[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/SR52k84p/54b4e63d635603b22d80f72a4ba2be54.png[/img][hr][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019a36d3-4be9-7616-9783-4fa7574f5e95.webp[/img][hr][@Morose][@Achronum][@Blizz][@Forsythe][@Kirah][@PatientBean][@Trainerblue192][hr][h3][color=AC3EFF][b]Morning - Thr. December 16th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr]	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. 
‘
	[color=42A9FF]“Pick on someone your own size!”[/color] 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. 
[hr]	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. [i]What had she seen?[/i] 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. 

	[i]Fuckkkkk.[/i]

	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 [i]wanted[/i] to get small. 

	Instead, she got fucking [i]huge[/i]. 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 [i]definitely[/i] 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. 

[hider=Note (and TW: buried under rubble)]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. 

[u]Young Avengers[/u]
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  [/hider]