Match of the Millennium

Description: In honour of America's Presidents' Day later this month, the Midnight Channel is hosting our very own presidential debate in front of the Lincoln Memorial! Not a debate for President of America, of course - it's for President of the World! As our current President of the World, 'G' will square off in debate against opposition candidate 'Prince Hero' and his adorable running mate Emma! The topic of the debate: Which President can kick more ass? Discuss!

[G]
The man looked almost like him.

With a stovetop hat and a great blonde beard, the muscled, towering man was garbed in the black suit of the former President of the Civil War. Golden tatoos were not becoming of arguably the greatest president of US history, but the strange tattoos were shimmering with a metallic light. And where was he?

Right at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial.

"This statue serves a purpose!" The man declares, looking to the onlooking audience before the sitting Memorial, the stony face gazing down underneath to the towering man who was giving his speech. A speech her was giving, with a finger shaking with instruction. "A purpose to guide the world into one nation, uniting under One People, One World! This statue, commissioned in 1910, dedicated in 1914, is made for One Nation, for one man. Abraham Lincoln, a great man, I cannot lie. But I am not that man, for I represent a power greater than any one nation can hold! For ALL NATIONS must COME TOGETHER, INDIVISIBLE! With liberty and justice for all!" The Lincoln Cosplayer gives a salute, to the roar of the crowd. He looked like him. He wasn't him.

But the people could just -tell- that he had that Presidental Spirit.

[EMMA]
The last time that Emma Hartzler was seen in public, she terrorized a crowd of fighting fans, attacked two people, and threw herself off of a bridge.

She's in a better mood today!

While Saturday Night Fights had ultimately decided to pass the mysterious blonde girl's intrusion onto their fight as a sanctioned 'bonus' opponent (and in doing so placed a bounty on her head for that fight), they certainly wouldn't have allowed her back onto the show - after all, she had behaved in an unstable and violent manner, exhibited inexplicable powers and ultimately made Professional Fighting Worldwide look bad.

For all of those reasons, The Midnight Channel was quick to track down the starstruck youth and attempt to woo her into performing live for their audience. On TV!

==*== SOME TIME EARLIER ==*==

"And you'll have a chance to show everyone how great your friend is! Who knows? He might even be watching," the lady had said with a patronizing smile.

"Oh, that sounds good. Umm... what's a debate? Does that mean it's a trap?" the haggard blonde teenager had asked, scratching at the sleeve of her hoodie before taking a sip of her strawberry Spangles milkshake.

"Oh, no, sweetie. It just means your friend is going to beat up the man in the funny hat so everyone can see how strong he is."

The woman had smiled again.

Emma had tilted her head a little to one side, then smiled back hesitantly.

==*== PRESIDEnTLY ==*==

We mentioned earlier that Emma is in a better mood today, and that's because she's wearing a pretty new outfit thanks to the nice lady who got her that kids' meal at the Spangles restaurant. She's dressed in a double breasted women's blazer and matching pleated skirt over a white blouse, with white stockings and black Mary Jane shoes. And to cap off the outfit - literally - she has a red peaked cap, as requested according to her specifications, with a gold bird on the front. The designer had taken the liberty of deciding that the bird was probably an eagle, given the nature of the match.

The teen finishes applying a fresh coat of cherry lip gloss in the side chamber before a Midnight Channel imp (who she's pretty sure must be from Disneyland) directs her to where G is delivering his speech. She tilts her head as she looks up in wonder at the statue before turning her eyes to the golden President Incumbent of the World. She looks down at a sheaf of papers in her hand before making her way up to a second stand across from where G is speaking.

She clears her throat, then looks over at G.

"H-hi! Is it my turn to talk now?"

Emma offers a shy smile to the crowd, before pointing at the memorial behind the pair.

"Is that a statue of you? It's pretty good!"

[G]
The man doesn't even seem to recognize there were demons.

All he could recognize was the crowd, a strange crowd of sorts, yes, indistinct. But as Emma gives -her- introduction of sorts, with a comment, the cosplayer turns back to her, and bows with grand flourish at the compliment. Turning towards the statue, he opens his arms. "Thank you, young lady. But that statue, that figment of stone and marble drawn from this very earth. That statue is of a great man, an image crafted from the power of this earth, by the people of this earth! I too, am crafted from the power of this earth, held up high by the people of this earth! But I must declare, with the greatest force I can muster, that while the parallel is there. That is not of me!" G's thoughts are inscrutable as he declares with the total clarity of is and is nots. "Which is what I turn to you, the question on the tip of every tongue.

"Who am I then?"

G comes to the podium, and gives it a pound. Raising his finger to the sky, he makes his declaration. "I am G, and I come before you to be PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD! And I come with the promise, the total promise of absolute purity and sincerity, that as your president, I will be giving you peace, prosperity, and unity. When we come together, we will come together as a nation of the world, a country without borders, and a great union!" Tipping his hat, he lets the applause comes instinctively, as he looks back over to Emma. There is no malice. There is no hatred, or contempt. His voice even comes gentle, as he bows his head, almost eager for the rebuttal.

"It's your turn, young lady."

[EMMA]
Emma's big blue eyes seem to glimmer with wonder as G speaks, her hands clasping together in front of her chest as she looks between the golden President of the World and the marble President of the United States. A childlike awe at the sheer force of Presidential personality that G brings to bear is evident on the young lady's face and body language, her knees and elbows coming together as her clasped hands come up to brush against her cheek.

If even his opposition seems to be reduced to a starry-eyed fangirl by his charisma, what hope does G's opposition, who has yet to materialize, have?

'It's your turn, young lady.'

G's words remind the girl why she's here - at least, the reason for which she understands herself to be here. Her eyes turn out toward the many faces who've come to witness this debate.

Suddenly, she starts to quiver.

For a moment, she's lost in the sea of faces, the memory of the day where she felt like Zacchaeus amongst the vehement mob in search of her saviour. There's a hush over the crowd, but not in her head. She hears the questions unspoken, the comments on how small she looks next to G. She hears someone think how pretty her outfit is.

"T-thank you, so is yours," she calls out with a nervous tremble in her voice, smiling awkwardly and waving from her podium. A look of focus comes over her face as she takes in a deep breath and steadies her nerve.

Someone wonders if the blonde girl is supposed to be the other choice for President.

"NO!"

Emma thrusts an arm out suddenly, pointing out toward the member of the crowd who was thinking the question. Some heads turn, others tilt. A murmur ripples through the audience, one of both thought and whisper.

"I'm not here to be the President! I'm here to tell everybody why my friend Prince Hero should be President! If you don't believe me, I'll show you!"

The girl holds up one of the pieces of construction paper she's been cradling under her arm, presenting it to the audience. The camera zooms in, showing in greater detail a picture drawn in coloured pencil of a man with a prominent chin, wearing a red peaked cap not dissimilar to the one sported by Emma, with a cape and pauldrons.

"Like you can tell from the picture, he is both a Prince and a Hero! That's why he has a cape! Mister G doesn't have a cape, because he's not a Hero like my friend is!"

Emma lowers the picture to the podium and holds up the next sheet of paper. This one shows the same crimson-capped man, now sitting on the back of a white unicorn with a rainbow mane. The unicorn's hooves have been decorated with silver glitter.

"Prince Hero has a unicorn named Glitterhoof! He takes very good care of her, because he's nice to animals! I don't think that Mister G has a unicorn! He probably doesn't even have a pony!"

Emma puts the paper down on the podium. As she's pulling out a third piece of evidence, the wind picks up somewhat abruptly, blowing all of the pages she's holding up into the air.

"AHHH!"

As Emma's hands clasp over her head in response to the sudden distress, an eight-foot-tall translucent pink figure - almost certainly a holographic replica of the man that she was showing - winks into existence, sprinting off of the steps and leaping into the air like a wide receiver making a hail mary catch. He snatches the pieces of paper harmlessly out of the sky before landing in the Reflecting Pool with a splash. The figure carefully climbs out of the pool, water sloughing off the translucent frame as it starts making its way up to the stage to rejoin Emma. The blonde is now smiling.

"See? The last part is, Prince Hero is super strong, so he can beat up bad guys! And the lady told me that the President should be the one who's the strongest! And I think Prince Hero is stronger than Mister G!"

Whatever anxiety had initially plagued Emma has been replaced by a passionate zeal; she's stepped out of the role of Zacchaeus to the herald of her messiah.

The solid-holographic 'Prince Hero' effigy steps up behind Emma as she folds her arms across her chest, matching her pose as both look triumphantly out to the audience.

She can't hear their thoughts now; she can only hear the voice of her hero in her head - telling her what a good job she's done.

[G]
G listens intently.

He doesn't treat any of the words as something insecure or ridiculous. No, it was absolutely serious to him. More so when she talks about the prince. There is a hint of a frown for a moment, as he nods his head along. As the construction paper comes out, he gives an 'oh' and nods furiously, as if it totally cleared up a concern he had. As the image comes up behind her, he doesn't seem plussed by it, looking at it briefly, before back to Emma. As she crosses her arms then, at the end?

G gives an open applause to her.

"An excellent rebuttal from the sweet young lady. I tip my hat to you!" G procedes to do so, before turning back to the audience. "An Unicorn is a fantastic beast that has only one horn! A single horn, like the trumpet of which to herald the one world that we all live in. But my vision of this world is no fantastic beast, I promise you! But it seems like we got ourselves a debate!" G rips each side of the podium, and with a surge of energy from below, pulls it apart. Striding through the remains with heavy steps, he lumbers at Emma and her strange 'friend,' seemingly oblivious to its presence.

Actually, it was hard to get a read in general.

Every single one of G's inside thoughts matched his outside words. There was nothing hidden. And worst of all, the emotional imprint from the man was... flat. No ebbs and flows, just a single, high note. Despite the obvious stamping stride from the towering president, as it becomes clear to the audience that G was walking over there to start walloping the hell out of the girl and her friend. "Now put up your dukes, young lady!" He states, bringing up his fists into a guard.

"We're gonna start with policy!"

COMBATSYS: G has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
G                0/-------/-------|

[EMMA]
Emma's front teeth press into her lower lip as she listens to G, the tenacity of her folded arms slackening as she turns her blue eyes his way and tries to follow. It's a difficult task for the girl - there are words that she doesn't recognize, but then, there's one that she does.

'Debate.'

That's the word that the nice lady had said meant it was time for her hero to beat up the man with the funny hat.

"Oh! Okay!"

The red-clad girl floats up into the air as the magenta man steps forward to engulf her like a force field, his posture attuning to hers as she does as instructed and 'puts up her dukes.'

"I don't know what that means, but I think it's time to show you the door, Mister G!"

As the hologram and its rider clench their fists and lean forward with expressions of intense concentration, a door - magenta, and constructed of the same solid psychic energy as Emma's 'friend' - winks into existence between G and his opposition, intercepting his course. He may or may not notice a faint sensation of something trying to probe at his mind as the door rattles menacingly, before bursting open...

COMBATSYS: Emma has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
G                0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Emma

COMBATSYS: G just-defends Emma's What's In The Closet?!

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
G                0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Emma

[G]
G looks at the door with curiousity.

Stopping short, he keeps his guard, the stride coming to a close. Instinctively, his tattoos flash wit hgolden energy, hot power flowing across his body as the door begins to open. What emerges is what looks like a man. The shape of it was strange; the same stature of G but clad in iron and steel. Moving jerky, zombie like gait, there is no sound, no shape. A reflection? A twisted reflection? As it lurches towards G, he spreads his arms apart, and all around him, a golden orb of molten energy flashes around him as a barrier. When the appiration connects with the barrier? The figure is annhilated.

And the energy is absorbed.

"My duty is to be the President of the World! The only doors that we need, are doors to open to a greater unity! A unity that your False Prince cannot promise to the people!" G declares, flowing with with the golden energy around him. Sweeping his arms, he hurls out the barrier out at Emma and her partner, the swirling body-sized orb erupting towards them with the borrowed energy, attempting to blast back Emma in a rebuttal to her personal attack.

As the golden energy fades from his arms.

COMBATSYS: G knocks away Emma with G Barrier ES.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
G                0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0             Emma

[EMMA]
Emma's eyes go wide as G obliterates the construct emerging from her psychic closet. Then, the President of the World turns that same radiant energy on herself and her psychic battle-mansuit. The magenta man pounds its fists together and hunkers into a defensive posture as Emma's arms dangle limp at her sides, mouth hanging slightly open in awe.

"It's so... shiny..."

The Magenta Man and his passenger are blasted back with almost cartoon-like ease, the golden energy leaving a sizzling flicker on the front of the psychokinetic figure's front as it crashes into one of the marble columns of the Lincoln Memorial.

Within the Prince, Emma can be seen gritting her teeth in pain - while she seems miraculously unharmed by the impact itself, in spite of the devastating force of the collision, a faint trickle of red has begun to run out of her left nostril.

Her expression sets as the magenta holo-candidate steps away from the column and clenches its fists.

"M-my Prince isn't false! He's true! I'll show you! I'll show everybody!"

Emma gives a wet sniffle as her Prince lurches forward, then sucks in a breath.

"RRRRAAAAUUUUGGGHHH!"

A scream of raw anger is unleashed, a chaotic wave of purple energy washing out from Emma in retaliation for the golden burst as the Prince's disfigured face and shoulder struggle to reform themselves.

COMBATSYS: G dodges Emma's Night Terror.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
G                0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1             Emma

[G]
G was snapping his fingers, shaking a leg, by the time Emma recovers from the blast.

Turning around, he is greeted by the enraged visage of The Prince. He breaks away. He was moving clumsily, heavy strides coming as he leaps around the howling madness of the Prince. Coming into a stumble, not even a tumble, he falls on the ground. The energy grazes him slightly, the raw force cutting through the borders of the meager almost mindless defenses of the president. He is unharmed for the most part, but it shows how frail he was actually in the face of Emma's strength. As he lands, he touches a hand on the ground. Gripping it, he draws up a fountain of chi from the earth, golden energy whirling around him as his tattoos glow alight again. Pushing off from the earth, he stampedes towards Emma.

Shaking his head.

"A prince cannot rule a kingdom, and a king cannot rule a nation without betraying her people! It is clear as the sun rising in the east! Only the President of the World can bring hope and joy to this world. And I! Am! That! President!" Balling a hand up into a fist, he hurls out a staggering right cross, aiming not for the spirit, but to the young lady. Whether it connected, he would follow up with a testing jab with the left, a deft boxing combination that seemed to be a bit in reverse.

But no less dangerous from the towering president.

COMBATSYS: Emma blocks G's Fierce Punch.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
G                0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1             Emma

[EMMA]
Despite the relative brevity of the fight thus far, Emma has already become disheveled within the protective bubble of her princely patron. Her irises have gone from blue to glowing violet, and blood stains the white fabric of her blouse where it's dripped heavily down from her nostril. Her hat is tilted at an angle atop her yellow hair.

As the cross punch comes at her, she grits her teeth and raises one hand up. As she does, the Prince mimics the gesture, catching the fist and flickering as it receives the cross and the follow-up jab. It's almost as solid as rock, though not entirely resilient; instead, it seems as though the force is distributed across the entirety of the holo-man, dampening the hard image in its entirety, though it doesn't give way at the point of impact.

Still... it's faltering. For all the primal ferocity on the teenager's face, she too seems to be fading - the colour starting to drain from her face as the rims of her eyes go dark.

"You're WRONG!"

The defiant cry comes as the girl directs the crackling psychic suit to shove G's fist away.

"My Prince can bring hope and joy to the world, too! With the power... of LOVE!"

A spray of pink Psycho Power hearts erupts from the Prince, popping harmlessly in the air around him as the blonde pilot taps deeper into the anarchic well of energy within. And then, suddenly, she's ejected - flying up out of the Prince and into the air, flipping head over heels as she descends toward the President of the World in an open-armed star press.

An instant later, the Prince leaps into the air, gracefully launching himself with arms also spread wide, chin raised and forefingers and pinkies pointed to either side as he aims to crash right down on top of both G and Emma a moment after the latter attempts to crash down on the former!

COMBATSYS: G guards against Emma's Slumber Party.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
G                0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1             Emma

[G]
For the same reason, G's own body seems to be burning itself out too.

Sweat builds on the brow of the strange president, as he recovers slowly from the combination. As the blast of pink energy blasts out from the Prince, however, G returns back to using his protective barrier of molten energy. This time, however, the pressure starts breaking it. For the brief moment he absorbs the energy, it is immediately devoured as Emma bodyslams at him. Groaning, he replies back. "Young lady, your infatuation with your Prince will not bring you the joy and hope you want! The only path to true happiness, and true love, is the one path through the One Earth! And that path is only through your president, not your Prince!" With the follow up splash from the Prince, the shell crushes inward, the sheer force finally imploding the energy shell within. Groaning in pain, he still manages to get his arms up, barely able to keep on his feet as his limbs burn and crackle with his opponent's energy. Staggering backwards, he breathes hard, the exertion catching up to him severely. Trying to get steady, he tips his hat.

"But I cannot help but commend you for your convictions!"

The speech seems to fill him with energy, as he lumbers after Emma, hands out. The president attempts to scoop up the young lady with both hands. "Such passion and spirit would be better suited in serving your President! Cast away your false leaders, young lady!" Should he get a grip, he would lift her high up with both arms, and make his rhetorical rebuttal in the most subtle way.

By slamming her back-first across his knee.

COMBATSYS: Emma endures G's Destroy President ES.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //                            ]
G                1/------=/=======|=======\======-\1             Emma

[EMMA]
As it crashes down on Emma, the Magenta Man subsumes the girl rather than crushing her, merging again with its running mate. She's just lifted up into the air by the rise of the psychokinetic colossus and carried back a few staggering steps when G starts to glow once again. The girl appears almost delirious, her 'companion' seeming to flash in and out of existence now and again as if the wires powering it were corroded.

"It's not... 'fatuation...!"

The purple light has started to dim in Emma's eyes as she breathes ragged, fast breaths - the sort one might expect from someone in the midst or on the cusp of a panic attack.

"I'll never cast away... my friend...!"

The girl's eyes close as she braces for what's about to come, all hope of piloting herself out of the Prsident's path discarded. As G reaches for the girl, the Psycho Powered solid energy around her seems to crackle and flake away like ancient glass, parting and allowing G to scoop up the blonde passenger within - and slam her across his knee.

*CRACK*

Emma's eyes flash open with a sharp inhalation as her spine impacts with G's knee, the sapphire blue orbs suddenly awake with pain as the Prince collapses into psychokinetic shards that melt away like ice in the sun behind them.

The girl rolls limply away from G, collapsing on the tiled floor as the statue of Lincoln looks down impassively behind her.

"Nnggh..."

Emma tries to lift herself up from the floor, but she can't seem to move her legs or back. Her expression is plaintive as she reaches a trembling hand up, as if beseeching the marble forefather for aid, before turning her hand toward G.

Blood trickles from her face onto the stone below.

"N-never..."

Then, suddenly, a splendid swarm of glowing purple butterflies materialize in front of her hand, fluttering around her palm, before flying toward G in droves, flocking toward him as if he were the last flower on the planet as dozens more appear to join in.

Should they impact with him, the impact would be not merely physical, but exploding upon his very being with soul-shuddering power!

COMBATSYS: Emma can no longer fight.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
G                1/------=/=======|

And with the last of her energy spent on the conjuration, the blonde's blue eyes close as she goes still...

COMBATSYS: G interrupts Flight of the Butterflies from Emma with G Explosion ES.
*KNOCKED AWAY*

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
G                1/------=/=======|

[G]
After he unleashes the backbreaker, G turns to the audience, applauding before waving at them.

"That, people of the world, is the strength of this world!" He declares, hefting up the crowd as the golden energy around him dims more and more. Brow drenched in sweat, he could barely conceal his heavy breathing as he struggles to keep himself together. Turning back over to Emma, he looks upon the bloodied face with warm indifference. "No matter how much the False Prince and his followers defy my teachings, the truth rings like a bell sounding over hill and fountain, moor and mountain!" Bringing his guard back up at the first butterfly, he stares into the first butterfly. It connects as he swats at it, slicing straight to his soul. Gasping faintly, he stares into the others as the swarm builds. Golden energy runs through his veins, his tattoos flaring with the last light as he tenses up. Groaning, he hurls into the swarm.

And he uppercuts through.

Smashing through the spiritual essence, the blast of energy around him disperses the swarm. Not perfectly, no. He stumbles as the last motes of energy fades, with Emma collapsing. Falling to one knee, he gasps for air, his body and soul in agony. Drawing in a heavy breath, he waves faintly, distantly to the crowd. "There is only one path ahead for this world. And all other paths will only come to the one path. And that one path is to the President of the World!" Rising up again, he turns to the statue, the image of Lincoln, the image of G. Turning back over, the statue frames his form as the golden light is all but faded. "Come join me, brothers and sisters! Come join me, as the one true way!"

"That is your president's proclamation!"

Log created on 21:28:41 02/20/2021 by Emma, and last modified on 22:48:25 02/22/2021.