Nemesis paused on the steps of the Cathedral and stared up at the towering spires. He wondered if he should cross himself or offer a prayer, but being relatively anti-organized religion, allowed himself the hypocrisy of a mental apology before taking a deep breath and opening the oversized doors.

This time, at least, it was important to enter through the front.

The vigilante strode in casually yet confidently, his staff held down at his side with all the carelessness of a fishing pole. His standard grey-and-green uniform was supplemented by a padded vest that appeared military in origin. His utility belt had been replaced by a more hi-tech looking affair, small packs and reinforced connections and silver oval buckle. There was, however, room for a small holster on one hip balanced by a metal casing on his right that might have been a maglite or something similar. His mask hadn't changed, however—his eyes were still hidden behind shaded lenses and his lips still quirked into a half-smile.

Ophilia, JACE and Christie Danner were gathered in an uncomfortable cluster in the chapel area. Christie was perched lightly on the end of a pew, her friend responsible for the gathering stood nearby, flipping through a folder in her hands. The reason behind the discomfort stood towering above both of them, and that was Christie's ex ex ex boyfriend, JACE. The look on his face was unreadable, which was most certainly for the best, because few would have appreciated what was running through his mind.

JACE had already dismissed Christie from his mind. Not that he didn't remember her, he remembered everything, and she just wasn't worth his concern. If he made mistakes, dating her would have been one of them. She had proven imbecilic and vapid at best. Their relationship had been brief and uninspired before he called it off with his usual bluntness.

Now he stood calmly, waiting for the arrival of the two thugs, who were coming to join in a testosterone inspired ritual straight out of the caveman era. What could possibly inspire someone to take part in ritual combat to determine worthiness was beyond the doctor. But then, with the likely IQ of the candidates, it was probably the best they could handle.

When Nemesis made his early entrance, Ophilia jumped at the opportunity to excuse herself from the awkward situation. Christie noted her eagerness to depart, but couldn't blame her. She watched with interest as the impressive form of the masked man walked into the room, her curiosity in whatever was going on, grew more intense by the minute.

JACE studied the man as he walked in. Unnoticed, the camera in his armor recorded his movements. All the data was sent by wireless feed back to JACE's lab. There his computers would begin analyzing it, determining everything possible about the person. He didn't approach the man yet, waiting to see what he would do.

Ophilia met up with Nemesis about halfway down the center aisle. She watched him closely for any signs of nervousness or irritability, but saw no immediate clue that would suggest either. "Hey. Did you get everything you needed?"

Nemesis smiled. "I couldn't find my bazooka, but I'll make do."

Ophilia couldn't help but smile at that. "Soldier Boy will be here in about five minutes. I've instructed the driver not to be early, but if you need any extra time, I can arrange that."

"Five minutes isn't going to help me any." Nemesis tilted his head slightly, taking in the couple by the pews. "Tell me she's the medic and I'll drop on the first punch."

"She isn't the medic." Ophilia's eyes narrowed a bit at his jest. "That's Christie, the man standing next to her is Dr. Jace, and he'll take really good care of you if you get hurt."

"So that's JACE, huh?" Nemesis gave him the once over, noting the haughty demeanor even before the hi-tech accouterments of his outfit. He also noted the more-than-merely-physical distance between the doctor and the attractive brunette. "Yeah," he said to Ophilia. "I can tell he's an asshole." He smiled. "We'll probably get along just fine."

"Yeah...that's him." Her tone was hesitant and it looked like she was going to say more, but decided against it.

"So, who's Christie?" Nemesis turned his attention back to the other woman, this time trying to ignore her obvious assets. "Who is she to us?"

"She's my best friend. I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it, so she pitched in to help." Ophilia glanced over at her friend and gave her a smile, knowing that she was about ready to burst with curiosity. "She has no idea what's going on, and I haven't had any luck getting her to go home."

Nemesis gave a dismissive shake of the head. "No worries. As long as she knows it could get ugly, and to stay out of the way. And this way we have an impartial witness." He shrugged one shoulder, then looked around. "I guess I'm as ready as I'll get. When's the legend get here, anyway?"

Ophilia glanced at the large clock on the wall and winced a bit. "Could be any second now." She shook the pained look away and offered him a reassuring smile, and a light punch on the arm. "Good luck Nem."

By the time the Lincoln pulled up with Soldier Boy, all of the other players involved in tonight's brawl had gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. When he made his entrance there was a palpable feeling of awe as everyone watched him press through the heavy doors. Not a single person in that room could see past the fact that a man of myth and legend had joined them.

He was in costume, of course, and except for the gray in his hair Soldier Boy looked pretty much like he did on that famous Time magazine cover. He stood at the end of the nave for a moment and took in the room. "Jesus Fucking Christ, it's an actual goddamn church." He said it under his breath, but the words reverberated off the walls. He looked embarrassed for a micro-second.

Ophilia lifted a hand to her mouth to help hide the smile that had escaped her at his sacrilege. Something told her that this wouldn't be the first time that the walls of this Cathedral would drip with sin.

"Pardon my French," Soldier Boy said with a jovial laugh as he strolled down the aisle with long, confident strides until he had joined the others. Up close you could see the years on him. The mask hid his crow's feet, there were plenty more lines on his face, but his body was still in top shape. He may have been ever so slightly thicker around the middle than he used to be, but he was firm everywhere else. He showed no sign of having man-tits. His smiling face spoke of a weary strength, as if he were the product of countless applications of the saying, that which does not kill us makes us stronger.

"Good evening, boys and girls. I'm Soldier Boy. You I already know," he said as he put an amiable arm around Ophilia's shoulders as if they were old friends, "but who else do we have here?"

Nemesis had to make an effort not to gape when Soldier Boy entered... The man filled the entire room with his presence. Suddenly the fourth plan didn't seem like such a bad one after all.

Still, he was here for a reason, and if Soldier Boy had something to prove then Luke supposed that maybe he did, too. So he squared his shoulders, tightened his grip on his staff, and allowed himself an easy smile in complete disagreement with the roiling in his stomach.

For one of the first times in his life, JACE was impressed. He had studied Soldier Boy extensively, the man was a legend, although now an aging and imperfect one. Even as his camera recorded the man's entry, JACE wished he had brought some of his more sophisticated analysis systems. This was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Soldier Boy and how his abilities functioned. His mind immediately began considering the things he could do with the appropriate samples. The scientific potential before him nearly stunned JACE.

Ophilia waited for the impact of Soldier Boy's arrival to melt away before she answered him. Even she, who had already met the legend - earlier that day, had a bit of difficulty not staring at him. He was much more imposing standing up in the full light of the Cathedral than he had been sitting in the dim lighting of the restaurant. "Soldier Boy, this is Nemesis. Nemesis will be leading the team."

Nemesis nodded tightly and shifted his staff to the crook of his arm. He extended his gloved hand. "Good to meet you, sir." Inwardly he flinched. Sir. He hadn't meant to give any ground in the respect department.

Soldier Boy's handshake was incredibly firm. Not firm enough to do any damage, but firm enough to say, hey, I have super-strength. "My pleasure, Nemesis. I take it you're the guy who's going to kick my ass tonight?

Nemesis laughed politely, perhaps a little embarrassed. "I guess that's the plan," he said, his voice strong despite his nervousness. "I'd avoid it if I could but I hear you're a hard man to say no to."

"Oh, people tell me no all the time," Soldier Boy said, turning frighteningly grim and menacingly serious. "I just make sure they regret it." Nemesis blinked, opened his mouth to say something then closed it again.

Soldier Boy burst out laughing. "I'm just shitting you, son," he said as he gave Nemesis a friendly slap on the back, again just firm enough to say, hey, I have super-strength. "Loosen up, boy. You'll live longer."

For the love of God,' Nemesis thought, trying to maintain his composure. The "old boy tough guy" act was getting old already. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the fact that Soldier Boy really was no different than most of the patron's at Pop's. Of course, most of those guys probably couldn't lift a keg, much less a beer truck.

Ophilia had been holding her breath through most of the exchange between Soldier Boy and Nemesis. As the eyes turned back to her, she continued with the introductions.

"This is Doctor Jace. Dr. Jace will be on hand in the event of any injuries, and will also be available to referee our little brawl in the event a ground rule is broken. She then turned her attention to her friend Christie, and smiled when she saw that her mouth was still agape. Undoubtedly imagining how she was going to describe this to her brother when she next saw him. "This is Christie... She helped me with preparations, since we didn't have much time to throw everything together."

Christie gave him a soundless wave and managed to shut her mouth long enough to give him one of her bright endearing smiles. "It's an honor to meet you."

Soldier Boy gave Christie a quick up-down with his eyes, cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Trust me, sweetie. The pleasure is all mine." The woman's face warmed at the older man's lingering attention, but she didn't say anything.

JACE smiled and nodded politely to Soldier Boy. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Soldier Boy. I've always wanted to ask you some questions. If you have time after the event, I'd appreciate some of it." And some of your DNA, the doctor added silently.

"Uh, sure Doc. Whatever you say. Maybe we'll all grab a beer after this."

Although his eyes were slow to leave Christie, Soldier Boy turned to address the group. "I want to thank everyone for putting up with this nonsense, but I spouted off about something at lunch and Miss DiSantiago here called me on it. That's lesson number one, if someone calls your bluff, prove that you weren't bluffing." He laughed to indicate that he had just told a joke.

Ophilia grinned broadly at that, seemingly pleased by something. "So then…you were bluffing…"

"But seriously, I guess I'm at a point in my life where I have something to prove, and if this is how I have to prove it, so be it." Soldier Boy turned to Ophilia. "I'm guessing we're not going to bump heads in church, so where do we go from here?"

"No…not here. I figured we could set up any ground rules for the…uh…fight, and then head down to the area."

"As far as ground rules, I'd like to recommend that there be no lethal force used, by standards are off limits, and that we should establish a safe word." She shrugged her shoulders preemptively, in defense of her suggestions, a bit worried that they might seem stupid or soft. "This isn't exactly something that I'm familiar with, so please feel free to elaborate on them."

Even with the goggles covering his eyes it was obvious that Nemesis had turned a "you must be an idiot" look on Ophilia. He smiled it away and said, "I don't think a safe word will be necessary." Or recognized, he mentally added.

"Yeah, I'm with him, this isn't exactly rough sex we're having," Soldier Boy said to Ophilia. An uncustomary blush forced it's way onto the woman's face, and she held up both of her hands in a silent display of defeat. He turned from her to Nemesis with a smile. "Although the night is young and full of possibilities."

Soldier Boy laughed again. "Loosen up son. I'm just giving you shit again."

Nemesis forced a smile. He'd had enough of being the respectful 'son'. It also occurred to him that he was a little taller than Soldier Boy, though not quiet as broad in the chest and shoulders. The man's sheer presence made him seem bigger, but Nemesis was rapidly getting over that

"That's okay," he said, making a point to look the old man in the eye. "The rough sex analogy is probably a good one since I'm pretty sure you're fucked."

Soldier Boy returned the stare. A smile crawled across his face. "Much better." He turned to Ophilia. "We're ready."

OOC: This was a fun one: Richard, China and I had a blast with this.