Hiroshi was first to attack, launching energy beams at Incisor. They struck him but failed to make an impact, exploding harmlessly on the monster's hide. The elephant-man continued to roar, arms spread, his chest bleeding.
Jason latched onto the blood. Incisor was riddled with bullet wounds and although they didn't appear to have made a true impact on him, they had nevertheless penetrated his tough skin. Incisor could be hurt, Tuatara clawing through one of his eyes had proven that much and Laureen melting through his fingers mere minutes ago had only reinforced it. Now, he had dozens of potential wounds to take advantage of.
Nothing was invincible. Several times, Jason had witnessed giants fall. His kind, metahumans weren't human and to some, they might seem like gods. But they weren't. Jason felt as human as the next guy down the street. The thing in front of him was a monster but beneath that exterior burned the heart of a man, mutated into Incisor. But Incisor would fall too. You just had to know where to give the fucker a solid whack and let him realize his own power meant nothing when he was up against them. The Metahuman fucking Agency!
Incisor lurched forward, his arm sweeping at Jason. Jason kicked off a nearby jutting rock and flipped over the air, feeling the force of the thing swing under him. He grabbed onto Incisor's tusks and yanked himself upward, somersaulting into the air. He then kicked downward, giving off a wild yell, as his foot slammed down hard into one of Incisor's gaping bullet wounds.
Incisor howled, as Jason felt his boot slam into something soft. Something fragile. He grinned, flipping backward and landing in a crouch before the monstrous metahuman. Incisor bellowed again at him, his angry roar making Jason's ears ring. But Tuatara leaped forward and his claws racked across another bullet wound, flaks of skin and muscle tearing loose in a spray of blood. Incisor grabbed at him but the lizard-boy dived between the elephant-man's legs, the monster's giant fingers closing on nothing. And two more energy blasts from Hiroshi slammed into the side of Incisor's head.
Incisor bellowed in rage, spinning around. Jason grinned mockingly at him. "What's wrong, big guy?" He said, his tone scathing as he put every ounce of contempt he had for the Skeleton Crew into it. "Not so fun to be on the receiving end of pain, huh? Well, don't worry. There'll be lots more where those came from."
Incisor roared in response, his wail trumpeting across the island. He then slammed his fist into the earth, cracking the ground from the blow. A shockwave of forced burst around him, throwing up dust and sand in its wake. Jason was smacked forcefully by the shockwave and sent tumbling backwards, the cloud enveloping him. Hiroshi was knocked from the sky too, slamming down hard face first. Hiroshi squealed in pain, thrashing violently as he clutched his chest.
Jason twisted onto his feet, his eyes and throat stinging from the cloud of dust. He blinked through it, stumbling over to Hiroshi and pulling the teenager to his feet. Hiroshi yelped again, but quickly said: "I'm okay...I'm okay!"
The whine of a jet engine echoed from overhead before winds swept over the dustcloud. Jason looked up, squeezing his eyes near shut, as The Panther flew down low over them. Its engines dispersed the cloud of dust, sweeping it away. From inside the cockpit, James gave them a cheeky smile and a thumbs up. Jason returned both, before looking around for Incisor.
He didn't have to look far. Incisor was retreating back toward the cliff's base, one finger at his right ear. He was bellowing, "WORMHOLE! GET ME TO THE TOP OF THE ISLAND! I NEED REINFORCEMENTS! NOW!"
From behind him, Jason heard Laureen yelled: "JAMES! Open fire on that asshole! And you military guys, hovering around up there! Do the same! Rest of you...GET CLEAR!" Jason immediately back-peddled, dragging Hiroshi with him. A few feet away, Tuatara sprang toward them, his spindly limbs carrying him easily over the sand. Audrey stood too and although she hesitated for a moment, she fluttered backwards with a buzz of her wings. He caught a glimpse of Laureen, huddled on a nearby rock outcropping, waving at the helicopters above.
"Firing boss aiming for the head aiming for the head!" James cried as The Panther spun around. The jet's machine gun roared, joined by the bursts of other helicopters as they, together, unleashed a barrage on Incisor. The elephant-man staggered forward, bellowing and cursing as bullets tore through his backside. A chunk of his left ear exploded in a bloody display, as he raised both his arms around to protect his head, flaks of skin being torn away under the relentless assault.
But Incisor didn't fall. And as he stomped forward, another swirling portal ripped open before him, bursting out of thin air. The elephant-man disappeared into it, bullets exploding around the portal, before it vanished. The Panther and the choppers ceased fire, the deafening roars of gunfire fading away.
"Shit!" Jason cursed, pumping his hand at the air. Tuatara looked upward, one eye narrowing as his tail flicked back and forth.
"He said he was going to the top of the island," Tuatara said, pointing a single claw up toward the top of the cliffs. "Putting some distance between us. Jacqueline went up there too. And she hasn't returned in sometime. Likely they think they have the advantage up there...which isn't wrong. The high ground is always preferable."
"Yeah, well, I'm surprised that shit-eating elephant can still stand after he got flayed by all those bullets," Laureen said, also looking upward and putting her hands on her hips. She then waved at the flying vehicles. "Ain't gonna give him time to recover though! Yo, flyboys! Get your asses up there! We've got three assholes left! Push on! We can finish this!"
James gave another grin from inside his cockpit and the jet's engines roared as he shot upward toward the top of the island. The squad of helicopters zoomed after him, left in the dust from The Panther's superior speed. Jason watched them go before he turned to Audrey.
His lips trembled as he looked her over, searching for new wounds. But thankfully, mercifully, it looked like she didn't have any. Audrey, however, blinked as her eyes focused on him. She pointed a giant finger at his right shoulder.
"Jason...you're hurt!" She say, stopping down on her knees. Jason glanced at his shoulder. He grimaced. His wound was healing but it was still open, a nasty bite mark on his shoulder where Web had bitten him. The stab wound was scabbing over but it looked red and angry. Both stung, the bite mark more so than the stab. He resisted the urge to scratch them before smiling back at Audrey.
"I'm fine," He said, lowering his arm. "Just some scratches. Nothing I ain't had before."
Audrey smiled at him before rising back to her feet. She nodded and said, quietly, "Right...I know." She looked up then said, more loudly, "Grab a hold of me, everyone. We're going up."
Laureen grunted and limped over, settling herself into the tuck of Audrey's arm. Jason smiled up at her, thinking it...a bit nice she was concerned about him. He wondered if she felt the same, as he pulled Hiroshi onto her other massive arm, helping the teenager grip on. Tuatara jumped onto Audrey's backside, placing his legs onto her shoulders, feet clamping together to secure himself. Audrey took a rasping, deep breathing, her wounded chest inflating before she opened her shell and zoomed upward, carrying the team back toward the prison.
She reached the top in no time. Jason immediately saw a familiar figure clinging to the top of the prison's lighthouse, her single intact optic glowing in the darkness. Jacqueline. Helicopter searchlights illuminated her as she spread her mechanical wings definitely. The Panther dived right at her, spraying gunfire. Jacqueline wrapped herself in her wings, bullets sparking off them before her thrusters roared and she flew at the jet.
The Panther arched sideways, Jacqueline flying past, narrowly missing tearing into it. She spun around in midair and fired a grenade at its engines. The jet immediately deployed several flares, turning the black sky red, and the grenade arced sideways, hitting one of them and exploding in midair.
The explosions rattled Jason, his teeth crackling together. Jacqueline screamed in frustration before the helicopters opened fire, their combined bursts slamming into her backside. Jacqueline dived, zooming low over the prison's rooftop, chunks of it exploding behind her as the choppers gave chase.
"After her-!" Laureen started to yell but a familiar bellowed echoed from below. Jason looked down, catching a glimpse of Incisor standing before the main entrance to the penitentiary. Behind him, another portal opened up, several mercenaries running out clad in heavy armor, just like the ones Jason had fought in Quincy. They raised their scoped machine guns and opened fire.
Audrey immediately dived, the world rushing up to meet them as bullets streak past. Audrey slammed hard into the ground, generating a miniature quake that caused the mercenaries to stumble. Jason and the others slipped off of her, Jason releasing Hiroshi. The teenager wobbled, but stayed on his feet.
Jason assumed a crouching stance as the mercenaries started to recover. Before they could open fire again, Audrey shot forward with a buzz of her wings and slammed into the group. The men went flying like bowling pins, before she swung a fist at Incisor. The elephant-man managed to catch her fist with one hand, their limbs slamming together and sending out a small boom of impact that scattered dirt around them. Incisor was pushed backwards several feet, his huge feet cutting through the ground. He roared in Audrey's face before trying to slash her with his a toss of his tusks. Audrey let go, zipping out of nowhere, Incisor's tusks cutting through nothing.
Jason ran at the elephant-man, Tuatara darting by his side. Incisor saw them coming and didn't retreat. He simply charged forward, howling as chunks of blood went flying from his mangled ear, his burned hand flopping at his side as he raised his other to bash them. Jason and Tuatara dived in opposite directions, Incisor stampeding between them like a runaway freight train.
A loud boom echoed from overhead. Jason looked, spotting one of the military choppers going down in flames. Jacqueline's shape flew away from it, as she opened fire on another helicopter. The Panther zoomed up behind her but didn't seem to be catching her or hell, even slowing her down.
Laureen seemed to have noticed it too, because she whistled sharply and called, "Audrey! Get up there and stop Mistress Crazypants from wrecking those guys!" Audrey stopped in mid-dive, hovering near Incisor as the elephant-man came to a sharp stop at the edge of the cliff. She looked questioningly at Laureen. Laureen clapped her hands and yelled, "MOVE YOUR ASS! That's an order, MacLeary!"
Audrey immediately took off, zooming toward the aerial vehicle above. Incisor turned around. His single eye flicked up and he snorted.
"Stupid move..." He growled, his good hand tightened into a fist, his muscled veins bulging from it. "She was your advantage over me,"
"Uh huh," Laureen said nearby, taking a hobbled step backwards. "You know, you're pretty fucking overconfident for a guy with a chest full of bullets, a messed up hand, and a fucking blown off ear."
Incisor roared before he rounded on Laureen. He stomped toward her, towering over her, raising a fist to crush her. Hiroshi immediately opened fire, energy blasts slamming into the center of Incisor's skull. Incisor staggered backward, briefly stunned.
Jason seized in his and leaped. He landed on the elephant-man's backside and crawled up to his mangled ear. Jason clenched a fist and with a grin, said: "Time for your earwax inspection!" before he rammed his fist right into the monster's ear. Incisor bucked, howling as Jason's fist rammed into his socket with a squelching noise. Jason hung onto the elephant-man as he thrashed, sticking where he was.
He grimaced as he felt slimy stuff around his hand (thank fuck it was gloved) but he kept at it, feeling something metal inside of Incisor's ear. He pressed one finger to it, sticking onto the object, before he kicked off of Incisor. He violently jerked free from the metahuman's ear in a spray of blood and gods knows what else, somersaulting backward and landing on his feet.
He held up the thing he had extracted, revealing it to be what he had suspected: a radio communicator, which Incisor had used to summon those mercenary reinforcements. Jason immediately crushed it and tossed the remnants off the cliff. No more portals for the elephant.
Incisor howled, clapping a hand to his ear, staggering slightly. Laureen spat smoke in his face, his cry of pain reduced to a fit of coughing. Hiroshi hit him again with another pair of energy blasts, before Tuatara ran in. He rolled skillfully under Incisor's tusks before slashing into one of his bullet wounds, tearing the wound open even larger. Incisor blindly swiped at the lizard-boy but he'd already dived through the elephant-man's legs, again avoiding him.
Incisor reared, blood spraying from his now ravaged chest. He howled and staggered forward, before breaking into a full paced sprint. The earth quaked around him as the elephant-man sprinted full force toward the prison entrance. Jason scurried after him, Hiroshi firing energy bursts at the metahuman but they didn't slow him down and Jason, for his part, failed to catch up.
Incisor slammed full forth into the prison entrance, plowing through the open doors and crashing inside in a spray of dust. His massive footfalls echoed from within as he charged out of sight, a giant hole where the doors used to be.
"After him!" Laureen yelled. Jason didn't have to be told twice. Leaping over a chunk of fallen debris, he somersaulted into Alcatraz Prison, feet sliding on the floor as he entered the building.
Before him was a massive hallway, lined with rows upon rows of cells, all stacked on top of each other and going up at least two floors. It was cramped, with little in the way of decoration saved for a steady stream of flickering fluorescent lights overhead. The hallway rumbled as Jason saw Incisor charging down it, shaking the very foundations of the building with each step.
"You fucking coward!" Jason yelled. The word 'coward' echoed down the hallway and Incisor screeched to a halt. He turned around, his single eye puffy and red, blood oozing from his many wounds. "Come on, bitch, really?" Jason cracked his neck as he began to scuttle towards the elephant-man. "Running away? What, know you're outmatched? Know we're gonna kick your ass, like we do to your buddies?"
"I'm not running..." Incisor rumbled. He grabbed the bars of a cell and ripped them out. "And I'm hardly giving up!" He roared, before flinging the cell door at Jason. The Urban Spider twisted backward, bending his spine so low the back of his head almost touched the floor. The cell door soared over his head, smashing against the back of the hallway.
Jason raised his neck, seeing Incisor turning away and run out of sight down a corner. A moment later, Hiroshi and Tuatara entered the hallway. Jason flipped himself back on his feet and without a word, the three of them began pursuing the fleeing elephant-man.
"Do you know the layout of this place?" Jason growled to Tuatara as they ran, remembering Max had been here as a kid.
"Not really," Tuatara snarled back, as they closed in on the corner Incisor had fled around. "But I'll do my best to try and remember! He's not exactly...hard to follow anyway." Jason laughed at that.
They rounded the corner, finding another cramped cellbock. Incisor was now facing them, his arms spread wide. He grabbed another cell door, wrenching it free, and brandished it like a shield with his single good hand. His trunk swayed threateningly, his horns glinting, his single eye wild and crazed.
Tuatara didn't spring to attack. He raised his claws, knees bending as he assumed a combat stance. Jason did likewise, eyeing the elephant-man, as Hiroshi hovered behind them.
They stood like that for a few moments, the rumblings of gunfire echoing from outside. Jason licked his lips, the anticipation killing him as he stared down Incisor. He urged himself not to attack, despite how badly, how desperately, he wanted to. But someone else acted first.
Hiroshi fired an energy blast. Incisor, perhaps anticipating this, raised his makeshift shield and the energy blast struck that instead. A small explosion filled the hallway, chunks of the cell door being blasted off. Incisor roared and charged forward, lowering his head and dropping the cell door, as he charged them.
Jason jumped and stuck to the ceiling. Tuatara leaped into a nearby cell, slicing through the bars and Hiroshi dove in after him. Incisor thundered under Jason and Jason leaped onto the monster's head. He stuck fast, bouncing about wildly before slamming his fist into Incisor's damaged eye.
Incisor howled in pain as Jason pounded repeated blows against the eye. Incisor swatted at him and Jason leaped off, somersaulting over the elephant-man's massive arm. He hit the floor, flipping himself backward, watching as Incisor crashed through a wall.
"You're crashing into things!" Jason snarked at Incisor as the elephant-man turned around, smashing a chunk of wall apart, his form covered in dust. "Except what actually matters..." Jason slammed his fists against his chest. "US!"
Incisor bellowed with rage, tearing off a chunk of drywall. He hurled it at Jason. Jason again flipped away from it, the drywall smashed against the side of the hallway and exploding into pieces. Tuatara and Hiroshi sprang out of their cell, as Incisor began to stride forward again. Hiroshi raised his hands and Tuatara brandished his claws-
But then, a chunk of rotted paint came loose from the cell door. It formed into a thin tendril and looped around Hiroshi's throat. Hiroshi gave a gurgled yelp before the tendril yanked him backward and slammed him against the bars. His helmet clanged off them before the paint tendril dropped him to the floor.
Tuatara spun. He hissed in rage. "Akihiro!" He roared. Jason turned, eyes widening. Oh no.
Multiple tendrils of paint burst from the bars, grabbing Tuatara's limbs. He hissed, struggling to pull himself free before the tendrils yanked forward and slammed him against the door, holding him there. Akihiro materialized out of the floor, droplets of old, withered paint falling off him. He grinned, rising up in a hunched posture, looking at Tuatara's single eye.
"Max..." He said with a wry grin. "I haven't been paying you much attention, have I? How rude of me, really. I love you too, you know, I put as much work and craft into you as I did Jason. Let me take your other eye and complete the superb work I did with you."
Akihiro raised the knife. Jason sprang forward, crying out to help his friend. A glob of paint spat off the bars and struck Jason's shoulder. He tumbled to the floor, in time to see Incisor charging straight at him.
He couldn't move in time. The elephant-man loomed above him, his roar filling the narrow corridor. Akihiro cackled behind them in glee, as he raised a knife above Max's other eye. His laughter echoed from the walls, images of his leering face forming all around out of the decrepit paint. Tuatara screamed. Hiroshi struggled to rise.
Jason raised his arms protectively, adding in a cry of his own as Incisor closed in. But seconds before the elephant struck, there was a loud boom from overhead.
And in an explosion of debris, Audrey and Jacqueline crashed through the ceiling.