Interlude Three

Goddess though she might be, Giselle couldn't help but be fascinated by the awe and mystery of what she saw upon materializing into the Place of RISK. Spread out before her in all directions was a vast landscape, but one without a horizon, bathed in soft light, but without a dominant source and an atmospheric-like sky. Although there were countless theories to explain them, no one (other then He/She, the Supreme One of all of the Multiverse, Zed) knew what Places truly were or how they fit into the complex matrix of everlasting reality.

In the case of this one, the surface of the ground was reminiscent of a chess or checkerboard with a grid of alternating black and red squares. Overhead, the sky was the color of turquoise, but without a trace of clouds to be seen anywhere - which could be the norm or perhaps not, for the atmosphere of this locale. In general, Places seemed to mimic their Universal or Dimensional counterparts in regards to some form of weather conditions, even if it was only a gentle breeze from nowhere. Geographically they didn't necessarily have to be flat as it was here - there were ones that were hilly, even mountainous to those that had strange forms of vegetation, for the lack of a better name to describe it. Others were less hospitable in character - ranging from harsh arctic conditions to sand dune strewn deserts with scorching temperatures.

"Time is a wasting . . . sightseeing, later."

She made a general scan for the presence of Rowena, and found her within seconds.

"The arrogant bitch isn't even attempting to conceal herself. Either that or she's been expecting me."

In a burst of starlight Giselle teleported from where she was and reappeared directly in front of Rowena. The other was seated behind a Mega sized personal computer, presumably connected to the Infonet. The outré open-air setting was only made further so by the assembled office furnishings, which included a Persian floor carpet, a row of filing cabinets and even a few ubiquitous potted plants.

"What do you think you're doing, Rowena - and did you really think I would stand idly by while you took out your frustrations on my people?"

Her tone was icy and controlled, as was her stance. For Rowena's part, she looked on at Giselle in a mixture of innocence and with just the touch of smug self-satisfaction. Her hands lifted off the keyboard and she folded them in front of herself, which provocatively projected the areolas of her amply endowed breasts against the surface of her black jersey top.

"Dear sister," she said, leaning back in her chair, "what are you talking about, I'm merely preparing to enhance a normal Mortal into a supersized being of august power. Never again will he have to feel small or unloved - and have the gratification of possessing ultimate power over the Mortals on his world. To be loved and worshipped by them, or he chooses, to take revenge with impunity. That he happens to resided on a world already in contact with one of my IRT sisters matters not all, the Guild rules are perfectly clear on that issue - as you know full well."

"That's not the case here - and you damn well know it. You've never been willing to live and let live, not once in all the many millennia, not since our first encounter on the same world."

"Well," Rowena smugly smiled, "it certainly didn't help that our respective subjects were living in the same country, too. You could have persuaded your Power Couple to stand down and let my Giantess have her way with the normals . . ."

"Not after she had gone on a rampage, killing countless thousands of innocent people and all but destroyed a major city in the process. Though I mourn their passing, I couldn't have been more proud of them, the pair of them sacrificing themselves in order to take her down, forever."

"Yes," she sarcastically replied, "oh how so noble of them."

"Proving my point, its not always a case of revenge to be fulfilled - sometimes it can be done out of an act of true and unselfish love, as the jointly empowered protectors of Mortals."

"And you've continued on in your agenda . . . but just as you have done, so shall I."

"No you won't, not against my people - your vendetta ends this very day."

"Then you are challenging me for control of this chat room?"

"More then that dear sister, as the resident IRT Section Chieftainess for this Domain I'm laying down the gauntlet to you, personally."

At that Giselle's hands began generating plasma energy bolts and she was getting ready to fire - point blank at Rowena directly in front of her.

"Wait," Rowena said, jumping to her feet, "you might have the authority, but opening fire on me will solve nothing. We are both Deities - Immortal and indestructible."

"True, but then I'll just nuke you again and again, until you yield to me. Now if you have a better suggestion, I'm willing to listen. Otherwise - it's toasting time - and your hair won't need a blow dryer for an long age of Mortal time after I'm through punishing you."

"Alright - how about a Game of Settlement, one between my as yet to be enhanced subject and your two superbeings. A test of our philosophies if you will - great revenge vs true love. The Rules of Engagement are simple - no others can be enhanced and then added to those who are already enhanced. Those subjects already enhanced have to survive in the arena with what they have available in conventional weapons and wits. Lastly, neither of us can interfere or take retribution against the winning side's representatives."

"Very well, I accept your challenge," Giselle stated, and powered down from her attack mode.

At that, Rowena stood up from her console. In tandem, the pair of Goddess began using their powers to materialize what they needed now and reshape what already was present. The personal computer and the desk it was resting upon began to warp and morph in form - taking on the appearance of a Warboard Table. Three-dimensional in character, it was transforming into a miniature scale representation of the Desert Range Base. Soon even the figures upon it were duplicated such as Kevin, Tanya and Dexter - as well as everyone else present at the arid locale.

"Ready?" asked Rowena.

"Yes, fire it up."

Suddenly the once still figures or vehicles came to life representing their living counterparts in real one-to-one time.

Then both Goddesses then transmogrified their clothing - an olive green uniform of a five-stared North American Supreme Commander for Giselle and a dark gray uniform of a five-stared European Field Marshal for Rowena.

"And now," said Rowena, "let the games . . . begin."