By the time Geist and Red Rain had acted, Lexi had managed to defeat one of the three goons surrounding her, using a shield of air to block the overhead swing of the baseball bat, jarring his arm in the process, and sending a burst to his midsection that sent him sliding across the marble floor. Red Rain's shot to one of the goons' necks caused them all to pause, while Geist's illusion added onto that fear and sent several of them running. The few that remained still seemed uncertain, including the two still facing Lexi. As in any combat situation, uncertainty was definitely a hindrance, and it was nothing to send them to the ground with a burst of air before pushing them along the ground.

The sudden noise of a gun going off echoed throughout the building as a bullet zipped through the air to hit one of the grand pillars in the lobby, sending little chips of stonework flying. “Now, I don't know who you costumed pansies think that you are, but you are not going to stand in our way and make a nuisance of yourselves,” a deep, booming voice declared as a man wearing a fedora and a black vest stepped from behind another pillar. With him were many of the thugs who had run away at Red Rain and Geist's appearance earlier, apparently emboldened by the proximity of who appeared to be the boss. Several of them were also carrying pistols as they rejoined those who had stayed to fight, about twelve or thirteen altogether.

Both sides stood still for a moment or two, waiting for the other to make their move, when the large man shouted, “Matenles!” Almost as if in sync, the goons with guns began opening fire, bullets flying through the air to embed themselves in the stonework of the building. None of them were very disciplined with their shooting, however, the bullets zipping through the air haphazardly. Whether that was a good thing or not was a matter of opinion really, but Lexi didn't really want to take any chances anyway, ducking behind a pillar while solidifying a thin layer of air between her and her teammates' bodies and the goons to protect from the lucky bullets that would hit them.

[i]“What do you guys want to do?”[/i] she asked through the mental link that Geist had mentioned setting up once they had arrived. Clearly coming up with a plan and working together would provide the highest success rate. The situation was definitely beginning to look like it was something that they wouldn't be able to get through by working as individuals with the same goal in mind. Especially not if the boss was more than just a gang leader.