The Margrave knew a call to action when he heard one, and along with the other Wards hastened away from the betrayer's bedside. On the way the team encountered Protean, to whom the Margrave -in his distraction- paid little attention to until his presence caused the group he flowed along with to grind to a halt. Bewildered, he caught the tail end of what the Cape told them before taking a blast of force that sent him flying. [i]Another traitor!?[/i] he concluded, disbelieving, after smacking against the floor. Unlike Collin, this could prove troublesome. Protean was renowned for his adaptability, able to change himself to accommodate and then master any situation. Even so, however, the Margrave felt no urge to sacrifice his pride and flee as he stood up. Neither did the others seem to. Today, it would appear, they'd be taking down a local legend.

Protean could attack in many forms, but could he attack on many fronts? Resolving to see how thin the team could spread him out, the Margrave prepared himself. He was not afraid. Well, he was afraid of pain, but not of the ultimate consequences. Either justice prevailed or his misery came to an end. Tulpa spawned a new, intriguing manifestation to buy her team time to get ready and hopefully wear Protean down, which suited the Margrave well enough. Tigerlily sought an exit, no doubt to take the fight elsewhere and make space for her ability, but her hug-victim new that a solution to that issue would not be forthcoming. [color=8F9779]“The vagrant won't cede to us a battlefield where we have any advantage,”[/color] he said in a low voice as he pulled a toy from his pocket. [color=8F9779]“We must pressure him here. If you retreat, do so to come at him from another angle.”[/color] With a pop, the piece of plastic in his hand turned into a MAC-10 submachine gun. 

Ready to rumble, he rushed to separate himself from the Wards as far as the interior would allow, trying to put a light between him that neither the projection nor Mastar would cross. Once satisfied, he let of bursts of automatic fire. Unless Protean possessed up-to-date knowledge of the Margrave's arsenal, he might not be aware that the bullets headed his way were rubber and put more effort into defending himself from them than he should. If not, or if he took enough of them to put two and two together, he might write off the Margrave as a non-threat—a mistake made far too often around here. They could still distract him, and if he made no attempt to defend himself, put out an eye if the Wards were lucky. Combined with Messiah's own attacks, his efforts would surely bear some fruit.