View source for 2012-02-23 - Lady's Knight

{{Logsummary|
Title=Lady's Knight
|Summary=The Empress of Almerac goes fishing for bath salts, and ends up hooking something rather more interesting. Through the power of arrogance and a psychic dubbing stick she takes one nano-augmented mercenary into her service on the promise of SPACE RICHES GALORE. Also she gets her bath salts, and one incredibly confused duck. Welcome to Team Maxima.
|Who=[[Maxima]], [[Wyld Knight]]
|Date=2012-02-23
|Where=Delaware
|}}


The problem with being the ruler of a warfaring race of intergalactic superbeings - because, clearly, there must be only ONE problem with such a thing - is that it's rather easy to become bored. Being deprived of violence, supplication or captured luxuries for more than a few minutes leaves one searching for a thrill to stave off the mind-numbing tedium of mediocrity. Which is why Maxima has gone for a walk.

Leaving her royal battle cruiser in orbit alongside the Watchtower, the Empress of Almerac has whisked herself down to the planet's surface ostensibly in search of a fresh supply of bath salts. Her computer's intelligence mainframe - with a little help from her advisor Sazu - indicated a little place just outside the nation-state known as 'Delaware' would be able to provide, quote, "beautifying bathing products for all your luxuriass (sic) needs". Unable to resist a reference to her perfect posterior, Maxima was set.

Right now she's stifling a yawn as she leans against a low wall just outside of Bob's Bath & Beauty, which just happens to be set beside a bridge overlooking the Hobb's River en route to the much-more-likely shopping hub of Metropolis to the southeast. It also happens to be 6:33am, explaining why the store isn't open; but the Warrior Queen got bored of shouting thirty four minutes ago and is now even more bored than she WAS.

This wouldn't be a terrible problem, if bored superbeings weren't prone to razing settlements, or punching the core of the Earth to see what happens when you split the planet's husk into two neatly divided segments. Fortunately she's been distracted, at least momentarily, by trying to work out if any of the objects she can see floating in the river below bear any semblance of relation to Superman.

This is probably why there's a pile of dead fish and a small, confused duck squatted on the road beside her.


Pain, that was how she came into the world and how her last incarnation left his world more or less. The machine fusing with flesh, was not a pretty thing. It was a thing of nightmares and to say it caused pain? It was an understatement but the pain also made her realise she was alive. That was a good thing, when the pain stops without warning, it's a bad sign. The armor kept her alive, or was she the armor, she had directives? But she can't recall them, she been in the water for some time, the armour wasn't visable she only had on the ragged remains of her mercnary gear and there wasn't much to that, but her face? There were red marks almost like tatoos and some small cluster of metal fused into her face like streaked. She's finlly got the strengh to move weakly swims for shore, pulling herself out of the water, gasping and not moving, it's also clear if she moves again those clothes, or should we way rags will give out. She's hacking coughing but otherwise moving. Thankfully for the town she's something to distract the bored out of her skull superpowered Superman stalker.


Normal people would gasp and probably call 911. Maxima's not even sure what '911' is; but she barely bats an eyelid as the curious shape below pulls itself ashore flopping and choking, merely curving an eyebrow and leaning a little further out to catch a proper look - cheek squished up against her palm and elbow leaned heavily on the bridge wall. The concrete shakes and cracks as she lays on the pressure.

"Sazu?" She drawls below another stifled yawn, speaking out loud despite her complete lack of need to do so-- all that psychic nonsense gets so troublesome. Which does nothing to stop her reaching out mentally to the form of Miss Tylor, exerting a small effort to start lifting her clear from the ground. Uncaring for the possible nudity she unveils in the process, the Empress of Almerac telekinetically levitates the British mercenary until she's at approximately eye level, quite possibly wriggling much like those fish did.

Slowly, Maxima cracks a sly little grin. "Yes, mistress?" Buzzes the voice in her ear, ready to help.

"Lock onto my location and run a scan for me, would you? This doesn't seem like anything an Earth-fool would have made, even if it... hm." Pouting her lips in thought, the Warrior Queen straightens up and stands unblinking for a few moments, examining Emily as she hangs in the air. And completely ignoring anything she might do or say for the duration of that time; treating her very much like a 'thing'. Imagine that.

Beside her, the duck quacks and starts to waddle away.

"Oh! Sazu!" A hand snaps out, pointing directly at the retreating bird. "Two scans! Immediately!"

"...well, that one's a 'duck', Your Majesty. I don't think it's got anything to do with Superman."

"I'll be the judge of that, Sazu! And what about the Earth-fool? She IS an Earth-fool, isn't she?"

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. But-- I'll just need a moment to process this."

Breathing a sigh that puffs her cheeks out less-than-attractively, Maxima leans back against the bridge, adjusting her telekinetic grip to send Emily Tylor spinning on her axis - speeding up the process a bit as it begins to idly delight her, a chuckle breaking past her lips. "Take your time, Sazu..."


Wyld Knight is not normal she's not normal at all, she manages to look up as she looks at the strange woman for a moment. "Who are you what am I?" that's an odd question to ask. A very odd question to ask really isn't it? She's now lifted clear of the ground and the clothes well yes, they don't survive it. She's now in the air and being scanned. "Let me go...I haven't done...anything."


"Lady Maxima, it..."

"Yes, Sazu?"

Eyes much brighter and more alert now, Maxima keeps watching the gently rotating nano-woman as she tunes her protests out and focuses instead on the results of the scan. "It appears as though this creature isn't entirely composed of elements found on planet Earth." That raises a brow, and a little 'hmm' of pleasure as the Warrior Queen mentally gestures, sweeping Emily through the air to hover over the bridge. "The Royal Library is picking up traces of a metal that doesn't appear in any recorded data save for one encrypted file. I can't gain access to it using any of our registered encryption codes, but I might be able to--"

"Don't be a nerd, Sazu! Just tell me what it can /do/."

"I'm... not sure, Your Majesty."

"Hmph." Maxima claps a hand to her hip and sways away from the wall, wandering around the hovering Englishwoman until she feels she's got a fair scope on her anatomy - and has assured herself that she's prettier and unlikely to be threatened if she starts being nice. It wouldn't do to have some puny Earthling attempt to overshadow her like that intolerable Wonderful Woman and her angry fist! Remembering that incident causes the Empress to hesitate momentarily, a scowl enveloping her features before she impatiently and imperiously waves a hand. "You haven't done anything-- /yet/," she belatedly responds to the mercenary...

Before allowing her to drop to the roadside, further startling the poor duck, which waddles a few feet further until it's stilled by a cold glare from Maxima. But enough about birds; more importantly, by the time she hits the dirt, Emily Tylor will find she's been clad from thigh to cleavage in a revealing and copiously flattering gown of sweeping black silk, accented by red ribbons. It's the sort of thing Maxima would wear, if she had rib marks on her face and didn't love the colour green so damned much. Therefore, it's probably very much NOT the kind of thing that Emily would ever choose to wear.

But you know what they say; don't look a gift gown of psychokinetic material in the mouth.

Shut up, they totally say that.

"I am the Lady Maxima, Warrior Queen, head of the royal house, and ruler of all Almerac. What you are is now my loyal subject until such time as I tell you that you're /not/. Now tell me your name, little Earth-fool, and how it is that you came to be floating down one of your planet's sewage disposal channels. If I like what I hear, perhaps I'll allow you to serve as a brideslave at my wedding to your god, Superman."


Wyld Knight looks at maxima now as she starts to get her bearing. She's really not making any threats she's too confused she's also being held in the air. She just hovers there feeling not embrassed, but more cold than anything. She looks confused. "I only remeber it hurt, it hurt so much, She? I ? tried to cut it out but it didn't work." Emily is now on the ground in a gown and quite thankful for that. this isn't quite something she's wear, but it was something to wear. She wasn't as cold anymore. "I'm afraid I ...? I don't have a name I can't recall my name." She pauses. 

"The man of steel?" 

Even through the haze she can recall a guy in big blue underdoos at least. "I'd be honored and I fell in. I can't recall much more."


The explanation draws what almost seems to be a thoughtful expression from the Empress, who leans forward to more closely examine the metallic growth clinging to the mercenary, before abruptly barking off a short, sharp laugh that... well, it's painfully loud. Her voice has been less than booming up to this point - mostly because she was half awake by the time Emily happened along - but this noise is nearly enough to pop the eardrums. She makes no sign of either realizing nor caring, leaning back with hands once more on hips to fix the gown-clad young woman with a broad smirk.

"Well," she surmises, "It sounds like you've had a WILD NIGHT, my dear. Oh, Sazu? Please run a search on the term 'Man of'--" She doesn't get far when the Advisor's voice cuts in to confirm that yes, indeed, that's one of the many names by which the Earthlings refer to the man who must obviously be their god; because he's so handsome and powerful and so very much the husband of Lady Maxima. Who really should be a goddess already. She looks intensely pleased either way, drawing in a deep, chest-swelling breath with a satisfied 'ahh'.

Triumph feels so good. As does the penultimate admission by Miss Tylor.

"Honoured?" Maxima echoes, smiling in a way that might almost be cute if she weren't so incredibly, painfully smug about it a fraction of a second later. Flattery really will get you anywhere, however. "Of course you are, of course! I'm the LADY MAXIMA." Oh dear, she's getting louder now. The bridge shudders and shakes beneath them, and the cracked segment of wall explodes, showering the river below with rubble.

Maxima don't care. Maxima don't give a !#@&.

What she does, is thrust her arm out, pointing dramatically toward Bob's Bath & Beauty.

"I shall allow you to assist me, but only if you can gain entrance to this bastion of bath salts! My royal flagship must be restocked and the ruler of this establishment has utterly failed to respond to my assuredly most polite and temperate queries. Hold nothing back, my dear, and I shall make you the prettiest brideslave of them all... and the richest! As soon as we've tracked down my betrothed, of course."


Wyld Knight is basically a new born, shame on you Maxima taking advantage of the young lady like that. She's only existed for a few hours and this is really the first moment she's not been in agony in that time. The armor has fully merged with her at this point. She pauses looking at Maxima "Wyld Knight that ... will do." She says and she not wonders a bit more, now the pain's finally stopped at least. Wyld attmpe to keep out of harms way. "Hummm" She pauses looking over the store and looks at the sign. "It won't be open for another half hour. I don't think the staff are there yet. Humans need to sleep after all. Or they won't be able to give you the service you deserve."


"Lady Maxima, I have more information regarding the--"

"Forget it, Sazu. I'll find out for myself!" Barks the Warrior Queen, sashaying forward with one hand still pressed against a curvaceous hip, the other waving loosely toward the store once more before she hooks it about her neck, leaning back on her heels with a sigh as she comes to a halt beside the newly-christened Wyld Knight. A glance slips sidelong, a fiery eyebrow lifts in sly nonchalance, and then the Empress /speaks/.

This is different from merely speaking, because /speaking/ doesn't involve using one's mouth.

No, this voice goes straight into the skull, resonating against the senses. With a little help from the gleaming ray of light suddenly darting from either eye to penetrate poor Emily's askance. If truth be told, Maxima's been dying to try out her more potent psychic abilities on the Earthlings; she only held fire against the Amazon in an attempt to be a right and proper ambassador. Some planets like that. Some planets submit to that. But she's already been too nice to this one. Time to get... nasty.

'Don't be weak and pathetic, my dear. While others sleep, you should be strong. The Lady Maxima appreciates strength. She rewards strength. You failed to cut yourself free, you've failed to clothe yourself and feed yourself like the others... now it's time to do what's right. Let yourself free! Be as strong and powerful as you can be! TAKE what others would have you PAY FOR. Take-- and give to your Empress.'

Dark and forbidding the mental machinations of Maxima may be, but the effect would be ruined somewhat if anybody but Emily herself were capable of overhearing the second voice, two simple words warping in and out of the others; a chaotic backdrop to her irresistible command. And the most important part. 'Bath salts'. 'Bath salts'. 'Bath salts'. The girl's gotta have it.


Wyld Knight is a new born, she's not really with it in some things. She looks at the Warrior Queen for a moment as she speaks to her. Still it's not with words, it's in her mind. She staggers and makes a whimpering noise. Something is wrong about this earthlings mind. Something is very wrong about this one's mind. It feels almost broken, it almost feels like there are two minds. One in control the other hiding, digging in deeper as Maxima prodes in. She lets out a scream and then something happens, there's a warping on her flesh as something seems to be comming out of looking much like the bits on her face. 

IT spreads across her body taking shape and form, forming into armour, with a somewhat of a medival flare. "Stop, stop....stop..." She feels the pain more but also something else information rushing back to her, she takes a knife that's been on the ground and it starts to warp change and grow into a full scale bastard sword. 

"Bathsalts...it shall be done my lady." 

Prehaps had a hero found her? Things would go differnt for her. But it was Maxima and set her on the path of Villiany clearly as she will surpsingly make her way into the store, without bteaking the door. She shap shifts part of her finger armor to mimic a key and opens it. She walks out with an arm full of the salts still confused and not aware of the change that's just happened.


Surprisingly enough, Maxima DOESN'T begin to cackle and crow like some demented space-witch as nano-tech warps and twists at her empowered suggestion. The disturbing wrongness of the poor girl's mind only delights her further as she watches the process unfold, a broad and sinister grin twisting her features as she feels the /power/ she's unleashed; only insanity breeds such a thing in so petty and small a species as this. "No!" She responds to Emily's protests in a voice that echoes also within the mind, commanding and deliciously persuasive, "Don't stop! This is just the beginning!"

It might be more disturbing yet that when mere knife becomes long, cleaving blade, the Empress of Almerac gives a girlish litttle 'squee!' and brings her hands together in front of her, clapping with frantic appreciation both at the sight and the fact her command is so readily obeyed.

She must really, really want that bath.

Her delight has calmed somewhat, returning to smug satisfaction as the Knight returns. A wave of one hand lightens the load upon her newfound minion's arms, those salts suddenly replaced by a sparkling myriad of lights and colours, before fading entirely into the aether. They'll be conveniently landing beside her orbiting tub any moment now, as Maxima busies herself striding around this new toy, looking with admiration at the technology alien even to she.

"Magnificent!" She urges, belting out a chesty laugh that shatters the shop's windows. So much for steering away from vandalism! Does she care? Of course she doesn't care. Leaning in close, she meets Emily's eye with a back-and-forth craning of her neck, like a cat trying to figure out whether the thing in front of her is edible or not. Then she titters, leaning back and raising a hand in the air. "Now, my dear, that's all I need for the moment-- but I promised you riches in return for helping me! And the LADY MAXIMA always keeps her word! YES, INDEED!" Her grin gives way suddenly to a sober nod, "For now, though, you may go about your business. I have an appointment to keep with my betrothed, but I shall need your services again. To that end..."

Her raised hand opens, fingers unfurling as though she were about to grasp something.

"SAZU! Send down one of those communicators we accepted as tribute from the Ma-Rukh of Malavok V." It's probably best left unmentioned that there is no longer a race called the Ma-Rukh, and their home planet of Malavok V is now considered a hazard to several commercial shipping lanes. Mostly because it's been blown up. The important part is that Maxima was able to salvage some sleek-looking surface-to-space comlinks from them before they stopped begging for mercy and started dying. One of these appears with an impressively sci-fi *scha-weem* in her outstretched hand, before being passed to Wyld Knight.

"Should you need me," she notes with a kind and benevolent smile, "You need only signal on this device - ah, that's the small red button, not the long blue one, DON'T press the long blue one under any circumstance - and Sazu will take your call. Should /I/ require /you/, the device will project my voice directly into your ear so long as it remains on your person. Do be a wonderful little creature and keep it there, won't you?"

Suddenly the smile is gone, and the Empress steps back, proudly tossing her scarlet mane and looking to the heavens with an imperious frown, both arms held high with palms turned upward. Nobody's sure why she needs to pose like this, but the answer is probably something to do with space.

"I'M RETURNING TO THE SHIP, SAZU! ...and I'm bringing the 'duck' with me."

Her eyes burn with a deadly flame as they suddenly snap to focus upon the confused bird. "Quack?" It manages, approximately half a moment before both it and Maxima are reduced to a rainbow cascade of shimmering molecules and fired into the atmosphere.