All in (Phoenix)

Vegas, Sin City. It always had a special place in Lucius' heart, though he would never want to live there. It was more of a place you took trips to really, that was the nature of the once small town. Many people wouldn't expect the head of Rise to be gambling, but then again Lucius didn't gamble. He had a system down and won far too often, the perks of having a brain capable of multiple processes at once. In the end it wasn't about the money, it was just about winning, clearing his head. After all, running an international organization and a country was stressful. Just like his other hobbies like chess and fencing, this took his mind off things. Besides, the people he put in charge in his absence were capable enough to handle things for a night.

He wore an all black suit, walking into Caesar's Palace with impeccable posture and an aura of sophistication about him. He waved to a few people that knew him here, and set about finding a table. Already he was getting stares and whispers from the crowd of people around him. Someone with so much controversy surrounding him walked as if he were so.....normal.

Eventually, he spotted an empty table just getting set up, and made a B-line for it, setting his briefcase on the table once he arrived and pulling out a few bundles.

"20,000, large chips please." He said to the rather young looking male dealer, who was eyeing him with both interest and nervousness. He took a few seconds to move, in a daze it would seem, only carrying out the task when Lucius snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"You with us this evening, kid?" Lucius said with a smile before taking his chips and sitting down.

"Y-yes sir. Sorry." The dealer said, starting the first hand as Lucius got his drink. The metahuman dictator didn't keep close attention to the cards, but he was processing them none the less. Small cards came out the first few hands, building up the count, right up until Lucius decided to make his move from smaller (large for everyone else) bets.

6, 2, 7, 10, 2..... Running count is 16, four decks are in play....True count is plus 4. Not spectacular, but might as well give it a shot. Lucius thought, betting 12,000 dollars. He was dealt a 20, and the dealer had a 4 upcard. Perfect. Card by card the dealer got closer to busting, until he went over by five. Already Lucius was far ahead, and hand by hand the deck stayed hot, allowing him to continue to win.

Nobody dared come to the table, likely out of fear or perhaps their own moral pride. They looked, but did not approach. Even security did nothing when seeing Lucius' constant high/low bets, a clear sign of counting. It's not like they could actually remove him physically, and they weren't about to ask nicely even though Lucius would probably listen. It was taking a bit of the experience out of all of it, but the night was young, maybe someone would be bold enough to sit next to The Devil On Earth by it's end.

"Well you look spiffy." the hero thought to himself
sarcastically. He was usually in a costume, yet that somehow felt normal. Tonight he was dressed to the nines in an all grey suit, white dress shirt, and a red and grey checkered tie. It fit in all the right places, making him look very dapper.

The calm buzzing of his Vegas hotel was keeping his mind off the task at hand for now. Sean had lent him some money for this operation. It wasn't as if The Talons all could join him, but he had his dog tags buried in his shirt in case of emergency.

As he walked out of his hotel room, he cracked his knuckles. This was not ordinary man he was out to speak with. It wasn't every day he got to look the devil in the eyes. The people of the hotel looked at at him in awe.
They looked at him like a god, a savior, and a messiah.
"So this is what it's like carry the weight of the world."

As the hero pressed the down button on the elevator, he was approached by a young man.
"E-excuse me?"
Andrew a towering 6 foot 2 looking down at this guy who couldn't be more than 5 foot 10 raised an eyebrow.
"You're Phoenix. You saved us from those monsters of a different world. My mom and dad were in New York during that time..."
The kid stuck out his hand.
"You saved their lives. They're all I have, and because of your sacrifice they started a charity for all those effected. They built a small fortune. We grew up so poor. I just.."
Andrew took the kid's hand and shook it with a firm grip and a smile.
"Relax a little, let me buy you a drink. Play a few hands of black jack. I'm actually quite good." he smiled once more.

As the duo made their way to the casino all eyes seemed to shift from one man to Andrew. "Hey bud, I didn't catch your name?"
"Martin... It's Martin. I gotta go."
The kid looked terrified. It didn't take the well trained detective very long to catch on to why everyone was looking at him and who the other man they were shifting to. "Well well."

As Andrew Pettiglio walked over to near empty table he stood behind the man all over the news. His target for the night, and the most powerful man in the world right now. Lucius Alba. He watched him count cards, completely obvious.

"Well well. What's the matter? Country you own doesn't have casinos? Also I noticed you've been following the count."

Andrew had a super sarcastic tone to his voice. Not one he usually had as of late. Something about this man made his skin crawl. "15,000 please." he looked at the dealer with a smile.
The woman walking by with drinks handed Andrew one with a smile and thanked him for his service before she continued away from the evil man.

"So. I'm not the only person not thrilled to see you I assume, Mr.President?" Andrew asked posturing up in his seat. He was much more muscular than the man sitting next to him. However in today's day and age, that meant nothing. He awaited whatever intelligent comeback Lucius would try to fire back. He knew the man's weakness thanks to his best friend Sean. "You don't like anger do ya buddy." he thought to himself, before sipping his drink.

What a surprise. The savior of New York City, and perhaps the world. Lucius felt the man was a bit hyped up to be entirely honest, but he deserved respect where it was due. However, that didn't mean Lucius would allow Phoenix to attempt to belittle him. Lucius' pride was a brick wall, you couldn't get anything past it and it simply deflected the blows that tried. Lucius knew he was being obvious with his card counting, but he frankly didn't care. When you wielded such influence and power, who dared 86 you from a blackjack table?

"Belarus has some, but who wants to gamble there when they can come to Caesars Palace?" Lucius said with a grin, ignoring the comment about the count. A hand played out and Lucius lost a hundred dollars, he managed to bet low just when the deck was cooling. He wasn't going to move tables though, the person next to him was far too interesting.

"What can i say? Many people don't like seeing me much. You get used to it after awhile. But you would't know anything about that, would you Savior?" Lucius said, an equal amount of sarcasm in his voice to Phoenix, though Lucius was a bit more monotone and calm. The dealer listened to the exchange and was clearly getting a bit more nervous, if that were possible.

"The thing that bugs me, though, is that people always focus on the people you save. What about the people you failed or got killed? It's always the opposite for me for some reason. Double standards at their finest, huh?" Lucius said, eyes locked on the board, having not moved to look at Phoenix save the moment he got to the table. The time for reshuffling the deck had come, and Lucius truly showed just how fast his mind was at this moment. He watched and tracked every card as it went into the used pile, and in turn tracked EVERY card as it was shuffled. He knew nearly the entire deck sequence perfectly. He bet all in.

"Let me paint you a picture of just one of those failures...." Lucius said as the cards flapped down slowly, the first two being a queen and a king, going to Phoenix and the dealer respectively.

"A man, and a woman, are the next big thing in science. They're revolutionizing the world. They feel like royalty...." Lucius said. The next cards were an ace and a jack, given to Lucius, a 10, given to Phoenix, and a down card given to the dealer.

"And then..... It all fell apart. Some jackass brought death as swiftly as the flip of a card, not just for them but for tens of thousands of people. Who did the couple have to defend them? Nothing but a few......." Lucius said as the dealer card was flipped, revealing a miss shuffled joker.

".......Jokers..." Lucius said, flashing a look at Phoenix with bright crimson eyes for a split second, a smirk on his face. He was paid his money, and his bonus, and felt like right about now would be a good time to cash out.

What could he say? This man was clearly hurt because Andrew had failed to save someone close to him. But that was no excuse to become a criminal, force your way into a country, and make it your own. The devilish look in his eye told the tale. He could've said nothing and that look would've said that same story.

"I tried y'know. I really did. I was eighteen. I was battling to save the earth for the first time. The great Pain was nowhere to be found. It wasn't exactly easy decision making, and I'm not putting together some two bit excuse. I am truly sorry for your loss. I lost both of my parents and my little sister to the psychopath Holocaust. He burned down most of Boston and New York. Remember that giant portal in the sky? I was the one who closed it from the inside, fighting for nearly six years to return. Although only two passed for you. So refrain from calling people jokers when you don't know ass from elbow about the situation. That was a clever use of the card counting to try and get under my skin. That didn't phase me. The fact I'm faced with another failure does.
Sure, I'm called the savior. The hero. It's nothing if I can't live up to it ever single god damn day. Every dream you got to experience in that span was a nightmare both awake and asleep."

Andrew kicked the rest of his drink back and took another from the waitress.

"Let me ask you before you cash out. How would you have handled the situation differently? Fear? Politics? Those powers of yours? I thought I looked into the eyes of the devil once before, but at least he knew he was evil."

As Andrew awaited a response the man behind him was fiddling with a lighter trying to light a cigarette.
Without even turning around, he snapped and the nicotine stick ignited.

Lucius let out a chuckle as Phoenix got fired up (pun intended), and yet claimed he wasn't effected by Lucius' little word play. He was clearly defending himself, even saying he wasn't a joker. What a child. He couldn't retort, so he went into damage control. God forbid the Saviors ego get bruised.

"Did i crack you open already? I thought it would take a few more prods......." Lucius said, not needing to point out that he did indeed clearly hit a nerve. Failure was the biggest guilt with these types. The man then went on to ask how he would have solved the portal problem, and Lucius was so so glad he asked.

"Do you know who i am? I was one of the leading scientists in the field of quantum physics before the assault. I successfully created the first handheld quantum tunneling device in 2017. What would i have done to solve the issue? I wouldn't have let the world rest on the shoulders of a teenager, that's for sure. No, i would have created a temporal stabilizer to isolate the portal and cut it off from our timeline. I have one in the Republic Palace to stop teleporters from dropping in, it's just smaller." Lucius explained. It was a technology he had thought up years ago. A jammer of sorts made to freeze an area in it's current quantum state. Heck, even Seraphim had one rigged up in a coffee shop.

"But if we were all as powerful as you, and better organized, we wouldn't have had the issue in the first place. If we all had united and used our powers for true progress rather then punching things, maybe the woman i loved would still be alive......" Lucius said, putting his chips into his case and standing.

"You are a joker, and so were the others. You used your gifts in the most basic and arrogant way just so you could be the hero. It wasn't about the people, it wasn't about my fiance, it was about your ego." Lucius said, now trying to push past the larger man.

"Get out of my way, you little brat." Lucius sneered.

Phoenix was appalled. This man truly had no idea the sacrifices Andrew had to make. The demons he faced. The noises he heard. This guy was truly as big a bastard as they talked about. He grinned at the little brat comment, and grabbed Lucius by the arm. The bar went silent. All faces turned towards the duo. You could hear the wings flapping on flies. "Shut your mouth and answer this."

Andrew seemed to grab his attention.

"If youre so smart. Why didn't you use your device? You DID leave it up to us. YOU failed just as bad as I did. I just don't try and drown it out with the holier than thou attitude. You think I fought for my ego. Don't be arrogant AND stupid. If your device could've saved your wife and could've saved my family, you should've used it. You're not a genius, you're a coward, you didn't join the fight you probably took the bottle. We lost many friends and loved ones too. I just don't make damn excuses and scare my way into power into another country because I can't face my demons here. You're a glorified bully. I'll gladly get out of your way. Get on your plane back to Belarus. Or do you have something else to utter from your disgusting mouth."

Gritting his teeth, Andrew let the man go. The people of the entire casino clapped. Phoenix chants filled the air.
Andrew smiled at him. "The world recognizes people who really try to make it better, and people who pretend."
Crossing his arms, he handed the chips he had left to a young couple.
"Take these guys, enjoy your vacation. Congratulations on the engagement. I overheard you two at the hotel earlier. Sorry for eavesdropping."

The casino at this point erupted with cheers for the hero, while it also shook with disdain and hate for the villain.
"What's the matter? Did I crack you already? I thought it would take a few more prods, coward."

Lucius looked down at the grip on his arm, he was being touched? How bold of the so called hero. The people erupted with applause when the hero gave his money away, and that combined with what he was saying made Lucius laugh. He stood still, peering at the younger male with his cold grey eyes. This was about to get bad, really bad. The disrespect this cocky little bastard displayed was too much. Mock a man for drinking when his entire family is wiped out? He had no idea what real sacrifice was, what REAL pain felt like.

"Not sure you'll like what you find inside, though." Lucius said, disdain on his face as he tossed his briefcase to the dealer.

"You're a good kid. There's about 200,000 worth of chips and cash in there. Have a good life." Lucius said, looking to the crowd of people now, laughing softly at them as he stepped away from Phoenix and jerked his arm away.

"No applause for me? I gave my money away just like he did..... Well, what should i expect from people indoctrinated with labels like 'hero' and 'villain'? So ignorant.... So controlled.." Lucius said. He then pulled a few gadgets out of his pocket, and in seconds his costumed covered him. The perks of nano technology. He had everything, even his sword, now equipped.

"But don't worry, me and your Savior will settle our dispute far away from you." Lucius said through his masks robotic filter, reaching his hand out and activating the teleporter on his belt. He hoped the male was smart enough to know what was going on.

"Come on, kid, I'm a sportsmen. You won't end up in space...." Lucius said with a small chuckle, cracking his neck. No, he wasn't that cheap. Besides, he wanted to beat the tar out of this guy straight up. If Phoenix accepted, they would be ported to the desert far outside the city, forty feet away from each other.

"Buddy, I don't like what I've found on the outside. I highly doubt the inside will do much to my already low opinion of you."

It was true. Andrew knew the crimes this man had committed. He went there because of all the terrible rumors he had heard and wanted a confession, and better yet, to see him face justice.
Before Phoenix's eyes The Devil was now fully armored.

"I did my homework on you. I know what you're about.
How you're not exactly the most reasonable man when you get angry. Temper tantrums? Yeah. I know much more about you than you know about me, Lucius. That's where you're at the disadvantage."

Andrew looked around the room and then glanced back at the bastard. He knew if he didn't leave things would get ugly. Hell they were gunna get ugly either way, Andrew was no fool. "I accept."

In a flash of light, the two were facing each other in the desert. "Kinda ironic isn't it? Your heart is as barren as this place. You have ice in your veins. I have fire in mine. I suggest making peace with your demons. No one else needs to get hurt because of your childish antics."

Fire erupted all around The Phoenix. The suit burning off of him and revealing his costume underneath. As fire kissed his face, his mask formed. The well fitted, flexible suit, was perfect for the battle about to happen.

Andrew created two giant walls of fire, one on either side of himself. They couldn't have been any smaller than a single family home.
"We don't have to do this. Turn yourself in for your crimes. You claim to be a man of justice and redemption. I promise if you come with me now, and confess, I'll get your sentenced reduced."

Lucius' look said it all. This fight was happening.
"Fair enough. At least we can say I tried."
Andrew put his hands up like a boxer, taking a stance.
The battle starts now.

Orange light glared off of Lucius' lenses, as well as the yellow illumination the now lowering sun was producing. He was not deterred by the display of power in the slightest, in fact he knew this was going to be fun. He hadn't had a decent fight in awhile, too much desk work. This was simply a way to blow off some steam. Phoenix, however, had the nerve to ask him to turn himself in? What in the world.......

"I don't think you understand the situation much. I go to prison, the people of my country go back under the grip of a fascist regime, or worse, certain organizations may round up the metahumans and do horrible things to them. Typical, 'heroes' thinking of so called justice without looking at the people caught in the crossfire." Lucius said. He was done talking, he drew his blade. Hundreds of possibilities went through his head, most involving a counter against the males fire. However, when the hero held back it was clear Lucius had to make the first move. Now he had to anticipate how Phoenix would defend. Likely, he would try to do so with his fire in some way, but Lucius wasn't ruling out other possibilities. As a sort of test, he swung his sword, but instead of it staying in his hand it launched forward. A thin coating of solid red energy was around the hilt, and the now vibrating blade would come launching at Phoenix at blinding speed.

The vibrating blade would allow it to cut even Phoenix likely, as it was already able to cleave superhumans and the friction the frequency caused would allow it to saw through even the likes of Atlas. If Phoenix was dumb enough to try to grab the blade, the red energy at the hilt would expand and attack whatever touched the sword. Finally, whether the sword missed or not, it would come back to Lucius within seconds.

In an instant a sword was shot at Phoenix. Making use of his quick leg work, he dodged it the same way a professional fighter would dodge a heavy jab.
If he was right about Lucius this would be a two pronged attack. No way was he going to just let Andrew dodge it and lose his sword. Vexus had used this trick on him once before.

"Ah."
As Andrew did a corkscrew spin he saw the blade heading back in his direction.
"Of course."
Putting two fingers on the ground, he pushed himseld into the air, and spun back around to be facing Lucius.
As he landed on his fingers once more, he pointed the the other hand like a gun at the mad man.

"Bang" he thought to himself.
As the giant fire wall on the left of him condensed into a small ball at the tip of his finger, her knew it was going to be a powerful blast.
Letting the shot go, it would explode in the area of The dictator.
As dust kicked up Phoenix began speaking once more.

"I would help the people of Belarus the same way I helped the people of New York. Crossfire? No I don't put them there. I do my best to take the bullet myself every time. The world is a series of guns pointed at each other. People like you are usually too busy hiding behind one, or in their own sorrows to see it. Us hero types as you put it lay our lives down, to get as many people from the crossfires created as we can. You didn't want to help the people of that country. You're a greedy bastard. That's not in your character. An entire island of meta humans?
Sure they're protected...."

Andrew fired two more powerful blasts through the smoke.

"...but what about people like my mother?" he said through clenched teeth.

The sword was evaded, as expected. It's not like Lucius thought he was going to impale the guy and walk into the sunset, it was merely an attack meant to get information. Every action he made had the purpose of gaining more knowledge above even being successful. He saw that the metahuman was quite agile, so perhaps attacks of the pulse type would be better suited. With sword back in hand, he readied himself for the Phoenix's counter.

It was easy enough to evade, Lucius simply raising his hand and forming a solid energy barrier, which took the blast. It held up slightly worse then expected due to the heat, but the blast didn't press on so it was a successful defense.

"You'll help them like you did the people of New York? You mean get a large amount of them killed and then act like you saved the day? Please.." Lucius said, reforming the energy from his barrier into about a dozen solid arrow constructs. They would float awhile, then come at Phoenix in a volley, aiming to at least hit him once or twice. The near instant corrosion the energy had on matter was likely enough to damage Phoenix if the force didn't, perhaps allowing them to penetrate further. Lucius was confident that if his energy could instantly vaporize titanium, then it could have an effect on the hero. After they hit something, the arrows would disperse after a few seconds.

Andrew ignored the comment about letting people die. This guy was delusional. Andrew saw Lucius was up to no good when his shield became arrows.

"Let's see how fast you can move." Andrew pondered before taking off around the speed of Mach 1. As the arrows headed his way, he leaped and flipped upside down to avoid some. One managed to hit his shoulder as he felt pain for the first time in months. "Good shot." However the speed he was moving Lucius would never know.

He then moved the wall of fire in front of the rest while still maintaining speed upon landing. Once the rest of the arrows hit his wall of flames, it looked like an explosion happened.
"Very well. Looks like your energy can be countered."

As Andrew closed the distance between him and Lucius he raised his speed just a tad to create almost a tornado of sand. From the outside of the spiral Andrew stopped almost on a dime.

He performed a double back hand spring, and he looked ahead of him.
He fired twin dragon like constructs that intertwined and blasted through the dust with much more intensity and heat than anything he'd shown Satan yet.

Finally a long staff like shape of fire appeared in his hand. Out came his trusty, enchanted weapon. The Staff Elena had given him. This was no ordinary weapon. Forged in the heart of a dying star, given a blessing. Only one pure of heart could use such a magnificent weapon.
"Swords are archaic." he shouted out half checking to see if Lucius was still awake.

The arrows were also dealt with with relative ease. So it seemed basic attacks weren't going to do much. Though, Lucius had hit the hero in the shoulder. Not like that was anything close to a victory but it was satisfying to say the least. Next Lucius had to go on the defense, seeing the metahuam move quite quickly before he unleashed dragon constructs.

Thing is though, that speed was nothing to Lucius. His scanners kept targeted on Phoenix the whole time, and his very quick mind had no issue tracking someone at only the speed of sound. Still though, he had only a few options here. He couldn't move fast enough to dodge, and the blast was too forceful to block with a quick shield. All he could do was put his repulsive field up, but that would likely short it out too soon. Teleports were also out as he wanted to use it when he needed it.

He figured he might as well take the opportunity to see what this fire was made of, so he sent out a quick blast of energy meant to dampen the fires impact, and he took the hit. He launched back, the armor pieces of his costume red hot and some parts of his robe incinerating. He felt the burn in his chest and torso, it wasn't very pleasent. All in all, he got sent into the dust about thirty more feet. It hurt sure, but it felt more like one good punch to a normal person then it did a death blow.

Honestly, the pain took the edge off. He stood up, grunting in anger filled pain, yet there was still a tinge of amusement in his voice, even filtered by the mask. In fact the robotic edge made the sound even more disturbing, like a monster awakening. His optics glew a brilliant red, reflecting the agitated eyes that lay beneath. His breathing was slow, determined, and filled with a primal hatred that would make any normal man piss their pants. A faint aura of energy radiated off of the Devil, turning the sand around him to nothing and burning the literal oxygen in the air.

"You want to dance with the devil? Then let's get to it....." Lucius said, his voice low and shallow, yet sharp, like his own energy was also his voice. With a wave of his hand, he released the energy he had been charging since he was hit, sending out two massive, spinning tornados from either side directly at Phoenix. They kicked up and sucked in sand, erasing most of it as it touched the energy and creating a sand storm of sorts. The tornados would keep going until they did decent damage or Lucius lost concentrate. This was what was inside, this is what you found when you cracked Lucius open.

"You're a real bastard Lucius, but I've walked through a hell that you couldn't even dream of. Cut the demon act with me. I'm not some rookie hero, I'm not some chump at the casino. You may be The devil on earth. The worst devil I've ever faced came from the sky.

"Let's dance." He hissed back mocking the voice of his opponent.

Twin tornadoes were spinning ferociously towards our hero. Andrew was still figuring out Lucius's exact fighting style, and he was sure big red over there was doing the same, however, the Phoenix was unorthodox and quick on his feet.

He waited till the energy whirlwinds were about to close in on him, and spun with flames in both directions. Nearing mach 2 now. He created an explosion around him. The force from it sent him hurdling forward, and avoiding any damage really, it felt like an uppercut had hit his jaw, but that was the only pain he felt. His mask had fallen off his face, but at this point that mattered little.

Andrew wiped some sand off his forehead, and created an almost skyscraper sized construct of fire. It looked like a knight in shining armor. It was as antagonizing as it was powerful.

He wanted to keep cracking Lucius open. Make him lose control. Andrew made the motion like he was unsheathing a sword, and the construct around him followed suit. As the pulled forward, the fire construct swung in unison with him, a large blaze in the shape of a broadsword dashing towards Red. It had the circumference of a mini van, with the length of an average parking garage.

Once he finished that attack, he condensed all of the energy to create almost an aura of fire around him. Magnificent gold and white fire danced off the body of the hero, before he sent a volley of no less than 20 fire blasts at Lucius. Waiting for the next move Andrew dashed madly back and forth picking up steam and creating a waves of almost a sand tsunami hurdling towards the devil.

"Let's see what else you got." the hero whispered under his breath.

Oh no, we aren't doing this. Lucius thought as he saw the giant knight construct. He waited until the last second and activated his teleporter, then his cloaking device. He ported the max he could at the moment, ending up just short of a football field away as the knight swung and the twenty or so blasts were released. What a meat head, using nothing but power to try to win.

Lucius took this time to calm himself a bit. It was true he was about at his most dangerous now, enough hatred to keep him determined but not enough to make him tunnel visioned, but he couldn't risk getting angry. He had to keep himself fresh and level headed.

He walked back toward his target, small but simple speakers in hand that would allow him to speak through them. He sent them to various places around the area and slowly moved them toward Phoenix using his thin energy telekinesis technique. The point of this was to use stealth to his advantage. He even used faint energy to create foot prints slowly walking toward the hero from all directions, while he himself hung back, cloaked and using his thrusters to gain height while the hero was distracted.

"You think your hell was worse then all the others? You think you have dealt with more evil then i have? I had a copy once too, Blood Tithe. He was about to brutally kill an eleven year old before i was resurrected and stopped him, having gone through literal hell. I had no control, he forced me to drown my lost love, smash her head in, strangle her, cut her into little bits..... How would that make you feel? If you were made to crush the heart of the only person you ever truly loved? How would you feel if you knew the monster that caused it resides in you? Don't talk to me about evil, boy. You have no idea what that is, not until you become it." The message poured from all the high powered speakers around Phoenix, and the foot steps got closer from all directions. Before the hero would figure out what was happening, the cloaked Lucius would already be touching down from his four hundred foot dive. He had charged the whole way, and was headed straight for the Savior, unseen and about to unleash power Phoenix had not yet seen from him.

Upon impact, at least three hundred meters around would be enveloped in a red energy explosion, with Phoenix and Lucius at the center of it. It was like a warhead going off, especially if Lucius landed right on top of the hero, being unseen the whole time. Lucius though, he would be totally unaffected by his own blast. After it was done, Lucius would simply be standing in the kicked up dust, while Phoenix would likely be badly corroded and burnt.

This did use a lot of power though, especially since he had to manipulate the faint energy from such a distance. Hopefully the gamble payed off.