>What happened??<

The pair frowned as they felt their simply attack disappear. Apparently Zephyr was as surprised as they were, to judge from the initial look in his eyes.

>Try again.< But a second attack also vanished without a trace. Amp clenched her fists as she began to figure out why. If he was doing what she thought....

>I don't like the way he's looking at us...<

The pair exchanged a nervous glance and took a step back. Almost unconsciously Amp began sending sonic pulses outward in another 'cushion' of vibrations.

Both of them felt the sudden rush of air, but it seemed his aim was off, as they didn't feel anything come up against their vibrating 'shield'.

"Something wrong with your aim?" Amp taunted.

The sound of grating came from above them. Amp reacted without thinking, amplifying the 'shield' vibrations tenfold. But the rock bearing down on them was too close to be completely crushed. It came crashing down in chunks and pieces, burying the girls in rubble. The area suddenly fell silent.

Zephyr's eyes took on a expression of superiority that seemed to contain a predatory element as he watched the girls take a step backwards in fear. "Something wrong?" he asked in an innocent tone as he pasted his polite smile back on his features, "You seem to have lost your sting"

Normally Zephyr wasn't one to engage in pointless taunting; more often than not it resulted in the speaker becoming more distracted instead of the opponent. In this case though the elemental just couldn't help himself; he was feeling a rush of adrenaline due to the excitement he felt from testing out this new side of his mutation. If vibrations were the only thing these girls were capable of then he'd just found their achilles heel and there was nothing they could do about it.

'I'm going to enjoy this'

As the chunk of rock collapsed atop the twins Zephyrs smug grin diminished somewhat, "Over so soon? What a pity" he muttered to himself as he stared at the pile of rubble. He'd hope that their encounter would last a little longer in order for him to perfect his latest "parlor trick".

The sound of footsteps caught the elementals attention and he craned his neck around behind him to see a few cautious tourists come wandering around the corner. It seemed as though the fools had finally gotten over their earthquake and had come to investigate the sounds of battle. Swiftly dropping back down so he was once more only an inch above the earth Zephyr spared the these newcomers an irritated look, although they were a ways away at the moment it wouldn't be long before they saw the pile and rushed to investigate it seemed as he truly had run out of time. Still he was disinclined to leave just yet, he wanted to ascertain the girls condition at least; if they were alive he could always stumble onto them again.

The cat that had been watching nearby hissed again, and began yowling, enough to cause anyone nearby major annoyance. Another cat appeared from around the corner, also growling and arching. Several others appeared as well, until there were nearly a dozen felines on the promenade. All of them were obviously piqued, but for no visible reason.

Up above in the many nooks and crannies of Lady Liberty's skirts, the pigeons began rustling their feathers nervously. Within a few seconds they began to take to the air, circling the area where Zephyr stood. The tourists that had braved the area quickly vacated again, fearing bird droppings.

Another rustle of wings kicked up as well inside the statue; bat wings. Awakened early from their sleep, they began circling in confusion, and eventually found their way into the light of day. With so many creatures acting so oddly, tourists began leaving the area, headed for the pier.

Without warning the animals' strange behavior escalated into madness. The bats and pigeons swerved downward in their flight to swarm Zephyr. The cats began attacking anything with wings. Since Zephyr was in the midst of the commotion, he too was considered a target for their claws and teeth. All of the creatures were driven insane by sounds both too high and too low for normal humans to hear or even sense. There was no sense at all in the attack, merely pure confusion.

A rumble began building below the ground, growing in intesity. Suddenly the pile of debris exploded outward. Shards of rock were sent flying with enough force to pierce and shred the walls and railings.

The red-headed pair glared at him from the middle of the rubble pile, eyes blazing with pure hatred. By creating the vacuum 'shield', he had managed to find their one phobia; fear of space, a vacuum where sound couldn't exist. And without sound, the Sonic Sisters were separated from each other, powerless. If they could have they would have sent a blast through him powerful enough to rupture every single vital organ.

But that last attack had unnerved them, thrown them off-balance. And while the girls were proud, they weren't stupid. They were badly bruised and hurt, and needed to recover. So they did the smart thing.

They ran.

Another wave of sonic shockwaves was sent through the air, aimed above Zephyr, then pulled downward on top of him. Even as the attack was delivered, the girls had launched themselves over the railing, Amp cushioning their fall. They headed for the museum entrance, knowing they couldn't outrun him on the water. Instead they found a spot inside to hide. Amp placed a hand on the floor. After finding him again, she kept track of Zephyr's every move.

Aware of only the slightest hum in the air Zephyr did not immediately connect this to the girls condition for he had more pressing matters to attend to; key among them being his efforts to keep himself somewhat clean while under an assualt from the local wildlife.

'What the hell is going on here?' he thought furiously as he fought to shield his face from the whirlwind of beaks, claws and fangs that were doing their best to gauge out his eyes.

Preoccupied as he was with these events the elemental could have easily missed the twins exit, had they not announced their presence with a such a thunderous explosion. Dodging the stone shrapnel by sheer luck alone Zephyr refocused his attention on the center of the explosion and to be rewarded with a flash of red and green whipping out of his peripheral vision. Twisting his head violently he tried to follow their flight but his attackers had other plans and his view was obscured by a cloud of feathers and papery wings as the flying vermin assaulted him anew and caused him to lose track of the twins, and his patience.

"Enough."

The command was not bellowed as some may expect but it carried in it a hint of steel which would have made even the most bold pause in theirs steps. Unfortunately it did nothing for the furious swarm surrounding him and so the elemental was forced to action; taking hold of the surrounding air and repelling it from his body faster than a bullet. This sudden explosion of wind not only dispelled his demented attackers and obliterate the girls coming attack, it left an indentation in the solid stone beneath his feet.

As air surrounded his body once more Simon took a deep breath and let his eyes dart over the arena. There was no sign of the two redheads and he couldn't feel any trace of the minute vibrations created by the one twin. Still Zephyr refused to lower his guard as he continued to observe his environment, 'too much damage' he noted idly to himself as he took in the scene of destruction. Although the British merc was normally loathe to fight the fairer sex, when he did he never fought with his full potential, and although that still held true here he had been forced to increase the intensity of his strikes somewhat to compensate for the defensive abilities of the girls mutation. The result of this increase in power was the scene that now faced his eyes; cracked and uneven earth, strewn pieces of debris along with a notably absent chunk of rock from lady liberties base. Not a lot admittedly but it was more than the elemental liked, especially considering he had vowed off his powers for the day.

'I suppose it's time to go' he decided when he failed to find any trace of the rotten red heads. Summoning an undercurrent beneath his feet once more Simon slowly ascended into the clear blue sky, halting when he was standing above the great golden torch in the statue of liberty's upraised arm. "What a disappointing day" he muttered morosely as the adrenalin from the scuffle quickly left his system. "Still, I suppose it's not been a complete loss."

With that final word the elemental turned his gaze back inland and rocketed through the air on his way back to his hotel, parting the air before him as he went.

Amp kept up her watch, just in case he decided to circle back. Once sure he was gone, they both let out a sigh, half relieved, half frustrated. They took a few minutes to catch their breath.

At one point Amp punched at the wall, leaving a fist-size crater. She cringed, then leaned back. The pair could literally hear each others' hearts pounding.

It was several more minutes before they worked up the energy to head back to the ferry, and the Sanctuary. The trip was unusually quiet, an air of depression and anger hanging about them.

>There's gotta be a way around that shield.<

Amp merely sulked quietly, watching the water drift by.