[Plot] The Beat Is Always True

[Leo Eskandari]

The man stumbles back from the headbutt, only after she shakes off the daze noticing and clutching his side, swaying sluggishly for a moment before his head snaps up, hair falling out as his eye-sockets, brow and rest of his head grows some kind of chitinous carapace. And when he moves towards Leo again he's much faster, like he'd just been injected with a shot of straight adrenaline rather than Leo's sedative poison. He's too small compared to Leo to go for a headbutt so instead he just drives his now-armored head into his stomach.

Leo had just enough time to wonder what the hell just happened before having the wind knocked out of him. His mass kept him from being bowled over, but he stumbled back in daze. It was a few precious seconds before he could continue. Seconds he most certainly didn't have.

[Shane Marsh]

It's dubious how well wooden barrier would block the beam, it's some kind of metaphysical bullshit after all, but at least it keeps the people from getting bumped into by the panicked masses and they're relatively safe. The geometric=-bismuth mutant continues to aimlessly wander around though with most of the flow of people diverted by Shane's barricades at least the odds of them bumping into and affecting others is greatly diminished.

Shane ran towards the arch, utilizing the fact that the beam had just fired to get close enough to launch vines and unbalance the shark man.

[Will Stanton]

The woman let's out a nervous hiccup-laugh and little bit little she manages to peel tentacles away from Bass!Will by snapping them to the lamp-post, which folds in on itself and gets slowly crushed into a post maybe 3 or 4 feet tall that most of the woman clings to now. She still seem more than a little tense but at least she's managed to focus it on something that's okay to mangle.

"Very good. Very good," Guitar!Will nodded. "I'm Will. What's your name?"

Bass!Will took a minute, lying in ground like squeezed up silly putty.

[Drake Martin]

He's most of the way onto the stage, enough to spot the lead-singer of the last band cowering behind the drum-set. Yet before he can say anything or turn around to survey the crowd Conduit's gun fires again, unbeknownst to him blasting Sam out of the sky before hitting him in the back and passing through to strike the cowering Danny. Flashes of images and sound, like fragments of half-remembered dreams. Something about dogs and the underworld? Whether it's him or something else, he suddenly feels a certain affinity. He's a dragon, hoarding secrets and protecting Genosha. Thoughts get muddled, whirled around in the chaos of whatever this beam is doing. A Greek goddess looms behind him. Snakes? No. Dogs, dogs guard. Scales and wings fall away and the ash still clinging to them ignites, covering him, sinking into his skin until it replaces it. Around him he can feel the flames dancing through the shapes of various animals, chief among them a three-headed dog, almost with a bit of a mind of it's own but obeying his thoughts.

Ahead of him Danny is writhing on the floor, everything from the waist down covered in scales and merging, swelling into the singular limb of a long snake's tail.

"What in the hell?" he asked in a slightly panicked voice like rattling gravel. He wasn't a dragon anymore. His identity had been stolen.

No, I'm still a dragon. This is just superficial. Hell, I can use this.

He took a few deep, slow breaths to calm himself before regarding Danny.

Hope she'll be okay. I can't exactly help her on fire.

He leaped back off stage and ran for the arch, the flame Cerberus around him leaving burning footprints as it loped along. It was time for a fish fry.

[Narrator]

Leo had just enough time to wonder what the hell just happened before having the wind knocked out of him. His mass kept him from being bowled over, but he stumbled back in daze. It was a few precious seconds before he could continue. Seconds he most certainly didn't have.

That would be correct as the mutant takes the window of Leo stumbling to reach up and grab his head with his double-arms and pulls him down towards the rising knee, connecting with his forehead. "Come on, mate, that all you got? Give me more!"

"Very good. Very good," Guitar!Will nodded. "I'm Will. What's your name?"

Bass!Will took a minute, lying in ground like squeezed up silly putty.

"T-tess..." she stammers over the unsettling sound of creaking metal, the pole of the streetlight slowly being compacted into one solid post. "I didn't meant o hurt anybody! I'm s-so sorry... Oh god..."

With a moment of relative calm her eyes wander across the area and the not insignificant amount of hurt people limping away. They're probably not all ones she specifically hurt, but there are also two shapes that are as bad off as Bass!Will but without his resilience it's doubtful they'll get up again. Or be able to have an open-casket funeral.

[Leo Eskandari]

Leo's head rocked back and he was sent falling backwards. But this time he wrapped his serpentine tail around his opponent's legs and pulled, trying to bring the guy down with him.

[Will Stanton]

"T-tess..." she stammers over the unsettling sound of creaking metal, the pole of the streetlight slowly being compacted into one solid post. "I didn't meant o hurt anybody! I'm s-so sorry... Oh god..."

With a moment of relative calm her eyes wander across the area and the not insignificant amount of hurt people limping away. They're probably not all ones she specifically hurt, but there are also two shapes that are as bad off as Bass!Will but without his resilience it's doubtful they'll get up again. Or be able to have an open-casket funeral.

"It's nice to meet you, Tess," Guitar!Will said, ignoring the carnage around him. "This is pretty scary right now, I know. But we just need to all remain calm right now. You can trust us; we'll get this sorted out.

You're not at fault here; it's that crazy woman on the arch," he continued. "But you can help make things better by just focusing on your breathing. Can you do that? Can you be a hero for me?"



Bass!Will, meanwhile, continued to try to pull himself together, and crawled towards Conduit and Thresher.

[Narrator]

Leo's head rocked back and he was sent falling backwards. But this time he wrapped his serpentine tail around his opponent's legs and pulled, trying to bring the guy down with him.

Fortunately for Leo, his opponent is very top-heavy at the moment, his mutation having not yet caught on tot he fact that he should not skip leg-day and thus he goes down as his feet are yanked out from under him.

"It's nice to meet you, Tess," Guitar!Will said, ignoring the carnage around him. "This is pretty scary right now, I know. But we just need to all remain calm right now. You can trust us; we'll get this sorted out.

You're not at fault here; it's that crazy woman on the arch," he continued. "But you can help make things better by just focusing on your breathing. Can you do that? Can you be a hero for me?"



Bass!Will, meanwhile, continued to try to pull himself together, and crawled towards Conduit and Thresher.

"Breathe. Yes. I can do that. Okay. Yes." she nods and in response the metal pole groans unnervingly from the tentacles tightening for a moment. Some of them still occasionally let go and hang in the air for a moment of barely contained motion before snapping back onto the pole.

[Leo Eskandari]

Leo immediately rolled over and scrambled to pin his opponent's large arms under his substantial weight. And punched him in the face.

[Will Stanton]

"Very good.

Do you want one of us to stay with you?" Guitar!Will asked.

[Narrator]

Leo immediately rolled over and scrambled to pin his opponent's large arms under his substantial weight. And punched him in the face.

The punches leave behind spots on the man's face the slowly harden into thicker, harder skin but the concussive impacts still reaches his brain. His mutation goes to work on reinforcing his skull and brain but only after the damage is already done and he passes out.

"Very good.

Do you want one of us to stay with you?" Guitar!Will asked.

"If... if that's okay..."

[Will Stanton]

Guitar!Will crossed his legs and sat down. "Sure thing. We'll just sit here and talk."


BassWill, meanwhile, kept crawling all the way to a different thread.

[Leo Eskandari]

Leo got to his feet and scanned the area for his boyfriend. Not seeing him, he breathed a sigh of relief. He debated for a few moments whether to look for him and make sure he was safe, or trust him to look after himself and go be a hero. Wasn't the latter thing what Ainsley would want him to do? His boyfriend believed he had it in him to do it without losing control so why shouldn't he? He had just subdued that guy without serious harm... well, besides a concussion.

Making up his mind, the big guy headed for the action. As he walked he unbuttoned and shrugged off his damaged shirt, tying it around his waist. Then he dropped to all fours and ran.