A/N: Sorta in the 'verse of Put A Ring On It from Omakes & Outtakes 2, but not quite, either, given the timing of events. Y'know—that, er, DC Comics X-Over setup? Yeah, that one.
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Put A Ring On It:
Paradise
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In the limited time we have,
We'll look for an undiscovered paradise.
And we'll keep walking forever.
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There were two fundamental approaches to the world.
The first was to accept the world for what it is. To accept that unfairness existed—for a fair world meant an equal amount of pure joy would be met by an equal amount of pure trauma. To accept that injustice occurs—that ignorance is incurable and only serves to perpetuate more injustice. To accept that a world existed where children starved—truly starved, and could only turn to the dry, ashy dirt for sustenance.
The second was to reject the world for what it is. To deny unfairness—that there should be far more joy to drown out all the sorrow. To continuously teach despite every single mistake is repeated. To fight for a world where children no longer starved.
The second approach was to fight.
More than fight.
To rebel.
To wage a war against the very systems of the world.
"I must admit." The demon disguised in immortal human flesh spoke, his breathing calm and deliberate—in stark contrast to the auburn-haired mutant who was slowly picking himself off the ground. "I understand why he called in an old favor. I am almost tempted to break my pact, but doing so would only break my trustworthy reputation. And business cannot be conducted without trust."
"You're both sadists." Scott Summers pointed out, wiping the blood from his split lip.
"Please." Ra's Al Ghul chuckled. "I only take pleasure in education. And yours is sorely lacking." Squaring his shoulders, the demon stared straight at the mutant. "Now. Again."
Scott lunged, throwing a left-handed hook. Ra's turned unperceptively, but Scott had anticipated such. Just as the mutant's fist would have narrowly missed the demon's chin, Scott shifted his weight, turning his hook into an elbow aimed at the demon's chest.
Beyond the mutant's view, Ra's right hand shifted, no doubt aiming to use the mutant's own weight against him. And yet, Scott had anticipated such- already, his right hand had lowered to catch the counter, pulling the demon's hand towards him to complete the sideways elbow.
Ra's Al Ghul shifted his weight once more, sliding his foot beneath Scott's advancing leg in a clear sweep—or would have, had Scott not already jumped, twisting in mid-air to launch a downward haymaker onto the off-balanced demon.
Ra's Al Ghul raised an eyebrow in surprise as the fist collided with his head- but it only served to twist his face to the side. Sensing immediate danger, Scott leaped backwards and away from the demon's reach—panting heavily with the exertion.
Unmoved from his spot, the demon straightened, unfazed and undamaged from what should have been a devastating blow.
"It is almost insulting." Ra's Al Ghul frowned. "Your movements are perfect. Calculated. Almost at par with the Detective that brought you here. A martial art born from survival. And yet, your fists are hollow. Weightless."
Scott nearly couldn't react in time as the demon blurred—appearing in front of him in a blink, throwing his own left-handed straight, a solitary punch strong enough that it broke Scott's guard. Staggering backward, Scott caught the follow-up elbow—a clear mimicry of his own kata—but was unprepared for the shoulder thrust that buried deep into his sternum, taking away all the breath from his lungs.
In retaliation, Scott unleashed a point-blank optic blast that the demon appeared to swat with a left hand parry as he moved out of the way of the full attack, sweeping Scott's legs successfully.
Once more, Scott found himself facing the ceiling as Ra's Al Ghul walked over him.
"This is weight, Scott Summers." The immortal instructed. "This is will. This is why you cannot control your trinket. And this is what you sorely lack."
"I understand, demon." The mutant spat. "This is why I accepted the offer."
"Do you really understand? No, I do not think you do." Ra's Al Ghul countered, like a teacher disappointed at his student. "How can you expect to save anyone when your will is this broken?"
"It's not. I know what I must do." Scott countered obstinately.
"Knowing is not will. Determination is not will. Stubbornness is furthest from will." The demon paused in his pacing, and offered a hand to the downed mutant.
Scott rolled his eyes at the unnecessary theatrics, but his mind remained in attention.
He grabbed the demon's hand.
"Will is conviction. Will is unbending. Will is to stand before a tsunami and never be swept." Ra's Al Ghul pulled the mutant onto his feet, and stared straight into his eyes. Unfalteringly and unfearingly, even at the prospect of his head being blown clean off at this distance.
No. Scott thought. Even at this range, quite literally eye to eye with the demon, a part of Scott knew he still couldn't erase him.
Ra's Al Ghul smirked and let go of the mutant's hand. Almost insultingly, the demon bared his back to the mutant as he paced away. "You are broken, and the Detective sent you here to be fixed."
"Batman sent me here to train."
"No. You were brought here to learn your martial art. And what is a martial art if not a physical manifestation of one's philosophy?"
Scott considered the demon's words. "Then, in your assessment, what is my fist?"
"Detached." Ra's Al Ghul answered without hesitation, slowly turning once more to face him. "Confused. Weightless. You fancy your approach orthodox, but you also fancy yourself demonic—that you reject orthodoxy to affect change. In reality, you only rage at your own powerlessness."
Scott's lips flattened at the stinging revelation.
Ra's Al Ghul's lips, on the other hand, widened knowing he had hit the mark. "I've known many like you, Scott Summers. Even the Detective was just like you, once." The demon briefly smiled, as if remembering something fondly, before his eyes once more hardened.
"That is not empathy you feel when you fight to protect the innocent. It is pity. There is only your own weight carried by your fist, and no one else's. You have the power to explode a mountain, but that is only borrowed. It is not yours, Scott Summers."
"I did not ask for this." Scott frowned at the insinuation. He was born this way, raised to be like this, and trained to carry himself just like this. All things considered, Scott felt he came out well enough.
"No. But greatness is not asked of man." The demon chuckled at the mutant's petulance. "Greatness is required in every man by birthright, but only so very few meet it. Most, just like yourself, live a long life of excuses. Of compromises. A weight only of your own."
Scott bristled at the callous remark. "I've carried the weight of my entire species."
"And yet, as you've confessed, they have turned against you. Have you ever asked why?" Ra's Al Ghul pointed out, like a father to his prodigal child. "Your voice remains unheard because your own fists are hollow. Your actions only comfort, but do not save."
"It's enough." Scott defended, and realized that even that was hollow to his own ears. "I'm willing to be damned if it means just one more innocent is safe."
"What do you know of the damned?" The rhetoric came out so swiftly that Scott was surprised he wasn't cut in half. "Tell me, what is the damned? Do you even know what it tastes like? What it smells like? What it feels like? No?" Ra's Al Ghul smirked vindictively. "A pity. I didn't think so."
"Get to your point." Scott grinded out. His body lowered, his muscles tense and restless.
A self-righteous anger, just as the demon said.
"Maybe, once, you knew where to stand. You knew which stance to take. You knew right from wrong. But somewhere along the way, somewhere amongst the gray, you lost sight of it—and thus, yourself."
Ra's Al Ghul once more blinked out of existence, and Scott found himself desperately defending against a flurry of unseen blows.
"Choose, Scott Summers." Ra's Al Ghul's voice was almost like a telepathic voice ringing in his head, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Sweat poured from Scott's scalp, and he attempted to blast the floor to create separation.
It only lasted a second as the onslaught continued.
"Struggle as you might. Philosophize for an eternity, but there are things in life that boil down to two choices. Will you accept the world as it is, or fight in spite of the way things are? Only then will your hands once more bear weight. Only through choosing, your fists will offer salvation."
Slowly, Scott was beginning to see.
His mind whirred in its calculation, his body reacting faster—Ra's Al Ghul's form appearing to become slower.
Finally, Scott was able to launch his own counter, even if significantly fewer as compared to the demon's.
"If your choice is to fight, then cast aside your ego." Ra's Al Ghul continued, nonplussed even as he was now forced to parry the mutant's own flurry rush. "Cast aside the bonds that hold you back. Trust that a new bond will form. Trust that your kindred will join you in your journey. Because there will be others who will feel just the same way as you. But until then, you will tread a lightless night."
There.
Scott took a shattering blow to his sternum. His ribs creaked, maybe even cracked- but this time, he didn't wince. He didn't move.
This time, the avalanche could not sweep him.
Cyclops' fist collided with the demon's chin, sending the immortal hurtling to the floor for the very first time since the mutant set foot in Nanda Parbat.
For a brief moment, time seemed to stop.
For just a moment, all that existed was the heavy breathing of the mutant and the demon.
Then, slowly, like a wraith rising from its grave, the demon rose from the ground.
He rubbed the blood off his chin, eyes glinting with steel.
And then, Ra's Al Ghul smiled.
"It seems you have made your choice, Scott Summers."
Silver began to glow in the darkness as the demon drew his blade.
"For your sake, pray you have made the correct one."
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Don't look back, keep looking forward.
Until your body rots away
Keep living, all the way into the future.
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A/N: ?
Would you believe I was aiming for Scott and Diana fluff for this one?
Fuck this edgy shit amirite?
Anyways, back to this. This came from the Murim Arc of the Manhwa, SSS Class Suicide Hunter. Given the absolute desolate state of Marvel comics nowadays, I've turned to other sources of comics- and discovered a whole reading list surpassing whatever Marvel's put out in the last decade, the aforementioned series being my latest binge. The philosophical battle throughout the arc was simply astounding, and I highly recommend jumping into the genre if you're bored with the current state Marvel is in.
As for song choice? Shoutout to Rakuen by Do As Infinity.
That's it for now.
