“He’s also a mutant supremacist, in addition to being an Egyptian fanatic who considers himself the equal of the gods. Rip him apart, sir!” I encouraged Hercules heartily.

Hercules’ hands clenched slowly, and space seemed to fold and compress around the edges of them as bone creaked, carrying oddly clearly to all around. “Aye, young miss, I think I shall do exactly that,” he said with grim humor, eyes dancing blackly. “Well thought!”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You are a dangerous one, young Dynamo. I shall be following your career with great interest!” he laughed, all the craftiness gone, and the big bluff God of Strength back for the show. “By your leaves, young champions!”

We bowed him off and he strolled away, every inch the confident and boisterous strongman of the Champions once more.

I was about to head to my quarters, pretty sure the Axe would be arriving soon, when the somewhat nervous visored Guardsman in red, white, and blue strode up quickly. “Lady Dynamo?” he asked in Interlac.

“I speak Shi’ar,” I replied calmly in that tongue. “And I’m not a noblewoman. Can I help you with something?” I asked politely.

“Ah, yes,” he replied, switching languages amid a bit of surprise. “I was wondering if I might be able to have a bout with you?” he asked hopefully.

I tilted my head, but took the request on its face, removing politics from the equation. “Well, first of all, this is the Colosseum. Are you registered as an informal combatant?”

He paused a moment, considering that. “No?” he finally answered, his black eyes flashing uncertainly.

I nodded slowly. “You need to go get registered and assessed. You can’t participate in any of the ranking fights, because this is a Sponsored World Event, and only natives of Terra and Students are allowed to rank. You can challenge anyone on an informal, non-ranking basis, but they have the right to refuse, although few will turn down an equal fight.

“You must also accept at least two other challenges for every one you issue, which will come rapidly your way. The Students here are very enthusiastic about combat.”

“That is a well-known fact throughout the universe,” he agreed ruefully.

“Also, you won’t be able to use those kinetic drivers on your hands, and I’m not sure those goggles of yours are allowed, either, so you may wish to re-evaluate your combat capabilities accordingly. Non-powered armor is fine, but any form of energy projection on the attack is off-limits.” I let some voltage flare up and turn parts of my costume white, making him lean back instinctively. “Let us say I am operating at an immense handicap under the Rules of Champion, but to his credit, the best gear and exotic power sources does not make the best fighters here.”

“I... see.” He’d probably looked up my Stats, and was reconsidering a duel now. Those kinetic drivers made his fists explosive, just like my normal Godfists did. His Exo-specs, one of the most powerful weapons in the Shi’ar armory, also gave him a boatload of physical ability, but might not be allowed in a casual fight as Gear-based might. “Thank you for your help. I will consider my next course of action.” He bowed to me after a moment of hesitation.

“There are tranches that allow outside Gear and use of energy, but they are all very informal, and, well, it is often pay-to-win there,” I warned him. “Be wary.”

He nodded once in agreement at my words, and stepped back among the Guardsmen, who were likely conferring telepathically, given how little they were actually saying. I noticed purple-skin in red outfit guy with mohawk was watching me keenly, but paid it little mind. I wasn’t going to start a tussle with Gladiator, of all people!

“You’d clean his clock,” MJ sniffed, as we headed for our quarters, located behind the observation booths allocated to our teams. Nothing if not convenient, and the Tribal team she was on under Sama was basically next door to the Avengers/FF team. Even the Terran super-villains were in the same area.

“Yeah, probably. His Kirlian field focuses on those Specs, using his fists as an amplifier. He’s definitely at a disadvantage here.”

“And he can’t cheat!” MJ grinned at me, and I had to smile.

“Asgardian magic to the rescue!” I agreed, undeterred at the thought. “By the way, are you going to do the Heavy Gravity Training?” I asked her.

She glanced at me sharply. “You know about that?”

“Master Spear-as-Storms talked about it as an option for the truly devoted,” I replied. “He did say it took a long time, however.”

“Six months per Tier, five Tiers!” she sighed in exasperation.

“So that’s a yes?”

“Of course, but I’m going to have a very interesting time of it while I do so,” she confirmed, sighing again, but clearly set on her course. “I can use the time to write my history of the Hyborian Age as I know it.”

“What about the Warshaper Levels?”

=============

Someone is well-informed! Speaking of which...

If you're not reading this on Royal Road, you're helping pay a thief. Please read it in its original home, it's still free! You get the foreword and afterword, author comments, and comments from people with questions! I have not given permission for this story to be posted ANYWHERE ELSE.

=============

She gave me another look. “And how do you know about those?” she had to ask.

“It’s a viable option for Alchemists, and Sama’s a Rune Chemist. There’s no way she’d not have them, nor have a method for you to do the same.” Clearly indicating that Alchemist-me was planning on doing so in the future.

Her face worked in some disbelief at the obviousness of the explanation. “For after the Heavy-Grav training,” she finally admitted. “I have to disarm several of my own advances for the High-G, so as to make it easier. It’s a lot easier to go through the training at 20 to 23 Strength or lower than it is at 35-plus!”

“Carrying around a couple tons in weights all the time might be a bit inconvenient, but certainly better than ten tons or more,” I agreed without batting an eye. “I’d do it myself, but it won’t stack with the Wrecker Buff I’m using.”

“But it would not be dispelled,” she pointed out, forming a circle with her forefinger and thumb meaningfully.

“And it won’t stack with my default strength-boost, which still puts me up at 50,” I went on.

That made her roll her eyes. “You have it so easy!” she complained theatrically. “Just like Peter, Cindy, and Gwen! Really, how many people can be bitten by radioactive spiders and have that happen to them?” Since she knew who they were, the origin stories had naturally come out over the last couple of days.

“Huh. Three people on the planet, bitten by radioactive spiders. One person on the planet inheriting the soul of the best swordswoman of a long-lost age of swords and sorcery, going from a Two to a Fourteen in less than a year, AND becoming a student of the greatest master of the sword on the planet at the same time, complete with all the supporting Stat Buffs.” I held up one finger and three as she grinned despite herself. “I’d say someone else hit the power-up jackpot, yes?”

She beamed, her eyes flashing with a competitive light taken from across incarnations. “Maaaaayyybe...” she drawled, and we both laughed despite it all. “I would like to spar you, you know...” she hinted strongly, and I just grinned.

“You’re going to beat me at your level,” I admitted shamelessly. “And I would freaking own you at mine,” I pointed out.

She considered that, and the fact I could punch through her Null... which was plenty strong and would likely counter almost anyone else she ran into here. “I have substantial lightning resistance,” she began, and I waved it off.

“Versus 30d6 of Primal Divine Lightning?” I inquired, and her face twitched despite herself as she blinked.

“Mother Goddess,” she muttered, looking away from me in consternation for a second in thought. “How in the bloody Hells did you get that so high?”

“Time, love, and tenderly abusing the heck out of alchemical possibilities,” I replied forthrightly, and she just shook her head.

“How much do those Bands of yours take up?” she asked archly.

“Ten dice.”

Her lips twisted again. “You have another 20d6 of lightning you can be tossing around constantly, and can’t really use here?” she asked pointedly.

“Mmm. Let us say I am operating under a significant handicap.”

“That magnetic fist stunt on Gilgamesh?” she inquired.

“I’m actually not sure of the damage boost at all, although it’s not small. The problem is setting the damn move up, of course.” I put my hands opposite one another, and lightning leapt between them. The show had the nice effect of making sure people got out of our way, although the way we were skating along the rapid-move area of the walkway did most of the job. “Seriously, it only works between my hands or if there’s a magnetic surface on the other side of them.”

“So... you could break their foot with a stomp,” she deduced. “I saw you had metal on your toes and heels, too...”

“Shhhh! Dyna stupid and not use killer moves with her feet!” I responded, waving my hands wildly.

She just nodded with a grin. “They are calling his loss the luckiest one in the history of the Colosseum!” she pointed out for me.

“Asgardian-class cleavage is a weapon, too!” I sniffed, straightening up. I didn’t dress to emphasize it, but the crumb shelf was there and there was no denying it.

“Would that work for me?” MJ asked, interested in the possibility.

“For a short time as a Null, maybe ten minutes?” I theorized. “You’d probably end up with something similar to a full Heavy Gravity training.”

Her eyes widened. “Could I try that?” she asked eagerly.

“Sure. Just be aware you’re going to grow six inches and likely triple in weight... and get a weaponized goddess bust,” I warned her.

MJ just smiled more wildly. “I think I can deal with that! How many people can get the Buff?”

“The power is divisible by among up to four people. It’s possible I could grow it in the future, much like growing the power of a Sword, but I haven’t made the concerted investment yet,” I answered. “It’s a big Buff to a normal person, but since it’s Might-based and not Stat-based, not as useful to people who are already strong.”

“But enough to give an enemy a very big surprise,” she nodded to no one in particular.

“Asgardian stamina and physical resistances are damn nice,” I had to agree, clenching my fist, knuckles popping like rocks breaking. “Being able to hammer on guys I’d normally break my bare fists on is kinda nice, too,” I admitted.

“From their perspective, too?” MJ asked archly.

“Well, they are all complaining that they didn’t get takedowns as sexy as Gilgamesh’s now, but they certainly weren’t putting down the view in combat for some reason...”

She made a motion towards her chest. She wasn’t as showy as me even normally, but if she dressed to emphasize, they were definitely noticeable, despite her conditioning. “You know that a LOT of aliens, including ones that don’t have mammary glands, get distracted by these?”

“Seriously?” I had to admit I hadn’t been looking for it in the non-humans. I mean, they had their own odd limbs and organs.

“Remember that they are mostly Students, and so all of them are male. They only get to take on females if there are independents wandering through, or there’s a Sponsored Event on a host planet, like this one,” MJ pointed out for me wisely. “So naturally they get all excitable over displays of female sexuality.”

“Well.” I went back through my fights with the Students, and made a face. “Huh...”

“Boobs, intergalactic instruments of distraction,” Mary Jane said with a straight face, probably having used Night Rose to subtle and devastating effect on some of the males with wandering eyes.

“I can’t even argue...”