when she wanted to be. [color=orchid]"Maybe carving a big groove in the sand in front of their advance will keep them from simply trying to slip past me?"[/color] Trench warfare was a bit dated, but he had to admit it had its merits, and would slow the advance even if they chose to cross it directly. "You would have to cover a fairly large area. At least four or five miles in either direction if you want to funnel the army into one area. If you make a trench about seven feet across and equally deep, that would force vehicles to go around to avoid beaching themselves-" Raymond paused in his explanation, looking up from the digital map of the region and staring directly at the wizardess. "Wait. How are you going to make a trench?" Arcana blinked at his question, though she had already pretty much figured that part out. [color=orchid]"Well, I'm going to like...fly fast and then plow my way through a long stretch of desert using my body."[/color] To illustrate this she held her hand up in a knife-shape swooped it down through the sand at her feet to make a groove. [color=orchid]"Like that."[/color] [i]"Are you like, twelve?"[/i] Was exactly the first thing that came to mind as he stared blankly at the supposed most powerful wizard on the planet. Yes, there might be a slight difference in tactical know how that was to be expected, but he was hoping for at least some kind of... Anything. "I don't think that's going to be very effective." Raymond began, taking a moment to gather himself and not go at her full tilt. "Surely you know a spell or two that could make mass-terraforming like that significantly faster?" Staring at him blankly, Lady Arcana slowly shook her head. [color=orchid]"Um...no. I have, like, this spell that lets me change clothes, but that's about it. I haven't learned any others, eheheh...so I just mostly punch stuff?"[/color] Raymond returned the blank stare, resisting the urge to place his palm firmly against his face. [i]"Ishtar, grant me patience to deal with this insufferable pain."[/i] Gathering what willpower he could as he was reminded of why he sent his daughter to the League, he gave a passing glance at Cabbage Patch before returning focus to the sorceress. "Very well, in the name of expedience and saving lives, I'll try to keep this as short as possible." Right, she already probably knew he was a mage of some kind, so no harm in giving her a hand in casting some actual spells. "The most basic utility spell at hand for such an occasion is the earth-mover. You have no need of command words I'm sure, so just focus your mind at what you want the earth to shape itself into, and channel your magic. You do know how to channel, right?" Raymond sincerely hoped she knew how to channel, otherwise this would be a very long day. [color=orchid]"...You mean like a youtube channel? Cause I don't have one of those."[/color] Lady Arcana stared at him blankly again. He seemed to be trying to teach her how to do magic, which she greatly appreciated, but she really had no idea what he was talking about. Wait, she did play D&D one time with Clare...wasn't channeling the thing the Wizards did when started chanting? She preferred Harry Potter, though, where they could just say a word to do it. Shaking her head for a moment, she did her best to focus. [color=orchid]"Okay, channeling magic. How do I do that? Is it like when the lightning surges through me when I first change?"[/color] "Did.... Did anyone teach you how to use these powers?" The wizard must have truly been at the end of his rope and with no other options. Raymond felt like he was teaching kindergarten for a moment, taking a deep breath and waving the comment away even as it left his mouth. "You know what, nevermind. That's a conversation for another time." "Channeling, yes it's sort of like when you first change. You draw the magic inside of you, gathering it and preparing it. Normally, once you felt you had enough to cast, you would release it as the spell." He didn't even bother to ask if she knew how to do that, since no one had seen Lady Arcana flinging spells at enemies. "With channeling, you maintain that connection to the rock, while directing the magical energies at your target. Try making a line in the sand between us with only arcane energy." Lady Arcana frowned slightly, but nodded. She did at least feel the power inside of her, that much was true. She had almost certainly used it before, but she had never known it was properly known as channeling. She used a little bit of it to open that window back at Commissioner Lessee's house, now that she thought about it. She just needed to draw on it a bit more here. Pursing her lips, she pointed her finger down at the sand as instructed. Focusing hard on expelling her energy out the extended digit, a bright flash emerged an instant as Arcane energy poured forth into the ground. ...and through the ground, as the sand turned to glass and a small pool of magma began bubbling up at her feet as she panicked and tried to move her finger, cleaving clean through a building at her side along a diagonal trajectory as she aimed her finger skyward until it thankfully stopped expelling arcane power. Her jaw agape as the thankfully evacuated building slid in half and promptly collapsed, she slowly turned back to Mr. Luneburg. [color=orchid]"Uh...too much?"[/color] [color=IndianRed]"Arcana, there you are. There was..."[/color] The low, near silent hum of the Grim Jet signalled the Gotham vigilante's arrival, the black aircraft slowly climbing down to hover beside Lady Arcana mere feet off the ground. She hadn't originally planned on getting this close to the brigade of soldiers to check on their plans, but... [color=IndianRed]"... Don't worry, I'm sure that building had a nefarious purpose."[/color] Grim finally stated, her flat tone coming out even through the voice modulator and ear pieces. What was it with this girl and property damage? Following the lance of arcane energy as it lasered across the ground and through a nearby building, Raymond held the same stoic expression that bordered on disappointment and exasperation. This was going to take a lot of work. "Well. That's one way to do it, I guess." He said at last, the thump of the building masking a curse under his breath. "Just... Try not to hit anything you prefer to leave the battlefield alive. Might do with dialing down a bit on the power and maybe just imagining what you want the sand and rock to do for you? Like... Just envision the sands parting to form a steep trench." Looking up when she heard the familiar engines of the Grim Jet as it descended, Lady Arcana released a small sigh of relief. Having her friend here with her made her feel a lot more at ease. [color=orchid]"Grim, I'm learning magic! It's pretty cool, i-if I can learn to not use so much, eheh."[/color] Glancing to Raymond, she listened closely to his instructions. Yeah, definitely needed to crank down the power, she agreed. This time she was to envision the sands parting to form a steep trench...and if her last attempt was any indication, she shouldn't do it within the city. [color=orchid]"Excuse me for just a second..."[/color] Lifting off the ground, she ascended several hundred feet into the air. Glancing towards a barren patch of desert, Lady Arcana pursed her lips and extended her hand, mumbling softly. [color=orchid]"Trench...trench...trench...[/color] Bursting from her hand in a less concentrated beam - more akin to lightly now - it impacted the desert, which began to shift in accordance with the image in her mind. In just a short time, she'd managed to create a steep trench several hundred feet across. [color=orchid]"...Oh!"[/color] She gasped, glancing down at the people below her. [color=orchid]"Did you see that?! I did it! Holy sauceballs..."[/color] She'd long since lost her facade of maturity, too caught up in her success as she drifted back to the ground with a beaming smile that even her mask couldn't entirely suppress. Grim remained silent through Lady Arcana's explanation, watching the other woman as she listened to this... stranger? No, she recognized him. It was hard not to, after all, considering who he was. Underneath her mask her eyebrow perked but she didn't comment, just making a thoughtful hum that vibrated throughout her mask. When Arcana lifted up the Jet rose up a few dozen feet to watch, Grim making sure her goggles recorded the spectacle. For insurance purposes, if needed. ... Huh, less destructive than she anticipated. Once again the jet lowered as Lady Arcana descended, and in a show of support and aerial manoeuvrability the nose of the black aircraft nudged against Lady Arcana's arm. It's not like it could hurt her. [color=IndianRed]"Good job."[/color] Observing as he was, it was hard not to notice the presence of the jet and the familiarity of the iconography it bore. His mind looked towards the recent vigilantism across the nation and matched notable records before one in particular stood out. Yes, this one must be Gotham's hero... What was his name? Dogman? Yes, that was it. How peculiar the two heroes seemed to be travelling together, or at least appearing so. "Yes, that's a fair bit closer. Still expending a fair bit more magic than you probably should be, but that's something incredibly minor that can be worked on when innocents are not in danger." Ideally he figured that the source of magic would not only have no need of command words, sign weaving, arcane rituals or any of the hassle that he had to go through, but would be able to manage such a simple spell without visible lines. Still, he assumed this was more magical teaching than she had received since acquiring the rock. "Creating a trench in such a way as I specified should keep the eastern front tied up for a bit, at least until they get bridge-laying vehicles out." Feeling more confident now that she had managed to perform at least [i]one[/i] spell correctly, she offered Mr. Luneburg a confident nod. [color=orchid]"Don't worry! I'll route them [i]way[/i] before they can build anything!"[/color] Now that she kinda-sorta got how this magic thing worked, she had a few ideas on how she could make things a bit easier. [color=orchid]"These trenches can totally be used to trap soldiers if I open them up at their feet!"[/color] [color=IndianRed]"Ah, that's what this is about? Clever. Be careful the vehicles don't fall on any soldiers, and don't open so many that the trenches just fail and bury them alive ... and just to be careful don't aim directly at them."[/color] Grim's eyes cut over to the building, still smouldering along the edge it had been dissected. Lady Arcana offers a cheerful salute to Grim's instructions, her eyes shining brightly for all to see. [color=orchid]"Sir yes sir!"[/color] [hr] [b]July 8th, 5:02 PM Twenty miles North-East of Hofuf[/b] The cities of Jubail and Damman had fallen quickly to the advancing Eastern Army, according to Mr. Luneburg. The next in their path would be Hofuf, a city of over 1,500,000 people. If the army seized it, then they would only be a short distance away from Riyadh, the capital of the Republic of Arabia. If it fell, the government would absolutely follow immediately after. The army approaching it was possibly even larger than Center had been, numbering somewhere close to two hundred thousand. Trying to fight them in such a massive city would be a huge mistake that almost certainly would lead to a lot of destroyed property and loss of life. It was therefore important to stop them well before it managed to reach that point. She had some space to work with still, though they were already took close for comfort. Hovering a couple thousand feet above the desert, Lady Arcana stared at her open palms. She had to create a trench that would force the army to halt its advance, and then engage and break their morale. Remembering Grim's advice, she extended her hands and allowed her eyes to focus a fair distance in front of the advancing army. Feeling the magic coursing through her as it always had ever since she gained these powers, she focused on trying to channel [i]just enough[/i] to accomplish what she intended to do. From her hands emerged a flash of what would appear to most as lightning, striking the desert beneath her in an instant. Initially combining into one current as they impacted their target, Arcana began to draw her hands apart as the desert opened. Her eyes darting to the coast, she drew a literal line in the sand until it met with the sea, the great trench being far too steep and wide for even the likes of a tank to cross. The opposite hand continued to likewise part the desert for several more miles, until she felt confident that going around it would be virtually impossible without massively delaying their advance. Now, even if they [i]did[/i] still try, it would just offer her a nice choke point to attack them at! Army Group East, for their part, had halted their advance when a continuous bolt of lightning caused an entire section of the desert to seemingly collapsed in front of them. Now - while they were undoubtedly confused - would be the best time to attack!  Spreading her arms apart, she grinned beneath her mask and dived down at the halted mass of armor and soldiers. Most of the infantry were still inside their APCs, making them an easy first target as she tackled one, sending it rolling across the desert, eventually landing on its back. The people inside would be shaken up, but shouldn't be hurt too badly. Before anyone could even react, she had done the same to a second and third. This was going to be pretty fun! After working over a few dozen APCs, she'd quickly switched to the IFVs and tanks. She'd already gained some experience in how to take these out, so disabling them was much more simple, even though every bit of fire was now focused on herself. The thunderous cacophony of bullets and screaming as infantry managed to stumble out of their upturned vehicles made it difficult to hear anything from her headpiece, unfortunately. Still, she had her mission, and the others had theirs. She had to trust them. Besides, Grim was with them, she wouldn't let anybody do anything stupid. Aiming her hand at the ground again, a bolt of lightning heralded the opening of the desert beneath a company of tanks, and to her great delight they went tumbling down into the pit she had just created. They wouldn't be a threat down there. [color=orchid]"This spell I learned is gonna be pretty useful in routing these guys!"[/color] Lady Arcana chirped, several hundred rounds of autocannon fire bouncing off her flashing visage. [hr] July 8th, 4:58 PM Western Front of Tabuk Emerald Knight had given himself his own little role for this battle. Because of his size and manoeuvrability, he was going to make sure that nobody could sneak through and breach the front.  Of course he would fight. He would fight and take out as much as he could.  But by the time he had arrived at Tabuk, the fight had already been brought to the city he was supposed to be protected. He cursed to himself. He needed to be faster next time, maybe better.  He flew into the city as fast as his ring would take him while he was planetside. He needed to protect the people, incapacitate the enemy, and make sure that collateral was down to a minimum. It looked like the fight would generally be on foot. A shame, he liked flying around. He descended down unto the city and immediately began using his ring to clear the streets of rubble. He didn't need rocks and fallen walls for cover, he could just make it himself. On the other hand, that would provide much less natural cover for the civilians around.  Even with human weaponry, he needed to be careful to not let the small barrier around him to break. If that was gone, then all that was needed was one well placed shot to put an end to the Emerald Knight.  He couldn't spend his whole day clearing away rubble. He needed to prioritize things. Civilians first, enemies nearly as important, then the buildings. Yeah, that's how he was gonna do it. Tabuk - being the first major city on the western border between the Arab Federation and the Republic of Arabia - had fallen quickly to the advance of Army Group West. By the time Emerald Knight had arrived, it was completely overran with Federation soldiers, with nothing but corpses remaining of any Republic soldiers who hadn't surrendered or fled. Sporadic resistance continued from civilians who had taken up arms against the invaders, but nothing substantial. Until his slower allies were able to catch up to him, he would need to fight this battle more or less alone. While it was unlikely that these conventional forces possessed anything that could pierce his autoshields, the 500,000 civilians that remained here were far less invulnerable and as the light that burned around him caught the eye of the enemy, gunfire soon erupted in his direction. From the streets soldiers turned their AK-74s on him, as several IFVs arrived behind them to likewise turn their 25mm autocannons against the galactic peacekeeper. Bouncing off his autoshields, the bullets began to ricochet into the surrounding homes and other structures where countless men, women and children attempted to desperately hide from the carnage outside. And more enemy forces were surely converging on his location with each passing second. Oh these gun toting warriors, Emerald Knight sighed into a smile. Didn't they know that guns were the most boring way to injure someone? As soon as they came into view, Emerald Knight got to work, and quickly rushed the soldiers.  "When Emerald Knight wields his mighty shield!" He sang to himself, summoning what he was singing about and throwing his whole body into a plethora of soldiers. He wasn't a large or burly man, but he used not only his shield, but his power of flight to fling himself much faster and harder than would be expected of a man who was shorter than most.  As soon as he rammed into them, he flew up and away from them, threw the shield that he had created and forced it to fly around and at multiple targets. What a fun and amusing way to take out soldiers against freedom. With a shield. He set himself on the ground again  and set up cover for himself. He created a brick wall just a tad larger than his body to absorb some of the gun shots, but the wall quickly faded away and melted into a set of armor, surrounding Emrald Knight as he blasted off again and punched the guns of several of the soldiers. He was having a little too much fun being a superhero in a war zone. The guns easily shattered beneath his ring-augmented punches, the soldiers stumbling back in shock at this strange man. Despite his small stature, he seemed impossibly strong, smashing their metal guns as if they were made of crackers. Their faces clearly showed their fear as they turned to flee, the IFVs backing away from him as they continued to futilely blast at his armor of light. The easily identifiable thump of helicopter blades heralded the approach of several military choppers, their systems quickly achieving a lock-on due to the stupendous amount of energy being emitted by his ring. From four choppers came four K-13 missiles which, while they lacked the power to injure him, would create quite a substantial fireball that would undoubtedly light the surrounding structures ablaze when they struck. Against this backdrop came dozens of additional soldiers and several IFVs, with the rumble of a pair of distant tanks now just audible. Emerald Knight couldn't stop the missile headed his way. He could barely process two thoughts, much less a full plan to get him out of this. A single idea sprang to mind, and he acted upon it. He didn't have to register it as good or bad, or how it would even effect him, but he really hoped that his barrier would protect him.  As soon as the missiles were close enough, Emerald Knight created a large dome around himself, locking the missiles and himself in a thick bubble. The explosion would be contained to the bubble, and if he somehow weren't strong enough to keep it all in, there should barely be any collateral if his bubble were to break.  The missiles hit directly. He made no effort to move. Once they exploded, the green bubble surrounding him grew orange. Flames were all that could be seen when looking from the outside, and once the explosion itself was over with, the bubble shook slightly, and was quickly lowered. In the center of the new crater was Emerald Knight, his barrier gone for the time being. He rested on one knee, and breathed hard. His perfect coiffed hair was just barely singed, his skin was dark and dusty, and a small stream of blood trickled from above his hairline. He looked around the the soldiers watching him. He said nothing, but floated just above the air for a brief moment before falling down on a newly created pair of oversized ice skates. They looked more like skis that anything considering their length, but it wasn't hard to miss the large blades resting under his feet.  He flew himself quickly out of the crater, aimed at the IFVs surrounding him. He wanted to take out the big vehicles first before he got back to the little guns. The IFVs, for their part, as they grew in number stopped retreating. Trying to focus fire on him, the streets had quickly become congested. Unable to manoeuver even if they wanted to - a mark of poor training to end up in such a situation - all they could do was continue to empty everything they had into the quick and nimble target, despite the ineffectiveness of their weaponry. Soon they were were being easily sliced to pieces by the "skates" on Emerald Knight's feet, the soldiers inside screaming and filing out of their ruined vehicles before they could potentially explode. Smoke rose from the wasted IFVs, offering a clear signal for all where the battle was taking place. The tanks had started to arrive behind them, but due to the blockage created by the now ruined IFVs could not actively engage the target. In between the chaotic traffic jam of military vehicles, the soldiers continued to do what little they could while staying far away from the smoking wreckage. Above Emerald Knight, however, the quartet of helicopters continued to try and bring an end to him by firing another round of K-13s. Given his close proximity to IFVs and G.I.'s, they would surely be caught in any blast...but friendly fire didn't seem to be much of a concern for the pilots inside those choppers. At this point, every Federation soldier within the city was converging on Emerald Knight, but it had quickly become apparent that only so many could fit in one street at a time. With him having just a little more time to deal with the K-13s this time around, Emerald Knight was able to bubble up the missiles in the air before the got to him, but holding the constructs together as they all exploded was rather tough.  With a majority of the IFVs sliced up and unusable, the helicopters became his new target. His method for handling them was to take their K-13s first, chucked them into the air, and compressed them so they exploded. After he was done with that, he threw his fancy cutting shoes at the helicopter blades and forced them to land in a large cradle that he had crafted.  The bad thing about his plan was that he needed much more focus to individually handle each helicopter. He needed to take apart the missiles, rip up the blades keeping it in the air, safely lower it so nobody was hurt, rinse and repeat four times. it was much more time consuming than he had anticipated, but he was glad that he could spare some lives.  "I'm asking you only once to surrender yourself. I'm offering your mercy. NATO probably won't be as kind." He used his ring to translate his words aloud to the soldiers around him, hoping to persuade some of them to back down while he was the only one there at the moment.  His hand reached up to touch his earpiece. "I could really use some help. Anyone out there that just wants to fly in to jail these guys?" At his offer of amnesty, many of the soldiers indeed began to discard their weapons. It became quickly apparent that the vast majority were not enthusiastic about their job and were more than happy to abandon their "duties" when given sufficient motivation. Unfortunately, some appeared to not yet be completely demoralized yet. Aiming their main guns at the congregation of vehicles, they sent the heavy shells into a pair of IFVs, the resulting explosions serving only to trigger more on the tightly packed street as infantry - most of whom had thrown down their arms by this point - fled in terror at the oncoming fireball. Even with some of them choosing to continue the onslaught, Emerald Knight continued to fight to save as many as he could, including those who had opened fire once more. He created a long wall, and forcibly pushed all of the remaining soldiers down to the ground with the large construct. He hoped they wouldn't take advantage of his mercy. Those that left would be free to choose their fate, but those that stayed would be forced to carry out whatever punishment NATO had in store for them. That was all Emerald Knight could do without outright forcing his intergalactic authority over a planet. That wasn't what the green lanterns stood for.  He could feel the heat of the explosion wash over him. It was fortunate that it was just a vehicle exploding, erupting into a fireball, and not anything larger or more concussive.  He needed to find any remaining civilians. He handled all the soldiers that were focused on him. Surely there were more out there, and some people still left in the city. Girard came down from a few smaller leaps on the outskirts on the city noticing the smoke clouds further in prompting him to start jumping rooftops to close the distance using low energy jumps to keep the structures intact. He arrived shortly after looking over the edge of a taller building noting the work Emerald Knight had already put in disabling the area's troops. he did fairly well all things considered but this was just a small section, they had a whole city to worry about in the end. He could see some vehicles exploding which was being handled for the moment but it looked managed for now. The big man continued to use his height advantage to try to find any other desperate looking areas where he could intervene. Emerald Knight could hear the bounding Girard making his way over. At least someone was on his side right now while they took care of an entire city.  Rather than flying off to the next location, Emerald Knight instead chose to take a moment to breathe. He wasn't hurt all that much, but being exploded and taking out what could be considered a small militia without killing anyone was tough work. He needed a breather.  After a minute or two, Emerald Knight rose back to his feet and flew back up into the air. He wanted to take care of dense areas, the ones more heavily populated with enemy forces. Once those parts were taken care of, sweeping through to take care of the rest would be easy. Tank noticed among the cluttered and cramped street there were several still active tanks, he could see the rotating turrets trying to get a shot at either Emerald Knight or maybe some deserters to make a point. He dropped down from his building to the ground right next to the first bit of armor which he climbed up onto so he could slam a fist down onto the main gun of it to snap it like a twig retrieving the barrel afterwards. The big man made sure to put a nice dent where the tracks used to be so the vehicle would be utterly useless and intended to do the same down the line. The few gun barrels that were somewhat intact were used to plug up remaining ones after being crushed down to size so they could fully block any and all attempted shots from ever going off. The crews he dealt with by waving them off to get them out of there or shouting loudly to scare them off from the area. One of the soldiers actually took a shot at him with his pistol where the bullet fell flat as a coin to the ground with no effect. [color=A9A9A9]"Really?"[/color] He said looking about as exasperated as he sounded for what parts of his face showed. [color=A9A9A9]"Get out of here now, You'll get tired of this shit long before I do."[/color] The message probably got across even if they didn't know a word of what he said as the soldier joined the rest running off in the face of a really bad time. Girard called in using his earpiece having done some more thorough clearing of the area in short order when the rest of the forces realized guns were not working and he seemed to be in no rush to chase them down. "Should be good around here Knight, believe that was the last of them for the moment. No more tanks in working order either besides me to boot." He said with a bit of light hearted joking trying to keep the old morale up on their side too. --- The plan was set and the forces moving. The forward attack was obvious, while Lady Arcana took care of the Eastern Army the other three remaining heroes dealt with the West - possibly four depending on if Jimmy Chong decided to join them. Seemed a bit overkill honestly, though Grim changed her opinion upon reaching Tabuk. Even though Emerald Knight had arrived first, having taken off as soon as given a direction, it was obvious they were too late to stop the city from being invaded. Enemy forces crawled over the area like parasites, turning it into an urban battlefield. Blood stained the streets from civilians and soldiers alike, cut down defending their home against invaders. In the moment it was hard to remember that the enemy soldiers were likely conscripted against their will, given an impossible choice of their own. It would've been so much easier to just see them as monsters. Right, first thing's first though. Conscripted or not, the soldiers had to be pushed back from the civilians. Hovering above the city the lenses in Grim's goggles swapped to zooming in, picking out the forward march of the aggressors. Emerald Knight had one section to himself, so finding a pocket of fighting down a city street the Grim Jet descended. Some of the citizens of Tabuk had taken up arms against the invaders, no doubt knowing they were no match for them but providing distraction for others to continue evacuating. One of these groups was pinned down in the streets, using debris and abandoned wooden stalls as cover. The enemy's AK-74's were making quick work of that cover, ripping through the weak wood and chunks of buildings. Of course, what those bullets couldn't get through was the reinforced plating of the Grim Jet. Hovering in the streets the bullets ricocheted off the low-flying jet, providing barrier to the civilians behind it. The autocannons underneath the Grim Jet had been pulled up during the flight to Tabuk, but now they once more opened up. As soon as they started spinning at least one soldier turned and fled, but those that didn't, or were too slow, were soon lit up. Rubber bullets impacted against flesh, the high speeds adding some extra force to them. Even non-lethal those soldiers were put down, some of their weapons scattering. With the Grim Jet's advanced mobility it wasn't hard to chase down those who fled either. It was a game of keep up to dart across the forward front, ducking down into streets to forcefully push back the invaders with a hail of rubber bullets and intimidation. Grim stayed away from where she could see Emerald Knight, pausing only when his words came over the comm. Of course, before she could even turn to him Tank was on scene to help so she resumed her corralling of the forward line.  --- [b]July 8th, 5:12 PM Twenty miles North-East of Hofuf[/b] [color=orchid]"Yeah!"[/color] Lady Arcana cheered, watching several IFVs tumble down a newly made trench. Their soldiers scrambling out of their vehicles to futilely try to scale the steep and sandy walls was pretty damn funny. She was making some good progress dismantling the army this way, and it had only been about ten minutes! Wasn't "trench warfare" awesome? Flying down into a pile of soldiers and intentionally crashing with enough force to throw up a small plume of sand, she deliberately caused her eyes to glow with raw arcane power as she glared at them. [color=orchid]"WHO DARETH DEFY THE WIZARD...ETH? WIZARDETH!"[/color] Another crackle of the earpiece, still connected to the others who had just heard the... outburst, as Grim responded in typical Grim fashion. [color=IndianRed]"Wizardeth?"[/color] [color=orchid]"...What? I failed classical literature for a reason!"[/color] Lady Arcana replied, her cheeks puffing slightly. [color=IndianRed]"As long as you're having fun."[/color] And she admittedly was. The soldiers - despite her admittedly screwing up her "intimidation roll" - seemed to be pretty shaken by her reverberating voice and the lightning that streamed from her eyes. Most simply threw down their rifles at this point and surrendered, having learned that their weapons were useless against her. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning arced over Lady Arcana's head, streaking across the trench and impacting a tank several hundred feet away which had its canon pointed at the superhero and the surrendering infantry. Aquaman lowered his trident and stepped closer, noting that the tank seemed to be inoperable, for now. [color=LightSeaGreen]"That one had taken notice... Wizardeth."[/color] He said with a slight smile. [color=LightSeaGreen]"I am King Orin, ruler of Atlantis and holder of several other titles that we don't have time for right now. Where do you need me?"[/color] Lady Arcana blinked when a thunderbolt flashed through the air, impacting a tank that was about ready to try and blast her despite the presence of more than a hundred surrendering soldiers around her. Upon impact, the electricity surged through the armored vehicle as the main gun drooped slightly. Apparently, it had been disabled! Staring down at her hands for a brief moment, she wondered if she'd somehow done that subconsciously since lightning had always basically been her thing, but a powerful and masculine voice quickly drew her attention. [color=orchid]"Eh? Wha?"[/color] Lady Arcana blinked in utter confusion at the impressively built man before her, cheeks going a bit red from his refined and handsome features. [color=orchid]"Um, I'm....Lady Arcana and...um...hi. I...need you..."[/color] [color=IndianRed]"[i]What?![/i] Lady Arcana!"[/color] Immediately blushing harder when she realized how her trailing off made her sound, she quickly shook her head. Grim had quite clearly heard her, and there were still soldiers shooting at her, for God's - Gods'? - sake! [color=orchid]"N-need you to uh, keep on disabling those tanks like that! Yeah, that was really cool!"[/color] Phew. Okay, nice save. Don't be a total dork in front of the hunkahunka Fishman. Wait, did he say Atlantis? Orin nodded and twirled the trident over his head for a moment before swinging it behind his back and crouching down. Leaping off with his powerful legs he cleared the trench with ease and landed among the enemy combatants. The all-too familiar thrill of battle returned to him as adrenaline surged through his body. 'Lady Arcana' eh? She didn't seem like the best conversationalist, but to be fair he had essentially ambushed her and called down lightning, as well as dropping the lost-continent bomb. He would help here, taking out these war machines, and then hopefully they could clear the air. Aquaman raised his trident in the air and channeled magical energy through it, calling down several bolts of lightning to distract the army and deafen any nearby solders. He then turned and began redirecting the bolts, shorting out three nearby tanks with a few well-aimed strikes. There were many more to go though, and the battlefield was large. He didn't have the mobility he was used to underwater, so this particular battle would be an interesting challenge for him. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Lady Arcana!"[/color] He called out, his powerful voice booming through the battlefield. [color=LightSeaGreen]"I hope you have a plan to deal with the rest of this army, there's kind of a lot of them!"[/color] [color=orchid]"Oh! Um...I was just making them fall down into those trenches I keep making!"[/color] She explained, scratching the side of her face. It had been working pretty well so far, at least. It just required a bit of caution so that she didn't send infantry and vehicles down together, lest the former be crushed by the latter. [color=orchid]"And, y'know, beating up the mixed groups the slower way."[/color] Honestly, even though she was confident she could've routed them on her own in time, it was really nice to have a helping hand. It didn't hurt that he was some kind of Adonis-like turbohunk, either. Shaking her head of those goofy thoughts, she narrowed her eye on the next group, deciding to demonstrate her one and only offensive spell for him by firing a bolt of what appeared to be lightning down at the feet of the infantry. Near-instantaneously the sands once more parted, sending them all rolling down below. The truth was, of course, that some had likely died in this battle. With all the bullets ricocheting off her in every direction, it seemed impossible that nobody had been hit. Hell, even when she created trenches beneath the infantry their guns would sometimes go off when they accidentally squeezed the triggers as they fell. She...felt a sharp, thick knot of guilt in her chest whenever she saw a corpse among the many unconscious or surrendering soldiers, but...she couldn't let that stop her now. Despite sometimes letting the excitement of trying out her magic go to her head, she [i]was[/i] still doing her level best to take this seriously. There wasn't really any better way she could think of to do it. There were so many of them and only one of her, after all. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Trenches are an interesting idea, though if I recall, the last time you surface dwellers used them was near a hundred years ago."[/color] Aquaman said, twirling his trident around and smacking a trio of advancing solders onto their asses. [color=LightSeaGreen]"However, I have a feeling they'll only work so long as the army stays together as opposed to splitting up, or the officers decide their footsoldiers lives are so unimportant that they'd be put to better use filling the trenches so the tanks can go through them!"[/color] He called out, leaping high into the air and raining a few more lightning bolts down on the tanks closest to the front lines. It would be slow going to stem the tide of battle here, but it was doable. Even if the trench idea was their only battle plan, Orin felt confident that he and Arcana could deal with this army given enough time. But the more time it took, the more people would die. Already he was seeing the same corpses Lady Arcana saw, and it didn't take an eagle eye to see that she was holding back from killing as many as she could save, a tactic Orin felt obligated to follow as well, at least for now. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Lady Arcana."[/color] He called again, his voice a bit more somber. [color=LightSeaGreen]"I gather you're trying to save as many lives here as you can, which is a goal I admire and have the deepest respect for. But the longer this battle goes on, the more people will die on both sides. I'm sure you know the fighting is not just here, there are other places we can help as well. We'll need to end this soon, we need a plan."[/color] Lady Arcana scratched the side of her face at his mention of humanity's previous use of Trench Warfare. Truthfully, she didn't know much about history, but she was aware that it was a big thing in one of the World Wars. The first, if it was a hundred or so years ago, she'd assume. Still, she doubted it was anything like what she was doing now, given that even she knew there were no wizards in either of the global conflicts. If there had been, she might've bothered reading about them!  [color=orchid]"Wait, [i]what?[/i]"[/color] She stared at the armored blond with a blank expression adorning her features. [color=orchid]"I...I don't think they would follow an order to do that..."[/color] Orin raised an eyebrow at the response he got from Lady Arcana, he didn't then he'd been [i]that[/i] cryptic... [color=LightSeaGreen]"Very few solders would."[/color] He confirmed, scanning the battlefield for well defended points which might suggest high-priority targets. [color=LightSeaGreen]"However, piles of corpses are not known for their ability to argue orders. As I said, we need something to end this before it reaches a point such as that."[/color] Arcana nodded in response to this. Hopefully her efforts thus far had demoralized them to the point where orders to execute their fellow soldiers would be disobeyed, but that really wasn't something she wanted to leave to chance. But how could she possibly end this battle more quickly without killing? Was there someone in particular she could- [color=orchid]"Ah!"[/color] Lady Arcana lightly smacked her head, feeling like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. [color=orchid]"Right, soldiers follow [i]orders![/i] But there has to be someone giving those orders, right? So why don't we go after them instead?"[/color] Yeah, if they took the guys in charge of this force down then the whole rest of the army would collapse, given how demoralized they probably already were! Aquaman nodded, allowing himself a small smile as the thought came to his new magical friend. This was her world after all, and she only needed a more complete look at the battlefield to let tactics take hold. Orin leaped into the air again and pointed out a few heavily fortified spots among the horde of solders. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Good plan, Arcana! I suspect our targets are hiding among those spots, surrounding themselves with tanks and heavier arms. If not the commanders themselves, then those they are communicating orders through, which serves our purposes just as well! There's only a handful of them, if we can cut them off then perhaps the entire regiment will fall!"[/color] Touching back down to earth, Aquaman sprinted forward, hurling waves and jets of water from his magically empowered staff to knock solders out of the way. Tearing through this foul army, King Orin soon found himself at his first target, a trio of tanks with one carrying a large antenna. Likely being used for communication and coordination. The tanks all trained their cannons on him and opened fire at once, having seen the damage someone like him could cause left unattended. Fortunately, they hadn't seen the extend of his abilities. Twisting around and using a jet of water from his staff to propel himself faster, Aquaman arced around the first shot before swinging his trident around at superhuman speeds, deflecting the second shot off of the arcane staff. The third shot cut wide, its operator apparently relying too heavily on his companions to shoot for him. There was something to be said for dumb luck. Sprinting forwards again, Aquaman let out a battle cry as he ducked between the pair of tanks flanking the target and drove his trident into the armored hull of the communications tank. A moment later a lightning bolt was called from the brewing storm overheads, sending thousands of volts into the sensitive equipment of the tank and frying the operations inside. As well as... Possibly the operators, now that he considered it. Lady Arcana quickly nodded in agreement, focusing her eagle-like gaze down at the various fortified positions. There was really no good reason to fortify these unless it was to protect something - or someone - important, so King Orin was likely correct. Pursing her lips, the sound barrier soon released a sharp crack as she shot off towards the nearest cluster of vehicles. Upon drawing closer, she almost immediately recognized one as being rather similar to the IFV that was being driven by Mr. Luneburg. Namely the little antenna sticking out. It didn't appear to have much in the way of weaponry compared to the others, but she knew that this was just an illusion: they held the deadliest weapons in this battle in the form of the army's "mind", it's ability to coordinate and strategize. This was what allowed them to continue fighting. Landing on top of the vehicle, she couldn't help but smile beneath her mask when the vehicles surrounding it proved hesitant to shoot carelessly at her for once. Knifing her hand, she stabbed it through the armor and wrenched it open before slipping inside. Unlike the other tanks and IFVs she'd disabled, she wanted to keep this one intact, if she could...she had an idea. "S-she's inside! Shoot her! Distract her!" A man whose chest was adorned with several glimmering medals screamed in Arabic, turning in an attempt to flee while the other men inside turned their weapons on her. There were five men, aside from the commanding officer himself. Since she wanted the vehicle to remain as intact as possible, it seemed prudent to not let them start shooting up the place. Swiftly moving to nail one in the chin with a swift palm strike, Lady Arcana next issued the man beside him a measured jab to the sternum. Similarly disabling the remaining three in a mere blink of an eye, she seized the officer by the collar as he was about to reach the hatch. [color=orchid]"Tell me how to talk to everyone, or I'll start breaking bones!"[/color] She threatened him in Arabic, her eyes sparking with electricity and her voice reverberating through the command vehicle. Of course, she was bluffing. As if she'd be able to torture someone! Still, it appeared to work as the man quickly nodded, sweat wetting his brow. Soon, units across the field of battle would start receiving a transmission from one of their commanding officers, Lt. General Masoud Al-Almasi. But instead of his voice, it was that of the seemingly invincible foe they had been fighting. [color=orchid]"Um, hello all of you soldiers! This is Lady Arcana, the super amazing and invincible flying Wizardess! I have just beaten up your leader, or...like one of them? So...y'know, you'd better surrender too or I'll come there and kick all your butts!"[/color] Yeah, that sounded professional. Orin would be proud, if a little amused, if he had heard the message come through. Unfortunately, he had just fried the tank relaying commands to this particular unit. As he wrenched free his trident he turned and stared down the other two tanks which were slowly turning their turrets to face him. A quick chanelling of magic  and a fair amount of magical energy sent a pair of high powered jets of water erupting from the sand underneath the tanks, flipping them over and dousing the area. The solders had mostly frozen at this point, obviously demoralized, though some still pointed their weapons at him. Aquaman stared them down with a hard look on his face and turned, pulling himself on top of the electrically-fried hunk of metal behind him. He called out in a booming voice, aiming to catch the attention of any combatants who might still be fighting.  [color=LightSeaGreen]"My name is King Orin."[/color] He bellowed, switching to the Arabic he'd prepared before leaving. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Ruler of Atlantis, rightful regent of Poseidonis, and emperor of the oceans of the earth. I fight along The Wizard, Lady Arcana, the fount of all magic on this planet. Together we have routed your army and will continue to do so. Stand down. Toss aside your weapons and you will be unharmed. Continue to fight... And I will defend myself."[/color] He finished, raising his trident threateningly. The few solders still holding weapons looked to each other, fear obvious in their body language. His words had taken effect. One by one, weapons dropped to the ground, and King Orin looked to the skies for Lady Arcana's return. For her part, Lady Arcana had lifted herself out of the command vehicle, the commanding officer now being held under on arm. Ascending high into the sky, she began to scan the battlefield for King Orin. All around the battle scarred desert she could see men surrendering. Casting their rifles aside, abandoned their vehicles with hands raised, grounding their helicopters... It seemed like the battle was more or less over. As for Orin himself, the trident made it pretty easy to locate him. She could feel magic absolutely [i]pouring[/i] off that thing. Quickly descending beside the apparent "King of Atlantis", she offered him a congratulatory smile...though her mask rendered it invisible. Seriously, though...Atlantis? [color=orchid]"Nice job out there,"[/color] she praised him, eyes briefly flicking over to the soldiers in the area. She could still hear gunshots ringing out in the distance, but they didn't seem to be shooting at either of them. Weird. What else could they be firing at in the open desert? Eying the towering and powerfully built man again, she took a rather deep breath to steady herself so she wouldn't sound like an idiot when she spoke this time. [color=orchid]"...So, Atlantis, huh? I...thought it sank or something?"[/color] Orin smiled a bit as Lady Arcana descended towards him. It looked as though the fighting was dying down, and he could see solders in the distance already simply walking away from the battlefield. Her questions didn't surprise him in the slightest, this was part of the reason he was here. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Yes, my Lady, Atlantis. And you're correct, it did sink, many thousands of years ago. Well technically, it was hit by a meteor and its foundations were sundered and it fell into the sea. Some suggest that it was because of the dome we had built over our capital, Poseidonis; that it angered the gods. I don't subscribe to that personally. Regardless, we have evolved through our circumstances and with some magical help to survive in both the air and in water. There are many of us, and Atlantis is still mostly intact."[/color] [color=LightSeaGreen]"I came here because of you, actually. When the Wizard chose you, the leylines were filled with energy, as I'm sure you know. Atlantis happens to be one of the most concentrated points on the planet in terns of leyline crossings. So the seas were flooded with magical energies in a way they hadn't been for centuries. I've been meaning to come introduce myself and reveal Atlantis to you, but the explosion of magic... Well let me just say giant mutant jellyfish are not as easy to deal with as you might think. But when we received word of this... I knew I had to come help. It is an honor to meet you, by the way."[/color] Lady Arcana, at first attentive, began slowly zoning as he continued to talk for a very, very long time. In her ear she could hear Grim bitching about something, and so that drew some of her attention as well. It was only when he reached the part about "giant mutant jellyfish" that her head snapped back to reality, her jaw going slack as she briefly wondered if she hadn't misheard him. Oh right, Intellect of Mnemosyne. [color=orchid]"What."[/color] So, to summarize the events of the past hour or so...she arrived in the Middle East with a dog-themed jet on her back, helped a Little Green Man defeat the largest army in the Middle East, learned how to make trenches with lightning and then teamed up with an Atlantean King who took a break from fishing jellyfish to meet her. This was her life now. [color=orchid]"...It's an honor to meet you too, err, Your Majesty,"[/color] she bowed her head lightly. Orin chuckled and returned her small bow before slinging his trident over his shoulders. [color=LightSeaGreen]"Orin is fine,though I appreciate the formality. You're no subject of mine, and I hope to be considered an equal to you. However, I believe we may still have work to do today."[/color] He said, straightening his posture and looking around. [color=LightSeaGreen]" My reports said there were others like us, with incredible abilities. I assume they're fighting elsewhere? This appears mainly taken care of, the fight has gone out of these solders and I doubt they'll be willing to pick up arms again. Shall we regroup?"[/color] Nodding eagerly at this, she offers the King her hand, thankful that her mask was hiding the blush that once again worked its way across her cheeks. [color=orchid]"Definitely! I'll take you to them."[/color][/center]