The decision made to assault the shraaorch, Captain Aaorrann gave the order for "battle alert" and the Fex scrambled to their assigned stations. Aaorrann assigned Tyra to pick four Fex to accompany the two of them into battle, plus a team of two others to serve as medics. Panels across the back of the room opened to reveal the remaining blaster rifles with their battery packs, utility belts, hand-whips, and sets of gloves that ended in wicked-looking claws. The remaining Fex entered the Hall of Mirrors and took down many of the candelabra stands to form a bit of cover. These they covered over with the same amber-velvet drapes that seemed to cover every window in this place, then through translators asked Tapestry if he could make the fabric denser, tougher, to give better defense to the rifle corps. It gave the former actor something to think about and experiment with as everyone else discussed the finer details of their plan.

While the brief preparations flurried around them Aaorran took her first officer aside (the big grey Fex who'd shared Grinning Shadow's love of the staff) to give him his orders. The big grey was obviously not pleased at his commanding officer's decisions, but as the conversation was in Fexao, only Kitsune could have picked up any of it through the translations still ongoing across the inside of her visor.

Setting his jaw, the Bostonian strides out of the Fex demesnes, peering by full radar sense -- as if concerned lest Isobelle find him walking on her ceiling again -- before making a sharp turn and walking up the mirrored wall and over to the far side, above the level of the doors. Here, he keeps pace with the armored Kitsune, though toward the last few meters of the approach he crouches and begins to knuckle-walk, lowering his profile, readying to spring or sprint.

Captain Aaorrann, belt unit in place and carrying one of the large rifles, places her troops, splitting up the firepower between her position and Tyra's. "We'll be relying on you to keep the shraaorrch penned up at that end of the hall," she tells Black Cat and Nocturne, gesturing toward the bedraped window. "Once they break through in numbers I must order a retreat. We'll hold the door open for you as long as possible, but if you are overwhelmed I or my first officer must order it closed to protect the survivors. Is this clear?"

Kitsune nodded her head. "Yes, it is, thank you, Aaorrann-sama."

She composed her mind and prepared herself for the arrival of the Droideka. She seemed calm and at peace, but she wondered whether her translator would continue to function, or whether it would function at all concerning the unicycle robots. She stepped forward to the doorway, and as it opened she reached out to firmly grasp the frame, to make her as close to immobile as strength and materials could made.

As soon as she stepped before the door it slid open, disappearing into a slot in the wall under Aodh's feet. As soon as it opened, the blast of radio transmissions temporarily deafened him. The interior was seething with it -- what was more, with only a little concentration Nocturne found that he could "hear" it, too.

Aodh's face twisted and his head bobbled as he experienced the deafening wash only he seemed affected by. And then the contortions shifted into a hungry rictus of a grin as the scene unfolded at his feet below him. This is Science!

The hallway within was empty at first, with the three open doorways Aaorrann had described evenly spaced along the right-hand wall. In the next heartbeat, the metallic-wheel form of the shraaorch began pouring out of all three openings, two and three through each, heading right for Kitsune.

Kitsune addressed the droideka in Japanese. "Good afternoon, powerful warrior-lords," using the tomo honorific seemed like a good plan to start with, and did not imply that Kitsune was a woman of lesser rank. "I would wish to parley with you about several matters of mutual interest. Kitsune repeated her statement in English, for the benefit of her group, and to see whether they understood that language.

The first three gathered an astonishing amount of inertia by the time they hit the doorway, no sign of either having heard or heeded the armored woman's words. The impact of metal against metal was deafening; Kitsune flew backward and hit the floor on the other side of the carpet; it had hurt pretty badly, but she's not stunned and she knew she'd just taken one hell of a wallop. The three shraaorrch that hit her, on the other hand, collapsed into one indistinct pile of smoking, twisted metal right in the doorway, which prevented the door from closing.

Behind them, the hall was rapidly filling with more. Grinning Shadow, reacting incredibly quickly, tumbled three hexes to his left in an attempt to give Kitsune some cover, and braced himself for an onslaught.

{If you think you can stop one without killing it, sound off now. I'm going to bind the next thing through that doorway, but I don't know if my toys will be able to hold it.} The Black Cat thought with as much assertive authority as he could muster. He could feel the hairs on his neck standing up, and he was as ready as he could be to do battle with opponants who apparently had no regard for their own safety. He drew three cat's paws from a tailored pouch on his bottle-green, tooled leather belt, and held them at the ready to bind whatever came through the doorway.

Dylan relayed Black Cat's intention to the rest of the team before the young psychic sent his own information. {Forcewall going up}, he sent. {There is something about their communication method...It is broadcasting in mental ranges as well. I am going to see if I can tap into it before I try to connect to one them.}

Dylan concentrated a moment and created a wall of psychic energy in front of the door where the shraaorrch had just rolled out of before crashing into Kitsune. He turned part of his mind to try and bring clarity to the sounds in his head that emanated from that room. He scanned the doorway for the first functioning droid to appear so that he could push out and Mindprobe whatever form of intelligence or consciousness existed within it's framework, gears, and cables.

Hanging in the air far above the floor of the hallway, Blitz mouth opened into an 'O' shape as he watched Kitsune get knocked backwards by the onrushing droids. It looked like being hit by three of those things hurt. A lot. Blitz turned towards the downed figure of teammate.

"You okay Kitzune?!?" Blitz asked out loud, his staticky voice filled with concern.

Still, he needed to concentrate because the droids were approaching the door at that very moment. Blitz lifted both of his electrified arms and pointed at the floor in the hallway and directly in front of the doorway. An arcing blast of electricity blasted out and hit the ground. Blitz then opened his arms and the sheet of crackling electrical energy enlarged covering the area before the rubble pile and on this side of Nocturne's wall of telekinetic force.

Blitz brought his arms back down to his sides. The cage of electrical energy still remained in front of the door, sparking with power occasionally.

"There...kxz", he said, smiling. "If the droidzz get through Nocturne'z wall they'll get a nazty shock!". He chuckled but kept an eye on the doorway and the robots beyond.

Kitsune exhaled, a little dinged up but perfectly fine, otherwise. I'm not much of an immoveable force, but they leave much to be desired for irresistable objects, don't they? "They are most vulnerable while they are rolling," she yelled out as she scrambled to her feet. "Fire at the rollers, if you can. They are apparently quite weak without their shields."

She paused to wait for them to come through the impromptu barriers, hoping that will batter them a bit more, but not really worrying about it. All she was going to do was wait for a target. Opportunity would definitely knock. "Yeah, Blitz-san, I'm all right. I'm a bit bruised, but I heal fast. I ought to be all better in a moment." She grinned at that under her helmet, "If our foes give me just that moment."

Another three shraaorrch hit the wall of swirling indigo force and smashed through it and the debris from the previous three with ridiculous ease. Nocturne felt it go down in his mind, an oddly unsettling feeling. He had no time to dwell on it.

Black Cat tossed his first cat's paw; it sailed neatly through the bars of the static cage and wrapped around the shraaorrch closest to him (far right on the map) then he lost sight of it in the shower of sparks that erupted with all three hit the Static Cage.

Nocturne established the Mindprobe with the one on the far right. He'd just gotten a sense of the machine language they used to communicate when there was a burst of high-pitched, squealing static as it rolled into the Static Cage -- and another right on its heels as it rolled out again. There is a rudimentary consciousness there but it doesn't even rate as "animal-level" individually. He can't understand the communication -- like a cross between listening to an old modem squeal and a complex percussion composition.

To the rest of the group, it looked like the indigo-colored wall blew apart as three more droideka rolled through, followed by two explosions of sparks when they hit the electical walls of Blitz's cage. This was followed by another set of sparks as the second group of two hit the electrical field; they made a "left face" within the cage and rolled out along the amber carpet, creating yet another shower of sparks as they hit the bars.

The machines were a bit scorched from the contact but still operational. Nocturne and Aodh heard (through their respective senses) an exchange of signals through the radio/mental link.

Grinning Shadow exploded into action, striking one of the second group with three quick blows from his staff before the static sparks from Blitz's cage had ceased. Each blow was delivered with incredible kinetic force; the machine wobbled, swayed, then fell over on its side.

"Definitely not Weebles," Grinning Shadow grinned, his defensive stance tight and waiting for the next attack.

Aaorran gave the word; three plasma rifles erupted from behind the makeshift cover, trained on the second of the two that had turned left out onto the carpet. It glowed bright orange-white and then melted into a pile of smoking slag.

"They're a superior force," the no longer grinning Bostonian said. "Stay out of their line of fire. Use mirrors to watch for targets. They come from all three doors, so revising my own objective. Working on decrypting their speech. Nocturne, next group that passes through, hold until they're at speed, then make a ramp. You know, like Evil Knievel, right? That'll cause 'em to re-evaluate their tactics." He paused, crouched above the doorway, then reached to grab the nearest Droideka and try to bash it open on.. the next nearest Droideka available, like a huge seabird cracking open a tasty crayfish.

Dylan was more than a little nervous by how easily they shattered his telekinetic wall. He mind raced at what he was hearing so he could try to decipher it, but he had no luck. The others needed to know, however, that he was able to penetrate and get some sense of consciousness from the droids. {Ramp...got it, Aogh.} He then let everyone on the team know what he had learned.

{I have been able to penetrate into the mind, if you can call it that, of one of the droids. It is a very limited intelligence. I wouldn't even call it animal level.}

Tapestry's eyes grew wide at the seemingly endless onslaught of droids. He watched as the first three came out and bashed into Kitsune, sending her flying backwards while the sheer impact left the machines in dust. For just that moment it felt like this was going to be ok…but as he looked at them pouring out of the mouth in groups of three and two with no end in sight his stomach sank.

The second rank of three Droideka blew through Nocturne's Force Wall and then Blitz's Static Cage, towards Kitsune and Grinning Shadow, leaving just enough room for the third rank of two droidekas to break left onto the carpet towards the Fex.

Tapestry was pleased to see the Fex and Grinning Shadow dispatch of the third rank so quickly, while Black Cat ensnared the closest of the second rank with one of his batman trinkets. As he watched Kitsune grabbed the wheel of the droideka closest to her and flipped it mercilessly to the ground as she stood up. Some of the parts went spinning madly through the room while the rest screeched across the floor back into
Blitz' damage field, electricity still crackling over the metal surface.

Next, in an equally impressive display of power, Tapestry watched as Aodh reached through the door and grabbed one of the next three in line and slammed it with shattering force into the droideka next to it, leaving them both in a pile of rubble. The sinking feeling in his stomach began to subside a bit as he watched his team dispatch of all but three of the most immediate threats. The feeling was short lived however as he saw the two surviving droideka by Kitsune begin to transform….!

Well, one of them did. The wheel shape of one seemed as if it broke apart rapidly, spidery-like legs emerging, body unfolding, arms protruding, standing up and up and up, head rearing under a wheel-rim that now looked like a cobra's hood. The other one got tangled up in Black Cat's "cat paw" and couldn't seem to break itself free enough to continue the tranformation.

The projected force field came up from it's right arm. It's robot-head swiveled once, quickly, as if it was orienting itself, left arm transmuting into a double-barrelled blaster gun like they'd all seen in the Fex memory files. Metallic eyes settled back on Kitsune and the young Japanese American woman suddenly knew that unless the Author favored her she was about to find out, up close and personal, just whether her armor could withstand one of these blaster shots.

In a moment of sheer bravado Tapestry stretch-sprinted toward Kitsune and the large droid orienting on her. The arms of his costume shot forward toward the mechanized monster's head. It was a clumsy, hurried throw but the droid's preoccupation worked in the actor's favor; the long sleeves looped and bunched around the thing's head, completely blinding it -- but also binding Tapestry for as long as the thing was functional.

Click here for the map.

The Black Cat quickly scanned the room. Tapestry, Grinning Shadow, and
Kitsune had their own bailiwick well in hand, and the droid he had already
bound seemed incapable of escaping Lee Choi's marvelous device. Blitz, Aodh and Nocturne were all working on their other project on their own elevation. Everyone seemed safe enough, for now.

"How many gifts shall I wrap for you, my large friend?" The Black Cat chose
another target as another droid rolled out through the open doorway. That
door needed to be closed or blocked, and fast. There were simply too many of them if they all rolled out at once. He thought as fast as he could, looking for a way to control the battlefield.

Using another of his famous cat's paws he aimed at the first Droideka that would emerge from the doorway. The paw sailed through the air and landed with well practiced precision exactly where Black Cat intended. The cord flickered and wrapped around the wheel-form of the droid, not hindering its movement but likely to impede its ability to transform.

Grinning Shadow looked around him and saw that both of the droideka that had survived the first onslaught were well in hand. Knowing that no one was in immediate danger he braced himself for the next barrage.

Dylan's mind was now in tune with the droideka. His Mindprobe allowed
him to hear the command issued that caused one of the droids to shapechange. More importantly, he knew that the command came from one source.

He put up another Wall of Thought by the door. This time, however, he had
the narrow end at the base of the door. He created it so that the other end
was elevated over the heads of Kitsune and the others in melee. The droideka brushed past the debris from the destroyed units and the began rolling quickly up the ramp.

Then Dylan reacted and pushed his mind along the connection the droid shared with the source of that command. He knew that if he could gain hold of that source, he might be able to affect the hive-mind intelligence the attack droids shared.

It was like... following a thread of sparkling thread of static sparks in his mind. The signal kept repeating, over and over again -- Nocturne knew he couldn't replicate it, it was too foreign -- making it easier and easier to trace. More and more of the scenario in the hall around him faded as the interior, mental world became clearer and clearer around him. The thread of sparks became a rope and then a walkway and then a slidewalk (symbolically -- his mind was grappling for meaning and assigning it as best it could in an utterly alien environment) hurtling him toward a gigantic open archway. Before he can react he's flung through the arch and into a vast chamber.

Within that chamber, his mind grappled for context, understanding, or even a glimmer of comprehension. Before him was a huge, hideous creature from right out of a nightmare. A bloated, yellow-orange, oily, amorphous body from which sprouted dozens of short writhing tentacles. It was supported on some kind of base with six mechanical spider-like legs. Four large, yellow, bulging eyes and a tooth-filled maw were set in a head which sported no less than five brains encased in sacs of some clear gelatinous substance, protruding bulbously from just behind the eyes. Those eyes were focused on Nocturne when he arrived. The communication signal he'd been following was gone now, replaced by what the youth clearly recognized was a forceful telepathic blow against his formidable natural defenses.

Glancing around, Blitz saw that it looked like nearly all of the droids on this side of the doorway were finished off. Of the two remaining droids near Kitsune, Tapestry had blindfolded one. He guessed that Hugh would want to analyze that one and if the robot broke free, Kitsune could probably take care of it.

So instead, Blitz flew over his still standing static cage and closer to the
doorway where the droids were coming from. He was still far up in the air
but wanted to make sure he was above Nocturne's ramp and had a clear view of the robots.

Electricity crackled and hummed around him as Blitz built up a large charge.
He then thrust his arms forward and let a large bolt of bright lightning
blast its way at the droids at the doorway.

"Eat static, roboz!" he yelled as he blasted at them, providing covering
fire as Kitsune and Hugh made their way to the door. The energy within him gathered and surged outwards to hit one of the droideka that was an inaccessible target for most of his companions. The lightning sizzled across the surface on impact, penetrating hard enough to cause the machine to wobble and fall over much as the one in front Grinning Shadow had taken out earlier.

Droideka were now hurtling up Nocturne's Wall of Thought, arcing with odd, mechanical grace toward the wall on the opposite side.

Kitsune laughed, "Oh, very good, Tapestry-san! Very good indeed."
Kitsune glanced at the shield, then nodded as she performed a standing leap over the projected force wall. As she came down, she swung hard at the droideka, hoping to use her inertia as well as her enhanced strength to
reduce the device to smoldering ruin.

Her kick landed with a deafening thud as she executed her graceful maneuver. The lights flickered and died on the droid -- whatever she'd done had caused it to power down completely. Immediately after impact, however, she felt a tingling sensation from her backside, letting her know in no uncertain terms just how close she'd landed to Blitz's static cage. The scrolling translation on the inside of her visor had stopped when she'd hit the floor a moment ago but now one sentence appeared.

You really want to be more careful. That cute ass isn't going to look nearly as good deep-fried.

The droideka seemed completely unaware of the force ramp trap that Nocturne had set for them. Their speed remained unchanged as they zoomed through the doorway and up the ramp. Each one slamming into the opposite wall behind Kitsune, Tapestry, and the defunct droid machinery.

Tapestry's eyes grew wide as they sailed over him. Several of the Droideka
spun out of control after hitting the wall and rained down on him just as Kitsune had made her jump. The last two had already began their transformation after realizing that those before them were plummeting to disengagement, at least one of the spiked limbs hit the horrified actor and finished taking him to the ground. Bound up with the droid he'd blinded for Kitsune, Tapestry could not even dive for cover.

Aghast at what had happened, Captain Aaorrann shouted an imperative, she and one other Fex jumping to Tapestry's aid while the third covered them. Grinning Shadow also leapt to his comrade's aid. The droideka were mostly still intact and quite heavy, but they began shifting the machinery off of the fallen actor as quickly as possible.

Aodh nodded, half to himself, as the battle began to get rolling below him in earnest, commenting, "Sufficient sample. Stoppering the beaker," as he reached into the spot within the doorframe where the panel had slid out of view mere seconds before. Adhesive touch strong enough to bind molecules, radar senses palpating for the shapes he needed, the engineer endeavored with all his wit and resources to draw back the door, timing it to shut like a guillotine on the next rank of Droideka with the
full ferocity of his strength, body twisting and tensing to spring into full action at the right instant.

"Tap, can you make the rug a battering ram in case the door doesn't hold? We could also turn some of the candle stands into spikes in the path of the rollers, if Cat and Grin can handle spear points? Noc', can you make a droid send a simple command, like 'Stop?'," the scientist asked, speaking an excited staccato. "I need baseline to hack comms. Also, try reaching deeper, Noc' - it's a cluster, like.. bees. Blitz, can you tell where in the Droideka the transmitters are?"

The huge scientist felt it as he made contact with the recessed door; he also felt something resisting him as he pulled. To his dismay his fingers came free of what little purchase he'd gained and the next ranks of droideka were already pouring through the door -- and turning to avoid the ramp Nocturne had set up for them. They were rushing toward the middle of the hall and if not stopped would overrun the Fex within moments.

The Black Cat had only second to look over and see the pile of wreckage descend on Tapestry. The sounds of machines unfolding, rolling, and crashing was exceeded momentarily by thunder crackling from Blitz up above. The air smelled like ionized air, oiled machinery, and the beginnings of smoke. The Shraaorch were heading into the opening, towards the Fex, who had already suffered too many losses to bear, and towards Tapestry, whose troubles were hard to measure.

He took a step and sprung into the air as if launched on springs, shifting his grappling wire from his left hand to his right as he did so. As he flipped over forward, the claw sailed out from his hands and encircled a Shra aorch, locking around it as the mechanical foe rolled out towards him. As the Black Cat landed, with a prodigious yank the wire went tight, and the Shraaorch sailed across the open hallway, through the cage of static force Blitz had created seconds earlier. The black clad hero's landing was only a bounce, as the feline blessed Italian flipped over through the air again, and the line went out and around another rolling robot, and with another landing and another tug that Shraaorch careened away after the first. The Black Cat landed on his golden sandals only for another bounce before hurtling again into the air, flipping fully over a third Shraaorch, ensnaring it with his cable as he went. He landed again on his feet, and puled the cable up and towards him, ducking as he did, sending the Shraaorch flying over his shoulder like a farmer pitching a sheaf of hay.

The three Shraaorch sailed through the sparking bars of Blitz's cage, singing and sparking as they flew, each one landing with a crashing thud by the entrance to the hallway. They did not rise. In fact, two of them hung as if stuck to the bars of the cage, partially transformed into their attack forms but broken and distended like preying mantises against the grill of a car. None of them were going to be back in the action anytime soon.

The droids were attacking them on mass and Blitz knew that trying to take them all out was going to take too much effort and time. Their aim was the key somewhere beyond the doorway not to destroy as many robots as they could.

Still, his friends needed help. Tapestry had been overrun with droids and Black Cat had demolished the three droids who had just rushed out of the door, with several ranks behind waiting to emerge. Drastic times called for drastic measures.

Steeling himself, he yelled out to the others.

"Kitzune, Grinning Shadow - help out Tapezztry. I'm going in!"

And with that he headed into the doorway from where the droids where coming, just behind the three who had succumbed to the Black Cat's prowess. A trail of yellow electricity flowed behind him as he moved off, streaking toward the first opening in the hallway to get a glimpse of what was inside. As he passed through a rank of droideka got past him and out into the room, blowing through the debris of the destroyed ones without pause.

To his mild surprise the room was completely empty except for what looked like rows and rows of bike racks on the floor. The room had a large open archway in the wall on the left, obviously connecting it with the room just next to it. Not pausing to look further, Blitz turned to fire off a lightning bolt at the three droideka just exiting into the Hall of Mirrors beyond. He watched as the somewhat dispersed energy crackled around the trio, scorching the center one fairly deeply but otherwise not interfering with their progress into the Hall.

Kitsune glanced around and tried to soak up the situation like a sponge, but she knew she was going to miss things. Not that big of an issue, she thought. Neko-san ought to be able to catch things I've missed. She glanced again at the words of the Author, her cheeks colored at the comment, but she really didn't have the time to give it the reply it so richly deserved.

She ran to where Tapestry laid, and to the wheeled Droideka. She grabbed one of them, partially to help uncover Tapestry, but also because she wanted a weapon. She spun quickly and hurled the droid at one of the wheeled Droideka heading toward the Fex. "You ought not to forget me," she hissed at them angrily. "I'm more than capable of stomping you into jelly!"

The thrown wheel caught one of the droideka squarely and smashed into it, component parts of the thrown one spraying like shrapnel in all directions. The targeted droid (completely disabled) flew back into the one next to it, causing it to wobble severely, but still remain upright. One of the Fex in Tyra's team was hit by the flying shrapnel, a cut over the brow that began bleeding copiously.

Distracting them might be a good idea, Kitsune thought, since it would leave their exposed to the Fex's fire should they turn to face her, or likewise to her if they turned to face the Fex.

And the Fex obliged. Three blaster rifles opened up on the droideka rank, two hitting separate targests squarely. Deep scorch marks appeared in their wheeled casings -- the one still upright which had also suffered from Kitsune's attack indirectly wobbled pretty hard, in fact.

The third shot came from the bleeding Fex. His shot missed the droideka completely and found Aodh on his perch near the door. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything the scientist could remember ever hurting him -- but the damage appeared limited to a scorch mark on his left arm near the shoulder.

Meanwhile, Grinning Shadow, Aaorrann and the other Fex were working feverishly to unpile the heavy machinery off the fallen form of Tapestry. He wasn't strong like Kitsune, who could pick up one of these armored wheels with ease and hurl it toward an opponent. He hated being out of the fight -- but honor compelled him to assist a fallen comrade and so he worked with the Fex to lever these heavy machines off and away as quickly as possible.

Dylan felt the blow against his mind as surely as Kitsune had felt the surge of droids slam into him in the doorway. The young psychic, however, barely flinched. He knew he was in for a battle here, and would need all his wits. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on the other powers he had up so he sent a final thought across the mind-link before he let it drop.

{I can't concentrate and do what I need. Will re-connect soon.} He hoped they understood.

So, he thought at the beast before him. Hentai Harry seems to be controlling these things. Surprised I am still standing? Let's see what haunts your sleep, shall we?

Dylan pushed as hard as he could with his Dreamscape into the brains of the monster before him. He opened its mind and reached inside to allow whatever emotions ruled it's dream-state to surface and take control. He hoped it would be enough to prevent the beast from controlling the droids. Nocturne knew that in order for the Dreamscape to work he had to penetrate past all consciousness and into the subconsciousness of the target -- and if the target was defended, it could be a battle.

His young mind hurtled toward the center of the monster, sharp and bright and determined, ready to open it up to every unconscious horror it harbored. Just before Nocturne could land that blow, however, the creature interceded, shoring up its internal defenses which ejected young man's mind forcefully.

Its four yellow eyes focused down on a panting, incredulous Dylan and four beams of white-hot fire shot out simultaneously. The superhero's mental image twisted out of the way just in time -- the beam sunk into the "floor" behind him with a deafening sound, obliterating much of the fabric of "mental reality" upon which the youth stood.

"Oh, no you don't!" Vincenzo exclaimed at the errant wheeled minions who had passed him and were closing in on his Fex allies behind him. He cocked back his right arm almost like a baseball pitcher, almost like a lumberjack chopping wood, mostly like a cat swiping at a mouse, and hurled the spiked claw on its wire forward with enough force and follow through that he executed a forward flip, landing a few meters closer to his foe. The razor sharp hooks arced unerringly through the air towards their intended target, latching into it with an ear-splitting screech of metal on metal. The claw tore its way through the wheel's armored defenses. Sparks flew, smoke emerged. It toppled over like so many others, spinning like an old tire off a wrecked Pontiac.

From behind him Vincenzo heard the sound of a plasma bolt hitting metal, but he didn't have time to see the lone Fex still behind Aaorrann's makeshift bunker nail the transforming droid with one shot, nor how the thing wobbled and fell over. No, the Black Cat was very busy focusing on the fact that three droideka were barreling down on his position -- and he didn't have Kitsune's armor to protect him. Fortunately he was able to twist aside and only felt the cold kiss of metal brushing his skin as both droideka rolled past.

To his horror however, they stopped less than ten feet away and with astonishing quickness completed their transformation into their cobra-looking, three-legged battle form...

The third angled in its turn and rolled with increasing speed toward where Grinning Shadow's back was turned as he heaved with all his might to get a droid off the pile covering an ominously silent Tapestry. Aaorran shouted a warning but it was too late. The droid crashed into him, knocking him back into the solid oak doors, where he crumpled into a motionless heap.

Grimly, seeing her shot, Tyra took aim and fired at one of the transformed droideka who'd tried to mow over Black Cat. The shot flies true, hitting the side of the machine that wasn't covered with a shield. Sparks and smoke all began pouring from every seam on the thing. Two of its legs collapsed and it fell over, joints jerking randomly like nervous spasms.

Aaorrann screamed -- a sound that raised the hairs on every mammal in earshot -- then lunged at the droid that had crashed into Grinning Shadow, long talons extended. They raked impotently against the metal but she did manage to bowl the thing over onto its side before rolling clear.

"There's a time to hang on a wall, and, oh, screw it. I'm going to deal with that thing," Aodh declares, inhaling sharply and screwing up his face as he begins to really appreciate the power of the Fex blaster. Though slowed by pondering all the angles, science, technology and permutations, he's decided now, and now he moves his sizeable bulk with surprising grace, flinging himself from the wall into the corridor in Blitz' wake, heading along the ceiling of the side hall, twisting, spinning and wheeling in an entirely different sense than the Shraaorch, in the process reaching down and sweeping through a rank of the machinery with a powerful takedown that slams them into the walls, in an attempt to bounce them around the corridor like an explosive wave, caroming and colliding.

The first droid went down in flying sparks, crashing into the one at its side. The second droid stopped its roll and simply transformed right there in front of Aodh as the first one collapsed to the floor, smoking a little from almost invisible seams.

In fact, most of the other droideka were transforming wherever they were still intact except for three which reveresed their course and backed into the room from whence they'd came. The two in the small corridor with Blitz and Aodh activated their force screens and their guns, each one targeting a superhero.

The twin barrels of the rear-most droid fired at Blitz, both bolts of plasma energy hitting him squarely in the chest. Both actually stung a little on impact, but after a moment's startlement Blitz knew they'd barely managed to touch him.

Only one bolt hit managed to find Aodh, the other one leaving a scorch mark on the wall nearby. His scientific side noted that this particular attack was much less potent than the Fex rifles -- he hardly even noted it.