This was a very bad situation, to say the least. The Minority were clearly out of their depth in so many ways. They had been transported out to this remote area by a group of strange Fells who were absolutely more dangerous than they had seemed to be on the surface. This seemingly ragtag bunch, with their very simple ski masks and sweat suits, were much bigger threats than anyone could have assumed just by first appearances. Even one of them by himself, the one who could project fire or ice, would have been a threat to the entire team if he hadn't so obviously been holding back. He had been playing with them, or maybe he was testing them. Either way, he wasn't actually giving it his all. Or even a quarter of his all.

Then, just as Carousel, Syndicate, Flashflak, and Wobble had thought they might actually be getting him somewhat under control, just as they had the slightest hope that they might've managed to surprise the man and could put an end to this before he could do any more damage, his backup had arrived. Backup in the form of a new man they hadn't even seen before, who walked right up with no shirt, giving a very good look at the gold, black, and purple needles sticking out all over his body. Two of which had flown out to hit Flashflak and Carousel, immediately leaving both of them on the ground, too weak to stand.

Syndicate and Wobble both tried to help immediately, but were cut off by the fire and ice guy, who had recovered from that very brief moment of weakness the second Wobble's attention shifted from him to the needle-covered newcomer. He sent out a blast of fire toward the boy himself, as well as every single one of the Syndicates. They couldn't all be intangible at once, one of them had to be solid. And that one was forced to hurl himself away from the incoming flames. The rest might've been protected from the heat in their ghost-like forms, but they couldn't risk getting any closer to their two teammates without drawing those flames to them.

Which meant the needle-man was free to walk closer to the downed pair as he casually taunted them for having a four-on-one fight against his companion. As though the numbers truly meant anything. He even chuckled slightly at the end of that. It was clear this whole thing, all of it, was just one big joke to him. Probably to this whole group of strangers. And why wouldn't it be? In a single moment, with two quick needle shots, the man had left Flashflak and Carousel incapacitated.

Or rather, Jae was incapacitated, the effects of that needle still working their way through the girl as she lay sprawled out on the ground while the man approached. Jae was too sick to move, the needle seeming to drain the very life out of her even as their opponent appeared to grow visibly stronger at the same time, like the very same thing that was making her weak made him better. Jae was the one with the needle sticking out of her arm, unable to so much as raise her head.

But Jae wasn't the only one here. She wasn't the only one in control of this body, and though it was incredibly weak and groggy, the body wasn't completely dead yet. In that moment, as the needle-covered stranger calmly walked closer, so supremely confident that his opponents had been completely taken out of the fight, Jae's secret partner took over. The mask. The Touched mask who had been the secret other half of the hero known as Carousel since they started out. Jae was down, but he wasn't. The mask himself took over the body and immediately focused on using Jae's power on the needle that was sticking out of them. It was ripped right out of Jae's arm and began to spin in a slow circle above their fallen form.

The man was clearly taken by surprise, absolutely not expecting to see his needle suddenly pop free and float around like that. He paused for just a second, before abruptly sending three more of them, one of each color shooting off his chest to fly at the fallen figure. But Carousel, the mask Carousel, was ready. Jae's power was active, catching all three needles in midair. They spun around the slumped figure along with that first one before flying right back at their maker.

The needles didn't actually seem to do anything when they hit the man. He wasn't affected by his own power. But the act of having them thrown back like that did surprise him briefly. Which gave the mask time to get Jae back on her feet. She was still woozy, the needles clearly having had a mental effect as much as a physical one. Yet she was standing upright. Well, mostly upright. There was still a little bit of a swaying situation going on, but the mask made do.

He also took a second to focus on the needle sticking out of Flashflak, yanking it free with Jae's power before sending it off in another direction. Hopefully the boy would recover soon enough.

But until that happened, and Jae managed to shake off the lingering effect of that needle keeping her so woozy, it was up to Carousel himself to keep them alive. And he wasn't going to be able to rely solely on the surprise of the girl being back on her feet, considering how quickly this guy seemed to be recovering from that. Now he just seemed… intrigued. "Hm, unexpected, but then, we were promised that the Touched here in Detroit came with a lot of surprises. I have to say, I haven't been impressed up until now. But you, you I could have a conversation with."

Carousel didn't like to control Jae without her conscious permission unless he had to, like now. And he certainly didn't like to put words in her mouth. Yes, he filled her mind with the rhymes that their joint Star-Touched identity was known for, but he never made her say anything that she didn't approve of. Yet right now, in this moment, he knew with absolute certainty that the girl would be one hundred percent on board with the response he made her mouth give. "Ew."

Oh right, the rhyming, he almost forgot that with everything that was going on. Carousel's power allowed him to instantly understand languages and comprehend words in a way that made finding rhymes as simple as it was for most people to speak in normal, comprehensible sentences. Okay, maybe a good bit simpler than that. Now, he had Jae speak again, adding, "Your intrigue prompts such thorough disgust, beating you senseless is quite the must."

Under that casual rhyme, the mask was anxious. No, it was more than that. He was afraid. The other boys, the Syndicates and Wobble, were still trying to stop the man with the fire and ice. They were right over there, trapped by a wall of flames that had sprung up to block them off. If anything happened to them, if they were-- no, he wouldn't think about that. Just like he wouldn't even think about letting anything happen to Jae. She was still groggy, too loopy and drained to focus on anything. Which, the fact that it was lingering for so long even after the needle was removed… no wonder this guy had been surprised when she seemed to make it back to her feet within a couple seconds of being hit.

The point was, even if they could turn their back on this guy, Jae wasn't ready to throw herself into a fight with the fire and ice man. It was all the mask could do to keep her on her feet right now. But knowing that didn't stop him from wanting to do it anyway. He heard the whoosh of the fire, could feel the heat coming through the air, and knew the boys were in trouble. The fight had taken them a bit further away in that direction, probably intentionally. They knew Jae was groggy and Flashflak was down and were intentionally pulling that guy away before an errant flame did horrific damage. But they were still right over there, still close enough for the sound of that fight to make Carousel's guilt spiral. He wanted to help. Jae would have wanted to help if she was actually capable of processing anything. They needed to help their teammates, their friends. Sure, friends who didn't even know that Carousel as an individual existed, but still friends.

The possibility of even trying to jump in there, slim as it might've been, disappeared a moment later as the needle man sent several more of his colorful quills flying at them without any warning. It was like he had read the mask's mind and immediately had to make it clear what a bad idea it would be to ignore him. He was clearly testing Carousel, seeing if he could take them by surprise, or at least check how much that first needle was still affecting this girl. The mask was ready though, catching the needles with Jae's power and sending them back that way. Not that they would actually be any more effective against their creator than the previous ones had been, but they had to go somewhere, and it was impossible to see through all the flames over there to actually aim for the other man without taking the risk of hitting the boys. Wobble was probably okay in his armor, but if one of the Syndicates was hit, that could be bad. It wasn't worth the risk.

Only belatedly did Carousel realize that there was one more needle he missed. That one hadn't come anywhere near Jae. The thing had shot off to the side, going around them the long way before flipping over to come back at them from behind. No, not at them. At Flashflak. The boy was still incapacitated, lying there in his loose black pants and form-fitting purple sleeveless shirt, his face obscured by oversized ski goggles. None of which protected him from the black needle that embedded itself in the back of his neck. And it must've really hurt, given the way he instantly launched himself off the ground, spinning in the air like some sort of expert gymnast.

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It was around the moment that the boy suddenly flung that metal bomb of his at them that Carousel realized he wasn't moving like that because the needle hurt him. He was being puppeted. The gold needles made people sick, and the black ones clearly let this man take control of the target.

The bomb exploded, sending a hundred or so of those tiny metal pellets flying straight at Jae. At the same time, the needle man himself sent a dozen of his own shots that way. He was trying to overwhelm them through sheer number of projectiles. Or just testing to see what would happen.

Either way, the attack wouldn't work. Jae's power didn't need her to focus on each individual object or even to know it was coming. It could be used to grab specific objects as long as they were close enough. But when it was in active defensive mode, the power would grab any object that suddenly came into range and immediately take control of it. It didn't matter how many objects there were. In that mode, objects had to be consciously allowed through, not consciously caught. So every single one of those pellets and all the needles were grabbed in midair and began to spin around the girl.

Unfortunately, whether by happenstance or intentionally, Flashflak's little jump and flip had taken him too far away from Jae for the mask to pull the needle out of his neck. Now he was a few feet away on one side of them, while the stranger was a good ten feet or so away on the other side. From the sound of things, the fight between the Syndicates, Wobble, and their own opponent had moved even further away, and it was impossible to tell who was actually winning with that wall of fire in the way. And Carousel couldn't spare any--

What--what's going on? What happened? Jae's mental voice kicked in suddenly. She sounded far more alert than she'd been a moment earlier. The effects of that needle had finally worn off.

Carousel gave her a quick update on the situation. Fortunately, their connection allowed him to give her the details in a fraction of the time that it would have taken in a normal conversation. In just a couple seconds, while the needle man and their puppeted teammate were still circling as though searching for an opening, Jae knew as much as he did. Now they could work together.

We have to get that needle out of Flashflak, Jae noted while shifting their gaze that way very briefly before looking back at the enemy himself. They had turned a bit to keep both of them at least somewhat in view. Which meant putting their back to the flames and rising ice pillars that marked the other battle. But they still couldn't worry about that. The needle man had priority. And getting their teammate out of his control had super-priority.

On the face of it, that prospect seemed simple enough. They just had to get within a couple feet of the boy, close enough to snatch the needle out of him with Jae's power. Unfortunately, it was going to be a bit more difficult than that. The second they took a step that way, the stranger sent a thick cloud of needles at them. The majority were snatched out of the air and forced into a circular orbit around them, but some managed to skirt the edges of the telekinetic power's relatively short range. They were all the purple needles, the only color whose effect wasn't known yet. Though that changed quickly, as the things began hissing the second they hit the ground, before spraying a thick purplish stream around them. The violet liquid began to melt the rocks and dirt everywhere it landed. Acid. The purple needles created acid, that was just great.

And now there was a small stream of acid between Carousel and Flashflak. Worse, even more needles had hit the ground that hadn't gone off yet. Getting close enough to the boy to get that black needle out of him was suddenly even more tricky. But not exactly impossible, given they--

"Now," the needle man interrupted their thoughts, "sure, you could maybe use that little power of yours to move all that acid out of the way before it melts your precious toesies. But let me ask you something. Do you think you can get to your buddy over there before I make him step in a big pool of it and then throw himself face first into the stuff? How much damage do you think it can do to his brain before you drag him out while he's fighting you the whole time to stay in it and gulp it down?"

I think I'm really starting to hate this guy, Jae sent to her partner with an inward grimace. It was a sentiment the other shared. Not for the first time, both of them spent a bare, fleeting second wishing they had one of the movement powers some other Touched had. Teleporting over there would've made this whole thing so much easier. But no, they had to work with what they had.

The man himself, meanwhile, had interlaced his fingers to crack his knuckles loudly. All while giving them what was clearly a curious stare before adding, "So why don't you come on over here and we'll see just how good that Minority self-defense training is?" He made a show of raising his hand in a pledging motion. "I swear, on my honor, if you come throw hands with me I will not make your friend over there melt his own face off. Just you and me, what do you say?"

Jae couldn't help it, her reply came reflexively (aided in maintaining their rhyme schtick by her mask partner). "You want to trade punches and kicks? Is this how people like you get their fix?"

"Let's just say I'm curious," came the overly casual reply. "We're here to do some tests, after all. Show me what you've got. You land three good hits right to the face and I'll leave you all alone."

We have absolutely no reason to believe him, Jae pointed out tersely, even as they took a slow, cautious few steps to the side, watching the man without letting Flashflak completely out of their peripheral vision just in case the boy was compelled to throw that bomb of his at them again.

We also don't have much in the way of alternative options, the mask noted. At least if we fight him, it could distract the man long enough for one of the others to get back and help, like Way.

Just like that, the two of them were in agreement. And no sooner had that happened, then they were already sprinting straight at the waiting man. But on the way, Jae's hand touched a small button at their waist. Immediately, the gold, silver, and purple-themed robes they wore fell away, landing in a pile behind them. Underneath that, they wore a much lighter bodysuit, though it still covered them completely and had the same color scheme. It just allowed them to move much more freely. If the needle man had thought their robe would slow them down, he was mistaken.

There was already Touched-Tech involved in their costume, allowing them to wear it in the heat without melting, but dropping the heavy robe was still at least a bit of a relief on that front too. They could move better, had more range of motion, and the sudden shift would maybe take this guy by surprise.

Adding to that potential surprise, as Carousel (the partners) sprinted at the waiting man, they focused on the ground ahead, bringing Jae's power up. Just as they came within about ten feet, that power ripped up about a section of dirt and grass about twelve inches deep and twenty inches wide just in front of them. It was already starting to shrink, but stayed just large enough for the pair to plant their feet on the rising chunk. It began to spin to the right as it lifted into the air, giving Carousel even more momentum to fling themselves off the thing. Their left hand lashed out, punching the needle man right across the face as they went sailing past before dropping into a roll. He was already reacting, sending a flurry of needles that way. But all of them were caught in that telekinetic circle, as Carousel rolled through the dirt and quickly popped back to their feet.

One hit out of the three he'd demanded. Unfortunately, getting the other two would prove to be far more difficult. They tried to take immediate advantage of that first hit, rising and pivoting to throw a second punch. But the man was ready for that, already taking a slight step back. He moved just enough to make their gloved fist sail right past the edge of where his nose was hidden by the mask. His tone was casual, even complimentary. "A very good opening move; I'm impressed. At least you're not one of those under the delusion of sticking to a fair fight. Take all the advantages you can, you'll sure need them. Now try again, show me what else you can do."

They did. Or, well, they tried. Jae and Carousel, working together, did their level best to hit the man again. But nothing else worked. Oh, they could keep his needles from hitting them, sure, but he was entirely too quick for them to land another punch. He just kept casually leaning away from their fists, sidestepping, even pivoting slightly to make them stumble past. The man was ready both times they tried to use that rising ground trick to hit him from a different direction, and flinging dirt clods his way as a distraction only made him shoot off enough needles to knock the incoming debris out of the way. Even working together with one of them focusing on trying to hit the man while the other used the telekinetic power to distract him failed. Nothing the pair did got them anywhere near landing those other two hits.

Not that they expected him to keep his word anyway, but still, it was a sign of just how dangerous he was. He was barely even using his power at all by that point as he casually evaded everything they threw at him while barely breaking a sweat. If he even was.

Abruptly, the man stopped evading. Instead, his hand caught their wrist, twisting just enough to hurt without breaking it. He was simply making it clear that he could have done so quite easily. His foot casually swept out, kicking their right leg out from under them to dump them onto their back. But instead of following up, the man stepped back, his voice as calm as ever. "Your friends are coming. Good luck, I look forward to seeing what you can do in the future." As his eyes met theirs through his mask, they could see the man wink as he said three more words.

They were still processing those words while he walked right through a brief opening that appeared in the flames, before the fire rose back up once more. Immediately, they heard Flashflak yelp and curse as he stumbled away from the acid on the ground, as well as That-A-Way and Fragile calling out as they approached. But all of that was background noise compared to the man's last three words, which seemed to echo on a loop through their minds.

What he had said to Carousel, as they lay there on the ground with his gaze seeming to pin them down, was, "Both of you."

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