elseworldexiles | The Downward Spiral

This place is horrible. Even without the insanity taking place with the others, Sarah has passed dozens of horrorshows. Monsters made from people she knew, or heard stories of. Mockeries of everything she was brought up to revere.
The further she goes, the more grateful she is that she ended the life of the Panther. And the fact she can be grateful for killing something sentient, even if it was a twisted monster, sickens her to her core, getting worse the further she goes. With every foot she flies into this place, the more sure she is its going to consume her utterly.

And the more determined she is that it will end.

And then maybe someday she'll stop hearing the screams, the pleas for death or life or freedom and the insane ramblings. Maybe someday she'll stop hearing babies crying somewhere in the distance within this terrible place. And maybe she'll stop hearing the sound of bones breaking, and a living form going still under her fists.

For now, it has to end. That thought drives her through the torment, and through walls, through doors, through every soulless thing that gets in her way. Emplate should be glad he can teleport... Sarah is. One more life she doesn't have to be the one to take. The Storm Queen... that may be something else, because in as straight a line as the teenage juggernaut can manage, the throne room is her destination.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Morph's got the other hostage sliding out the door, and re-forms himself for combat.

Storm expects all of them to falter, so it's with angry surprise and and a clumsy yanking teleport by Marius that saves her from getting her head pulverized with Crusader's shield by seconds. Narrow eyes recognize it from the tales T'Challa had relayed long ago, vibranium perfectly balanced. She moves to strike but Dazzler's laser clips into her shoulder, burning painfully enough to make her falter. This is too close.

Too enclosed.

The barons, including Marius, move to intercept Morph and Dazzler's hostages before turning their focus on the heroes themselves. Storm regroups, then viciously pushes back at Sarah with her own high pressure shield, determined to induce a fatal bit of hypoxia. A manic sneer is warped with rage, her foul hiss choked with the emotion. "Are you a history student, child? Would you recognize your extinction as it happens?"

This is where it helps being as durable as she is. And, of course, this was Sarah's plan - let the others deal with Marius, rescuing hostages, and the barons so they can isolate Storm.
Sarah may not be able to get to her through the shield, at least not easily, but she knows Storm's powers, she knows Tempest's, and she knows her own limits. Somehow, she just keeps coming, not talking to conserve her air supply. While fighting through the shield, trying to land a blow with the edge of the shield, she focuses, trying to test the hammer more, and see if she can intensify the effects of the weather powers. She may not know how to summon a storm or control it properly, but she's getting a better sense of the hammer, and figues if Storm starts something, she can make it worse - after all, she's quite well suited to being buffeted by high winds and fighting hurricane force, and it might keep Storm's attention on her a while longer.

The light, the winds, the light, weather whipping around them. He is a man with one purpose in life.

"No more!" Roberto screams. "NO MORE, ORORO!"

He's panting now, struggling with the efforts. A little more. If he can just take a little more...

"No more of your HUNTER! No more of your WITCH! NO MORE OF THE QUEEN!"

Yes, it hit! Not that it did much but it hit. Then she hears a noice and turns in case it's an ambush.

Dazzler is not pleased as she sees Barons moving toward the hostages they just saved. Course, then the Barons seem to change their interests and she finds herself glaring at one of them. "That does it. I am so tired of you people." Two solid light battering rams appearing, flung foward from her body and trying to strike two of the barons forcefully. The voices, the yelling, the screams--everything is being used to charge, preparing for a final burst of light for Roberto.

A temporary victory, and she won't have long to gloat. Marius lets the other two baron take the brunt of the light beams and disappears in the nethervoid, observing the battle briefly. He watches and circles, humming softly to himself.

'In the middle of a caaannibal buffeeet!
I'm feelin' rare, they like me that waaay!!

Greedily grins as he makes a pattern of teleports, swiping his claws at Morph and Dazzler to rend -or more hopefully, to siphon all too tasty marrow. He comes upon Sunspot, who seems an all too easy target.

Morph's easy enough to cut - for all the good it will do. "Oww! Sneaky little twerp."

His form begins to get larger, and greener as he directs his attention to Marius's final destination. "Morph SMASH!"

Morph brings his fists down at the Baron.

Face meets force and Emplate's upper body practically caves in from the violent impact. But his head's still intact and instinct prompts the baron's hands to weakly latch around meaty forearms. Mouths automatically clamp to Morph's skin; ripping, chewing and ingesting anything resembling genetic material from the other man.

Emplate's skin literally begins to ripple as it struggles to adapt, flesh and bone breaking first, then sliding beneath his skin in a perverted mimicry of Morph's powers. The pain is enough to split his face open in a teeth-baring scream, blood pooling and erupting from his mouth.

He won't get more than a nibble, as Morph arms melt out of his grasp and re-form.

"No biting on the first date, pal!"

Alison hisses as she is cut but Morph seems to have gotten the Baron's attention and she watches their struggle. She wants to fire a blast, try to decapitate the thing, but she doesn't want to chance hitting Morph. She spares a glance to see how Sarah and Roberto are faring. Just a nice boom and she probably will be able to send Roberto's powers into overload...

Emplate's skin tremors and cracks, color rapidly shifting to black and becoming loose, nearly formless from the waist down. A ripple and shift again and the appearance of legs reforming in a hard red substance as his torso stretches. His screams are abruptly silenced and shortened claws come up to scratch wildly at his face where his jaw is fusing shut. Finally, his familiar form reemerges and he begins an awkward retreat from Morph, unconsciously putting himself in an unfettered line of fire.

"Zap him, Dazz!"

Morph's giving her a clear line of fire.

She doesn't have to be told twice. A red disc of solid light flashes out of her hands, aimed for the throat of the monster. Hopefully his head will soon find itself separate from his body.

It happens so fast, Marius doesn't register anything until the disc hits him. His heavy body slides to the floor, legs twisted in awkward repose. The bloody tissue remains of his head are lying four feet away.

The Downward Spiral

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