Though satisfaction at a job well done coursed through the Margrave at a job well done, something else made an impression on him as he watched his hurled car's handiwork in action.  The clones obliterated by his oh-so-clever projectile did not blink out of existence or dissolve into mist; instead, they burst.  Bones crunched, blood splattered, and organs were jellified.  For a fraction of an instant, every ounce of horror from a catastrophic car crash appeared before him, but the next instant they were gone.  Flinching, the Margrave narrowed his eyebrows.  He ducked behind cover as someone else he didn't recognize, likely one of the villains he'd been sent here to stop, proved himself a temporary ally and a rival all at once by turning his own massive strength on a train car, which he hurled at the enemy in short order.  It, too, left in its wake a trail of stomach-turning carnage, leaving the Margrave queasy and thankful that the light in the warehouse wasn't too good.

[i]That's...worse than lifelike...God, it's pure awful.  Those people better not be real.  I've got to trust in Decoy.  He knows me, wouldn't tell me to go lethal on real people.[/i]  He reassured himself over and over again, alternating between inner expressions of confidence that the individuals he'd reduced to smears in mere instants were not real, and that if they were Decoy could be blamed.  When he saw the leftover chunks melt into unidentifiable mush after a couple handfuls of seconds, he shook with relief.  His deathgrip on his MAC-10 relaxed somewhat as he scanned his surroundings.  There seemed to be no end of the copies, but none were focused on him at the moment now that Jason stole the spotlight.  [i]Momentarily clones.   Not real.  Like clay dolls.  Still, I don't know if I'd be able to do that again, even if I had another car.[/i]  Going to retrieve his old one was an option, but before he could begin planning a route toward it in the chaos, the sound of a real gun firing jolted him into awareness.

He peeked above the crate he hid behind, trying to figure out the shooter and any victims.  As much as he liked his MAC-10, he knew that engaging someone with a real weapon would be idiotic.  Superpowers were all well and good, but a world of strange abilities had only marginally diminished the terrifying lethality of guns.  Try as he might, however, the Margrave couldn't find a target.  There were simply too man clones, both on their feet and on their backs, waiting to despawn like video game enemies.  As he hunched back down, his communicator came to life with the voice of Messiah, calling for a retreat.  For about two seconds, the Margrave thought about the current situation, what with the impossible odds and indiscriminate use of both powers and firearms; in the end, an antihero -unburdened by the brash courage of the zealous do-gooder- need not risk annihilation in a doomed standoff.  He opened his mouth to ask where Messiah was, only to feel a sudden wave of heat as a stray beam of energy singed the loftiest portion of his 'do.  [color=8F9779]“...My curiosity is satisfied.”[/color]  Once again he popped above cover, his eyes on Tulpa's monstrous projection.  To him, it posed as much of a threat as the villains and the clones, even if its master stood alongside him as an ally.  [i]Speaking of which, where is everyone?[/i]  He'd been near Messiah when he entered, but have stayed by the main door when she went off, he'd been alone for some time now.  How long had it been?  Minutes?  Seconds?  With his dander up, the Margrave felt like every moment lasted a millennium.

The reverse held true for the entity he was observing.  While he kept on eye on it as he sought a fellow Ward in the tempest of activity, it began to act strangely.  Despite that, the Margrave found his attempt at focusing shattered by the sudden and startling scream of the one known as Troll.  Her swearing got the gears in his head turning.  [i]That gunshot was only a few seconds ago.  Did it hit one of her goons?  No wait, she's not with the crooks we found here.  The only one she's supposedly allies with is 'Overrun', that duplicating tryhard.  Where'd he go?[/i]  There came a crash as the train thrown by Thunderbolt was returned to center, more than likely by one of the power-exhibiting clones.  It served to remind the Margrave of his original intent, and what inspired it: the dangerous unpredictability presented by these increasingly divergent clones.  

He started to move, dashing along the warehouse walls toward what looked like an escape route.  A shadowy man stood there alongside a smaller figure he recognized as Lillian, who was just getting up.  Before the Margrave could get close, three clones approached him from the right.  Without thinking he aimed at them and sprayed.  One took a few rubber bullets to the face and went down, while the second received a couple to the torso and arms before jumping back, in pain.  The third, however, took a bullet without flinching, and as the Margrave watched a change spread across him like a ripple in a pond.  His exterior reconstituted into a shiny, gray-black substance, not at all unlike the rubber of what hit him.  [i]Material absorption?[/i]  There was no time to ponder.  The clone closed in, and the Margrave hopped forward to deliver a side-kick.  He felt every ounce of power drain from his leg the moment it made contact, its force absorbed by his foe's body.  [color=8F9779]”Rogue!”[/color]  He barely got his arm up in time to prevent a rubbery fist from clocking his temple and taking him down for the count.  Spinning in place, he attempted to sweep the clone's leg, only to receive a sharp blow to the back of his head while his back was turned.  [color=8F9779]”Bah!”[/color] he mumbled, seeing stars.  [color=8F9779]Not such a good trick.”[/color]  There was no time to think of a counter to this clone's ability, so he simply dove at him.  Not expecting the sudden onslaught, the clone toppled beneath his weight, and as it hit the ground the Margrave landed on top of him and, in a rather comical fashion, bounced right off.

With a crack he landed on a nearby crate, back-down.  The sturdy construction did not buckle beneath him, but instead inflicted a fresh burst of agony all across his body upon impact.  [color=8F9779]”Guh!”[/color]  Without even a moment's break, a new roar shook the warehouse—one that penetrated every fiber of his being, telling him to void his bowels, scream like a girl, and sprint out of the warehouse, in whichever order seemed convenient.  By the time his vision cleared, Lillian had fully transformed, and in terrifying proximity to his person.  As he scanned furiously for a way out, he noticed Evelyn not too far away.  [i]Finally, an ally!  We've got to get her projection thingie under control.[/i]  Yet again, however, he found himself interrupted when he went to yell to her, this time by Evelyn herself.  When he followed her gaze, his eyes grew wide and his face grew white -well, whiter- to see her fearsome projection attacking Lillisaurus head-on.  He began to struggle to get up, gritting his teeth against the array of aches all over his body, and accelerated his pace when he spotted Evelyn under attack by clones a few crates away.  Wait, no—he was also under attack by clones.  They'd worked together to scale the meager wooden heights that separated them from the Margrave and were now trying to yank him from his perch, including the pesky rubber one from before.  When the Margrave went to shoot them, he noticed that his gun appeared to be missing from his hand.  [color=8F9779]”Even better!”[/color]  He kicked one clone's head with all the force he could, stunning him into falling off, but before he could retract his foot a pair of mitts closed around him.  [color=8F9779]”Dammit!”[/color]  With a final cry the indisputable badass tumbled from his perch.

For the second time in as many minutes he made a rough landing, though this time the pile of clones he fell upon provided a slightly more amenable option than solid wood.  He might have even been able to turn it to his advantage had one clone with glowing eyes not immediately blasted off an explosive burst of force, sending a half-dozen bodies flying like bowling pins after a strike.  Flailing wildly, the Margrave's hands closed around the lower bars of a catwalk guardrail, and there they clung with desperate strength.  Not a moment later, beams of wrathful power scoured the warehouse interior, ripping through clones and crates alike.  With eyebrows raised the Margrave stared at its source: Messiah.  [color=8F9779]”There you are.  I'm glad as hell I ended up up here.”[/color]  Apparently shocked out of his usual manner of speech, he continued to hold on to the catwalk's underside for dear life.  

The roar of fire began to overtake the sounds of fighting, though thankfully not so loud that the Margrave couldn't here his next set of orders.  [color=8F9779]”Right, yeah, I'm coming.”[/color]  Clamping his jaw shut, he let go with one arm, and hurriedly rummaged through his pockets until he found what he was looking for.  A beanbag fell toward the ground, growing into a full-size cushion as it did, and a moment later the Margrave landed upon it.  He rolled off it and jumped to his feet, a bruised but alive and functional mess.  From there it was a quick jog to Alessa, Lillian, and the soldiers.  He looked around for Evelyn but did not find her, and in his distraction didn't notice the clone who reached his fellow Wards before he did.  He witnessed the clone shoot the equivalent of a shotgun blast into Lillian's back, and wordless cry of surprise and anger ejected from his gut.  It was followed the next moment by, [color=8F9779]”Hey, fucker!”[/color] as something snatched from his jacket grew to full size in his hand.  The next moment a baseball bat cracked against the clone's head, its force splitting the wooden bat apart, and the clone dropped faster than a convict with cement shoes.  A second later the bat clattered to the floor as well.  [color=8F9779]"Ow, ow, ow, gaaaagh!"[/color]  For a few moments the Margrave could scarcely think thanks to the pain in his hands and forearms, but he managed to compose himself and jog to his teammates' sides.  Reaching out as gentle as he could, he attempted to put Lily over his shoulder from the other side and alleviate Alessa's burden.  [color=8F9779]”Keep it together.  We're all getting out alive.  We'll be okay.”[/color]