Randolph stepped into the hallway, corrupting a somewhat pristine environment with an aura of decay again. Silence and misery are normally heard through the halls, but there is something else now. Distant and quiet, but audible enough for Randolph’s senses, a fight is ongoing. Order has given way to entropy once again as a wicked grin made its way across Randolph’s face.

’So I see their gambit has succeeded in causing a ruckus. Let humans fight amongst themselves while I make things a little less even…’ Randolph thought. But first must come his prior obligation, he must await the Ve’Throk. Marina.

He remembers his…. transformation. The change from Human to Ghoul. The pain, the confusion, being branded an aberration. It is the one thing all Ghouls share, and all Ghouls remember. Something, Randolph believes, Marina would be experiencing. It’s the one thing that makes him see her as a peer and not cattle like the others. The one thing that inspires sympathy in an otherwise nihilistic heart.

“Oh, shit it’s that creepy fuck.” Someone whispered down the hall

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a trio of guards approaching, shaking him from his thoughts.

“Uhh, Get back in your cell prisoner. That’s an order!” One said, taking a moment to hide his fear.

They all knew Randolph, what he ate, how he is usually compliant. But they won’t know what to do with a non-compliant Randolph. Randolph is playing his hand, there is no going back. Not at this moment, but he could sense fear in them. Good, he still holds sway, there is no need for blood now.

“No. No I don’t think I will.” Randolph said, challenging them. He walked closer to intimidate them, making sure to stand fully upright. Uncomfortable, but it lets him tower over the humans.

“Y-You are the prisoner. You go-got to do what w-we say. There are three of us a-and o-one of you.”

”You do not get it do you, human? You three are guards without nametags against some of the vilest and strongest people on the planet. In the unlikely event you somehow kill me, I assure you that you won’t be feeling so hot, you think you can withstand the others, nevermind them in numbers? The best you can hope for is a quick death. Alternatively, you all die by my hand, at which point you become dinner. Also, not ideal. Since I do not care of your fates, I am allowing you the opportunity to just…walk away. Run as far and as fast as your human legs will take you, I will not be an obstacle. Then, maybe then, you can live to tomorrow. So I ask you three, what will it be? Life? Or offer yourself as a meal?” Randolph emphasized his words with threatening gestures, bearing his teeth at the end. He found Humans tended to fear the fangs of beasts that he shares, an evolutionary imprint from their ancestors.

After looking amongst each other, two of the three bolted away.

”Seems your comrades have abandoned you, I highly suggest you join them.”

“You make a good point, uh sir.” The Human said, doing well to hide the fear in his voice, but his body movements betrayed him. The guard then speed walked away, clearly trying to maintain some semblance of bravery, but Randolph knew his words took hold.

”Much prefer dead humans.” Randolph grumbled.

As the guard turned the corner, he nearly tripped over one of his fleeing teammates lying in a heap on the floor as Marina was midway through tugging the jacket off of his arms. The two froze as they stared down one another, before the guard deliberately looked away and gingerly stepped around the scene to keep walking. Marina, confused, narrowed her eyes for a moment, then shrugged as she finished stealing the jacket and dashed to where the ghoul was no longer caged. “I take it that’s your doing?” she asked, glancing back at the fleeing guard.

Randolph shrugged ” I offered them some advice, they were wise enough to consider the consequences of ignoring it.”

“Not bad. Saves you the trouble of...ahhh…” Marina stumbled slightly, her skin turning paler than usual as she wiped sweat from her brow. “...must be..wearing off.”

“What’s wearing off?” Randolph asked, growing concerned. “...the shackles of alchemy which binds your form? Do you require assistance?”

“No just…the initial hit is always the worst,“ Marina said shakily. “Just give me a moment and I’ll-”

Marina was suddenly violently jerked off her feet, her glasses shattering as her face smacked into the cold concrete. Something wrapped tightly around her leg and started to drag her into the darkened corridor at a frightening speed as blood trailed from her nose.
“By the sun and by the sky, it’s Miss Montressor, come to die!”

Marina struggled to escape until she was dragged to the entrance of another cell, where ugly brown roots stretched out to snare her around the chest and lift her up, face to face with a gnarled mass of roots and leaves in the shape of a humanoid squeezed into an orange jumpsuit, its face carved with two blank eyes and a gaping smile.

“Hogweed, what an unpleasant surprise,” Marina said bitterly, spitting blood from her mouth. “What do you want?” Of course, right when she finally got a chance at freedom, seconds before her powers kicked in, out comes a deranged plant monster with an axe to grind. If she could think through the pounding headache she had she’d be cursing whatever and whoever she could think of for such rotten luck.

“Oh Miss Marina’s not too bright,” the wooden monster sang, its roots traveling down Marina’s arms as she tried to pull herself free. “To think I forgot her loathsome blight.”

“You have a problem with it? Talk to the heroes, they’re the ones who used that chemical I made on you!” Marina insisted, teeth clenched and eyes shut tight as her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Hogweed let out a shrill sound that might have been laughter in his reedy voice as the brown roots tightened around Marina’s throat. “I…aaagh…”

“Do not beg, do not shout,” Hogweed sang at her again. “It’s over now…”

Marina drew one last agonizing breath before the vines tightened one last time, her eyes suddenly opening wide. She looked down on Hogweed, her mouth curving into a bloody smile.

Her eyes were a sharp shade of golden yellow.

“Uh…” Hogweed said, forgetting his rhyme as his prey suddenly tore her arm away and pulled away the roots choking her. Tossing them aside, Marina pondered the claws growing on her nails as she turned to look at the plant man again. Under any other circumstance, this loathsome weed would be reduced to kindling under her claws, but…well, she wanted to enjoy what was about to happen.

“Fuck off,” she ordered, her voice pitching lower into a sinister growl.

“...of course ma’am, right away ma’am.”

Hogweed scurried past her in an undignified shuffle as Marina strained and stretched, the vines pulling free as she started to grow, her muscles bulging underneath her jumpsuit as she started growing taller.

“Finally, about…aaah…”

Her already tousled hair started growing shaggier and longer as white fur sprouted along her skin. She opened her mouth in a low rumbling growl, showing off her sharpening teeth before her jaw started elongating into a snout.

“Aagh….grrrrh….”

Marina jerked backwards and slammed herself into the wall, the concrete crumbling from the blow. Metal bolts popped free of her skin as the damned device keeping her contained for so long finally detached from her back.

“...grrrr….raaaagh….”

The vines finally snapped free, falling to the ground alongside the loud clatter of the device on her back. Still growing bigger, her jumpsuit shredding to reveal muscle and fur beneath as the WARWICK compound took hold at last, she flailed around in ecstatic gouging deep claw marks in the walls and smashing through steel bars before dropping to her knees, smashing her fists on the ground, and lifting her head to let out a howl. A loud, piercing howl that echoed clearly through the blaring alarms and the sounds of the riot.
Randolph tensed a little at Marina howling, a taboo among Ghouls, for a brief moment as instinct took command before regaining his senses. Hopefully Marina did not notice his brief shift in demeanor.

Getting to her feet again and leaving the vines and the scraps of her clothes behind, save the remains of the jumpsuit covering her lower half down to her knees, Marina paced back to Randolph again, ducking under a low-hanging beam and grabbing the jacket she stole earlier and putting it on. A tight fit for a more than seven foot tall werewolf but it did the job.

“Sorry about that,” she said, her voice pitched lower and with a distinctive growl. “But I’m back now, better than ever.”

” Hmm, much cleaner and faster than my transition. My skin festered and rotted over a year as it fractured and was torn here and there like the wrapping of a present hiding what was hiding just below the surface. Was painful and itchy, would not recommend.” Randolph noted at Marina’s metamorphosis.

“You wouldn’t have liked my initial experiments then. There were some pretty nasty side effects before I got it right,” Marina pondered, remembering that one instance with an excessive amount of teeth.

”It is grand that your situation has improved, though I must request, in the event we interact with other Ghouls, you do not howl… Randolph trailed off as he was thinking.

“Ah, good to know,” Marina said, leaning against the wall.

”Actually, remind me to give everyone a crash course on how to behave near Ghouls later, in the event they come in proximity to one. Ghouls are very defensive and naturally wary of others, and it would be better to inform everyone of what a Ghoul considers hostile behavior before they find themselves gracing a dinner, and not as a guest. Though we are reasoning beings now, we still bear the instincts from our feral past… You can still howl around me if you so wish, but around younger Ghouls or Ghouls who have yet to interact with anyone but another Ghoul, they likely won’t understand that you do not mean to threaten them and I’d….I’d hate to see you get hurt.” Randolph lowered to a whisper at the end, as if to hide the words from himself. Did he really say that? To someone not of his ilk? Sure, he expresses concern over her previously but he always thought it more like a carpenter expressing concern over his favored tools, but is he consciously regarding her as a peer? For a moment something flitted across Marina’s face as well before she resumed her confident, tooth-filled smirk.

“Good to know you care,” she said, pausing to shake her head and scratch herself behind the neck. “If we meet anyone else from your neck of the woods, I’ll resist the urge.”

’Yeah, I am just learning that I care too…. Randolph thought to himself, ”Well, we are not so much from the woods, more like an alternative dimension. Though there are woods there, we typically dwell far away from them.”

“You learn something new every day. In any case, we should perhaps make ourselves scarce, before some braver guards show up.”

Finding the spot where he wanted to dig, Randolph inspected it to be sure. He ran a claw clean through the inside of the wall, finding a layer of plaster, a wooden wall, an empty space, and another wooden wall to hold the Earth back. Excellent, He can get through no problem. It was not too long before he made a hole large enough for him and Marina and the ground, while compact, was little of an obstacle for him.

After barely more than a minute, Randolph was making massive progress, digging straight up so any guards that may stumble upon this makeshift passenger will find it difficult, and a small hill of dirt and rocks was starting to form in the hallway. ” I hope you can climb… Randolph called out to Marina. ”… because I do not intend to be followed by anyone else. The earth is soft enough here so you can dig your claws in to grip if you need to.”

“Not a problem, I’d dig through steel to get out of this place,” Marina growled eagerly, extending her claws in preparation. Pausing for a moment though, she darted back to the cell from earlier, returning with the gnarled remains of the injection device. She promised Kaliani a snack after all. “Lead the way,” she declared.

@TheRedWatcher @Klumsykrow357 @Restalaan @Perse @KaelRavenheart @SrslyAnArtist@The Man Emperor@TheRedWatcher@Blazion @SrslyAnArtist

Abigail “Atom Bomb” Zebrowski

“The dude in cell 13 is one of the people that is helping us with escaping; Which is why we gotta bust him out. And once we got him out their’s another inmate in cell 11, who gave me the keys to the cells we gotta nab.” Abby could tell the plan was already getting out of control, something that was frustrating but was prone to happen with this group. “That’s why it’s important we head to the elevator; no matter the cost.” Abby noticed the guards coming towards the group, armed with their cattle prods coming towards them. “You too, quiet down or your gonna be sent to solitary.” The guards above them were positioning themselves with their weapons, aiming their M16s at the group readying to fire at a moment’s notice. As soon as they got close enough to Ameliya and Iris, Abby’s eyes started glowing bright green. Extending her hand out to fire a ball of radiation at one of the guards, The guard that got hit fell on the floor shaking violently, quickly Abby grabbed the other guard using him as a human shield. Holding the cattle proid in her hand, she gave the guard on the floor a quick shook. Feeling a surge of excitement from doing this, “How does that feel fucker!!!” Feeling some catharsis from getting back at her tormentors. Noticing the lights flickering on and off told her Min-Ji or perhaps Hemlock was doing their part. “Come on guys, follow me we gotta get to the elevator.” The guards were frantically trying to put out the fire Ameliya had started. A blaring alarm could be heard along with the voice of Dr.Novis speaking, “All security report to the cafeteria immediately, To the inmates, trying to escape if you return calming to your cell then extensive force will not be used. However, if you precise then deadly force will have to be used.” The good doctor had a feeling that his words were not going to get through their heads. As much as he wanted to keep them as test subjects, he did not want them to escape and expose what he had done to them.

More guards now wearing heavy armour and armed with riot shields, stun, smoke, and tear grenades, cattle prods, tasers and riot shotguns (With beanbag ammo). “You gotta be kidding me, Körbl do you think you can get through these guys.” Pointing at the armed guards coming towards them. “I can slow them down with my powers,i think that should be enough to give you guys the edge.” She was sure the group could fair better then her in a fight. Throwing her human shield onto the ground; knocking him out as he would only slow down the group. Her eyes glowing once again, focusing her energy on the guards blocking their way. Firing a couple of balls of radiation at the guards trying to box them in. Causing a few of them stop advancing, and vomiting profusely. “I need more juice, i gotta find more radiation to absorb.”One of them throwing tear gas at the small group of inmates. Getting close enough to start attacking the group, most of them were focusing on Rueyn, Kailani, Frostbite, and Hemlock. As they were more of a threat than the others. Covering her nose and mouth with her jumpsuit, trying to get out of the gas by running towards the armoured guards. Using her time practicing Jeet Kun Do to use. Using the cattle prod to stun the guards in front of her, Touching a guard’s shoulder, and pumping him full of radiation. Trying to make her way out of the cafeteria, and towards the elevator. “Might need your help here Iris.” Waving her over, quickly finding herself being surrounded by the guards.

Mr. Q was turned his head to face the door, “It seems they have started the plan before schedule, oh well humans have always been so impatient.” Turning to face Lionel keeping his unnerving smile on his face, “It seems we will be escaping sooner than we anticipated, isn’t that exciting!” Exclaiming like it was the best thing to happen since sliced bread. Rubbing his chin thinking of what they could do while waiting for the others to spring Lionel out, The baby villain was for the time being indebted to Q. Something that he would have to keep in over his head, to make him follow whatever his plan was after escaping. “If I may ask, were you born with your abilities to manipulate others via touch, or was there some incident that caused it? Are your abilities connected with your long lifespan?”

---

---

The kaleidoscope circuitry is easier to navigate now that he knows the path. He hadn’t walked as Digital Ghost in so long he had forgotten how it felt. A part of him wanted to take divergent paths and begin to seize the facility from the inside. Choking its circuitry is like a heart attack of the motherboard. Though he would show some temperance until they knew the full plan and he could remove his body out of the danger zone. He should have accounted for the splash zone, however-

He shudders. This facility is so cold-

-something splatters across his face. It's warm. Wet. And sticks to his skin the consistency of paint, though he is certain this isn't that.

“Fingerpainting are we,” he states, there is a touch of annoyance. As far as he is aware, when they escape he didn’t have a change of clothes and two people coated in blood tended to look suspicious.

“My bad, I don’t exactly have a dropcloth handy,” Rue drawled, licking the blood off of her bone colored claws. “I said I would protect your body, never said anything about your clothes.”

So some assholes had decided they wanted to add a tally to their kill marks, and openly talked about it pretty close to her. So she decided she had a problem with it when they decided to come at Hemlock.

“Humans limbs tear like paper,” Rueyn commented, “Blood goes flying when a man’s arm is completely ripped from its socket by about 90 pounds of brute force. Same goes for the rest of his limbs. And there were two of them. So, pardon me, your highness.”

“As commendable as that is and I appreciate the save, how are we going to get ramen now covered in bloo-

Rue ignored his comment as she cracked her knuckles, then broke the cuffs around her wrists with the horribly loud crunching noises of metal being bent and crushed in ways it was not meant to be. She growled with satisfaction as they crumbled from her wrists. Without the electric currents running through them properly, they were no match for her strength that was measured at 4tons (8,000 lbs) of weight. Then she did her ankles.

If her powers being unleashed had any effect on how Hemlock saw her, they likely shifted with the black shadows and smoke that emanated from her body, limbs and face.

She turned her gaze towards him and wiped the rest of the blood off on her black jumpsuit, having licked most of it from her hands and even her face, that’s how long her demonic, forked tongue was. It was also prehensile like a chameleon tail, which helped. And was probably an unnerving sight for others to witness. Especially since she stood surrounded by a pile of gore that was once two metahuman inmates.

He's trying to ignore the sounds of her tongue on her skin. Saliva dripping, lapping up blood? How he longed for simple things, a cup of ramen, perhaps a shower, and somewhere to listen to the static hiss for a while.

“Gods fucking damn,” Rue rumbled. “That’s better. Okay, now what do you want to do, tech genius?”

“Don’t you mean tech highness,”he is definitely being a wise ass and she can’t help but smile at it.


“Okay, your techness,” Rue wondered if he could sense her rolling her eyes with her tone. “As much as I have no doubt you can make your way to the needed area of interest yourself, you’re not exactly a match for even the average human’s strength, and that’s just my strategic observation,” she added. “I’m going with you and we will travel by shadows, no one can touch us in the darkness. Just direct me based on your senses and I can take it from there.”

“It’s not always about physical strength. I could microwave a man before he could twitch a muscle. Sometimes I don’t cook them first and I let them twitch in paralyzing agony for a bit,” his smirks with a challenge.

But Rueyn stood resolute in her decision.

She had already decided he was hers to protect. And with how dangerous prison riots were (she’d lived through at least five in her two decades of being there), she wasn’t taking the chances of his getting fucking murdered on the way to free them all. As far as she was concerned, the plan was doomed without him. And she wasn’t about to lose yet another being that she felt some measure of caring for. Twenty years so soon after the last was still too soon.

“It is quite useless to argue with me, Lock,” she told him matter of factly. “I’m not above throwing you over my shoulder to ensure your safety and thereby the success of this plan.”

“I won’t resist your assistance Rueyn,” he tells her, “But please if I do resist, do not hoist me up. I prefer my feet comfortably on the ground.”

He stands up. Now what to do? Soon there is going to be a riot, isn’t there? He had control of the cameras, and the monitors, as well as the alarms and the handcuffs. Still he didn’t like being Digital Ghost when there is so much activity around. Too many variables, like two men being ripped apart by Rue. Which meant he would have to navigate the facility by foot, using the security system as his guide.

“Unfortunately, one of my capabilities, leaves my body for too long, exposed like this. I am still capable by myself, don’t worry about me, when the riots happen, I’d like to take the path of least resistance Taking my trip into the security system, I have a relatively decent map in my head of the layout of the facility. I hadn’t realized how far underground we are, no wonder everything feels so smooth,”

If there is one thing he wished he had right now, it is a blanket. He should have brought one from his cage before leaving for the cafeteria. Then again he didn’t expect there to be an escape plan happening today either.

The last part of his sentence struck a chord in her and she growled.

“Underground? Really? No wonder there’s an underlying smell of dirt and mold everywhere all the time.”

She made a noise of disgust in the back of her throat and replaced her mask.

“So, what will it be, Oh mighty Digital Royal?”

“Should that be the name I take up, then, Digital Royal, instead of Digital Ghost,” he gives her an airy dry laugh, “I will accept your alliance. I just like being difficult for the sake of being difficult. It gives me human qualities.”

“Very well then,” she replied. “You make fair points. Come, take my hand or hold onto me somehow, you won’t come with me otherwise.”

She was glad he didn’t argue with her. It was less of a headache for her. She laughed at his comment.

“Cyberspace Royal sounds better,” she admitted. “Digital Ghost, though, that’s got a whole different ring to it, edgy and dark almost. Let me know when you have a firm grip on me. Skin to skin is best but holding onto my clothes works just as well.”

She gathered the shadows around her in preparation, her outline dwarfed by a solid black mass that flickered and writhed, her eyes glowing.

Truth is, he’s hesitant. Her Nebulous form is easy enough, now, to gauge where she is standing. Yet, there is a fragment in his mind, a distant memory. Being dragged along by a parent insisting he needed assistance. He understands that is an entirely illogical response to this situation. As they aren’t similar, from what he can determine her powers were similar to his that required touch.

Extending out his hand to grab her own, or really he awkwardly felt around for it in front of him. He’s not able to determine things like limbs separately from the whole body. This is embarrassing.

Rue noticed his awkwardly feeling around for her and to save him further embarrassment, gently grabbed his hand to lace his fingers with hers, being very careful not to use too much of her strength lest she accidentally break his fingers.

She’s surprisingly gentle. Her hands are warm. Like previously.

“Are you ready?” she asked. “It’s going to feel weird, especially since you can’t see, though you likely won’t have the usual fear upon seeing pure blackness around you that most people have.”

“I don’t see total darkness,” he tells her, “It’s like being surrounded by snow I can feel. It’s like my brain registers something is there, but I have no visual reference for what I am seeing. Just big splotches of color. I am ready. I admit I am fascinated to experience another's power."

“This is interesting,” Rue replied, bringing the shadows around them both. “If only I had the one power that allows mental connections to share images, well, at least without using my Mark.”

She walked through the inky shadows that covered the building and walked into the layer of blackness, Hemlock’s fingers firmly laced in hers. Anyone who was watching them would have seen them just disappear into darkness, fading away with a few blinks, shortly before the lights went out and all was plunged further into chaos.

One of them throwing tear gas at the small group of inmates. Getting close enough to start attacking the group, most of them were focusing on Rueyn, Kailani, Frostbite, and Hemlock, as they posed a greater threat than the others.

The tear gas did almost nothing to Frostbite. In this transformed state, he was, by all intents and purposes, a non-biological creature composed of supernatural ice and strange, otherworldly magic that coursed through its body like blood would in an organic being. It only slightly obscured the cryophoenix's witch-sight, but other than that, it was more or less just smoke. A bit annoying, sure, but nothing that could significantly dent his progress at facilitating the breakout. The guards had, at this time, neglected to bring flamethrowers over, which would have been the greatest threat to his icebound form, and the window to stop him from transforming to begin with had long passed.

Surely, a pair of glowing scarlet flashed from behind the rising plumes of tear gas, heralding the flight of the Frostbite in a flurry of cold wind. Everyone there, save perhaps for Kailani and Ameliya, would feel the temperature drop by at least three degrees, just as the Cryophoenix spread its wings and shot out a barrage of sharp ice feathers, each one as a potent as a dagger. It did little to the riot shields that the guards were using to protect themselves, but as they raised their shields to defend from the hail of spikes, Frostbite dropped down, his claws seeking out one of the lesser known inmates.

"What was his name again?" Frostbite asked the human mind that had been nestled deep into its own consciousness. "Ah... no, I can't remember."

"The one wanted for eating his own wife and children?" Alfred answered, not sure either.

"Eh, who cares, he's not a main character.""

Frostbite grabbed that inmate off the ground, and threw him bodily as a transhuman wrecking ball towards the guards that had attempted to bar their escape. He'd rather stay safe and intact instead of risking himself.

@Eviledd1984 @TheRedWatcher @twave @Klumsykrow357 @Blazion @Silver Carrot @Perse @KaelRavenheart

Körbl Meier

Körbl looked at the oncoming mass of soldiers in riot gear, equipped with stuns,flash and numerous assortments of grenades. His eye fell onto the shotguns, briefly wondering if they're loaded with actual bullets.

Then again, if that was the case, they would be bringing assaults rifles. The tear gas opening gambit was a wise choice.

Well, he has no intention of finding out the hard way. Eyes plotted his route from the memories of the hall, one that he had already burned into his mind painstakingly.

His foot shifted before another presence went into action. Temperature dropping rapidly as his head turned to the back, the iceman was already unleashing an ice feathers blizzard. Myriads of thumps and sharp clattering bang past the tear gas, Körbl noted that there's no direct impact. At least, no blood split if his nose was spot on.

Afterwards, it was followed by Alfred grabbing an unfortunate prisoner and tossing him to the other side. Briefly, Körbl wondered why didn't the latter just blow the tear gas back.

Ah well.

Körbl closed his eyes and burst into action like a meteor. Following closely by the trajectory of the prisoner being used as a projectile. The body's presence distorted and created a brief vacuum in the air, alleviating some of the tear gas potency.

At the corner of his eyes, bright orange color filled the air but the heat felt by his skin told him what was going on.

Looks like I'll have to move faster.

For the guards that had just defended themselves from a brief shower of sharp icicles, parts of them was greeted by a prisoner being slammed into their shield ungracefully and dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Then another shadow came, and this one landed on top of their riot shield like he was weightless.

But the glint from the small metallic piece in his hands and electric prod was anything but a welcome sight.

A brief spark, and one of the riot guards saw blood splatters covered their mask. Blinding him before total chaos ensues.

Körbl hopped across the riot guards, moving all the way to the back by using them as a stepping stone. Followed by a sharp crack that echoed the hallways as helmets and face masks found themselves indented by an electric prod. Shotguns rung past him as numerous stun prods came close to grazing him.

Made worse was a gout of flame pouring from the front, pulling their attention as their shields melt from the extreme heat. Between the two prisoners attack, the riot guards had little options left as Körbl swiftly made his way past them.

The moment he was at the very back, Körbl landed in a crouch before lunging forward like a tiger, arms wide and outstretched as each stomp of his foot contain enough strength that would've cracked normal concrete pavement. This caught the tail end of the suppression group and to their horror, found themselves shoved forward from their secure hallway into the chaotic mess hall.

At the entrance, the mass of riot guards was suddenly surging forward like a tide, their bodies unceremoniously being piled into a mound and falling flat on their faces but was pushed forward unwillingly. The riot guards in the middle fare the worse as they're pressed between the bodies. This all culminated into the guards sprawled forward into the mess hall akin to being pushed by a bulldozer like a pile of dominoes.

Körbl came out at the front easily and dusted his hands. The guards weren't dead but they won't be getting into position any time soon. Though the first line must have severe burns as the smell of ash and burnt flesh alongside melted gear.

"Come, we need to go." Körbl gestured with a twist of his neck. The prisoners here would take care of the rest while they head for their exit.

Killing them all would've taken too much time. Körbl huffed inwardly but the fact none of them were strong was the primary reason they're still alive for the moment.

That guard might have been an asshole but damn did he burn beautifully. Eyes lit up with delight and Ameliya turned to look at the incoming guards already in their riot gear. Overhead sirens could be heard as they shrilly called out through the screams and chaos of the prison. A voice overhead could be calling out telling the inmates to return calmly to their cells and Ameliya couldn't help but scoff. Yeah, that wasn't happening...

So Ameliya approached where the others in on the plan had seemed to huddle up and hummed in amusement to herself as she took in the sight of them blocking their exit out of the place. Did they really think that that cheap piece of plastic was going to do anything to stop them?

Thunk!

Feathers made out of ice and sharp as daggers hit the riot shields with force. The guards stood their ground though. Ameliya looked from the ice feathers up to the man-sized bird made of ice now hovering in the cafeteria hall.

"Well, I guess thin pieces of plastic stop some of us," Ameliya said out loud to herself as she rolled her eyes. What had even been the point to that? Someone really needed to show him how it was done.

Within her hands' small baseball-sized orbs of fire grew and now facing the guards and looking at their faces with enjoyment, Ameliya could already see that they were second-guessing their own equipment.

That was about when two things were thrown, a tear gas canister quickly hit near their small group, and then without warning, a fellow inmate was ceremoniously thrown into the line of guards.

Completely ignoring the tear gas as it did nothing but play at her flame edges, Ameliya looked back to the silly iceman that had been getting on her nerves and yelled out, "Really?!"

He was supposed to have the powers of winter or ice or some shit and really the best he could do was throw a person into the guards?! Anyone could have done that. Ameliya had no idea how the hell a guy like him managed up in a place like this. Only 8 kills were suddenly starting to make a lot more sense.

Turning back to the guards, she used her own frustration and blasted out a wave of fire towards the reinforced plastic of the riot shields that the first row of guards had been holding so diligently. It took no time at all for the plastic to start to melt under the heat, and then it attached to the closest surface fusing anything it could touch under the warped synthetic material. This in this case happened to be the armor the guards were wearing and any pieces of skin that hadn't been properly covered.

Hearing the screams of panic and pain, Ameliya smiled as she looked at her work. Feeling a bit better now, she looked back at the ice bird, let's see him beat that.

There were screams, and flashing lights, fights breaking out, death - none of it mattered to Kailani. In that moment her entire focus was on consumption, large body bristling with the freedom of finally being able to be in her true form after being forced into such a small skin for so long. There was so much blood smeared around her slavering mouth, not just the smears one might expect but bloody handprints dragged along the purple carapace and soon licked away by a large tongue. Their screams meant nothing to her. Neither did their deaths.

It was only when she ran out of uniformed guards in the immediate vicinity did the alien turn her attention from the ruined catwalk, the chaos she caused as well as the others vaguely on the edge of her awareness. After all, a dozen bowls of oatmeal were nothing compared to even one full human, let alone a buffet of bodies and metal. Despite the months of near constant starvation, it wasn’t even personal - Kailani merely relished in the feeling of finally being able to consume at her leisure.

Her top priority was keeping it that way.

Many of the humans were avoiding the canisters on the ground that leaked a strange type of air. The Devourer came trotting over, chittering excitedly as she leaned down to nose the tear gas and sniff it. Unpleasant, made her eyes tingle a bit. Down the hatch it went, some of the gas leaking from the corner of her mouth before it fizzled away, ripped to shreds by her biology. Kailani followed along to the next one, the battle between metahuman and guard ignored as she came up by her hallmate, the firefeet Ameliya. The tear gas by her was similarly gulped down, before the alien turned her head to the woman, chittering excitedly.

Oh right, Ameliya couldn’t understand her.

Well, no point pondering how to communicate. Kailani leaned in close and bumped heads before licking the fiery woman’s head, tongue unscathed even if it scorched her carapace just a little. She retreated before it could do actual damage, and admittedly it was a little tempting after so many months to just bite down. Of course, that would be detrimental to the whole escape plan.

Who taught her ‘detrimental’?

It looked like the others in the plan were all having their own fun stretching their powers. It must’ve been like her own form, finally able to fully flex those muscles cramped into a small space. Well, mostly. One man Kai didn’t know the name of was reaching for Julia, or specifically the gun in her hand with a snap of order to give it to him - and then he was snapped in half as Kailani bit down on him instead, his legs staying up for a moment before collapsing without the top half. She swallowed.

He was not part of the plan so she could eat him. Simple. Making a delighted purr at her own logic, Kai stuck out her tongue - already the blood was gone - and licked Julia next. Now where was -

Right, Min-Ji was already being escorted back. She had left. Which was no good, because how was Kailani supposed to fulfill the best friend pact? She’d have to go get her, as promised. Plus, many of the people were trying to push out but weren’t making much progress - she guessed they were hesitant because of the bullets. With a shriek, the large alien finally turned to the double-door entranceway, stalking past Körbl on the way - and taking a moment to lick Abby on the head as well - before scooping up some of the rather impressive pile of guards in her mouth. They crunched, and soon the alien was using her large, tank-like frame to shove through the blockade of shield and bodies into the hallway. People either disappeared into her mouth or were physically shoved to the side, breaking the wall as she began down the hallway back towards her cellblock.

Best. Friend. Pact!

As soon as Kailai began to shove the barricade of riot shields and guards towards the hallway with her usual relish of consumption and destruction, Frostbite swooped on from the overhanging lampshades, screeching in an animalistic manner. A gust of cold wind heralded its approach, wings stretched out on a full spread and a spherical winter storm of collecting around its icy mouth. The Cryophoenix's incoming strike evoked images of dive bombers, its screeching seemingly mimicking the demoralizing whistle of a Stuka dive bomber. That probably didn't do much by itself, as nothing was more terrifying than a giant, tank sized alien monstrosity plowing through one's coworkers as if they were chicken nuggets in a KFC deal bucket.

Still, the screech first came like thunder before the actual lightning, then the freezing began. Frostbite attacked the guards to the left and right of Kailani, blasting them at regular intervals with flashfreeze breaths. One might have thought that there was a dragon spitting out fire, except that it was a phoenix spitting out ice and freezing wind. Several guards died instantly, every bit of warmth of body in their bodies sucked away by the vengeful winter spirit before it peeled away to avoid hitting a wall or some other obstacle. A few were frozen so thoroughly, they broke and shattered into a dozen or so pieces whenever someone exerted a bit of force on them.

Here, though, there was no shortage of force. Frostbite had heard the fire woman being a little exasperated, and so moved accordingly. Even then, it didn't truly like that they are wasting quite the amount of lives in this escape... but such is the price of vengeance, isn't it?

Ghouls are peculiar creatures. With a little knowledge and observation one can surmise they burrow to avoid the sun, because that is where their prey resides, and because that will decrease the chance that they cross paths with living humans. But this has made them at home within the Earth. Ghouls can maneuver this barrier like a fish can maneuver in water. Sure, dirt provides more resistance than air but Ghouls have developed ways to burrow efficiently through instinct and evolution.

Evolution gave them the tools they needed to ‘swim’ through the earth, fine muscle manipulation to easily break up loose dirt, claws and the strength to shatter rocks, minerals, ice, and other such things. There are few things that can stop a Ghoul from burrowing to where they want to go, not even dimensional barriers in the case of the Abyssal Paths.

In addition, their senses are well adapted for digging. Humans might not be able to tell where a corpse was buried, but a Ghoul can sense it from miles away, even when underground. Living things produce a more subtle scent, but they can still smell the worry and urgency of guards running through hallways. Not only that but their sense of touch is perfectly suited for detecting the subtle vibrations in the earth, from one guard lagging behind for example.

The trap has been set. Randolph lies in wait. Listening to the faint echo of boots, feeling the faint rumble of footsteps. Step by step, moment by moment. Getting closer. And closer. Until…

Seven guards were barreling through the hall, worry on their minds, but also a duty. Locked underground with angry superpowered prisoners, the future looked grim but they were also afraid of what would happen if they shirked their duties. Their attention, focused ahead, was disrupted when a scream came from behind. Pameliya is gone, and in her place is a hole.

Pameliya Erse was running with her comrades in arms when the ground disappeared beneath her. She did not have enough time to recognize her new situation before she felt a sudden stop and something applying pressure around her torso. She did get enough time to let out a piercing scream and to decide if it was better to have just plunged to her death.

The other guards, already on edge, slowly approached the man-sized hole in the ground. The darkness barely illuminated by the lights in the hallway or their own flashlights. They exchanged nervous looks amongst each other for a few moments before they heard a scream and a loud crunch. With a little more urgency, they approached the opening and peered down with their flashlights, trying to find the source.
“Pam…you….you okay down there?” One guard said nervously, not seeing anything.

“There’s something down there, something reflective” Another said, noticing something glinting.

“What is that?” A third asked to no one in particular.

Feeling safety in number, and curious of whatever was down there, the guards gathered around the opening, peering down while trying to wrack their minds at what they are seeing.

”Hey guys, need a hand? Randolph said, brandishing a partially devoured human arm. The guards were to distracted to notice him emerge from the ground behind them. The guards turned to see Randolph climbing out of another path he dug when they were not looking. The sight was horrifying.

The Ghoul towered over them wearing nothing to protect himself but an aura of intimidation and fear. His teeth were coated a blood red, as well as a large portion of the front of his body. Strings of flesh dangled from his mouth, trapped in between his dagger like teeth. He bore a devilish smile that betrayed his intentions. ”Actually, I guess I need a hand. Yours.”

The guards had little time to act before Randolph did. The others may have flashier moves with formation of frost or fire. Manipulation of electricity in the air or in electronics. Or something else entirely. But all Randolph had was brute force and a keen intellect. He is willing to suffer the humans while Randolph is still within this prison, even aid them as they have aided him. But the humans in front of him are not part of the plan, and he grew tired of them. He has shown his shrewdness, but now was the time to show his strength.

Randolph tore through flesh and bone like the paper and cardboard of a pinata, rewarded with blood, then screams, then silence, instead of candy. Randolph has been bottling his emotions within him for decades, while normally hidden underneath a guise of calm, he tapped into fury and hatred that was squirrelled away. He focused his rage onto one guard at a time, beating them well past a pulp, ripping them to shreds, before turning his attention onto the next. The humans tried to fight back, but they lacked the tools and courage, only inflicting pain which roused Randolph’s wrath even further.

It only took a few minutes to cake the hallway in blood and viscera. For flesh to be torn and scattered, their remains would need to be scooped off the walls. Only Randolph was left standing, wearing nothing but a fresh coat of blood paint and a few bits of flesh caked in his fur, teeth, and claws. Surrounded by death, Randolph began to calm down. Slowly, he felt the pain increasing in intensity as instinct compelled him to feast and recover from his injuries.

Like a starving wolf, he ferociously tore into what flesh remained, consuming as much as he could to soothe the hunger and dull the pain. Normally a bit of a gourmand, Randolph savors the flavor and memories of the meat. But not this time, he is famished and agitated. He does not care to maintain his usual sophisticated behavior, right now he only cares to feast.

The feast, however, would not last, after devouring what he could he still hungered. But that is fine, he still needs to break out, and there are countless more to feast on. Randolph ventured back into the earth, no reason to stalk the halls when he can be in a more comfortable environment. Burrowing once more, he navigated the ‘outside’ of the structure looking for prey. Perhaps he can rescue one of the others from some guards or other inmates, better for them to be indebted to him than the other way around.

Throughout the halls of the prison screams can be heard from the current riot. Tending to stay out of any confrontation that would ensue he had returned to his cell in which he began his daily mediation. As the noise erupting throughout the halls became louder and much closer it began to affect his ability to remain calm. His door swings open to an out of breath guard. Turning toward the currently meditating male sitting on the ground the guard approached cautiously the guard hadn't seen many inmates like this one calm unaware of the events outside in his mind this would be an easy target to get rid of as he had planned to use the cell as a place to hide until the events calmed down.

After closing the door he grabs a knife from his hip and brings it up swinging downward aimed at the sitting subject's neck. Feeling the air around him move in a rushed feeling he knew in that instant the guard aimed to kill him why he doesn’t know; nor does he care, he simply wished to be left alone to his own devices, but upon this man’s insurrection he acts turning in a blinding speed as the knife misses its target instead cutting the ties that bind the male. As the wrapping fall a sudden gust of wind pushes the guard toward the door the knife launched into the air falls as if being manipulated falls swiftly into the hand of the man now free of his constraints he lunges forward in one swift motion cutting the throat of the guard and pushing him out of the way of the door.

“Damn it”, he says in a low voice at the now lifeless guard.`` Had you just sat there in the corner i would not have had to kill you” looking back at his now mess filled room, “guess i have to find a new meditation spot”. He takes any keys or keycards that he finds on the body and opening the door he walks out taking note of his surrounding a blood trail nearby leading to the sounds of crunching, he instead chooses the opposite path best left to my own devices it be faster he thinks to himself he begins to move. Swiftly and silently he heads towards where he believes his weapon would be the personal property room reading the wind and using the slight changes in the air to detect movement he avoids most detection.

Upon reaching the cafeteria he notices seven people still inside with all the commotion he had assumed it to be empty. Looking for a way to pass discreetly around noticing the knocked out guards that are in the direction he is heading. He instead of hiding decides to step out and introduce himself. “Hello, My name is Hauta mind if I join in on the festivities” in a polite manner with his hands up to show he means to harm.

A gleeful smile spread across Iris's face just in time for Ameliya's fist to connect with it. Lights danced beautifully in her vision as blissful pain caressed her jaw. She staggered, gasping slightly at the influx of energy that surged into her body. It wouldn't last long, but it was enough to get started. She straightened and ran her tongue over her now cut lip, savoring the copper taste as it heralded the fight to come. Then she looked over and saw that Ameliya was glowing. The power dampeners were turned off. She cracked her neck side to side before a manic grin slid into place.

"Heh, shit's about to get good... BRING DA HEAT!"

Iris ran right passed the glowing woman to clock a guard who had been sneaking up behind her with a tazer. Four metallic clicks and one loud thwack later Iris was free of her bonds. Paying no heed to the screams and sounds of rending metal behind her, Iris launched herself at the nearest group of guards. She bobbed and weaved around their weapons to land as many hits on them as possible, steadily building up the energy inside her, before knocking each one out with well placed strikes. Her style was fast and reckless but effective and hard to predict, almost like a dance. She used every part of her body as a weapon and every part of her opponents' as shields or leverage. By the time the riot-geared support showed up all the ground floor guards were all down.

When Iris saw them coming she made her way to regroup when the tear gas hit. Iris took a small breath before running forward and kicking every can she could away from the exit of the cafeteria so they could get through without much exposure. By the time she had turned back to the oncoming wave Korbl was making his way back in towards Abby. Iris moved to join them, giving an idle pat to the giant alien creature that slid passed them and nommed her way down the corridor of bodies.

"You lead the way girl," she said to Abby, "Me and Macho Man will keep da bitches outta yo hair." She then turned to Korbl. "You wanna do a girl a solid? I'll be a lot more useful if I got more juice. Ima need ya ta hit me, big boy, and don't be a pussy about it neither. Just don't go lethal-like, ya feel me?"

The provoking smile on Ameliya's lips was quickly replaced with a mix of caution and curiosity as the large alien-looking creature started to approach her. It was coming up directly to her. Why - why would it did it do that? Was she next on the menu?

Ameliya's body tensed up as she found herself questioning if she would be able to take down such a large beast. Would fire even do anything to that armored-looking shell? She was going to have to take the risk, and readying another fireball within her hand she got ready for the incoming fight.

Instead, she held her hand back for a moment at the confusion at the light chittering sound that was coming from the giant. That... that didn't sound threatening. It even sounded... cute?

The large colorful creature bumped its head lightly against hers and while still in shock and staring up at the creature, Ameliya was given the gift of a giant slobbering lick. Ameliya stood there still for a moment as it seemed her mind tried to fight with exactly what she thought of the strange being. Then with a small laugh under her breath, she came to her conclusion. Dangerous? Yes, Strange? Definitely but yeah also ... kinda cute

It was not the time for that though, focusing back on the matter at the hand and the chaos running around. Ameliya looked back to see the guards had all collapsed in a domino-like pile, as Korbl made his way back to the small group. It also seemed like the big alien-like dog had decided it was time to go through the tunnel. That looked like it was a sign to start moving if there was any.

That was when an ear-shattering screech echoed throughout the cafeteria. Whipping around, Ameliya and there of course was the giant ice bird once again. Really?! That was what he decided was his move after she threw down the challenge? A really loud scream. Her ridiculing stare bore into the ice bird, and as if reading her mind the crystal-like being shot out icicle-like hail down upon the guards. As the guards were frozen to the walls and floor, Ameliya watched in curiosity. Then as the large alien beast smacked and shattered the guards into little meat popsicles, Ameliya had to concede. That was better.

With a small chuckle at the scene in front of her, Ameliya quickly made up her mind and started to run behind the purple-colored behemoth. The chaos was growing by the minute, and all she could think was that she might as well join it and enjoy the moment. After all the more chaos there was, the less likely the guards were going to be able to stop all of them. As she ran past what had once been the riot guard's big stand, Ameliya only half noticed the man standing there. Something about joining festivities?

Ameliya caught up to her newfound leviathan-like friend and jumped up to their tail. Propping herself up onto the scaley tail, she sat there with a wide smile on her face, she couldn't help but laugh at the whole rampageous situation. There only needed to be one more thing to help this chaos along its way. Arms outstretched, Ameliya started to let flames spread from her hands to the walls of the corridor, along with any unlucky guard who had gotten in the way. This was not how she had thought her day was going to go but staring back at the havoc and fire, she was damn happy it had.

Waving over the other few she had seen at lunch, Ameliya only then remembered the stranger and shouted back to him with a wild grin decorating her face, "Only if you keep up!"

Holding on to her grip of the tail, Ameliya laughed loudly as she watched the complete destruction around her. It didn't look like the alien creature needed her help at all, and if Ameliya had placed her bets on the right wager it looked like they would be out of this prison real soon.

It was a little cold, what with the blasts of freezing ice going on all about her, but it certainly stopped the screaming from some of the guards! Plus, the sounds of shattering ice made happy little tinkling noises when they broke under claw or a thumping tail. Yes, Kailani quite liked the ice bird’s powers. The ice and people popsicles were even refreshingly cold on her tongue - though there was a smattering of said ice along her right side from a blast that got a bit too close. Not that it particularly slowed the giant alien.

Bzzzt!

Now that hurt! Kailani jerked around like a startled cat, in an instant crushing the stun baton and person using it in her jaws. She shook her head to make sure they tore apart, flashes of light coming from inside her mouth - but sadly, though the electrictricity burned along her somewhat softer underbelly, the inside of her mouth was wholly immune to the effect.

”All personnel fall back to cell blocks and choke points!”

Choke points sounded delicious!

What remained of the forward force of guards began to retreat, the flashing muzzles of their guns heralding it. For a moment Kailani considered following them to the elevators they were obviously heading toward, but as she pondered how delectable they’d be - with salivating glands and bullets pinging off her carapace - she finally decided against it. She had a pact to fulfill.

Was her tail on fire?

Twisting in the too-small corridor to look over her shoulder, Kailani broke out into a new waterfall of chittering seeing the fiery female perched on the end. Her six smaller back legs clicked against the tile beneath them excitedly, crushing remains of ice and splattering little bits of blood. Her hallway friend was coming along back to the cells!

And there was a very strange man introducing himself!

For a moment, the insatiable alien pondered eating the inmate as she had done to others earlier who hadn’t been part of the plan. After all, there was no muzzle to stop her. What would stop her?

"Only if you keep up!"

… Well, fine. If he was invited by Ame. Kailani stuck her tongue out further and licked the man in recognition before turning forward once more. A few more frozen guards shattered beneath her as she moved down the hall, those too slow to escape the minty bird.

There was panic in the air as Kailani approached the intersection that split between her cell block and the access towards the elevators. It was much darker than usual, only the backup lights every few feet keeping things remotely visible. Well, that and the flaming woman on her tail. Down the right the remaining guards in the forward force were trying to get the mag lock working and seemed to be resorting to a manual unlock, knowing the tidal wave of violence soon coming directly for them.

Surprisingly, the Devourer did not turn to become the spearhead in that attack. Actually, she turned the complete opposite way and began to happily clamber back towards her cell. Well, not hers specifically, but that cell block. In fact, she went right passed her cell at a cheerful trot, carrying her passenger along.

It was brighter here, probably because of the glowing cell located halfway through the block. Light flooded from it, illuminating the two guards stationed outside. It was more surprising that they weren’t already dead to be honest, but - squealch.

Kailani lifted her large front claw, sniffing at the wet goop she stepped in. Following the natural course of action, she then stuck her tongue out and licked it. Very watery. What was this? Actually, why were there bodies around the hallway, twitching and spasming? If she squinted in the dark, she could almost make out the slightly smoking form of some others she had seen chained.

“Return to your cells immediately!”

… It wasn’t the guards who did this, was it? Kailani’s jaw clicked thoughtfully as she eyed the two rubber suited men, her plated body almost bristling warily. They were poised in front of the glowing cell, guns raised and ready to fire. If they were strong enough to take down all these people, then perhaps she should be wary?

Cautiously, she took a step forward. Cautiously, the two guards immediately began to fire.

Oh, these were just regular bullets. Giving one last puzzled look to the form beneath her, Kailani gave a little mental shrug and began to trot forward once more. The bullets rebounded harmlessly off her, the alien’s considerable bulk a protective shield. Surprisingly, the men did not retreat as she came closer but held their ground.

“Arc Dragon!”

That perked her up immediately, and with a delighted little shriek Kailani - well, she didn’t eat them surprisingly. Her body slammed into the two, one screaming as she carelessly set one claw on his leg, her weight crushing the bones. The other scrambled for his weapon but she had no eyes for them. Instead her other large claw came up, slamming into the silica door. It shuddered and warped under the assault, and the bend was all Kailani needed to get her teeth in it and yank the entire door off its hinges and swallow.

”Min-Ji!” Kailani crowed - completely unrecognizable as words considering the name was said in chitters - as she attempted to jam herself into the cell, succeeding only in getting part of her head in. Her back legs scrambled against the ground as she tried to get in further, but was just too large. She began eating the doorway. It was only natural.

As soon as Kailani went towards the direction of the cell blocks that held Arc Dragon and the rest of their still imprisoned conspirators, Frostbite jumped off from the massive alien's back. He stepped down into a floor that was absolutely filled with pools of blood and pieces of gore; remnants of the guards and perhaps a few unlucky inmates that were standing in the way of the tank sized monstrosity's delighted rampage. Of course, Frostbite didn't like the floor this way. It was messy, chaotic, and slippery; a far cry from the highly organized nature of Alfred's mind, which naturally detested it when the environment was just out of order. But this was a prison escape. An escape from one of the most secure facilities in this side of the world, no less, so it would take much more chaos and destruction to actually get up there and see the sky once again...

Frostbite flapped its wings, sending another barrage of ice spikes towards the cavalcade of retreating guards that were currently pulling back towards the elevators. Some got stabbed by incoming projectiles, others were luckily behind riot shields that dented the attack, and others still held their ground and opened fire.

It did little, of course, though Frostbite felt his form slowly getting chipped away by the incoming bullets. He was less durable than Kailaniz tough he felt no pain, a side effect of having no biological nervous system to begin with once transformed into that state. And so he decided to fly forward and breathed out conical blasts of freezing wind, aiming to clear the way to the elevator for the rest of them once Min-Ji and the others had been freed from their internment.

@Eviledd1984 @TheRedWatcher @twave @Blazion @Silver Carrot @Perse @KaelRavenheart

Körbl Meier

"Well, don't regret it." Körbl said before slamming his foot directly into Iris chest without any hesitation. @Klumsykrow357

The impact alone was enough to stop a car moving a 60 km/s dead in its tracks, and all of that was sent straight into her.

Körbl felt that was enough, it wasn't lethal enough to drop most of the lesser strength heroes and incapacitate the normal ones. If she lived, fine, if she didn't, well, it's not his problem.

That done, Körbl turned and looked at the remaining preceeding as some of them are splitting to get more prisoners free while the elevator area remained clear.

Körbl turned to Abigail, and tilted his head to where Kailani and some of the prisoners are heading towards. "You want to wait for them or do we assist them? We don't have much time though having more firepower helps."

It was the same to Körbl anyways, it'll be a tight frame but so long they don't put too much pressure, the elevators will keep running to send more guards down. The moment they reached the elevators however, it'll be placed under control or locked down but at that point, they can probably afford to dig upwards with the monster alien before worrying about being lunch.

Julia Kray

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@Blazion

The tear gas that had filled the cafeteria had a severe effect on Julia, who was essentially a civilian. She had retreated to underneath one of the tables, and was a hacking, coughing mess, rubbing at and trying to shield her streaming, stinging eyes. She couldn't 'tough this out'. This was an awful experience. This whole thing had been a mistake. She couldn't perform a breakout! She wasn't cut from the same cloth as all these hardened criminals around her, who could go toe-to-toe with superpowered vigilantes. Tear gas was nothing to them. She had been a fool for thinking there was anything she could have done to help them, as opposed to them needing to baby her if she hid behind them all the way up.

The gas was suddenly starting to clear, and Julia suddenly found it easier to breathe, and to see. She tentatively barely opened one eye, to see that Kai, in her true monstrous form, was eating the smoking canisters. The creature then approached her and licked her face. Julia have her weak, still-pained yet warm smile, and patted her on the shoulder in gratitude, not yet recovered enough for a verbal thanks but hoping her sentiment was carried across.

As she stayed seated underneath the table, waiting for the air to clear and her face to recover, she could hear the sounds of combat moving from the cafeteria to the corridor and the prison cells. There was much more gunfire and screaming than before, and Julia was absolutely not going to go and become a liability, or collateral, but getting involved in that chaos, especially not without her full faculties.

"Hey! Is anyone in here?" shouted a male voice, as a pair of guards were searching through the mist of the tear gas. Julia got to her feet, and raised her hand to peer through the haze to see them, and they saw her. They approached, with guns aimed at her.

"Don't move! Identify yourself!"

"Julia Kray! Don't shoot me, I was just eating my lunch."

"Kray? Put your hands up! Let me see your gloves!"

The guards would then see her comply, raising both her hands to show that she was still wearing her gloves. They seemed to relax a little as they now comfortably approached her. The closest one took both her hands and reached for his manual metal cuffs.

"Alright. We'll get you back to your cell nice and easy now."

Back to her cell. They were going to take her back to her cell. While the rest escaped, she alone would remain a captive. Alone. Not even a hope of any human company, let alone friends. Nobody but the guards. She couldn't do that! She won't! But the moment that guard cuffs her, it's all over!

Even Julia was startled by the gunshot.

Before she'd truly managed to register what she was doing, she had taken the handgun from where she had tucked it in her waistline, and she had shot the guard in the stomach. He was backing up, still stunned. The other guard reached for his own gun. Julia whipped round and fired three bullets into his upper chest, killing him. The first guard was reaching for his own weapon. She shot him in the head.

She couldn't believe she'd just killed them. She felt sick. But she forced herself not to dwell on it. She had truly crossed the line now. If she stopped, or let her adrenaline wear off and succumb to the mental collapse, she would get shot. She had to keep moving forward. Smoking gun still in hand, she ran towards the cells, and beyond them, the elevators.

Hemlock may have control of devices on the network, but Min-Ji had a finger on the pulse. Critical functions relied on stable power. Entire states go down when the delicate balance is disrupted. She of course had to be careful. In a space this deep underground fresh air had to be pumped and circulated down else it would become a tomb after all. First she remained and drew in power to charge herself for her inevitable departure. There was no telling what they would come to face on the surface. Wary of drawing too much she stopped before overloading. She then sent pulses back out to put some of the other power generation out of phase. Not everything, but enough would be down that the facility would be running on emergency power for the next hour or more as the workers scrambled to bring everything back online. Anything they might need she could power herself.

Breaking away she sparked and crackled with energy. It had been years since she'd felt the full rush of lightning coursing through her veins. Arc Dragon was back. The cries of the two guards drew her attention as the door of her cell was ripped away and consumed. This was the first time she'd seen this creature. Was it friend or foe? Chittering and scrambling it fought to get into the cell which really wasn't large enough for such a monster. Lifting a hand she let out a shockwave that ran briefly though Kailani. Tilting her head to one side the makeup of the creature felt familiar. "Kailani? A few steps closer and a lick to the face later confirmed that, at least, the beast did not mean her harm. "We must rejoin the others." She ignored the two guards, even they knew that what they had on them wouldn't save them at this point, nevermind the all consuming alien.

Between Kailani's brute force, tough exterior, and supreme nommage coupled with Min-Ji's raw power output, nothing really stood in their way back to the cafeteria to group back up. The crack of thunder filled the space as the Asian woman clapped her hands and separated them. No light came of it, but an invisible bolt of dark lightning brimming with gamma radiation was directed and struck Abby. Producing such was no small feat, but Min-Ji could leach off other devices in the interim. Finding a "safe" source of radiation otherwise would be too costly for time and worth the sacrifice if it got them moving quicker.

Burrowing through the walls like this was dirty, grimy work, a task Marina was all too happy to leave to Randolph as she basked in her triumphant return.

Keeping pace behind Randolph, claws digging into the earthen walls, she twisted her head left and right, rediscovering her old senses again. She could pick up the distant shouting and sounds of battle, taste the pungent scent of nitrite and blood in the air even in this dank tunnel as rioters tore through the asylum. Like a long fever that finally broke, Argent was waking up again; her strength and size were enough to tell her that of course, but the small trifles, the little details and peculiarities of her transformation? It made this victory especially sweet.

Turning the corner, Marina suddenly stopped, sensing something in the walls beyond. A scent, inhuman, but familiar, paired with the thrashing sounds of a gaping maw devouring all in its path.

"Kailani..." Marina muttered in a low growl, grinning wickedly. "What fun." Sniffing the air again, she pressed closer against the dirt, detecting the subtle evidence of her erstwhile allies. The sound of flesh icing over had to be Gunther. The taste of burning plastic and cloth on the air, clearly the work of Ameliya. And that subtle electrical spark, too erratic to be a taser or other power source...who else but Min-Ji?

Then she heard something else, footsteps too rhythmic to be a deranged riotous mob or a panicked response. Three of them, the weight indicating heavy body armor, accompanied by the heavy clack of a large weapon being prepared. Marina frowned slightly, thinking they must be specialized riot troops, like the kind assigned to guard her and gun her down with armor-piercing rounds at the hint of an escape attempt. Not the kind of mook to be dealt with lightly, they were highly trained, and highly cocky. Thinking of the taunting and threats of death she endured at their hands, she curled her claws into fists, feeling the blood rising.

"I'll be...a moment. Our friends need assistance."

---

Barrelling through the hallways, the heavily armed response team turned the corner, coming face to face with the elevators and the villains gathered there.

"Contact!" one of them shouted. "Orders sir?"

"We're in Alpha Red priority situation, aim to kill!"

The three raised their rifles, loaded with ammunition that could pierce body armor, and took aim. Then a split second before pulling the trigger, one of them glanced towards the nearby vent, certain he saw something yellow in the vent.

Then with a terrifying roar, Marina burst through the wall, claws and teeth bared in a terrifying display of power. The poor guard screamed and swung his rifle around before Marina launched him down the corridor with a bone-crunching swipe of her arm.

"Fucking kill it!" the leader fruitlessly cried before Marina's claws lashed out, slicing his weapon in two and knocking him aside. She turned sharply to her erstwhile allies, grinning as she wondered if they would recognize her.

The moment was lost as the third guard capitalized on the hesitation by opening fire, the downed leader joining in with his sidearm. Marina roared as the shots punched through her skin.

"That....HURT!!!"

Snarling and raging, Marina drew herself back and roared, visibly grew taller and more muscular as her flesh stretched and the threads in her stolen jacket started to rupture. Barreling forward, she grabbed the leader by the head and flung him behind her towards the group before rounding on the last one standing and slamming him against the wall, the impact cracking his ribs. Watching her victim scream in terror and pain, she drew closer, teeth bared and ready to kill, but suddenly drew back.

"You're...Andrew," she growled. "The student."

The guard, eyes widening in terror, frantically nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm s-studying history, remember? W-we talked about...Duh-duh-diocletian, and the t-tetrarchy! Oh god, please don't eat me!"

Marina let out a low-pitched laugh. She did remember their conversations, one of her more pleasant experiences. "You were...quite an engaging debater. I remember I conceded to you on several of your points." To Andrew the guard's shock, Marina relinquished her grip and let him drop to the floor. "I couldn't bear to see such promise go to waste here. Take your leave." Pale as a sheet and wondering if this was some sort of trap, Andrew nodded frantically and limped away, vanishing into the innards of the Asylum again. Marina turned back to the group with a wry grin, the bloody holes in her chest already starting to knit.

"I hope my arrival was...timely."

The Ghoul stalked the facility, a gruesome sight to behold. Randolph was wrapped up in a frenzy, brought on by the orgy of death, recognizable by form only. Visually, the only thing different was his gait and mannerisms, mentally, it was so much more. He adopted a stance much lower to the ground, sometimes traveling on two legs and sometimes on four. His mouth was constantly open, slavering and letting his tongue loll while he was not feeding. His sophisticated speech was abandoned in favor of guttural vocals. If one thought Randolph to almost be a man earlier, now they would think him more beast.

Randolph’s critical mind was overtaken by instinct. Nature. Hints of the true state of Ghouls. No longer concerned with escaping, Randolph’s thoughts were occupied by the buffet that inhabits this metal cave. Sure, the meat was not yet ripe, but there was something to the taste of the freshly slain that he can’t find in centuries aged corpses, fear provided a unique flavoring. Something he has not tasted in a while, and something within him urged for more. There was a dark warmth to it, like coming home after an eternity away. What is a Ghoul but an amalgam of beast and man? Often more man than beast, but sometimes it is the other way around.

Though Ghouls parasitize off of man and his civilization, sometimes nature urges them to return to primitivism. The prison has prevented Randolph from indulging in this side of himself for so long, he was hardly able to resist, not that he wanted to. It was a calling that echoed in his soul.

It has been a long time since death has graced his senses on such a scale, an orgy of death that called to his primal instincts, the animalistic side of him. Like a desert wanderer finding an oasis, he was compelled to quench a bloodthirst. He did not see people, just victims. No faces, just food. Driven to kill anything that did not bear the aroma of death. If it did not smell like death, it did not smell like a Ghoul, it did not smell like a friend. And nothing smelled like a friend here, which meant everyone was liable to be sustenance. Starting with those that attracted his attention with their threatening gestures, their attempts to stop him, then ending with the ones that were paralyzed with fear or ran away. He attacked relentlessly till they smelled of death, they smelled like food. Then when all was dead, he devoured to sustain his hunt for more.

No one was spared, no matter the colors they wore, the gestures they made, or the things they said, Randolph made no distinction. A dark path was left behind by the ambassador of sorrow and decay as he was guided by his senses to kill. Stalk, burrow, hide, ambush, kill, feast, repeat. From room to room, corridor to corridor, he would turn this prison into a mausoleum. He suffered injuries, but blood for blood, he would heal. With nature and pain whipping him into action, there was little room for thinking, for reasoning.

Randolph felt something resonating through the ground, something huge. Which means huge guts, a huge feast. A new quarry leads him in a new direction, traveling through the Earth Randolph could feel more instigations throughout the facility, providing a sort of heatmap of activity. But none gave as much luster as his mark, something moving with such force, it felt like a challenge.

Burrowing closer, Randolph could detect two creatures, a human and something else. Something much bigger than himself, but Randolph was not thinking clearly, he was pretty sure he could take whatever it was on. Randolph quickly emerged from below, collapsing the floor to make his entrance. Observers would first see the ground give way before the scent hit them. A concentration of blood viscera and bile that would make anyone thankful that the outsides smell a hell of a lot better than the insides. Once the ground opened large enough, Randolph would leap through like a dolphin breaching the surface of water, covered entirely in crimson with a few specks of dirt, debris, and chunks of flesh. Randolph has been eating messily, and he has been very busy. On some level, Randolph recognized Min-Ji, but he was more focused on the chitinous thing in front of him. He was prepared to announce his intentions, though not like anyone would be able to interpret his growls, when he caught a whiff of the creature’s scent.

In confusion, Randolph dropped his aggressive stance, standing on his legs rather than crawling on all fours, and stopped growling and baring his teeth. He took a step to catch the scent again, it smelled pleasant. It smelled of death. It smelled of…. ”…Vrthk?” Randolph said confused. He meant to say ‘friend’ but forgot to switch to English from Ghoul. Randolph realized this strange creature must be Kailani, free from her human form. ”You…you smell nicer.” Randolph said weakly, his senses returning as the pain he was feeling intensified.

Randolph started coughing, feeling something lodged in his throat. After a few seconds of violent coughing, he hacked up parts of a gun, something he must’ve accidentally bit into in the last encounter a few minutes ago. Looking down, he was surprised of how much human he got on himself and wondered how much of that blood was his. ”Think I got too carried away, that is too much iron for my diet.” Randolph joked, trying to sdownplay his injuries through humor. ”I just… I need to… to rest for a minute.” Randolph said, before collapsing, feeling safe. He just needed a little time to rest and let his body heal before moving on. Hopefully without going so feral again. With his vision fading, he felt himself being lifted off the ground by Kailani, with much chittering and a healthy licking. ’is she…giving me a bath?’ Randolph thought, before darkness surrounded his vision. His body relaxed as the void embraced him, drifting into a dreamless sleep. There was nothing waiting for him.

Amused to hear the chittering sounds come from the large creature that Ameliya had stolen a ride on, she couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't met many excitable and happy inmates like this one, and in the back of her mind, Ameliya started to put two and two together. Not completely sure of the connection, but starting to make some more sense. Either way, she was happy to have found such a powerhouse. Getting out of this place was looking a lot more -

Wait!

"Where are you going?!" Ameliya called out in exasperation as her ride suddenly veered away from the elevator and back towards the cells that she had no intention of ever seeing again.

Shaking her head, Ameliya started to question why she put so much faith in the behemoth just because of some cute moments. Jumping off the tail, she walked around to look at what the giant creature was trying to do. Its head shoved into the too-small doorway as it crowed and chittered sounds too alien for her to understand. Ameliya raised an eyebrow at the sight as it started to gnaw on the metal. What are you trying to do? Is that your cell? Did you forget something?

"This isn't the time for this," Ameliya started to state in hope that she could get this tank back on track.

Oh. It was the girl, the really quiet one from the cafeteria. It looked like her guess on who this creature was, was getting more viable by the moment. "Come on, we got to leave now," Ameliya emphasized with a small tug on Kailani's tail. She didn't want to face all the guards by herself, but she would if she had to.

Thankfully there had been no argument, and a moment later they were back near the elevators. It was so close, Ameliya could almost taste the fresh air. There was no point in getting excited about it though, not till they were really out. Till they were far away and they were never going to be taken back again.

... She had thought last time she had that thought, it would have been the last time. In no way did she ever think she would be in a similar situation again. Locked down and kept prisoner. No! It was not time for that!

Maybe it was because the guard's team knew what they were doing, or maybe it was because Ameliya had been caught up in her own thoughts as she ran to the elevator. Either way, all she knew was she was suddenly face to face with some heavy artillery.

Well shit... Ameliya thought as she started to get ready to throw out some flames. Then she stopped. A large roar reverberated through the tunnels, and Ameliya stared as a giant werewolf-looking beast came flying out of the nearest vent.

Standing still, Ameliya watched in wonder at the carnage and blood spray. It seemed the weapons had nothing on those creatures' claws. In the back of her mind, she questioned if the newcomer was a friend or foe but her eyes watched with too much fascination to really make a determination.

When the wolf, the woman, the wolf woman turned around to look at them and the bloody holes in her chest started to heal by themselves. Ameliya couldn't help but smile impressed at the woman in front of her. It looked like she was going to be a friend.

"Perfectly timed," Ameliya stated as she curiously watched the woman's muscle and skin start to knit back together. So this is what it must be like on the other side. "We gotta move though."

Ameliya could be fascinated all she wanted when she was the hell away from this place.

What in Lucifer's name is that?!

The bloody monster creature had climbed right out of the ground and oh god the stench. Ok, she had accepted a lot from her fellow inmates but this guy was going to be an exception. He did not look like he had found them to join the escape. If anything from all the gore sprayed across his skin, Ameliya could guess that his plan was for them to be his next meal.

Putting out her hand, Ameliya moved it in a circle-like motion creating a wheel of flames that sat in the air, facing a new threat, and just waiting for the next aggressive movement. Though instead, this weird thing just said someone smelled nice, well nicer.

annnd he was out

The flames went out, as Ameliya stared in disbelief. Kailani seemed to think differently from her though, and before she knew it the behemoth creature had the ..thing in her mouth like a dog that had found a new chew toy.

Well, I guess it's coming with us too...

She did not have the time nor the energy to argue with the truck-sized creature. Looking around at the group only a few meters away from the elevator, Ameliya took a moment and questioned the ragtag crew she had found herself with.

A giant behemoth, a bloody monster, a werewolf, electric quiet kid, and there behind her she could see Mr.Frosty, Abby, Mr.fight me, Iris, and even that random guy she had invited catching up. For a moment Ameliya questioned where her demon friend and the blind guy had disappeared to but she quickly pushed the thought away. Rue was plenty strong, she would be fine.

They were sure a weird collection but fuck it, as long as it meant she got out of here. Ameliya strode towards the elevators, ignoring the blood sprayed path and frost. It was time to say goodbye to this place.