[color=gainsboro]The man that looked back looked foreign now. Drowning in the baggy costume of yesteryear, unable to fill out where muscle once stood in its stead. Like loose skin in bold primary colours; as wrinkled as the face that now looked back from the mirror every morning. The gold eagle emblem appeared to be beheaded, as the once skintight material saw the head disappear into a new fold, made by the creation of the ill-fit. Alan sighed.[/color] [color=goldenrod]"But duty."[/color] [color=gainsboro]He drew the Golden Rod forth and put in the effort to emblazen it. Slowly it glimmered.[/color] [color=goldenrod]"Come on... I need you now!"[/color] [color=gainsboro]Brighter and brighter. The effort was great, but it began to illuminate the room more and more.[/color] [color=goldenrod]"Yes! Come on! If ever you're going to shine on for me again, I need it now!"[/color] [color=gainsboro]The man started to wheeze, as if just the exertion was aging him further.[/color] [color=goldenrod][b]"What good's being bought an extra few decades if I can't use them now! Brighter! Brighter, damn you!"[/b][/color] [color=gainsboro]The light held a bright, almost blinding glow for a few seconds and the original Aquilifer looked away from the light.[/color] [color=goldenrod][b]"Yes... It's still in me. Just like riding a bike..."[/b][/color] [color=gainsboro]He told himself, deliberately looking past the effort it took him to get the Golden Rod to do so. Alan took one last glance at Dennis as he was laid out on the couch, before walking out the door. He looked both ways down the street and then up at the imposing alien ship that hung over the city like the Sword of Damocles. With a stern duty-filled face and a grunt he aimed the Golden Rod and took to the sky once more. The cold was more biting than he ever remembered. Maybe he should have worn a jacket..?[/color] [center][img] https://i.imgur.com/2cVYNXa.png [/img][/center] [color=gainsboro]In the streets below, a black clad Vigilante ran frantically, throwing the occasional gravity-gauntlet weighted punch to jerk his frame out of danger, or just ever onwards towards his target. With a relentlessness that looked awkward and uncontrolled. As he took a corner around a city block, the alien ship was revealed, ever looming over the city like a dark spectre. From within the darkness of his black balaklava, a flash of white stood in stark contrast. He grinned a dark leer at the thought of the task ahead of him. It called for unrestrained violent fury. And Flux was nowhere around to make him hold those emotions in check. With an uppercut he soared towards a mid-rise building's roof, never breaking his stride. With teeth gritted and a steel gaze, he barreled ever onwards towards the ship.[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pzWrnNW.png?1[/img][/center] [color=gainsboro]The Purifier. At this stage, the Purifier. Admiral Keelan felt dour. He had deployed the Purifier as ordered, but was not happy about it. There was still much he would have liked to have done - much he would have liked to accomplish before this stage. Afterall, somewhere out there, in hiding presumably, lay the Rod-Wielder. And that fact, above all things burned a fire within the Admiral. These barely evolved apes had forced their hand, drawn out more aggression, and would bring about damage to the prize. The Arlaaekan prize, their home world. And his prize, the rod-wielder. That defiance, the acknowledgement of even that marginal level of success, tasted bitter in a way Keelan could scarcely stand.[/color] [color=mediumaquamarine]<"Any news from the front, Admiral? And wha--">[/color] [color=gainsboro]Commodore Bialya jumped straight to his regular informal greeting, only for the Admiral to turn to face him, twist the globe at his side and project the image of a colossal spire that had been set down in the heart of Lost Haven right in front of the Commodore.[/color] [color=mediumaquamarine]<"Whoa... Already..?">[/color] [color=gainsboro]With another twist the projection disappeared, and Keelan returned to dispatching units around the European and Asian fronts. He didn't audibly respond to Bialya, his glower said more than enough. He swept across the globe, tightening the screws on certain regions, diverting pressure to locations of resistance. And then with a cursory glance... He had checked the monitor on their initial probe. The rod. It was in motion. And it wasn't the new rod-wielder. A wry smile crossed the Admiral's face as a rare opportunity crossed his path. He tracked the trajectory of the initial rod-wieldere and found he was headed for the [i]Destroyer Class Doomspear[/i]. His smile widened further. The tale of Bromire and the Doomspear was as old as time in Arlaaekan mythology. The Doomspear was an artefact said to make it's wielder indomitable in nature; undefeatable. Bromire swept through two thirds of their homeworld, uniting the Arlaaekan's forever under one mighty banner - the banner of Bromire the Invincible. Omens were in his favour.[/color] [color=mediumaquamarine]<"What? What is it?">[/color] [color=gainsboro]The Commodore inquired, noticing the heavy change in his mood. Once more the Keelan projected an image in front of Bialya's face. An aged figure of blue, red and yellow moving at a gentle cruising speed towards the Destroyer [i]Doomspear[/i].[/color] [color=lawngreen]<"I believe it is time that the [i]DC Doomspear[/i] underwent a routine spot inspection...">[/color] [Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/kGkPwSC.png[/img][/center] [color=gainsboro]The Vigilante launched himself with another uppercut aimed at landing him atop a sizble high-rise building deeper in the city centre - the ship loomed large now. It was difficult to get a sense of scope until you really got close enough to take in all of it. Should only be another one or two buildings and he should be in position to make a punch for the Doomspear itself... The Aquilifer paced his approach with the wisdom of a superhero of multiple decades, and the experience of witnessing countless wars by this ultimate adversary. Patience was the tool of the experienced and he had no intention of leaving any advantage he held out of the equation. He couldn't afford to. Still the question of how he would penetrate the ship's shields remained unanswered. Anything launched at the Doomspear would at best bounce off of it like a pebble skimming the surface of water... at worst, a better analogy might be a bug on a windshield... The Vigilante threw another punch and launched himself at the Chambers building. The only building with the altitude to give him a single punch's shot at reaching the alien Destroyer. His brow dropped into a determined scowl, and he dropped and rolled on the roof of the Chambers building. He burst back onto his feet and with two strides he swung as hard as he could at the monstrous invader... Maybe the Golden rod itself could penetrate shields, he considered. It was, after all their own technology. He hadn't really had enough access to their energy shields - beyond those formed by the rod itself - to know whether the rod itself exploited vulnerabilities. He had witnessed rod wielders doing amazing things and being the most effective soldiers against Arlaaekan weaponry in numerous worlds' wars... not as often as you'd think, because kings and despots often hide behind their castle walls. But perhaps... If he were lucky... The Vigilante soared behind his heavy fist, the wind rippled at his black clothing as he gritted his teeth and anticipated punching through the ship's walls. Oblivious of course to any shields and their potential effect on a drifting attack from a mere human's blunt force...[/color] [color=goldenrod][b]"Well... Here goes!"[/b][/color] [color=gainsboro]The original Aquilifer charged up an energy blast towards the colossal ship.[/color] [color=lawngreen][/color] [color=goldenrod]"[sub][sup]Wowsers...[/sup][/sub]"[/color] [color=gainsboro]Alan let slip, some things still able to surprise the old man as he found himself looking on at a blasted hole in the Doomspear's outer hull. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he pressed the advantage and flew into the newly created gaping maw, as soldiers with energy weapons emerged to try and counter his insurgence. He raised his own shield construct with some effort, and pressed on.[/color] [color=gainsboro]Meanwhile, elsewhere on the underside of the mighty [i]Doomspear[/i], the Vigilante stood in another hole in the outer hull of his own creation. He looked down at his fists and the gravity gauntlets which encased them.[/color] [b]"Alright... I've done a lot over the years. But sometimes I even impress myself..."[/b]