SH First Strike

Zero than turned his arm into his signature flexible ice and punched the fireball. He returned his hand to normal as he noticed that his eyes had melted a bit. Oh... That's pretty hot... Well you want to fight so badly than just remember! Your funeral! With one arm in use he'd have to fight one armed. No problem for him several ambush and mugging attempts on him made him prepared to fight in nearly any situation. He solidified his free arm back into ice. Ok Kid let's see what you got! He said with a taunting motion of his free arm.

Ghost didn't say a word as the creature dropped to the ground with a loud 'thud'. The impact actually cause a few chairs to move as if a mini earthquake had shook the bank. The aura around him hadn't diminished, if anything is had spread more like a dark fog hanging all over the bank. It wasn't thick enough to obscure vision but definitely thick enough to be noticed and felt.

He turned toward the diminutive sized man. Without a word he began to fall upon him, he would have two options. Surrender, or Escape. If the man chose to flee Ghost was not going to pursue him. He saw no point in fighting a man who had already given up. He was just a few feet away when the man suddenly vanished.

Ghost whirled in a circle Teleporter? No..they usually have a tell. Active Camouflage? seems unlikely to be used with the beast. Then where.....

His thoughts where cut off as the ground shook again and the entire bank was filled with an angry roar that shook the dust off the ceiling. He turned back to where he had fell the beast...or thought he had at least.

"I WILL CRUSH YOU" Behemoth let out yell, the creature speaking rather suddenly "Let's see how you like being the little man. How you like being looked down on...to be weak" Behemoth's voice was full of rage his own natural voice mixed with the deep animalistic nature of his beast.

Rayne glared at him try again... just what the hell does he mean by that... Rayne thought to herself. Not only had she recovered, but she also disarmed him; and all he could say was try again? what exactly does he want me to do...? she asked herself. Rayne shook her head, focusing on him. She couldn't let such a comment get to her, but for some reason... It really pissed her off.
When Rayne noticed his attention turn from their fight to another, her blood boiled even more. She didn't particularly like being the center of attention, but she hated it even more when someone would turn away from a fight. Rayne shifted her weight back slightly, and proceeded to throw her knife at the man. She aimed right for his chest, and threw it with all her strength. If it were any normal person, the knife would plunge into their heart and kill them instantly. Although, Rayne had seen his reflexes earlier, and even if she missed at least it would bring his attention back to their fight.

This young girl seemed to be getting really impatient with Roan, as she sent a knife straight for him. Rather than dodge or shield himself, he thought he'd irritate her a bit more, deflecting the blade with one of the coins he continued showering her with. He finally got to his blade, but instead of picking it up right away, he just continued to bounce quarters, pennies and dimes off her forehead, and even began whistling. However, he became a bit more serious. His shots were a lot more focused, aiming at different parts of the body, and he put much more force into his shots.

Hikuro strangely made an evil smile when he was taunt by the masked guy. "Finally… you are interested in this…" Hikuro from the beginning was only taunting the masked guy for a fight, he knew that was a pretty cheap move to do but finally Hikuro got his attention. Hikuro join his palms together and slowly create a big fireball, bigger than his cheats. He knew that he have to put a lot of stamina in that but he can still fight. "My funeral? Damn… i don't think that you will gona to see that…" Hikuro throw the big fireball to the masked guy.

Taking it as her cue, Lynx ran towards the man and swung her arm with the dagger towards his body. For good mesure she did a low spinning kick, aiming to knock him off his feet. Hopefully the combination of three would be enough to knock the theif off balance. As her spin came to a hault she saw a glimpse of the others. They seemed to be doing fine on their own, even Ghost against the beast. Great, I hope we're not going to have to hear about this later. Blinking away the thought, she focussed back onto her own fight.

Rayne shouted angrily, she was really angry now. This man just creased her, and now the that he was whistling made her even angrier. She winced slightly as some of the coins hit her, but she ignored the pain. Rayne charged at him, her fist raised, and once she was within range she swung at him. Hoping to land a blow, and get him to stop that stupid whistling.

Things seemed to be getting out of hand. Ghost's opponent seemed to be on a rampage and he could tell from the constant temperature shifts that things were going on with Hikuro and Lynx. Well, can't be helped, he thought to himself.

Roan's whistled an old tune he learned back at the academy. It was quite calming for him, but apparently not for the girl who was now furiously charging him. One could see her emotion running down her shoulder into her fist as it came at its desired target. Luckily, he was one step ahead of her and managed to catch her fist...with his face. The punch ran across his cheek, turning his head a little to the side before stopping. He stopped whistling and stopped pelting her with coins. Grabbing her hand, he applied a wristlock. Twisting the hand, he applied pressure to the joint and stimulated tightening of the muscles in her outstretched arm. With a sigh, he stared at his angry friend calmly. "Settle down. Settle down and I might release you."

To say things had gotten out of hand would have been an understatement to Ghost. He had made a mistake. He hadn't anticipated a summoning and merging combination from his opponent. It wasn't a large set back but the fight hadn't gone according to his initial plan, though in his experience plans rarely...if ever...kept. He narrowed his eyes behind his mask as the fog solidified into a cloud that swirled about the bank.

"Roan..take the girl and get out. Continue your fight there if she is still so inclined, and allow me your sword if you will" As he spoke he moved out of the way of a punch from the ogre like creature. "Lynx, Spitfire if you can move your fight"

Even with his voice sounding like a ghostly whisper his words were still loud and clear as he gave the order. His opponent had become much more dangerous now that it had a brain controlling its brawn and he wasn't going to risk his team getting hurt not on their first mission since the school opened.

"I WILL CRUSH YOU" Behemoth bellowed as he charged towards the now tiny man before him. He was in a blind rage. all he wanted was to crush the man, to grind his bones into powder.

He screamed again as the man dodged his punch easily causing a fist sized crater in the floor of the bank. He thrashed about not even aiming his blows destroying desks and counters as he tried to kill his opponent the more he missed the more his anger grew

"STAND STILL AND LET ME DESTROY YOU"

"Like that would ever happen" Ghost whispered to himself as he continued to dance about the stumbling beast the collateral damage that ensued being considered within acceptable means to him.

Rayne smirked as she hit him in the face. Although, her smirk was quickly washed away, when her arm was grabbed and placed in a lock. Rayne didn't show any outward display of pain, she was too angry to be in pain. It had been awhile since her temper had flared this much. Rayne angrily glared at the man when he commented on her calming down, "Screw you!" she shouted.
Rayne couldn't use her blade, since it was too far out of reach; she couldn't use her arm, because of the wrist lock; but, she could use her legs! Rayne smirked slightly again, staring up at the guy. Then she twisted herself enough to get a good kick at his legs, hoping this time to actually get to fall. Rayne grimaced at the pain in her arm from twisting her body, knowing that she would be sore in the morning; but she ignored the pain, and followed through with her kick.

The girl was working to find a solution to her new predicament, while Roan recieved instructions from Ghost. He was pretty much on the same page. Staying in such a confined space with that creature rampaging would be very dangerous. "Understood," he confirmed with a nod. He wasn't sure what Ghost had in mind for his sword, but he decided to entrust it to him all the same. Just as he was about to procuse his blade, he felt the girl lowering her center of gravity, shifting her weight. Was she trying to break her arm? Was it really worth it just to break away from him? It wasn't like it was life and death. He didn't even have a serious lock in. Maybe he should move on to an armbar. He decided not to worry about it too much, seeing as she was trying to sweep him off his feet. Ok, I'll give you that one, he thought to himself. Suction cups formed all over his hand, latching onto her, gripping her, and securing his grip. At the same time, he loosened his form to make it easier for her. If she was gonna be a bad little girl, he wasn't gonna let her go. There was no escape from his suction grip, so if he went down, so would she.

Rayne felt, what seemed like suction cups, latch on to her. Her eyes narrowed as she realized he was attached himself to her. Rayne couldn't stop her kick now without losing balance and putting her in an even worse defensive position. Instead, Rayne focused all her power into her kick; she knew she was going down with him, but hopefully with enough power she could at least damage his leg a bit. Rayne's kick connected, and when it did they both fell over. As they fell, Rayne struggled to break his grip on her. When she knew that the suction cups at a firm grip on her, Rayne merely braced herself for the fall.

"Keh." Roan gritted his teeth as he braced himself. He really took a hit there. Well, it's to be expected when you open up your defense. His leg throbbed and ached, but it wasn't enough to immobilize him. Consequently, he now had easy access to his blade. Gripping it, he sent it spinning across the ground in Ghost's direction, before suctioning the girl's leg on the same side as her captured arm. This way, he would have a much easier time managing her as he scooped her up. In this position, she couldn't effectively attack, since her free leg didn't bend in his direction, so she could only flail about and beat on his chest with her free arm. The ruckus from the battle between Ghost and the monster was growing ever closer to their position. "It's time to take this outside." One leap. He took one leap to safety, carrying the beligerant girl with him. The night sky covered their heads and the clouds shifted, obscuring the moon and stars every so often. On touchdown, he put her down and standing before her, he posed the question, "Alright, now then. Would you like to continue? It's your call." He decided to give her a choice. She was young and she had time to change, if she wished. If she decided to stop, he figured he'd let her go. Otherwise, he was at the ready. "This is your chance to walk away."

(I deny you Lynx by arriving just in time to contradict you!! Sorry i've been gone but my internet was out for a few days so i'll post now!)

Zero chucked a ball of ice into the flame and saw as it melted and the water and flame cancelled each other out. He used this bit as a way to launch another attack as he breathed in and blew on the floor covering the surface in it in ice. He Jumped on the ice and caused several spikes of ice to erupt in a 360 degree angled around him which than spread out far throughout the ice and toward the way of spitfire and the failed ambusher.

"Damn…" Hikuro quickly turn his arms to fire to melt the spike that was going toward him. Even trough he was pushed away from his previous position, but he was still ready to fight. He looked at Lynx hoping that she was ok. Hikuro looked at the masked man once again smiling at him while his arms where still burning. He pointed at him and throw a lot of little fire balls all over the masked man from eve direction and with just a clap the little fireball where going to attack their target.

The knife went through the ice easily, hitting the man in the ankle rather than his head. Lynx's leg, however, was not as lucky. A spike of ice went through her shin while the force propelled her body backwards. Taking deep breaths she pushed herself off the ground. Although it hurt to stand Lynx quickly limped back to the fight to find out how much her dagger had unstabalized its victim. Later she would need to go find Blair.

Zero felt as something brushed against his leg and he felt dazed and fell to the ground.Oh great another one! HE couldn't get up quickly enough and the fireballs had hit him though he protected himself with his frozen arm though the bottom half of his mask had melted away and he reshaped his melted arm. I don't have time for you kids... He saw the wall to his side and rushed to it and placed his hands on it. I have no time! Sorry Kiddies! He Froze the wall and than punched it down. He saluted and waved goodbye. See ya! Than he shot ice and started forming another wall from the coldest ice he could make so it would be strong. He started to flee from the bank and back to the base.

Before that the masked man can run away he throw another fireball, but the ice wall was so cold that the fireball only made a little hole. "Dammit…" Hikuro got a little angry when he let the guy go, but what is done is done. He looked at Lynx and said "I'm really sorry, i let him go away…". After that he looked around hoping that the others where still ok.

Lynx stared in shock as the man used his powers. She must have put less energy into the thing than she origanly thought. Rubbing her forehead, she turned to Spitfire. "It's not your fault. Guess I need to work on paying more attention when I creat my weapons. Damnit. How about we just tell Ghost we let him run away? The last thing I want to hear is his ranting." Expecting the answer to be yes, she looked over his shoulder to wear Ghost was still fighting with the beast. "Come on, let's go see if we can help Ghost out." She took a deep breath and ran past Spitfire to the bank lobby. "Hey uggly! Are you actually going to kill something or did you leave your brain with the little twirp?"

Rayne groaned angrily as she was taken from the bank. She saw Zero run away from the corner of her eye. Did that mean they were retreating? Retreating wasn't something that Rayne really approved of, but it seemed like it was necessary at this point. She stared at the man with whom she had been fighting. He was giving her the opportunity to leave and walk away from their fight. Rayne thought out her options for a moment, she couldn't just walk away. That would be too easy for him, and would make her the loser. Although with the rest of her 'team' wrapping up their fights, and the night growing old, she had to call it quits.

But she wouldn't make it that easy on him. Rayne focused her powers, closing her eyes for but a second. When she re-opened them they were glowing even brighter than before. Silently, she called out for assistance from her otherworldly friends. Suddenly, the air around them grew thick with which would like fog or mist, but was actually the spirits gathering. The spirits surrounded them, making it impossible for anyone to see. Rayne used this brief opportunity to break away from his grip, by mustering up all of her remaining strength. Once free, Rayne quickly got to her feet and ran from the mist. As she ran, she glanced back over her shoulder to where they had just been. She silently thanked the spirits and watched over her shoulder as they started to dissipate from the area. It wasn't Rayne's favorite thing to call on the spirits or to retreat, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Rayne continued to run from the scene, following after Zero.

Roan's vision became obscured in a strange fog. For a few moments, there was a chill that ran through him. Was there something about this wall of darkness? There wasn't much time to dwell on it, as it vanished shortly after forming, and with it the girl who stood before him before. He scanned the area a bit with his depth perception and sure enough, she was gone. Once he confirmed this, he turned his attention back to the bank. He could hear the havok going on inside. The kids were still inside as well. It didn't take him long to decide to go back inside. "Well, they'll do what they want anyway." If they were gonna go through the effort, he could at least back everyone up. He wasn't really the bystander-type anyway.

Peering inside with his Deep Gaze, there was a lot of chaotic motion going on. The beast was tearing though everything now. He shielded his eyes as some debris exploded in front of him. The behemoth was making a real mess of the bank all right. Ghost was right there in the midst of it all as the creature came at him fiercely. He took out the bottle of chlorophorm he had been carrying. This should help. "Ghost!" he yelled before chucking it in his direction.

Ghost could hear the blade slide across the floor of the bank, he dove for it extending his hand grabbing the hilt. He rolled coming to his feet scrapping the tip of the blade across the floor as he took a defensive stance. It was a quality sword, he could tell just by holding it but he knew on its own wouldn't be enough to pierce the hide of the monster. He only took a moment to plan as he heard Roan's voice, with a quick glance he saw the bottle fly into the air and he broke into a run. AS the bottle passed over the creature's head Ghost threw the blade slicing the bottle in half causing its contents to splash over the monster's face.

In an instant Ghost appeared behind Behemoth catching the sword using its momentum to spin and produce three Shadow Duplicates of himself, each with a sword already in hand. His free hand became shrouded in the dark cloud that had been coming from Ghost since the battle escalated. He slide his hand down the length of the blade surrounding it in the dark energy. He looked to his duplicates and without a single word the four split up. It was a standard tactic, distract and attack, one of the earliest strategies Ghost had learned even before he could make duplicates of himself.

Behemoth turned in a circle unsure which target to attack as it thrashed about wildly trying to attack all four at once. He let out an angry howl that shook the rafters of the bank. It was a howl of pure bestial rage as even Behemoth's human brain began to lose control to the animal instinct of the monster he now shared a body with.

There was no word...no signal at all as the attack began. One duplicate dashed in slashing before being replaced by another. The group danced the beast about in a circle attack high and low, small marks appearing on the creature's arms and legs. Just as quickly as the attack began two of the duplicated vanished, the aura around the blade Ghost held getting stronger.

Ghost and his remaining double charged in, both jumped over Behemoth's swinging arms slashing with all the force the could muster. Every trace of Ghost had vanished in a moment when he landed, the aura cloud, the double, the shroud covering the sword, everything. Ghost turned just in time to see the hulking creature crash to the ground..its head no longer on its shoulders. But there was no blood, which honest caught Ghost by surprise. Perhaps more so was the head and body melting away to reveal the small man that had created the creature to start with.

The man was passed out cold and clearly was not going to wake anytime soon. Ghost turned to the team he had brought with them.

"Let's get back to the academy"

That was all he said as he thought about what had just taken place, two had gotten away but he was reassured none of his team had been seriously hurt, nor had any civilians. As he gathered the team and headed back he assumed the small man would be picked up...sadly by the time the police finally did show up he was gone.

Nick had been watching the heist from outside of the bank. Pretty entertaining. He preferred smaller and more intimate parties though. He chuckled to himself and got into his 69' charger. He had watched the kid run and the girl run after him. He drove after them both.
When he caught up to the boy he spun the wheel and drifted it to the side so that the car stopped its slide down the street with the passenger door on the boy's side. He pushed open the door and called out to the ice boy. " Come with me if you want to live yadda yadda yadda!"He lit up a cigarette as he waited for the boy to make his choice.

Zero saw no reason to not accept the ride and it would allow him to count how much he had. He jumped in the car and slammed the door behind him. He sighed and put the large sack with thousands of unmarked bills on the floor in between his legs. He wasn't afraid of the strange man doing anything drastic because at this range he'd easily freeze the man and escape. He sighed and pulled the ice mask off his face and looked to the man. "Thanks for the ride! If you please just drive me to the edge of town! I can trek the rest of the way."

Nick put the car in gear and drove. The engine rumbled softly like a big cat's pur. Nick chuckled to himself as the police cars drove past them in a hurry to get to the bank. He seemed skillful and comfortable behind the wheel. His bags in the backseat and a couple fastfood bags suggested he also lived in the sweet ride. " Im Nick by the way. Mutant and all around handsome ladies man. You are the fourth mutant ive seen today. If this city the capital or something?"