Ding, Dong, Fight! (Martian Manhunter)

[Solo]

Solo wasn't a very nice person in fact he was the complete opposite of that word, and well you would never hear someone accuse him of being a good child. Well how could he be a good child with no parents he wasn't a child at all. Many things he had been called during his youth, and they all rang clearly in his head as he walked through the streets of Washington D.C. These people were fools imbeciles, and they infuriated him to no end. So he figured he would just go to the White House, and kill their leader. The one person they looked up to for all the answers a parent almost.. That was something he had lost, and it was all their fault, and for that he would never forgive them.

Walking along he saw a car, and he picked it up, and threw it across the street into a building. The explosion immediately caught peoples attention, and sent them running. Screams soon filled the air as apparently someone had been in the car, and his mangled corpse had been seen. Laughing cruelly held out his hand, and sent out a blast of energy igniting a gas station, and blowing it apart. Sending out another energy blast he blew part of a small building away. Wherever he walked destruction followed him. That was what he had been made for though so what else could he do. He didn't care he liked this life way to much.

However he knew that he hadn't explored all of his powers just yet, but the ones that he did have were very powerful. He particularly liked his super strength. Being able to lift 100 tons was a nice feat, and just to show off a little bit he punched a sky scraper next to him, and cracked it up to the seventh floor walking away the building started to crumble. Chunks of it would probably fall, and kill innocent people, but he didn't care. Walking on he could see the light house now, and wondered if anyone would come out to stop him from killing the great Lex Luthor.

[Martian Manhunter]

The steady whirring rumble of an ancient air conditioning system was the dominate sound in the old government building. It was a drab little structure squat, featureless and made of concrete that resembled week old frozen oatmeal. The inside matched with dingy white, personality-free walls that weren't even pristine enough to present the efficient menace the average human associated with the clandestine branches of the government. Chuckmate answered solely to the United Nations but unmistakeably did quite a bit of business in the States. Often, Alec was all too content to remain within his quarters at The Castle in Switzerland and peruse it's expansive library or other learning materials. When the chance arose to visit the United States capital, however, the opportunity for travel had stirred his interest.

The agents he accompanied were meeting in the cramped office that was the next room, occupied by their American counterparts. Most people in general tended to feel uneasy around a telepath and secret agents especially so. Thus, A'lkk found himself cooling his heels in the waiting room. His only company was a world-weary receptionist, a rather sad little pikas plant and a small, boxy little television set that served as the ancestor to it's flatter, wall-mounted brethren.

Alec had sat quietly without movement or speech for the last few hours. The receptionist seemed to notice the fact that he wasn't blinking for much of that and he mentally chided himself for forgetting that little detail. Still, as jaded as the woman was Alec was fairly certain he creeped her out just a little bit. His attempts to strike up conversation had fallen rather flat and ultimately he let the silence reign. She turned the television on but had kept it muted, which was fine. However, Alec found something of rather immediate interest as the news cut in over the rather enthralling c-span session he had been observing.

"Could you turn on the volume, please?" He asked suddenly, startling the receptionist a bit. She blinked as Alec seemed completely unchanged from how he was before. Just as she was beginning to wonder if she had imagined him speaking, he turned his head to face her. She pressed his lips into a tight, thin line and turned the volume on low.

The woman glanced up a moment later as the sound began to filter into her brain and she registered it as a news report about an emergency that was taking place only a few blocks away. She blinked again as the young man in the chair had vanished completely without a trace, the long hall beyond the door completely empty.

Minutes later Alec Addams found himself on the streets of DC, his more causal attire abandoned in lieu of the uniform he had adopted as the Martian Manhunter. His contacts had been removed as well and his eyes gave off the warm, red light of Mars. The Manhunter surveyed the situation quickly and went into action, giving the civilians first priority. He went intangible and sank into the ground beneath him only to rise like some undead spectre behind a bystander. Alec grabbed the woman and pulled her to safety just as a large piece of debris crashed against the now empty sidewalk. Most of the other people were already scattering.

The Martian Manhunter approached the figure that seemed to be in the midst of all the chaos. He narrowed his dimly glowing eyes and studied the man for several seconds. From what he had seen thus far this individual possessed immense strength and some degree of energy manipulation. He had hunted others like this one but each case always held it's own surprises. "Sir, I must ask you to stop what you are doing and surrender to the proper authorities. You are clearly in dire need of psychiatric assistance."

"Stand down," The Martian continued in his deadpan but authoritative voice. His next words were almost identical in tone and yet there was somehow a hard edge of certainty to them."Or I will be forced to subdue you."

[Solo]

It didn't take long for someone to show up, and start telling him that he needed to stop, and that he was psychologically disturbed, or something like that. Turning around he saw a man floating above him, or well near him, and he looked at the guy. He was dressed weird, and his eyes were glowing all red, for a second he thought that this guy was a demon, but after further study he knew otherwise. His sword was strapped to his back, but he wasn't going to use it because he only used it on the toughest of opponents. This guy didn't look all that tough. But he knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving. Most people didn't think that he was very powerful until they fought him, and then they were singing a different tune.

"Hahaha I am in need of psychiatric assistance. Looks to me like you are the one in need. I mean what kind of a person tries to stop someone that practically leveled a building with a single punch. If you ask me you are the one in need of assistance." he said to the man with a cold gleam in his eyes. After all this guy really didn't know who he was talking to, but that was the ignorance of the human race. It sickened him that he was half human, but he was looking for a way to get rid of that part of him. Once he became a full demon his power would increase exponentially, and he would become nigh on invincible. However until he could figure out a way he would have to deal with his limited abilities.

"I would like to see you try, and subdue me." he said to the man, and he held out his hand, and he released an concussive blast towards the man. Hoping to blast him nice, and good so that he could continue on his way to destroy the symbol of this countries power. "You can't stop me, so don't even try." he said to the man as he wondered if his attack would hit his opponent, or not. Whether it did, or not was not important what was important was the fact that he was getting closer to the White House.

[Martian Manhunter]

The Manhunter couldn't quite dismiss the man's statement as completely untrue. The pragmatic response to seeing a man punch a building with significant results would be to vacate the area as swiftly as possible. However, it was doubtlessly unwise to let such an individual run rampant without some degree of opposition. This man was dangerous and unstable with an impressive array of skills already demonstrated. Thus far he seemed incapable of not placing innocent lives in danger and his only goal so far appeared to be traveling to the White House. Alec had no idea what defenses were in place to protect the President and his home but he assumed they would be considerable. He also knew that since they were unknown he couldn't count on them for back-up.

He would have to proceed under the belief that he was the sole line of defense until facts proved otherwise.

The man's statements did nothing to alter the Martian's expression, which remained as stoic and unreadable as ever. Out of the arsenal of abilities the man had displayed so far, enhanced speed did not appear to be among them for which MM was thankful. Still, the madman could juggle ranged and close-quarters fighting which would make things difficult. It was also possible that he had other talents hidden up his sleeve that Alec had yet to observe. Caution, it seemed would be the thing to keep in mind for now.

The Martian stared unblinkingly at his opponent and watched as he raised his hand. Judging from the news footage that had summoned him here, Alec suspected he knew what that particular movement signaled. His form suddenly became translucent and vague and he sank into the ground he stood on as the concussive blast passed just over his head. For several seconds, it seemed as though the Martian had disappeared entirely.

He emerged several meters to his opponent's left and solidified in a low crouch behind a pile of rubble. His gaze drifted down to his right hand which rippled and shifted like a malleable liquid until it reformed in a new shape. Each finger was now replaced with extremely long, razor-sharp talons. Alec turned his attention back to the rampaging criminal and shifted his form once again. This time his right arm rippled and suddenly extended outwards and stretching impossibly. The clawed, tentacle like appendage struck out like a whip to swipe it's claws towards the arm the man had just used to fire a blast.

[Solo]

The man that he was fighting suddenly disappeared, and came up beside him several feet away. Suddenly the mans hands became like talons, and shot towards him with incredible speed. Smiling at the man he quickly jumped back, and erected an energy barrier in front of him to block the mans attack. He watched as the mans attack crashed against his energy wall, and with a smile he figured he would start making things more interesting for this guy. Obviously he was going to be a tougher customer than Solo originally thought. Jumping up into the air, he intertwined his fists so that they would appear more like a hammer, and then he came down, and smashed the ground with a powerful blow.

His hope was the the shock wave would either knock the man off his feet, or send some debris at the man, and cause some damage to him. While that attack was working its charms against the man holding out his hand. Charging up energy in his hand he sent out a blast of energy towards the guy hoping to hurt him even more. This guy was causing him a little discomfort, but he would finish this guy off very soon. It was becoming more, and more of a problem. Laughing his cruel sadistic laugh he stared at the man hoping that his attacks would hit the guy with the full blunt of it's force.

"Let's see if you can handle this you are becoming a nuisance to me, and well lets see if I can decimate." he said to the man in his cold, and vile tone. This guy wouldn't pose any threat to him. In the end Solo would be the only one standing at the end of this battle because this person would be defeated.

[Martian Manhunter]

"Hm," Alec remarked mildly as his newly formed talons raked against the newly formed energy shield. It seemed that his energy projection extended beyond simple blasts. Problematic but at least it was another card on the table. His extended arm retracted itself and reverted to normal. The Martian's eyes narrowed shrewdly as he considered his options for getting past the perpetrator's defenses. However, while he was distracted the man launched into an unorthodox assault. The shockwave caught him before he could react and knocked him off his feet and onto his back. The ground greeted him with a loud thud that knocked the wind out of him but his attention was completely focused on the smack to the back of his head he received on contact. His vision swam and stars exploded in front of his eyes for several seconds until his head cleared.

Alec lifted his head with a groan and gingerly felt the back of his skull for any damage. Finding nothing dire, he forced his vision to stop swinging around and looked back towards his opponent. The bright light generated by the energy collecting in his hand. Alec slapped his hand against the ground and flattened his palm. Once again he went transparent and ghosted into the earth beneath him just as the the blast engulfed the area around him.

The Manhunter resurfaced just underneath an abandoned car further up the street. After studying the path he ghosted his way into the drivers seat and solidified again. He slammed down the gas and launched the vehicle forward, guiding the steering wheel so that it was on a head on collision with the super-powered criminal. As he reached the edge of safe distance he went intangible once again and let the rest of the car pass through him as it barreled onwards. Alec went solid once again and darted for the edge of the street, forming his hands into axe-like blades of hardened bone.

He watched the scene unfold, his face motionless and unchanged as he waited to see if a followup attack would be necessary.

[Solo]

All of a sudden he saw a car heading towards him with a lot of speed, and he realized what the guy he was fighting was trying to do. "Awww come on a Car!" he said loudly, and he quickly grabbed his sword that was on his back, and he quickly smashed it into the hood of the car. However while that might have stopped the car from crashing into him it caused another problem. A huge explosion erupted from the car with violent force, and threw him backwards onto the ground. Pain enveloped his body as he struck the ground, and he realized that he was bleeding, but that wouldn't last for too long. Standing up he stared at the guy, and looked at his arms, and saw that the shallow cuts on his body were already sealing, and the deeper ones would heal during the fight.

Staring at the intangible man he gave another laugh as he sheathed his giant sword that was a whole foot tall than him, and he grinned. "Wow that could have hurt me pretty bad that wasn't very nice at all." he said to the guy, and continued to laugh his sadistic laugh. Apparently he was going to have to stop messing around, or he might wind up dead, and well that wouldn't do. Cracking his knuckles, and his neck he looked on at the guy, and realized that they were back in a semi populated area, and he realized that he could appeal to the hero in this guy since that what he seemed to be. "So tell me hero if I were to fire an energy blast at you would you just dodge it? I ask because if you did there are buildings around some probably with people. So I say that we play a game of roulette I fire off a bunch of energy blasts at random buildings, and lets see how many have people in them." he said to the man with a cold gleam in his eyes.

"Or will you be a hero, and save them somehow?" he said to the man, and he charged up energy in both hands, and started firing them off in the directions of buildings, and he wondered if the man would choose the route of the hero, and save them, or allow the blasts to hit, and cause further damage to the city, and possibly hit innocent people, or use the chance that Solo hadn't attacked him directly to launch a counter attack. He noticed that this guy hadn't evacuated the area, but Solo had been causing quiet a ruckus. "So choose hero which will it be me, or them." he said with a cruel laugh.

[Martian Manhunter]

The Manhunter observed the result of his attack, satisfied upon seeing damage actually dealt to rampant attacker. The feeling was quelled somewhat when he observed some of the more minor wounds already healing. A regenerative and rapid healing factor, another thorn in his side for this arrest. Still, quick healing was not invulnerability and if the lunatic could bleed he could be beaten. He hefted his now blade-shaped hands and readied himself for a follow-up attack, one perhaps directed at critical areas of the human anatomy. While the man seemed built for offense it seemed he was not without his troublesome defenses. It would take a bit of strategy but Alec had yet to feel overwhelmed.

His planning was pulled up short, however, when his opponent decided to use a less savory tactic. His expression remained largely unchanged but there was the slightest widening of his eyes before they narrowed in placid disapproval. Left with the ultimatum, there was little choice in the matter. Civilians were top priority, always. The Martian didn't relish what was about to happen but his body was already moving into action. He darted forward and let his form expand rapidly as he increased in size. After gaining sufficient mass to make himself a suitably large target he placed himself in between the blasts and the buildings that were their intended destination. The beams slammed into him and knocked him back the burst of pain causing him to snap back to his original size as he sailed backwards through the air.

With a grunt and a smash, he slammed into the windshield of a car and sprawled limply across the car. Tiny wisps of smoke rose from the two points of contact with the beams and Alec groaned loudly as he shifted his muscles to try and examine the damage. His body was uncooperative but he knew he needed to get up and moving quickly. As he struggled he decided he needed to buy some time.

He raised a hand that felt as heavy as weighted lead and rested it over his forehead. Alec closed his eyes and focused his mind, pushing away the pain and the aches of his body. Tapping into his telepathy he reached out towards his enemy's mind, scanning it for information and locking onto it for contact. As he did so, he searched out and gathered up the minds of those around them.

"Cowardly tactics. The cruel and ignorant lashing out of a child." His voice rang in the head of Solo. The quiet monotone remained but was joined by an undercurrent of cold anger as he continued. "Solo, is it? You are a bully. A common thug, squandering your gifts on selfishness and rage. You have no concept of the consequences of your actions."

"I will educate you."

The Manhunter suddenly joined together the minds of the civilians around them in a web. Once connected he drew out the pain, fear and panic that swirled through each of them and funneled it all straight into Solo's mind. Letting him feel what they felt, how they felt it as he crashed his way through their lives. Perhaps it would be enough for the man to see the light, perhaps it might incapacitate him to experience what he dished out. If nothing else, Alec hoped it would distract Solo enough to let him get back on his feet.

[Solo]

It didn't take long for the man to retaliate by taking the energy blasts to protect the innocent lives, and it winded up with him being put through the windshield of a car. Solo gave a fake wince of pain as he watched the guy get thrown into the car, but he started to laugh at the pathetic hero. That was most heroes problem was that they all had the same weakness, they cared about others. Solo was not held to any moral code, and therefore he was able to make decisions that others would merely cringe at. It brought him a great measure of satisfaction, but then he realized that his opponent would attack him back soon. However Solo wondered what kind of attack to expect from this guy. So he had showed the ability to become intangible, and pass through solid objects which was a very dangerous ability in itself.

He didn't expect an attack on his mind however, and he soon felt something enter his consciousness, and he realized what was happening. This guy was getting in his head literally, and he could feel his words reverberate through his mind, and once he joined all the other minds with his, and started to funnel their emotions, and pain through his mind it was overwhelming. As his enemy did this he flashed back to those times when he was a kid, and all the times in Highschool to where everyone was picking on him, and he was weak, and defenseless. That pain, and fear that he had so long suppressed came bubbling back up in a single instant, and he could feel the tears start to well up in his eyes.

No I won't cry! he thought angrily to himself knowing full well that what he just felt, and flash backed to in his mind this man was privy to as well. "ENOUGH!" he shouted angrily out loud allowing his voice to reverberate, and then he realized that he was losing control of his other side, and he looked up, and smiled at the man as his golden eyes iced over becoming completely blood red. The man had caused a great amount of damage to Solo both physically, and psychologically now it was his time to pay. His entire attire changed into something more demonic.

A swirl of red demonic energy surrounded him as the transformation took place, and it encased him in a cocoon of sorts. After a few seconds the cocoon exploded, and there stood Solo holding his giant 7 foot sword with a red cape like cloth around his neck covering his mouth. His hair was slightly spiked up, and he had two batlike leathery wings sprouting from his back. His single shoulder pad was now metallic in appearance, and had cylindrical spikes protruding from it. Standing there he smiled at the man underneath his cape knowing the man wouldn't be able to see it but he would be able to tell.

"Nice trick you got there, but now you are gonna die!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, and he charged at the man. Waving his sword he used it in combination with his energy abilities, and sent a wave, or energy at his enemy hoping to cleave him in half

[Martian Manhunter]

Every image, every thought, every feeling he could gather up he took and directed it straight into the broken mind of Solo Rose. It was always curious to see how such unity affected humans. On Mars, his people shared a closeness and oneness that these humans lacked. While his world was not without it's 'bad apples' as the saying was, it was often a surprise at how ignorant humans could be in regards to how the affected those around them. In a few cases this revelation had tore away the illusions the subject had encased themselves in and they willing surrendered with the intention of turning their lives around.

A'lkk had already suspected this wouldn't exactly be the case with this particular person.

However, it did bring up some interesting thoughts. Memories no doubt long buried boiled suddenly to the forefront of his enemy's mind. For a moment sympathy intermingled with the Martian's quiet anger. The flashes of thought confirmed his assessment of the man. At his core, he was a child lashing out to defend himself from what he perceived as a cold, cruel world. It was cases such as this that sometimes made Alec rather grateful he hadn't been subjected to the human concept of 'high school'.

Unfortunately, these thoughts did nothing to excuse Rose's current behavior. Further, it had another unintentional side-effect that seemed to negate the idea of a peaceful surrender. The Manhunter's brow furrowed ever so slightly as he witnessed the transformation. It wasn't quite like his own shape-shifting and the hellish fanfare that came with it heralded it as something more than a mere change of shape or wardrobe.

"Magic," Alec remarked flatly. Magic was interesting but also irritating it in it's unpredictable nature. It often openly defied the laws of physics and forced one to include the impossible into any counter strategy. Still, as random as it could seem magic had it's own set of rules and was rarely without price. From what Alec could glean from the man's brain before he retreated back into his own, it would seem that this transformation was accompanied by a substantial boost in power and ability. The fact that Solo held it in reserve, however, backed his theory on price and rules. That wasn't always the case, as he had learned from a film one of his handlers had presented him.

In the midst of a duel, on the fringe of being beaten one of the sword-fighters suddenly revealed that he was not, in fact, left-handed. He then began to fight with his right hand with the clear advantage. While clever in it's own sense, Alec often wondered why the charade was necessary.

Upon the matter at hand, Alec didn't believe this to be a charade on Solo's part. No, whatever this was the already troublesome foe would become more so.

"No." He answered simply to Solo's shouted command. As the shockwave drew near, Alec collected his strength and hoped the telepathic exchange had let him catch his breath. He could practically feel the displaced air of the attack as he went intangible and fell back through the car he had landed on and into the earth below. Just before his eyes sank below ground level he watched as the car was sliced in half by the force directed at it.

For several seconds, he ghosted motionless through the concrete and earth around him. It was much like being in a sensory deprivation tank, in a way. Here he was unreachable unless he stretched out with his mind and the concerns above him seemed to vanish. It was very peaceful, in a sense. But the Manhunter knew he could not remain here, so he 'swam' through the earth and resurfaced some distance away from his last location. As he emerged he altered his pigmentation to 'stealth mode'. It wasn't true invisibility just camouflage but it gave him a translucent bubble-like appearance that made him extremely difficult to spot.

As he became solid again his body protested painfully to his movement. Alec gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut for several seconds as pain seared through him. He suspected if he was less malleable he would have broken bones but he still believed there was some internal damage. He used his own control over his body to shift and arrange his muscles and tissues in a way that would hold him together until he returned to Checkmate for proper medical attention.

He hoped.

"Solo Rose, you are known to me now." He sent out telepathically, keeping his speech mental so as not to give his position away. "You confuse power with strength. You may possess raw power but you are a very weak person."

"You may have obtained a means to strike out at the world but you still act out of fear of being hurt, like you were in high school."

As he spoke, he ghosted into the earth again but this time merely skimmed along the surface like a crocodile and circled around slowly until he could surface behind Solo. In his training with Checkmate he found that his intangible form typically left any organic beings he passed through unaffected. There had been a discovery, however, that altering his molecules just so and ghosting through a person had a violent reaction with a subject's nervous system. The effect, as observed, was not unlike being hit with a taser as it directly attacked the nerves.

Given Solo's regeneration, he wasn't sure how it would work against him but Alec wagered it was worth a try. He cocked an arm back and altered his intangibility just slightly and punched his ghostly arm directly towards the back of Solo's head.

"And no matter how powerful you become, I believe there is an old Earth saying that 'there's always a bigger fish'."

[Solo]

The martian man once again became intangible, and avoided his attack causing the energy to cleave a car in half. Frustrated he looked around trying to find his opponent. The man had the uncanny ability to turn intangible, and become invisible. It didn't take long for him to reveal himself however as he sent out another telepathic message to his mind. Listening to his words only made him angrier, and he shouted with both his mind, and his mouth. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he bellowed, and continued to try, and find him. However he was too late, and the man got to fire off an attack.

He had never felt such an attack before, and it felt like a million volts of electricity had passed through his body. Falling forward away from the source of the attack he lay on the ground twitching from the shock. His mind was racing trying to figure out a way out this spot. The martian however overlooked a minor detail in his attack. His new form enhanced his abilities greatly his strength, healing, and all of his energy powers. Solo was now more powerful than he had been before, and this guy would pay dearly for his mistake. Laying there it felt like hours, but in actuality it had only been about 5 minutes maybe. The attack was a powerful one, but he wouldn't allow himself to die. So he grudgingly got up from the attack shaking it off.

Clearly not at 100%, but he was far from done with this battle looking around he still couldn't see his opponent. However he would flush him out. If the man had been solid enough to shock him maybe he was solid enough to be hit. Plunging his sword into the ground he used his energy powers to funnel it through his sword. All of a sudden the ground around him cracked, and white energy was filling the cracks shining through. Like multiple geysers the energy rushed up through the ground, and started shooting in the air. Debris, and energy bolts were flying everywhere.

"You have no idea who you are messing with. I am going to kill them all. Once I am done with you I am going to make you watch as they suffer!" he said to his opponent with a huge amount of malice in his voice. Laughing cruelly into the air as he continued his onslaught. The man's last attack had taken a toll on him he could feel his muscles, and movements had become more sluggish. Obviously that attack was meant to be one hit K.O.. This guy hadn't taken into his enhanced abilities from his new transformation.

[Martian Manhunter]

This was troublesome. The subject's stubborn refusal to give in coupled with his obviously broken psyche was dragging this fight out longer than Alec had wanted. From what he had gathered from Solo's mind his current enhanced state wouldn't last very long. Though certainly long enough to do plenty of damage. By now, naturally most everyone had cleared the area that could but there were a few stragglers due to injury or had been trapped by debris.

This tantrum could not continue.

Thus resolved, Manhunter ghosted his way through the area as Solo began his assault anew. The energy geysers were a bit of a nuisance and Alec wasn't sure how much this energy would effect him in his intangible state so he resolved to avoid them as much as possible. The flying debris passed through him as harmlessly as rain through fog. He set his sights a little wider, getting out of the intensified zone of Solo's effect and remained in stealth mode as he looked for something to assist him.

Numerous abandoned vehicles scattered the surrounding streets and Alec ghosted his way through them for a quick inventory of anything useful. The current attack Solo was using would make his earlier attention to hit him with a car too risky and potentially futile but there were other options. He found a large, tarnished pickup truck and a full can of gas waiting in the back of the bed. The truck also held a toolbox which Alec opened to sift through the contents.One of his most important sources of information on Earth was the television. It had taught him much of the planet's culture and informed him of some of it's greatest hero's.

One of Alec's personal favorites was the man known as MacGyver.

Alec located a roll of duct tape and took up the can of gas and then moved on. Next, he found a motorbike laying on it's side. He inspected it for damage, found none and proceeded to tape the gas can tightly onto the back and then slipped the roll of duct tape into his coat pocket. Starting the bike up he revved up the gas and sped up onto the side-walk. He surveyed the area and found a building that was currently between himself and Solo.

He sped through the doors and gunned it through the lobby pulling a hard turn when he spotted the elevators. He extended his arm and stretched it out ahead of him to slap the pun and slid to a halt once he had crossed the threshold into the cramped space. The doors closed and The Girl From Ipanema began to play over the tiny speakers as Alec rode his way to the top floor.

As the elevator dinged and the doors parted for him, Manhunter sped through the abandoned halls of the tall skyscraper and glanced out the window to check his position. With a satisfied nod, he stopped the bike and picked up a nearby chair which he used to shatter the window. He then retreated to the far end of the floor and poured on as much speed as the bike would handle. Finally, it cleared the window and Martian and bike found themselves in the empty air.

To guide his aim, Alec used his shape-shifting to form into large parachute like wings. He didn't fully extend them so as not to slow the descent but instead used them sparingly and subtly to line up his fall so that the bike was headed straight down towards Solo like a dropped bomb.

When he judged that the course would not be altered further, Alec let go and fully extended his wings letting the draft rip him free of the bike. The motion caused the wounds on his chest to protest most painfully and Alec gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds until it passed. He glided through the air a moment and steered himself back towards the building where he grabbed onto a flagpole and hoisted himself up onto it to watch the effects of his aerial attack.

To Solo's shouted threat his calm even voice merely rang out a single word in his opponent's mind.

"Unlikely."

[Solo]

This martian had a knack for annoying the hell out of him, and that was saying something considering he was a half demon. Looking around he saw a giant building, and out of the window came the martian man with a bike aiming to crash it into Solo. He watched as the man floated away to land on a flagpole near the building as the bike continued to hurtle it's way towards him. Holding up his hand he erected a barrier of energy that glowed white around his body, and watched as the bike crashed into the barrier, and exploded violently. He is not without his talents, but it is time to end this little game. he thought to himself as the fire around him died.

One of the perks of his transformation was that in increased all of his abilities beyond their usual limit making him seemingly invincible. Well only for a short while he only had a limited time in this transformation before he would revert back to normal. As the smoke cleared he grinned at the man his violent, and psychotic nature surfacing to it's full extent. Most of the people would have evacuated by now, but there were those had to stick around because of injuries. While most would see him as nothing, but a violent, psychotic moron he did have intelligence, and knew how to use his surroundings to his advantage.

He wondered how the martian would handle being electrocuted. As their was a power plant not far from where they were. However he would have to goad the man into going there, and there was only one way to do that. Smiling he picked up his giant sword, and combining it with his energy powers he sent another slicing wave of energy towards the man. However he wasn't really aiming at him instead aiming at the building behind him. He watched as his attack worked it's magic slicing clean through a section of the building as it started to fall towards his opponent.

He knew that the man would probably use that intangible power of his before the building hit, so he would have to catch him off guard before that. Rushing towards him he once again thrust his sword into the ground all the way to the hilt. To someone who didn't understand his mind this would seem crazy. However he was funneling his energy powers through the sword, and under the ground towards the martian man. And once he felt it ready he unleashed a powerful energy geyser under the man hoping that he would be caught off guard.

Then to make it even more difficult he sent a bolt of energy towards the falling section of the building, and blasted it. Causing it to shatter, and giant pieces of debris to fall down towards the man. Turning around he smiled, and thought out loud so that the man would be able to hear his thoughts Come on, come on, lets play a game.. he thought in a voice that was even more psychotic than his physical one. Rushing a few blocks away he came to the power plant, and he waited for the man.

If the martian gave chase he had planned on blowing up the plant, and damaging them both. Solo would heal, the martian however not so much... so now he just waited for the man to come.

[Martian Manhunter]

Alec leaped clear of the building as Solo began his assault once again. This time, however he didn't go intangible right away. Instead he used his shape-shifting talents to transform himself in a small ape-like creature but kept the wings. Using the wind currents and drafts generated by Solo's actions, he steered himself through the air and used his small agile form to leap from rock chunk to rock chunk. He clung to a particularly large one and flipped it and used it to shield himself from the other loose pieces of debris that fell towards the Earth.

When Solo began the next phase, he pushed off from his rock and glided through the air to get some distance from the falling building and then reverted to his nature shape. Then he turned himself into a bubble-like transparent version of that shape and then went intangible as he dove into the ground and moved through it like a fish through water.

Given his opponents excitement, it was hardly an effort to peek into his mind and see what was in store. Obtaining a tactical edge on a telepath was difficult even for a disciplined mind much less one possessed of so little impulse control.

Still, even knowledge of the plan made it difficult to overcome. He supposed it was his own fault. In using the surrounding environment so much against Solo it must have inadvertently inspired him to get creative, Alec decided. There were few scenarios where he could neutralize Solo quickly enough to keep the power station intact. Despite how much damage the place could possibly inflict upon the rampaging demonic being, Alec really wished to avoid it's destruction. He didn't think there were any hospitals currently linked up to that particular grid but it would still be expensive and inconvenient for the citizens of Washington.

The only other options were to neutralize him at a distance or lure him back out of the planet. However, he wasn't sure how Solo would respond if he didn't trip the trap. It was possible he would simply leave but A'lkk doubted that. There had been a few holes in Solo's plan, however, the first being that one should never take their eyes off an opponent that can become virtually invisible and intangible. The greatest danger was in the moment that Solo realized he was there and thus initiated his plan of taking out the power station.

The Manhunter, however, could move about virtually undetected. He moved through the solid matter of the floor and expanded his mind. The evacuations had been largely successful but it was easy enough to find someone familiar with the plant, even at a distance. Probing the human workers mind he got the general layout of the building and a few important facts.

He located Solo quickly and moved to an adjacent hallway, to lay a trap of his own. The Martian found a dormant generator with a cable hook-up and in nearby supply closet he found a number of chains. Working quickly and quietly he created a fish-net of chains and duct-taped them to the table. He strung out his net along the ground and attached it to a few of the handrails and made it as inconspicuous as possible and then found himself a quiet niche over by the activation button.

Next, he sat down cross-legged on the floor and carefully rested his hands on his knees. The Martian took a long, deep breath and slowly exhaled. As the air passed his lips, he let go of his worries and his tensions and his fears. He cleared his mind and pushed aside all physical discomfort and then all physical sensation. He dove deep into the depths of his own mind. Reaching to his very core until his body seemed almost a distant memory a separate part of himself. The Manhunter focused his mind with ancient Martian techniques and honed it like a blade.

With all the corporeal elements of himself aside, he wielded his mind like the fist of an angry god and brought his full telepathic force to bear down on the man called Solo Rose. Mental talons dipped into the others man's skull and ripped out his mind in a moment of blind confusion but then there was suddenly a bright light that enveloped them both.

Quite suddenly, they were in a vast space of endless white where the only visible things in the infinite brightness were Solo, himself and a small table with two chairs. A'lkk was now wearing a a pristine and completely immaculate white suit to match their surroundings. He quietly fixed himself a cup of tea and glanced up at Solo.

"Solo Rose, please have a seat." He nodded to the other chair. "I have, for a time created this space for our minds so that we could have a little chat."

"In this state you cannot bat an eye or wiggle a toe but don't be alarmed because neither can I for so long as I hold you here." A'lkk took a sip from the cup and then carefully set it down on the table. "Furthermore, neither of us can harm the other in this place because it's not real."

"So, sit down and let us talk, hm?"

[Solo]

All of a sudden it felt like his mind was in a giant vice grip, and being torn apart before it had stopped. The martian no doubt dodged, or just went intangible to dodge all of his attacks. However it wouldn't stop him from doing what was necessary to win. It was a very uncomfortable sensation having his mind taken away from his body. He didn't like it at all, and soon he was floating above in a new space, or so it felt like he was floating. All of a sudden he was in a new place with the martian man sitting at a table drinking tea. Looking around he wondered where he was. This was no place that he was familiar with, and he hated being in a place of uncertainty.

He was about to take his sword, and start crushing things, but then he found out that he wouldn't be able to harm the martian. Apparently while they were both in this place they couldn't hurt one another, and that sucked for him. He thrived off of destruction, and not being able to do it made him very bored so instead he switched personalities. Going from his cold ruthless, and bloodthirsty persona to his more calm demeanor. Sitting down he looked himself over, and realized that while his body was in it's transformed state in this world he was back to normal.

Becoming calmer he sat down next to the martian, and picked up the second cup, and grabbed the kettle pouring himself some tea. "Nice play you got here. Not my cup of tea, but whatever works for you I guess." he said to the man in a calm, and almost polite manner. However the cold underlying tone would say otherwise. This was not something that most people would experience with Solo. While he had his moments where he was calm they were far, and few in between.

"What do you want to talk about? Seeing as we are both kind of on even ground here we can talk for a bit however if you try anything funny my demonic side will more than likely kick in. So let's talk as you have the rare pleasure of seeing me while I am not under my blood lust." he said to the other man, and held his sword in his hand running his finger across the blade.