[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/yKiyn0i.png[/img][/center]

[center][i][b]Team One[/b][/i][/center]
The trip from Lost Haven to West Virginia had been mostly uneventful, meaning that this hastily thrown together “team” hadn’t completely imploded by the time they touched down at their destination. Aside from completely ignoring the “googley eyes” that Sammy, otherwise known as Bast kept throwing at him, Lyger found that the trip to West Virginia had gone rather smoothly. 

However, once they had arrived at their destination they found that the facility that Arthur had directed them to was completely empty. Lyger silently cursed to himself as the team met up with Thunderbolt, who unsurprisingly was already there waiting on them, and did a bit of scouting around the area in advance of the rest of the group. When they entered the massive factory, they found that it was empty. There were no signs of life within the walls of the building, and Lyger was about to say something to that effect when he realized that something was wrong. 

Although they couldn’t see anyone, there was someone else in the room. His enhanced olfactory system warned him that there was someone else in the room with them. Then, the sudden appearance of the one that Arthur had identified as The Silver Sorceress proved his fears to be correct. 

“I’m surprised it took you all this long to discover our little hideaway. But I guess that’s what happens when you try to jam several different cogs and gears into a clock and expect it to work.” The woman taunted the heroes. 

Something was wrong. Although the sudden appearance of the Silver Sorceress might explain why he could sense another presence in the factory, he knew that she wasn’t alone. As she postured and boasted before the ragtag group of heroes, Lyger could hear a very distinct sound…

Heartbeats. 

[i]She’s stalling, they’re surrounding us.”[/i] Lyger thought to himself. But before he could offer a warning to the rest of the group, the silver clad woman lifted whatever enchantment that was cloaking the rest of her allies. 

Lyger recognized the first of the assailants that appeared to be the being known as Effigy, and before the team was able to react, the copycat villain had already begun to transform. The transformation was painful to watch, the loud cracking sounds as bones snapped and skin stretched, all while muscles and organs repositioned themselves until Effigy had taken on the guise of War-Pulse, and immediately faced off against the real War-Pulse.

While that was happening, Bast was snared in the web of a second spider woman and dragged toward the ceiling where she was stuck in the massive web that the woman had created. Once Bast had been secured in the web, the spider woman immediately bounded toward her. 

[color=6ecff6] "Lyger, save your girlfriend! Shark-face is [i]mine[/i]."[/color] One of the speedster twins, Thunderbolt cried out as he began duking it out with a massive man shark. 

Lyger let the comment slide, as there were more pressing matters at hand, and immediately fired a grapnel line from his wrist gauntlet and flung himself up toward the webbed ceiling. The spider woman, Black Widow, was on top of Bast, who struggled to keep the spider woman from sinking her mandibles into her soft flesh, however was being overpowered by the Black Widow.

[b]“Get away from her!”[/b] Lyger shouted as he drove a fist into the spider woman’s jaw, and with his other hand, slashed at the webs that held Bast in place, freeing her from the grip of the spider’s trap. However, now free from the spider’s web, Bast began to fall back toward the floor, and the open maw of one of the massive mutant Venus fly traps that had emerged from beneath the ground. 

Lyger immediately swung down toward her, catching her by the wrist. He hung there for a moment holding Bast just feet above the snapping maw of one of the massive Venus fly trap. “Hold on, I’ve got you.” Lyger told Bast, even as Black Widow had recovered from the attack and made his way toward them. Lyger found himself unable to do anything. If he let go of Bast, she’d be devoured by the mutant plant below. If he disengaged the grapnel line which kept them both hanging in midair, they’d both be devoured. Black Widow continued to crawl toward them, and as she did, Lyger came up with a plan. It wasn’t a good plan, however, if he executed it just right, they might just walk away from this. 

However, he never had to implement it.

The Venus fly trap suddenly swayed as a massive bolt of electricity impacted it, and then coursed through its body. Within moments, the mutant plant which had just been snapping at Bast’s heels, withered and died. Then, the source of the sudden influx of electrical energy, Radiance, turned her attention to the remaining plants that had not been destroyed by the White Witch’s spell. Some of the other plants began to wither and die, even as others exploded. And with the plant directly below them no longer a threat, Lyger disengaged the grapnel line from is wrist gauntlet, dropping both Bast and himself to the floor, away from Black Widow’s grip.  

Just as they touched the ground, Boom came racing into the factory, and she was not alone. Introducing themselves by bursting through the roof, a trio of heroes that Lyger was not familiar with made their way into the factory, one of which immediately began opening fire on a retreating Black Widow. 

“Are you alright?” Lyger asked Bast as he offered her his assistance in getting back to her feet, even as he looked around to identify other potential opponents. 


[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/sxeqxm9.png[/img][/center]


[center][i][b]Team Two[/b][/i][/center]

The flight from Lost Haven to West Virginia only took minutes, though Icon was slowed down a bit by being forced to carry Vigilante on his back, because the stubborn hero refused to get on Arthur’s jet. Finding Dr. Diplodoc’s headquarters was easier than expected, as it was exactly where Arthur had said it would be. In fact, not only was finding the factory easy, but Diplodoc’s followers were nowhere to be found. 

[i]This is too easy.[/i] Icon thought to himself as the team came to a locked door at the back, an obstacle which was easily removed. However, no sooner did they remove the door, that another pair of doors fell into place blocking their way. Then they noticed that the walls were closing in.

Literally. 

The walls began to move towards them like a trash compactor. It wouldn’t be long before the walls came together, crushing the members of the team, at least the ones not gifted with invulnerability, between them. 


[color=00aeef]”Bollocks. I need some room, I need to draw Excalibur, and I’d rather not be crushed.”[/color] The young British girl who had been introduced as Pendragon said, then with a quick motion she pulled her sword from its sheathe with a slight glow surrounding the sword and making the best of the confined space Pendragon held the sword near the tip of the blade leaving only the length of her forearms’ worth of the blade to cut through the steel at their back. Quickly cutting a crude oval shape. [color=00aeef]”One down. At least we won’t be crushed yeah I think. Icon, you can focus on stopping the other wall without worrying about us dying.”[/color] 

Without saying a word Icon stepped between one of the encroaching walls and the rest of the team. Bracing himself against the wall, he leaned into it, hoping to stop it from advancing further. The wall resisted his attempts, however, only momentarily. 

[b] “Go!”[/b] Icon told the rest of the team as the advancing wall began to screech, before finally grinding to a halt. With the immediate threat dealt with, Icon looked to his teammates. [b] “I think it’s time to put an end to this.” [/b] Icon said as he and the others made their way through the oval shaped hole that Eva had cut in the wall.