Vaudevillain

Firestarter finished shaping the arm into a spear in a few seconds. He instantly handed it off to Of a Kind who started copying the spears and handing them off. Approximo shifted his arm back and grabbed a spear. Mirror Mirror and Firestarter followed suit.

“We’ll hold the line up front,” Approximo said. “Gameset and Of a Kind, use the extra spears as javelins for anything trying to get around. We shall not let these citizens be harmed!”

Everyone nodded and shifted positions. Dylan copied the shield in Jack’s hands, turning his hand into the tool to block. He quickly found that the shield, despite being made of sturdy material, was no match for a mannequin’s blade arms. The arm speared through the shield, and it was only Mirror Mirror’s quick response that kept the blade from sinking into Approximo’s neck.

Approximo gasped out a thanks before shifting his hand to match a nearby mannequin. This time, he used the arm to parry while thrusting out with the spear. The mechanical constructs fell under the onslaught, their programming unable to think around the wall the heroes created. Behind, Gameset used her sports expertise to throw the spears like javelins, striking mannequins in the chest. Of a Kind, less accustomed to the weapon, threw the spears at anything looking to skirt around Approximo and the others. These sunk into arms, chests, and the occasional head and while they didn’t kill they were enough to slow the dolls down. From there Firestarter or Mirror Mirror would step forward, finishing off the construct.

This went on for what felt like some time until Approximo noticed the dwindling number of mannequins. The short reprieve let him look over at the kidnappers, who had done so much damage to the mannequins that the resulting area looked like a warzone.

The player with the color coded copies looked worse for wear, and the color from his copies flickered like an old lightbulb. The player with the revolving stones was down to two, though Dylan had no clue how many the player initially had. The two kidnappers were once again arguing, mostly trying to decide if it was worth it to bring the unconscious Sir Worth with them.

“The royal police force will be here any minute!” the player with the stones said. “And you know all the heroes will be right after. We can’t hold all of them off! Let’s just cut our losses.”

“No way!” the other argued. “We need this guy to craft our equipment. We can totally get him out off here before they show.”

Gameset slowly moved to Approximo. “I don’t think we can take these guys,” she whispered. “I was watching them during the fight and I want to say they have at least four Phlebotinium in them combined.”

Gameset nodded. “The one with the stones knows magic, but he can only cast it from the stones. Said stones also augment his stats. The limitation seems to be the stones have to circle around his head, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a limit to the distance.”

Gameset pointed to the other kidnapper. “This guy might have three Phleb in him, but it’s hard to tell. The copies are coded to emotion and have their own powers. That usually requires two phleb, but the power they emit could mean another.”

“So, what should we do?” Approximo asked.

Gameset held three fingers up, ticking each one as she talked. “Stall, sneak, or retreat?”

“Dude, heroes don’t run,” Firestarter said.

“Okay, stall or sneak?” Gameset asked.

“What do you mean by sneak?” Mirror Mirror asked.

Gameset pointed to the unconscious crafter. “They want to kidnap Sir Worth. If we can sneak him away and wake him up, he might have a solution for this.”

“I say stall,” Of a Kind said. “They’re already tired and we could easily hold them until the authorities come.”

“I agree with stall,” Approximo said. “Because we must also protect the civilians behind us.”

The others turned to see both Antonia and Mycroft still cowering behind the couch.

“Yeah dude, we can’t sneak away and leave others behind,” Firestarter said.

Gameset nodded. “In that case, Mirror Mirror, shift in Approximo. Approximo, shift into a javelin. I’ve got an idea I want to try.”

The two heroes nodded and activated their powers. For a moment, Dylan felt his body twisting and shrinking before he found himself staring at his transformation in third person. Mirror Mirror shifted as well, her power matching Approximo’s. Gameset grabbed Approximo and lifted, smiling when Mirror Mirror’s altered form took to the air on its own.

“Dude, that’s radical,” Firestarter said.

“You know, I totally didn’t expect that,” Of a Kind said.

Gameset smiled. “Got the idea after seeing Mirror matching everything our resident punk did. I wondered how far her power would go to mirror what she copied.”

She looked over to Of a Kind. “I’m going to need you to make as many grenades as you can. We’re going in loud.”

Of a Kind nodded.

“Firestarter, you’re with me up front,” Gameset said. “Of a Kind will keep using his power as long as he can to shake things up.”

“Dude, it’s time to rock!” Firestarter laughed.

The hero turned. “Yo! Kidnapper dudes!”

The players turned to Firestarter.

“As much as I condone anarchy, I’m not a fan of you harshing my vibe! Drop that dude and leave before we make you!”

“Let’s just get out of here,” the first kidnapper said.

“No way man, we can still salvage this. And imagine the rep we’ll get if we succeed!” the second said.

The first slumped his shoulders. “Fine.”

They looked back over to where Firestarter stood, only to find the heroes already rushing them. A grenade fell at their feet a moment later.

“Sh*t,” the first said. He pulled another stone from his inventory as the grenade exploded. A semi-transparent shield appeared, blocking the incoming force and shrapnel.

The second kidnapper dramatically pointed at Gameset and Firestarter. “Get them!”

The color coded copies dashed forward, arranging themselves so the blue and red were up front. The red copy roared and threw a punch. The air around him exploded, turning into a fiery conflagration.

“You gotta get better material, dude!” Firestarter laughed. “This is some weak sauce!”

The hero activated his power, his control over fire pulling the explosion around the heroes. From there, Firestarter directed the flames at the first kidnapper. But the shield around him held strong, preventing any damage.

The blue copy sobbed, creating baseball sized droplets that flung themselves at Gameset. The hero smiled and took a batting stance. Three quick swings sent the tears flying back toward the copy who cried at the sight. The green copy was forced to make a face at the incoming tears, stopping them from hitting the blue copy.

Gameset rushed forward, causing the yellow copy to scream in fright while the pink cheered him on. The shockwave forced the heroine into the air. Her power took over, a gymnasts lithe grace twisting her body to land perfectly on the ground. However, the yellow copy had reset Gameset’s progress. She once again found herself in front of the red copy.

“Just great,” she compained.

“Dude, send it with Mirror!” Firestarter said as he caught another fiery explosion.

Gameset raised an eyebrow before understanding took hold. The kidnappers, unsure what was being planned, refused to sit still.

“Oh no you don’t!” the first kidnapper said. Suddenly, a bright flash erupted from one of the stones, blinding everyone for a moment, even the second kidnapper!

“D*mn it! Warn me next time!”

“And warn them that its coming?” the first argued.

“Kind, give us cover!” Gameset shouted as she tried to shake spots out of her eyes.

Explosions rocked the field, causing everyone except the first kidnapper to flinch. He pulled out another stone, extending the distance of one of the two already circling his head. Suddenly, Gameset felt something strike her in the shoulder, taking a chunk of her HP.

“Agh!” she shouted, more in surprise than pain.

She blinked, the spots finally vanishing from her sight. The first kidnapper had extended his stone to circle around the entire fight, which was now shooting magical laser beams at Gameset and Firestarter.

Angrily, Gameset reached out toward Mirror Mirror, the heroine’s transformation luckily close by. With one arm, she whipped the transformed Approximo at the copy maker and held onto Mirror Mirror.

Mirror Mirror almost jerked out of her arms, but Gameset’s power let her jump with Mirror Mirror’s movement, carrying her straight toward the kidnappers faster than either expected.

“The f*ck!” the second shouted. The green copy stuck its tongue out at Gameset in disgust, mistakenly thinking she was the cause of her speed.

Gameset felt her body freeze in place, but unfortunately for the kidnappers, Mirror Mirror’s power was based on Approximo’s movement, and he hadn’t stopped flying through the air.

The first kidnapper dodged the spear while the second flew just past his shoulder. However, it was enough for the stone to treat it as an attack. But once again, Mirror Mirror’s momentum couldn’t be stopped, and the shield shattered as she passed through.

“Now, Prox!” Gameset shouted.

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