Raiden VS Lex Luthor is a What-If? episode of Death Battle. It features the return of Raiden from the Metal Gear series and the return of Lex Luthor from DC Comics.
Description[]
Metal Gear VS DC Comics! The cyborg ninja of Metal Gear takes on one of his toughest opponents yet - the arch-nemesis of Superman! Will Luthor's Warsuit help him snatch victory? Or will Raiden's Murasama prove too much for him?
Interlude[]
Wiz: Technology. Over time it has developed itself into a superpower that has helped to shape the world.
Boomstick: In the world of fiction, however, it can also be useful to give yourself bragging rights and power that no-one else can have!
Wesker and Magneto: Hmph.
Wiz: However, as a certain web-slinger says, "With great power comes great responsibility", and as such will use it for the side of good. Such as Raiden, the cybernetic ninja of Metal Gear.
Boomstick: However, some people like to throw caution to the wind and will want to take over everything with his techno-know-how! Such as Lex Luthor, the arch-nemesis of Superman!
Hox: They're the rest of the gang, and I'm Hoxton, wankers!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyse their weapons, armour and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Boomstick: ...Hey, you didn't say the rest of our names!
Raiden[]
Wiz: A young boy born in Liberia, young Jack's life took a turn for the worst when both of his parents went missing. Rendered an orphan, he was taken in by the to-be president of the United States, George Sears.
Boomstick: You might think that's a nice gesture, but don't feel good about Sears' decision for a second. In fact, George was actually Solidus Snake, a traitor who manipulated the world leaders in order to leech profit off of the economy of war. Not to mention the teensy little detail that he killed Jack's parents!
Wiz: And being the best parent he could be, he enlisted the young Jack into the Liberian Civil War, eventually being shaped into the captain of his own commando unit within the Army of the Devil.
Hoxton: Sadly, that army has nothing to do with Satan, but even without his influence, Jack took to slaughtering several people, giving him a high kill count, being a natural harbinger of death, and a codename - aptly named Jack the Ripper. And get this; he was only TEN when he did all of this. Sounds like my kind of kid, heh heh.
Boomstick: He needs to hit puberty. Even when he was 20 he looked like he was waiting for his stones to drop as fast as his victims' bodies...
Wesker: Well, it happened eventually. He hooked up with a girl named Rose and got her pregnant. However, Jack was still not satisfied. He was still haunted by the events of his childhood and what he did, so he sought to put things right by joining FOXHOUND, teaming up with the legendary Solid Snake to destroy various Metal Gears, take down other villains, and even take the honour of killing Solidus Snake, his own foster-father. All of which he did under his new code-name: Raiden. And as a result, Jack had done something for the greater good.
(Beat)
Boomstick: ...or had he?
Wiz: All along, Raiden had been manipulated by the Patriots, a top-secret organisation manipulating the United States from behind the scenes and hell-bent on dominating the world. And for Raiden, the worst part was that Rose was none other than a Patriot spy.
Magneto: It's... difficult to understand, to say the least. Rose had seemingly been manipulating his life while they were together, but then Rose had a change of heart and apologised... then they had a child... but she said it was a miscarriage and married someone else to trick Raiden, but it was actually as a means to trick the Patriots--
Hoxton: Fuck it, Erik. It's not worth it. They got back together, and had a kid. Let's move on.
Boomstick: Thank you!
Wiz: Well, one day Raiden was kidnapped by the Patriots and forced to be the lab rat to exoskeletal enhancement surgery, transforming Raiden permanently into a superhuman cyborg ninja.
Boomstick: It's so hard to find a good superhuman cyborg ninja surgeon these days...
Magneto: As barbaric as this practice is, the end-product of this was Raiden transforming into a nightmarish foe for anyone in his way, being fast enough to outrun bullet trains and keep a consistent speed when running up walls.
Boomstick: And break-dancing with Gekkos attached to your legs. Don't forget that!
Wiz: Well, that's hardly the extent of Raiden's new abilities as a cyborg ninja. He possesses incredible speed, durability and strength - enough to lift and throw the Metal Gear RAY, which has to weigh at least 1000 tons. Oh, and before you ask, this wasn't Raiden's strongest cyborg body. After losing to Samuel Rodrigues, Raiden got upgraded to a newer and even more powerful cyborg body.
Hoxton: With it, he lifted and THREW a bigger Metal Gear, EXCELSUS, ripped off that one's building-sized sword and used it as his own, fought a duel with it and finished it off at BLINDING SPEED. I mean, what kind of shit does it take?!
Wesker: Well, when Raiden isn't busy wielding building-sized swords as weapons, he has used an abundance of various tools over the years. Everything from a pistol to rocket and missile launchers, as well as several grenade types - namely Fragmentation and EMP grenades. He also wields Nanorepair Paste, as a means of refreshing himself should he get too beaten up in a fight.
Boomstick: He also gained the weapons from the Winds of Destruction, a 3-man group consisted of Mistral, Monsoon and Sundowner. Mistral's L'Etranger - nothing to do with someone else - a bladed pole-arm, Monsoon's Dystopia, twin magnetic sai, and Sundowner's Bloodlust, twin machetes that are heavy but powerful. Huh. All he needs is a pair of nanomachine-infested nunchucks or something, and he'll be all four Ninja Turtles in one.
Wiz: Ugh.
Hoxton: But there's one massive tool that Raiden uses that he gained over his adventures. After his High-Frequency blade broke to Senator Armstrong, Raiden gained Sam's sword - the Murasama. A blade originally forged in the 16th century and later reinforced with high-frequency technology, the Murasama emit vibrations at high speed using powerful currents being sent through the blade, weakening the molecular bonds of whatever it hits and allowing it to break through almost anything in the way. Fuck yeah!
Magneto: Not only that, he also uses Blade Mode, which slows his perception of time down from 50 to 90%, allowing Raiden to slice through specific points of enemies as precisely or as rapidly as he would please. If he wishes to take it a step further, he can also use Zandatsu to rip out and utilise enemy cyborgs' fuel cell electrolytes, healing himself back up as if he took Repair Nanopaste.
Boomstick: Nasty. But what's even nastier is when Raiden turns off his pain inhibitors... thaaaaat's when his foes get treated to Jack the Ripper returning, boosting his already ridiculous speed and strength at the cost of fuel and sanity.
Raiden: I'm saying Jack... is BACK!
Wiz: Raiden has accomplished a lot in his time. He has succeeded in helping taking down the Patriots as well as putting an end to Desperado and World Marshal, and even killed Solidus Snake and Senator Armstrong by himself. He even had the strength to be able to hold back the Outer Haven battleship... with only one arm.
Hoxton: Fuck me!
Boomstick: Sadly, all the awesome shit he's done comes at a price. Using his more powerful forms and techniques requires fuel, and it burns through them faster than my ex-wife on the buffet counter.
Wiz: A mental image I'm probably going to carry with me to my grave...
Wesker: Jack can only carry enough fuel to sustain him for a certain amount of time. To get more, he would need to use Zandatsu on enemy cyborgs to collect their fuel cell electrolytes. He has also been beaten by Jetstream Sam once, losing his eye and his arm in the process, and he often holds no regard for his safety. And if that wasn't enough, his blood needs to be changed regularly like car oil, as it isn't natural.
Wiz: Regardless of Raiden's setbacks, once you step in his line of sight, it's been proven very hard to step back out alive.
Raiden: I said my sword was a tool of justice. Not used in anger. Not used for vengeance. But now... Now I'm not so sure. And besides...
Raiden draws the Murasama.
Raiden: ...this isn't my sword.
Lex Luthor[]
Wiz: Superman. One of the most powerful superheroes in fiction. And like most powerful superheroes, he has an extensive list of villains that oppose him, and at times even seek him out to fight to the death.
Wesker: But one has to ask, who was the first? Who would create most of the Man of Steel's enemies and square up to be the first major enemy to the Man of Steel? None other than a human adult with a passion for swindling, political-level business and green coats - Lex Luthor.
Boomstick: Well, all evil guys have to start somewhere. Lex here ain't any different!
Magneto: Alexander Joseph Luthor began his rise from the top from the very bottom - having lived in a residence of Metropolis known only as the Suicide Slum under abusive parents. Supposedly not a nice place to live.
Wesker: Eventually, through willpower and a car crash killing his parents, Lex was finally free of the oppression he was under, being able to use their insurance money to get out of the dark corner of Metropolis and start his own company.
Hoxton: Sounds heartwarming, doesn't it? Except... he rigged the car brakes. He indirectly killed them, so yeah. He was a dick even back then. And not even to Supes!
Wiz: Through questionable means, LexCorp was finally set up by Lex, and before long his influence spread throughout the city, with Luthor practically owning the city and his reputation unopposed by any thanks to taking charge of media outlets.
Boomstick: Then Superman happened.
Wesker: In Luthor's eyes, the Man of Steel was a problem. If humanity couldn't defend themselves, they'd be dependent on Superman to solve their problems, and become a weaker race. So he sought to remove him from the equation, and place himself in his place. Sounds like a plan alike Yours Truly. He even started the Legion of Doom for a bunch of Justice League villains to gather.
Hoxton: But he isn't a fucking idiot, y'know. The opposite, in fact. He is cunning, preferring to place his opponents in unwinnable positions where possible. However, if he needs to man up and join a physical fight, he will don his major asset in combat - the Warsuit.
Wiz: Forged in the fiery pits of Apokolips by Superman's other arch-nemesis, Darkseid, the Warsuit is a battle armour further enhanced by Lex's own technological prowess, enhanced over the years to make Lex a force to be reckoned with.
Boomstick: This big can of metal comes equipped with force fields, gauntlet blades, Kryptonite generators that can fire energy blasts, a giant Kryptonite battleaxe, flamethrowers, and various pieces of Kryptonite in the fingers - specifically, green, red, blue and black types. No prizes for guessing who this suit has in mind.
Magneto: It is also capable of flight, and its enhanced strength and durability it grants, in combination with the Kryptonite, allows Lex Luthor to go up against Superman and other Kryptonians with practically no fear. And despite his head looking open, that is protected by a force field as well, cutting off that option for foes who face him.
Hoxton: Lex also has several satellites in space that he can connect to through the use of the Warsuit itself. Handy for the time where you really want to just throw a laser beam from space at someone in a hurry.
Cue a scene from Injustice: Gods Among Us, where Lex's satellite fires a laser that he holds with his hand and throws it at The Joker.
Wiz: With his billionaire status and technological accomplishments, Lex has gone through some incredible feats. He has been able to equal Deathstroke in combat as well as surpass Batman and Nightwing's combat capabilities, snapped Brainiac's neck, impaled the super-durable Supergirl, and one time, one-shot Power Girl.
Boomstick: He also subjects himself to some Kryptonite 'roid rage from time to time to enhance his strength and survive some insane shit! Like that one time Gorilla Grodd shot him with a sniper rifle and caused Lex to fall out of a chopper into the bottom of a canyon! He was banging his robo-Lois Lane within, like, a day! Oh, he built a robo-Lois Lane, too.
Wesker: He has built a culmination of technology of absurd purposes. One robot he made read Moby Dick at such a high frequency that it carved an escape route of his own prison cell. Shaped stairs, the works, you name it.
Hoxton: The fuck?
Boomstick: But that's not the most evil thing Luthor's done! When no-one was looking, Lex Luthor took forty cakes. He took FORTY cakes! That's as many as four tens! And that's terrible!
Wiz: And canon.
Magneto: Petty.
Hoxton: Let's not forget that Lex once had LexCorp fall on top of him after Supes threw a satellite onto it. He lost quite a lot of limbs, but... he still survived. He even said "fuck you" to Superman's offer of help and eventually got himself some drastic surgery.
Wiz: A reminder that Lex is definitely not unstoppable by any means. He is held back by his ego and his outright obsessive nature when it comes to trying to one-up the Man of Steel in any way possible. His superiority complex hardly helps matters, either.
Boomstick: On top of that, the Warsuit does well when it comes to resisting blows from Superman. When it comes to fairly equalling or surpassing him, on the other hand...? Ehh... not even close, really. Not when Supes decides to open the taps. Kryptonite's really the only factor that prevents Lex from getting killed every time he goes up against 'em. Speaking of such, if he's facing non-Kryptonians, those Kryptonite weapons won't do nearly as well.
Hoxton: Did we also mention Lex once got knocked out by Lois Lane? Yeah, that happened. A slap to the face and he was out like a fuckin' light. Wuss.
Wiz: Lex Luthor, however, has quite a number of reasons to have his arrogance and ego levels set to high - when the Man of Tomorrow arrives on the scene, you can expect Luthor to step in to fight for what he feels is right... which is him leading humanity and the Legion of Doom, it seems.
Wesker: Word of advice, leave it to the professionals, Lex Luthor.
Boomstick: He's determined, though. Give him credit for that!
Lex Luthor: It's like the old saying - if you want someone killed right, you have to kill them yourself.
DEATH BATTLE![]
AgentHoxton[]
Metropolis, midday
It was a peaceful day in Metropolis. The sun was shining bright, birds were singing, and the atmosphere was of peaceful serenity... at least, that last one is what one would say if it ever was peaceful in Metropolis. Seriously, this place always get attacked for some reason. Probably because it's where Superman resides and everybody seems to hate Superman for some reason. Speaking of which...
Deep in the city square, people were running for their lives frantically as a Metal Gear RAY was making its way down the road, smashing up cars and sometimes tearing enormous chunks off of nearby buildings. Military personnel were rolling in tanks to fire upon the Metal Gear, but the tanks were crushed and the soldiers were sent running in an instant. And who was masterminding all of this? None other than a man watching this whole ordeal from his balcony, smiling. His bald head and his two-piece suit signalled as an obvious giveaway as to who he was.
He was the owner of LexCorp and archenemy of Superman, Lex Luthor.
"What a great piece of technology." Lex remarked as he watched the RAY's path of destruction. "Let's see Superman get past this in a hurry!" He was a little surprised he hadn't already turned up, with hundreds calling for his help. But every little moment of chaos helped.
Justice League Headquarters
"Please, Justice League! We need you!" A reporter on a monitor in the Justice League HQ was saying. Batman was watching the screen as he nodded.
"Shouldn't we call Superman for this?" Batman asked, turning to the rest of the League.
"We tried to get a hold of him." Wonder Woman replied. "For some reason, he's not picking up. I'm assuming something even bigger is happening right now. So one of us will have to go there and take it out--"
"Wait, guys!" The Flash suddenly pointed at another monitor displaying an unrecognisable rooftop runner. "Who's that?" Everyone gathered around the monitor as they tried to get a look at this mysterious person. Despite their efforts, however, they couldn't recognise him. What they did know was that he seemed heavily armed.
And he was headed right for the action.
Metropolis
Heading towards the scene by hopping across rooftops was a man. But he was no ordinary man, see. Most of his body was cybernetic, and he had a giant scabbard for his blade on his back. His silver hair slicked back, a patch over his eye, and a look of grizzled determination set his head apart from his cybernetic body.
Anyone who knew their Metal Gear salt knew that this was the cybernetic ninja, Raiden.
Once he got the Metal Gear clearly in his sights, he leaped off of the rooftop and landed on the street, leaving cracks where he landed. Then, in a near instant, he bolted towards the Metal Gear RAY, which let out a strange roar as the Ripper approached. The RAY attempted to bring its enormous blade down upon the ninja, but as it came down, Raiden blocked it with the Murasama, and was keeping it held up above his head. All the while, Lex was watching with sudden curiosity and fright.
"Superman...?" Lex pondered to himself. What was going on?
Suddenly, Raiden pushed his blade upward, moving the RAY's blade upward too. Then, as it came back down, Raiden took a hold it, before tugging with all of his might. Slowly but surely the Metal Gear RAY began to be lifted off of the ground, much to Luthor's shock, with Raiden swinging it around and throwing it into the air before jumping up onto the blade. He then drew the Murasama in both hands and ran across the blade, slashing at it furiously along the way and cutting the blade into pieces. Then, for the coup de grace, he leapt up and brought his blade down upon the RAY, splitting the body of the colossal machine in two, with Raiden piercing through it and landing back on the street unharmed. The pieces of the Metal Gear RAY scattered around him in ruins.
Rules of Nature, huh?
Lex Luthor looked down upon the wreckage of the machine he had hijacked hours before. On one hand, his plan was ruined. By someone who wasn't Superman, at any rate. But on the other hand, he did seem familiar, now that he could get a good look at him from the balcony.
He could at least make the most of it while he was here.
"Well, well, well." Lex Luthor called out, causing Raiden to turn towards him. "So you are the legendary Jack the Ripper. How nice of you to drop by and give me a visit, eh Raiden?" Raiden grimaced, pointing his Murasama upward at the LexCorp founder.
"Your time is up, Lex Luthor!" Raiden called out. "I'm here to take you down." Lex Luthor looked a little taken aback.
"Me? Especially when I have a meeting with Superman...?" Lex told him in a falsely scared tone, before checking his watch. A watch that happened to have Destroy Superman where all the numbers would be. Yeah, leave it to Lex to do something like that. "...Ah, what the hell. I've got plenty of time yet." His tone had changed from false fright to his typical smugness as he produced a remote and pressed the button. From practically out of nowhere, in flew a green battle armour.
Lex's Warsuit.
Raiden lowered his sword and looked on in confusion as the suit opened, allowing for Lex to climb in and don the battle armour. With a soft chuckle, Lex then turned to the street, activating his jets and flying down to the street where Raiden was waiting for him, slowing to a halt opposite him and landing. Lex smirked.
"You've been called pretty tough, to take on machines like that with no sweat." Lex told Jack. "Perhaps it's time I put that to the test. Care to dance the tango of death, Jack?" Lex got into a fighting position.
"Definitely. Let's dance." Raiden responded, his visor forming over the top of his face, leaving only his mouth partially exposed, and drawing the Murasama in a combat position.
Metropolis had to hold on tight. The Metal Gear RAY's chaos was devastating enough as a starter course. The worst of the destruction was yet to come.
FIGHT!
Raiden charged at Lex Luthor, who also broke into a run towards the ninja. Both sent a vicious clash at each other, cancelling each other out and knocking the two back slightly. Raiden took the Murasama in one hand, using the other to draw his pistol and unloading on Lex. However, much to his dismay, Lex's force field appeared around him, deflecting the bullets away. Raiden's jaw dropped slightly as Lex slowly stepped forward.
"A piddly little gun against my technology? What were you thinking?" Luthor asked as he held his right arm out, as if in a punching position. However, out from the wrist came a blast of Kryptonite energy that launched at Raiden, knocking the pistol out of his hand. Raiden grimaced and started to run toward the archenemy of Superman, with Lex firing more Kryptonite blasts at him. However, each one missed their mark, with Raiden running and weaving his way through the crossfire before leaping up and bringing the Murasama down hard with a hearty swing. Lex raised both hands to block the sword strike, sparks flying out for a few seconds before Raiden backflipped out of Luthor's range. Lex responded by pointing his gauntlet out again, this time firing a wrist rocket at the Ripper. However, Jack activated Blade Mode and saw the rocket coming with ease, preparing the Murasama and slicing it out of the air. He then sheathed the blade temporarily as he pulled out his LAG-2 rocket launcher.
"Two can play at this game, Luthor." Raiden told him, firing a rocket at Lex. However, the force field around Lex's suit stopped the rocket from hitting him, casually stepping forward through the smoke.
"But only one can win." Lex retorted. He then broke into a run without warning and punched Raiden, knocking him into a truck. Luthor then eyed another car and picked it up, hoisting it above his head and activating his thrusters to give himself an advantage. Raiden looked up at him as he pulled himself out of the vehicle, watching as Lex grinned down at him and threw the car at Raiden. Raiden was quick to get back into Blade Mode, slicing the car as it approached into three pieces, all three of which scattered around the cyborg ninja. He then jumped onto the side of a nearby building and began to run up the side, with Luthor watching in utter disbelief.
"What?!" Lex exclaimed, firing several Kryptonite blasts at Raiden as he scaled the wall. However, Raiden saw them all coming and dodged them with his speed. Once he found himself around level with Lex in terms of how high they were above the ground, he leaped off of the side of the building, launching himself at Luthor. Time slowed down as he was about to approach, Raiden prepping Blade Mode once again. This time, he rapidly slashed at Lex's chestplate, with the shield activating on each blow. After 30 rapid cuts, Raiden finished the combo with a powerful double-footed kick, sending Lex flying through the building opposite the street, and sending it crumbling to the ground. Lex tumbled across the street as Raiden landed and the building Lex hit was reduced to rubble. However, Raiden saw a heads-up message in his visor.
He was running low on fuel.
"Damn... already!?" Raiden exclaimed, before making his way over to the Metal Gear RAY and trying to search it, before ramming his hand into the machine's wreckage, pulling out fuel cell electrolytes from the Metal Gear and crushing it, revitalising him. However, jet engine sounds from his right made him turn to see Lex Luthor fly back into the scene of the battle.
"Done taking your little tea break, Raiden?" Lex taunted, giving a hand gesture as if to say "Come at me, bro!". Raiden grunted before making another run at Lex, attempting to punch in the chestplate. However, Lex caught the punch, stopping the Ripper in his tracks, before punching him in the face, sending him tumbling back down the street.
"Damn... what will it take...?" Jack murmured as he took out his homing missile launcher, launching several missiles at Lex, before dropping it and making a blinding run at the archenemy of Superman. Luthor began swatting the missiles away as they approached him, but as he disposed of the last one, Raiden dashed by, slashing at him with the Murasama. This repeated with several fast-paced dashes that Lex couldn't catch up with before ending it with a kick that knocked Luthor off balance. The Ripper then pulled out an EMP grenade, throwing it at the ground between them. It then went off, and Luthor could slowly feel the power disappearing from his suit, rendering him helpless.
"W-what!? No! Reactivate!" Lex pleaded. Raiden saw the opportunity and took it, racing up to the villain and grabbing his suit by its leg, whirling him around at increasing speed before throwing him into the air. He leaped up after him, slashing at him repeatedly with the Murasama and leaving scorch lines where the sword struck. As he fell to the ground, Raiden stuck the Murasama into its sheathe, charging up another attack as electricity began to build up. Lex hurtled towards the ground himself, but suddenly he found his suit's systems reactivated, and immediately pumped power into the shield, the force field appearing just as Raiden unsheathed the Murasama again, unleashing a rapid-fire slashing attack. The shield strained from the onslaught, and eventually broke as Lex fell back onto the ground. Lex looked up at Raiden before getting back onto his feet and started slowly clapping.
"Not bad. Not bad." Luthor told Raiden. "For someone I've only heard rumours of, you've been impressive to do that well. But I'm afraid that's as far as you will be going."
"Yeah right." Raiden retorted, walking up to him. "Your shield's down, right?" And with that, Raiden threw a hard punch at Lex's head... only to see a force field generate around his head. Lex grinned as Raiden gained a face of shock.
"WROOOOOOONG!" Luthor suddenly yelled, kicking Raiden away. The cybernetic ninja tumbled across the street before hitting a building, knocking the wall down. Luthor admired the handiwork he had caused. He felt on top of the cybernetic ninja. Soon, he felt he could be on top of the Man of Steel, too.
Justice League Headquarters
Meanwhile, from within the JL Headquarters, the entire main team of the Justice League sans Superman were watching the battle on a monitor.
"Well... do you think we should step in?" Batman asked everyone.
"Hell no. Not yet." Green Arrow responded. "This guy seems tough. He's done well to get through Luthor's main force field, so we should probably wait to see if this guy does the deed for us first."
"At the very least, we should be trying to get in touch with Supes." The Flash added. Batman looked over, then nodded. "Seriously though, what's taking him so long to respond to us?"
Metropolis
Lex Luthor continued to stand strong... however, a rumbling emerged through the air as Lex looked around until he looked off down the street. In the far distance was the LexCorp tower...
BOOM!
...which abruptly exploded. Something else seemed to be going on down there. For Lex, his rage surfaced immensely, his face turning red in rage as he looked to the sky.
"SUPERMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!" Luthor yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice reverberating through the air. From the rubble of the building the Ripper got kicked into, however, movement began as Raiden began to climb out of the wreckage. His suit was damaged slightly and his hair was dirtied, but he was still standing.
Mr. Lightning Bolt wasn't ready to quit yet. He was ready to strike twice.
"Look here, Luthor..." Raiden spoke, causing Lex to turn back to him. "This is only the beginning." And with that, he sheathed the Murasama, pulling out Dystopia. He held the twin sai in front of him, the magnetism dragging himself towards Lex, and vice versa.
"What the...?" Luthor stammered as he felt himself slowly dragged towards Raiden, activating his thrusters to counteract the pull. However, Raiden simply got launched towards Lex, performing a dual outward stab motion with the sai and ending with a kick, knocking Luthor back. He then drew L'Etranger and raced towards Lex, who drew his Kryptonite battle-axe in response. The two clashed weapons for a few seconds, exchanging blows for a few seconds before Lex charged up his flamethrower, blasting flames at the Ripper. Raiden, however, saw this coming, and bolted back out of the range of the flames.
"Time to go big." Raiden said, firing another rocket from his LAG-2 Rocket Launcher. This time, Lex caught the missile in his hands, struggling against the missile's thrust. Raiden then ran up to his pistol, grabbing it and shooting the missile, blowing it up in Lex's face and causing him to stagger back. Raiden dropped the pistol, then drew Bloodlust in both hands and ran to Lex, jumping through the smoke and bringing both machetes on the shoulders of Luthor's Warsuit. Luthor yelped in shock before attempting to chop Raiden's head off with the battleaxe, but Raiden managed to dislodge Bloodlust and jump away from Lex.
"You're getting on my nerves, Jack." Lex warned, blasting two Kryptonite lasers from each of his gauntlets. Both of them struck Raiden, knocking him back several hundred meters and causing him to drop Bloodlust. Lex ran full-tilt at Raiden, Kryptonite battle-axe in hand as the cybernetic ninja got back to his feet. Noticing that Lex was closing down on him, Raiden readied the Murasama and, with an observant eye, sliced at the body of the battle-axe, chopping it clean off and rendering it a useless weapon. Lex stared at the broken pole in his hand before discarding it.
"Learn when to give up, Lex." Raiden told him.
"The same could be said for you, Ripper." Luthor responded. With this, he attempted to punch Raiden, but the ninja raised his sword for a parry, staggering Lex slightly and allowing Raiden to rapidly kick at Luthor's armour, each accompanied by a slash of the Murasama. Lex was inwardly noticing some structural malfunctions beginning to show from his system's display. He knew that if he allowed Raiden to keep attacking, his Warsuit would be reduced to nothing. He knew he had to end this quickly.
"Why won't you die!?" Raiden roared. Lex smirked at his struggling.
"Alien machinery, son!" Lex boasted. "Apokolips-fresh, to be precise." With this, he stopped Raiden's next kick before punching him into the air, then using his thrusters to follow suit (ha). With Raiden tumbling through the air, Lex caught up and grabbed Raiden by the neck, holding him in place and staring him in the eye, before adjusting his grip so that his gauntlet was pointed right at Raiden's chest.
"Let me tell you something, Jack." Lex began to tell Raiden. "You're fighting a hopeless battle. I've let you live long enough to see this part. But you have been fighting for a fruitless reason. To "protect". Is that right?" Raiden glanced at Luthor.
"The hell are you talking about?" Raiden asked.
"The people who are on Superman's side!" Luthor continued. "You are stood among them, aren't you?"
"It'd be much better than taking your side, Lex Luthor."
"What a shame..." Lex grinned, preparing a rocket in his gauntlet. Raiden glanced down, then back up.
"Are you--?" Raiden began to ask. But Lex cut him off as he pointed Raiden back-down towards the ground, gauntlet still pointed at his chest.
"Have a nice death, Raiden." Lex told him, before firing the rocket. With a yell of anguish, Raiden got launched towards the street, before hitting it with an explosion from the missile, kicking up a cloud of smoke and sending debris everywhere. A small crater had formed in the road. But Lex decided to blast a high-power Kryptonite beam into the mix as well, for good measure. After five seconds of firing, he stopped, and began to slowly descend towards the surface.
Raiden was laid on his back, his right arm detached from his body and his chestplate charred black. The weak cyborg looked over to his arm with displeasure as he realised he was in the pits now.
"Ah, shit..." he coughed. "Not again..."
Justice League Headquarters
"Ohhhh! That looked nasty!" Green Arrow exclaimed with disgust.
"It's unfortunate." Wonder Woman quietly said. "No-one should have to go out like that."
"Alright." Batman finally spoke up. "It seems that this person's in over his head. I'd say we need to interrupt this now before things get worse--"
"Look!" Aquaman pointed out, interrupting Batman and pointing back at the monitor. "He's still moving!"
Metropolis
Back in Metropolis, Raiden was still struggling under the pain while Lex landed several feet away from him, smirking. This time, he felt, he had won. Raiden was laying in a ruin with a detached arm. There was no way he would come back from that, right?
"I think you can agree with me that I've won, Jack." Lex gloated, placing his hands at his suit's hips. Raiden looked up through the pain.
...Pain...
"There is... one thing I agree with..." Raiden conceded, coughing up blood. "The reason I fight... is not to stand with... those followers..." Lex's smile disappeared in exchange for a confused look.
"Then pray tell, what is your purpose?" Lex asked him.
"...Pain..." Raiden continued, his voiced becoming more gritty and snarling with every passing moment. "...This is why... I fight... Jack... is awake!" Suddenly, his eyes flashed red as he got back up. A red aura surrounded the ninja and a vicious smile spread across his face, eyeing Luthor.
Jack the Ripper was back.
"So... this is the real you..." Lex pondered. Raiden let out a sinister laugh.
"Hahaha! It's time for Jack the Ripper to LET 'ER RIP!" Raiden declared, swivelling the Murasama in his only hand before getting into a fighting stance. Lex Luthor did the same, before both made a charge at one another. Raiden hacked at Lex with the Murasama, who caught the blade in his hand, causing sparks to fly out. However, Lex felt vibrations in his hand, and he could feel the heat getting more intense as parts of his Warsuit's hand started to wear down, forcing him to let go.
"Right... that's it. Just as well I have this stocked up..." Lex grimaced, before activating the special Kryptonite steroids in his suit, injecting it into his body. Inside his suit, his body was beginning to bulk up under the Kryptonite steroid. Jack the Ripper then dashed at Lex, kicking him before readying his Murasama, and rapidly cutting against the chestplate of the Warsuit. Sure enough, after a good fifty or so rapid-fire cuts, the Warsuit's chestplate started to fall apart, revealing Luthor's beefed-up torso.
"Ahahahahaaa! You're dead meat, Luthor!" Jack declared before attempting to stab Luthor through the stomach. However, Lex was able to block the blow with his gauntlet, the katana slicing off one of the gauntlet blades to compensate.
"Not quite!" Luthor retorted, delivering a mighty punch which Raiden matched. This continued several times, before Raiden continued to slash at Lex with the Murasama. Some hit his head's force field, which rippled with the hits, while others ripped by the rest of his suit, which cut chunks out of the build. Jack tried to punch at Lex again, but this time Lex grabbed onto his hand and clenched his fist hard, crushing the Ripper's hand in his.
"Gah... not bad... but I can still get you yet!" Raiden growled. Lex simply grinned back.
"I think not." Luthor responded, pressing a button on his gauntlet. Raiden managed to break out of Lex's grip, but before he could let out another attack, a bubble emerged from Lex's suit, and Raiden felt his body losing power. Lex had activated his EMP, and soon the Ripper was subdued, left to lie down in front of Luthor as he was slowly losing power and consciousness, his Ripper mode diminishing and his fuel emptying the last of its units. Smiling, Luthor looked to what was left of his other gauntlet. Most of the mainframe was still there, though, so he was able to tap into the screen.
"Gh..." Raiden let out weakly. Lex smiled.
"I must say, Jack," Luthor began. "It's been fun. But all fun things must come to an end, yes?" Where was Lex connecting to? Simple.
Space.
Above Earth, a satellite bearing the LexCorp logo began to charge up a laser and pointed towards Lex's position. After a few seconds of charging, the laser fired. Back on the surface, Lex - whom of which already had his hands raised in preparation - caught the laser, forming a ball in his hands as he rose up into the air above Raiden's position. Jack looked up through what was left of his consciousness as Lex looked down at him. The heat of the laser was searing, especially with the suit's damage, but he paid it no mind.
"You've seen the man I can be, Raiden!" Luthor called out to him. "Do you still want to remember!?" And with these words, Lex threw the ball of energy at Raiden, causing an almighty explosion that rocked Metropolis. It could even be seen from space, an almost-mushroom cloud-shaped smoke cloud forming. All too soon, the dust and smoke was beginning to clear, with Lex no-longer shielding his eyes. Metropolis was in shambles, windows broken and buildings in the near vicinity being levelled. And, to Lex Luthor's bewilderment, no sign of his opponent.
But then he saw it.
His limbs had been scattered all around the place, leaving only Raiden's head and torso. Lex landed and walked over to the cyborg's body, grinning sadistically before raising his foot above his head.
"Sleep tight, Jack." Lex said darkly, before stomping down on Raiden's head, crushing it and splattering blood onto the road. Lex Luthor then began to laugh before flying off.
He might have levelled most of Metropolis due to this, but at the very least it would catch Superman's attention. Wherever he was.
K.O!
Justice League Headquarters
All of the remaining Justice League members stared at the monitors in shock. They did not believe what they had just witnessed.
"Did... did he just...?" The Flash asked.
"...Yep. He went there." Green Lantern responded, nodding sombrely. Batman slammed both of his hands down on the desk in frustration.
"Alright, this tears it." Batman said. "We need to put a stop to Luthor as soon as we can. We need to get out there. And hopefully, get Superman back in on the action. He won't give Luthor breathing room when he hears about what he's done to this place."
"Definitely." Wonder Woman agreed.
"Let's go, Justice League." Batman commanded. And with that, they all began to run out of the headquarters, ready to track Lex Luthor down. If Lex was going to be anything like what had just transpired, the League felt they would need Superman to get back soon.
Where had he been this entire time? Who would possibly know?
Results[]
Boomstick: Aw... I liked him, though...
Wiz: Raiden definitely had the means possible to cut down Luthor's Warsuit and defeat him, as well as holding the advantage in speed and combat experience, but Lex's superior mind, durability and weaponry were more than enough to hold back the tide.
Wesker: Both combatants had long range weaponry, but their counterpart in this battle could easily quash their long range efforts. Raiden could do so with his speed, whereas Lex can always trust upon his force fields to take the brunt of the onslaught. However, Lex couldn't rely on Kryptonite to do all the work, as it wouldn't affect someone like Raiden so easily, if at all. This left only the close range weaponry.
Hoxton: And while Raiden had several EMP grenades to give Luthor a scare, the only melee weapon Raiden had that could cause a threat was, of course, the Murasama.
Boomstick: Remember that the Murasama's vibrations can weaken its target's molecular bonds, and that Lex only designed the Warsuit with Superman in mind. So it was definitely possible for Raiden to be able to rip the Warsuit apart after enough attacks, especially if he was using an enhanced mode like Blade Mode or Ripper Mode - or even both at the same time.
Wiz: However, Lex has had enough resistance and durability to be able to hold off Raiden's assault long enough to stall Raiden's reserves and run him dry. And on top of that, Lex Luthor didn't have to worry about running out of fuel, unlike Jack, who had to. And once he ran out of fuel, all of Raiden's most valuable assets - as well as the ones that could have tipped victory his way - were out of the question. Adding this onto things such as Lex's more destructive finishers, and Raiden was unable to cut through Lex Luthor in the end.
Boomstick: Raiden not being able to cut Lex Luthor a check? What a Rip, huh?
Wiz: The winner is Lex Luthor.