The Young Avengers got ahead of them right at the start. He should've known as much, everyone started off about how he'd expected, though he had hoped Leah wouldn't get double teamed, it was inevitable. They both knew it. Andy had managed to lock down Tommy for now, Danni took care of Kate's biggest asset and helped clear some room for Leah who had attempted to make a sandstorm but fell a little short. No worries, they could turn mishaps into opportunities. Too late did Dorian notice that Cassie was missing until her fist connected with his stomach. No real pain as Vicky's sister smiled awkwardly and apologetically. Dorian smiled widely.
”Ohmygod! Hi! Huge fan! How do you come up with the names? What do they mean?” He'd thought about doing the same but never knew how to go about doing a naming scheme. Maybe they'd give them a bit of insight into how they figured out theirs?
“Oh, um, thanks!” Cassie blushed, clearly a bit uncomfortable at the idea of having a fan. “The names kinda are picked out by vibes? Like this one is for an old song, where they spell out H-O-T T-O G-O and do a dance with it.”
”Coooool! Guess the next part of your plan involves T-O then G-O huh? Hey! April! Use your powers to make sludge out of Leah's ankle sand. It'll make it harder for Pietro to gain traction once he knocks out of whatever state he's in. Anyways, sorry about this!” Dorian replied as he grabbed onto Statures hand and phased into her taking possession of her body. Instantly he shrunk down to a miniscule size so that her other teammates couldn't see them. He needed to find a way to close the gap to try and take out Billy somehow. But for now, he'd lay low.
Morning - Thr. December 16th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana
April grinned, as Sabine formed a force field around the two of them. She had spent so much of the last battle blocking attacks, she’d barely gotten to go on the offensive. But now, with the two of them protected, she found herself free to do so much more. And with Dorian’s direction, she was more than happy to oblige. ”On it!” she confirmed, before casting her senses outwards. The barrels of water provided for her to use weren’t far, and thankfully no one had done anything yet to take that resource off the board. She pulled a thin stream of water out, layering and mixing with the ankle-high sand; and when she was unsatisfied with the thickness, she added more, supplementing it.
Speed wouldn’t be the only one having trouble with slipping and sliding. Anyone who went in the path of the suspended mud would find themselves encountering difficult terrain. ”Leah, be careful where you push this!” She didn’t want to see one of their team falling prone.
Meanwhile, Percy had not received any specific instruction. And as the team’s melee teleporter, he spotted an opportunity the moment that Danni destroyed Kate Bishop’s bow, the resin that held the carbon fiber together melting from the intense heat. Was what he was planning to do considered bullying? Probably. But it wasn’t maiming, and therefore, it was allowed.
He blinked in and out of existence, appearing right by Kate - and before the archer could react, he punched her in the throat. A beat later and he put a hand on her shoulder, teleporting her into Excelsior’s backlines, isolating her from the rest of the group. ”Cascade, if you wouldn’t mind? I think she needs to cool off after the flames,” he requested.
April nodded - unaware that Percy’s punch had gone right into Kate’s throat, and how this would be doing a little more than adding insult to injury. She whipped up a blast of water, colliding into Kate, leaving her drenched, soaked, and positively gasping for air as she was effectively waterboarded.
Cassie didn’t panic, as she found herself trapped inside her own body. They’d encountered scenarios like this before, and it helped to have a telepath on the team. Of course, she didn’t know that Dorian had a sword that blocked out telepathy, and she didn’t know that when Dorian possessed someone, his items went with him. There was an anti-telepathy sword inside of her, meaning that everything she mentally screamed, Billy couldn’t hear…. But Dorian could.
She thought the following: BILLY! IT’S NOT ME! HE POSSESSED ME! CAN YOU HELP A GIRL OUT? PLEASE? IF IT’S NOT A BAD TIME? Cassie figured the louder her thoughts, the easier it would be for Billy to catch them.
But Cassie wasn’t the only one in trouble - Kate Bishop was having a bad fucking time. And even though they were broken up, she and Tommy were still close friends. The speedster had been paralyzed by Andy, shocked and stunned. His movements were awkward and jagged, his body healing him at an accelerated rate, but he was too slow to do anything to prevent his teammate from being water boarded. His run was visible as he rushed, almost stumbling over his own feet, nearly skidding and eating shit thanks to the mud at the ground. But by some miracle - maybe the sheer force of will - he managed to make it to Kate and grab her, sprinting her across the field and back to the safety of their backlines, depositing her next to his twin brother.
“My bow - it’s fucked,” Kate grumbled. She liked that bow. It’d saved her life on more than one occasion. And Pizza Dog looked adorable when he’d gnaw on it.
Wiccan nodded. “We can fix it. But now… let’s get you upgraded, okay?” His eyes shone bright blue once more, as he cast a spell - “Iwantyoutodisappear Iwantyoutodisappear Iwantyoutodisappear.” It took more power than he would have liked to expend, two spell slots worth if he was pressed to explain, but Kate faded away from sight. She didn’t have her bow, but she had arrows - and she was a skilled melee fighter.
And then he locked eyes across the field, looking at the flying Human Torch who had the audacity to put his boyfriend and one of his best friends in a flaming prison. “Don’tmessup don’tmessup don’tmessup,” he chanted, placing a jinx on Danni.
Rather than take the time to catch her breath, Kate immediately took advantage of her invisibility, moving across the field - she wouldn’t be able to take out the supports with that force field, she knew better than to box with Leah, she did not want to be set on fire or teleported across the field again… so that left one ideal target. Someone she had a shot at making a difference with in hand-to-hand combat. Andy.
Unfortunately, Kate’s attempts at stealth - while usually great - were hindered by the muddy ground created by Leah and April, each step squelching as she moved forward. She threw a punch and a kick, but Andy would manage to dodge or block both of these attacks, moving almost by instinct - and certainly aided by sound.
As for the vanguard - America had a mad grin on her face. “This is so cool!! I love it!! How hot can you make it?” she called out, incredibly curious. She could open up a portal to escape from the cage, but where was the fun in that? It was rare that she got to let loose when it came to her strength - her only real fighting partner these days was Teddy. She wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, so rather than escape, she did one of her absolute favorite moves… and she did it three times.
BAM.
BAM.
BAM.
Three ground shaking stomps. The first one was absolutely brutal - a natural 20, Wiccan would have described it. The foundations of the arena itself seemed to shake, as everyone in the middle of the field was knocked to the ground, falling prone in the mud (Leah, Patriot, Hulkling, Kate Bishop, Andy). It was unrelenting too. The second stomp hurt a little less than the first, but was still brutal. The third stomp, thankfully, was pretty weak by all accounts.
“Did you have to do that?” Teddy sighed, pulling himself up to his feet. He eyed the cage. He could rush through it, heal from the damage it caused. But he didn’t envy the idea. So instead he braced himself, ready to attack anyone who came too close.
“Hell yeah I did!”
Patriot was the last to act, scrambling back up to his feet. Things were going to plan - well, mostly. He couldn’t see where Cassie was, but he assumed she was stealthing her way towards her next target. Someone needed to take care of that force field. And the people responsible for diving, they were locked behind flames. They needed to get Danni off the field - or at least, taken care of. He whistled twice, calling the attention of his ranged fighters. “Hot Shot - I’m calling you out!” he shouted.
The walls and pillars Leah had constructed on the terrain were a problem, but at least for the moment, the other side didn’t seem to be using them. No one was taking cover, line of sight was still decent, so he could ignore that. “And America - time to use the Tango Omega Gamma Omega function!”
Everyone - difficult terrain in the mid field due to mud
Excelsior -Sabine: inside a force field, DC 9 to break it -April: inside a force field, DC 9 to break it -Danni has a jinx placed on him by Billy, DC 10 saving throw to end the effect, otherwise he has disadvantage on attacks until Billy’s concentration ends -Leah: prone, cannot use movement this turn other than to stand up, still has attacks -Andy: prone, cannot use movement this turn other than to stand up, still has attacks
Young Avengers -Kate Bishop: invisible, no bow, and has advantage on attacks against Danni -Cassie: possessed by Dorian, has advantage on attacks against Danni -Speed: has advantage on attacks against Danni -Wiccan: has advantage on attacks against Danni, has maxed out spells he can concentrate on (jinx on Danni, protection hex on himself, invisibility on Kate) -Hulkling: holding his attack actions for those who enter his threatened range, inside a fire dome -America: has a guaranteed success on her next action (teleporting), inside a fire dome
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: Skills: Battlefield Manipulation
Danni took to the air and put the tanks in timeout with a flaming dome. That was useful for one of them, at least. She slipped in the mud April created, as the ground shook and everything rippled. Being the resident rock-manipulator, Leah felt just how powerful that tremor was. It was easy to think of stone as brittle and unmoving, but on the scale of a place as big as the arena, it was like trying to bend metal. Sturdy, but not impossible. It resisted and contorted back, it took millennia to move permanently. She stumbled and felt the mud get in her hair. That was gonna be a bitch to get out.
"That's my trick, you arrogant fuck!" She shouted, digging her hands deep into the mud and making fists. The arena once again thrummed once, twice and thrice. A pulse of seismic activity, localized entirely inside Danni's dome of fire to slow those bastards down. America, she wasn't too concerned about, since she'd just teleport. But Hulkling wasn't so lucky- It broke them up and hopefully isolated them.
She noticed she wasn't the only one staggered like this. Andy, Kate and Patriot were down too, but they'd probably get back up. That invisible bitch had to be locked down somehow. So she swung her fists up in an uppercut motion, and dragged a sizeable chunk of the mud towards her. The sand in the water writhed, she could feel it coming loose. Most of it was still flowing freely, April's work wasn't for nothing. It rolled off of Kate while she was on the floor, but most of it came away from Andy's vicinity, too. And some of it stopped right as it landed over Patriot, and the ground caved in. Their leader was trapped halfway in cold mud, immobilized for the moment.
Having environmental hazards was great, it was most of her use in a fight. But not when it bit them back in the ass.
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: N/A Skills: Force Field Generation (Maintained), Memory Manipulation
The two teams were doing the most, it was clear. The Young Avengers were strategizing in sync, yelling out plans. They had discussed strategy, but nothing to that level. Either way, the team was doing what they did best: improvise.
Sabine noted that Wiccan was engaging a lot with his magic, which meant he needed to be stopped. With her and April safely inside her force field still, she sent her consciousness out to Wiccan and was met with force pushing against her. He had to have some protection. Try as she might, every push was blocked. She felt herself growing more frustrated. She needed to do this, to be better. Her team was counting on her.
”Do you even know the basic teachings of Wicca? Or did you pick the name because it sounded cool?” Percy shouted in an attempt to help Sabine pierce Billy’s mental defenses.
Danni watched the dream team try to tag team the guy who made his head woozy and his aim awful and well, he definitely wanted that over as soon as possible so why wouldn't he cheer them on. “Aw, yeah dream team kickin’ magic butt again! You can do it, yes you can! If Beanie can't do it, no one can!” Danni cheered, fiery pom poms appearing as he danced around in the air.
Sabine looked over towards Percy, seeing him attempt to get into Wiccan’s head. It worked the last fight. Sabine also heard Danni and saw that he had produced pom poms on fire, cheering for her. With both of them behind her, she pushed forward. Soon, the protection she felt against her shattered, and she was able to enter his mind.
She tried to pinpoint how to drop his defenses, but felt herself drained; she had to persevere. She struggled still.
“Are any of your achievements really your own? Or did you just warp reality to your liking? I’ve heard of nepotism, but typically that’s for a celebrity parent - is there even a term for what you are?”
She heard Percy, albeit it sounded like he was underwater, attempt to drop Wiccan’s defenses again, but she couldn’t do it. She had to pull back for now. She returned to her own mind and took a few deep breaths. ”Thanks guys. His protection is down, so if someone could hit him hard, his spells should drop also!”
Location: Skills: Possession Combat, Growing Attack, Crit Up, Shrink a Dink Work Out Fit
Dorian spoke to Cassie internally as he heard her calling out for help to Billy. ”Sorry Stature! Wiccan cant come to the telepathic link right now, I'd say leave a message but…you can't. Anti-telepathy charm, gotta keep those thoughts to yourself for now!.” Luckily for her however, Billy was quickly beginning to look like Dorian's next target. His getting spells off left and right, and while Danni seemed to have Hulking and America pinned down for the moment with the aid of Leah, he couldn't help but worry about the spell he placed on Danni. If he was anything like his mother, it was probably a Probability Hex to mess with his aim. Which…never mess with an Omega Pyro's aim. That's how you get people hurt.
Dorian continued onward making his way over to where Wiccan was when he'd heard Sabine call out that the ward was down. Perfect. He could feel Cassie's muscle memory kicking in, aiding him in his attack as he grew to the size of a two story house. ”Nice spellwork! Let's give him a round of Applause” Dorian called out as he clapped his hands around Wiccan, encasing his entire body within the palms of his hands before releasing. ”Jotunn! Operation Disco Ball!” Was the last thing he called out as he rapidly shrank back down to near invisibility. Though as his (well Cassie's) body began to shrink downwards, he noticed how even as banged up as he Billy was, he still looked incredibly hot. Every bruise, bang, and bit of blood looked perfectly manicured on him. Definitely some handy spell work.
Location:Contest Stadium, Strange Academy Skills:Pyrokenesis, HotShot
“Yes, Beanie, yes!” Danni cheered at the revelation that the ward was down. Whatever Wiccan did to him left him feeling like he was coming down with something and he did not care for it one bit. But, as always, Dorian was there to make it all better and Danni felt himself bound back like nothing was ever wrong. He did a little flip in excitement and then he was ready to return the favor.
Danni wasn't just going to sling fire. No, no, no. Wiccan wanted him to be a little off, yeah? “A little payback's in order, I t'ink! Let's see ‘ow well you cast after t'is!” Danni let off one, two shots that even with Percy adding in a little “And your costume looks like the Temu Scarlet Witch!” to keep him on his toes, flew wide on opposite ends. But Danni got the rhythm (why was Wiccan's mouth so small, jeez!) and just as the spellcaster opened his mouth to retort, Danni landed a bolt of fire right on his tongue.
“Am I good or am.I-” Danni whipped around to consider Patriot closely as he was shouted at. Did Patriot really wanna to call him out? To where? They hadn't ever interacted so… Danni gasped and giggled excitedly. “I mean, t'at's pretty bold ta ask out ‘ere in t'e competition, bit you do look really good in your uniform…” Danni beamed and swooped in a little closer. “I love t'e vibe so I am so down! You wanna do like a picnic at city park tomorrow or actually, t'e day after. Might need a day to recover, ya know? I can bring t'e food, you bring t'e fun-well, I'm always fun so ya know I've got t'at covered too- and we can ‘ang out! Unless you ‘ave plans and t'en I’m totally down!”
Location: Contest of Champions Skills: Enhanced Reflexes (Passive); Elecrtrokinsis; MMA/boxing/kickboxing
Andy had slipped in the mud. Mud was not very good at conducting electricity; if it were, she would have considered using it as a medium for her lighting. However, that didn't matter long anyway, as Leah pulled a large section of the mud toward herself.
Andy stood up and lashed out at where she thought Kate might be from when it had still been muddy. Kate had tried to attack her, but instinct had guided Andy; the mud had worked against Kate at that time. Lucky for Andy, not so lucky for Kate, her fist found Kate's nose. She heard the crunch of the bone. In quick succession, Andy punched Kate two more times. Neither was as solid as a hit, and the third carried lightning. She hoped it was doing some damage. Though it was unlikely to have been as damaging as her first hit.
The fight was absolutely beyond chaotic, insults and blows being traded in equal measure. No one had come for the bubble that encased Sabine and April so far, allowing her to focus her attention more offensively. She surveyed the battlefield, noting how America and Hulkling were taken care of in a flaming cage, Cassie was possessed by Dorian, Kate Bishop was nowhere to be seen, Patriot was calling out attack strategies, and Speed was rushing about… before her gaze fell on Wiccan. Sabine’d broken his protective enchantments, allowing Danni to send a small sun down on the wizard and Dorian, growing to huge size, to clap his hands around him, smushing him almost like a bug.
But the wizard wasn’t down yet. And April didn’t want them to lose their advantage.
Besides, it seemed like Leah had a use in mind for the mud - burying Patriot in some of it was a nice touch - so she focused on pulling more water out into play. This water she directed forward, shaping as a sphere to encase Wiccan. He managed to brush it off at first, likely some muttered spell, but it was just deflected. She doubled down on her concentration, digging deep, and slowly but surely, she had him. A perfect sphere of water surrounding him, preventing him from leaving, from moving - and maybe from breathing, April wasn’t 100% sure.
”It’s time for a spin cycle!” April called out, about to send her cousin whirling - but she couldn’t quite manage it, keeping him restrained was still requiring most of her concentration, she could feel its arcane energies pushing up against her, fighting her - his own concentration on keeping Kate Bishop invisible slipped, the weaponless archer reappearing in front of Andy, ”in, erm, a minute or two, I mean. It will be time for a spin cycle.”
Morning - Thr. December 16th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Excelsior was putting up a fight - a fiercer one than the Young Avengers had expected. They’d interacted with their peers somewhat around school, but most of their time was spent thinking about things going on beyond the halls of the Margaret Carter Institute, rather than fixating on drama and social standing. In many ways, they knew as much about Excelsior as any other team competing here - that they were all new to the Contest of Champions, formed from the remnants of three teams after a record breaking number of withdrawals and qualifications, without even a coach to represent them. Vision hadn’t given them any information for an edge or an advantage, not that they’d asked.
Speaking of asking - Patriot blushed, realizing the miscommunication. “Uh, sure - we can be friends - that’s cool with me,” he told Danni, somewhat awkwardly. “I’ll grab your number after this?” He didn’t want to be rude and reject the underclassmen, but men weren’t really his area of interest. Neither were women, really. The unease with the social interaction mirrored the difficulty Leah’s mud was posing to him - he was stuck up to his thighs, and every attempt to shift his weight seemed to only make things worse, practically suction-cupped to the ground.
So he sighed. It was fine. He could call out the shots and support his team from the mud pit. “Billy - you look even sexier wounded. You’ve got this!” he shouted, before eyeing the problem - the water bender who was keeping their mage at bay, at least for the moment. “Hawkeye, Speed, Hulkling, America - let’s focus down the mermaid!”
“Give us a sec!” America acknowledged. She and Hulkling were still trapped inside the flaming cage, and Leah’s earthquakes while riveting and fun made it even more difficult to manage. She punched down at the ground, a star shaped crack in reality forming - allowing her and her fellow tank to fall on through. They passed through a dimension where everyone had long rabbit-like ears and a small cotton ball of a tail, before she punched down again, another hole in the multiverse opening up and sending them back to the arena - where she and Hulkling emerged way up high near the rafters.
Fortunately, both of them could fly. Stumbling due to Leah’s attacks had slowed them down, with both of them functionally trading in attacks for movement, a deal Teddy readily made as he flew down from the rafters, green wings spread out behind him like an angel sent from on high. He crashed into the force field Sabine had constructed, cracks appearing in it where his elbow struck, but it held. He then leaned back, and brought his fists down again, this time shattering the protection - and leaving April and Sabine exposed.
This created the opening that Tommy needed. The speedster rushed in, his fists a blur as he pounded away on April, attempting to force her to lose her concentration on the watery prison. He struck again, and again, and again - leaving her bruised and hurting, but she would manage to hold on by sheer force of will, keeping Wiccan suspended.
But April was not the only one fighting for control through sheer determination. Cassie had been possessed by Dorian for most of this fight - at first attempting to get help from Billy, but then finding herself alone and outmatched. She was not without defenses, however. It had taken her a while to muster them, a while to recall the Red Triangle protocol Billy had taught her, but she managed to wrestle back control, her body stumbling as the ghostling was forcibly ejected.
“It’s me, Cassie!” she shouted out, quick to reassure her teammates. And she acted quickly to make up for time lost. Growing to gigantic size, she leaned down and pulled Patriot out of the mud, safely depositing him on less treacherous terrain. Yet as she went to go and swat at Andy, intending to knock her clear to the other side of the arena, a sudden dizzy spell hit her - probably from a combination of Dorian’s possession and the rapid alteration in her own size, as Cassie stumbled…
BAM.
And crashed, falling to the ground like an AT-AT.
Somehow less graceful was Kate Bishop - no longer invisible due to Wiccan’s lost concentration, attempting to hold her own in a brawl against Andy. Perhaps it was the tiring nature of the match, or the sheer number of seismic events, but each of her blows either missed or were so weak as to leave no damage - each punch, each kick, a failure that Andy would be able to deal with readily.
Her poor luck had been shared by Wiccan. Between Danni, Dorian, and April, the mage was hurting - not quite beaten or bloodied, as he felt the swell of arcane energy within him threatening to break loose. He didn’t want to do this, not here, not now. It was dangerous - more dangerous to the innocent people in the stands than to the other team. He had to keep himself at bay - had to resist the urge to show Excelsior the true power of the demiurge. So instead, with his tongue irritatingly burned, he threw a powerful hex bolt against the sphere - “Breakbreakbreak!” he cast, as it shattered, the waves breaking.
And then, seeing as to how Cassie had helpfully liberated herself from her tormentor, he locked his eyes on the cute little twink of the Excelsior team - “Bolts of Balthakk!” Not chaos magic, but pure sorcery assaulted Dorian, as electrical charges collided with him, leaving his body aching and twitching from the powerful attack. “Shield of the Seraphim!” he finished, a golden shield appearing around him, as Wiccan braced himself for the next attack.
“It’s important to cite your sources,” he added, somewhat dorkily.
Location:Contest Stadium, Strange Academy Skills:Pyrokenesis
“‘eck yeah! We'll trade numbers and Snikts!” Danni beamed, failing to notice the gentle shift of expectations. “Oof, nice shot Andy! I ‘eard t'at from ‘ere!” Danni cheered as he surveyed the field to pick his next shot. He was getting bored with Wiccan now that he'd had his revenge and he'd put up this big shield that looked like it needed kmowledge to break and Danni was head empty at all times. Much easier that way. He'd let the captains figure that one out.
“Wooooow. I build this beautiful dome for you, keep ya all nice and toasty, and y'all just abandon it. It's a work of art! ‘Ow am I supposed ta just throw it away like t'at?! Did ya even take t'e time ta appreciate it or were ya too busy caring about ‘scapin’?” Danni whined loudly as Hulkling and Miss America escaped his confinement. He gave it a sad, sorrowful look as he stopped focusing on it, and pretended not to hear the moment the flames stopped. It was per-
Oh shit.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, ‘old your ‘orses! T'at's so mean! T'at was Beanie's first bubble! Why you…” Danni was already dropping when Hulkling shattered the force field, not willing to leave their supports vulnerable as the 300 pound tank threatened them, but Tommy was faster. He couldn't count the punches, but he could see April grunting with every hit, bruises blooming across her skin, and Danni saw red. He was shaking, the fury catching in his throat and twisting, and he barely caught himself in time, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. He held his hands out at Speed's face, angling it to catch Hulking just behind him.
“I didn't say you could touch t'em so ‘ands off!” Danni snarled. At point blank range, Danni almost exploded with a cone of fire hotter than he'd ever managed before. The heat roared across the field and up through the stands and Danni willed Speed and Hulkling to burn for daring to get in that bubble.
Location: Skills: Possession Combat, Growing Attack, Crit Up, Shrink a Dink Work Out Fit
Dorian felt as he was shunted out of Cassie's body, staring stunned for just a moment. He felt so sure of his possession on her but clearly she'd had some training on how to free herself should Wiccan be unable to. Great, Dorian began making his way towards Cassie once more until he saw America and Hulking swooping down from up above. Hulking broke open Sabine's shield and Speed hammered on April. ”Jotunn! Defend our backline if you can, separate Cascade from Hulking and Chavez!” He called out moments before he felt the sting of magic coursing through him. His eyes darted over towards Billy who was actively putting up a new shield. Great.
Dorian tried to feign being knocked out, acting as though those Bolts were worse than they were. Gripping at his sides and fumbling backwards, he allowed himself to fall down to the ground before phasing underneath the arena. His ghostly hands reaching out from underneath and grabbing Stature by her ankles as he started to drag her down and into the arena. ”Maximilians Eart’en Grasp!” Phasing her a quarter of the way down. ”Whyd. She ‘ave. To be. So big!.” Dorian grumbled to himself from underneath as he pulled harder to sink her the rest of the way down. Locking her into the arena and below from just above her elbows down. That's one down.
Dorian flew up and above the arena, watching Speed knock out before Dorian bolted towards Wiccan. He managed to phase through the shielding and collided straight onto Wiccans Astral Self. Pushing them both far away from Billy's body before stopping. Before him wasn’t an Astral Self he'd seen before. His whole body was swirling with cosmic waves, stars and galaxies seemed to swirl within Billy's outline. It looked like…his father's magic. The same hues of pinks, blues, and purples speckled with white. Dorian tried to steal himself, unsheathing his sword as he held it for combat. ”Dorian's Dangerous Dual. Its you and me Billy, only way back onto that battlefield is with one of us falling.” At least for now, that made two members occupied and one knocked out. They had them on the ropes…he hoped.
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: Skills: Battlefield Manipulation, Area Denial
Leah wouldn't have caught the sight of April getting her ass beat by that squirrely twink speedster bitch. Surprisingly, April just ate every punch without so much as flinching, and that was impressive. She didn't think April would've been able to take many of those, and she looked so fucking badass. Standing there, bruised to hell and not giving a fuck, despite the danger around her. God, April was amazing. She looked-
Okay, maybe she should wait until after the fight was over to start having those thoughts. Fuck.
Operation Discoball... Yeah! Leah raised her fists and ripped the sand from the water pooling around her. It looked like the mud had just turned into a tidal wave, swallowing Kate whole and grinding away at her as if she were a piece of metal. Most people thought of water as the thing that eroded other things, but sand particles were so small that they really didn't need a lot of momentum to strip paint and rust away. But a small sandstorm's worth of it, moving under Leah's power? Yeah, that shit hurt.
Kate looked ready to drop dead.
"Luna! Zap the sand!"
Another poorly-known fact about sand was it held static very well. All those particles moving around in the air, constantly rubbing against each other and flaking off... It was enough that some superheroes could do some fun things with it in certain circumstances. Like, for example, zapping a nepo-baby.
Wasting zero time, Leah whirled around and punched the ground. "On it! Cascade, Get back!"
A crack split down into the dirt, snaking off into the distance between April and the two tanks of the YA. It went past them, and along it rose up a plateau of stone... In the wrong fucking direction. She must've moved too fast, or maybe it was unreasonable to assume April took those hits like a champion after all. Because rather than put a wall between them, she put it underneath her. And then April went fucking flying for a field goal.
For a brief moment, Leah couldn't feel her heart in her chest. She could probably handle a fall like that normally, but in her state? Best not to fucking chance it. Shit, damn- Fucking-
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: N/A Skills: Force Field Generation (Maintained), Memory Manipulation
Sabine felt the brunt of her force field give way. Thankfully it wasn't something she needed to concentrate on and that it came from her sword. She could easily bring up another one. And the fact she was being actively targeted meant it would be a good idea. With a swish, Sabine brought the sword down again, forcing another shield around her. At the very least, it would protect her a bit more.
Sabine scanned her team. Kate was being dealt with (and given that she shot at her with a plunger arrow before meant she hoped Kate would be the first knocked out) but Wiccan had recollected himself. She would let the others handle him for now. Her worry was Hulkling and Patriot, the latter being one that was boosting his team and the former being the active threat to her receiving bodily injury.
Sabine needed to ensure Hulkling was not an active problem. With herself safely behind her shield she sent her mind into Hulkling's. However, this was something she had not experienced before. Given Hulkling's ability to shapeshift, his mind was ever shifting too. That made it harder to pinpoint how to best attack it. But she tried again, pushing through the force she felt in resistance until, unfortunately, her mind was shot back.
But it was not Sabine. Not anymore at least. Hulkling's mind had impacted her conscious so heavily that Sabine was now gone. In her stead stood Hulkling, again. He looked around, wondering why he was inside a forcefield. Hadn't he broke it already? Was he forgetting? On top of everything else going on was he slowly losing it? The Mother, the being that was haunting him, that no one old enough to be able to handle knew about, let alone believed in, was painting him as insane, crazy, and maybe he was? Billy was a force of good in that regard, but even he knew Billy wasn't for sure a safe space. The constant sleepwalking, losing control at odd moments, it was all a lot to deal with, but he couldn't imagine how Billy felt.
He looked over to Billy now, wanting to see him to help him remember his focus and that's when he saw Billy disappear along with the ghost boy. He felt his chest pump rapidly. Was this the moment? Was this when he would lose Billy? Was Dorian (was that his name?) going to be hurt or worse because Billy finally lost all control?
Panic started to consume him. His mind a whirlwind of emotion and thoughts. Was the force field getting smaller now? Was it constricting him? He wanted to break it. Destroy it. Run to Billy and embrace him and have him remember the good, the peace, the grand.
Location: Contest of Champions Skills: Enhanced Reflexes (Passive); Elecrotrokinsis
Earth may be grounded enough that lightning wouldn't pass through it. A sand storm though, that on its own could build up static electricity. Andy tried to encourage that build up. She hadn't ever done a lot of distance control with electricity. Usually her control extended around her body. This was working, but slowly. Andy didn't want to straight up stick her hand into the sand, her hand would be sand blasted and wrecked if she did. While Andy was willing to take wounds to deal them out she did not feel like learning what it felt like to be on the receiving end of something that could scour stone.
The charge wasn't increasing fast enough. Andy popped her knuckles and clapped her hands next to the edge of the sand storm. Electricity sparking from her hands into the sand storm. Kate disappeared. That was two of the Young Avengers down, and none of their team. Good.
Andy glanced around the field trying to see what was going on. April was flying through the sky, Dorian was fighting Billy, Sabine looked...distressed.
Morning - Thr. December 16th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Percy caught Leah’s instruction, and he gritted his teeth, looking skyward. He had to grab April quickly, and teleport them almost immediately - if she built up too much speed in the fall, the sudden stop would hurt just as badly as impacting with the ground. He took a breath, recalling all of the practice he’d done with Dorian, and let a combination of luck and experience guide him. The first jump was smooth - he was off the ground and up with April, grabbing onto her arm. The second jump was a little shaky - they reappeared halfway down - but by the third, they’d landed. A bit of a jolt to the bones, but no serious injuries, at least.
He wasn’t mildly miffed at how Wiccan had brushed him aside at all. ‘ “Pick on someone your own size!” April shouted, the adrenaline from being flung up into the sky and then rescued by her friend’s tiny boyfriend still coursing through her. Sabine seemed to be in trouble, though. She had her shield up, thank the gods, but there was something wrong. Andy noticed it, too, calling out to ask if she was okay. And there was Hulkling, ready to throttle her - to punch her lights out. A sudden fear coursed through her, imagining Teddy throwing Sabine around like a rag doll… and that fear gave her an idea.
She constructed a giant column of water, the ends of which were shaped like fingers, and she grabbed Hulkling, ensnaring him. He was difficult to keep a hold of, his shifting form making him as slippery as a snake, but through the sheer force of will and determination April managed to lift him off of the ground, and slam him back down. The Young Avengers were down two players - Speed and Kate Bishop both reappearing in medical, thanks to the elemental attacks - and technically a third, too, as Wiccan and Dorian were locked off in the astral plane. That left the vanguard - Hulkling, Miss America, and Patriot - and Stature behind to hold the line. The balance of power had definitely shifted to favor Excelsior, but would it remain that way?
“Hulkling - I believe in you!” Patriot called out, his words lending weight to Teddy’s struggle. Hulkling was shifting into different forms, varying his size and his consistency, but breaking out of April’s water grab was proving annoyingly difficult. He didn’t love that Billy was out of sight, even if America would be able to follow him wherever he’d went - even though Teddy knew his boyfriend was more than capable of handling himself. Perhaps it was this distraction that kept him pinned longer than he should have been, but at last he managed to break free of the watery prison, the water crashing down to the ground around him.
The telepath wasn’t having a good time, either. He’d felt her rummaging around in his mind. What had she seen? But he didn’t ask - he’d ask later, maybe - as he had a job to do. They had a competition to win, and once it was over, they could get back to solving the problem of the Mother - get back to doing something that no one else could or was willing to do. With Patriot’s words still ringing in his mind, he punched at the telepath’s force field - he liked her sword, he wanted to know where she’d gotten it from - and it shattered, cracks appearing in it like glass before it popped. “America, she’s all yours!”
“Give her hell!” Patriot chimed in.
“My pleasure!” America called down, flying down from her position up near the rafters, her foot extended for an unforgiving kick. Luck seemed to be on Sabine’s side, though, as her aim was slightly off - creating a massive crater in the ground next to Sabine instead as she landed. America smirked and cracked her knuckles, not phased by a little difficulty.
And then she fucking sucker punched Sabine in the chest.
A punch so hard and so tough that Sabine was sent flying back, landing prone on the ground. A punch that might have been enough to disqualify America for breaking the rules, had any of Sabine’s organs ruptured or her chest caved. As it was, Sabine would be badly bruised and injured, each breath difficult to draw from the pain to her chest.
America could have thrown another punch to finish the job. Instead, seeing that she’d almost killed the girl, her jaw dropped. “Oh my god, I am SO sorry, are you okay??” she apologized frantically, taking a step forward, before thinking better of it. “Um, I’m going to go… fight someone else now. You can… you can catch your breath, and when you’re up to fighting again, let me know and I will… Yeah!”
Her face was bright red and she flew back off, throwing a haphazard punch at Danni that missed - maybe because she wasn’t really looking at him, instead her gaze still focused on the crumpled telepath on the ground.
Fuckkkkk.
Patriot tried to get himself out of the mud. He was still stuck. And unbeknownst to him, his situation was about to take a turn for the worse.
Cassie was phased into the floor of the arena, in one of her larger forms. It felt like she’d taken a bath in concrete and allowed it to set all around her. She didn’t want to increase her size - she’d destroy the entire arena like that, jeopardizing both teams. So instead, she decided to try to become small - small enough that she could navigate through the natural cracks in the ground, especially as America had so helpfully made a crater already she could use.
Cassie wanted to get small.
Instead, she got fucking huge. Her body grew and grew until she was the size of the arena itself, and as she squirmed to try to get upright, the floor cracked. As she engaged her core to sit up, the arena turned into a complete disaster zone, an ever-shifting pile of rubble. There was nowhere safe to stand, as everything was falling and colliding and rupturing. It was all America could do to shout - “Cassie! Get Sabine!” - as the prone telepath would definitely be critically injured from this.
Cassie reached out as quickly as she could, lethargic in her form, and barely managed to grab Sabine before she would have been pinned under a piece of the floor, cradling the tiny girl in her absolutely massive hands.
“ARE YOU OKAY?” Cassie’s voice boomed.
Everyone except Sabine needs to make a DC 15 saving throw to avoid taking serious damage from the arena crumbling. If you have a way to avoid this, you are allowed to try at the start of your post.
Young Avengers Teddy - using his movement to fly America - in flight, no issue Patriot - 13, 4 - he has disadvantage as he was already in the mud. Patriot is trapped underneath the rubble. Cassie - N/A Wiccan - in another realm
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: Skills: Battlefield Manipulation, Area Denial
The only reason America didn't get called a million vulgar things in two different languages and then flatlined, drawn and quartered for nearly killing Sabine was the fact that bigger problems were afoot. About a hundred feet bigger, to be exact. Operation Discoball went off okay, Percy caught April, and then Stature ripped the ground open. Fucking dumbass, Leah thought. Didn't she know how rocks worked? They split, shattered and fragmented. They didn't sag or bend. And a whole goddamn mountain of rubble came crashing towards everyone on the field. Every square inch of the arena was suddenly in danger, both sides, even Leah.
This chapter of her life started with a landslide, and now it was ending with one. The fucking irony was not lost on her.
"Fuck- MOVE!!!"
Leah clapped her hands together, loud enough that anyone near her might've felt it in their bones. The rock falling from the sky broke and shattered mid-flight, into more pieces that were individually smaller. It looked like bombs being detonated in the air, only making it more chaotic but also more survivable. This was the sort of thing that got people killed, and Leah knew that on account of using this as a fucking murder weapon once herself. The splintered pieces of rock made landfall and cut her up good. Pieces bit into her skin, becoming indistinguishable against her body. Some pieces smacked her in the face, thankfully not as hard as Chavez's sucker punch. She’d have a few more scars after this as well, but scars were pretty hot.
There was enough space to breathe that Leah saw the giant woman who caused this as least had the sense to shield someone. Thankfully, that was Sabine, so she turned her attention to someone else. Andy was the second least mobile of Excelsior, where most of them had some method of dodging this shit.
So she grabbed the debris falling around Andy and froze it midair. Then she slammed it together, working it on an atomic level until it became a solid plane curving over her head in a half-circle. The rocks fell against it and simply bounced off, all the kinetic energy being transferred into the ground still under everyone’s feet.
”Are you trying to get everybody killed?!” she boomed in the direction of the Young Avengers. ”Get underneath something NOW, before one of you gets your neck snapped!”
Location:Contest Stadium, Strange Academy Skills:Pyrokenesis
As April went flying sky high, Danni stared at the wall of rock that took her place. He'd just told Speed and Hulking they weren't allowed to touch their supports and here they are, getting friendly fire from their ex and not ex.
Heh, fire.
“Oye, Jotunn! What the ‘eck, girle?! Don't you-” Danni had plenty to say but the thunderous crack of America crash landing on the field sent Danni stumbling. A crater now sat between him and Beanie - why were people trying to get between him and her now too?! - and all he could do was watch with horror as America held absolutely nothing back, the sick sound of Beanie's chest barely holding its own loud in his ears. He was distracted and barely dodged the half hearted punch she threw this way. “America! Beanie isn't a villain! Why you ‘ittin’ anyone ‘ere t'at ‘ard?! Like, I know, t'e muscles area good look on you - that profile is killer, btw, can I take some photos some time or maybe you wanna come on t'e show? - but maybe don't-”
Danni's chastising was cut off as the landslide started. He was not strong enough to carry another person while he was flying, and he needed as much maneuverability as he could get so instead, he took off before the falling rubble could cut him off and cleared the threat. “Spicy, you got Princess, aight?” Danni shouted and then turned back to America.
“Tag! You're it!” Danni shouted as he fired off two shots into America's side and then bolted, trying to draw her away and up into the sky.
If America tries to land a hit, Danni will flame on to make.sure it hurts when she does.
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: N/A Skills: N/A
He still didn't quite know what was going on. Perhaps it was one of the Excelsior team members that messed with his head? Wasn't one of them a telepath of some sort? Or maybe the ghost boy possessed him and made him forget himself. Either way, he needed to collect his thoughts. His team was relying on him.
He heard someone call out to Amnesia. That was the telepath. He looked around briefly, but didn't see her. She probably moved away to start messing with their heads again. But...wouldn't she be within her force field?
He still stood within the force field as he began to move towards his intended target. He felt the momentum shift as the force field around him shatter. "Good, one less thing in our way," he thought to himself. He noticed some movement in his peripheral and looked to see America flying towards him. Wonderful, some back-up would not go unwarranted and he knew from experience that America was a force to be reckoned with. He held his hand up in welcome as America landed but....wait, what was she doing? America had landed very close to him, leg outstretched as if she was trying to hit him, but that couldn't be right. A misunderstanding, surely. His head was still foggy. He began to speak when he saw America, grin on her face, knuckles cracked, lean her arm back and...
What was the feeling of having all of the air in your lungs leave en masse? It was unlike anything he had felt before and it had come from someone he considered a friend. He laid on the ground, feeling the depth of the punch on his body. Any movement was met with a cry of pain and every breath taken after the fact was horror. America looked dejected and upset, which yeah she should, but she flew off before he could even begin to formulate some words to ask why the fuck she did that to him?
He didn't notice everyone else for a minute. Not Cassie turning into a literal giant. Not the other team running around to help each other. Instead, weirdly enough, he saw red. He was pissed! He stood up gradually, catching his breath, before he looked up and saw her. One of the Excelsior team members. He remembered Patriot's words to focus on 'the mermaid'. Either way, he was not in a good mood. Taking it one step at a time, he increased speed as he ran at the girl and, knocking back his fist, he sent his momentum forward, launching a punch at her directly in her face. He felt the girl's nose crack. Anger still winning out over any other emotion, he reeled back and hit her again, albeit not in her face but on her side. If he could take her out it would be one less problem to deal with.
And then.....
Sabine Bassard
Location: Contest of Champions Gear: N/A Skills: N/A
Sabine felt as if she blacked out. When she came to she looked around. The scene had changed drastically from when she last remembered. She recalled trying to get into Hulkling's mind and then....nothing. Emptiness. But she had to have done something.
She felt something on her hand and looked down to see blood. Was she hurt? She felt sore and bruised, especially on her chest, but she didn't feel like she was bleeding anywhere. She looked up and her eyes focused on someone in front of her.
April. Beaten. Bruised. And Sabine standing on top.
No. No that wasn't what happened. She would never hurt April. It wasn't possible. But...she looked at her hand again. Felt the pain as if she had just hit something.
What the hell was happening? Did the Young Avengers mess with her? Was it Wiccan's doing? Did one of them somehow have powers to alter her own mind? None of this happened until she tried to get into Hulkling's head.
And it clicked. Somehow it was his fault.
Sabine clenched her hurt fist and grabbed her sword, swinging it around to face the other team. Her eyes locked on Hulkling as she strode forward, sword behind her, anger in her features. As she neared, she unleashed the sword and swung it. Clearly never having done that before, it swiped at Hulkling, slicing him a bit, enough to get his attention. "I don't know what you did or how but I will never forgive you for it. You and your team are finished!
Location: Contest of Champions Skills: Enhanced Reflexes (Passive); Elecrotrokinsis; MMA/Boxing
Everything became absolute chaos. Andy went to dodge but a stone shield covered her, giving her protection from the falling rocks. She gave Leah a thumbs up. Appreciating the effort of covering her. She only had good reflexes and might have not been able to avoid all the falling rocks around her if it had been left to her.
This also now meant she didn't have to focus on escaping the falling rocks and could punch something. She liked punching things. For a moment she considered punching the now giant Cassie. Andy dismissed that though. If Cassie fell it would be very bad. She'd probably crash into the stands or something.
However, Hulking was near. She thought of Zari for a brief moment, a joke that had been made at her expense, and then pushed it from her mind. It distracted her enough that her punch was weak. He didn't even seem bothered by it. Andy punched again. This time it was more forceful and actually seemed like he was damaged by it. Because of that his movement went unpredicted and her third punch weak and again didn't do much.
Location: Skills: Possession Combat, Telekinesis, ElectoroMagnetic Manipulation Work Out Fit
While Wiccan’s body remained behind, suspended in flight, his soul found itself elsewhere in the Astral Plane. He usually wasn’t conscious when he came here, instead visiting it in dreams. He loved the realm though, as it was a place of possibility. And who was he if not a sorcerer of chance? He grinned slightly at Dorian’s challenge, brushing a curl of hair out of his eyes. “Away from the cameras? Alright, then. A wizard’s duel,” he asserted. “Don’t hold back,” he then requested. He wanted to see what Dorian Gray could do. If he was half the mage his father was, then he’d be a formidable opponent indeed.
He deftly crafted a ball of pure arcane energy, stretching it out as to become notes of music - the opening score of one of his favorite movies, the original Frankenstein - ”itsaliveitsaliveitsalive”- with the intention of lobbing them at his opponent. But the energy he weaved was too much, the magics too powerful and unstable, causing the bolt to burst prematurely - a deafening wave of sound unleashed that deafened him, his ears ringing even without his body.
Dorian watched as the beautiful mage moved one of his perfect curls out of his face. The way he accepted the challenge made him flutter a little, having had a crush on him the previous years but giving up once Teddy was in the picture. ”Somet'in’ tells me I wont be afforded t'e chance to mon chère.” He replied as he watched Wiccan building up energy within his hands. He was ready to dodge it, but there was no need. Dorian needed to use this moment to his advantage. He looked down and noticed a small tinge of red where his heart would be, not all of it but a small dot. That must've been his connection to Percy, that was where he'd need to draw his power from.
Dorian began to weave his hands like spellwork, focusing on the connection between himself and Perce as grainy static that looked straight out of a horror movie built up within his palms before solidifying into a singular strand of pure white light. He extended his right hand outwards towards Billy as lightning coursed from him to Billy's chest, slamming him with an impressive force of electricity.
“Hoary hosts of Hoggarth!” Wiccan cursed, as he felt more alive than ever before - painfully so. He’d never been electrocuted before, and it wasn’t something he wished to experience again. Even here, his hair began to stand up straight, and his teeth chattered with a strange, jittery chill. “You’ll have to teach me that one.” He recalled the energy that had coursed through his body, shifting probabilities until a ball of lightning appeared in his grasp, and he shot it outwards - ”zapzapzap” his aim a little poor, but for his first time, he wasn’t displeased with it.
”Looks to me like you almost ‘ad it t’ere. Lucky for me t’at you missed. Been shocked one too many times an I don't need anot'er one.” Dorian replied as he made a yanking motion with his hand. An invisible force came shooting out from behind Wiccan, hitting him in the back. It wasn't nearly as powerful as he'd done in previous battles, but then again things worked differently here in the Astral Plane. He couldn't use his bread and butter abilities and had to rely more on creativity.
“How many times have you been shocked?” Billy asked, raising an eyebrow. He flinched slightly as something struck him in the back, but he was used to the occasional sparring match with Tommy - it didn’t feel too different from what a speedster might do. And so, he decided maybe it would be good to use the same approach he had for Tommy - he snapped his fingers, chanting ”Iwantyouinchains Iwantyouinchains Iwantyouinchains,” as links made of pure arcane force wrapped around Dorian, binding him.
”Enough times to stop tryin' to scare my family by goin’ t'rough t'e television.” Dorian listened as Billy began to chant his magic, chains wrapping him as it began to take hold. This wasn't the first time an opponent had attempted to pin him down. But Dorian was slippery. Even in the Astral he allowed himself to become even more intangible than he should. The chains slipping off of him and onto the ground as he floated up and over them before some semblance of opacity came back to him. ”Sorry Billy, but only my boyfriend gets to do that now, and you missed that chance my freshman year.”
“Wait, pause,” Wiccan’s jaw dropped. “You had a crush on me?”
Dorian floated there, legs crossed as he spun upside down. ”Uh duh, majorly.”
“My acne was horrible our freshmen year,” Billy countered.
”Im not so superficial as to care for something like that. Looks change with time but character is what matters. Besides, under all the acne you turned out real cute.”
Billy blushed. “Th-thanks,” he stammered. “You were cute too - are cute, I mean - agh. Should we get back to fighting?”
”As opposed to flirtin’ in t'e Astral Plane while our boyfriends fight in anot'er realm to win a contest? Maybe we should.” Dorian said with a wink. He rolled back so that he was no longer upside down and placed his hands by his sides. He stood much in the manner Magneto did when he flew. Trying to gather more electromagnetic pulses around him to shield him, but nothing happen.
Billy almost stumbled backwards, incredibly flustered. “Fl-flirting? I’m not - we aren’t - agh - just - I - um - shutupshutupshutup!” he stammered. A piece of duct tape appeared across Dorian’s mouth.
Dorian's eyes began to glow as he launched another bolt of lightning towards Wiccan before peeling off the tape from his mouth. ”Oh? So I'm not cute? That hurts Billy. Oh, and I don't need to speak to cast.”
The lightning struck Billy almost as hard as his anxiety, his nerves rapidly skyrocketing. “No, you are cute - I didn’t mean - I didn’t - I - maybe we just don’t talk the rest of the fight and go back to our respective boyfriends!” he suggested. “And and maybe you don’t need to talk to cast but you do need luck so - good luck! Or or bad luck!”
Dorian scoffed, a trace of a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. ”Wha– no talking? But bantering is t'e best part of any fight!” His hand extended out and gripped the area around Billy's throat. He'd feel the pressure against him as he began to choke. ”Drop t’e Jinx before I choke you out please! I was debatin’ on just ‘oldin’ your tongue but given ‘ow good I am wit’ mine I'd ‘ate to damage anot'ers.”
He gasped, his hands instinctively going up to his throat as Billy tried desperately to breathe. He could barely get air in, his voice coming out more as a wheeze as he cast, summoning another Shield of the Seraphim - as blinding golden light surrounded him, severing the telekinetic hold. “This is all very confusing, with the Darth Vader attacks and the wordplay!” he protested. But he couldn’t hide the blush that had turned his face crimson. “And I’m not dropping the jinx!”
Dorian sighed as the shield went up. ”I didn't want to ‘ave to do t'is…” He said as he flew towards Billy, phasing past the shield he had shot up in an attempt to possess him to end the jinx on himself. It was…different than before. Usually when he took over another he felt their self shrink within himself as he took the reins of the body. But he'd never attempted to possess an Astral Entity. He should've thought twice on it as instead of them fighting over control of the body, they fused into a singular one. One entity working in tandem with the souls within it. It reminded Dorian of the stories his father told him about Genosha, about the Mutant Circuit.
The new entity paused for a moment, before drawing its sword, and slicing a hole through the astral plane, a tear that revealed the arena - that revealed the contest.
The entity gazed on through, staring at its companions, locked in bitter combat. Gazing at the destruction that had been wrought, the arena in shambles.
“This isn’t right,” its voice boomed, as it stepped on through the tear. “We will fix this.”
