Gods of the Universe

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Kaitlyn's number was called. She headed to the stage she was informed to go to, stepping up onto the raised platform. Glancing around, not many of the matches or people were particularly interesting or exceptional. Then she fixed her attention on her opponent: a confident young man, lightly shorter than her, whose muscles were tightly toned. His stance was that of a skilled martial artist. Poor kid... Maybe he would do well next year.

Of course, he might be a bit too scarred to return. Her demeanor took on that of an insatiably bloodthirsty demon; Satan or perhaps Death herself was standing on the platform, facing down this young man. Her eyes in particular were fearsome; they seemed to light up and glow with a purple energy. At this point her power became palpable to anyone nearby, not least of which the poor young man who was trembling in his shoes.

The evil spirit named Kaitlyn lurched forward. She took a step.

But this was not an ordinary step. The dull thump of an explosion echoed in the room, a shockwave of energy from the impact of her sole on the floor spreading quickly from its epicenter, not affecting its source in the least. The platform shattered beneath her feet, cracking all the way through and even affecting the floor around the platform. And the young martial artist was no longer there; instead, he was embedded in a wall. A quick check from medics confirmed that he was merely unconscious, which rather surprised the young woman still standing on the platform. She thought she might have accidentally killed him and gotten disqualified.

Glancing about some more, some people nearby and even in other rings had been knocked quite a few feet back, causing a brief chaos as those affected attempted to recover. She frowned lightly and crossed her arms, and decided to try simply flicking her opponents. As her win was announced, she stepped off the stage, waiting for her next match.
 
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Location: Tournament - VIP

Gold's attention perked as Mr. Cyba made his entrance. Gold noted the reactions of all the people around him, how they acted in a sense of respect. Frank eyed both Gold and Mr. Cyba back and forth as if a western duel was about to occur. Gold continued to look forward, refusing to look directly at Mr. Cyba. Gold decided to play this through, determining the best course of action would to play dumb. "Yes, that is why Cyba Corp installed me." Gold still looked upon the fighters, refusing to make contact with Mr. Cyba. That is until he made his bet. Gold shot a glance to him but more, particularity, to his phone. Gold smiled, taking a drink of his brandy.

"A lot of faith in an unknown fighter." Gold stated, his attention now grasped by a new fighter. Is that Gorron? Gold's lip curled but he restrained from displaying any emotional distress. He remained calm, staring at Gorron down below. What the hell was he doing in the tournament? Gorron was exchanging talk between his competition before he launched devastating punch, the fighter soaring out of the ring. Gorron seemed amuse but as for Gold, he was not so much. With a suspicious squint, Gold took another swig of the brandy, setting down on the tabletop.
 
Verbal sighed. His opponent was clearly a boxer with decent skills in other fields. He had failed to see any huge potential. Verbal had taken down better men out in the field before. This one he wasn't even allowed to kill. Of course, if he didn't find somebody, Garrote, and more importantly Joviziah, would be irritated. Verbal looked sideways, spotting Garrote out of the corner of his eye. Garrote signed finish him off.

Verbal nodded. As soon as his opponent threw his next hook, Verbal stopped it in place with a forearm block, then punched him hard in the stomach with his other hand. His opponent doubled over, head going down, just as Verbal's knee went up. They collided violently, the boxer's head snapping back suddenly before he collapsed to the floor, unconscious. It had been a very simple, if also very painful, finisher. His opponent didn't even guard his stomach properly. Verbal had simply let him down gently. He was sure the boxer's jaw would work again within the month.

Verbal stepped out of the ring, silently satisfied for now.

"How's it going?" A curly haired man next to Garrote asked. They were both leaning against the wall.

"Well, I saw the Kaitlyn you mentioned, a telekinetic psychic, a fire girl, a huge dude, and a huge lizard dude. I can give you a full report later. Honestly, Sandy, I expected more."

Joviziah sighed. He had used the younger form to avoid detection, even ditching his trenchcoat for a simple long-sleeved shirt. "Optimism never suited you, Garrote. Keep an eye out. I have work in Russia. I'll drop by later." He vanished into thin air. Garrote sighed. He decided he would have to take a smoke break soon.

--~--​

Darius bowed gracefully to his opponent, a wily-looking lizard man. The lizard sneered back. Clearly he was no gentleman.

The lizard moved first, dashing forward, slashing out with his claws. Darius easily sidestepped it, inspecting the lizard man curiously. He had seen another lizard man earlier, but that one had been huge and fearsome. This one was decidedly not. It still looked convincingly threatening, but not nearly as much as the other one had been.

"Like what you see, human?" The lizard chuckled nastily, long tongue hanging out.

"No,"Darius said distractedly, still looking it up and down. He was more preoccupied with the new sights the tournament brought him than the fact that they were trying to kill him. Back on his home planet, he may have been an entertainer, but like the rest of his bloodline he was expected to be a great hunter, and the beasts of the desert had a nasty habit of appearing out of nowhere despite being the size of a small house and almost as fast as bullet. He had reflexes suited to monsters like that. This lizard was comparatively subpar.

The lizard lunged straightforward, claws outstretched. Darius simply took four steps backwards. Where he had previously stood, the ground spat red-hot. When the lizard stepped on it, it instinctively leaped up, even if, to its credit, it remained on track towards Darius. This didn't stop Darius from simply ducking and 'helping' the lizard with an extra push straight out of the combat ring and into a wall.

Darius bowed to the spectators, smiling. He might be here for the prize, but he liked meeting new people too. And if he was going to fight, might as well make it a show. After all, he was an entertainer.
 
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Kaitlyn

The next fight played out about as Kaitlyn had expected.

She turned into a demon before their very eyes - metaphorically, of course - and paralyzed them with fear, then took a step that launched them off the platform and that knocked plenty of other contestants off of their platforms. By the time she had been on all twelve platforms, she was politely instructed by a rather scared little portly man that the judges would greatly appreciate it if she would discontinue her practice of taking such powerful steps. They needed rings for people to fight on, after all, and she was slowly but surely grinding them into dust.

So Kaitlyn took to flicking her opponents, instead. Showy, but it expended the least amount of effort. One man who was about eight feet tall had held Kaitlyn's interest for but a moment. He was a wolf man with rippling muscles and supreme confidence despite the numerous people - herself included - that were here and clearly much more powerful than basically all the other contestants. She decided to play with him a bit, though, just to make things a bit more interesting.

He threw a punch. She sidestepped in such a way that it missed her by less than an inch, to give this large man a little bit of confidence. He grinned and threw another punch. It didn't hit, either, but he was still confident, because he was so very close to hitting her! Kaitlyn almost felt pity for him. Who knew how shattered his confidence would be after he was utterly destroyed.

Three dozen punches later, and this big canine was not nearly as confident as he had been. And he was angry, too. She grinned up at him, taunting him, and motioned for him to come at her again. He did, with both hands jabbing forward. But she slipped between them, looked into the wolf man's eyes with her bright demonic orbs, and scared him to death before launching him into the wall with a flick to the chest.

Stepping off the ring, she was scowling. This tournament was, at least so far, insultingly easy. There were about five or six other contestants she was rather eager to be matched up with, of course, but there were still a few hundred - by her estimate, which was most likely wrong - people left to disqualify. It felt like they'd be here all day, frankly, which kind of pissed her off. Kaitlyn wondered why she let Toby convince her to come here... She could have just tracked these folks down herself and challenged them to death matches, after all.

Toby

"Isn't it a bit unfair to judge these fine contestants by their participation in this tournament, Garrote?" questioned the ever-enigmatic God of Death, who seemed to suddenly appear beside the attendant of the God of Dreams. "Because, after all, they have to restrain from killing, well, anyone. I'm sure all the various mortals who are actually, well, exemplary, are holding back quite a bit. Oh, I know for a fact that my dear Kaitlyn is... And, of course..." He leaned in close to whisper, "And Xai, the God of Destruction, obviously. The 'big lizard dude,' as you so eloquently put it." He leaned back out and smiled wide. "Oh, I really can't wait for Kaitlyn and the Big Lizard Dude to duke it out. The Big Lizard Dude, in all likelihood, would win that fight, unless he decided to throw the match, though I'm not really sure his pride would admit that. But... ah, who knows? Well, Garrote, I'll leave you be. You probably don't like Death's chattering lips, hm? But, just so you know, I doubt your protege - Verbal, yes? - is going to get very far past the final 16. No offense to him, of course, he's simply far outmatched by probably about half of anyone who might make it that far. Well, I bid thee adieu!"

The man took a step forward and disappeared. He reappeared in the room with Gold, Sabrina, and the head of Cyba Corp, whose name currently escaped Toby. He smiled brightly, glancing about. "This stadium reeks of decay... I could follow the stench anywhere," he laughed. One of the contestants down below had been killed, so he could "step" into almost any area nearby. Of course, no one had yet found the dead body, because it was Toby's doing, and Toby did a rather good job at cleaning up his messes. He wouldn't have, of course, if not for the convenience of being anywhere he wanted. "I'm a friend of Gold's," he told Sabrina and Cyba Corp, before stepping beside the larger man. "I hope you don't mind if I stay up with here for a spot, Gold. I merely wish to watch someone particular. That girl who's been breaking all your platforms... I like to believe she is truly something. Then again, so are some of the other contestants, right? Like Xai, or as someone else put it, the Big Lizard Dude," he spoke with a light chuckle. "Ah, but that young man with telekinesis, and the girl who can become flame itself, and of course Gorron are just as impressive. This will truly be an interesting year, hm? A veritable clash of titans."
 
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[Sabrina] & Mr. Cyba (NPC) - Tournament VIP room.


Mr. Cyba let out a laugh, as the newcomer made him self appear out of no where "So that's your name, Director? Gold?" he then looked over to the man who just warped in. "Yes She dose impress, but I find self believing that this Xai fellow to be the winner this year. My Daughter seems to think the same." He paused for a moment to light a cigar, he took a deem drag and spoke once more confidence then he did before "And I think you will find that she is never wrong about these kinds of things... Right my dear?" Sabrina simply looked at her father and acknowledged him with a soft nod.

"I will inform the staff to prepare the stadium." she said, as she teleported out of the room. Mr. Cyba then turned his attention back to the fighters, took another drag of his cigar and continued to smile. "Well ladies and gentelmen, It's time we head to the Stadium VIP room... The peliminaries are about to come to an end..."

[Xai, Lisa, & Tyler] - Peliminary room.

As one would expect, Xai took down the last fighter in his block with a single hit. it was a long and dull task. But Xai had managed to pass the peliminaries. " Number 2345, Quallifies!" cried the referee, as Xai stepped off the platform and set off to watch some of the other fights before the main event took place. Let's see how well the pyrokinetic and the psychic are doing.

Tyler was also going well, although it wasn't in one hit his opponent was sent out of the ring leaving tyler as another one of the quallifying fighters. "Number 1, Quallifies!", Tyler simply laughed in joy after he heared the referee say that. he then let't off the his platform and bolted off to Lisa's ring. Only to find that she had quallified too, "Hey Lisa! I did it! I quallify for the final 16!" he said completely estatic. "Am I suppose to be Impressed? you are a psychic, It's not like any of these fighters can beat you.... except for maybe me." she said with a smug look in her eye. It was then and there Xai showed up standing by them, "Well then since we are all in the final 16, I think It's only best we get to know one another... We will be fighting one another after all... You may call me Xai, It's a plesure to meet the both of you." He said with a smile. "Hello Xai, my name is Tyler... and this is Lisa, Nice to meet you!". Lisa let out a sigh... "Do you have to be make friends with everything Tyler? Seriously Do you have any Idea how annoying you can be?"
"Oh, Sorry about that. I didn't mean to bother either of you." Tyler said still smiling like a fool. "It's quite alright, I my self am quite a friendly person as well."

After a few more minutes passed a bald man wearing sunglassess stepted up to the stage and spoke out to get the attention of the remaining 16 fighters. "Greetings to you all, and congradulations on making it to the final 16 in the 15th annual Cyba Corp. Fighting Tournament. If you would please follow me we can proceed to the main event." He would then lead the fighters to a large room attached to the inner rim of the stadium, which was attached to a huge battle ring. The Bald man spoke out once more to assure al 16 fighters heared him. "It will be a little while before the main event starts. Please get confortable while our staff make the final preperations to the ring."
 
Toby

"Oh, no doubt, Mister... Cyba, yes? Your company's name is Cyba Corp., so I feel that's a logical leap to make. Anywho, Xai is most definitely going to win unless he decides to throw in the towel, so to speak, which is very unlikely but nonetheless possible. I know him personally, and I doubt you could possibly fathom how powerful he truly is," Toby told the man, and retired to the couch to sit beside the corporate leader. "To put it in terms you may be more apt to believe... If he wished for this building to be rubble, well, it would already be a smoking crater in the Earth. And, well, the same can be said for Kaitlyn, although she is still exponentially less powerful than Xai. Ah, I somewhat do hope that Xai throws the match or simply drops out. I feel I've grown attached to Kaitlyn. It would be nice for something... well, nice to happen to her.

"Ah, but enough about me, Mr. Cyba. I feel like we should talk about you a little bit, hm? I've rambled on about my friends long enough, I believe, although it was quite a short rant, admittedly. There is some information that I would like to give, because,well, I'm just curious as to your reaction." Toby adjusted himself and rested the ankle of his right leg on his left knee, looking over into the man's eyes. "You have done a very wonderful thing, bringing some of these fighters together. It will allow your world some semblance of hope in the trying times to come, although I suspect the powers that be will wish to keep most of the world in the dark as to what's going to happen. And... I wouldn't want to upset the big man upstairs? Oh, listen to me and my crazy talk! I'm sure you think of me a loon, hm? Well, it's no matter. Just know that, as corrupt and evil as you may or may not be, me and my ilk... no, my ilk are thankful. Personally, I could not care less what the outcome of all this is. Just so long as there is an outcome, and that I can see that outcome.

"Now, with all that said, I bid thee adieu, Mr. Cyba. Ah, and you have excellent taste in cigars, if I do say so myself. Perhaps some time we can have a smoke together. Especially if your home has a parlor of some kind. You know, parlors are so rare these days, and I really do miss them. Ah, but, anyway, yes, goodbye seriously now." He stood, then took a step, then was no longer there any more.

Kaitlyn

The preliminaries were painfully boring and easy; before the end was announced, she thought that she may actually die from sheer boredom. What good was a fighting competition where everyone could be blown away with the flick? Hopefully, these other exceptional people - which seemed to make up roughly half of the other competitors, give or take - wouldn't be nearly as disappointing as her other opponents. And maybe the normal ones will have some kind of hidden strength. That would make for an interesting and welcome surprise...

But, of course, they couldn't get right into the finals. Of course they couldn't. Even though the stage was right there. What were those workers even prepping? She couldn't quite tell, but it looked like they were doing essentially nothing, to Kaitlyn. A grimace crossed her face as she retreated as far from the other 15 finalists as she possibly could.

Until - as he always did - he showed up.

She saw Toby approaching her in the peripheral vision. Was he even allowed in here? Well, not that that could or would stop him. She turned to look at him, and frowned lightly, irritated by the pleasant look on his face. "You got my hopes up for nothing," she spoke in a rather accusatory tone. Well, of course, the next fifteen matches would likely prove interesting, but in her mind that didn't quite make up for the disappointing first million or so rounds.

"Oh, come now! There are plenty of interesting competitors here, Kaitlyn, I promise. Half of the final 16! You're essentially guaranteed a crack at them, right? I'm sure you'll get up to the final 2, at the very least." Her frown deepened at the implications of his statement.

"Are you saying you don't think I can win?" she asked somewhat harshly, eyeing the comparatively puny male.

"Yes," he said, rather matter-of-factly. "The Big Lizard Dude is exceptionally powerful. It's impossible to gauge simply by watching him fight in a tournament, but he's definitely stronger, faster, and tougher than you. Sorry to be blunt, but I can say from experience that he is an extremely fearsome opponent that you have little hope of beating. If you secure a victory over him, he let you."

"Yeah, okay," she said, not quite buying his words. Because, for one, he couldn't possibly know what her limits were, because she had never unleashed them. And if he was more powerful than her and had demonstrated it... well, it would be on international news for weeks and months and perhaps even a year or two. She would have found out about him, surely, even without being in the underworld. Though, she could tell by Toby's expression that he knew she didn't believe him. And he seemed perfectly content with that. Which was eerie. It was always eerie, and it never wasn't eerie. But, of course, she had somewhat gotten used to his rather insane attitude towards life. "Well, you're not supposed to be here, Toby. If you want to watch, do it from the audience. I don't need you bothering me when I have to worry about avoiding the other fifteen idiots down here."

Toby chuckled, nodded politely, and turned on his heel to leave.
 
Location: Tournament: VIP Room

Gold's insides turned as another unwanted guest arrived, Toby. Gold played it off the same way, not giving a single look nor care to him as he bantered off with his prolonged talking. If Gold had to give away a prize for the most hated God, Toby would be the grand champion. Now Mr. Cyba knew his name, not that it was a complication but still unwanted. Gold closed his eyes briefly, resisting the urge to tear off Toby's lips. If he wasn't so public right now, Gold would no doubt began a fight with him. He tried to soothe himself in his mind, playing calm. Toby really does like to talk. Gold just absorbed it, staring ahead at the fighters until it was over.

The preliminaries were over and Toby made his exit. Gold grabbed Frank as he walking out to the next VIP room. "How many?" Gold demanded by question. Frank retrieved his phone, studying it for a moment. "Looks like you accumulated three million so far." Frank gave a concerning look, his pores ready to launch geysers of sweat. Gold saw it in his face. "Not yet, Fred. I'll harvest myself anyways." Gold walked out of the room, Frank seizing a nearby napkin to pat his forehead. "Shit."


Location: Main Event - Gorron

Gorron shadowed behind the other fifteen advancing contestants, releasing a casual whistle. He usually tuned this whistle while he was in the Forge, doing what he loves. Gorron wondered where Gold was. He knew he was here just by the fact of golden statues garnishing the stadium. And with the announcement about the app, Gorron felt grey. He was hoping Gold wouldn't resort to such an abusive strategy to the mortals but then again how could he argue with him? The demigod would soon come and the sacrifice of an army is much more justified than the sacrifice of the world. Gorron stopped whistling, stroking his beard as he continued to saunter behind the others.
 
[Xai, Lisa, Tyler] - Fighters Lobby

The bald man stood Next to a large monitor that displayed brackets when he switched it on. "The Tournament will be like that of the preliminaries. Minus the time restriction of course... Please pay attention as we randomize the match ups." he said as he the images of each of the 16 fighters flew all about the screen landing in a slot in the tournament line up. It Showed as follows...

Round 1: Xai VS Kevin
Round 2: Verbal VS Whiplash
Round 3: Gorron VS Darius
Round 4: Kaitlyn VS Eve
Round 5: Lisa VS Tara
Round 6: Nemo VS Koba
Round 7: Han Vs Chang
Round 8: Tyler VS Bolder

Something else was going on outside, it almost sounded as if there were people were out there. And there were! The entire place was packed with people eager to the tournament. Aw, I'm going last? Tyler was a bit disappointed, but his spirits were livend back up when he saw the kinds of fighters who made it this far. Most Notably was Lisa who he could be fighting in the Semi Finals again, and another was Xai, who he met recently. Tyler thought it would be good to get some time in for meditation before his match, so he walked over to the wall nearest to him and sat down cross legged. That was where he started to levitate off the ground, and started to relax himself before his first big fight in a while.

Lisa Decided to observe the other fighters, with The exception of Tyler and technically Kaitlyn she has never sen or heard of any of these fighters. but she didn't let that deture her. So she found a place to stretch her body before her fight. After all this Tara person may actually be a challenge. The again she may not be...

Xai noticed that his match was first, up against a man named Kevin. "Let's see if you are nearly as powerful as you claim to be." he said to himself. He had heard rumors of this man, but most of them Xai has brushed off as untrue and out right lies. He then noticed that he was not the only god in the tournament, and that one of the Dog Skulls has made it in as well... This was not what he had in mind. Granted he was stronger than the both of them combined but he felt as if those slots could have gone to other super-mortals for him to evaluate. Xai decided not to dwell on it and instead waited until it was time to fight.
 
Garrote opened his mouth, then closed it as the god - Grim, probably - disappeared as fast as he appeared. He had a point, the god did, but Garrote and Joviziah had a plan. Admittedly one he had improvised a few minutes ago, but a plan nonetheless. Verbal, like Grim had said, would probably find himself outmatched. When Joviziah had come in earlier, he had hadn't recognized Gorron and Xai, and in fact didn't even see them. Joviziah had appeared again, almost a full two minutes ago, and rattled off a few instructions, then disappeared again. Joviziah had sounded irritated - something about Chinese bureaucracy and British royal guards - and had indicated a new directive. Verbal, Garrote, and the rest of the Dogskulls were going to handle some discreet business elsewhere.

Verbal himself was inspecting the finalist rounds and scanning the contestants when Joviziah started and finished his plan in a flicker of barely noticeable proportions. The only noticeable change in Verbal was a slight stumble. Then he straightened up, fixing his uniform's collar. What had actually happened was Joviziah had stepped directly into the space Verbal had occupied, switching places with him. The real Verbal was suddenly next to Garrote, who was already holding a bottle towards him. "The drink will calm you," he said. Verbal had a few choice signs as his reply.

Joviziah took a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it. He had perfectly mimicked Verbal's form, down to the clothing and missing tongue. After seeing two gods, plus whoever this Kaitlyn woman was, he had seen that Verbal was a bit outmatched. So, naturally, he had taken his place. He needed a break in any case, and could take the opportunity to see each contestant up close. Even if he ended up against Gorron or Xai (or Kaitlyn) brute force wasn't the way to go, even if it always went amazingly well for people like Xai. Joviziah had vivid memories of the time he had easily beaten an alien champion by turning into a liquid, forcing himself down its throat, and shifted into a much more spiky form before exploding out of its stomach. It had been quite dramatic. He smiled to himself. Good old days, he thought.

--~--
Darius smiled at the other contestants, soaking in each of their features. Most were human, but even other humans were fascinating to see. Back home, humans had grown taller in the lower gravity. In fact, he had imbued his clothes with minor anti-gravity properties, mirroring that of his home planet. It made him comfortable and in competitions like this reminded him of the sekrelli hunts at home. They were humanoid, but stronger in every physical way. Stupid, of course, but strong. These other humans - and at least one lizard - were smarter.

He looked over to the man he believed to be Gorron. He looked calming, in his own way. Also looked like he could punch in his nose with a light jab, but would avoid it unless he had to. Darius smiled again. This would prove to be interesting.
 
Kaitlyn

Gorron and Xai. Kaitlyn, of course, had no clue that those big beefy individuals were gods, but she knew them well enough from observing their fights that she would be facing off against both of them. Of course, she welcomed the challenge; had she known of their true might, she'd likely wish to test their strength anyway. As long as the fights were fun and interesting, she didn't give a damn how powerful her opponents were. And after being starved of anything even remotely interesting for years, well, she found herself getting rather excited about the lineup.

Tyler and Lisa, too, might prove to be interesting, although whether either of them would make it to a fight with Kaitlyn was impossible to say.

Though, she had no clue who the hell Eve was. Hopefully it'd be someone who was actually interesting... although, given that no one aside from Lisa, Tyler, Gorron, and Xai had caught her eye, it was unlikely, as she had been on the prowl for anyone who might make it to the final 16. She was probably someone who was skilled, and if that were the case, she was likely exhausted after hours on end of fighting. Kaitlyn, on the other hand, had used minimal strength and speed - not even ten percent - and so was only a little hungry because she hadn't had breakfast that morning.

Toby and Alison

"Oh, how lamentable. Fate can be a cruel mistress, eh? Isn't that what you humans like to say?" Toby was in the audience with his good attendant Alison, who had seen to it that the two got tickets as close as possible to the action. "I suppose I can believe that Kaitlyn would be set up in the same first three rounds as Xai and Gorron, but I had somewhat wished that those two would duke it out so Xai could win and Kaitlyn would have a bit longer to participate! I really wanted her to make it to the final two... Oh, lord, is this awful, and I'm sure this isn't going to wonders for the poor girl's confidence. Well, maybe Gorron and Xai will let her won... a bit too charitable for either of them, I suppose. But we'll just have to see, yes, Alison?"

"Yes, Toby," Alison remarked in what Toby thought was an adorable cockney accent, nodding ever so slightly. Over these past two hundred-odd years, she had gotten quite used to the quirky God of Death's rambling, and actually found it to be somewhat endearing. "You really do seem to care a lot about this Kaitlyn girl, Toby. I've never seen you invest so much in a mortal." That elicited a large grin from her master, who nodded a bit.

"I suppose it seems that way, doesn't it? But I merely find her interesting. She's particularly... volatile. Particularly unpredictable. For a mortal, I mean. It's almost on par with the gods, even, I would say, and that's something I've never seen before. Ah, Alison, that reminds me, may I ask you a favor?" She was quite used to being asked favors of by Grim, which were essentially just orders but stated a bit more politely. Alison rather appreciated being treated as an equal rather than a lesser, as all the other gods seemed to treat their attendants. Of course, then again, she couldn't really know how each god and each attendant viewed their conduct, and so mentally reprimanded herself for making such assumptions.

"Of course, Toby," she responded with a bit of a smile.

"I want you to seduce Kaitlyn after the tournament. Or, rather, persuade her into seducing you, I suppose."

Alison blinked, rather surprised. "Might I ask why?" Not that she particularly minded this mission; Kaitlyn was... well, she was very attractive, in Alison's eyes.

"Well, firstly, she'll need a bit of a pick-me-up after all of this, I would think. It would be best if you played coy and aloof. Hard to get. The more of a challenge you are, the better," Toby instructed, looking back to the stadium, still with that smile upon his lips.

"I'm sure that's not all you want me to do," she spoke, softly, looking over at him. Playing hard to get with Kaitlyn surely was going to be difficult, wasn't it? She was a tad nervous about her ability to even do it.

"Perhaps... talk with her. Tell her how tough you thought she was. That sort of thing." That, of course, elicited a light smile from Alison. So he really did care about this mortal! That was, she thought, quite adorable. She decided that rather than sleep with Kaitlyn, she would try to merely befriend the girl. It seemed like she really needed a friend. Toby was the closest she had, and they were barely close at all. In fact, her master was probably more annoying to her anything else. It would probably be tougher to befriend her than bed her, of course, but she would be damned if she wouldn't try. For Grim's sake, at least.

After their little conversation, the two waited eagerly in the crowd for this ever so special tournament to begin.
 
[Xai] Main Arena - New Bon City Stadium.

After a while of waiting, the bald man left the Fighters lounge and headed to the center of the fighters ring, "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 15th annual Cyba corp. Fighting Tournament!" He spoke into a microphone as the crowd roared in cheer and excitement. "Before we begin the main event, there is a man who has a few words he'd like to share with all of you. I give you, Mr. Ricktor Cyba and his Daughter Sabrina!" Said the man as a bright light illuminated from the ring and vanished out of sight in an instant. In it's place was Mr. Cyba and Sabrina. Mr. Cyba took the microphone from the announcer and spoke to the crowd

"Welcome one and all to my 15th annual fighting tournament, I hope you are as excited as I am for the fights that are about to go down in the next few days. When I was a boy, I dreamed that Cyba Corp would become a company for the people. A company that looks out for the generations of the future, as is the reason why 15 years ago I began hosting these tournaments to donate all proceeds to the children who need it most. Thanks to you, we are one step closer to making the world a better place for future generations to live! So please sit back and enjoy this years ROUND OF FIGHTERS!" He said as fireworks set off into the sky and he and Sabrina once again vanished in an instant.

The announcer then Called in the First round of fighters to the ring. Xai knew that this fight in particular wasn't going to be all that hard. But that doesn't mean he should let his guard down and get careless. "Our first fighter is a man from the silver screen, the man go gave you classics like 'Knee Deep in Hell' and the ever so popular 'Gun Guy' give it up for Kevin Sabit!" said the announcer as Kevin made his way onto the ring wearing a costume from one of his movies. The crowed went nuts for it, Kevin was definitely popular. But this wasn't a popularity contest. "Our next fighter you may say is of the cold blooded, his speed is outmatched only by his power! Let's give a WARM welcome to the Lizard man know as Xai!" Cried out the announcer. Xai instantly appeared onto the stage in what seemed like no time at all. He wasn't kidding when he said Xai was fast. Amused, the crowed roared with applause as the announcer got off the stage and out of the way of the two fighters. "Begin!" the announcer cried out.

"Ladies fist Lizard" Kevin said to Xai in a rather rude and cocky tone. "Then go first" Xai replied with a smug grin, He knew that this mortal was nothing to brag about. Odds are he was not what Xai was looking for. But he knew if he was to continue his search he had to win, so he took to a mantis stance and waited for Kevin to make his move. "You think you are tough shit lizard man? you think you are fast? Well you aint seen nothing yet! So if you insist on it I'll make the first move" He said as he charged at Xai and thrust his right fist at him. "I don't need to be the to move" Xai then blocked Kevin's attack and countered with a mantis claw knocking him out instantly "Just the first to strike." with his opponent defeated Xai was allowed to advance to the next round.
 
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Verbal, or rather, Joviziah in the form of Verbal stepped up. The man called Whiplash stepped up on the other side of the ring. He definitely looked ominous. He wore all black with streaks of yellow. In fact, his eyes were yellow also. He looked vaguely middle aged and carried himself with the air of a soldier, or perhaps a mercenary. The two fighters locked gazes.

"For our second round, we have the thundering lightning, the shocking striker, the electrifying fighter! They say lightning never strikes twice, and Whiplash certainly never needs too!" The crowd roared with approval. Joviziah made a mental note: probably fast, probably a heavy hitter. Electricity thing?

"And our second fighter, the mysterious mute, merciless and murderous - though hopefully without any real murder - the ironically named Verbal!" The crowd roared, if somewhat less than they had for Whiplash. Joviziah felt Verbal would've liked the description.

"Begin!" The announcer cried out.

Whiplash moved first, practically spontaneously appearing behind Joviziah. He had seen it coming, of course, but had been impressed by his speed, even if at least two other contestants had also shown speed of their own kind. Joviziah stepped idly to the side, nodding. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He couldn't talk, he had to remember that. In any case, Whiplash now had an arm around his neck. Joviziah was aware of burning skin, which he assumed to be his own. He was beginning to grow aware of an electrical current flowing through his body. It tingled.

"Not burning, quiet boy?" Whiplash said into Joviziah's ear. His voice was deep and raspy in a way that Joviziah was pretty sure indicated previous throat trauma. "You know, word on the grapevine is your tongue got cut out in that whole Johannesburg shebang. Any comments?"

Joviziah casually wrenched an arm out of the hold Whiplash had put him in, then signed ASL? Whiplash frowned, then, to Joviziah's surprise, signed LSF. French Sign Language. Joviziah signed back, though he was unsure how much was understood, might want to talk to you again later.

If Whiplash was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead he made another quick move, appearing to the right of Joviziah and aiming again for his throat. He seemed a bit more surprised when his fist slammed hard into Joviziah's throat and nothing happened, and then seemed even more surprised when Joviziah took his arm, swept out his legs, then twisted him so his head slammed into the ground. There was a nasty noise as his nose impacted. Joviziah sighed in satisfaction. He reminded himself to check up on this one later; he had piqued a slight interest. And with that, he had made it to round two.

--~--
Darius had gasped, then clapped as Whiplash had to be removed, unconscious, from the ring. The ring Darius himself now stood in. He was nervous, yes, but excited. It reminded him of the fights he had back home; never serious and always to entertain. Combat matches were a popular pastime at Arianrhod, and Eli - have to check up with Eli tonight - had especially liked it. Darius had fond memories of that one time he had broken his husband's arm. It had been healed by the auto surgeon, of course, and they had shared a laugh afterward.

"For our third round, the mystical magician, from a far away land, here to mystify and horrify you all with his skills! Give it up for the magnificent Darius!" Darius bowed gracefully to the audience as they applauded; many had seen him fight before, some even his street shows. He was popular, but no less strong for it. Then he turned back, waiting for his opponent.
 
Location: Fighting Tournament vs Darius


Gorron heard his queue. With the steps of a giant, Gorron entered the ring, waving his hand with a simple smile to the crowd. He rolled his broad shoulders, cracking his back like a set of firecrackers. His gaze turned to Darius, studying him. A well built man, seemed capable of holding his own. Gorron's interest was aroused but not overflown. He stood in an athletic stance, readying himself. "Greetings!" Gorron exclaimed to Darius, his smile widening as he enjoyed the atmosphere of the crowd. He endured the roaring fans, all the people echoing excitement throughout the ring. Gorron never craved attention but he did see the addiction to it. How it could be overwhelming and so prideful. Many of his champions that claimed their prize from the Grand Arsenal have had such opportunity as this. Most of them were quite humble too. Gorron inhaled, staring straight at Darius. Let's see what the contestant has to offer.
 
Darius bowed again to Gorron. "Greetings to you also, good man." As he bowed down, he let one hand hang down and touch the ground. Hard. Cement. Easy to use. Good weapon. His gloves glowed red hot, and in addition with a few other powers he was soon holding a handful of cement.

He immediately come out of his bow throwing the chunk of floor, which glowed slightly. He picked up another chunk and followed the first one with it. He had mastered the art of making small to medium items very unstable. With something like handfuls of cement, this lead to a hand grenade effect except more flammable, making it more like shrapnel filled fireballs. He followed the explosive attack with a short drag of his gloves across the ground in front of him, leaving the ground bubbling and sizzling. Finally he put his hands in an X-shape in front of him, bringing to pillars of earth immediately in front of him to protect himself. He liked the ground here. It was much more solid than the sand of his home, and while it felt unfamiliar sometimes it allowed him to take such liberties with his attacks like so.
 
Location: Tournament Vs. Darius

Gorron stood firm, his eyes studying Darius as he made his most. The chunk blasted Gorron in his bare chest, generating a clouded explosion. As the smoke cleared, Gorron stood exactly in the same position, unmoved and unafraid. He nodded, appreciating the man's unique abilities. Gorron walked forward, closing in to the earthen barrier barricading him and Darius. With a single punch, Gorron broke through the barricade, ripping it down. He stepped over the debris with a casual approach, keeping his eyes locked onto Darius. Step after step, Gorron closed in on Darius, seeing what other responses he had to offer.


Location: VIP Room

Gold stood above in the new VIP room, observing the fight below. His lackadaisical expression showing his boredom. Gods versus mortals were just simply uninteresting. Gold whipped out his smartphone, swiping through his app. With the tap on the screen he observed the new number. Almost half a billion. A sly grin smacked onto Gold's face, Gold brushing his vintage vest. He promptly took a seat, the waiter pouring him a house Merlot.
 
Darius grinned nervously, cocking an eyebrow. "That was suppose to hurt a lot more, friend. Care to maybe take a dive for me?" He took a few steps back, taking another chunk out of the ground. This one shaped with his hands into a much sharper blade, which he then threw out at Gorron's heart. He wasn't sure what type of legal difficulties he would get if he killed the other contestant, but he was fighting without thinking about rules now.

Now he took a small bag of sand from his coat pockets and, with a quick imbuing, he threw it out. It exploded into a cloud, almost multiplying to cover the ring and hovering in the air. The ring was not extremely large, so it wasn't to muddle and confuse his opponent. Instead it was to allow him to pull the sand straight of the air for his weapons and makeshift shields. He could use air, yes, but that was unreliable and tricky to use properly. "So, friend, what brings you here, and from whence have you come?" Darius said casually, contrary to his focused expression. He quickly threw out a dozen small sand daggers, four for Gorron's eyes and the others for the chest. He just had to hope it would work better this time.

--~--
Los Angeles, California

Garrote, accompanied by the other four Dogskulls, walked into a bar. It was a nice joint, clean and new. It was fairly busy, even at this hour. Of course, if Joviziah had let them walk they would've gotten there around their real hours, but he supposed it was faster. In any case, a meeting had been set up quick between the 'diplomat' and the Dogskulls.

Garrote looked over at his four subordinates. Verbal was rather irritatedly avoiding signing to the others. He had not taken well to being pulled out of the tournament. Iron, who had been in on the plan as much as you can be in on something planned a minute before it happened, was awkwardly sitting next to him, trying to explain why. Snowy and Poker had already ordered drinks and, by the looks of it, were planning on many more. It had been a busy couple of days for them. Garrote turned back to look at the door. His men might be taking the chance to relax, but he was on business. He estimated at most a dozen more minutes til the contact arrived.
 
Location: Fighting Tournament vs Darius


Gorron continued his stride to Darius, his fists curling. "The flower, unaware that the Sun provides. Beyond comprehension." His voice boomed the metaphor to Darius question, Gorron raising his hand to shake the dust off his chest. The sharper tinsel of rock launched to him, Gorron reacting with a quick side step and slamming the wrong down with a sideways cut. The rock crumbled into shards from Gorron's strength. Gorron continued his walk forward, observing the sand riding in the air. An earthen mancer was the first though to cross Gorron's mind.

"So, friend, what brings you here, and from whence have you come?" Gorron didn't halt his approach to Darius but did shrug his shoulder to the question. "Well," Gorron stopped, noting the dozen daggers of sand attacking him. He lifted his arm up as a shield for his eyes, the four daggers pricking onto his arm just as the other eight did to his chest. Gorron brushed his arm, knocking the daggers down. No apparent wounds or blood was exchanged from the attack. With one hand, what seemed to be the size of a tire, grabbed all eight daggers from his chest. The daggers were barely intact with his chest as if they just picked his skin like a cactus needle. Gorron crushed all eight daggers in his hand, the sand flowing out of his massive grip, kissing the ground beneath him. Gorron never stopped the approach to Darius, continuing his intimidating walk. "You have remarkable capabilities. Nevertheless, it is not quite what I seek. You can withdraw now and I promise no shame to you."
 
"Giving up wouldn't be fun for either of us, would it?" Darius said, smiling, except now the smile was tinged with frustration. Clearly this Gorron was a strong figure, but Darius still had a trick or two up his sleeve. It would be risky, but sometimes risky was necessary to win, and in any case his routine methods weren't working.

Pulling up another chunk of cement, he imbued it with slightly different properties than his first two. He tossed it a good length above his opponent, where it flashed into a controlled explosion. The explosion itself was no regular one, pulling sand towards it. When it cleared, there was a sheet of glass in the air above Gorron, hovering. Then Darius jumped high, gathering sand below him and blasting it with fire. As he fell back down, his clothes began glowing with heat, fierce enough he could almost feel it through the layers of heat protection he had put them. As he hit the sheet of glass, he seemed to pass through it, disappearing downwards. From the sheet of glass above Gorron, he silently dropped through, using shards from the last sheet as knives and glowing red hot. He aimed downward, going for the base of the back of his neck.
 
Location: Fighting Tournament Vs. Darius


"Giving up wouldn't be fun for either of us, would it?" Gorron nodded, stopping his walk to Darius. "If that is what you wish." As Darius withdrew two more concrete slabs, Gorron shook his head. "More rocks? You sh-" Gorron paused, observing the two rocks imploding to what seemed to make a sheet of glass. "That's new." Gorron observed as Darius continued his prolonged attack, creating another sheet and using them as a sort of portal. So Darius wasn't an earthen controller but rather a controller of the elements it seemed. Perhaps Gorron could offer something to him.

Gorron wasn't the brightest in the battlefield but definitely not feeble. Gold might of caught on to what Darius' attack was to be but by the time Gorron did it was too late. Darius came slamming the two shards of glass, imbued with intense heat. Many think that Gorron's toughness and durability come from his natural big state. But Gorron was created by the Grand Arsenal itself, making him a living a weapon. Gorron's tenacity was much more of a higher tier than the other Gods, like Gold's speed, best to the others. Fortunately for Gorron's lack of strategic fighting, his resilient body paid for.

The glass shards simply shattered upon impact, the heat singing Gorron's outer skin. But as soon as it passed one layer, a hissing sound endured, the heat immediately vanishing into steam. Gorron chuckled, launching his arm behind him to grab Darius' arm. "You know not of what you fight, friend." Gorron boomed, throwing his opponent, if the grab was successful, with great might in attempt to fling him out of the ring.
 
Darius flew, with utter surprise, straight out of the ring. He turned, cat-like, in the air, landing sideways on a wall, undamaged, and slid down, clapping already.

'Bravo, sir, bravo! I've got to say, you truly surprised me! I gladly admit defeat." Darius was slightly disappointed in his own loss, but he didn't show it. Merely catching the huge man in the back had been good enough for him in his own way. In any case, he was used to fighting with weapons. He had done well with the materials at hand in this match, but he hadn't been able to channel his powers as well without his mask or any weapons. Of course, fatalities were not part of the tournament, so it was understandable not not letting him to bring in his rifle or staff. Still, he was proud of himself doing so well bare-handed.

With a final bow, he began walking off. He had much to improve on, and he had lost in his first real match, even if it did seem like he had gotten in over his head there. Either way, there was work to be done.

--~--
Joviziah watched Darius, eyes purposefully blank. The skills of the man had interested him, or more accurately, the possibilities of his powers had. How far did they extend? Clearly his clothes had some sort of protection, as they both didn't burn and seemed to channel some energy in themselves. He was not recognizably a god or anyone's attend as far as he knew, and in any case he had lost to Gorron with only a single hit in, which had been better than Joviziah had expected. In any case he had recognized a few signs in the mortal that signalled someone from off-planet and from a lower gravity planet - the clumsy steps, the unusual height, the way he carried himself. He, at least, was not from Earth.

Then he turned his eye back to the ring. Next was the Kaitlyn Grim had deigned to mention multiple times. I guess I'll see if she can live up to the expectations, he thought.

--~--
Garrote locked eyes with the man in the suit as soon as he walked in. He wasn't exactly bizarre-looking - business attire, brown hair and eyes, medium height - but he recognized him. They called him Locke, and they also said he was former military and loaded with so much technology inside him that he was part computer. Garrote certainly didn't see any on the outside.

Locke sat at the table, smiling. His eyes, at a closer look, had a small light grey ring on the inside of the iris. I guess he does have something in there, Garrote thought.

"I come representing the Blodsteinns," he said, which they both knew. It was just a matter of procedure.

"I represent the Sandman," Garrote said. Then he cut to the chase. "He wants a list of all powered individuals on your database and wants an update whenever you find new ones, plus searching parties to find more."

"A hefty demand," Locke said, still smiling. And what will you pay for such a boon?"

Garrote bit back another sigh. Negotiations always took longer than he liked. The Blodsteinns in particular were a finnicky bunch. It might require some sacrifice, at least until Joviziah inevitably came around and settled things in a more permanent way. "First, let's get some drinks," Garrote said, smiling back. Locke nodded politely. They both knew how long this would be.
 
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