[center][b][color=fff79a][sup][h1]Q U I C K L I N G[/h1][/sup][/color][/b][/center]
[COLOR=fff79a][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]W E I S M A N   S T R E E T   M A L L[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][sup][color=darkgray]July 3[sup]rd[/sup], 2020  |  3:31p.m.  |  Happy Harbour, Rhode Island[/color][/sup][/INDENT][/INDENT]


 As Superboy and the rest of the team engaged the Jokerz, Tachyus was just wrapping up evacuating the citizenry from the Kord Store. Just in time, he noted, as Chucko exploded into the store for a second time. Tachyus was standing at the emergency exit toward the back of the store, waving the last shopper through the door and into the mall's parking lot, where the police were already starting to form a perimeter. With his charges now relatively safe, he turned his gaze back toward the battle. Chucko was apparently out cold, so he surveyed further abroad. His eye caught Fenrir in trouble, with the hammer-welding brute Bonk standing above him and striking him repeatedly. Tachyus focused for a moment, allowing delving deep inside and pulling the proverbial lever that would open the gate to the Godspeed. 

 A thunderous rumble seemed to emanate from him, and an aura of shimmering golden light began to waft upwards off of the young demi-god. So focused was Quickling on helping Fenrir, that he hadn't noticed Chucko stir, and turn to look at him. With the Godspeed in full flow, Tachyus shot forward toward Fenrir with a thunderous boom. One step brought him halfway through the wrecked store, tearing up the linoleum tiles beneath him, the next would take him outdoors, where he could assist his teammate, who seemed to be in dire straights. Tachyus watched Bonk's hammer raise in slow motion (to him) and begin it's downward swing. He watched the hammer so intently that he hadn't noticed Chucko's arm reach out to trip him. 

 Suddenly, Tachyus' world spun end-over-end as he exploded violently through the wall of the Kord Store and into the streets outside where the battle raged. He dropped his staff in the tumultuous somersault, skipped off of the floor once, twice, and a third time, then was stopped hard against a wall on the opposite side of the fighting. He shook the disorientation from his head and looked back toward the Kord Store with a glare. What he saw made him smirk, despite the residual disorientation. Chucko sat holding the arm that he had used to trip the demi-god. It was pulled out-of-socket and hanging limply. That should teach the fat clown, Tachyus thought, rising to his feet. He looked to Fenrir, who much to his surprise, seemed to have turned the tables on his opponent, Bonk. 

 With Fenrir relatively safe, Tachyus took a moment to locate his staff. After a few seconds of searching, he saw it laying twenty-or-so feet away. The Godspeed was easy to reach, having opened the floodgates so recently, and so, clad in a golden aura, Quickling shot of to gather up his most precious belonging. With the staff in hand, he took a millisecond or two to survey the situation. Ghoul seemed the most unpredictable opponent, and perhaps the more intelligent of the bunch. Tachyus decided to take him out as swiftly as possible, in the hopes that he would be removing the Jokerz ace-in-the-hole. He rushed forward, a golden blur.

 Luckily for Quickling, his being tripped-up by Chucko had him keeping an eye to the ground, which allowed him to spot (just in time) a pile of marbles spread onto the floor. Apparently he had been right to assume Ghoul was the brainier of the bunch. He must have dropped them when Chucko tripped me, the demi-god thought. Another tripping hazard, and Tachyus wasn't keen on a repeat of recent events, so he shoved his Caduceus staff into the tile floor and vaulted high, twisting to meet the Mall's cieling with his sandals at a run. The sheer speed kept him moving along the ceiling for a few paces, and he kicked off hard just above Ghoul, who was slowly attempting to follow the blur that was Tachyus. The demi-god landed with a knee in Ghoul's shoulder, smashing him to the ground almost instantly. He released the Godspeed and smirked down at the crumpled villain. 

 
[color=fff79a]"You break way too easily, clown."[/color] Tachyus said with a smirk.

 "Maybe," Ghoul replied through gritting teeth, "But the mind breaks even easier!" on "easier" the clown threw his good arm up toward Tachyus, and let fly a small knife. Tachyus had less than a second to react, he tried to summon the Godspeed, felt the floodgates crash open, and then felt the knife run home in his left shoulder. He yelped in pain, lost his concentration, lost his grasp of the Godspeed. His world went fuzzy and he staggered backward.

 "See? All it took..." Ghoul wheezed through the pain of his own injuries, "Was a few chemicals slathered on a kitchen knife. To take down a god. I'm... not impressed." The clown braced his shoulder and took a step closer to Quickling, his wince becoming a wide smile as Tachyus eyes began darting left and right, not truly [i]seeing[/i] anything. The symptom of the toxin the knife had been laced with.

Tachyus stumbled backward and fell, unable to regain his bearings, his equilibrium, his sense of direction. As his head hit the tiles of the floor, swimming from the poisoned knife, he tried to say "Help," but a moan of disorientation was all he could manage. He closed his eyes to stop the world from spinning, and lost consciousness.