[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]	[color=ed1c24]“It just [i]never[/i] stops,”[/color] Percy grumbled, as he was directed again to go save someone. He’d always imagined himself as a more of a melee fighter in this competition - instead, he seemed to be on an endless loop of fetch quests, a term he’d picked up from Dorian. He only pretended to be reading a book and not paying attention when his boyfriend streamed. He liked to listen to him. He took a hold of April, who mercifully hadn’t gone far, and teleported them - avoiding most of the wreckage of the arena, thanks to Stature rapidly expanding to free herself. [i][color=ed1c24]Idiot.[/color][/i]

	With April safe, he did a quick survey of the arena, noticing that everyone was accounted for… except for Patriot. He didn’t [i]want[/i] to help the other team. But he also didn’t know how effective the enchantments [i]really[/i] were about getting competitors out the moment the damage would prove fatal. And as he took in his surroundings, he spotted a portion of the rubble that seemed to be shifting. Patriot must have been down there. [i][color=ed1c24]Dorian, this is another great example of how I am NOT a bully.[/color][/i] He moved over towards that portion of rubble, scrambling over rock and stone, and peered on through - he could see Patriot stuck, maybe 10 feet down or so through the small opening. He bit his lip, steeled his nerves, and teleported down - it was a good thing he was so tiny - and grabbing onto Patriot, he teleported both of them out, the older boy collapsing on the ground next to him. 

	[color=ed1c24]“You’re welcome.”[/color]

	April, strictly speaking, was not [i]actually[/i] safe. Only she didn’t know it. Sabine had approached her. Was she alright? She seemed… angry. Probably because of that punch. April couldn’t blame her. It looked like it had hurt. [color=42A9FF]“Sabine? Are you okay? I mean, obviously you’re not okay, and the anger looks really good on you, by the way - love the righteous vibe you’re giving off - but I more mean physically - I think we can ask them to pull you out and take a look at you, if anything feels off? Not that you want to sit out, I know, but if she hurt you then we should–”[/color]

	[i]CRACK[/i].

	[i]SLAP.[/i]

	Her face stung. There was blood running from her nose to her mouth. She reached up with her hand to cradle her nose and the pain flare up was so bad she almost screamed. Her nose was [i]broken[/i]. Her nose was fucking broken. Sabine had punched her. Sabine broke her nose. [color=42A9FF]”Whaa….? Is this about when I kissed you?”[/color] 

	But then, Sabine didn’t attack her again. Instead, she turned on Hulkling, her sword raised, and blamed [i]him[/i] for this. Did he have psychic powers or something??? She didn’t know, but she almost immediately forgave Sabine. And seeing her slash at Hulkling with her sword, bubbling with rage… It made April weak in the knees. She threw up a bubble of water, trying to restrain him to help Sabine get in some attacks, but the bubble didn’t catch. So instead, she lashed him down with water, forming chains around his wrists and ankles - and then finally, as the finishing move, she blasted him with as much water as she could. If nothing else, it would make Andy’s strikes really [i]pop[/i]. 

	April looked at Sabine again. 

	That same feeling overcame her. 

	It must have been the way Dorian felt when he looked at Percy. 

	Blood on her face, she kissed her ex-girlfriend… [i]again[/i]. 

	And then as she pulled away, she noticed the elephant in the room - the ten foot tall Entity, floating in the sky above the arena, looking like a small galaxy come to life.[color=42A9FF] “Uh… What the fuck?”[/color]

	Percy didn’t know what to make of it either - except he felt a small tug deep inside of him, urging him to go closer - to let the Entity consume him, body and soul. He reached for a language to address the Entity, but found none that felt right - no words that seemed like they would be its native tongue. So instead he stared, almost mesmerized. It was beautiful in a way nothing he’d seen before had been. [hr]	Cassie’s eyes widened as Leah screamed at her. She bit back what she wanted to say - that it hadn’t been her idea to be phased into the ground when she was that big, that it was Excelsior’s recklessness putting everyone in danger, and wouldn’t the Earth bender be the best person to put the arena back together, rather than screaming? But Leah clearly had some sort of vendetta against them. She’d heard her yelling the entire match about how they were nepo babies - a term she’d heard before, but one that still stung. “I’M SORRY!” her voice boomed instead, as she focused on the feeling of being small. 

	It was more challenging than normal - she felt like she was swaying, being this big, her head threatening to split open at any second. It was dangerous, going this large. And where muscle memory failed her, the feeling of inadequacy - of being hated by a person who didn’t even know her - took over and guided her. Cassie felt [i]incredibly[/i] small. And so she began to shrink - no longer the size of the arena, but the size of a Hulk - still large, but more respectfully and feasibly so. 

	And as her mind switched out of combat mode and into search-and-rescue, she saw the teleporter appear with Eli. Her heart shuddered! He looked [i]bad[/i] - bad even by super soldier standards. Without a second thought, she rushed over to him - each step leaving indents in the rubble she crossed. “Thank you!” she said to the teleporter, before kneeling down next to her friend. If anyone tried to get to Eli, they’d have to go through her first. His healing factor was doing its job - they just had to be patient and he’d be back up on his feet. 

	Patriot’s vision was blurry, his breathing painful. Some of his bones had been crushed under the rubble, pulverized really. He’d inhaled a good amount of particulates as well, some from the destruction of the arena, other from Leah’s sandstorm. Each breath sounded like it belonged to a 90 year old smoker - not a teenager in peak physical condition. Still, he smiled wearily up at Cassie. He didn’t want to worry her. She was the most sensitive one of the group. “Stop looking at me like I’m going to die,” he teased, before another hacking cough hit him. “I can do this all day, ma’am. Just like Cap.”

	He forced himself up into a sitting position, feeling the broken pieces of bone in his arm slide against each other, and he stifled a scream. He wasn’t down. Not yet. He leaned on his shield, covered in dirt and grime, and directed his attention across the field - to where Hulkling was imprisoned in watery chains, cut off from the rest of the group. “Teddy!” Patriot coughed. “You’ve got this, man.”

	He shifted his weight next, moving his knees out in front of him, before slowly, painfully, he rose to his feet, acutely aware of the unique sensation of his bones rapidly stitching themselves back together. 

	Teddy couldn’t help but be moved by that - to be relieved to see his friend alive and (somewhat) well, and inspired by how Eli didn’t quit, didn’t give in. It allowed him to go beyond his own limits, driven by sheer determination, as Hulkling broke free of the watery bonds. His wings unfurled and he flew upwards, out of range of the telepath. “I don’t know what you think I did, but I didn’t do it,” he told her. And then, he frowned, as he saw something that didn’t belong. A large entity, its body seemingly made of twinkling stars, had appeared. He shifted his body posture, no longer angling to attack Sabine or the others of Excelsior, but instead taking a more defensive position. 

	“Who are you?” he asked the Entity. 

	America had shifted gears too. She had fully intended on continuing to fight Danni - and she was definitely interested in having a photoshoot with him, it sounded fun - but the Entity’s arrival was a new priority. Staring at it sent a shiver down her spine. It looked so familiar. It reminded her of that day - of that day in the Utopian Parallel, when stars fell from the sky - the same stars she saw in the Entity. The same stars that had driven her mothers to sacrifice themselves. The same stars that the Demiurge had failed to protect them from. Her face paled. “...madres?”

	She squared up, ready to defend if the Entity attacked - if the stars fell from the sky once more. 

	It was Patriot who recognized the being - who was speechless for a moment, standing in the middle of an arena that was definitely no longer safe to fight in. “...Billy?”