Even Villains Have Standards (Pika, Open to 1 more)

When the last of the debris had fallen, multiple audible groans could be heard all around the lobby. The smell of blood was in the air as several of the villains were injured badly, especially those who had been knocked out earlier and thus had no way save themselves. Miraculously though, there were no fatalities. Even those worse off would make it, provided they received medical attention within the next couple of hours. But amidst all this chaos, the ringleader was blessed with the devil's luck yet again. The main part of the statue fell right on top of him but somehow he avoided most of it though his left leg was caught under the statue's arm.

"Curse you heroes! This was supposed to be an easy job."

He grunted and groaned as he tried to pull out his leg but it was no use. He reached for his pistol, clicked the case once, and then surprisingly pointed the barrel at the side of his neck. Suicide? No. He was much too dignified for that. Smirking, he pulled the trigger. The man's head jerked in the opposite direction. There was a dazed look on his face but he was otherwise alive.

Suddenly, his body began to convulse. In started with his limbs, working its way up to his torso and finally his head. The shaking was violent. And then, as sudden as it began, it stopped. The man was still for just a few seconds before the real effects of that last shot finally began to manifest itself. It was like watching a movie in fast forward. The man began to bulk up considerably, growing in size, his muscles tearing his fit clothing. When that was done, the new giant of a man effortlessly moved the metal chunk that was previously pinning down his leg.

He stood up, nearly eight feet tall, with muscles bulging everywhere, his eyes livid with rage.

"Come heroes! Let us see if you have got what it takes to face me!"

Meanwhile from behind the statue's base, Marleigh was staying out of sight, using her duster to wipe away blood on her glasses. She too was hit by a stray piece of debris on the side of her head. She dared not answer the leader's challenge. She was not quite prepared yet.

From where she sat, Marleigh spotted a familiar winged figure just a few meters away from her. She did not have time to ponder what the girl was doing there. In any case, the winged girl seemed to have landed on one of the less injured thugs, knocking him flat on the ground. He struggled to get up, trying to reach for his pistol which he dropped just a few feet away.

There wasn't much time to think. Marleigh hurriedly got up and made a dash for the criminal, kicking him in the head with a sliding tackle to knock him out.

"Are you alright?"

Metamorphi looked up at the giant man who had once been the gentlemen, he got too his feet and turned his body into paper, he then ran at the giant man with great swiftness and swung for his face, turning into steel at the last second to add power into his punch.

As Violet pushed the pain surging through her wing to the back of her mind, she almost didn't notice when Marleigh's foot connected with the thug's head just a few feet from her.

Standing, pulling her wings in felt like sliding one over broken glass, and she would visibly grimace at the pain, however her answer would be swift. "Fine. I can see this conflict isn't going to be as simple as I thought it was."

She looked away from Marleigh, not exactly wanting to be in this position. Instead, she looked toward the conflict between Metamorphi and the thug leader.

"Ha! The metal man! Good, I need to teach you a lesson!"

The giant man didn't even bother dodging. He swung his own fist at Metamorphi's face with enough force to dent steel. Both punches would connect at the same time. Metamorphi's hit took out one of his teeth but the leader did not let that faze him. He simply continued to barrage the hero with fists in an all out exchange. It was a difficult bet to see which one of them would good down first.

Meanwhile, Marleigh was glad to hear that Violet was fine. Though maid was slightly wondering what she was doing here. She kept one eye on the slugfest between Metamorphi and the leader.

"It does not seem to be a good idea to get in the middle of their fight. I do not know who the form-changing man is, but he looks capable enough."

All around them, the few thugs who were not seriously injured or knocked out began to stir.

"I would hate to ask this of you, since you're hurt. But if you are up to it, we should clean up the rest before they regain their bearings."

Marleigh then rushed at one of the thugs who had just gotten back up on his feet, still looking a little dazed. She easily got behind him and delivered a blow to the back of his head, knocking him out again. There were about three more in the same state trying to get up.

Metamorphi felt his fist connect with the man's face and knock out a tooth, but at the same time he was punched in the face with astounding force, he was forced back slightly and his cheek was slightly dented inwards, he had to avoid biting into his cheek but otherwise he had nothing wrong other than a sore jaw. He became paper and ducked under the first of the following punches, then turned back into steel before swinging a punch at his stomach, then turned back to paper and dodged the second punch, then turned back to steel and swung an uppercut aimed at his chin.

He rose his arms to block the third punch but it still bruised his arms and hurt a little. Then he ducked under his legs to avoid the next few punches and swung for his crotch in an attempt to deal more damage than a normal punch in his steel state would. If he successfully got behind him he would attempt to send punches to the back of the knees in an attempt to bring him to the ground.

For a moment, Violet thought about letting Marleigh handle the thugs on her own, and escaping before... before what? It was far too late to avoid being noticed now anyway. Whatever the situation was now, she couldn't avoid involvement.

Before two of the thugs knew what hit them, Violet administered powerful swings to the backs of their necks, hoping to keep them down for a while. She quickly looked around once again to assess the situation as it was now.

The villain's first blow may have connected solidly, but for the rest that followed, Metamorphi knew better than to take them head on.

"Hold still you slippery eel!"

For the most part, the villain was taking the hits well. But when the blow to the crotch came, his legs could not help but buckle. The subsequent hits to the back of his knees knocked him down. On the ground, he frantically reached for a fallen piece of debris and threw it at Metamorphi while he attempted to stand back up again.

Meanwhile, Marleigh had dispatched the last of the underlings with a whack of her mop. Only the leader was left fighting. Well, it was less of fighting and more of struggling. As far as she could tell, the big man was not used to combat in that form. There was plenty of wasted movement and wild swings. She could understand how the form changing hero was able to avoid his punches easily. She thought about lending a hand but seemed like it would be over soon enough.

Metamorphi easily avoided the thrown object, in his desperation the leader hadn't even aimed it properly so all he needed to do was take a single sidestep. When he saw the leader trying to get up he turned into paper and ran towards him, jumping at the last second and threw a punch at the back of his head, turning back into steel at the last moment. Hopefully this blow would knock him out.

(ooc:skip)

There was an audible groan as Metamorphi's last hit connected with the back of the leader's head, finally knocking him out. The situation was, for the most part, over. The collateral damage however would be quite shocking to anyone who would walk in on them at that very moment. The sound of sirens could be heard outside. It seemed the police and fire department finally made it to the scene.

Despite the destruction, some thanks were still in order. Miraculously, none of the museum pieces were stolen or damaged. Though she was only a part-timer, Marleigh was the only employee still in the building. The rest probably ran outside when the ruckus began. She approached Metamorphi and bowed.

"Thank you for your help with stopping the villains. It could not have been done without you. I think the police can take it from here."

As she spoke, the police and a few firemen entered the building accompanied by one of the security guards. The man pointed out the thugs that needed to be rounded up.

Metamorphi smiled at being thanked, he did like feeling heroic, it was certainly better than how he felt after... that day You're welcome, although I'm sure you could of beaten him somehow he held out his hand to shake.

Violet silently brushed herself off; it was looking like she wouldn't be able to take advantage of this chaos the way she'd wanted to. There would be other opportunities. That's what she told herself, anyway.

As she watched the police cuff the thugs, she began to head over to Metamorphi and Marleigh. She turned to Marleigh first. "I don't think I actually thanked you for keeping that thug down, so thank you. As for you," She pivoted to face Metamorphi, "Good work. Very impressive." A smirk crept onto her face.

Marleigh shook Metamorphi's hand. "Oh not at all. I am no ordinary maid, that is for certain, but fighting is far from being my expertise. Anything I did today was possible largely due to your efforts and distraction of the villains."

Violet approached them, thanking Marleigh and commending Metamorphi for a job well done too. But as she did, Marleigh could not help but notice her expression.

"You are welcome. Do perchance know each other?"

Metamorphi smiled as he recognised Violet Oh, hello Violet he felt a bit awkward because he had only just noticed her and didn't notice anything good that she did to commend her.

Addressing Marleigh again, Violet remarked, "We've crossed paths a couple times."

(OOC: sorry short post)