Mun Prompt: Trading Power
Just one mun prompt, this time, and it’s a doozy. Think about all your muses in your head. Take two of them. Now…take something from one, and give it to the other. It can be anything. Money. Job. Spouse/lover. Child. Car. Clothes. Life. Music. House. Looks. Be as silly or as serious as you want, but take something from one of your muses and give it to another muse for one day. Then, switch and take something from the muse who took before, and give it to the other. Write it out. Have a lot of fun with the war in your brain.
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Murphy’s back slammed into a brick wall, her head cracking at the impact. She heard Harry scream her name as she hit the sidewalk and her gun clattered away. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, hell it hurt to think, but she couldn’t just lie there. There was a demi-God loose in her city. Or at least a guy who thought he was a demi-God. It was hard for Murphy to remember she didn’t believe in magic with her head ringing like it was. But this guy, crazy or magical, was killing people in her city and she had to stop him. This was her city and her job to protect it.
She rolled onto her stomach, gritting her teeth against the wave of dizziness and the sickening pain that shot through her. She shouldn’t move, there was obviously something broken somewhere and she could feel the blood rolling down one side of her face. The impact with the wall must have cracked her head open. She’d had concussions before though. They wouldn’t kill her. She had to protect her city, she had to protect Harry, she had to get her gun back. It was her favorite. She pushed herself onto one arm, reaching out blinding with the other. She had no idea where her gun went, but she needed it back.
You would keep fighting though it may kill you? A voice suddenly said in Murphy’s head. It didn’t sound like her voice, but Murphy figured that was the concussion talking.
I don’t have a choice.
There’s always a choice, mortal.
She laughed a little, though it came out more as short huffs of breath and really hurt her chest. No, there isn’t. Either I fight and die or I lay down and die. I’m going to die on my feet damn it. The voice didn’t seem to have a response for that and Murphy was glad. It was hard to talk to herself and struggle to breathe at the same time. She could hear Harry dueling it out with the demi-God, but it didn’t sound like he was doing too good. His shouts seemed to be getting weaker and those strange bursts of light, wind and fire were losing their intensity. Harry needed her help and she needed her damn gun.
But her hand didn’t land on a gun, it landed on the hilt of a sword. Murphy tossed her hair out of her face, and tried to wipe the blood away with her shoulder to clear her view. It really was a sword her hand had landed on. It was a relatively short sword, with a plain grip and cross guard. The blade was narrower at the bottom, widening into a broad tip. It was nothing like the bamboo practice swords she’d used before in her Akido training. In this case though, a weapon was a weapon and she grabbed the grip tight.
The moment her hand closed around it, the blade burst into flames, white hot pain shot through Murphy and she cried out. The power of a Goddess will always burn. Will this stop you from fighting? As much as she wanted to let go of the sword, Murphy only tightened her grip. She was not going to die in the street at the hands of some wack job calling himself a demi-God. She was not going to let Harry die, she was not going to let this guy get away and kill more people. This was her city, damn it and it was her job to protect it.
She pulled the sword towards her, mindful of the flames, and pushed herself up onto her arms which shook only slightly. She was hurting and hurting bad, but it was getting easier to move and ignore the pain. She dragged herself up onto her knees, leaning on the sword for support before getting unsteadily to her feet. She swayed like a drunk as she brought the sword forward, holding it in a two fisted grip. For being such a stout blade, the sword was surprisingly light. Even weak and hurting Murphy barely felt its weight in her hands.
“Iapetus! You’ve caused enough trouble here. Time for you to return!” She yelled, though it wasn’t her voice that came out and it certainly wasn’t in English, though Murphy somehow understood every word.
“Athena,” the demi-God drew out the name, like it was a dirty word, “You think some mortal vessel can stop me? Or are you too much of a coward to face me yourself?”
“This vessel is more than enough. A warrior’s soul, a guardian’s mind, and a mother’s heart, you cannot stand against such forces in one woman.” Murphy had control, but she didn’t. She spoke without thinking, in a language she didn’t but did understand. She felt stronger, despite the pain and rejuvenated. It didn’t make sense and later, Murphy would deal with it, but right now she had to stop Iapetus.
The demi-God turned to face her fully, leaving Harry where he was lying on the ground. “If you think you can stop me Goddess of War, come try.”
“As you wish, Iapetus.” Murphy/Athena gave a short nod and then roared, the flames on the sword leaping higher into the air, causing the shadows to leap back like they’d been burned. She shifted her weight forward, bringing the sword up by her head and charged. Iapetus threw a hand forward, a bubble of light surrounding him as a sword similar to her own appeared in the other hand. She drove the sword forward against the shield, sparks flying from the impact as the flames licked over the half-dome and began to eat away at it. Iapetus yelled in frustration and swung at her. Murphy/Athena leapt back, blocked the swing and then shoved forward again, driving the demi-God back three steps.
She was stronger, she was better, she was made for this fight. No demi-God, no man was going to defeat her. She was no mere Godling, playing with power that wasn’t rightfully his. She was Athena, tactician and warrior, patron of some of the greatest warriors that ever fought. Nike traveled with her. Murphy/Athena continued to press forward, driving Iapetus back with sweeping arcs and forward stabs, until the demi-God’s foot slipped. Sensing victory she cried out and with a single handled sweep separated Iapetus’ head from his body. The demi-God’s head landed at her feet, gazing up at her in shock and amazement as his body crumpled to the street.
Well done, vessel. Keep the token of my favor, fight on.
And then everything left Murphy in a rush of heat. The pain she had been ignoring came flooding back and a wave of blackness rolled over her. From a distance she heard the sword drop from her hands and Harry call out her name, but it didn’t seem to matter that much as she fell into unconsciousness.
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Author's Note: So, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which of my muses should swap what things with which other muse. If you understood that sentence congratulations. Now, after shuffling things around for awhile, I decided to listen to my muses and see what they wanted. Oddly enough, Athena (
a_parthenos ) wanted to give Murphy power to fight back against the magical things that scare her. Thusly, this story was born. I'm not exactly sure this is what the prompt calls for, but it's what happened, take it or leave it.
---
Murphy’s back slammed into a brick wall, her head cracking at the impact. She heard Harry scream her name as she hit the sidewalk and her gun clattered away. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, hell it hurt to think, but she couldn’t just lie there. There was a demi-God loose in her city. Or at least a guy who thought he was a demi-God. It was hard for Murphy to remember she didn’t believe in magic with her head ringing like it was. But this guy, crazy or magical, was killing people in her city and she had to stop him. This was her city and her job to protect it.
She rolled onto her stomach, gritting her teeth against the wave of dizziness and the sickening pain that shot through her. She shouldn’t move, there was obviously something broken somewhere and she could feel the blood rolling down one side of her face. The impact with the wall must have cracked her head open. She’d had concussions before though. They wouldn’t kill her. She had to protect her city, she had to protect Harry, she had to get her gun back. It was her favorite. She pushed herself onto one arm, reaching out blinding with the other. She had no idea where her gun went, but she needed it back.
You would keep fighting though it may kill you? A voice suddenly said in Murphy’s head. It didn’t sound like her voice, but Murphy figured that was the concussion talking.
I don’t have a choice.
There’s always a choice, mortal.
She laughed a little, though it came out more as short huffs of breath and really hurt her chest. No, there isn’t. Either I fight and die or I lay down and die. I’m going to die on my feet damn it. The voice didn’t seem to have a response for that and Murphy was glad. It was hard to talk to herself and struggle to breathe at the same time. She could hear Harry dueling it out with the demi-God, but it didn’t sound like he was doing too good. His shouts seemed to be getting weaker and those strange bursts of light, wind and fire were losing their intensity. Harry needed her help and she needed her damn gun.
But her hand didn’t land on a gun, it landed on the hilt of a sword. Murphy tossed her hair out of her face, and tried to wipe the blood away with her shoulder to clear her view. It really was a sword her hand had landed on. It was a relatively short sword, with a plain grip and cross guard. The blade was narrower at the bottom, widening into a broad tip. It was nothing like the bamboo practice swords she’d used before in her Akido training. In this case though, a weapon was a weapon and she grabbed the grip tight.
The moment her hand closed around it, the blade burst into flames, white hot pain shot through Murphy and she cried out. The power of a Goddess will always burn. Will this stop you from fighting? As much as she wanted to let go of the sword, Murphy only tightened her grip. She was not going to die in the street at the hands of some wack job calling himself a demi-God. She was not going to let Harry die, she was not going to let this guy get away and kill more people. This was her city, damn it and it was her job to protect it.
She pulled the sword towards her, mindful of the flames, and pushed herself up onto her arms which shook only slightly. She was hurting and hurting bad, but it was getting easier to move and ignore the pain. She dragged herself up onto her knees, leaning on the sword for support before getting unsteadily to her feet. She swayed like a drunk as she brought the sword forward, holding it in a two fisted grip. For being such a stout blade, the sword was surprisingly light. Even weak and hurting Murphy barely felt its weight in her hands.
“Iapetus! You’ve caused enough trouble here. Time for you to return!” She yelled, though it wasn’t her voice that came out and it certainly wasn’t in English, though Murphy somehow understood every word.
“Athena,” the demi-God drew out the name, like it was a dirty word, “You think some mortal vessel can stop me? Or are you too much of a coward to face me yourself?”
“This vessel is more than enough. A warrior’s soul, a guardian’s mind, and a mother’s heart, you cannot stand against such forces in one woman.” Murphy had control, but she didn’t. She spoke without thinking, in a language she didn’t but did understand. She felt stronger, despite the pain and rejuvenated. It didn’t make sense and later, Murphy would deal with it, but right now she had to stop Iapetus.
The demi-God turned to face her fully, leaving Harry where he was lying on the ground. “If you think you can stop me Goddess of War, come try.”
“As you wish, Iapetus.” Murphy/Athena gave a short nod and then roared, the flames on the sword leaping higher into the air, causing the shadows to leap back like they’d been burned. She shifted her weight forward, bringing the sword up by her head and charged. Iapetus threw a hand forward, a bubble of light surrounding him as a sword similar to her own appeared in the other hand. She drove the sword forward against the shield, sparks flying from the impact as the flames licked over the half-dome and began to eat away at it. Iapetus yelled in frustration and swung at her. Murphy/Athena leapt back, blocked the swing and then shoved forward again, driving the demi-God back three steps.
She was stronger, she was better, she was made for this fight. No demi-God, no man was going to defeat her. She was no mere Godling, playing with power that wasn’t rightfully his. She was Athena, tactician and warrior, patron of some of the greatest warriors that ever fought. Nike traveled with her. Murphy/Athena continued to press forward, driving Iapetus back with sweeping arcs and forward stabs, until the demi-God’s foot slipped. Sensing victory she cried out and with a single handled sweep separated Iapetus’ head from his body. The demi-God’s head landed at her feet, gazing up at her in shock and amazement as his body crumpled to the street.
Well done, vessel. Keep the token of my favor, fight on.
And then everything left Murphy in a rush of heat. The pain she had been ignoring came flooding back and a wave of blackness rolled over her. From a distance she heard the sword drop from her hands and Harry call out her name, but it didn’t seem to matter that much as she fell into unconsciousness.
---
Author's Note: So, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which of my muses should swap what things with which other muse. If you understood that sentence congratulations. Now, after shuffling things around for awhile, I decided to listen to my muses and see what they wanted. Oddly enough, Athena (
a_parthenos ) wanted to give Murphy power to fight back against the magical things that scare her. Thusly, this story was born. I'm not exactly sure this is what the prompt calls for, but it's what happened, take it or leave it.