Abel took an instinctive step backward. “Answers that,” he remarked, and considered joining his new partner in the trees. Her grappling hook trick had been neat, but wasn't something he could replicate. If this girl wanted to retreat and attack from afar, that sat fine with him. There would always need to be those at the front--the protectors.

The guardians.

Instead of fleeing into the scarlet grove, he hopped up onto the boulder upon which he had sharpened the Ampere. As he did so, he flicked his weapon's mechanism, and it transitioned smoothly into its staff form. From the high ground, he regarded the Beowolves, who were growling horribly as they fanned out to cut off as many routes of escape as possible. Standing sideways with the business end of the staff pointing outward, he waited until one Beowolf -the leader, judging by its size- came within twenty feet of him. Abel, having witnessed the Grimm from the walls of Vale for years, perceived its muscles tensing to spring.

When that happened, he allowed his pent-up semblance to surge through the Ampere. It erupted from the crystal at the staff's tip in a brilliant bolt of electricity, arcing between metal and monster instantly. Two hundred volts rippled through its body, causing its muscles to spasm and its lungs to constrict. In another split second, the lightning bolt was gone, and the pack leader lay still on the ground.

As the Beowolves howled in wrath, Abel swapped the Ampere back to its blade form, his face impassive. While his semblance was still capable of manipulating the polearm, he would need to wait a minute or two before he could use the lightning strike again. One of the other Beowolves pounced for him, but he brought the Ampere up in time for the beast's jaws to close around the metal pole rather than his throat. With a mighty heave he pivoted it down against the rock he stood on. With his weapon positioned awkwardly, he resorted to kicking it to encourage it to let go. The creature released its purchase and twisted away, trying to regain its footing. Abel took the opportunity to bend his knees and leap off the boulder toward the nearest tree. At the arc of his jump, he thrust the Ampere forward, and it lodged in the bark. Grunting, he pulled himself up onto a convenient branch. The jaws of the Beowolf he had defended against a snapped shut where he foot had been a second earlier.

“Hey,” he yelled at the leaves, oblivious to Bridget's exactly location. “I've got 'em distracted! Hit 'em with your scythe!” If she jumped from the canopy, he planned to drop down and join her in the melee.