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The Man in Black’s sudden “attack” took Lyger by surprise, sweeping him off his feet. Before he knew it, the newcomer had grabbed him and with the aid of a grapple gun swung them both out of the Hounds’ line of fire and to safety, at least temporarily. After a brief exchange, which included a crack about “easily identifiable cat ears,” the Man in Black dropped Lyger back down into the alley below. While the fall may have proven deadly for most, it proved to be of little concern to the feline hero. Not only was Lyger naturally gifted with sure feet, however, the recent addition of impact suppressors in his boots during Harry’s last round of upgrades allowed him to drop several stories without so much as missing a beat. 

As Lyger plummeted toward the ground, he spotted four of the Hounds who had been in pursuit of he and the Man in Black when they had ascended toward the rooftops. He shifted his weight as he fell, putting himself on a collision course with one of the Hounds below. As Lyger approached the ground, he stuck his foot out and caught one of the Hounds square in the forehead, snapping his head backward as he was flung back, landing in a heap on the ground. Lyger allowed the momentum to take him to the ground, where he rolled away, just out of reach of another of the Hounds and bounded to his feet, striking at the Hound’s jaw with an open fist strike.

Before the Hound hit the ground, Lyger pounced to the next, hitting him with a barrage of fists, feet, knees and elbows. With each blow, Lyger felt bones break and teeth come loose. The battered Hound’s knee buckled and he started to go to the ground, however Lyger pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and hit him with a hard right and that put him down for the count. Before he could turn to face the last Hound in the alley, his body seized and he was sent flying through the air, where he hit the side of one of the buildings that made up the alley. 

“What…? What was…” he said in a daze.

 Everything was fuzzy and he was seeing double. He tried shaking off the effects of the attack, and after a moment, his vision had cleared. The fourth Hound walked toward him with confidence. On his hands were a pair of hi tech gloves with a wide metallic brim over the knuckles which spit blue sparks. The Hound clanged the gloves together sending a cascade of sparks raining down from them as he approached the fallen hero. 

“I hate cats.” The Hound said as he raised his fists up. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.” Then, the Hound held is hands out in front of him, and a bolt of blue lightning arced out from the gloves at Lyger. 

Almost as if acting on instinct, or perhaps muscle memory, Lyger reached out and fired a grapple line from his wrist gauntlet and then immediately activated the self recoil function, which pulled him out of harms way at great speed. While he was in midair, Lyger disengaged the grapple line and allowed himself to go into a controlled freefall. He kept the Hound in his sights and as he came back to the ground he delivered a hard right cross that sent several of the Hound’s teeth flying from his face. 

While Lyger stood over the fallen Hounds still dazed from the electric shock he had suffered and trying to collect himself, the Man in Black reappeared beside him.

“I trust you landed ok…whadid I miss?”

Lyger looked around the alley at the fallen Hounds as well as the scorch marks on the brick façade of the building where the electrified Hound had nearly fried him, then back to the Man in Black.

“Oh, not much. Now, what do you say we put these dogs down for good?”

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Icon stood there as the mech he had just been dealing with crashed into another of the mechs, sending both of them crashing to the ground. There was a sudden, muted explosion as the mech that he had been engaged with suddenly burst into flame, which quickly spread and engulfed the second mech within moments. Then, he heard the screams. 

[i] My God![/i] Icon thought to himself as he heard the panicked screams of the men trapped inside the monstrous machines. Some of the others, such as Pantheon may have left the men to their fiery deaths inside the mechs, but that was not an option for Icon. Though these men had committed horrendous atrocities, they didn’t deserve that. Indeed, they needed to face justice for what they had done, and if he or any of the others had left them to die, that would not be justice; that would be revenge, and that would make him no better than the Hounds of Humanity. 

Without wasting any more time, he sprung into action. Arriving at the first mech, he found that there was no easy way to get the pilot free. There was no door that was accessible to open, so he figured that he would just have to do the next best thing— make one. Icon made a fist and punched the side of the mech, leaving a rather large dent where he had made contact. He repeated the process, this time instead of a dent, he had punched a hole right in the body of the mech. Grabbing at the mangled steel with both hands, he tore a sizable chunk of metal away from the mech’s mangled body. He then reached in and grabbed the pilot and pulled him from the burning chassis. 

[b] “Do yourself a favor, don’t get up.”[/b] Icon said to the Hound pilot as he kneeled on all fours gasping for air. Then Icon went to work on the second mech.

He repeated what he did on the first mech, punching a hole in the body of the machine and tearing the metal from there, creating a hole that was more than wide enough to get an adult male through. However, as he reached in to pull the second pilot from his mech, he was met with a .38 revolver. The panicked Hound opened fire on the blue and silver clad hero, bullets striking him in the face, chest, and neck, yet each bullet bounced off of him harmlessly, though a single bullet ricocheted back into the mech, imbedding itself in the control console.

[b] “Like that’s going to work.”[/b] Icon said as he reached in and gave the pilot a tap on the head; that while was light in nature was more that enough to knock the man unconscious, and then he pulled the man from the wreckage. 

As Icon stood there before the wrecked mechs and their pilots, he was suddenly aware of a new presence. 

[color=c71585]”Long time no see, old friend,”[/color] she said with a grin over the visible part of her lower face. She nodded at the rest nearby. [color=c71585]”I see you've gathered quite the party together. Where do you need me?”[/color]

Guilt suddenly washed over him as he looked over and made eye contact with his old ally. Though he hadn’t seen much of her since her injuries had forced her to retire from the hero life, they had kept somewhat in touch. 

[b] “Ideally, a farm in Syracuse.” [/b] he said remorsefully, before a smile crossed his face. [b] “But since you’re here…why don’t we take down some of those choppers.”[/b]