Tension continued to mount, and the Margrave's inscrutably handsome features bore an expression ever grimmer.  As he waited for some sort of plan of action, the ego-rending words of Chatterbox continued to fly.  [i]Could this be my nemesis?[/i] the daring vagabond pondered to distract himself.  [i]A villain who, having acknowledged the vast gulf of power and skill between himself and the legendary Margrave, seeks to whittle down my courage through sheer loquaciousness?  Who is this man!?[/i]  He tried to keep alert, but it proved difficult as the feeling of helplessness mounted.  [i]I cannot sit here sputtering any longer.  Even if it be foolhardy, I have to act!  To extinguish this derision and demonstrate my vaunted prowess![/i]  He grit his teeth and rocked forward off the wall, ready to stand and do something.

Then a pair of roars shook the premises, one not long after the other.  Surprised and, for a brief moment, possessed of clarity of thought, the Margrave twisted around and peeked his head up to peer into the warehouse through the window he and the Wards' leader hid beneath.  His eyes locked on to the titanic frame of a great reptile, its fangs large as knives and its scales tougher than crocodile hide.  Though far bigger than the turkey-sized velociraptor, it didn't stand quite as high as the awesome Tyrannosaur, though that wasn't to denigrate its fearsomeness.  [i]A primeval carnotaur...?[/i] the Margrave found himself wondering as it rampaged into the warehouse interior, attacking the Community evildoers with wild abandon and -more importantly for him- seizing their attention.  Alongside it was a far more otherwordly beast, a six-limbed monster that could only conceivably be attributed to Tulpa.  Though he'd borne a grimace only seconds ago, the Margrave found himself grinning.  [color=8F9779]”The enemy is in disarray.  'Twould seem they're not quite living up to the hype.  Come to think of it, if they really were that strong, would they need to rely on intimidation tactics?  I feel as though a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders.”[/color]  He spoke quickly, aware of how inappropriate a dramatic monologue might be at the current moment.  The impetus to act remained with him, after all, and he was loathe to waste such a perfect opportunity.  From the shouting he heard earlier, he supposed that the dinosaur was in fact Tiger Lily, but even still he felt it ill-advised to risk jumping in alongside his new, carnivorous ally, or Tulpa's nightmarish projection.  No matter—from a distance, the Margrave was an even greater threat.

When the call went out and Messiah began to move, the Margrave advanced just after her.  From his heavily-laden coat he produced the toy gun he brandished in the mission prior, which promptly reverted to a MAC-10 in his hands.  Rubber bullets or not, it would do some damage, particularly to enemies focused on a monster from the distant past.  [i]Perhaps I've been overthinking things.  Bullets, applied tactically, solve a miraculous amount of problems.[/i]  He stopped just after following Messiah through the doorway, and while she went ahead he trained his submachine gun on the group of baddies from behind cover.  [i]Lillian will shrug these off,[/i] he reminded himself as his index finger slid onto the trigger.  [color=8F9779]”Laying Waste: Opportune Burst!”[/color] he muttered through his smile before squeezing the trigger, sending a spray of bullets in the direction of the foe.