Flight of the Valkyrie - Click. Boom.
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xp_logsDoug and Marie-Ange take on a trio of Disir.
One of the Disir kept her spear up, making quick jabs at Doug's chest and throat while the other moved forward in a crouch, sword in hand, leading with her shield. Their tactic was obvious; try and keep them at a distance until the other could flank them.
The first rule of fighting multiple opponents is to always keep them in front of you and not give them a chance to flank. Even better if you could use one of them to block off the other. And so, as the Disir did their best to circle and pen Doug in, he circled in counterpoint, working to stay mobile and watching for an opening. He batted the one maiden's spear aside with his sword, and picked the moment where the other's sword was just a bit too far back to lash a foot out and plant it in the center of her shield to shove her away.
It worked, only so far as the other came back over her sister's protected flank, swiping at him.
Doug managed to get his sword around to deflect the slash, but it was clear that between the Disir's superior strength and easily familiarity with fighting together, he wasn't going to simply overcome them with his own skill. Instead he used the advantages he had - his familiarity with the terrain of Central Park, and his instinctual perception of which strikes were feints and which were real.
He traded blows with the eerily silent women, shifting around cedars and magnolias, all the while muttering seemingly to himself. "e5...d4..."
The pursuit wended through the trees, and into a somewhat secluded grove ringed by trees and rocks, with a small creek running down through the middle and a bridge overlooking it from higher ground. Doug was hard pressed by the pair of fallen shieldmaidens, and the only sound was the grunt of effort and panting of breath.
The Disir continued to pursue Doug further into the grove, their blows never faltering, even as he slowed. As he struggled to defend himself, one of the pair kicked out, striking him hard in the knee and then brought her shield up to deliver a brutal overhead blow.
It was met by a gleaming white sword, held by a tall blonde in a winged helmet, cape, and ivory armor.
Doug spared a moment to whisper "seriously?" over his comm unit, and then took the respite bought by the appearance of She-Ra, Princess of Power to disengage from the Disir. "If there is a pegasus, so help me..." he continued as he hobbled his way to a tree.
"Too late. Valkyrie has one." Marie-Ange's voice whispered back into Doug's ear.
The image of She-Ra fought back in a far more brutal style than her cartoon originator. Rather than the graceful kicks and punches, she swung and slashed with her sword, and delivered ugly strikes with her
armored boots and bracers. A swift stab with one of the Disir's weathered spears and the image collapsed into nothingness, only to be replaced by another - a dark-haired woman in leather armor with a sword that rivaled the Asgardian sword Doug had left as he scrambled up one of the trees.
The flash of a very distinctive chakram being thrown caused Doug to snort. "I can't even with you some days," he told his partner. He grabbed a crossbow that Marie-Ange had stowed in the tree as he led the Disir to their ambush spot. "What's next?" Before he could even hazard a guess, another woman in fighting leathers appeared, but rather than Xena's studded black, these were blazoned with red and blue. "I owe myself five dollars."
"All from your comics." By now, Marie-Ange herself appeared from her perch atop the bridge. Her images were far too insubstantial to do any serious damage to the superhuman Disr. They could be damaged and remade for as long as Marie-Ange could concentrate, but do little actual harm to their opponents.
One by one, the images of Diana, Adora and Xena were brought down and rebuilt, each providing Marie-Ange a measure of safety, throwing their imaged shields and swords into the fray, and adding confusion to the fight.
Weapons of Asgard could harm the Disir, Doug remembered Valkyrie saying. Which was why he had brought his sword along, and why they had stashed a crossbow and not simply an arsenal of guns. Doug pulled a raven-fletched bolt and slotted it into the already-drawn weapon. "Do I even want to know how long you've been collecting these?" he asked as he lined up a shot. There was a twang of tension being released, and then a meaty thunk as the bolt hit one of the Disir just below the shoulder where the clavicle met the top of the rib cage. Doug was already winding the crossbow back as the Disir realized the threat. "Keep them off me."
"Odin likes me best." Marie-Ange said, as she parried a strike from one of the Disr's swords. She'd cannibalized bits of her former Asgardian armor for the bolts as well - it fit badly so many years later, besides. She dropped to the ground to slice at the one of the wraith's legs with her short knife-like swords, and swore as she received a hard stomp to her side in return.
"I thought you hated him, and said he was a grumpy old pervert," Doug shot back as he loaded another bolt. A deep centering breath in and out, and he put another bolt in the Disir, down and in toward the center of the body. When in doubt, go full Boromir on your enemy. She was still upright, but clearly staggered.
There was no reply, but Doug could see the flash of red and blue as Marie-Ange was shielded by one of her warrior-princess images. The image took the brunt of the slashing sword, and dissolved immediately, giving the much more vulnerable Marie-Ange time to roll away. "He is, I do." She finally wheezed out, before diving back in to slice at the Disr's legs again. She could do nothing to make them weaker, but they would not be so damnably fast if their tendons were sliced up like lunch meat.
Speaking of fast, Doug cursed blisteringly in Asgardian as one of his bolts flew errantly past a ducking Disir. It wasn't like they had been able to make a large amount of ammunition. Worse, the second one had decided he was the greater threat and was rushing toward the tree he had scrambled up. He would probably only have one more shot Better make it count. He held his fire for as long as possible, despite the pounding in his chest. Then, as the Disir was leaping for the lowest branch of the tree, he pulled the trigger, burying a bolt in her eye socket. "One down," he called as the Asgardian fell back to the ground. "I dunno what this whole binding process entails, but I bet it's messy."
"No bet." Marie-Ange hissed. She dismissed her images, leaving her as the only target for the remaining Disr as she scrambled away from the fight, holding her small swords in front of her carefully. "Next time I get to sit in the tree." She muttered as she dove to avoid a spear thrust - her entire front and face were muddy.
Doug grunted. They'd gone from him as the bait and distraction to Marie-Ange in the role. "I'll make it up to you with a spa day," he promised as he reloaded. He wouldn't mind a bit of that himself, since his knee was probably going to be swollen to Hel...
"Goddamit, hold still," he said, more to the Disir than Marie-Ange, as the darting woman seemed determined to not allow him a clear shot even as she was pursuing the Frenchwoman.
Marie-Ange threw herself under the last Disir's legs, sliding on the mud baseball style as she went, once again for her opponents legs. She came back up, sword in one hand - having lost the other, and card in the other as one last imaged companion rose in front of her, white military-style jumpsuit, coiled braids, and a glowing blue lightsaber.
The image of Leia Organa swung high, meeting the Disir's spear and the resulting ectoplasmic splash kept a lingering electric blow glow for a moment, and the Disir screeched as Marie-Ange went for the low strike and sliced into her hamstring.
Doug was sort of whimsically offended that Marie-Ange's images made no sounds, a lightsaber just wasn't the same without the buzzing hum effect. But still, he grinned at the final warrior princess to show. "Here comes the general!" he sang out as he lined up his shot, burying it right through the Disir's trachea and piercing the brain stem.
"Click, boom."
One of the Disir kept her spear up, making quick jabs at Doug's chest and throat while the other moved forward in a crouch, sword in hand, leading with her shield. Their tactic was obvious; try and keep them at a distance until the other could flank them.
The first rule of fighting multiple opponents is to always keep them in front of you and not give them a chance to flank. Even better if you could use one of them to block off the other. And so, as the Disir did their best to circle and pen Doug in, he circled in counterpoint, working to stay mobile and watching for an opening. He batted the one maiden's spear aside with his sword, and picked the moment where the other's sword was just a bit too far back to lash a foot out and plant it in the center of her shield to shove her away.
It worked, only so far as the other came back over her sister's protected flank, swiping at him.
Doug managed to get his sword around to deflect the slash, but it was clear that between the Disir's superior strength and easily familiarity with fighting together, he wasn't going to simply overcome them with his own skill. Instead he used the advantages he had - his familiarity with the terrain of Central Park, and his instinctual perception of which strikes were feints and which were real.
He traded blows with the eerily silent women, shifting around cedars and magnolias, all the while muttering seemingly to himself. "e5...d4..."
The pursuit wended through the trees, and into a somewhat secluded grove ringed by trees and rocks, with a small creek running down through the middle and a bridge overlooking it from higher ground. Doug was hard pressed by the pair of fallen shieldmaidens, and the only sound was the grunt of effort and panting of breath.
The Disir continued to pursue Doug further into the grove, their blows never faltering, even as he slowed. As he struggled to defend himself, one of the pair kicked out, striking him hard in the knee and then brought her shield up to deliver a brutal overhead blow.
It was met by a gleaming white sword, held by a tall blonde in a winged helmet, cape, and ivory armor.
Doug spared a moment to whisper "seriously?" over his comm unit, and then took the respite bought by the appearance of She-Ra, Princess of Power to disengage from the Disir. "If there is a pegasus, so help me..." he continued as he hobbled his way to a tree.
"Too late. Valkyrie has one." Marie-Ange's voice whispered back into Doug's ear.
The image of She-Ra fought back in a far more brutal style than her cartoon originator. Rather than the graceful kicks and punches, she swung and slashed with her sword, and delivered ugly strikes with her
armored boots and bracers. A swift stab with one of the Disir's weathered spears and the image collapsed into nothingness, only to be replaced by another - a dark-haired woman in leather armor with a sword that rivaled the Asgardian sword Doug had left as he scrambled up one of the trees.
The flash of a very distinctive chakram being thrown caused Doug to snort. "I can't even with you some days," he told his partner. He grabbed a crossbow that Marie-Ange had stowed in the tree as he led the Disir to their ambush spot. "What's next?" Before he could even hazard a guess, another woman in fighting leathers appeared, but rather than Xena's studded black, these were blazoned with red and blue. "I owe myself five dollars."
"All from your comics." By now, Marie-Ange herself appeared from her perch atop the bridge. Her images were far too insubstantial to do any serious damage to the superhuman Disr. They could be damaged and remade for as long as Marie-Ange could concentrate, but do little actual harm to their opponents.
One by one, the images of Diana, Adora and Xena were brought down and rebuilt, each providing Marie-Ange a measure of safety, throwing their imaged shields and swords into the fray, and adding confusion to the fight.
Weapons of Asgard could harm the Disir, Doug remembered Valkyrie saying. Which was why he had brought his sword along, and why they had stashed a crossbow and not simply an arsenal of guns. Doug pulled a raven-fletched bolt and slotted it into the already-drawn weapon. "Do I even want to know how long you've been collecting these?" he asked as he lined up a shot. There was a twang of tension being released, and then a meaty thunk as the bolt hit one of the Disir just below the shoulder where the clavicle met the top of the rib cage. Doug was already winding the crossbow back as the Disir realized the threat. "Keep them off me."
"Odin likes me best." Marie-Ange said, as she parried a strike from one of the Disr's swords. She'd cannibalized bits of her former Asgardian armor for the bolts as well - it fit badly so many years later, besides. She dropped to the ground to slice at the one of the wraith's legs with her short knife-like swords, and swore as she received a hard stomp to her side in return.
"I thought you hated him, and said he was a grumpy old pervert," Doug shot back as he loaded another bolt. A deep centering breath in and out, and he put another bolt in the Disir, down and in toward the center of the body. When in doubt, go full Boromir on your enemy. She was still upright, but clearly staggered.
There was no reply, but Doug could see the flash of red and blue as Marie-Ange was shielded by one of her warrior-princess images. The image took the brunt of the slashing sword, and dissolved immediately, giving the much more vulnerable Marie-Ange time to roll away. "He is, I do." She finally wheezed out, before diving back in to slice at the Disr's legs again. She could do nothing to make them weaker, but they would not be so damnably fast if their tendons were sliced up like lunch meat.
Speaking of fast, Doug cursed blisteringly in Asgardian as one of his bolts flew errantly past a ducking Disir. It wasn't like they had been able to make a large amount of ammunition. Worse, the second one had decided he was the greater threat and was rushing toward the tree he had scrambled up. He would probably only have one more shot Better make it count. He held his fire for as long as possible, despite the pounding in his chest. Then, as the Disir was leaping for the lowest branch of the tree, he pulled the trigger, burying a bolt in her eye socket. "One down," he called as the Asgardian fell back to the ground. "I dunno what this whole binding process entails, but I bet it's messy."
"No bet." Marie-Ange hissed. She dismissed her images, leaving her as the only target for the remaining Disr as she scrambled away from the fight, holding her small swords in front of her carefully. "Next time I get to sit in the tree." She muttered as she dove to avoid a spear thrust - her entire front and face were muddy.
Doug grunted. They'd gone from him as the bait and distraction to Marie-Ange in the role. "I'll make it up to you with a spa day," he promised as he reloaded. He wouldn't mind a bit of that himself, since his knee was probably going to be swollen to Hel...
"Goddamit, hold still," he said, more to the Disir than Marie-Ange, as the darting woman seemed determined to not allow him a clear shot even as she was pursuing the Frenchwoman.
Marie-Ange threw herself under the last Disir's legs, sliding on the mud baseball style as she went, once again for her opponents legs. She came back up, sword in one hand - having lost the other, and card in the other as one last imaged companion rose in front of her, white military-style jumpsuit, coiled braids, and a glowing blue lightsaber.
The image of Leia Organa swung high, meeting the Disir's spear and the resulting ectoplasmic splash kept a lingering electric blow glow for a moment, and the Disir screeched as Marie-Ange went for the low strike and sliced into her hamstring.
Doug was sort of whimsically offended that Marie-Ange's images made no sounds, a lightsaber just wasn't the same without the buzzing hum effect. But still, he grinned at the final warrior princess to show. "Here comes the general!" he sang out as he lined up his shot, burying it right through the Disir's trachea and piercing the brain stem.
"Click, boom."
