[center][h2]THE [s]FUCK[/s]HECKING END OF MIDNIGHT ALREADY[/h2][/center] [@AtomicNut][@Dezuel][@Crowvette][@Letter Bee][@Spin The Wheel][@RoflsMazoy] [hr][hr] [color=9f9f9e]The hulking mass of muscle pushed itself to its feet. It turned around… and took a table to the face. It looked down with its beady eyes and almost gently reached down to lift the table. It inspected it… and then hurled it with hurricane force back where it came from, flooring the brave individual who’d sought to help out. However, their act of bravery seemed to spark courage in the few patrons who remained. Mystical projectiles, chairs, and empowered fists all flew at the hulking being, slowly driving it to its knees. [color=white]“Ha! I got it!”[/color] One woman cried out, rearing her fist back. [color=white]“Take th- . . . Oh.”[/color] She then realized that its meaty fist was now around her lower leg. A moment later and she was the next projectile to fly, slamming into two others who tried to catch her, only for all three to be left writhing on the ground, none having the supernatural durability to weather such an attack. More concerning was the darker, maroon hue its skin was beginning to take. If anything, the muscles seemed now to be shrinking back down, taking on a taut, glossy appearance. Seeing this continued evolution, the “heroes” that remained on their feet paused. [color=white]“Oh to hell with this!”[/color] One broke and fled. Even then, numbers were still on their side, but one person giving in began to erode the resolve of the others. Soon, the only one left to challenge it seemed to be Suzakura… Meanwhile… [color=magenta]“What?!”[/color] Vera shouted at Alex. Oh, right. It seemed they were both equally deafened at the moment. [color=magenta]“OK, OK, wai-”[/color] Vera reached out, but Alex was already making for the back exit. It was the right idea, but… well communication was impossible right now, so Vera gave up. [color=magenta]“Ugh, come on!”[/color] she turned to her passed out friend, pulling them from their seat, but couldn’t keep a grip on the girl’s dead weight as she just flopped to the floor. [color=magenta]“Dammit! Wake up already!”[/color] [i]CRASH[/i] Vera’s eyes widened as a projectile body, that she vaguely recognized as the creep known as Suzakura, went flying past, through the big, front window, and then slammed into the wall of the building across the street. Vera glanced up at the berserk muscle fiend, and then back down at her friend. [color=magenta]“Wake up, wake up, wakeup!”[/color] Vera shook her violently with redoubled panic, but she just wouldn’t come to. On the bright side, as the creature that was once human roared, it seemed consumed by its own evolution, its muscles shrinking and condensing down, tighter and tighter as its body took on a deep, purplish hue. On the down side… there were scarce few people left to distract it once it was finished. [center][b]. . .[/b][/center] Mina was sad. She had lost her baby, who had proceeded to backstab her. Stupid stupid Mina. She could not read the mood. She wanted to cry, but then she saw a figure flying outside. Even Suzakura. Something deep stirred as she squeezed the last out of her magical power to create Miracle Milk. One of such flasks was for herself, which she drank. The other was sent flying all the way to the bar, landing softly near Vera. [color=white]"YOU, YOU BAD PERSON. YOU HURT MY BABY! YOU HURT MY SUZA. YOU WILL PAY".[/color] She said as she dug her heels and wrenched an entire [i]handrail[/i] as improvised melee weapon from some nearby stairs. She mooed somewhat menacingly as she waved the big metal bar, aimed at the freaks head. The improvised weapon easily reached the back of the monstrosity’s head, driving it to a knee, the force enough that it had to use its hands to catch itself from falling further. Up close, one could see that nearly all its clothes had been shredded by its explosive growth earlier, and yet it had nearly no visible anatomy aside from its swollen muscles. Even its lips were peeled back, leaving only gnashing teeth and enraged, bloodshot eyes visible. Blood spurted from its head as its veins bulged. When the inevitable second swing came, its hand shot up to grab the metal rail, crushing and twisting it in its grasp. It then slowly turned its head to shoot a seething glare at Mina before wrenching her closer and reaching out to grab her. [color=white]"NO GRABBY, ONLY SUZA CAN DO THAT!"[/color] Mina yelled as she jumped out of the way, her clothes getting torn at the front by the barely effective dodge, spilling out all the goods. She eyed the giant with fury, and prepared for a gore charge… As Mina prepared for her charge, the chaotic symphony of the battle was cut through by a firm, calm, and commanding voice. [color=white]“Twelve, versus twelve.”[/color] Suddenly a stick, formerly a part of a bar stool, slammed into the giant’s arm with enough force to shatter the wood and had it been a head shot, pulverize a normal man’s skull into mush. The thrower was a young man who was standing near the bar, his face obscured by a cheap plastic rabbit mask. [color=white]“Hey, how about you stop trying to hit a lady, and pick on someone your own strength?”[/color] Mina’s charge was successful, with the stick embedding itself in the hulk’s arm like a ballista bolt. It was left draped over Mina’s shoulders… but then its muscles bulged once more. The stick was sent rocketing back out of its body by the pressure, and its other arm went to wrap around Mina’s neck. For Mina, hitting him would have been like hitting a solid, rock wall. Her horns pierced him, but did not gore him through… Vera, at this time, was left with a strange vial of liquid and a chaotic battle between perhaps the two beefiest individuals in the world. She held the liquid, having an uncomfortably good idea of what it was. However, things were desperate. She opened it… and took a sip. Almost immediately her hearing came back. She then looked down at the unconscious girl next to her. [color=magenta]“That’s it. Drink it or choke on it, bitch!”[/color] She pried her mouth open and upended the rest into her mouth. A few second later, the girl began to choke, but then rocketed up to a sitting position gasping for breath. [color=green]“Wh-what the fuck is-”[/color] [i]SLAM![/i] A moment later, as was becoming distressingly the norm, another figure went flying past, though this time colliding with the doorframe and remaining in the building. The recently awakened girl stared at the fallen Mina, blinking in confusion before Vera clamped her hand down on the girls head and spun her around to face the freakish being of twisted sinew. [color=magenta]“THAT is the fuck! Now can we go?!”[/color] Vera shouted. To her dismay, the other girl narrowed her eyes ponderously. [color=green]“Nah, I got this.”[/color] [color=magenta]“Wh-”[/color] [color=green]“My high is gone and I’m pissed!”[/color] The girl shoved herself to her feet, shoving a lock of her dyed green hair behind her ear before marching over. At the same time, the beast had its bulging eyes locked onto the man in the mask. It took a lumbering step toward him before a piercing whistle hit its ears. [color=green]“Hey, buddy, eyes on-”[/color] It immediately turned and uppercut the girl straight through the ceiling and out of sight. The young man in the mask watched in horror as this happened, and gripping onto part of the bar flexed his body, using the entire thing to rip a long piece of it off to swing like one may a sword. This time, three numbers would flash above the boy’s head, two ones and a five. Then, another set of numbers, a 13, as he attempted to slam the piece of wood into the hulking freak’s neck as if to break it. Mina for her part, was hurting all over. She focused on bringing more miracle milk out of the source. Yes, even if her bones were broken a dozen times, she would be fine if she still had the panacea. Which she just ran out. Her powers were waning as she got the mother of all splitting headaches. Her body seemed to change as her figure…became more trimmed, her bovine attributes reduced in some parts. [color=white]"Ugh…"[/color] Mina said as she staggered to her feet. [color=white]"Mina is not feeling well."[/color] The brute’s head snapped at an angle, the thing stumbled around, but not falling. The absurd mass of muscle and sinew simply wouldn’t let the bones beneath break, or its neck to twist far enough to do lasting damage. However, it was left momentarily dazed, shaking its head. And then a moment later its attention was captured by a rain of dust and drywall as the girl came back through the ceiling, having finished her parabolic journey through the rafters. She landed in a heap, unmoving. The beast tilted its head curiously, but then seemed to detect nothing further worth attacking, so its rage quickly returned to the masked man. Until she [i]did[/i] move. Almost like a zombie rising from the grave, she shambled to her feet, head still sitting at an awkward angle and her joints creaking. However, her veins began to pulse under her skin. [color=green]“That… fuckin’ hurt…”[/color] she groaned, straightening her neck with a crack. [color=green]“If it wasn’t for you… I’d still be nice and numbed up…”[/color] The beast rounded on her again, perhaps most fixated on her now that it thought it had defeated was somehow moving again. It parted its jaws and bellowed at her. The girl grit her teeth and then roared back, but suddenly a thick cloud of noxious gas spewed out, consuming the thing. One could hear it screeching and flailing within the cloud, before it then burst back out and brought both arms down on the girl in a double-hammer blow, flattening her to the floor. That said, before it could right itself, her arm flew out, grabbing it by the neck of the head and slamming its face into the floor as well, leaving them both face down in a crater of cracked floorboards. It pulled itself back, but as it did, the girl also shoved herself to her feet, slamming her head into its face, toppling it onto its rear. It sat there, suddenly gasping for breath, an increasing amount of sweat pouring down its body. [color=green]“Heheh…”[/color] The girl grinned viciously, veins pulsating, even as blood ran down from her nose. [color=green]“I got you for five minutes motherfucker.”[/color] The thing rose to its feet, shaking its head angrily and bellowing in fury. The two rushed at each other, but… the girl made one mistake. Whatever advantage she might have had, it was not in her reach. Shrunken down or not, the being was still nearly twice the size of the man it had grown from, and its fist reached her jaw long before hers could reach its. She was sent skidding across the polished, bar floor, face first, leaving a smear of blood in her wake. During this time the masked man grabbed what remained of the pipe Mina had been using, and readied himself for battle, letting out a loud scream towards the beast which cracked the mask. [color=white]“Come get some, you misshapen lump of roids and rat shit!”[/color] Two threes and a six appeared over the boy’s head, and his scream slammed into the beast, not a proper attack but it could feel the sound against its purple skin. A last flask of Miracle Milk rattled gently beside poison girl face, the now drained Mina facing the beast. [color=white]"Rend unto Caesar."[/color] The cowgirl muttered, in a more measured inflection than the simple girl seemingly could do. She eyed both opponents. Then the girl in the floor. Then… she jumped. Out of sight. Up and up into the rafters, using her bovine leg strength. One could be forgiven by confusing her for a goat at this point. [color=white]"So, you are proud of your muscle armor. Well then."[/color] She put her chin on her arm. Mina…was thinking. It seemed almost surreal. With ease, she reached out for one of the thickest power wires she could grab, creating a show of sparks and a blackout. Before people could even react to what was happening, the cable was already connecting with the giant's muscle mass. [color=white]"Muscles are conductive."[/color] She said as she watched electricity do its job and turn the muscle power of the giant into a chaotic mess, therefore turning his great boon into his greatest weakness. The wave of sound hit the thing, effectively shorting out its simple mind for a good few seconds. It was left standing there, chest heaving from seemingly inexplicable, mounting exhaustion. Before it could bring itself to move again, it suddenly only knew a world of indescribable pain as every muscle in its body convulsed and flexed to the max and beyond. Its back arched and then… a sickening series of cracks could be heard as its inhuman musculature overcame the structure beneath, shattering its own bones. Smoke rising from its now slackened muscles, it slowly teetered over and collapsed onto its back, completely still. A moment later the girl with the green hair’s head popped up, [color=green]“Where is he?! Where is he?! I’m gonna kick his-!”[/color] However, Vera just walked over and kicked her lightly in the ribs, [color=magenta]“Chill, superhero, it’s over. Mad cow already fried him.”[/color] [color=white]“Is he…?”[/color] The masked boy asks, implying about the lump being dead. [color=magenta]“Who knows…”[/color] Vera rolled her eyes, not terribly concerned at the moment. The fate of the psychotic being that had just ransacked the bar was pretty low on her list of concerns for the night. [color=green]“Hey, what’s this?”[/color] her friend held up the final bit of “miracle milk” that had been thrown to her while she was face-down earlier. [color=magenta]“Some sort of super healing potion.”[/color] Vera shrugged. [color=green]“Neat.”[/color] The girl went to open it, but… suddenly Vera snatched it away. [color=green]“Hey!”[/color] [color=magenta]“You don’t need it.”[/color] Vera then tossed it to the masked man. [color=magenta]“If he’s not dead yet and you care, try that. Might even bring him back to almost normal. Dumbass here was high as a kite when I fed it to her and now she’s stone sober.”[/color] [color=green]“Wait, that’s [i]your[/i] fault!?”[/color] [color=magenta]“You stole my shit in the first place. Nothing more than you deserve.”[/color] The masked boy for a moment looks up, as if expecting to see someone looking down at him, before he walks over near the lightly fried lump. Taking a moment to wrench open the muscular jaw of his former foe, he then begins to pour the milk down their gullet, massaging their throat to help them swallow. [color=white]"Tis a blessing of my cow nature. Miracle Milk. I craft it… in the way you craft your poison."[/color] Not-Mina replied as she stood up. [color=white]"But it seems my power waned. Now I can use my full brainpower. I should thank the miscreant. Well then, so long."[/color] The cowgirl said, before looking at Vera. [color=white]"Hey, Goh. Do you think Tech Stocks are a good investment now?"[/color] [color=magenta]“I… don’t know,”[/color] Vera blinked, baffled by Mina’s sudden, mental awakening. Vera didn’t really do investing, she just leeched off her parents. She shook her head, [color=magenta]“Ugh, whatever. I’m out of here. This isn’t my mess and I don’t want to be a part of it anymore.”[/color] Meanwhile, the muscled hulk had begun to shrink and its wounds to close as its bones also slowly cracked back into place. Before too long, one could have gone back to referring to it as him once again. He didn’t wake up, nor did he go back to normal entirely, but it seemed that perhaps given time he might be restored fully, just that the extent of what had happened to him was beyond what a single drink, even from Mina, could fix all at once. [center][b]. . .[/b][/center] Vera stalked off toward the back entrance, grabbing her purse from the bar as she went. [color=green]“Where are you headed in such a hurry?”[/color] her friend asked. [color=magenta]“None of your business. I suggest you get out of here too. And don’t follow me,”[/color] Vera told her, barely sparing her a glance. She made for the door, but was halted. [color=green]“Hey… are you OK?”[/color] the other girl asked. Vera just pulled herself free of the girl’s grasp, glaring back at her. [color=magenta]“I’m fine...”[/color] [color=green]“O… K…”[/color] The girl frowned. [color=green]“Sure you don’t want me to go with you? Tonight has been crazy.”[/color] [color=magenta]“Fuck off, Anna! I said it was none of your business!”[/color] Vera snarled and turned her back on the girl. However, before she could make it through the door, she halted. [color=magenta]“And don’t fucking disappear on me. You owe me money.”[/color] Anna just rolled her eyes, [color=green]“Yeah, yeah, I hear you.”[/color] With that, Vera finally made it out the back door into the alley behind the bar, her head on a swivel. She needed to find Alex. [color=magenta]“Hey! Alex?! You still here?!”[/color] she called out. [center][b]. . .[/b][/center] Before Anna and Mina could fully vacate the scene, the masked man tossed both folded pieces of paper. [color=white]“I owe you both for the assistance. If you ever need help, just call, no questions asked. However, Miss…Anna was it? You took some really nasty hits. Are YOU ok?”[/color] He asks, seemingly worried after Anna had been tossed around like a rag-doll. Anna blinked as she was given the piece of paper, [color=green]“You’re fuckin’ weird, dude, but ‘aight.”[/color] She then snorted at his question. [color=green]“Nah, I was pretty amped up myself. He just got a lucky hit and I blacked out for a second.”[/color] She rolled her neck, a surge of some sort seeming to flood through her veins momentarily. As it did, her bruises began to fade. [color=green]“Almost running on empty after that one, though, so if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go home and sleep for a week.”[/color] [color=white]“Alright, well, be safe Anna.”[/color] He says, and as she walks away he turns up towards the rafters above, trying to see if Mina was still hovering about. Mina sighed as she made a modest bra out of cloth, now covering her much reduced attributes. Her eyes rested on the masked man. [color=white]"That mask is lame. Are you a middle schooler?"[/color] [color=white]“No, but I am supposed to be somewhere else.”[/color] He says, before tossing a shirt up to Mina. [color=white]“As for the stocks question, I’m not a gambling man but I’d avoid pharma and pump into agriculture. Call it a magically infused hunch.”[/color] He tells her, as the faint image of a four leaf clover appears above his head. Mina tilted her head. [color=white]"Okay…"[/color] She then took the shirt and wore it snuggly. [color=white]"Might as well go grab some food and see if Suzakura has gotten his head out of his ass. Are you coming, Rabbit Kamen?"[/color] The smart sounding cowgirl said, before fetching a drink. [color=white]"A last one for the travel. I'm parched. Bottoms up!"[/color] Mina said before downing it without mercy…immediately afterwards she began to cough. [color=white]"Alcohol! Damn…high calorie content… many thoughts… head full.."[/color] Mina began to stagger as an explosion of [i]meat[/i] threatened to burst through her shirt. [color=white]"Mooo…?"[/color] Mina said, confused. [color=white]“Aww crap baskets. Let’s go get your friend from the nearby wall he was put through and get you home.”[/color] The rabbit man says, as he leads her off, leaving the scene barren except for one rather bruised, and fully spent, former lump. [color=white]"Rabbit."[/color] Mina said as she grasped the masked youth in a hug, warm and tight. [hr] The MC of the tournament cautiously stepped out of his glass safety booth now that the fight was over. He looked around, and then ran a weary hand down his face. The place was trashed. The ring was toast. The attendees were all but gone. Either the next tournament would be huge... or a bust. Mind you, that depended on whether or not the bar ever opened its doors again after this. His eyes fell upon the one tournament goer who was still there, sitting at one of the few tables still standing. Michael. [color=white]"Fuck it."[/color] The man walked over and placed a gaudy, cheap trophy on the table before him. [color=white]"Congratulations, now get out."[/color] Lastly went to the door, flipping the sign from open to closed. The sign promptly clattered to the floor as the string holding it snapped. [/color] [Center][h3]The winner of the tournament by default is Michael. The Midnight Bar closes its doors for repairs.[/h3][/center]