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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Can Zeus even actually access the abilities, essence/natures or whatever of the Titans he's connected with? From what I understood: he's using them as batteries, same as Hades is doing with Erebos and Poseidon is or was doing with Oceanus, meaning he has more raw power and more mojo in general; I didn't think he could call on their innate powers.

I thought he just primarly usurped Aether (maybe Ouranos too?) from his initial empowering at the beginning of the Titanomachia or something of the like.

According to Hecate it would take some effort but it's the main reason he won't let the Titans leave Tartarus.

"Not quite. He can't take power from Tartarus quite as easily as Hades can Erebos. But that is almost certainly why they're there." She sniffs. "Not that he can use all that power as things are."

I nod. "So that's quite a lot of power."

"Quite a lot of power and quite a lot of different abilities he can use if he puts his mind to it." She sniffs. "Not that I expect that he would. Still, I'm not sure where you'll find anyone who can fight him."
 
As has been made remarkably clear with Grayven.

One party not caring about a thing doesn't protect them from falling under a god's portfolio of control.
Here's a fun question: Does Paul even qualify for Xenia? Because that's for foreigners/travelers. As a citizen of Themyscara, which worships the Greek gods, Paul may not qualify.
 
I don't know. I did a quick search and ian is used by some Greek names. I think yours looks better. I'll think about it this evening.
Hello, dude from Greece here. Hephaestiakos is the one you are looking for in this context. If Hephaestus means volcano, hephaestiakos means "the one who came from the volcano".
 
Hello, dude from Greece here. Hephaestiakos is the one you are looking for in this context. If Hephaestus means volcano, hephaestiakos means "the one who came from the volcano".

That only matters if he decided to change why Heph changed his name to match my reasoning.

While he did type that he liked my guess better than his actual reason, he never actually stated that he decided to abandon his original reason to make my guess right, at least that I saw.
 
In the myths it was stated that Zeus would have a son that could overthrow him and that said son would be connected to the goddess Metis.

Metis helped Zeus in freeing his siblings from Cronis, so Zeus married her.

After he found out about the prophecy, he devoured Metis.

Later on he had a headache and Athena was born from said headache.

In this story the prophecy has been fulfilled, albeit jn a fairly convoluted way.

Hephaestus is a son of Zeus and was helped in his current ascension by Athena, so he's connected to Metis.
Ah. I assumed it was a prophecy that happened in this story.
Later

HADES: "You're free to go, Diana. King Hephaestian has commuted your sentence."

DIANA: Oh Hera, what did Paul do?!
Hera: Something very right and a long time coming!
I don't think there would be one. Orks are just too straightforward to have anything to overcome. All Orks exist in harmony with WAAAAAAGH. The closest thing I can imagine is the Ork in question becoming consciously aware of their precise place in the greater whole, rather than just going with it.
That's an Ork. Like if the Orange had made Avarice Elementals and they got a Ring of Avarice it'd just be more of the same.
Orks seem to be nothing more than the physical manifestation of the energy itself. Albeit with an organic component.
A being of an element has nothing to overcome within their own element. Less so than a fish has a need to overcome water.
Ophidian only needed a new way to want to keep herself from being imprisoned. Her bonding with Paul just gave her a perspective not Orange. A rare and unique opertunity that was the closest to her overcoming anything about herself.
I assume as some point an Ork will get a thought into it's head about turning a planet into a full WAAAAAAAAGH!!! generator long enough to be thick with power and funnel all that power into a Lantern and Ring shaped with Gork and Mork imagery.
I'm talking about a human getting a Ring of WAAAAAAAAGH!!!
I know Vulcan fell into WAAAAAAAAGH!!! generator and it affected him enough to temporarily become a WAAAAAAAAGH!!! god. And died. Supposedly.


So what would a WAAAAAAAAGH!!! Enlightened Paul look, act, and sound like?
Would he talk like an Ork? Would he grow bigger than a Primarch like cuz he's the MasterBoss of Warbosses? God-Boss of Ork kind? Could he redirect fate thru the WAAAAAAAAGH!!! to make things go his way in every fight? Wear powerful scrap armour like an Ork version of the Emporer?
How much would\could Gork and Mork affect\direct him?
 
Coup Data (part 23)
28th October 2012
12:20 GMT +3


Many years ago I watched a pantomime. I don't remember what it was called, only that the villain of the piece was a pirate captain, and that at one point he was challenged for the captaincy by one of his cowardly crewmen who had taken a potion to grant him courage. They then performed a song called 'Pain, pain, pain', taking alternate verses to threaten and taunt one another. From what I remember, that would fit this situation quite well.

Of course, there's another option.

"These are the signs of the king honour-broke,"

Hephaestaean shifts his hammer into a defensive position, left hand just under the head which is pointing towards Zeus. Zeus grimaces, his face like-. Thunder, as he reaches down slightly with his right hand and hurls the lunch table aside.

"Pride coming first over all,"

The glow in Zeus's eyes is getting brighter, but I don't see him calling for or summoning any weapons. I know that he sometimes uses a bident, but he mostly just goes for-.

The lightning comes from nowhere, the air humming as electrons are torn from every molecule available and slammed into-. Hephaestaean's hammer, where the plasma field easily absorbs the charge.

"You use lightning but don't understand the first thing about physics. Let me educate-"

Reforge.

"-you."

The air between them turns blue as his hammer turns the air into plasma, the blast slamming into Zeus and making him cringe for a moment, his hair smouldering. Then he rallies, slamming his hands forward and parting them, his electromagnetic shield diverting the charged plasma off to the sides.

"Treading the backs and the necks of his folk,"

"I see Metis hasn't been entirely wasted on you."

The floor to either side is scorched and the remaining furniture incinerated. But

Permanence.

the charring undoes itself a few moments later. Because Hephaestaean made no effort to override its nature with his attack.

"You dare use my own lightning against me?!"

Oncoming storm.

Zeus moves in a blur, left hand grasping for the shaft of Hephaestaean's hammer while the right flies at Hephaestaean's helmeted head!

"That he alone might stand tall."

A three-clawed mechanical hand catches the shot at Hephaestaean's face, runes inscribed on the blades glowing as they make shallow cuts into Zeus's fingers. Hephaestaean flat out lets go of the hammer, dragging Zeus's shoulder down before he does the same. And he barely gets his left foot out of the way in an awkward half-hop which leaves him off-balance as Hephaestaean's mechadendrites stab forward towards his eyes!

Zeus ducks his head slightly, taking the double hit to the forehead as he responds with another lightning bolt. But Hephaestaean's armour is fully insulated and another mechanical arm is in the process of gripping the haft of his hammer.

"Giving himself to desires that are base,"

Zeus darts back as the air around Hephaestaean flares with plasma.

"Too slow, boy."

"Progress is a slow but steady thing, father. Human technology gets better all the time, while storms become less and less relevant."

Zeus's eyes flare and his hair billows as if blown by the wind.

"I'll show you-."

The turquoise bolt of.. something, hits him in the forehead, burning his flesh. Though his expression shows more rage than pain.

"Tyrannous, cunning and cruel."

Zeus blurs, moving faster than I can see as he strikes Hephaestaean from all directions. Punches rain down on armoured arms, his backpack, the sides of his head, his chest and any other part he can easily reach. Hephaestaean is buffeted, forced to lean away from each attack in turn and rely on his additional appendages to ward Zeus away. Zeus can easily move around them, but it buys him-.

Hephaestaean raises his hammer and Zeus falls onto his back, clutching his forehead.

"Bring him down – set someone else in his place,"

"Predictable." Hephaestaean teleports forward, gun firing into Zeus's right hand as the head of his hammer drops down on Zeus's forehead with a crunch. "You fell into a pattern. The analysis of-."

He brings the hammer down again, but this time Zeus catches the head with a grimace. The head of the hammer begins to glow, heating up and Zeus does something to it.

"Such men are not fit to rule."

Hephaestaean deploys another gun, aiming it at the freely-bleeding wound on Zeus's forehead. A red beam lances out, the hammer's head dimming as the heat is returned to its sender.

"Heat? It's just energy."

Hephaestaean tries to wrench his hammer out of Zeus's grasp but Zeus has kept his focus better than he expected, shoving the hammer head up and making Hephaestaean stagger backwards. Zeus is up again in a moment, viciously resuming his attack. This time he-. He's flying, moving in the air with-. The air is bending around his fingers, and that swipe gouged into the metal of one of Hephaestaean's claws. Air manipulation. Hephaestaean has his own supply so Zeus shouldn't be able to affect it without breaching his armour completely, but it-.

"Oh?"

Oh dear. A figure I immediately recognise as Ares calmly strolls in through the wedged open doors, smiling at the violence on display. And he's looking at me. Or rather us, because the Hellenes can manage perfectly well with one war god.

"Diana's pet madman provoking a fight between Father and… Is that Hephaestus? Now this is interesting."

Hephaestaean is using small bursts of plasma to disrupt Zeus's air blades, but it looks like Zeus is not merely faster but also more skilled. His hits are landing, and while the main body of Hephaestaean's armour has only tiny amounts of damage when compared to the freely-bleeding gash on Zeus's forehead, two of Hephaestaean's mechanical limbs are lying on the floor.

"Ares! I command you to aid me!"

Ares very visibly hesitates. It's no secret that Ares's core nature causes him to seek to conquer. Zeus looks weak right now, and he doesn't know how Hephaestaean has become this much stronger. Staying out of it and killing the victor if they're weak enough is the obvious play. But that's Zeus's blood, and he knows that Hephaestaean will bear a grudge. If he isn't weakened then Ares is in the shit. If Zeus wins it's business as usual.

Weaponmaster.

Hephaestaean's hammer flies out of his hand and into Ares's grasp. He takes a hold of it and takes a few practice swings to get a feel for it.

"Nice weight. You always did the best work. I think I'll keep your final piece as a trophy."

Zeus slams both hands into Hephaestaean's cuirass, electricity crackling and winds roaring as the metal starts to give way!

28th October 2012
12:20 GMT +3


"You play?"

"Some of my new sisters have been trying to civilise me. They thought that it might stick better if they set the lessons to music."

He takes a drink.

"Fine, but even if you can play with the grace of Orpheus you'll not move me. I'm a good deal harder to please than Persephone."

I get up, and walk over to the… Beautifully crafted harp. There's some non-standard decorative carving in the wood, and I can't immediately identify what sort of tree it came from.

"Not a classical Greek instrument."

"My cripple of a son isn't the only one who tries to stay up to date. Apollo doesn't think much of you either."

"Yes, I had a dream a few nights ago about running around the interior of a crystal sphere while the lower portion filled up with oranges. Presumably, that was his idea of sending me a clear message."

"I really don't understand why you're like this. You come up here to ask me for a favour, but rather than offer me gifts or praise, you just remind me of how you usually refer to me."

"I don't know what you want, and it wouldn't be entirely honest."

"Feh. No one praises a king honestly. It's just that I might have been moved if you humbled yourself."

Would that-? I mean, I could. It would be a bit annoying to have spent all that time unnecessarily, but I'd rather get Diana free sooner and with less risk. And novel works of thaumaturgy are their own reward.

"So if I-?"

"It doesn't work if you try to make it a trade."

He keeps watching me… Ah. He wants me to actually humble myself. I could still do it, and he'd make a show of not being impressed, but he'd enjoy the fact I hated doing it and probably would let Diana out a little early.

How utterly contemptible. He's clearly not worthy of his position, but that should have been obvious a thousand years ago. But this… He actually would. He'd do it. And from the way he's looking at me, he knows I'd know it. If I fall on my knees and plead with him, Diana will be out before too long.

I'm not going to. It's not about pride. It's about building a better future without lazy, petulant man-children with power they don't deserve and won't use properly.

I look over the harp once more, then put my fingers on the strings.

I don't actually have the first idea how to play a harp, but fortunately my ring does.

"Cursed oathbreakers, your honour's in pawn,
And worthless the vows you have made,
Justice shall see you where others have gone,
Delivered to those you betrayed!"

Doesn't look like he's heard this one before, but it's clear from the way he's looking at me that I'm treading on thin ice.

"These are the signs of a mage that's forsworn,
The True Gifts gone dead in his hand,"

Unfortunately, there's no such thing as 'true gifts'. Magic's available to anyone who puts the work in. But Klarion's use of chaos magic upended the normal function of the thaumosphere, so he'll do.

I doubt that Zeus even knows who he is. A few images that Teekl showed me will do for this part.

"Magic corrupted and discipline torn,
Shifting heart like shifting sand;
Swift to allow any passion to run,"

Though it's not exactly hard to remember what he looked like.

"Given to hatred and rage.
Give him wide berth and his company shun,
For darkness devours the Dark Mage."

Ephialtes of Trachis is probably the most notable traitor in Classical Greece. Not a perfect match for the lyrics again, but I can stretch it a little, and it gives Zeus something that he'll recognise. Looks like he's actually enjoying it a little.

Good.

"These are the signs of a traitor in war,
Wealth from no visible source,
Shunning old comrades he welcomed before,
Holding to no steady course.
If you uncover the one who'd betray,
Heed not his words nor his pen
Give him no second chance – drive him away–
False once will prove false again."

Skip a few verses. They're not really necessary for my purpose.

"Cursed Oathbreakers, your honor's in pawn
And worthless the vows you have made,
Justice shall see you where others have gone,
Delivered to those you betrayed!"

The next verse is easy. I don't think there's anyone who knows anything about the Catholic Church's paedophilia cover up who doesn't know exactly who was responsible. And he's a representative of the religion that displaced Hellenism, so it's playing to the crowd.

"These are the signs of the treacherous priest–
Pleasure in anyone's pain,
Abuse or degrading of man or of beast,
Duty as second to gain."

To be absolutely fair, it probably wasn't personal gain, just his horrible idea of what was in the Church's interest. Doesn't really help everyone who got raped as a result.

"Preaching belief but with none of his own,
Twisting all that he controls,"

Though in terms of belief in the morals he preached, that's probably true. Believe in the ideal, not the idol.

"Fear him and never face him all alone,
He corrupts innocent souls."

Now, I have to judge this right. Using an image of Zeus would be too direct a provocation. An image of Odin on the other hand, a god whose face I don't know…

"These are the signs of the king honour-broke,
Pride coming first over all,
Treading the backs and the necks of his folk
That he alone might stand tall."

And it's not as if Jon Haraldson ever told me what his wife looks like, so if my construct looks a little like Diana…

"Giving himself to desires that are base"

And maintain eye contact as his jaw hardens.

"Tyrannous, cunning and cruel-."

LIGHTNING RETRIBUTION SMITING CHASTISEMENT!

There's no build-up, just lightning and the idea of lightning, sudden and powerful, leaping towards me before taking a right angle and flying out of the room. Zeus cuts it off and stares after it, frowning.

"I'm jolly glad that worked."

"How..?"

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The doors bang open and then lock in place as the hulking figure lumbers in. He's more muscular than Zeus; his build actually puts me in mind of Kalmin, the product of countless hours performing physically demanding labour with his upper body. He's wearing space-aged body armour in shining gold, though his left leg appears less armoured and more replaced with a cybernetic styled after the rest of the armour. In his hands is a huge hammer whose head sparks and crackles with caged lightning. The back of the armour is bulky and further expanded by the resting mechanical manipulator appendages attached to it.

"Father. Striking at a herald and violating hospitality."

Zeus and I both rise to our feet, Zeus to square off against his opponent and me to clear the area. The circuitry that allowed him to do that just melted off my cup so I'd rather he didn't get it into his head to try again.

"That armour. Hephaestus? Did you cut off your own leg?"

"A king is owed fealty and respect, and owes his people direction, protection and justice. You provide none of those, and hence are owed nothing. You're a bent nail, a rotten beam due for replacement."

"It seems that I'll have to throw you off this mountain again, Hephaestus. This time you'll land on your head."

"We'll see." Blades and arcane ranged weapons uncurl from his back. "And my name is not Hephaestus. I'm Hephaestaean."

"Bring him down – set someone else in his place,
Such men are not fit to rule."

Hephaestaean shifts his hammer into a defensive position, left hand just under the head which is pointing towards Zeus. Zeus grimaces, his face like-. Thunder, as he reaches down slightly with his right hand and hurls the lunch table aside.

The glow in Zeus's eyes is getting brighter, but I don't see him calling for or summoning any weapons. I know that he sometimes uses a bident, but he mostly just goes for-.

The lightning comes from nowhere, the air humming as electrons are torn from every molecule available and slammed into-. Hephaestaean's hammer, where the plasma field easily absorbs the charge.

"You use lightning but don't understand the first thing about physics. Let me educate-"

Reforge.

"-you."

The air between them turns blue as his hammer turns the air into plasma, the blast slamming into Zeus and making him cringe for a moment, his hair smouldering. Then he rallies, slamming his hands forward and parting them, his electromagnetic shield diverting the charged plasma off to the sides.

"I see Metis hasn't been entirely wasted on you."

The floor to either side is scorched and the remaining furniture incinerated. But

Permanence.

the charring undoes itself a few moments later. Because Hephaestaean made no effort to override its nature with his attack.

"You dare use my own lightning against me?!"

Oncoming storm.

Zeus moves in a blur, left hand grasping for the shaft of Hephaestaean's hammer while the right flies at Hephaestaean's helmeted head!

A three-clawed mechanical hand catches the shot at Hephaestaean's face, runes inscribed on the blades glowing as they make shallow cuts into Zeus's fingers. Hephaestaean flat out lets go of the hammer, dragging Zeus's shoulder down before does the same. And he barely gets his left foot out of the way in an awkward half-hop which leaves him off-balance as Hephaestaean's mechadendrites stab forward towards his eyes!

Zeus ducks his head slightly, taking the double hit to the forehead as he responds with another lightning bolt. But Hephaestaean's armour is fully insulated and another mechanical arm is in the process of gripping the haft of his hammer.

Zeus darts back as the air around Hephaestaean flares with plasma.

"Too slow, boy."

"Progress is a slow but steady thing, father. Human technology gets better all the time, while storms become less and less relevant."

Zeus's eyes flare and his hair billows as if blown by the wind.

"I'll show you-."

The turquoise bolt of.. something, hits him in the forehead, burning his flesh. Though his expression shows more rage than pain.

Zeus blurs, moving faster than I can see as he strikes Hephaestaean from all directions. Punches rain down on armoured arms, his backpack, the sides of his head, his chest and any other part he can easily reach. Hephaestaean is buffeted, forced to lean away from each attack in turn and rely on his additional appendages to ward Zeus away. Zeus can easily move around them, but it buys him-.

Hephaestaean raises his hammer and Zeus falls onto his back, clutching his forehead.

"Predictable." Hephaestaean teleports forward, gun firing into Zeus's right hand as the head of his hammer drops down on Zeus's forehead with a crunch. "You fell into a pattern. The analysis of-."

He brings the hammer down again, but this time Zeus catches the head with a grimace. The head of the hammer begins to glow, heating up and Zeus does something to it.

Hephaestaean deploys another gun, aiming it at the freely-bleeding wound on Zeus's forehead. A red beam lances out, the hammer's head dimming as the heat is returned to its sender.

"Heat? It's just energy."

Hephaestaean tries to wrench his hammer out of Zeus's grasp but Zeus has kept his focus better than he expected, shoving the hammer head up and making Hephaestaean stagger backwards. Zeus is up again in a moment, viciously resuming his attack. This time he-. He's flying, moving in the air with-. The air is bending around his fingers, and that swipe gouged into the metal of one of Hephaestaean's claws. Air manipulation. Hephaestaean has his own supply so Zeus shouldn't be able to affect it without breaching his armour completely, but it-.

"Oh?"

Oh dear. A figure I immediately recognise as Ares calmly strolls in through the wedged open doors, smiling at the violence on display. And he's looking at me. Or rather us, because the Hellenes can manage perfectly well with one war god.

"Diana's pet madman provoking a fight between Father and… Is that Hephaestus? Now this is interesting."

Hephaestaean is using small bursts of plasma to disrupt Zeus's air blades, but it looks like Zeus is not merely faster but also more skilled. His hits are landing, and while the main body of Hephaestaean's armour has only tiny amounts of damage when compared to the freely-bleeding gash on Zeus's forehead, two of Hephaestaean's mechanical limbs are lying on the floor.

"Ares! I command you to aid me!"

Ares very visibly hesitates. It's no secret that Ares's core nature causes him to seek to conquer. Zeus looks weak right now, and he doesn't know how Hephaestaean has become this much stronger. Staying out of it and killing the victor if they're weak enough is the obvious play. But that's Zeus's blood, and he knows that Hephaestaean will bear a grudge. If he isn't weakened then Ares is in the shit. If Zeus wins it's business as usual.

Weaponmaster.

Hephaestaean's hammer flies out of his hand and into Ares's grasp. He takes a hold of it and takes a few practise swings to get a feel for it.

"Nice weight. You always did the best work. I think I'll keep your final piece as a trophy."

Zeus slams both hands into Hephaestaean's cuirass, electricity crackling and winds roaring as the metal starts to give way!
 
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Of course the second Zeus sees that his son is actually giving him a challenge he orders his other one to step in to help bail his ass out.

Since Ares is a god of war even with Heph's power boost there is decent chance he can outskill him, so OL is in right to jump in and assist unless Heph has other toys to use.
 
I assume as some point an Ork will get a thought into it's head about turning a planet into a full WAAAAAAAAGH!!! generator long enough to be thick with power and funnel all that power into a Lantern and Ring shaped with Gork and Mork imagery.
I'm talking about a human getting a Ring of WAAAAAAAAGH!!!
I know Vulcan fell into WAAAAAAAAGH!!! generator and it affected him enough to temporarily become a WAAAAAAAAGH!!! god. And died. Supposedly.
Using WAAAAAGH energy to make things is something that all Wierdboys do, whether it's giant stompy feet, fists, or super acid vomit. 3rd and subsequent editions really did them dirty.
So what would a WAAAAAAAAGH!!! Enlightened Paul look, act, and sound like?
An ork.
 
Of course, there's another option.

"These are the signs of the king honour-broke,"

Ohh god, you're going to sing.

Hephaestaean shifts him hammer into a

'shifts his'

bust he mostly just goes for-.

'but he'

The air between then turns

'them turns'

attack.

You dare use my own lightning against me?!

Missing some " for this.

Zeus's shoulder down before does the same. And he barely gets his left foot out of the way in an

'Zeus' shoulder is down before he does'

process of gripping the haft

'the shaft'

to lean away from each attach in turn

'each attack'

dimming as the heat it returned to

'heat is'

The air is being around his fingers

'bending around' 'burning around'

"Oh?"

Oh dear. A figure I immediately recognise as Ares calmly strolls in through the wedged open doors, smiling at the violence on display. And he's looking at me. Or rather us, because the Hellens can manage perfectly well with one war god

I'm assuming that's going to be the gift Heph gives Athena; along with probably marrying her.


Fair.

Hephaestaean is using small bursts of plasma to disrupt Zeus's air blades, but it looks like Zeus is not merely faster but also more skilled.

No shit, seeing as he's much older than Heph and has more battle experience.

Weaponmaster.

Hephaestaean's hammer flies out of his hand and into Ares's grasp. He takes a hold of it and takes a few practise swings to get a feel for it.

We see where Astarte got her powers from.

"Nice weight. You always did the best work. I think I'll keep your final piece as a trophy

After Heph is finished with you, Ares, you'll be lucky if you could hold a spoon.
 
Ares very visibly hesitates. It's no secret that Ares's core nature causes him to seek to conquer. Zeus looks weak right now, and he doesn't know how Hephaestaean has become this much stronger. Staying out of it and killing the victor if they're weak enough is the obvious play. But that's Zeus's blood, and he knows that Hephaestaean will bear a grudge. If he isn't weakened then Ares is in the shit. If Zeus wins it's business as usual.

Weaponmaster.

Hephaestaean's hammer flies out of his hand and into Ares's grasp. He takes a hold of it and takes a few practise swings to get a feel for it.

"Nice weight. You always did the best work. I think I'll keep your final piece as a trophy."

Zeus slams both hands into Hephaestaean's cuirass, electricity crackling and winds roaring as the metal starts to give way!
Remember, Paul only swore an oath that he wouldn't attack Zeus. Nothing in that oath about not attacking Ares.

"Somehow, I doubt that. Paul, I want you to promise me that you will not fight Zeus. The lightning bolt with which he struck you was but a small fraction of his strength."

"Diana, he's using your morals in order to twist your arm on the issue of marrying him, whereupon he'd be a devoted husband for maybe three months before reverting to type and treating you like he did Hera."

"Yes, that is why I said no. I still want you to promise me."

Breathe in, breathe out.

"I promise that I will not fight Zeus. Anything else?"

"Paul, please take this seriously. Any outcome of you fighting Zeus, even with the Ophidian's full support, would-."

"I am aware of the likely disruptions to the thaumosphere that would come from an entity like Zeus being consumed. I promise that I will not attempt to consume Zeus. I will be making vigorous representations concerning my disquiet at his actions to various parties."
I shrug. "Diana asked me to promise not to attack Lord Zeus. I did. To an extent my hands are bound." I see Zagreus sigh with relief. "But there are ways to make a person's life awkward which do not require direct violence. And I am to my knowledge the only one so bound."
"I've already promised Diana that I will not attack Zeus."
 
It looks like Ares is still thinking in terms of artisanal forge-work. I wonder how this is going to play out and if Haphaestian is going to get his revenge on both Zeus and Ares.

I hope this works out better for him than things went for Vaul, anyway.
 
Of course Ares has to show up, he felt or was told what was happening and, like a hyena, came running immediately!

The Illustres already mentioned that when Ares looked at him he was looking at "us", and then mentioned that one war divinity so enough. That sounds like a clear declaration that Best Snek or her presence may soon be felt, and especially that Ares may soon be snack or something. That sounds more than deserved.
 
And of courde Hephestian has become a 40k Techpriest. Mechatendrites and a robotic leg. Paul is one step closer to live his Warhammer fantasy dream.
"Ares, I want you to put on this green paint on your body and scream WAAAAGH"
 
28th October 2012
12:20 GMT +3


Many years ago I watched a pantomime. I don't remember what it was called, only that the villain of the piece was a pirate captain, and that at one point he was challenged for the captaincy by one of his cowardly crewmen who had taken a potion to grant him courage. They then performed a song called 'Pain, pain, pain', taking alternate verses to threaten and taunt one another. From what I remember, that would fit this situation quite well.

Of course, there's another option.
Ah, a song of Tarma and Kethry. The perfect accompaniment for an overly-proud fool getting his ass beat. And no doubt the relevance of the lyrics will put Zeus off his game. Not that a mere mortal could bother the King of Olympus, surely... :rolleyes:

"These are the signs of the king honour-broke,"

Hephaestaean shifts him hammer into a defensive position, left hand just under the head which is pointing towards Zeus. Zeus grimaces, his face like-. Thunder, as he reaches down slightly with his right hand and hurls the lunch table aside.
Well, there's only so many ways you could describe that sort of towering rage, so don't feel bad about using the punny option.

"Pride coming first over all,"

The glow in Zeus's eyes is getting brighter, but I don't see him calling for or summoning any weapons. I know that he sometimes uses a bident, bust he mostly just goes for-.
Too much of a brawler for such a restrained method, especially with his blood up like this.

The lightning comes from nowhere, the air humming as electrons are torn from every molecule available and slammed into-. Hephaestaean's hammer, where the plasma field easily absorbs the charge.

"You use lightning but don't understand the first thing about physics. Let me educate-"
The joy of knowing your foe's preferred methods of attack: preparing 100% resistance to them.

Heh. Energy is energy, after all, and Human super-science has so many fun ways of using energy...

The air between then turns blue as his hammer turns the air into plasma, the blast slamming into Zeus and making him cringe for a moment, his hair smouldering. Then he rallies, slamming his hands forward and parting them, his electromagnetic shield diverting the charged plasma off to the sides.

"Treading the backs and the necks of his folk,"
And, no matter how pleasant the face or gentle the touch, that's basically what he's done to his fellow Olympians...

"I see Metis hasn't been entirely wasted on you."

The floor to either side is scorched and the remaining furniture incinerated. But
Not to worry, lady Metis, they'll soon have you out of that arse. ;) And hopefully into a long, cleansing bath, after putting up with all that shit for thousands of years.

Permanence.

the charring undoes itself a few moments later. Because Hephaestaean made no effort to override its nature with his attack.
Ah, the Narrative Combat at play. Not so subtle as the New Gods' method (we can see their commands, and they're hardly elegant...)

"You dare use my own lightning against me?!"

Oncoming storm.
...But you can't deny the effectiveness of their bluntness. :D

Zeus moves in a blur, left hand grasping for the shaft of Hephaestaean's hammer while the right flies at Hephaestaean's helmeted head!

"That he alone might stand tall."
Ah, right. Lightning Bruiser. Fast, Strong and Tough. And with his borrowed wisdom, Smart.

A three-clawed mechanical hand catches the shot at Hephaestaean's face, runes inscribed on the blades glowing at they make shallow cuts into Zeus's fingers. Hephaestaean flat out lets go of the hammer, dragging Zeus's shoulder down before does the same. And he barely gets his left foot out of the way in an awkward half-hop which leaves him off-balance as Hephaestaean's mechadendrites stab forward towards his eyes!

Zeus ducks his head slightly, taking the double hit to the forehead as he responds with another lightning bolt. But Hephaestaean's armour is fully insulated and another mechanical arm is in the process of gripping the haft of his hammer.
Not bad for a first effort, Phaeste. Just imagine how powerful your armour will be once you have the hang of it.

"Giving himself to desire that are base,"

Zeus darts back as the air around Hephaestaean flares with plasma.
The only drawback of fighting lightning with electricity: Zeus' resistance is just as high as Hephaestean's.

"Too slow, boy."

"Progress is a slow but steady thing, father. Human technology gets better all the time, while storms become less and less relevant."
These days, it's only a matter of bad luck that they damage anything, especially with lightning strikes. Tornadoes? Yes, they're dangerous. But humans can work around that...

Zeus's eyes flare and his hair billows as if blown by the wind.

"I'll show you-."
And speaking of wind... Looks like he's getting ready to step on the Anemoi's toes.

The turquoise bolt of.. something, hits him in the forehead, burning his flesh. Though his expression shows more rage than pain.

"Tyrannous, cunning and cruel."
If one Energy Type doesn't work, try a different one. :p No point throwing Electric attacks at a Blue Dragon, for example.

Zeus blurs, moving faster than I can see as he strikes Hephaestaean from all directions. Punches rain down on armoured arms, his backpack, the sides of his head, his chest and any other part he can easily reach. Hephaestaean is buffeted, forced to lean away from each attach in turn and rely on his additional appendages to ward Zeus away. Zeus can easily move around them, but it buys him-.

Hephaestaean raises his hammer and Zeus falls onto his back, clutching his forehead.
Wind versus Metal. There's a type mismatch if ever I saw one.

"Bring him down – set someone else in his place,"

"Predictable." Hephaestaean teleports forward, gun firing into Zeus's right hand as the head of his hammer drops down on Zeus's forehead with a crunch. "You fell into a pattern. The analysis of-."
No, no, Phaeste! You don't monologue until the foe's down and out.

He brings the hammer down again, but this time Zeus catches the head with a grimace. The head of the hammer begins to glow, heating up and Zeus does something to it.

"Such man are not fit to rule."
My goodness, it seems he's worked out conductivity! Only a couple of centuries behind Human science, but he's learning.

Hephaestaean deploys another gun, aiming it at the freely-bleeding wound on Zeus's forehead. A red beam lances out, the hammer's head dimming as the heat it returned to its sender.

"Heat? It's just energy."
Why not try out a Cold gun, too? Give him a taste of rapid temperature shifts. :D

Hephaestaean tries to wrench his hammer out of Zeus's grasp but Zeus has kept his focus better than he expected, shoving the hammer head up and making Hephaestaean stagger backwards. Zeus is up again in a moment, viciously resuming his attack. This time he-. He's flying, moving in the air with-. The air is being around his fingers, and that swipe gouged into the metal of one of Hephaestaean's claws. Air manipulation. Hephaestaean has his own supply so Zeus shouldn't be able to affect it without breaching his armour completely, but it-.
Perhaps if he'd had time to work out Morrow's elemental manipulation tech... Ah, well, Hindsight is perfect. If he ever has to do this again, he might pick them up.

"Oh?"

Oh dear. A figure I immediately recognise as Ares calmly strolls in through the wedged open doors, smiling at the violence on display. And he's looking at me. Or rather us, because the Hellens can manage perfectly well with one war god.
Well, shit. Then again, you only promised not to fight Zeus, OL... Ares? As Diana's student, you're practically obliged to give him a taste of shoe leather.

"Diana's pet madman provoking a fight between Father and… Is that Hephaestus? Now this is interesting."

Hephaestaean is using small bursts of plasma to disrupt Zeus's air blades, but it looks like Zeus is not merely faster but also more skilled. His hits are landing, and while the main body of Hephaestaean's armour has only tiny amounts of damage when compared to the freely-bleeding gash on Zeus's forehead, two of Hephaestaean's mechanical limbs are lying on the floor.
And the drawback of Hephaestean's lack of combat experience shows...

"Ares! I command you to aid me!"

Ares very visibly hesitates. It's no secret that Ares's core nature causes him to seek to conquer. Zeus looks weak right now, and he doesn't know how Hephaestaean has become this much stronger. Staying out of it and killing the victor if they're weak enough is the obvious play. But that's Zeus's blood, and he knows that Hephaestaean will bear a grudge. If he isn't weakened then Ares is in the shit. If Zeus wins it's business as usual.
Unfortunately, Zeus isn't quite weakened enough for Ares to feel rebellious...

Weaponmaster.

Hephaestaean's hammer flies out of his hand and into Ares's grasp. He takes a hold of it and takes a few practise swings to get a feel for it.
Oh, goddammit, Ares. With any luck, he won't be able to use any of its' more esoteric functions...

"Nice weight. You always did the best work. I think I'll keep your final piece as a trophy."

Zeus slams both hands into Hephaestaean's cuirass, electricity crackling and winds roaring as the metal starts to give way!
...And who says that was Hephaestean's only weapon?

Well, a good start. A pity Zeus seems to have found a second wind. And what part will Ares play, I wonder? Yes, Zeus commanded him to help him, but as OL noted, when is up to Ares. And we have no idea what other little surprises Hephaestean has packed into that armour. This fight is hardly close to finished...
 
. And no doubt the relevance of the lyrics will put Zeus off his game

Zeus: Is the mad mortal...singing?

Hephaestaean: He's...weird.

Not to worry, lady Metis, they'll soon have you out of that arse. ;) And hopefully into a long, cleansing bath, after putting up with all that shit for thousands of years.

Maybe with some holy water.

Fortunately, Paul knows two Angels.

Ah, the Narrative Combat at play. Not so subtle as the New Gods' method (we can see their commands, and they're hardly elegant...)

Hey, if it works then don't fix it.

Plus we don't have to potentially miss any text that's invisible.

I really prefer this.

Ah, right. Lightning Bruiser. Fast, Strong and Tough. And with his borrowed wisdom, Smart.

Sad that he doesn't use his wisdom all that much.
 
Of course Ares has to show up, he felt or was told what was happening and, like a hyena, came running immediately!

The Illustres already mentioned that when Ares looked at him he was looking at "us", and then mentioned that one war divinity so enough. That sounds like a clear declaration that Best Snek or her presence may soon be felt, and especially that Ares may soon be snack or something. That sounds more than deserved.
You do realize that Ares is one of the beings that should be able to kill "Best Snek"?

Also... People seem to be forgetting that LePaul relies on a weapon to fight... So short of a sneak attack and major Zoat nerfing, Ares should win any confrontation.
 
OL made an oath not to fight Zeus to Diana. Though he could fight Ares, I rather doubt he will.

May I ask why?

You do realize that Ares is one of the beings that should be able to kill "Best Snek"?

Also... People seem to be forgetting that LePaul relies on a weapon to fight... So short of a sneak attack and major Zoat nerfing, Ares should win any confrontation.
Replying to Vaermina


It's really more of a tool than a weapon But then I suppose a forge hammer is as well.
 

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