damned_institute | NIGHT 64: MEDICAL WING HALL

Bemused, Wild Tiger followed the path of her finger and everything seemed to move through molasses. Something appeared behind Barnaby, but the damage had already been done before any of them could realize it. His partner fell like a discarded doll, and the older man just had enough sense not to lunge forward and seek revenge.

His responsibility was to the civilians first and foremost and his anger would not control him. Barnaby was in control of the situation for now, so it was up to him to back the blond up once the woman was secure.

"Ma'am," he said calmly, blocking her view of the violence in front of her so she would turn her undivided attention to him. "We need to find you somewhere safe! Come with me!" The former Hero didn't ask her, he told her and moved to grab her by the arm.

The woman flinched back as Kotetsu moved, then simply turned and ran as he made to grab her arm. She ran down the hallway, weaving unsteadily, screaming as she went.

Loki watched this all, amused. Idly, he pulled another dagger and sent it skating at Barnaby, though his attention was no more on the uninjured party, whom he intended to follow.

Barnaby could only watch as the woman fled from Kotetsu, screaming as she tried to distance herself from him. Why was she running? And deeper into the medical wing, even? The X-Ray room was likely down that way, and if it was as dangerous or gruesome as she implied, it didn't make sense for her to run toward it. Actually, most people would be trying to bolt for the exit, which was where he'd assumed she'd been heading in the first place.

Something was wrong. The NEXT they were dealing with clearly had the power to create illusions of some kind, but it was impossible to know the scope of this person's abilities. For all they knew, the woman had been tricked into running that way. Or maybe they were the ones being deceived.

Either way, with his injuries, Barnaby was having a hard time assuming control of the situation. "Tiger!" he called. "Be careful, she--!"

His flashlight caught the gleam of a knife headed straight toward him, and Barnaby quickly rolled out of the way. Grunting, he did his best to minimize the damage to his thighs, but he hadn't had much time to move. Thankfully, he managed to avoid taking another injury, and he quickly reached out to take the knife so it wouldn't be used against them again.

After his fingers wrapped around the hilt, he drew in a sharp breath through his nose and forced himself to stand on slightly trembling legs. With his weakened Hundred Power blazing, he still had some energy left, but Barnaby couldn't afford to waste anymore time. His ability wouldn't last forever, and if he and Kotetsu became separated, things might end badly for them and possibly the civilian they were trying to help.

With a spurt of blood from his wounds, Barnaby bolted ahead, getting an odd rush from both the pain and the need to watch his partner's back.

"No, don't--D'ah!" She ran away from him! She actually ran back into danger! How was--How had she survived this long with such terrible instincts? Well, foolish or not, Wild Tiger was not losing a civilian on his watch! He moved to follow her when Barnaby shouted back at him, but it didn't last long. It was a strange reason to become distracted just to tell him to be cautious.

"I'm always careful!" He shouted back before sprinting off after the hysterical lady. "Ma'am! You need to stop running! You'll get hurt! I'm trying to help you!" This was so much easier when people knew who he was--Well, when they knew who Barnaby was. Civilians still ran from him occasionally, his destructive reputation always preceding him.

Loki knew when the mortal had dared to pick up the dagger; it was his in fundamental ways of blood and magic, eager to come to his hand when called. He grinned to himself, slipping past Kotetsu to catch up with his own illusion, slipping into it.

He lead Kotetsu farther down into the hall before pretending to stumble and catch himself against the wall. One hand hidden, he summoned another dagger.

The image of the woman turned toward Kotetsu, eyes wide and frightened. That image shattered away the moment Kotetsu touched her, revealing Loki, who grinned, slashing up with the dagger in his hand.

With his other hand he gestured, calling the dagger that Barnaby had picked up.

Always careful? Yeah, right. But now wasn't the time for snarky comebacks. Barnaby barely had time to register the "woman's" sudden change before the knife began to take on a life of its own. Even with his amplified strength, the blade stubbornly tried to wiggle from his grasp -- and straight toward Kotetsu's struggle with the mysterious NEXT.

With a spike of panic, Barnaby made the split-second decision to drop his light so he could use both hands to try to reign in the knife. But that still wasn't enough, and he felt himself fly forward along with the enchanted knife until it was ripped from his hands.

"Look out!"

Wild Tiger didn't even have time to curse before he realized what was going on. His partner had been trying to warn him and he hadn't gotten it. Well he certainly got it now! Immediately, he activated his Hundred Power, illuminating the dark hallway in a blue aura.

He had precious little time to dodge anything, but at least with his powers activated, the former Hero could certainly impede its depth. The blade caught him across his chest and up his left shoulder as he tried to veer out of its path. It was blind luck that the second one only grazed his side in the process. What in the hell was happening? Who kept throwing all these a knives at him?!

"Why you--!" Gritting his teeth against the keen pain, Wild Tiger brought his right hand back and tried to clock the NEXT with his superhuman strength and speed.

Loki caught the knife, slightly impressed the mortal had managed to dodge it--

At which point Kotetsu's fist caught him full in the face.

It was a blow that would have done terrible damage to a mortal. As it was, Loki went reeling back, dazed for a moment. He caught himself on the wall, giving his head a sharp shake. Bemused, he licked his lip, registering the taste of blood, the dull ache of his jaw.

The whole thing was startling enough that for one moment, his words weren't as measured as they could have been. "The mortal's got a nasty little bite," he remarked, grinning again, his teeth showing a sheen of red. Not wanting a repeat of that rather impressive punch, Loki quickly split off six copies of himself, mixing with them to confuse his two opponents.

He sent another knife slashing through the air at Barnaby.

So the NEXT did retain a solid form. The trick was cutting through the illusions until they reached the source of their problems. Unfortunately, Barnaby didn't think time was on their side. They needed to remove themselves from this situation as quickly as possible. And though he was loathe to consider the possibility of a retreat, he knew he wouldn't be of any use to anyone if he ended up choking in a pool of his own blood.

Still, it wasn't as though they had decided to investigate the X-Ray room on a whim. They were both ill, and they needed to do whatever was necessary to get to the bottom of it.

Now that he knew knives could inexplicably fly through the air, Barnaby made sure to stay alert -- or, at least, as alert as his Hundred Power would allow under the circumstances. When the gleam of another blade caught his eye, Barnaby twisted his body enough to sustain a glancing blow to the shoulder. The leather of his jacket split open, and fresh blood trickled from his wound.

He could mourn his clothing later, though. Barnaby snatched his flashlight from the floor and angled his back toward Kotetsu's in order to reduce any blind spots. The linoleum beneath his feet was starting to become slick with his own blood, which was another reason why they couldn't prolong this any longer than necessary. Aside from trying to charge ahead, though, what else could they do?

Either way, he knew what they couldn't do, and he hoped Kotetsu realized it as well.

A tingle of exhilaration coursed through his body when he felt the impact. Thankfully, he had his NEXT powers or else he would have crushed his hand on the man's inhumanly sturdy face. It still hurt like hell despite it all, but there was no time to bemoan. His partner was running on seconds by this point and it was about the only thing keeping the blond lucid.

But this damn NEXT wasn't playing fair! When several copies of the bastard appeared, Wild Tiger couldn't think of any better strategy than crushing them. The former Hero went for the closest first and with a heavy punch, the image faded like smoke. "Augh, I don't have time for this!" If he had to carve his way to Barnaby's side, he would!

Several more illusions popped up as Kotetsu shattered one. The one closest to Kotetsu said, "Funny you should say that, since I seem to have all the time in the world." He favored Kotetsu with a broad grin.

With his opponents confused, Loki rendered himself completely invisible again, moving back and looking for another opening on Barnaby. If these mortals wanted to hang about and waste their time playing with illusions, he was more than happy to oblige while he got himself into position for another disabling shot.

He called back the knife he'd just thrown at Barnaby, replacing himself with an illusion in the brief instant he appeared, and kept moving. He didn't want to get punched like that again. Really, he'd have to find out later what particular bit of magic these mortals were using to make them stronger than normal, since they certainly seemed human in other respects.

Further down the hall, something roared.

The ability to withstand heavy punches, to call objects to him on a whim, and to create multiple illusions at once -- Barnaby realized by now they were no longer dealing with an ordinary NEXT. Most only had one power at their disposal, though there were exceptionally rare cases of someone with two. Three was simply unheard of.

Of course, he couldn't discount the possibility that he'd downplayed his injuries by deceiving their eyes again. Those knives flying through the air were definitely real, though. His legs and jacket could attest to that.

In any case, Barnaby knew they shouldn't bother trying to defeat this person. As much as he wanted to know more about why they were doing this, they didn't exactly have time to question him, either. Besides, there was no guarantee they could even trust what he told them.

Although Barnaby didn't bother wasting his strength on pummeling illusions, he did begin to make his way closer to where Kotetsu was trying to give the look-alikes a beating, keeping his back angled toward his partner as he did so. It was only a matter of time before his abilities faded, and he didn't want to leave himself completely defenseless when that happened. He suspected Kotetsu was of the same mindset, and so they worked to properly reunite in order to make a more efficient escape.

Unfortunately, the situation grew that much more complicated the moment he heard a roar echo down the hallway. Had patients already started transforming into monsters, or was this yet another illusion? Either way, Barnaby resisted the urge to whip his head toward the source, instead focusing on the immediate threat.

But before he could fully register what was happening, his energy dried up along with the blue glow that had just been emitting from his body. As his eyes returned to their normal shade of green, the room began to spin, and Barnaby collapsed on the floor like a broken toy.

Edited 2012-07-14 20:32 (UTC)

The NEXT's smile made his blood boil. The bastard was mocking them--Mocking him! If Wild Tiger had the time, he'd teach that smarmy criminal a thing or two! That was the problem, damn it all! Neither of them could waste another moment on this trickster. His illusions continued to plague the older man, but he barged past them in a flurry of blue, focused solely on the man behind them all.

Despite their unspoken plan, his partner collapsed before he got to him and his heart seized at the sight. "Bunny!" The former Hero almost lost his own footing when he stepped in the smear of fresh blood pooling on the linoleum between him and the blond. "Hold on!" With a quick tug, Wild Tiger picked up his partner with the ease of a super human.

He turned slowly, not wanting to slip and skull either of them on the tile, and faced his enemy in all of his incarnations. His quiet fury burned blue in its intensity, ratcheting higher and higher as he concentrated his power for one final push.

Loki observed Barnaby's collapse dispassionately, mentally noting that the mortal's power seemed to have a very limited duration - no doubt far more limited in these circumstances than it would be normally - and seemed to be followed by collapse.

Well, that wasn't quite certain. The blood loss might have something to do with it as well. And he was pleased that he'd incapacitated one of the fools, ultimately. After all, play was play and work was work, and while he might mix the two when possible he still needed to remember his primary purpose.

Loki lazily summoned his knife back, catching it easily and continuing to move, throwing off a few more illusions so he couldn't be pinpointed. He focused on Kotetsu, intent on disabling him as well, and then--

...Bunny?

Bunny???

Loki was only a god, in the end, and one with a legendarily bizarre sense of humor. Something like that struck just the right note with him.

"Bunny?" Several of the illusions sputtered, dissolving into giggles. And then they all began to laugh, reeling out along the hall, many of them leaning against the wall as they tried to catch their collective breath. Among them was the real Loki.

The illusion nearest Kotetsu snickered out, "Should I call you kitten perhaps?" before dissolving into gales of near hysterical laughter.

Bunny? Bunny? Really? How was he supposed to take this at all seriously?

Peals of laughter echoed through the hallway, but Barnaby was too stunned from the sudden loss of strength to get properly indignant. Instead, the identical voices ringing at them from various points of the area only seemed to press down on him, disorienting him more.

Bunny? some of them said in unison, as if he hadn't heard the first time. Hilarious.

He opened his mouth to deliver some kind of biting remark, but ultimately it was too much effort. Between his symptoms, the weakness he experienced here every time his powers ran out, and the blood loss, he felt like he'd been hit by a truck. Instead, his breathing started to become labored as his body tried to compensate for the sudden physical trauma he'd sustained.

Barnaby just wanted out of here. Under different circumstances, he might have worried that Kotetsu would take the bait, but he knew the man could keep his priorities straight when it mattered. He closed his unfocused eyes and did his best to leave his life in his partner's hands.

Edited 2012-07-15 17:26 (UTC)

Oh, this guy was really pissing him off! At least it fueled his furious determination if nothing else, but he couldn't let this man off the hook after that last damn zinger! He pointed straight at the illusion blocking his path toward the other doors down the hallway, one of which had to be the X-Ray Room.

"The name's Wild Tiger, and this isn't over! Not by a long shot!" Oh no, this was personal now! The older man had everything to prove and he would rub this bastard's face in it! But not tonight, unfortunately.

His partner's shift in weight signaled a drop in vitality to Tiger rather than a show of confidence in him. Holding him tighter, the older man finally unleashed the last minute of his power. His long legs pushed off the tile and the force left him literally gliding through the air, straight through anything that tried to block his goal.

"Outta my way!" he roared, bracing his shoulder to absorb the collateral damage.

He really, really ought to do something about the... the... wild...tiger...

Pfffffffffft.

"Kitten," Loki snickered. "Oh kitten. You are adorable, the both of you."

Kotetsu barreled through an illusion, meeting no resistance at all. Behind, Loki tried to get himself back on track, since this was supposed to be urgent - always so impatient, mortals, rushing around - but he'd already been working quite hard and was always ready to have levity distract him utterly when it was a task he didn't care about in a truly personal way. Yes, he did need to stop the mortals. No, it wasn't anything that fit into a grander design.

He sent another knife skimming at Kotetsu's back, but his normally dead-on aim was a bit off, thanks to the fact that he was still snickering from under his helmet.

He did, however, treat the two to the same illusion he'd used earlier, if modified. The roar, the impression of something large and scaly and decorated with shreds of the familiar smily-face uniform moving in the hall among smears of blood, before it vanished into one of the rooms.

Edited 2012-07-16 03:15 (UTC)

Wild Tiger, thankfully, wasn't listening anymore. When he barged through the man without any defense, blood began pounding in his ears as something akin to surprise and delight fueled his adrenaline, and that was good because he was going to need it real quick.

The former Hero was counting down the seconds before his powers diminished, but before that happened he had to find this damned X-Ray Room. They had risked everything for it tonight and he would be damned if they fell just a few feet short. That and neither of them had their flashlights any longer; the only thing illuminating this hallway and its signs was him. But he wasn't the only one walking them.

While he sprinted through the corridors, frantically looking for any signs for X-Ray behind sweat-soaked hair that would just not stay out of his eyes, the sight of something dangerous left him stopping mid-lunge. He tried to remain inconspicuous, but he couldn't control his rapid breathing or the sound of his pounding heart. Keep moving, just keep moving, he whispered, though whether it was for him or the monster he couldn't be sure.

Luck was on Tiger's side as it eventually drifted into another room and he was flying down the next hallway before the door could even close. Finally, blessedly, the room he needed was the last one on the left. Just as he reached it, his powers died and Barnaby became a real weight in his strong arms, leaving some of his cuts to beging tearing anew from the burden. It didn't matter, he told himself, the pain didn't matter. He was here! They made it at the cost of Barnaby's health.

He tried to budge it open with his shoulder, but it wouldn't give. "What the hell?" It was a door! They were supposed to open when you pushed! Ugh, all this way and he was thwarted by a door! "Come on, ya stupid--!" Bringing up on of his legs, he aimed for the area around the door knob and kicked the door in with all his might.

[To here]

Edited 2012-07-16 20:27 (UTC)

NIGHT 64: MEDICAL WING HALL

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