In his anticipation for the action sure to come, Elliot deadened himself to the words of anyone bu Sonar.  The final few moments of chatter passed by quickly, and in their wake the team leader began to pronounce his command.  Elliot's nerves had almost caused him to spring forward before the sudden cut-off stopped him in his tracks.  Evidently the boy wonder's keen hearing picked up something that distressed him.  Unhappy with the hold-up, Elliot nevertheless focused his attention on Sonar, half-expecting a total change in strategy.  When the news came, no bells rang for the Wards' tragic antihero.  [i]Patriarch?  Community?  What, did the Protectorate pass out booklets for the city's lore and miss me?  I'll just go with the flow.[/i]  A grave nod issued from him, acknowledging the direly raised stakes.  The Margrave, outfitted with the knowledge that the [i]Patriarch[/i] was involved, would hold nothing back in this critical battle.  The kid gloves were off.

Without further ado the mission began.  Divided as evenly as they could, the Wards scattered to their respective positions.  Intrepid as always, the fearsome Margrave moved past first Tulpa and then Messiah, who the former seemed to be consciously staying behind.  They could think whatever they wanted about his rush to the front, if they found the capacity; to decide the fight before it even began, the Margrave needed time and space.  Deftly he descended the storm drain's ladder into the close-quarters, underground, soon-to-be battlefield, his shoulders brushing constantly off one wall or another.  A distinct lack of room to move made him uneasy, but he knew that his heinous foes would be even more disadvantaged.  Luckily the area outside the ladder opened up somewhat, but until the Margrave's eyes adjusted he was obliged to feel his way along the walls.  Messiah and Tulpa began to situate themselves defensively, but as soon as he found out which way the tunnel extended, the Margrave sent a hand foraging through his pockets to find what he needed.  As he withdrew them, his weapons glinted slightly in the poor light: a handful of small metal [url=https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/6365025/il_fullxfull.313795321.jpg]jacks[/url].  The Margrave tossed them underhand, scattering the jacks across the floor of the passage,  Extremely lightweight, they made only the slightest tinkling noises as they dispersed far and wide.  Grinning in the shadows, the Margrave needed to wait only a moment before his jacks began to change.  All of them grew several times in size and changed shape, becoming full-sized, nastily sharp [url=http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/ninja/images/9/9d/Tumblr_ndqb9mF1Vb1tc3wpso1_500.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151119203801]caltrops[/url] just waiting to pierce straight through the shoes and feet of anyone foolish enough to charge at Team B through the darkness.  

After this, the Margrave took his time sorting through his pockets for his next magic trick.  He watched with adjusted eyes as Tulpa seated herself and a bizarre, nightmarish creature began to form farther down the tunnel, practically among the thugs and far beyond the reach of the caltrops.  Her request did not go unnoticed, but it elicited from the Margrave a dismissive smirk.  [color=8F9779]“Would they be so lucky,”[/color] he whispered, more to himself than to his allies and softly enough that they might not be able to hear, anyway.  [color=8F9779]“The instant anyone even thinks about getting in melee range, they're gonna have other stuff to worry about.  Any bozos with big ideas about how much pain they can withstand will get another dose of my wrath shortly thereafter.”[/color]  He folded his arms, both hands now loaded with more portions of his hidden 'harmless arsenal'.  Before long the game began, and the ensuing sounds of chaos washed over him, but never did he waver in his unyielding vigil.