Even while Gawain asked for the other throwing star, Evelyn had taken aim and sent it flying through the air, burying into Leo's shoulder, which was about the only place it would stick. While it gave Gawain a good escape option, it also brought the mutant's glare straight to her. Blood puddled on the edge of the wound, and the growl rumbled down to where she was, bringing a warning. Evelyn reached for her sai, pulling one out and readying to throw it if she had to. While she preferred keeping them close, if he opened his mouth to screech at her she'd rather take the change to loose a weapon rather than get the brunt of that yell.

"We need to slow him down. A good hit to the leg might do the trick..." She flipped the sai, wondering if she could hit him from where she stood. Gawain was still in the fray though, which would risk him ending up in the cross fire. The sai wouldn't fly as fast as the stars, which could be risky.

While Gawain struggled against the weight of the other mutant, his head still dizzy and his vision blurry from the hit he took, he was aware of the throwing star whistling past him and he could feel Leo jolt as the star hit home. A menacing growl rumbled through them all the way to the iron of the fire escape, and the struggle paused for a second as Leo turned his attention to Evelyn.

>>"We need to slow him down. A good hit to the leg might do the trick..."

Gawain tried to catch a breath and think the next step through, but the other mutant didn't give him much time. He knew that he had one shot for mirror-walking through the star that was jutting out of the opponent's shoulder. All the others were still on the roof. Going to get them would mean leaving nothing between Evelyn and Leo's wrath.

It was a split second decision between being grounded or leaving Eve without backup.

Grounded it is.

Gawain reached out to touch his fingers to the reflecting surface of the star, and merged out of the struggle. Leo tipped off balance as the younger mutant suddenly disappeared, and for a second it looked like he might go over the railing of the fire escape, but his reflexes saved him.

Gawain merged out of the last star next to Evelyn, drawing in a rasping breath as he leaned a hand against the wall for support.

"He is... **** heavy" he coughed, trying to get control of his bruised lungs "... I might... have some broken ribs."

There were times Evelyn wished she had more useful powers, especially as she watched Gawain reappear next to her while Leo crashed into the railing. She could tell he was injured even before he remarked on his injured ribs. They came here for vengeance, but fear was starting to fill the corners of her mind. They were running out of options, and even by himself, the other mutant was formidable. He had killed CS. What if he took them next?

She didn't want to let it happen. They wouldn't give up without a fight at least. "If we don't come up with a plan soon, broken ribs might be the least of our problems..." Evelyn whispered as she sent the sai spinning through the air. It went through the railing of the fire escape, and struck home on the mutant's thigh. As the metal buried in deep, a roar of rage escaped the mutants mouth.

A loud, deafening roar...

For a split moment, there were no echoes.

The vibrations rattled down into the alley, and Evelyn dropped the star as she covered her ears in pain. Like a blow to the head, the noise scrambled her powers. Memories rushed to the surface, information crashed through her thoughts, and she stumbled backwards into a wall, trying to stay on her feet. Too much information....too much to process.

>>"If we don't come up with a plan soon, broken ribs might be the least of our problems..."

She was right. She was always right. Gawain tugged his gear in place (being tackled by Leo messed everything up) and lifted his bow to check it when Evelyn let one of the sai fly.
Multiple things happened at once. First, even without echoes, Gawain was aware a split second early that Leo was going to roar. There was no use to shoot now. He dropped the bow to cover his ears.

The roar hit with the force of a sonic boom. Evelyn staggered, or rather, was thrown back against the wall with the force of the impact, and Gawain was sure he felt his eardrums rip, sending a jolt of pain straight into his brain. The walls behind them shook with the impact, showering a puff of brick dust and paint. Gawain reacted on instinct, turning to push Eve on the ground at the bottom of the wall and crouch over her to shield her from the glass shards falling from the busted windows above.

Everything was dust, pain, and a persistent, dull silence. Gawain coughed again, feeling dozens of cuts and bruises all over his body, as he pulled back to check on Eve. He was sure that somewhere behind them Leo was already moving, but he also realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that he could not tell for sure.

He was deaf.

Evelyn couldn't process the pain. She could feel it linger on the edges of mind but everything else was burying it. Images of the past weeks. Memories of the past years. Sewer monsters, cookie monsters, aliens, riots...She felt frozen by the information, vaguely aware she should move, get out of the way. For a second she felt herself shielded by Gawain and saw the glint of broken glass hitting the ground. The echoes chirped weekly. [Lack of auditory feedback. Hearing=damaged.] She shut her eyes and whimpered, trying to focus. The world felt like it was spinning. Up above, there was movement as Leo yanked the sai out and tossed it to the ground. He was prowling closer, sensing the weakened prey. Maybe he was readying to roar again. Maybe he'd rather finish this off by hand.

Evelyn fumbled for her remaining sai, clutching it in her hand as she tried to stand. He killed CS. That memory wouldn't go away. She tried to hold onto the rage to bring back clarity, focusing on the approaching target. She couldn't give Mirror instructions. Her echoes couldn't even do that much now. It was close quarters combat now, this should be better. But as the mutant swung, she knew it wouldn't be the case. She ducked, stumbled, and swung wildly with the weapon. It barely scratch his side before a fist came sailing and slammed into the side of her head.

She dropped, and the playbacks took over. She didn't even see the next attack that sailed towards her. The echoes were dragging her back through time, away from the anger and the pain. Away from Gawain.

There was a flicker of thought, guilt. Then that was buried in the information as well.

Apparently, they were both deaf.

Evelyn recovered first, maybe because she was actually facing Leo and could tell the attack was coming. Gawain stumbled out of the was as she pushed her way forward, and he tried to yell a warning. Or maybe he did, but he couldn't hear himself.

The thing about ear damage: it messes up your balance too.

Gawain pulled a knife; he was way too close to use the bow, and he had dropped it along the way anyway. He was too slow and too off balance to get to Leo in time. He could see the fist swing, and he could see Eve go down. He could feel adrenaline flooding his body. Winning didn't matter anymore. Vengeance didn't matter anymore. Eve mattered.

Gawain took a running start and tackled Leo to the side before he could hit Evelyn again. His balance or weight was not enough to bring them down, but he managed to stab the knife into Leo's already injured leg, which earned him a pained jolt, just before Leo's elbow came down hard on his shoulder. The mutant shook himself free and Gawain managed to dodge a knee before he was simply grabbed and thrown back against the wall. Colors flashed in front of his eyes, but at least Leo was not focusing on Even anymore.

Also, there was absolutely no way they were winning this fight.

Leo was sneering at him, but Gawain couldn't make out the words. He would have a few seconds at best before the mutant gathered his breath for another screech. Could someone die from a sound blast?

Gawain pushed himself into a standing position. At least he'll go down fighting.

That sound. It echoed through the streets like a jet taking off on the runway of an airport. That same sound kept him awake at night, had driven him into an almost obsessed state he had to get to the source of that roar at all costs. Sadly he couldn’t have gotten there right away he was in disguise and if he revealed himself before he could silence the **** that nearly killed him he wasn’t sure he’d get a second shot. No, he trained for this. Days that seemed like weeks in the danger room all for this moment. The question was, was he alone. It didn’t matter, he prepared for the sniper as well in fact he was the first target before Leo.

Rage tugged him and urged him to hurry forward to run, no fly there in an instant. Again, he was in disguise and had waited for this moment. Sam turned down the alleyway and spotted a blonde lying on the ground and a familiar marksmen being thrown towards a wall. Before he even had a chance Sam acted and started to run quickly taking off his large grungy overcoat, then his ratted skullcap and then his fake beard. Yes, Sam was dressed like a homeless man and might have smelled like it at this point as well; last night he wandered the streets hoping for this chance. Turns out his patience paid off.

The air in the immediate block grew colder as mist started to appear it seemed Gawain was done for as well as Eve. Shame, Sam would have to give them both a hard time. While Eve wasn’t technically his student Gawain had no excuse. Leo wasn’t even that good of a fighter on his own. It was the sniper that made him dangerous. Those two worked like a well-oiled machine that was designed for his end. Sadly for them they miscalculated, Sam had been on the brink of the abyss before and managed to make it back every time. Sure there was less of his old self that stayed behind every time. Now for example, Sam wanted this man dead.

Luck or planning on Gawain’s part (not that he planned on getting thrown into the wall) Sam managed to get close enough to smack Leo in the throat before pushing him backwards causing the roar to be caught in his throat. Standing in between Leo and the others Sam pulled a short steel sword from the sheath on his back. It wasn’t a long one just small enough so he could maneuver well with it. It was a tool used for short slashing and quick jabs. It mirrored the ones he always made from ice but due to Leo’s power set he decided authenticity would be appropriate.

”It seems you aren’t on you A game. Shame. I’ll make this as painful as possible either way, especially now that you roughed up these two. Him eh, but her? Nope.” Sam said shaking his head having a feeling that neither could hear what he was saying. Leo started to cough as he grabbed his throat and glared at Sam.

Ice started to coat the alleyway; around the walls of the building, the garbage and debried covered pavement. The focus of the ice was around Gawain and Eve though. It looked like they were roughed up pretty badly. Ice helped most injuries. In Leo’s case they were about to be the cause.

There were flickers of awareness. A sense of cold, movement, an approaching attacker. But the memories were smothering her, dragging her through time. Training sessions. Late nights. Dumb date nights. Anger. She saw a face, walking down an alley, but that didn't feel familiar. It didn't feel like a memory. But then it was gone, a ghost as the past took over. She couldn't defend herself. Her powers were going to get her killed.

She shut her eyes. The cold was still there. It lingered on the edges of the memories as the echoes struggled to make sense of it. [Sam.] Yes. Sam was dead, and they couldn't even properly kill the guy who did it.

Dumb echoes. Dumb noise. Frickin' vibrations breaking her frickin' brain.

If Sam was alive, she would have killed him. As if somehow, this was all his fault.

The final thought vanished as she slumped into darkness where the echoes faded, and only the playbacks remained.

Gawain braced himself for a roar, or screech, that never came. At first he thought it was the deafness, and braced anyway for the impact of the shock wave, but that never came either. Instead, there was a blur of movement, and Sam appeared seemingly out of nowhere, smashing Leo in the throat.

Sam.

"Sh*t. I'm dead."

If this was Heaven, then heaven kinda sucked. If it was Hell... well, that kinda made sense, but did't make the mirrorwalker's muddled thoughts any happier.


The air grew suddenly cold around them, wrapping tendrils of cool frost around Gawain's limbs. The cold numbed the pain, and it also brought some clarity to his head. Still deaf, though. Gawain shook his head repeatedly, as if he had water in his ears. He didn't feel dead.

The guy between him and death, however, was definitely Sam.

Gawain sat down heavily at the foot of the wall.

"What the..."

Leo raised his other hand in some sort of defense as he backed up to a wall. Still he struggled to roar let alone breath. The strike Sam landed on his throat was enough to damage the windpipe, one of the most effective ways Sam determined to neutralize Leo and his ability. It would be some time till he’d be able to start roaring again. At least in theory, he’d be dead or captured before he could start up.

Watching Leo in pain brought a slight smirk of satisfaction to Sam’s face one that he’d make sure to hide from Gawain and Eve, they wouldn’t understand. The pain he had caused not only himself but also the two behind him was about to be returned in full and the thought of that was just too good to mask.

Feeling Gawain slump up against the wall behind him Sam stepped forward and swung the short sword into Leo’s hand. It was a quick slice one that ended quickly as Sam pulled the blade away watching the blood in an arcing motion leave Leo’s hand.

The sonic boomer tried to yell something but could only let out a small mutter. Sam pointed to his own ears with his free hand, ”Something I picked up.” Sam said as his smile faded into a snarl, ”Ear plugs go a long way. Sure I will still hear you if you roar but at least I don’t have to hear your banter.” Sam sliced the blade again against Leo’s non-injured leg then put the sword back in the sheath.

A look of relief touched Leo’s face after watching Sam put the sword away one that turned into a smirk as he rose up from. Still holding his throat he looked at his hand and let out a muffled laugh again. He thought he was going to get out of this. A few steps forward and Leo clenched his fist and tried swinging at Sam. He was slower and weaker. The injuries he accumulated while fighting Gawain and Eve were apparent, his arms couldn’t fully extend and his movements were staggered. He already lost.

Sidestepping a one two combo only to get hit with a weakened knee Sam’s chest and stomach were already iced over. Leo couldn’t hurt him anymore. Sam felt Gawain and Eve on the ground and he thought of them. Leo couldn’t hurt them anymore either. No, he was done with that, done hurting anyone he was nothing more than a problem Sam was about to remove from the population.

Jamming a thumb into the sliced leg that was now compressed against his chest Sam pushed Leo away as he yelled a muffled scream, his voice was starting to get a little louder and he could feel a little of the moisture around him get displaced. It wasn’t much but the mist quickly reformed as Sam reached up and grabbed Leo by his throat. ”No more of that.” Sam’s hand coated over in ice and it raced upward to Leo’s neck.

With a look of fear Leo slapped Sam’s hand away and tried to through a haymaker. Sam blocked and grabbed on to his throat again and squeezed at Leo’s windpipe. Sam gave a slight tug then brought his own knee to Leo’s ribs knocking the wind out of him. Leo collapsed grasping his throat as blood raced from his wounds.

Smiling now and standing over Leo Sam nodded his head, ”I’m sad I didn’t get to you before they did. I’m not enjoying this as much as I thought I was going to.” Mist in the area started to converge on the two covering them in a thick cloud.

Sam crouched down grasping Leo’s throat again. ”I did plan on killing you. Not because you tried to do the same to me but because I haven’t felt this scared of someone in a long time. I forgot what this felt like, for a while now I was more afraid for others. Thank you; you have reminded me why I do what I do. So people like you can’t do what you do. I do what I do so those people that you just roughed up don’t have to.” Sam hand was on Leo’s throat again this time when he pulled it back away from Leo’s throat he brought a frozen piece with it. He was still alive but Sam was just making sure he’d never roar again.

So, Sam was not only alive and well from the looks of it, but he was also in the process of defeating Leo in a very painful and embarrassing manner. Gawain shook his head, he still couldn't hear a word that was said, and the world was spinning around him from the damage to his balance. Lowering himself to hands and knees he crawled over to check on Evelyn. She was breathing, but out like a light. Gawain rolled her over gently to check for injuries that needed immediate attention.

DocProf's gonna kill me.

Sam's gonna kill me.

Eve's gonna kill me.

...

Sam's alive.

"Hey" he said, at it came out somewhat mumbled since he couldn't hear himself, a strange sensation "It's all right now."

There were some mumblings nearby coming from the direction of Gawain and Eve. He couldn’t see them due to the thick mist that was now dissipating around him and the former boom box. Sam let go of the frozen clump of skin that contained Leo’s windpipe and voice box and let it drop to the ground causing it to shatter. Reaching down and grabbing Leo by the shirt Sam lifted him and punched him a few more times.

”I should kill you right now.” and while he wanted to he knew it would be too quick and easy for the likes of the him. No Sam wanted him to suffer. Throwing Leo into a pile of garbage Sam left him there for now. If he died there... Well Sam could deal with it.

Walking over to the pair Sam was tempted to do what he normally did when Gawain got tossed around by someone else, however he didn’t hit him or lecture him. Instead Sam patted Gawain on the back and then chimed into his communicator calling for DocProf and the police.

”Man, you two are lucky I didn’t actually die.” Sam said removing his ear plugs and dropping them.

Evelyn wasn't certain when the playbacks shifted back to consciousness. In her memories, everything felt as vivid as the present. Frightening images of running and being attacked melted right into the sensation of opening her eyes, and seeing a dead mutant. Two dead mutants. There was Leo, who was discarded and the echoes were fairly certain he was near death or already dead. Then there was Sam. Who they knew was dead. Who they heard was dead.

Playbacks. It had to be playbacks still. She could feel someone holding her, but as CS approached, she was vaguely aware she had started flailing as the overlay of lingering memories and reality confused her. She was running through the city, chased by angry mutants. Sam's mouth was moving. Sam was dead. Could she see ghosts now? She couldn't remember ever having this memory before. It didn't make sense. Could make sense. She was falling...falling... thrown in one memory, on a griffon who forgot when he would turn back into a human in another...

She screamed and snatched the sai from the ground, lurching forward and stabbing at Sam's leg.

Memory...reality? It didn't matter. Sam was dead. And he was an ass who never should have died because they never should have had to deal with this.

She wasn't sure if she hit him, the yell melted into a pained whimper then a noise that sounded somewhat like a sob as she sank back to the pavement, releasing her weapon and holding her head. The blow to the head and the damage by Leon's mutation made her hysterical and unpredictable at best. She couldn't hear any comforting words, couldn't even hold onto her teammates voices to calm her down. She shut her eyes. It was cold. Reality had no noises, but her memories had plenty to fill the void.

Leo was done for. He crumpled to the ground, and Gawain did not feel any particular remorse over his death. Sam was dead already anyway, and you can't blame a dead man for murder. Or, in any case, stopping a dangerous psycho criminal.

Sam said something and pulled earplugs out of his ears. He was not only here to fight, he was also prepared to fight Leo specifically. It was all very confusing. Gawain looked up and raised a hand to signal to him that he was deaf. At the same time Eve also seemed to notice Sam and she lashed out in panic, trying to stab Sam with her sai before she curled up on the ground. Gawain pulled the sai away from her and gathered her up. He did not have enough balance to pick her up, so he decided to keep sitting on the ground, frowning in pain as the adrenaline wore off and various parts of his body started signaling that they were broken.

The worst seemed to be over, though.

It was for a second but it was enough to get stabbed. His guard was down, the ice under and around his homeless garb shattered. He was satisfied with the results of the fight between Leo and himself, the ice around his wounds should be weakening now. Meaning if the ambulance and medics (hopefully his ex-girlfriend wasn’t part of them) weren’t here in time he’d most likely bleed out or drown on his own blood. If he was lucky he wouldn’t make it, Sam didn’t ever want to see him again.

Looking down however in his leg he noticed a sharp shooting pain. He looked down and couldn’t process who did the stabbing. She wouldn’t do that. She was too sweet, the little blondie would never. Sam jumped back a foot as his eye shifted from room top to roof top. It should have been his first concern find the sniper then take care of Leo. He trained for them to be together however it first appeared it was not the case. Ice covered his body again and he held his hands up in a guard.

It took another second of pushing his cold upward and outward to realize they were the only ones in the alleyway. He looked back to the blood tipped sai and blinked once more. ”****ing kidding me?” Sam’s ice armor shattered again all over his body except the area he was stabbed. Ice filled the hole preventing a bleed out. Doc did have to heal him turns out. ”I come back from the dead and that is your reaction?!? You probably can’t even hear what I’m saying!” Sam started to yell still angry he got stabbed in the first place.

He mocked himself stabbing himself in the leg and then shaking his head. He pointed to his head and mocked a stabbing then a shooting there. ”How you properly kill someone from the dead you don’t want to come back. Trust me, had to deal with it at Hotel California.” Sam shook his head and motioned for Gawain to throw the sai away from her. Sam scoffed ”Women.”