[center][color=c0c0c0][b][u]Slayer[/u][/b][/color]
Level 3
Day 2
Location: In-house Smash Arena
Word Count: 1034
[b]Experience: [color=orange]|||||||||||||||||||||||||||[/color][color=black]|||[/color] (27/30)[/b][/center]

From the head honcho of the meatheaded mooks there issued a guttural shout of rage, forcing Slayer to remove his shoe from the unconscious form of a gnorc and look his way.  The moment his body began to change, expanding outward in bursts of uncontrolled growth, the gentleman was reminded of the grotesque transformation of Odin in the place of twilight, Erion.  Murky spikes split Gnasty Gnorc's skin, and his comedic face twisted into a fearsome, warlike visage of savagery.  This creature, far from the laughably-proportioned goon who'd stood there seconds ago, was a brutish monstrosity with a killer's crocodilian eyes.  Slayer watched, newly apprehensive, as the beast flexed.  The torsion of his muscles launched the black spikes in all direction with explosive force, and like a flechette gun the shards of corruption lodged in the bodies of everyone in the vicinity.

[color=c0c0c0]”By Jove!”[/color]  Having sidelined himself from the gnorc warchief thus far to focus on eliminating the small fry, Slayer happened to be far enough away that he had enough time to react to what he saw.  Normally he would not have thought twice about blocking with his mantle or a puff of smoke from his pipe, but having blasted forth from a monster festering with the dreaded M-Virus, these black spines set off alarm bells in his head.  Reaching down, the vampire scooped up the knocked-out gnorc he'd been dealing with prior and held him up as a living shield.  Not a moment too soon, the impromptu defense was pierced by spikes.  The two impacts shocked the mook into wakefulness, but his consciousness was short lived as he, too, began a violent and disturbing transformation.  It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on, and Slayer nipped the new problem in the bud by unleashing a devastating left cross to obliterate the gnorc's spinal column before it could change.

As the hideous, twitching body slumped out of his grip to the floor, Slayer glanced around.  The collective efforts of the heroes had vastly thinned out the gnorc horde, but it appeared that those remained had undergone similar changes to their master.  Mutated by the M-Virus, they resembled undead more than miniature ogres, and Slayer suspected both their strength and durability had increased greatly.  [color=c0c0c0]”Repulsive curs.  This is the virus in action, mm?”[/color]  With a moment of peace before the transformed wretches converged upon him, the gentleman considered his options.  [i]There are enough heroes here to put this thing down, if Odin was any indication.  Things are more complicated now, however.  We must contain the virus, keep these things from leaving the arena, but there are civilians around as well.[/i]  One of the vile little beasts lunged at him, claws extended, but Slayer blinked out of the way.  An elbow to its back caused severe damage and sent the miscreant skidding along the ground; Slayer's musings proceeded without interruption.  [i]More troublesome is how this happened in the first place.  Seeds of corruption in the hub of heroes...conspiracy, perhaps?  If not, those in charge must be more scrupulous about who can enter.  If the infection is running rampant, there has been an egregious oversight.[/i]

Another rabid gnorc assaulted him.  He ducked back out of the way, employing his signature Dandy Step, and dismissed the mongrel with a Pile Bunker.  Though more tenacious and dangerous in this state, the gnorcs were still idiotic and predictable, albeit in different ways.  They could be disposed of as before, Slayer decided, so long as the heroes took care.  It was a different story for the horde's repugnant master.  No longer was he an inconvenience to scratch off the list once his cannon fodder was wiped out; now Gnasty Gnorc was no doubt a deadly foe, not just for his capacity to harm, but his newfound ability to infect.  Any fight against him would also be a test to determine the limits of the heroes' vaccine.  Avoiding a physical engagement until a safer way to kill him -like bringing down the ceiling on him- would be the better option, but Slayer's options were limited.  In addition, he bet that Gnasty would come after the heroes rather than standing by while his 'army' got decimated.  It was a precarious situation, but there wasn't much time to ponder it.  Slayer needed to act.

He walked forward with purpose, headed straight for the virus-suffused boss of the gnorcs.  The nearest minions charged him, their numbers preventing him from putting them down as easily as he had their precursors.  Three leaped at him at once, and without flinching the gentleman teleported forward beneath them.  With their would-be victim vanished, the three ripped into mere air and landed in a heap, allowing Slayer to pivot and punt them away with a wide roundhouse kick.  While his back was turned, two more approached him from either side, and in response he hopped into the air.  There he span, both legs extended in a revolving twirl kick, strong enough to knock both gnorcs back but not so powerful as to incapacitate them.  Skipping forward, he executed a slide kick into the ankles of the nearest one, dropping it to the ground and into the perfect position for a definitive heel to the skull.  By that time the other had returned, jumping onto the gentleman from behind.  Its limbs ensnared him like the coils of a snake, but the instant before it could dig its fangs in, Slayer disappeared again.  [color=c0c0c0]"Mediocre!"[/color]  The question of where he went was answered a second later when both of the vampire's feet slammed into his attacker's back from above, smashing it into the floor to explode in a plume of pinkish fire.

With that, and a bit more walking, he stood somewhat closer to Gnasty Gnorc, though still well out off attacking range.  [color=c0c0c0]"Let's see what you're made of, shall we?"[/color]  Slayer then attacked the floor, striking it repeatedly until a large enough fissure had formed for him to reach down and pry a chunk of the ground out with his hands.  The gentleman utilized his massive strength to tear the slab free, then a Pile Bunker to reduce it to a barrage of heavy, jagged stones hurling Gnasty's way.