[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/yNh8vYQ.jpg[/img]
[h3][u][b]MISTER BUDO[/b][/u][/h3]
[u][b]January 1st, around 7:50 PM
Midtown Metropolis[/b][/u]
(Interacting with: [@Unknown100] [@Mr Nim][@praxitilies])
[/center]

From the dust and chaos of the increasingly demolished street came the oddest of projectiles: a hat slicing through the air like a chakram, its steely brim denting a hydra head's scales as it ricocheted off the creature's hide. So was the serpentine creature's attention diverted from one of its new challengers, seemingly a magician lacking in the physical gifts necessary to come face to face with such an entity. And from the surrounding buildings came a leaping shadow, snatching the projectile out of the air, bounding off the unstable architecture and soaring through the rain that now permeated the battlefield to land atop the monster's slick skull.

Three, four, five loud cracks could be heard, of bone bashing against bone and splitting the flesh between them, and the head roared and trashed before its eyes went blank and its body collapsed limp with a thundering crash. And as it fell Mister Budo rolled off the vanquished foe, head still alive and perfectly attached but likely feeling as though an icepick had been driven into its brain, to meet with Tobias and Wonder Woman on the ground. He was a ragged sight, outfit pierced or torn off at several points, blood visibly dripping from injuries small and not quite so, the venomous ichor that coursed through the Hydra's body spattered and oozing all over him.

Budo felt about as poorly as he looked, his breathing was heavy from the constant bursts of action without pause, even his gifts could not take away the bite from the pain, blood loss and poisoning. But his mind, conversely, was colder and sharper than it had been at the start, working to craft a gameplan. First priority had been ensuring the safety of the people in the general vicinity, now it was time to win the fight. The Lernaean Hydra, creature of myth, not of his homeland but famed all over the world so that information on it was not difficult to come by. Were the myths accurate? Its manner of "reproduction" had been, as was its toxicity. It was a start.

[color=40E0D0]"Huuufff...I think the people are safe...but precautions are needed with this...blood. It is a most unpleasant poison"[/color], he started, placing his back against a wall and squatting down to catch his breath and focus some, surveying the situation further and spotting the flying man battling more heads. A member of the Justice League that was not, but any help was good right now. [color=40E0D0]"The Hydra...Heracles burned the necks to stop the growth, it is told. I do not know if it will work or for how long but worth trying. But to end it...it's supposed to have a central head, an immortal one that does not reproduce, that was cut off and sealed while it still lived"[/color].

[color=40E0D0]"Unless Wonder Woman knows better that is what I have to go on, myth"[/color]. Deep breaths, that one martially inclined such as an amazon might recognize as meditative measures to try and center mind and body. And his mind raced against time, trying to break down the battle piece by piece to determine the path to victory. And then it hit him. The initial push away from the origin, the near-immediate use of the heads to take attention away from the ground. Was it covering for something? [color=40E0D0]"But...what if the main head is at the center still? Hidden within the container, ensuring it survival while the rest distract and win the war of attrition"[/color].

More deep breaths followed, fists clenched, and the japanese hero regained his footing, looking towards the nightmarish gathering of monstruous heads first then the direction of their seal. [color=40E0D0]"If I am right, Wonder Woman, there's reason to believe only your sword can sever the immortal head, as Heracles used a god-given golden blade of his own to do the deed. If I am right, it fears you"[/color]. Mister Budo's second wind was mustered and in full effect and he seemed firm as iron once more. Even his bleeding appeared to have subsided to a trickle, as when cuts are treated through adrenaline and mild coagulants, though how much energy he had left was anyone's guess.

[color=40E0D0]"That's the plan: Burn the heads, retrieve the blade, find the source and contain it. Very simple"[/color]. Maybe the others could make out the start of a confident smirk on Budo's face, maybe they couldn't, but he felt good. This was a fight, a winnable fight, and winning fights was what he did. He pointed at Tobias. [color=40E0D0]"You do magic, keep away from trouble, and you had better not tell me you can't burn the heads. Me and hopefully the man in the sky will run distraction, keep them busy and hurt. Wonder Woman, tell whoever that is about the plan, then you know what to do. We're gonna show everyone what we're made of"[/color].