Xaviers!

Flayer's probing is met by the rousing of the flock, as dozens of sharp beaks reach out for those tendrils, trying to grab and pull.

"You're in my way," Sam says as she lunges towards Flayer and tries to punch her in her tentacley face.

Tosh transforms into Bruce just in time to lock hands with the lunging lionman and turn the snapping jaws aside. The feral thing darts to one side as the minotaur's massive fist barrels into Bruce's face. The sharkman stumbles back, spitting out a couple of disposable teeth before grinning and charging up for a counterattack.

Will Stanton wrote:Will, bouncing and rolling over several times, shifted from car to person as he rolled through the fields of wheat.

It was there, coughing and catching his breath, that the hawk-woman would reach him.

Electricity dances between Stormhawk's talons as she swoops past, clawing at Will.

Robin Stanton wrote:Robin meanwhile opts to remain a car for the time being, revving her engine and trying to ram the Fire-Wolf headhood-on.

The devilish wolf leaps onto the hood, r.ed hot hooves crunching into the metal. He immediately begins tearing at the living vehicle with savage glee.

Samantha McManus wrote:Flayer's probing is met by the rousing of the flock, as dozens of sharp beaks reach out for those tendrils, trying to grab and pull.

"You're in my way," Sam says as she lunges towards Flayer and tries to punch her in her tentacley face.

She can't overpower Sam, but seemingly endless psychic tentacles rise from the depths of Flayer's mental sea to do battle with the crows, a new one replacing each that is severed. In the physical world, she evades the blow and slippery tentacles brush Sam's knuckles. Webbed hands latch onto Sam's arm and attempt to turn her momentum against her.

Robin slams on the brakes to shake off the Wolfman, shifting back into a person and fanning at her face. "Ow, ow, ow! Hot! Hottttt!"

Sam goes skidding as Flayer tosses her, but as she's righting herself she shifts tactics on the mental front.

Rather than trying to sever the tendrils, she tries to have as many of the flock as possible latch onto them, and then send a pulse of pain up them.

Narrator wrote:Electricity dances between Stormhawk's talons as she swoops past, clawing at Will.

Will hit the dirt, flattening out to try to avoid the electric talons. That was the last thing he needed.

Bruce sends a crackling fist at the minotaur. Catching it, the minotaur smirks as the electricity is absorbed by a device attached to his armor.

"Did you really think I wouldn't come prepared, kid?" he says, "Or do you not remember me?"

Bruce's eyes go wide, "That voice... you're..."

But he is interrupted by a sharp pain in his side. Looking down, he sees that a stinger has emerged from the quill covered end of Manticore's serpentine tail and pierced his hide. He reaches down with his free arm to pull it out but finds his movement sluggish.

"What did you..." he begins before going limp.

The minotaur slings the paralyzed fishman over his shoulder and carries him towards the semi. "Let no one stop me, and just maybe I'll let you have an intelligent thought again," he tells Manticore.

Robin Stanton wrote:Robin slams on the brakes to shake off the Wolfman, shifting back into a person and fanning at her face. "Ow, ow, ow! Hot! Hottttt!"

Hellhound tumbles across the track and comes up into a crouch. "I'm going to roast you like a marshmallow," he snarls before lunging at her with flaming claws.

Samantha McManus wrote:Sam goes skidding as Flayer tosses her, but as she's righting herself she shifts tactics on the mental front.

Rather than trying to sever the tendrils, she tries to have as many of the flock as possible latch onto them, and then send a pulse of pain up them.

Flayer grabs her head and screams in an entirely human sound of agony. For the moment, she isn't a threat.

Will Stanton wrote:Will hit the dirt, flattening out to try to avoid the electric talons. That was the last thing he needed.

Stormhawk wheels around and flaps her wings to hover in place. Electricity crackles from the edges of her wings and bolts of it fly for Will.

Narrator wrote:Hellhound tumbles across the track and comes up into a crouch. "I'm going to roast you like a marshmallow," he snarls before lunging at her with flaming claws.

"Eww! Not on the first date!" Robin jokes and looks around before frantically dashing off towards a fire hydrant.

Narrator wrote:Stormhawk wheels around and flaps her wings to hover in place. Electricity crackles from the edges of her wings and bolts of it fly for Will.

Will did a good job ducking and weaving out of the way, but one stray bolt him in the shoulder, sending him crashing back down to the ground, his arm quivering and jiggling like a bowl full of Jello, if bowls full of jello regularly increased and decreased in mass.

With Flayer on the back-foot, Sam tries to pull out a few of the creature's fears and trauma, aiming to spin them into a waking nightmare to keep her out of the fight.

"They got Tosh! We need to push forward!"

Robin Stanton wrote:"Eww! Not on the first date!" Robin jokes and looks around before frantically dashing off towards a fire hydrant.

Hellhound sails past where Robin had just been, burning claws raking by close enough for her to feel the heat. With animal grace, he nimbly regains his footing. But he is now far enough behind for her to reach the temporary hydrant set up for racing related fires.

Will Stanton wrote:Will did a good job ducking and weaving out of the way, but one stray bolt him in the shoulder, sending him crashing back down to the ground, his arm quivering and jiggling like a bowl full of Jello, if bowls full of jello regularly increased and decreased in mass.

Stormhawk laughs. "Bloody 'ell! Are you seein' this Jack?" she says to the humanoid raven flying to join her.

"Yeah Stormy, he's quivering like we're on an acid trip," quoth the amused raven.

Samantha McManus wrote:With Flayer on the back-foot, Sam tries to pull out a few of the creature's fears and trauma, aiming to spin them into a waking nightmare to keep her out of the fight.

"They got Tosh! We need to push forward!"

Flayer falls to her green knees, shivering.

Manticore, however, is bounding on all fours in Sam's direction with an inhumanly predatory gleam in his orange eyes.

Narrator wrote:Hellhound sails past where Robin had just been, burning claws raking by close enough for her to feel the heat. With animal grace, he nimbly regains his footing. But he is now far enough behind for her to reach the temporary hydrant set up for racing related fires.

"Working on it!" Robin shouts in response to Sam before leaping at the fire hydrant and fusing into it, one of the caps on the side beginning to unscrew as she tries to aim the hopefully resulting stream of water at her pursuer.

Narrator wrote:Stormhawk laughs. "Bloody 'ell! Are you seein' this Jack?" she says to the humanoid raven flying to join her.

"Yeah Stormy, he's quivering like we're on an acid trip," quoth the amused raven.

"Quivering like I'm on the acid trip, presumably," Will grunted.

He shot out his other arm, stretching up into the sky to try to grab on to Stormhawk's throat.

Sam isn't quite ready for Manticore and is bowled over.

On the positive side, that makes her much harder to sting.

On the negative, the business end of Manticore is still very much his jaws.

She struggles against him, but seems to be growing.

The minotaur is almost to the semi's trailer

Robin Stanton wrote:"Working on it!" Robin shouts in response to Sam before leaping at the fire hydrant and fusing into it, one of the caps on the side beginning to unscrew as she tries to aim the hopefully resulting stream of water at her pursuer.

Success! The burning devil wolf bearing down on her is now a wet devil wolf knocked on his butt.

Will Stanton wrote:"Quivering like I'm on the acid trip, presumably," Will grunted.

He shot out his other arm, stretching up into the sky to try to grab on to Stormhawk's throat.

Stormhawk emits a choked squawk as she finds her throat squeezed and frantically beats her wings as she claws at the arm with electric talons.

"Stormy!" cries the raven-man before his eyes flash red. The trapped spectators start to panic as the creatures around them close in. "Let her go or the humans start to die."

Samantha McManus wrote:Sam isn't quite ready for Manticore and is bowled over.

On the positive side, that makes her much harder to sting.

On the negative, the business end of Manticore is still very much his jaws.

She struggles against him, but seems to be growing.

Manticore goes after her with everything he has: horns, claws, teeth, scorpion legs, stinger, and the quills suddenly growing out of the massive leonine. The claws and quills marring her flesh burn as if dipped in acid.

Narrator wrote:Stormhawk emits a choked squawk as she finds her throat squeezed and frantically beats her wings as she claws at the arm with electric talons.

"Stormy!" cries the raven-man before his eyes flash red. The trapped spectators start to panic as the creatures around them close in. "Let her go or the humans start to die."

Will paused for a second, glaring at the raven-man.

He then dropped Stormhawk to the ground. Without taking much care for her personal safety.

The stream of water the Robydrant is spitting stops for a moment as she turns her attention towards the trapped spectators. Opening up the hydrant again she tries to blast the creatures corralling people to try and carve an opening for them to escape through while keeping the monsters at bay.

"Little...nnngh... help, here..." She grits her teeth, struggling to push past the pain.

Her frame is shifting and swelling and soon, a large slablike fist lashes out for Manticore's jaw.

Robin Stanton wrote:The stream of water the Robydrant is spitting stops for a moment as she turns her attention towards the trapped spectators. Opening up the hydrant again she tries to blast the creatures corralling people to try and carve an opening for them to escape through while keeping the monsters at bay.

The powerful stream of water knocks a pair of crow-dogs off their feet. Without any prompting, the hostages make a panicked break for the parking area. However, a few beasts slip past the torrent and give chase.

Then the big, steaming, probably psychotic wet dog tackles her from behind.

Will Stanton wrote:Will paused for a second, glaring at the raven-man.

He then dropped Stormhawk to the ground. Without taking much care for her personal safety.

The raven helps his ally to her feet and glares back at Will with hate. His eyes flash again and a mass-murder of crows dive bombs the polymorph.

Samantha McManus wrote:"Little...nnngh... help, here..." She grits her teeth, struggling to push past the pain.

Her frame is shifting and swelling and soon, a large slablike fist lashes out for Manticore's jaw.

Manticore is sent reeling to one side, bleeding from his lips. He roars and swipes at her with a large, pawlike hand. He seems on the defensive.

Narrator wrote:The raven helps his ally to her feet and glares back at Will with hate. His eyes flash again and a mass-murder of crows dive bombs the polymorph.

Will smirked a little bit as the crows came towards him. "Born and bred in the briar patch, br'er crow. A lot of pent up aggression to take out now"

Rather than shrinking away from the birds, Will started growing larger, swatting and swinging to slap the crows out of the sky.

Narrator wrote:The powerful stream of water knocks a pair of crow-dogs off their feet. Without any prompting, the hostages make a panicked break for the parking area. However, a few beasts slip past the torrent and give chase.

Then the big, steaming, probably psychotic wet dog tackles her from behind.

The hydrant struggles as much as a hydrant can, which is not particularly much. She opts to try and jump out of it, covering her escape by unscrewing as much of the hydrant as possible and turn it into a multi-directional geyser to make the wolf back off.

"You don't have to do this you know," she says, wincing as she takes the slash on her now-massive forearm.

"But if you're determined to take the hard way..."

She breaks up into the flock, pecking and clawing to confuse Manticore's sense of where the attacks are coming from. Once she's sufficiently baited him in one direction, she comes down like a ton of bricks, coalescing back out of the flock into the same brutal form.

The minotaur's voice blares from a loudspeaker on the semi. "The package is secure. Time to withdraw."

Will Stanton wrote:Will smirked a little bit as the crows came towards him. "Born and bred in the briar patch, br'er crow. A lot of pent up aggression to take out now"

Rather than shrinking away from the birds, Will started growing larger, swatting and swinging to slap the crows out of the sky.

"That's my cue," the raven-man says. His eyes flash again and both the winged terrorists and the birds not knocked senseless take back to the sky.

Robin Stanton wrote:The hydrant struggles as much as a hydrant can, which is not particularly much. She opts to try and jump out of it, covering her escape by unscrewing as much of the hydrant as possible and turn it into a multi-directional geyser to make the wolf back off.

Hellhound draws back. "Quit playing games and fight me!" he snarls. Hearing his boss, he growls unhappily as the birds swarm to cover his escape. As he runs, he snatches up Flayer.

Samantha McManus wrote:"You don't have to do this you know," she says, wincing as she takes the slash on her now-massive forearm.

"But if you're determined to take the hard way..."

She breaks up into the flock, pecking and clawing to confuse Manticore's sense of where the attacks are coming from. Once she's sufficiently baited him in one direction, she comes down like a ton of bricks, coalescing back out of the flock into the same brutal form.

This time Manticore is sent to the ground hard with the crack of at least one bone. He slowly rises but, unlike the others, he doesn't immediately follow his commander's orders. His blood is up too much to back down. The collar around his neck gives him a visible jolt, but he merely roars in rage. He then lunges at Sam, jaws wide.

Narrator wrote:"That's my cue," the raven-man says. His eyes flash again and both the winged terrorists and the birds not knocked senseless take back to the sky.

Will turned to follow them, before seeing Sam struggling with her target. He started to hurry his way over in that general direction.

"Don't... nnngh. Don't worry about me!" She says, catching Manticore's jaws in her hands, wrestling with the creature.

"They've got Tosh!"

Will whirled, just in time to see the semi-trailer start speeding away, the other villains behind it.

Hellhound leaps with his passenger into the open side of the trailer, which closes behind him. A second rift opens and swallows the semi. The fliers are left to go back by the route they had come. Whether the plan was to leave Manticore struggling with Sam is less obvious.

As Ainsley arrives, he picks up animalistic language from Manticore. "Huntkillhuntkillhuntkillhuntkill helpme huntkillhuntkillhuntkill thisisn'tme huntkillhuntkillhuntkillhuntkill notamonster huntkillhuntkill..." It reminds him as much of someone on aggression-inducing drugs as much as the chant of a rabid predator.

Sam, meanwhile, picks up the faint impression of a cry for help buried in the aggression the beast is putting off.

"You crash a race and you don't even have the decency to let us chase you!? So rude!" Robin shouts after the no-longer-present truck.

"Let's save Sam here first, then we can yell," Will said, turning back to Sam's struggles.

Robin spins around towards Sam and Manticore.

"Oh fudge!" she exclaims and sprints towards the two of them to try and tackle into Manticore and tear him away from Sam.

Manticore is one heavy ball of fur, but Sam's resistance has him off-balance enough for Robin's tackle to knock him off of her. He responds by fruitlessly clawing the shit out of the pink polymorph.

"Watch the... claws." Sam's train of thought interrupted as it becomes a moot point.

"There's a person in there somewhere but it's buried beneath a lot of aggression," she says as she tries to yank Robin away from the exceptionally painful claws.

Being yanked back saves Robin from literally being torn to shreds like her arms already are. Bloodless, but bordering on being noodly ribbons.

"Fuck that stings! Worse than the garbage disposal..." she winces.

Will takes the opportunity to jump over Robin and Sam, looking to deliver a heck of a knockout blow to the Manticore by letting gravity - and a shift into lead, increasing his mass -- do most of the work.

Manticore either isn't quick enough to avoid the attack, or his bestial thinking doesn't expect it to be a threat, but the end result is the same... one unconscious kitty-monster on the ground.

"This could have gone better..."

"Does anyone know what the hell IS going on?"

"Tosh said his grandpa's some kind of eco-terrorist and that he warned him about an attack on the rally. As far as ploys to get your grand-kid to visit you, this one seems a bit excessive."

Sam is bleeding from a number of places, but her gaze is fixated on where the portal opened up.

"Bloody hell, our only hope of figuring out where they went is in... that." She gestures to Manticore.

"Then we drag it back to campus and try to figure out what's going on with it. You guys take the X-Van?"

Ainsley arrived on the scene solo, approaching the team and trying to determine what was going on exactly.