Xaviers!

Leo did indeed rip this one off all by himself, though his claws dug into some significant sound-proofing. Probably to keep this secret entrance from being obvious to patients.

With the identical nature of these hallways, it would take a bit of wandering for Sam to be able to pinpoint exactly where they were in the complex from the mind map, but it was definitely a hallway. The overhead lights were out, in favour of floor lights. There wasn't any sound beyond the sounds they themselves were making.

With no doors or intersections of note, Will strode down the hallway forwards.

The grease pencil finally came into play as Victor used it to mark little burgundy arrows on the otherwise featureless wall, indicating the way they'd come.

"Anyone else gettin the creeps?"

Not liking the silence, Leo followed his instincts and took an exploratory sniff at the air.

What could not be heard could be smelled.

A creature? No... Many creatures of the same type had been through here on patrol. They smelled a bit like dogs, but not like any dogs Leo had ever smelled before. Their unusual 'this animal, but not quite' odor would remind him of people and things he had encountered in the laboratory that created him.

"Guys, something else is here and it doesn't smell like people. More like dogs, but not quite. Too much like something Evo cooked up for comfort. I don't like it."

"Wait, we're dealing with genetic meddling too? This just keeps getting better."

"...could be wolves."

Chase groaned a little.

"Great. Just what we need. Werewolves," he said dryly.

Leo thought he'd almost prefer werewolves to what his brain was conjuring up. Still, he was here to be a hero, so he tried to use his nose to determine which way the unidentified canine organisms were going.

He could definitely tell which direction they were heading, which was the same direction the team was walking. But also, the smells were overlapping which means they were running a patrol in circles.

Which meant most likely, they were going to be coming up behind them at any time.

Leo turned around, listening.

"Whatever they are, they aren't far behind us. And if I can smell them, they've already got our scent."

"But they don't know that we know, so we have the advantage. Sounds like we can stage an ambush." Victor looked to Will. "You game for some Looney Toons shenanigans? I'm thinking the classic 'drop a cage on them from above' trope..."

Victor Freud wrote:"But they don't know that we know, so we have the advantage. Sounds like we can stage an ambush." Victor looked to Will. "You game for some Looney Toons shenanigans? I'm thinking the classic 'drop a cage on them from above' trope..."

Will nodded. "I think I'm going to pull a T2 instead, but you're thinking on the same wavelength," Will said, flattening out and spreading, trying to match the exact discoloration of the hallway floor.

"Anyone have any idea how they got behind us? I didn't think anyone else could squeeze through the vent, and we haven't passed any intersections?" he stage whispered. "Watch out for teleporters; matter phasers; the lot."

Will matched perfect. Now though, they needed to bait the trap.

Or perhaps just hide the very large scary cat. Whichever.

He looked to Vic with a sigh, "You're gonna have to shrink me again, aren't you? At least make me housecat size. I can be bait that way."

"I mean, I'd have to keep my hand on you or something to do that, if you wanna do it. If you're worried about them seeing a big intimidating group and turning tail instead, you can just go further down the hallway. According to the sketch you guys showed me this whole place is circles in circles, so go far enough and you'll disappear over the crest even if there isn't an intersection to duck down. I'm fine to stay and be bait, I've got escape routes." He said as he pointed to the duct work running along the wall near the ceiling - though how he'd reach them from the floor wasn't immediately obvious.

"But if you wanna do a reverse fastball special, you could be my pokemon, sure."

"I mean, I don't want to but it does sound like the better tactic for an ambush."

Victor gave Leo a thumbs up. "It's never quite so bad the second time around, I promise." He said as he put his hand on Leo's arm and worked his magic. The feeling of depth pressure returned and soon he was able to pick up the beastly student, holding them in his arms like an unhappy housecat.

Following Victor's logic, Chisaki encouraged everyone else further down the curved hallway to be beyond visual horizon. They could see finally see a closed door, but she did not try to budge it in any way. She was waiting for the trio to spring their trap on whatever creature was lurking about in the halls.

Leo even adopted the posture of a cat to better pounce on the enemy.

"If you start pettin me like a Bond villain I will needle you."

Chase made himself silent, hugging the wall just out of view and ready to spring into action at any given moment.

As Vic and Leo waited, Leo would eventually hear the light clack of nails against the poured concrete floor. Multiple animals moving in on the group. The sound started circling about, lingering... and then it was the scurry of multiple padded feed on the poured concrete floor.

They were coming.

As they rounded the cornered hall, they revealed themselves to indeed be dogs of a sort, but as Leo guessed, nothing any of them had seen before. These creatures were massive, yet sleek and long necked, like greyhounds mixed with mastiffs mixed with a giraffe mixed with whatever kind of animal has a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that make closing it's own slathering jaw impossible. The trio of them charged towards the bait on instinct, practically fighting one another to get to their intended prey.

They had no reason to suspect there was a floor-Will.

Will waited as long as possible; until the first dogs had gotten halfway across his stretched-out surface. Then he sprung, all four corners of him shooting upwards from the floor, joining together in a point near the top of the ceiling.

In short, the goal was to essentially snare the dogs in a makeshift 'bag', trapping them in Will so they couldn't get to the members of the team with spleens and blood and femurs. To help with the trap, Will let himself get stickier and more clay like, trying to trap the dogs' feet in his own clay to prevent them from smashing their way through his form.

This was unlikely to be the most pleasant thing he had done today.

Victor... regretted his decision, and turned to run back toward the others. But hey, that's what bait was for, right? Running prey would draw the focus of these... creatures, and make it less likely for their keen senses to detect the trap in front of them.

He could hear Will triggering said trap, and he really, really hoped it held. He turned back long enough to see, ready to give Leo a toss.

When eventually thrown, Leo's plan was to kick off into a pounce and tackle his target. He'd likely get bitten but he had quills and a stinger to ensure the beast would regret it.

Chase rushed back towards Vic's position with his bo staff ready to beat back the creatures if need be.

Victor Freud wrote:Victor... regretted his decision, and turned to run back toward the others. But hey, that's what bait was for, right? Running prey would draw the focus of these... creatures, and make it less likely for their keen senses to detect the trap in front of them.

He could hear Will triggering said trap, and he really, really hoped it held. He turned back long enough to see, ready to give Leo a toss.

As he turned back something he could not see body checked into Victor, sending him and the other entity to the floor (judging by the 'oof!' that sounded off the walls), and the young man went scattering to the floor, though Leo's cat like reflexs probably gave him an opening to save himself from this.

Will Stanton wrote:Will waited as long as possible; until the first dogs had gotten halfway across his stretched-out surface. Then he sprung, all four corners of him shooting upwards from the floor, joining together in a point near the top of the ceiling.

In short, the goal was to essentially snare the dogs in a makeshift 'bag', trapping them in Will so they couldn't get to the members of the team with spleens and blood and femurs. To help with the trap, Will let himself get stickier and more clay like, trying to trap the dogs' feet in his own clay to prevent them from smashing their way through his form.

This was unlikely to be the most pleasant thing he had done today.

Will got all three of them in the bag, but one of them was hanging over the edge, flailing violently against the sticky trap. After a moment, Will's assessment proved itself to be reality when the dog simply vanished from thin air, causing his sticky bag to tighten up against the other two inside of him.

The teleporting 'dog' reappeared behind Victor and Leo, and seemed to pounce upon something which was screaming as the creature lunged it's fangs into it.

Leo jumped from Vic's arms at the last second and landed, big again, with cat-like grace. He scrambled once before regaining his footing. He pounced towards the beast attacking the unknown person, aiming to tackle the animal and attempt to overpower it. Or, failing that, inject his paralyzing venom into it.

Narrator wrote:Will got all three of them in the bag, but one of them was hanging over the edge, flailing violently against the sticky trap. After a moment, Will's assessment proved itself to be reality when the dog simply vanished from thin air, causing his sticky bag to tighten up against the other two inside of him.

Will joined his top "edges" together, molding them back and merging into a more solid sphere -- too late to catch the one that got out, but maybe the beasts needed line-of-sight for teleportation?

In either case, the big ol' doggie pinata ball would start bouncing down the hallway some, ricocheting off the ceiling and walls, because Will liked his villains both shaken and stirred.

Chase rushed in to help pull the dog-thing's victim away as soon as Leo dislodged it, before he even registered the invisibility.

Will Stanton wrote:

Narrator wrote:Will got all three of them in the bag, but one of them was hanging over the edge, flailing violently against the sticky trap. After a moment, Will's assessment proved itself to be reality when the dog simply vanished from thin air, causing his sticky bag to tighten up against the other two inside of him.

Will joined his top "edges" together, molding them back and merging into a more solid sphere -- too late to catch the one that got out, but maybe the beasts needed line-of-sight for teleportation?

In either case, the big ol' doggie pinata ball would start bouncing down the hallway some, ricocheting off the ceiling and walls, because Will liked his villains both shaken and stirred.

it seemed likely that the teleporting was indeed conditional, as neither of these dog things got free of Will once he cinched himself up tight. Instead, they flailed about in there in distress, whimpering as a dog does when it's uncomfortable with a situation.

Leo Eskandari wrote:Leo jumped from Vic's arms at the last second and landed, big again, with cat-like grace. He scrambled once before regaining his footing. He pounced towards the beast attacking the unknown person, aiming to tackle the animal and attempt to overpower it. Or, failing that, inject his paralyzing venom into it.

The one Leo grappled with proved trickier than he'd think. Being able to see where it was going meant overpowering wasn't quite the option. The moment he grabbed ahold of it, the creature merely phased out again and behind him to try to latch it's fangs into his calf and drag him to the floor.

Chase Delacroix wrote:Chase rushed in to help pull the dog-thing's victim away as soon as Leo dislodged it, before he even registered the invisibility.

The invisible something was bleeding and as Chase drug them out of harm's way, the invisible something became visible.

It was Basil. His right forearm was bleeding from where he'd been bitten into.

"... Ronin. You came."

Wearing a patient's uniform with a destroyed top, Basil seemed a lot more muscular than when Chase had last seen his friend. his hair was longer too.

There was something else about him that was different, but it was difficult to put a finger on it.

Especially with a psychotic teleporting giraffe-pirahna-dog blipping about in the hallway.

Leo roared in pain and surprise. He pulled at the creature with his strong legs as he twisted around and his thrashing tail drove his extending stinger towards the beast's neck.

"Glad you remember me at all," he said, extending a hand to pull Basil to his feet.

"Little confused about the Ronin comment though."

Leo Eskandari wrote:Leo roared in pain and surprise. He pulled at the creature with his strong legs as he twisted around and his thrashing tail drove his extending stinger towards the beast's neck.

Pinned under his tail, the beast flailed a bit against Leo's tail while the toxins took effect, then it froze in place with a terrified expression.

After a moment it tried it's only means of escape, blipping away further down the hall where it could see like a broken asset.

Chase Delacroix wrote:"Glad you remember me at all," he said, extending a hand to pull Basil to his feet.

"Little confused about the Ronin comment though."

"Another time. Let's figure out what to do about The Servant's payload." He replied, looking up at Will bouncing about.

Leo got to his feet and flicked the blood off of his dagger-like stinger before retracting it.

Eyeing the wounded creature, he said, "Looks like my venom is effective."

He moved towards Will, limping a little, and called out, "Will! Open up some holes for me to sting them! It'll weaken them even if it doesn't paralyze them!"

"Assuming you mean Will, it looks like the newbie's got a handle on this."

Still, he didn't take his eyes off of the poisoned one like Leo had.

Leo Eskandari wrote:
He moved towards Will, limping a little, and called out, "Will! Open up some holes for me to sting them! It'll weaken them even if it doesn't paralyze them!"

Will continued bouncing off the walls, angling himself and shooting back towards Leo.

"Batter up!"