ic Gathering Like Clouds (IC)

[Electra]

Erin's eyes widened with surprise as Indira melted off the motorcycle, but since the girl reformed... well, after a fashion, anyway, seemingly unharmed on the ground, she figured it was probably intentional. She took Trevor's belt herself, tucking it into one of Redbird's reinforced saddlebags, then leaned close to his ear. " If we can hold off the hounds till the Overriders regroup, we might have a chance of getting out of here, breaking the barrier somehow." Right now the outlaw space-cyclists didn't seem to be up for much of anything, but they were tough customers.

"Whoever's running this, they'll have studied our tactics," she murmured. "Expect us to go for the announcer probably, then use that as the cue to start the fight. Given our reputations, I'll probably be under heavy fire right off. If you swing wide and drop me off over on the edge of the forest, it'll draw attention away from Mark and the others. I'll fight defensively, you and Mark can work to clear the field. Try and protect the kids," she added.

[Gizmo]

For his part, Midnight failed to react to Indira's abrupt dissolution apart from a neutral grunt as he mentally noted which figure from the Columbus Day Parade footage the young woman had turned out to be. It certainly explained the unexpected weight on the Night Cycle at least. Wander's plan elicited a slightly graver response, the corners of his mouth turning down behind his mask. "Hnh. Right about tactics, still don't like it," he responded flatly. Erin had assessed the situation correctly, but simply dropping her off as bait sat poorly with him regardless.

"Distraction is good, deviation will put them on guard. ...heh. Don't know new girls," he mused, turning his ruby lens covered gaze in Wraith's direction. "Drop you off to draw away heavy hitters," he agreed, elaborating, "Illusionist and shapeshifter free Edge. Sage undoes Overriders' mind control. Templar and I do exactly what they expect; flank the ringmaster, spring any traps." If they immediately did the unexpected alone, it would be clear something was afoot. Let the Terminus forces think themselves in the puppeteer's role as long as possible, before cutting their strings. He formed the plan into a mental map of the area and sent its impression to Eve over their telepathic bond.

[April]

Sage glanced over at Midnight from her position on Custos with an eyebrow raised. The plan Midnight sent across the mental link was sound, though she didn't much care for deliberately springing the traps laid. But that objection was a personal one; she simply didn't want her friends hurt.

So with a shrug, the telepath sent the plan across the mental link, and then let go of Etain.

As she fell, Eve examined the fallen Overriders. There were still traces of the mental manipulation on them, like a black briers latched to their psyche. Amateur work, the telepath thought comparing what she saw to the manipulations Pathos used on Singularity. With a focusing of her will Sage didn't so much rip the psychic thorns free but dissolved them.

And then she landed lightly on the ground, ethereal wings of fire briefly flickering into existence.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Are you all done? Good!" exclaimed Spiegel, looking unruffled by all the heroic preparation going on around him. As Mark reached up to take Corbin's hand, the red sky overhead turned black as fast as if a switch had been flicked. Clouds spilled out of nothing, lit through by flaring black lights that had to be lightning somehow cast into the ultraviolet. When Spiegel spoke again, it was in a voice like thunder, echoing in the ears of the heroes of Young Freedom, his toothy jaw opening wide as he boomed, "Ladies and gentlebeings of the Terminus, six ladies who NEED NO INTRODUCTION, let me present to you...MADRIGAL'S HOUNDS!!"

"BLOOD DIAMOND!"

A bolt of black lightning cracked from the rotting sky overhead, sparking against a pillar right next to the flying Cobalt Templar, the sheer power of the bolt disgorging a alien figure Corbin had never seen before. She was tall and pale, her lithe body covered in a sheen of reddish-tinted gemstones that glittered in the light from his ring, glittered with the frozen, screaming faces of human beings! Blood Diamond gave Corbin a look to freeze the soul and said in a voice like poisoned honey, "Your doom is here."

"NIGHTMARE DOOM AND DISCORDIA!"

Another bolt struck the Earth near Edge, disgorging two sinister figures, one in wine-dark robes the color of poisoned blood, only her hands and too-wide eye, another in pale pink like viscera, her dress stained with blood, a look of murder and laughter in her eyes. The first spoke with cold and calm assurance as she stared into the depths of Edge's soul. "Your doom is here," a moment before her sister in darkness exclaimed with a look of utter delight, pulling out from behind her a massive black weapon that could only have come from the forges of Steelgrave, laughing maniacally, "Your dooooom is here!"

"OMNIBEAST AND RAZORWHIP!"

Wander hit the ground rolling near the scrub forest at the edge of the beach and soon realized she wasn't alone; rising from the shelter of the forest was a woman in black and red, long, wickedly-curved claws growing from her wrists, leathery bat wings rising from behind her; and alongside her was another figure evidently more suitable to these rural climates, a smirking woman in red, a brown helmet on her head and in her hands a long, deadly looking razor whip that cut through the thick branches around her with just a flick of the wrist. The first woman didn't speak, simply growling as she approached, face half-hidden by her wild mane of hair, but the second smirked and said in an all-too-human accent, "Y'all are doomed, honey."

"HELLSTORM!"

Lightning crashed in the skies near Sage, and she found herself within feet of another flier; the source of all the atmospheric disturbances from the lightning cracking around her hands, a look of almost childish glee on her face as she danced in the air around her in an impossibly fast blur, her blue costume dotted with what Redbird had described as the multi-colored collection of the heroes she'd slain in her long career. "Your doom is here, slowpoke!" she yelled cheerfully.

"And in a rare public appearance, one night only, THE MADRIGAL MARTINET!"

A bolt of lightning crashed into the sky inches from where Trevor flew, and he found himself with company on Redbird, a cold-eyed beauty whose long raven hair flowed out of her golden helmet, its open eye slits revealing her sparkling blue eyes. Six foot tall and more, grapples in her hand latched onto the bike, and the Madrigal Martinet smiled at Midnight as she raised a weapon of all-too-familiar cast: a copy of the gun that had shattered Omega. "Hello, Travis. Your. Doom. Is. Here."

[Avenger Assembled]

:o The villains went into action like lightning, all carrying out what was evidently some long-crafted plan from deep in the sinister heart of the Terminus. "You have something of a cult in the alleys of Nihilor, you know," Madrigal taunted Midnight, "proles who die with your name on their lips, thinking you're the god-slayer. They're going to love watching you fall." She spun the gun around and shot, not Trevor, but the Night Cycle, the cosmically-empowered bullet ripping through augmented steel like a meteor through tissue paper, Redbird giving a startled exclamation as the bike began to disintegrate and fall from the sky! Dark hands reached up to catch him, Nightmare Doom's eyes having turned a malevolent black as she chanted his destruction below, but by sheer force of will he managed to work his way free: leaving gravity as his sole antagonist! As for Madrigal herself, she had already jumped from the falling bike.

"Ooh, that's a cunning attack by our beloved Madrigal," narrated a jovial Siegel. "Lacking the power and glory of the sons and daughters of Omega, many of your puny humans are actually vulnerable to something as simple as gravity! Long-time viewers of our program will remember the ride-killer as her finishing move from the fight with the Crusaders and their friends some years ago. Oh, how that big canine squealed when he hit the ground!" He laughed, and cruelly imitated what must have been the accent of that long-dead hero.

Meanwhile, Edge gasped as Discordia flipped over his head and suddenly blasted him from behind, shimmering energy cables lashing out of her big gun to wrap around Mark, slamming him hard enough against the rock column to knock the wind from his body as the cables pinned him tight as a stuck insect. He was all-too-vulnerable in that moment, but Discordia took the opportunity to dance, laughing madly. "Look at you, silly Marky! All tied up with nowhere to go! Must be a familiar feeling by now, ahahaha!" There were no good implications to that, but Mark was a little too busy trying to avoid getting killed to dwell on them.

"Ah yes, a clever move by Discordia, taking out arguably the team's most powerful member first. Despite all his power, one good knife-thrust to the ribs should bleed him out nicely. Our own Shadowhawk couldn't be here today, but I'm sure he's taking notes for his next bout with the Hounds!" Siegel laughed again, a professional announcer's laugh with no real humor in it. "Those of you interested in purchasing Discordia's man-killer there should send your credits to the Steelgrave Armories, providing all the needs for murder-security and other protections that..." He went on, delivering a commercial

for a variety of murderous devices without an eyeblink.

Omnibeast met Wander's gaze and Erin felt her heart break; those red, glowing eyes seeming to dig right into her soul and tear it apart as the other woman growled in amused triumph. She took a solid hit from Razorwhip for her troubles; her head rattling along with her soul. "She ain't even fallen down yet!" said Razorwhip, sounding annoyed. "Lousy dethroner, we'll show you what we do with your kind around here!" She advanced on Wander again, whip still firmly in hand, this time pulled tight around her hands as if to make it into a garrotte.

"There's our Omnibeast, ripping the souls of the unrighteous apart with animal cunning! None can stand before her animal ferocity and survive, as plenty of our proles have learned over the years!" He laughed again. "And soon, if I'm any judge, she'll be ripping Wander's body apart too, piece by piece. I do remind our viewers that, unlike Omnibeast's typical matches, this is only a fight to the death: as you can imagine, there have been many requests made for trophies from this bout and we'll do our best to accomodate each one! Luckily, Razorwhip herself is on the scene to lend a hand to the Red Queen herself."

"But before that, little boy, come and look at my pretty little stones!" At Blood Diamond's words, a shimmering opal rose from her outfit and hovered before Cobalt Templar's gaze: he didn't recognize the face that floated within, frozen in a silent scream, a moment before a blast of pearly white light rushed by inches from his face! The gem retreated, its work having failed, and Blood Diamond cursed. "Miserable little insect!" she sniffed. "I'll have your soul yet, and wear it in my crown too!"

"How could he! How could he!" Spiegel sounded really mad, and it took him a moment to calm himself. "Er, it is to say, I'm sure Blood Diamond is simply toying with Earth-Prime's Cobalt Templar. She loves those pretty stones, and there are few prettier on Earth-Prime than that blue ring of fire! What will happen when she puts multiple rings together and wears them as trophies of her power? I'm sure we all can't wait to find out!" It wasn't hard to see the love in the little toad's eyes, such as such emotions were among the Annihilists.

"Hah-hah-hah!" A flurry of fists battered Sage as Hellstorm proved that she had speed to go with her flight, slapping her around before swooping out of reach up into the sky. "Bet you wish you could still fly, slowpoke! You're not so fleet-footed!" she taunted. "You'll WISH you could run from me before I'm through with yoU!" As lightning cracked in the sky around her, Hellstorm looked prime to bring her threats into reality.

"Ah, Hellstorm, no wonder the crowd loves you," said Spiegel indulgently. "The heart and soul of our team, right here. Is anyone a better symbol of the power of entropy than the Lady of Storms herself? I don't think so! The Madrigal would like to remind all who are watching that she has access to tens of thousands of warriors like these, all of whom are sworn to live and die at her command, and that your support is necessary to continue our operations as defenders of Nihilor against these dirty outworlders!"

[Avenger Assembled]

Mark had given plenty of inspiring speeches to the rest of Young Freedom over the years, sometimes in good times, sometimes in bad. Being attacked by powerful assassins from the Terminus who planned to murder them all on interdimensional broadcasts for the benefit for the remainder of the population was one of the tougher situations, he had to admit; it wasn't easy to put a positive spin on this. But as the monsters who held them captive laughed at their suffering, Edge frowned, and knew what he had to do: maybe this was a bad situation, but they'd come through worse. We can take these guys.

A lesser man would have wondered why the most powerful people in the multiverse had become his bitter enemies at the age of only 19, but Mar knew why exactly: because he was a HERO. "Listen to me," he called out, loud enough for everyone to hear thanks to the sheer power of his voice, his tone ringing across the noisy battlefield, as well as his mental network with Sage. "Listen to me! EVERYBODY! You think you have us? You think you've won? Look at you! All the grandeur of the Terminus and all your power, and you're hunting teenagers for sport! Examine your life and ask yourself; when did I FAIL? Was it when I decided to take on a united Young Freedom for ratings? RATINGS? Listen, if you want to bring any kind of doom to anybody, you've got to believe! Just like I believe in FREEDOM!" At Mark's shout, the bonds around him began to snap, energy giving way like popping popcorn.

"And we're coming for you!"

[April]

Sage was unsure what the loudmouth, Hellstorm, was gloating about. It's true that she landed her shots, but none of them made solid contact for the acrobatic telepath moved with the punches, robbing them of their impact. The former professional gymnast did frown briefly when Hellstorm retreated but set aside her irritation for more important matters on terra firma.

Such as Wander. Sage could see what the Hound called Omnibeast was doing to her friend, not from any outward display of power but from the way Erin was reacting. Stretching out with her mind, Sage bolstered Wander's willpower with her own.

Satisfied that her friend and former teammate was recovered, Sage slipped into hiding.

[Aoiroo]

Custos was unsure where to be at the moment, everything was happening so fast, the dark one was falling, Eve was hiding, then that monstrosity was facing Erin. It took a voice in the distance,

"Custos,"

Etain's voice always cut above the crowd. He took flight and was at her side in a moment.

"Can you break these,"

The gargoyle took a claw and started at them,

"They're tight, but I can give you a bit more wiggle room."

[Electra]

Wander had a split second to take in the whole scene of the battle before it all began. She saw her friends surrounded, Trevor beginning to fall from the sky, another horrific battle for survival about to start. Looking into the sadistic, grinning faces of the two monsters set on killing her, for a moment all she felt was bleak despair. None of this was ever going to end, was it? She'd sacrificed the best of her powers for a chance at a normal life, free of constant deadly battles with the Terminus, and what had it gotten her? Constant deadly battles with the Terminus, but now she had no chance of winning, not even a chance to sacrifice herself for her friends. She was going to die here, they were all going to die, and it was all for nothing. Next to that, the pain of a physical blow barely fazed her. She stared down at her bat, an open and useless tool in her hand, and wondered why they were even trying.

As though from far away, she heard Mark shouting defiance and freedom, and almost in spite of herself her heart began to stir within her. She looked up, and felt the brush of Eve's mind against hers, reminding her that she wasn't alone, that despite everything, Young Freedom had beaten the odds before, and they would do it again. Wander's hands tightened around her bat. "Maybe I'm doomed," she told the smirking woman with the whip, "but not today."

In a blinding rush of movement, Wander dug the end of the bat into the ground, vaulting over it and flipping through the air to land behind Razorwhip. The moment her foe spun to face her, Wander's bat was there again. She used one end of the bat to rip the whip from Razorwhip's hands, sending it flying behind them into the trees. With the other end of the bat, Wander smashed Razorwhip in the chin like she was sending a line drive out of the park. And indeed, it looked as though the menacing Hound could go all the way.

[Avenger Assembled]

Razorwhip flew up in a high, whirling arc, her curses ringing in the air as she slammed into something in mid-air further down the alien beach, then began to slide down a shimmering surface that seemed to shiver and fracture like broken glass towards the beach below. She landed on her feet, but looked bruised enough from the massive blow that she couldn't do much about that. At her landing, Spiegel broke in, condemnation sharp in his voice as he looked first at Edge's bound form, then at the long-fallen Razorwhip.

"That's a technical foul for Razorwhip, and a point to the condemned! But one taken away by the interloper on the field, such a pity." The oily little reptiloid smacked his lips and added, "Remember, interfering in a Murder Game carries a stiff penalty, and I would hate to see our lovely destruction ruined by criminal scum. While our contestants will have a glorious death in Omega's name, there are forges awaiting those who ruin our ancient and glorious traditions!"

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar's eyes had widened a fraction when a group of Terminus super-warriors just appeared all around them. He saw Mark get tied up, he saw Redbird struck from the sky, and he saw everyone under assault from enemies that looked like humans, like people, but that were demons in disguise, as far as he was concerned. He turned to Blood Diamond just as she flashed a gem at his face and tried to mess with his mind. He managed to lean his head to one side, missing the blast of light, and just shook off the stuff trying to get into his mind. He turned his gaze on the "woman" who was his opponent.

And in the now somewhat brighter light of his armor and the flames surrounding him, Cobalt Templar smiled, his teeth gleaming as he spoke.

"Missed me. Now for something everyone here should recognize."

He held out his right hand, and in it a somewhat familiar weapon appeared. Once more the blade glowed like a trapped piece of a star, flames roiling within the tightly controlled shape of the blade. He gripped it in two hands, and shot off through the air, suddenly shouting out as he did so.

"And gentlemen on Earth, now a-bed, shall think themselves accursed, that they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks, that fought with us here!"

The blade flashed, and while for a moment it seemed it might not strike, at the last moment his wrists shifted slightly, and the blade struck true.

[Gizmo]

Midnight beat back the telekinetic assault mentally as much as physically, falling back on training exercises with Sage once again. The sight on the Night Cycle crippled beneath him brought a sharp tightness to his chest but the stoic young hero did not hesitate for an instant as he retrieved Redbird's egg as it reformed out of silvery metal between the handlebars, the autonomic machine intelligence shocked into unconsciousness by the trauma of the sneak attack by Madrigal. Gently stowing it away, he drew forth a pair of miniaturized rockets and adhered them to opposite sides of the plummeting vehicle. --Stick to plan. Free Edge,-- his calmly ordered thoughts came over the telepathic network. --Mystic practitioner hanging back. Powerful telekinetic. Neutralize.-- Wind rushing by with a deafening howl, he activated the boosters with a tap at his wrist, using the thrust and his knees to maneuver. He couldn't stop the fall, but he could control where he and the Night Cycle came down.

Redbird had given them a quick briefing on the Hounds and their mistress, beyond what was already common knowledge. Madrigal had powerful regenerative capabilities; she could afford to simply fall to the ground knowing that the impact would only slow her down momentarily. Moreover stronger magics than the engineer had ever had to deal with before completely shielded her from harm from any weapon, any tool designed with combat and destruction in mind. Fortunately, Midnight was nothing if not a superb improviser. "Bad move," he informed the Annihilist terse in the brief moment their paths brought them close enough for her to hear him before the Night Cycle collided directly with Madrigal's face, coming down directly on top of her as they hit the ground. Simultaneously, stygian black smoke erupted from his sleeves, enveloping the area is a cloud of impenetrable mist.

"Wondered what happens when a god dies?" Midnight's voice echoed from within the cloud, cold and razor sharp. "Where that power goes?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Discordia frowned a pretty frown and whipped her cannon around, pointing it directly at the still-bound Edge's face. Mark had a moment to be glad she was blasting him and not the helpful gargoyle who was putting his life on the line for him, before the pretty pink monster spat, "Everyone says you're so powerful, Marky, but you look like just another headless corpse to me! Death to the enemies of Omega!" She fired a blast inches from Mark's face and desperately Edge concentrated, the glowing barrel of the gun heating up, the muzzle hot in his face. Think easy think easy think easy... As energy roared towards his face, Edge reached out and transformed it into matter, and a blast of not murderous Terminus energy came out but rather a stream of pure, cold, water! Discordia gasped in shock as a now-soaking wet Mark grinned and said, "Sorry, lady, I like my head where it is."

"I'm coming, boss!" yelled Hellstorm from above, and she zoomed down out of the sky to the black cloud that surrounded Midnight and Madrigal, the super-sonic flier whipping quickly around and around to try and dispell the midnight mist. Luckily, the signature weapon of the Hunter family was made of sterner stuff than that. "Ah, dammit!" she yelled, "stupid Midnights! I need some help over here!" she called to the others.

[Aoiroo]

Etain watched the chaos, but mostly it was favorable, they may have gotten the iniatial jump on them but the tide was turning quickly and so were the odds in their favor. Mark was yet to be free but he managed to stop the woman with the cannon from firing another shot. She had to turn her head away when he did but the look on her face afterwards she did see and smiled as she looked in shock. Ohh but she was in for another one. Etain wasn't going to risk her trying to shoot off another round so she turned to Wraith,

"I need to drop concealment for this next part, please be prepared."

Before she stepped in front of Discordia and removed her large gown to reveal her costume. She only needed a second to put on the mask before she appeared in front of Discordia,

"Good evening,"

A spear ended lance appeared in her hand and she stepped forward. The cannon weilding harpy hardly had the time to side step as she plowed it through her stomach,

"And good night."

She retracted the lance and took a step in front of Marc,

"Good evening to those watching, I do believe there is an introduction in order, I am Changeling, and I will be aiding in the defeat of these oppressors whom you call Madrigal Hounds. That is all."

[Avenger Assembled]

"THAT'S...THAT'S CHEATING!" boomed a scandalized Spiegel, the roly-poly little reptile looking genuinely offended that anyone would interfere in his contest. "Never in all my years as an official at the Murder Games have I seen such scandalous behavior! Changeling and friend," he sneered at Wraith, "you are nothing but a pair of interlopers! Your slave gargoyle was one thing, but this is ridiculous. Interlopers will be removed from the arena by force!" He turned and made a gesture at Etain, and suddenly the ground itself seemed to rebel against her. The sandy soil of the beach reared up and grabbed Changeling like a fist, rearing up high and suddenly hurling her through the air with tremendous force towards the ocean hundreds of yards away, where she skipped like a stone against the surface of the water!

Sneering, Nightmare Doom spoke a few terrible words and disappeared, returning a few moments later with a battered-looking, whip-less Razorwhip to the main battle on the island. "I warned you we should have killed the others first," she hissed at Spiegel, a look of malice on her ruddy face. "I get Discordia's share of the trophies when we're done, or I'll make sure you pay for this." Spiegel paled at her words beneath his scales, obviously terrified of the monstrous magic user beneath him.

[Fox]

If she'd had a tongue, Wraith would have stuck it out at Spiegel; she could always have just made one for the occasion, but she had other priorities. In the chaos of his attack on Changeling she tore across the ground on all fours, skidding to a halt next to Edge and bringing her three-eyed head down to inspect his bindings.

"I am going to ask you to please remain very still," she cautioned the (somewhat) helpless hero, and it was soon clear why: all four clawed feet dug into the ground as she grew a long, thick tail tipped with a gleaming, axe-like blade. Not a moment later the blade came down, arcing over her shoulder like some great scorpion's stinger and cleaving into his bonds.

[Avenger Assembled]

Across the way, still on shore, Omnibeast growled as she went for Wander, evidently having decided to trade in her psychic abilities for sheer murder. Her claws swiped the air inches from Erin's face, close enough that Erin could see the blood that dripped from bone, but didn't quite break the skin. She spoke for the first time as she fixed her red gaze on Erin's, hissing like a hungry snake. "Eat you eat you eat you eat you eat you..." But so far, she wasn't quite able to make good on her threats.

Back on the island, Madrigal scrabbled her way to her feet inside the mist and ran ungracefully out of the smoke, recovering from the fall as she ran out to join the others. Hand on her face, where the falling remains of the Night Cycle had left a deep gash and burn, she called to the Hounds, pointing at the cloud. "Midnight's in there! Make sure he doesn't leave the island...alive!"

"All right, but first, I'll shatter this cretin who has DARED lay his filthy powers on me!" Screaming her revenge, Blood Diamond fired again: a stream of screaming azure gems, each bearing a human face, erupted from her armor and battered against Cobalt Templar's armor, all without doing so much as a scratch against the mighty Corbin. Her subsequent oaths against his mother, his father, and his genitory organ were something to hear.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hey, thanks for the save," said Edge quickly to Wraith and Custos, wincing as his earlier rescuer was catapulted far away from the others. Changeling had gotten herself hurt helping him; he had to make sure she was okay. Turning up his commlink (and taking advantage of Sage's mind), he called out to the others. "Custos, go for Changeling, try and get her out of the water. We'll be fine here!" He had a feeling the gargoyle didn't need his orders for that, but it never hurt to get the word out. Facing down what looked like a powerful sorceress, with a shining jewel of monstrosity overhead, Edge focused his attention on his friends and allies.

"They're going for Midnight!" he called. "Let's show them how we stand up for our friends around here! Cobalt Templar, leave Shinyface and help Sage take down the flier! Wander's soloing over there versus that creepy-looking lady, somebody make sure she's not stuck over there!" He bent down and picked up the giant gun the unconscious woman had dropped, feeling oddly comforted as he waved it around for emphasis. "I've got a magic person over here, what's her face flying around, a whipless wonder, an ugly announcer, and the Madrigal herself! It's just Wraith, Midnight, Sage, and me on the island...so they're outnumbered!"

[April]

Utilizing one of her better tricks--equal parts training, natural talent and a psychic boost--Sage watched the battle unfold around her unobserved. The Claremont crew, former and current, were giving back better than they got and though it looked like Madrigal's Hounds bit off more than they could chew, Eve was only too aware of how quickly the tables could turn.

So Sage waited, kept herself hidden, and watched for an opportunity to present itself. Until that loathsome reptile, Spiegel, attacked Etain and hurled her into the ocean. The telepath's rational mind took a sudden backseat as she quickly and stealthily stalked across the field. Her path was circuitous and when she finally reached the loud lizard she was behind him.

Spiegel never saw the attack. One moment he was recovering from Nightmare Doom's threat and the next he was looking at a long deep red blade protruding from the center of his chest, his neurons misfiring and his body screaming from psychosomatic trauma. Dumping the announcer aside, Sage glanced up into the sky.

There she found Hellstorm's mind. --How do you expect to outrun me?-- Sage thought to the flier. --When I am already here?--

[Aoiroo]

Custos nearly flinched as Etain was hurled into the distance. He didn't need to wait for Edge to say anything, he was off like a bullet when he had the chance. It was about two three seconds before he got to the ocean and scooped Etain out of the water, she wasn't had to find, orange yellow and black spot in the open water of the sea. He only took a second to dive under her before sweeping out of the water with her on his back. She seemed okay, wet, and pissed as all heck but okay as he flew back into the fray.

[Electra]

Wander bore the blow from Omnibeast without so much as a flinch, betraying no emotion until the bestial villainess had the bad form to escape to the sky rather than stand and fight. "I hate flyers,"she muttered. Grabbing a branch from a tree she'd knocked over while fighting Razorwhip, Wander winged it in Omnibeast's direction with the speed of a bullet, but between the flyer's speed and the distance involved, the branch missed by a matter of inches. Wander was about to reach for another branch when Madrigal's command to her subordinates had her head whipping around. Eyes narrowed in vicious intent, she raced across the beach and leapt into the air, clearing the distance over water with no problem.

In seconds she was on the island and on the edge of Midnight's opaque cloud. It wasn't that she didn't believe Trevor could hold his own, but anyone who wanted to ensure Midnight didn't leave the arena alive was going to have to go through her first.

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar frowned as he was ordered to disengage from Blood Diamond. As far as he was concerned he had her on the ropes, and she'd just crossed a line when she brought his family into this. He sheathed the sword construct at his side even as he took to flight once more.

"Be back in a minute, Harpy Diamond. Try not to get any uglier before I'm back."

As he flew, fire formed and compressed around his body, until he stood next to Sage, looking for all the world like a giant version of himself, right down to the over-sized ethereal cape. He eyed the distance from them to Hellstorm for a moment, before reaching down with one oversized hand and hefting Sage like she weighed nothing at all.

"Templar Airlines, direct flight to the fight, one passenger, now departing."

He hefted back a moment, almost like a shotput thrower, before surging his arm forward. Sage raced through the air, and looked to be landing right next to Hellstorm any time now...

[Gizmo]

"Cannon fodder. Insulted," Midnight's voice came from within the cloud of mist, seeming to move about infuriatingly as the Madrigal attempted to discern his location. "When do real Hounds arrive?" Before she could respond, a flash of ruby and silver shot out from the darkness as a whip of daka crystals woven into fibers snapped around the imitative railgun in her hand then ripped it free and back into the inky depths in a lightning fast move that would have made Razorwhip jealous. The concealed detective tossed the gun aside, sending it skidding along the ground toward Wander on the opposite side of the cloud.

Retracting the whip into its handle and stowing it away, Midnight sent terse instructions over the mental network Sage was maintaining between the heroes. --Occupying Martinet. Mop up lackeys first.-- Aloud he called out, "So many rules for someone so feared." Striding forward nonchalantly, he appeared from out of the mist with a hand on his belt's central clasp, a warrior stepping out of legend.

With a twist, he released the failsafe stored there. Like animated ink, black poured from the belt, covering his dress shirt and pants and weaving itself into his featureless mask as morphic molecules chemically bonded to impervium solidified into form fitting armor with a faint crackle of electricity. The charge supplied by the belt's internal power reserves would hold the molecules in their durable form, integrated filters designed to mitigate the harshest of environments. He could only sustain it as long as those reserves held out, but he intended to be finished long before then.

"Here's my rule. You. Me." Midnight's stance left little room for misunderstanding despite his laconic phrasing. "Wander, beat back any interference," he requested, telepathically adding, --Present by your left foot.-- He made a point of sizing the disarmed Madrigal up unhurriedly, buying him time to continue. --Viewers are expecting colour commentary. Mark, do your thing. She shot my bike. Let's take her pride.-- Cracking his knuckles, he dropped into a combat ready stance. "Took cosmically powered lightning rods shot through the heart to finish your master. For you, bare hands."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh, it's you,, halfpint," sneered Hellstorm at Sage's approach. "If you don't mind, I'm a little busy working right now, so you'll just have to wait your turn while I fight someone important. Maybe you'd be better off running away like you did the last time you fought the Terminus." She grinned wickedly, and ostentatiously turned her back on Sage to take to the air, whipping around the battlefield with blinding speed, faster and faster as she blurred into a near-streak of blue in the sky, all the while just a few hundred feet in the air. Tantalizingly close now that Cobalt Templar had gotten Sage within striking range, if there was just some way to close that gap.

[Aoiroo]

Midnight had the spotlight and he was garnering the attention well, which suited Changeling fine. No one tried to attack her so far, no one even thought it was important to do so. She was just part of the background as Custos dropped her on the stone pillar the one called Blood Diamond watched the battle from. She approached the horrible woman clothed in gems that glittered with the anguish of a thousand worlds, so confident but so easily cast out of the spotlight or the attention of the others. Which suited Changeling just fine, as she formed a large battle axe in her hands and met the woman in a quick charge. It took one heavy swipe but her aim was true and she cut down the tainted woman before jumping back on Custos back to circle and look for more stragglers.