[indent][b][u]January 2nd, 2026. Hub City[/u][/b][/indent] "Stay back! Stay back! This is a crime scene!" the burly police officer shouted into a megaphone at the rowdy crowd. The camera flashes were blinding, everyone wanted to get an image of this brutal crime, though very few saw it as anything more than a simple serial killer beginning his spree. It was a message, a bottle thrown into the sea. The man had been crippled, his knees shattered into pieces, then, as he laid, unable to defend himself or even stand, his back had been torn open, and his lungs pulled out the hole. They sat there now, wings for an eagle. A blood eagle. Wilhelm hoped that Arcana knew her history, the blood eagle was no simple brutal action, it had been done by the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok unto their father's killer, to get revenge and to send a message to the Anglo Saxons that their god, Odin, of the Ravens and of war, was better than their Jesus. Similarly, Wilhelm's own blood eagle was meant to illustrate the superiority of his own beliefs over the American ones, and of course, it was a message to her, the one who had left him in this broken body. He stood on top of a nearby building, his body aching, but his resolve strong. He would meet her one last time. At least once. [indent][b][u]January 2nd, 2026 Rock of Eternity; 2:34 P.M.[/u][/b][/indent] [color=orchid]"Hmm...[/color] Karen cupped her chin, glancing over the semi-tranluscent globe floating before her throne. There were several yellow exclamation points hovering above parts of Europe, China, and North America respectively, but nothing was in the red at the moment--there were no breaches in the veil. The yellow marks showed a region where the veil was growing thinner, but had yet to collapse. They still seemed to be at least a day or two away from collapsing, however, and it was impossible to mend the veil until it had been properly torn. All in all, it looked like it would be a slow day today--unlike yesterday, with Josh. She had been quite surprised to see him knocking down the door of his recuperation chamber yesterday. It was quite rare to receive an alert from [i]inside[/i] the Rock of Eternity, after all. But now, he was safely back with Harris, probably telling him all about her horrible bedside manner. [color=orchid]"Anything [i]else[/i] going on, Historama? How's Hub City doing?"[/color] The globe dissipated and in its place appeared an image of a man laying on his stomach. The unnatural bend of his legs immediately told her they were broken, but far more notable was the fact that his back had been torn open, and his lungs ritualistically pulled out to form a pair of "wings". Something about that seemed vaguely familiar to her--where had she seen it before? [color=orchid]"Guess I should go take a look, since there's nothing more pressing to deal with."[/color] --- [indent][b][u]January 2nd, 2026 Hub City; 2:36 P.M.[/u][/b][/indent] The flash of lightning and accompanying crack of thunder caused the crowd of reporters to only just flinch, for the citizens of Hub City knew that, on a clear and sunny day like this, lightning could only mean one thing--Lady Arcana. Almost immediately spotting the heroine stepping from the residual smoke of her divine thunderbolt, they swarmed towards her, a dozens of questions bombarding the Wizard as she pushed towards the barrier until the cops forced the news crews back. Quickly locating the officer in charge, she offered him a polite nod. [color=orchid]"Hello, officer. It would seem you have quite the grizzly crime on your hands today--have you been able to gather any clues in regards to the perpetrator?"[/color] The officer seemed awestruck. His eyes opened wider than wide and he had a goofy grin on his face. Clearly he hadn't expected to meet Lady frickin' Arcana. The rest of the police force often looked away from wrestling with the reporters to take glances at one of the Justice League's least public figures. It was a similar scene whenever one of the others showed up, but never with such a fervor as Lady Arcana brought. Wilhelm didn't blame them. Just seeing her for the first time in five years, he couldn't help but suppress a smirk. He had expected to be blinded by rage, but something about this situation felt nostalgic in a way. He set a foot on the edge of the building, hoisting himself closer just to get a better look. She hadn't changed a bit, and judging by the thoughts of everyone around her, her sex appeal had not dampened. He found himself chuckling out loud. Oh how much fun they'd had. One of the police officers suddenly appeared ill. So much fun. He shifted, grabbing at his stomach and groaning. He was attended to, but just began to sweat and gasp. He'd never felt so alive than when she'd shattered his body and he'd gotten up for another round. Suddenly the officer exploded into gore, his parts flying every which direction and his blood staining everyone in a ten foot radius. A voice echoed through the air, a scream from the distance. Wilhelm felt his lungs ache as he strained them for one huge roar. [color=gray]"Karen Hernandez!"[/color] That should be enough. Lady Arcana had just started to approach the groaning officer when he had exploded in a shower of gore. Raising the hem of her cloak to protect herself from the spray, she next heard someone scream her name--her real name--from above. Turning her head in his direction, her brows arched in surprise. [color=orchid]"Wilhelm Struber?"[/color] she called back. She lifted off the ground, closing the distance between them. She had to protect the people down there, that was priority number one. Dashing forward in a tackle, she slammed into him--he seemed bulkier than usual--and shot from the scene of the now double-homicide with him in hand. Wilhelm barely had the time to wonder what the hell she was playing at by pronouncing his name like that before he was yanked through the air at a speed far too fast for his old bones. He hacked and coughed away the pain as he felt himself go from a comfortable speed of zero to an exceptionally uncomfortable speed of way too fucking fast. [color=gray]"I forgot just how fast you were. Good, I like it when things stay the same,"[/color] he muttered as he was dragged through the air. He looked down at the ground beneath himself and began pulling apart as many buildings as he could and dragging the pieces behind them. With a sharp breath, he pulled them enough to overtake them in speed, sending a huge amount of pieces of concrete barreling towards them. [color=gray]"I've been waiting a long time to finish what I started."[/color] He followed with an invisible telekinetic strike to the side of her head, not enough to hurt her, god no, but hopefully enough to slow her down at least a little, and distract her from the oncoming debris. It felt like he had tapped her on the head just then. A telekinetic strike, softer than she had remembered it being back in the day. Maybe she was just used to being struck harder now? In any case, that debris was a problem--she couldn't have it falling back down onto the city. Extending her hand towards the oncoming rubble, a blinding flash of light enveloped it; and when it faded all of the debris had been encased in what looked to be a gigantic brown sack embroidered with a golden thunderbolt. Taking the top of it in hand, she looked to Wilhelm. [color=orchid]"It's been more than five years--I thought you were [i]dead[/i], or had at least learned your lesson from last time and retired quietly."[/color] Wilhelm chuckled, though it was clearly fake to anyone with a brain that it was fake, a way to hide what he was feeling. If only he could figure out what the hell he [i]was[/i] feeling. [color=gray]"Five years of suffering, anguish, all of it. Just figuring out how to walk again was a chore. All thanks to you, Hernandez. All thanks to you."[/color] It was his own fault, he knew that deep down, he should have known better, he read her mind and everything. [color=gray]"Do you know how uncomfortable it is to sleep when your spine still carries the pain of getting punched by a god? I have done nothing but dream of this day every night for five years, five years, five years! I can't help but say it over and over again! Because every day was like that day repeated endlessly!"[/color] he screamed with fury enough to forget for a moment the agony he was going through from pushing his lungs so far. [color=gray]"I hope you remember well, and I hope your last thoughts are my name! In fact, I don't need to hope!"[/color] He linked their minds in that instant. Two of hearts. Six of Diamonds. Jack of Spades. Jack of Hearts. Ten of clubs. Get rid of everything but the two Jacks. Draw three. Seven of clubs. Ace of hearts. Seven of diamonds. Two pairs. Next hand. Nine of hearts... ...What was this? Was this... was this a joke? Was some... some deity playing a game with him? Where was he? Why couldn't he... "Hey," a voice said to him. "Call, raise, or fold, we don't have all day buddy." He... he was playing poker? What...what was... "Hurry up, Jesus Christ." [color=gray]"Er... raise,"[/color] he said, not even having looked at his cards. He felt like he was in his body, but that couldn't be, he was flying above Hub City... At least he thought he was. [color=orchid]"Raising huh? I'll see you and raise you eight hundred,"[/color] said Lady Arcana, throwing a number of chips onto the table. Lifting up the corner of her cards only enough for her to peak at him, she fixed him with a steady poker face. The shadowy figures around the table stared at him expectedly. "She raised you eight hundred. What's your move?" Wilhelm growled. She'd tricked him. He had no clue how, but she'd done this. [color=gray]"Karen..."[/color] he spat under his breath. Well, no matter, if he was to play poker, than he would play poker, and he would win. He had no clue what it would do, but he hoped that it would set him free. Finally, he turned up the corner of his cards. A pair of twos. Not the greatest hand. It was something, but he doubted it would win him anything when it counted. He looked at the flop. An eight, a six, and a king. That was worse. Well, a pair could at least work in a pinch, hopefully the turn was kinder. [color=gray]"Call,"[/color] he finally said, as venomless as he could manage. Karen smiled at him, placing her cards face-up on the table. Three sixes and two tens--a full house. With a big, meaty palm, the dealer swept 1,600$ worth of chips over to Karen's side. She folded her hands as he reshuffled the deck. [color=orchid]"You lost that round. I've now started removing that weird armor of yours."[/color] The dealer finished shuffling, and threw five cards apiece to the both of them. Karen gathered hers, calming looking at her hand without betraying any clear emotion. Damn, now it all made sense. He didn't know how she'd done it, but she'd trapped him in her head. Now he was defenseless. He'd lost. He gritted his teeth and hissed, closing his fist in impotent fury. The table shook. Not very much, but a tiny amount. His eyes widened. He could still save this. He just needed to hold on a little longer. He took his cards and slid them over. Hmm, this wasn't bad. A pair of aces, quite nice, and a four, a five, and a six. He had a dilemma now. He could toss the aces and hope for a straight, or he could toss everything else and hope for higher cards. Ah to hell with it, no-one won anything playing it safe. He tossed the aces, flexing his hand and watching as the table rumbled just a little, hopefully that would change. Karen waited for Wilhelm to make his move, before tossing three of her own cards. The dealer then dealt them three and two cards respectively. Taking her new cards in hand, the slightest of frowns tugged down at the corners of Karen's lips. The dealer then quietly waited for one of them to make their next move. She was playing him. No-one who played poker for more than a day would let their tell be so easily seen. He simply waited, giving a firm glare across the table as he lifted up the corners of his own cards. Interesting. [color=gray]"I bet three hundred,"[/color] he said calmly. Just needed time. Don't get angry. Karen glanced at her cards again. She paused for just a moment, before throwing her own chips onto the table. [color=orchid]"I'll see your three hundred, and raise you six hundred."[/color] The dealer turned to Wilhelm, nodding. "Your move." Wilhelm made a noise of some kind that seemed suitably non-plussed. [color=gray]"All-in."[/color] He was always an aggressive player in the past, why change that? No reason he saw. He pushed all that he had into the pot, his eyes remaining affixed on Karen's. Karen smiled back at him, and reached out to sweep all over her chips into the pot as well--she had more than him, as she had already won one of their games. The dealer chuckled, glancing between both of them. "Both all in? Alright," he nodded to Wilhelm. "Let's see them." He'd been lucky today. He flipped his cards, revealing a four to nine straight. He rested his chin upon his tented fingers and fixed his steely gaze on Karen. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as one of the shadowy figures distorted and bent. His influence was growing greater, just a little more time. Karen's shoulders visibly sank. The dealer turned to her. "Show em'." Sighing heavily, she shook her head. [color=orchid]"Damn it...all I've got is this..."[/color] She turned up one of the cards to reveal a measly two of hearts. And then a King of clubs. [color=orchid]"...And this...."[/color] She turned up the third--a two of clubs. [color=orchid]"And this...."[/color] A two diamonds. [color=orchid]"Oh, and [i]this[/i] asshole here..."[/color] The final card was a two of spades. The dealer shoved all of Wilhelm's chips towards Karen as she sat back, shaking her head. [color=orchid]"You knew I was trying to play you when I frowned, right? But you still went for it. Bluffing's important in this game."[/color] The table faded, as did all of the shadows standing around it. Lady Arcana stood from her seat, which similarly vanished. [color=orchid]"I'm now shattering your spine in a way that'll leave you paralyzed from the neck down. For good measure, I'll also tear out your eyes--your powers work by sight, after all."[/color] Sweat formed on Wilhelm's brow, he let out a number of pleading noises, collapsing onto the ground and crawling backwards. [color=gray]"Wait, don't! I have millions! I know the bank numbers of hundreds of pieces of stolen art, gold, please!"[/color] Pleading like this disgusted him, but just a little more time, he could feel the ground morphing around his feet, he could feel his [i]feet[/i] for god's sake, just a little more, a few seconds more. [color=gray]"Just don't blind me, let me die alone, just don't hurt me any more!"[/color] That was enough, he just needed to hope she heeded him at least a little. [color=orchid]"You know how I feel about death--ah, of course."[/color] She shook her head. [color=orchid]"Something like that might drive you to suicide; I'd better remove all of your teeth so that you won't bite out your tongue."[/color] Wilhelm's face shifted instantly, his fearful open mouthed gape transformed into a stern frown. [color=gray]"You should have just killed me."[/color] Karen's mindscape shifted into a collage of the screaming faces of everyone who she had seen Wilhelm harm or kill. Horrific screaming, dripping liquid, an assault on all senses. [color=gray]"Remember their faces? Remember how you let me kill them? How you let me mutilate them? Now. You are going to say that word. You know the one. One word, then you will fall out of the sky. It doesn't matter what you've done to me physically, you will fall, and you will die. "One word, Karen, you've said it so many times before, why not just this once?"[/color] A litany of voices called out to her, screaming for her to say it. Lights flashed and dogs barked, there was a hideous smell unlike anything anyone on Earth had ever smelled before. [color=orchid]"I'm no longer that little girl you knew. I've come to accept that I can't save everyone. Even with all my power, I can't be everywhere, and I can't predict everything--I can only do my best every day. They're dead because of you, Wilhelm, and this fight is [i]over[/i].[/color] Suddenly Arcana vanished, and Wilhelm was left in darkness--but he wasn't in the realm of the mind anymore. He would be able to feel the breeze against his face again, feel Lady Arcana's firm grip around his waist. But he would be able to see nothing. And yet...there was no pain. His body could still move, he could still blink his eyes--but they were sealed behind something that cut off his vision. Lady Arcana chuckled in his ear. [color=orchid]"Man, you were really sweating back there, huh? Like I'd be that cruel."[/color] [i]Guh?... What is...[/i] He'd been beaten, he realized, for real this time. She hadn't crippled him, he never exactly thought she would go that far, it was quite shocking to hear her say that, but he'd been in her head before. Maybe he was just convincing himself that he still had at least some manner of control over the situation. He couldn't quite tell. [color=gray]"Of course,"[/color] he muttered. [color=gray]"You've outdone yourself, Karen Hernandez. But, you do know that this is just another event in my life, right? You crippled me, you broke my ribs to the point where my lungs hardly even work without constant aid from my telekinesis, and yet I came back. I learned to walk, I learned to breathe. No matter how easily you can stop me, I always come back. I always find just one more person to hurt. I'm not apologizing, I'm not begging forgiveness, I am proud of what I have done so far. So, I suppose it's another pothole in my road to success, isn't it?"[/color] he sighed melodramatically. [color=gray]"Where will I be imprisoned this time? It's always fun to have a guessing game."[/color] He was as smarmy as possible. He wanted to seem like the worst person alive. Maybe that would break her stubborn insistence that none of her foes needed to die. [color=orchid]"Somewhere special, this time--my home,"[/color] she said, and for the briefest of moments Wilhelm would feel the hairs on his body stand up as if an electrical current was running through him. He would then be able to see, the seal blocking his vision having been removed. He was in a square room of reasonable size. The walls, ceiling and floor were obsidian black with what appeared to be glowing hieroglyphics etched across their surface. There was a bed, a simple table and chair, and even a bookshelf on the far wall. [color=orchid]"Welcome to the Rock of Eternity, the place where you'll spend the last days of your life,"[/color] said Arcana, her voice echoing all around him, though she was no longer present. [color=orchid]"There is no escape, though you're welcome to try."[/color] This was not what he wanted. Maybe an understatement. This may have been the worst thing that could have happened. He gritted his teeth and let out a number of crackling noises, unable to speak or even be silent. He tried to stand but collapsed onto the ground when his legs refused to stay under him. [color=gray]"You... you..."[/color] He smiled and chuckled, pulling himself to a seat. [color=gray]"You always have an answer."[/color] He moved from a chuckle to a laugh. [color=gray]"You're fascinating, really, you're like nothing else. You're so, so, fascinating."[/color] [color=orchid]"Glad you think so, Willy, cause I'll be your only company from here on out,"[/color] she mused. [color=orchid]"After all, you're now hundreds of millions of light years away from home. Even if your Third Reich had lasted a thousand years, it would've been long gone before you ever made it back."[/color] He smiled with wide, unfocused eyes. [color=gray]"Oh... that, yes, of course."[/color] He stared off into space, literal space, lightly chuckling. [color=gray]"Alle meine Entchen schwimmen auf dem See..."[/color] he sang softly. [color=gray]"...Schwimmen auf dem See..."[/color] he continued, even softer than before, sometimes inserting a small chuckle as he did.