Rainbows and Unicorns (Howell)

[Jared Park]

“Animoids? Are you serious? Didn’t we agree just last week that you’d stop terrorizing my city already (or any other city for that matter)?”

The voice, which was quickly followed by a loud sigh, came out of nowhere, the ‘shock factor’ making the Animoids – a group of supposedly villainous anthropomorphized animals, currently composed of a red dog, a blue cat, a green snake, a yellow owl and a brown bull – stop whatever it was they’re doing for at least a split-second. It wasn’t much, but it gave the source of the voice enough time to grab the crying girl away from the snake’s grasp, throw the reptile towards his comrades and get the girl to safety.

A number of growls and grunts followed soon after, with the beasts fighting amongst themselves about having one’s claws on another’s eyes, being spooked by a voice they’ve heard a thousand times before and just being general dolts. The chaos was once again interrupted by the voice, this time accompanied by a rather innocent and infectious laugh. “You guys are hilarious. Let me guess, you missed me so much so you’re doing this to get my attention?”

Clad in a white jacket, bright red-blue-yellow pants and rather thick mascara, the Asian boy looked down from one of the surrounding building’s balcony, smug grin plastered on his face. Looking at the red dog – Alpha, as he calls himself – straight in the eye, the boy positioned himself, shield right in front and gun pointing down the beasts. He gave Alpha one final wink before the beast growled/shouted, “Get him!”

ooc:
Eeep. Sorry this took so long Beret. >.<. Hopefully it's good enough.^^. Feel free to tell me to edit it and stuff. Or even control the animals to whatever they need to do. :B.
- Jam

[Howell Chilton]

Awe-inspiring buildings piercing the sky. Bustling crowds with vague features, wearing clothes not suited for this era. A bright sun surrounded in a sea of brilliant blue not at all tainted by the smog one would otherwise find in places like this. Howell was familiar with this kind of setting. This was a city... of justice!

This night Howell had decided would be a dream trekking night. He'd been all too eager to fling himself into bed and slip off into sleep to begin his latest adventure. The sixteen-year old almost never had a particular destination in mind; blind wandering often provided the best path. And boy, did he find gold. Feeling particularly bold, Howell placed a foot up against the side of a building. Then, the other foot was hefted up beside the first. Giving gravity a run for its money, the blonde was running up the wall, a broad grin showing no worry of this impossibility. His body righted itself at the rooftop, only for him to begin bounding from one building to the next, half-floating in each leap as if he was on the moon's surface. But where was the dreamer in this huge city? It could take forever to find him!

“Animoids? Are you serious? Didn’t we agree just last week that you’d stop terrorizing my city already (or any other city for that matter)?”

Or five seconds. Whichever.

Howell turned towards the heroic declaration. There, on a building nearby, stood the one behind this fantasy. He took a moment to survey the situation, seeing the gang of bumbling humanoid animals below and the beautiful damsel by the boy's side. Great, he didn't miss the fun! Before jumping into the fray, he looked down at his own clothing. This would never do - not for a fellow superhero. Howell grabbed ahold of his own shirt and yanked, tearing off his entire garb to reveal a dark blue jumpsuit, white boots and gloves, black goggles (bitches loved the goggles), and an emblem on his chest bearing the bold words "DW." Of course, he then realized that'd be cheating off a familiarly-nicknamed duck that liked to get dangerous, so he tore that emblem off to show another one with a big, black "D"... and then that was torn off so he had no emblem at all the emblem was a terrible idea why did he ever think it was a good idea. Anyway, now that he was properly dressed for the occasion, he stepped up onto the edge of the roof and called over to the Asian boy.

"Uh.. hey there, fellow hero!" He would have to work on his heroic talk later. "What do I call you before we engage in awesome.. criminal.. fighting?"

And at that moment, the revelation would come to Jared: he was dreaming, and Howell was a foreign presence invading this dream. The blonde was sure that other dreamwalkers were able to infiltrate dreams without such a consequence, but Howell considered it just plain rude. Plus, things usually got a lot more fun when the dreamer realized the situation.

[Jared Park]

Planting his feet firmly on the balcony he’s standing on, Jared flexed his shoulders a bit as he positioned his gun carefully on his shield, setting it to stun. He’s a hero after all, governed by the whole ‘thou shall not kill’ moral code, no matter how ferocious his foes are. How he wishes he had a more useful power than being able to go into brief bursts of speed (lasting about a minute or two) and being more dense than usual (which makes him relatively invulnerable and a bit stronger).

With the beasts quickly closing on him, the boy took one last look at his scope and pulled the trigger, a bullet of concentrated solar energy (apparently his gun’s solar-powered; don’t judge, it’s his dream after all) shooting straight out of the gun and hitting Beak’s – the yellow owl – left shoulder. All the beasts were quick to react, easily dodging their falling comrade, for all except one – Tauren the brown bull, making the boy smirk in satisfaction.

He was all ready to give the three remaining animals a shot each when he heard an unfamiliar voice, distracting him for a split-second. Jared barely had time to process who the speaker was or what he was talking about, as the little slip gave the beasts enough of an opening to pounce at him, a mouse-y squeak being the last sound he muttered before Alpha went at him, his shield being the only thing standing in between the dog’s paws and his neck.

“Dude!” he managed to shout, hoping his voice would be heard from the growls and the hissing, “A little help here! Aren’t you supposed to be my sidekick or something?” A green button made the shield discharge a considerable amount of electricity, sending the beasts back for a bit. “I’m iBorg. You?”

Surprisingly, the Asian kid felt a little weird towards the boy. Must be the realization. Give him time though; the boy’s just a little dense and would probably take a while to process everything. It also doesn’t help that he’s enjoying the dream a little too much that he’s actually wishing this was real.

ooc:
Feel free to call me out should Jared's interpretation of Howell's power be a bit off. ;D.
- Jam

[Howell Chilton]

ooc: Makes perfect sense! Should've thought of it myself actually :'D

It was weird, the other boy not immediately catching onto the situation. This sort of thing was a rarity, not that Howell would take much time in analyzing it. He just shrugged it off as the dreamer having too much fun with his fantasy. It wouldn't be right to break the news to him now.

He watched on as the superhero was already springing into action. A little amazed, a little impressed, and all-around entertained by it all, Howell was slow to act. The blonde felt like a kid in the 50s, gaping at his favorite superhero show. The only thing missing was the excited voice of a narrator pointing out every obvious detail... On second thought, that was probably for the best. Good call, dreaming Jared, good call.

And next thing he knew, the superhero was being overrun by his hated foes. Whoops. For once, Howell was caught off guard by Jared- or rather, iBorg's pleas. "Sidekick..? Oh.. oh!" Oh, right. It only figured that a superhero needed a sidekick. Alright, if that was his role in this dream, he was all for it! And it was a good thing too - iBorg was a tough name to beat.

"I'm Altilad!" Yeah, that'd work. "And I... should probably help you out now, huh?" And with that stupendous revelation, Howell, with his boots that could suddenly propel him through the air, burst off into action. The descending sidekick delivered a flying kick to Venom's (the snake who he decided the name would fit for) head, making it spin around like a wild ribbon before falling over Tauren.

Howell spun around, offering a helping hand to iBorg before the Animorphs could regather themselves. In the free moment, he briefly wondered if there was some strife between the cat and dog. Maybe like a Starscream and Megatron thing going on. But that pondering wasn't very proper for this situation. Especially when said cat and dog were now rushing at him in his moment of contemplation.

[Jared Park]

A twinkle in the boy’s eye appeared when Howell – I mean Altilad – made no complaints about being his sidekick. Jared’s been sort of a sidekick his whole life – it’s an unconscious move really, like he just fills in that niche almost automatically whenever he forms friendships – that it’s only in his dreams does he have the chance to take on the spotlight. He’s not complaining mind you (no matter how pathetic I made his situation sound), but he says it’s nice to be a hero sometimes. And having his very own sidekick only makes it all the more exciting.

“Nice kick!” he grinned as he took Howell’s hand, “Poor Tauren. That’s what you get for being so darn big!” Then comes his boisterous laughter, which, judging by the way Tauren snarled at him from the ground, only irritated the bull even more. He too noticed the approach of the two top animals (Talon’s just halfway through while the two are still trying to untangle themselves from each other), so he instinctively pulled Altilad inside the office building. “They’d have a hard time finding us in here.”

Yes, playing tag and hide-and-seek that spans an entire building is also one of Jared’s dreams. Amazing how his mind makes it all fit in one scenario, right?

The wisest thing would be to go down the stairs already so the ‘Morphs won’t catch them, but Jared’s a hero now and he thinks that he has to stay and fight. “So Altilad,” he whispered in the quietest voice he can muster as Fluffy – the cat, scary name no? – has enhanced hearing, “Aside from your awesome boots, anything else you can do?” Squatting from one of the cubicles, he took a quick peek and saw the dog and the cat enter, followed shortly by the owl. He could hear Alpha barking orders, and Fluffy snarling back before following. A strife between the two is true indeed.

Huddled in such close quarters with Altilad, some sort of recognition washed through the Asian boy. “Have I seen you somewhere before?” Must be Howell’s powers’ side-effects activating (finally), though Jared’s dreamworld superhero mentality is telling him that he must’ve just seen Altilad’s alter-ego.

ooc:
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE. I'M REALLY SORRY THIS TOOK SO LOONG. Please don't kill me. D;.
- Jam

[Howell Chilton]

Encouraged by iBorg's mocking (actually, it was his hilariously loud guffawing), the sidekick formally known as Altilad decided to throw in his two cents. "Looks like this bull's all tieeeEEEEE-!!" And then he was being pulled/dragged into the building before he could finish his cringe-worthy pun, thank God. Next thing he knew, they were hiding from the bad guys... heroically!

"Good thinking!" Well okay, to him this really was heroic hiding. So off they went, scrambling through the door as the Animorphs fumbled over each other. Altilad squatted down next to his vastly superior counterpart, grinning from ear to ear at the thrill. He could hardly contain himself as the three remaining anthropomorphic baddies came scouting in. The antsy fidgeting stopped at iBorg's question his boots. "Hmm.. Oh! How about this?" A button on the boot that was most assuredly never there before was pushed, and from the heel rolled out a tennis ball, spacious capacity be damned (It's a dream, whaddya want?).

Grasping the fuzzy, green thing, Altilad peeked from behind the cubical, his breath still in anticipation. Just as all three Animorphs had their gazes elsewhere, he tossed the ball and quickly ducked back down. Off it bounced down the stairs, and instantly Alpha's ears turned towards the sound. His head jerked in the same direction and, when seeing the heavenly ball of bouncy goodness, he bounded after it, barking like a merry little pup all the way. The small slapping sound afterwords was of Fluffy facepawing.

"How was that, boss?" He turned towards iBorg, seeking approval as any good sidekick would do. The small recollection Jared had was temporarily ignored. Now that they were this deep into the dream, Howell didn't want the fun found in the anonymity to end just yet.

[Jared Park]

JarediBorg was so glad he’s finally found a sidekick. He’s been battling baddies alone for so long (Inception says a minute in the real world is a day in a dream right? Or something similar anyway) and it’s getting boring. Sure he still wins in the end, but he gets so beat up in the process. At least this time, if all else fails, he can use his sidekick as a decoy so he can sneak up on the Animorphs from behind.

Not that he’s considering that right now anyway. Final resort and all, he says.

His eyes widened when Altilad produced a tennis ball from his boot, the beasts’ proximity being the only thing keeping from spazzing in delight. “That is incredible,” whispered the boy with utter delight, clapping his hands slightly. Once Altilad released the ball and it began rolling then bouncing down the stairs, iBorg had to put his hands over his mouth just to stop himself from squealing from the excitement. Seems no matter how eccentric superheroic he dresses himself up, his inner fanboy is just too strong to be suppressed. “Simply amazing,” he said with a nod. So this must mean he’s a pretty cool superhero right? After all, only exceptional superheroes get supercool sidekicks.

Two down, three to go. “I’d like to say that thing’ll be easier, but everyone knows Fluffy’s the real brains behind every operation.” If only his name’s a little bit more intimidating.

In any case, iBorg’s decided that they should take advantage of the fact that Talon and Fluffy’s separated. Divide and conquer, he says. Doing the whole simply-point-with-my-fingers-and-assume-Altilad-knows-what-I’m-talking-about, he instructed his sidekick to go to move to his left while he moves to the right, effectively placing Talon in between them. The plan was for Altilad to get Talon’s attention so that iBorg can stun him from behind. But again this was done with flaily hand gestures, so good luck Howell.

With iBorg in position, the boy then sent his sidekick the agreed upon signal to start – three quick red flashes of the LED lights embedded in his forehead (don’t ask). So sure was he at the foolproof nature of their plan that he didn’t notice the giant snake slithering towards him over the ceiling.

[Howell Chilton]

The sidekick beamed at the real hero's praise, glad he wasn't the type of hero who disapproved of everything that was done, like a certain Dark Knight. Speaking of which, he would have to make another mental note that would just as quickly be forgotten to get the adventures of iBorg published into a comic series.

Unfortunately, as the ever-epic iBorg was quick to point out, their work was not nearly complete. So Fluffy was the mastermind here? Definitely real bad guy material.. if not for the name and appearance. So Altilad sat and tried his damnedest to comprehend a single thing the other was doing. The next few moments consisted of nothing but staring and blinking, until finally he shrugged and followed iBorg's lead, hoping that moving to his left while the hero moved to the right, effectively placing Talon in between them was what he wanted. Probably not, but it was worth a shot.

As he lied in waiting he noticed three red flashes, whatever that meant. The sidekick was instead in awe at the blinking; a deer caught in headlights. Then Altilad shook his head, shaking off the enchantment of the blinking light. This was no time for light shows, Talon was prime and ready for being ambushed!

Just as superhero and sidekick were about to spring into action, a flash of green caught Altilad's eye. He looked up towards the peculiar interruption. It was Venom, about to get the drop on iBorg! "Look out!!" Altilad completely ignored Talon to bound forward, shoving his compatriot out of the way. The giant snake instead ended up wrapping around him. Oh sure, venomous snakes didn't constrict their prey in the real world, but here it made perfect sense. Well, maybe not so perfect, since he was the one having the life squeezed out of him. If Howell thought he was in any actual danger, he would've been pretty hysterical right about now. Instead, he tried to play his part of being in distress as best he could (which was to say, making jittery struggles while unsuccessfully containing his grin).

[Jared Park]

Once in position, iBorg took extra pains to ensure that his shot would be as precise and as accurate as possible. Like all superhero stories, the Asian superhero claims that they only have one shot at this; should he miss, not only would Talon be privy to their locations, Fluffy’s enhanced senses would also pick the commotion up despite being in the opposite end of the hall. Even worse, Jared claims, is that his gun’s a little too loud and it might get Alpha out of his ball-induced enchantment. Not good.

One eye closed and tongue sticking out by the side of his mouth, Jared placed his finger on the trigger and flexed his shoulders, removing the tenseness that’s slowly pooling on them. He was just about to pull the trigger when Altilad pushed him away, accidentally firing and missing Talon by a few feet. Possibly the only good thing that happened is that the shot broke the ceiling above the huge bird, the debris effectively pinning him on the floor.

“Oh god oh god!” shouted iBorg as he saw his sidekick supposedly being squeezed to death, eyes wide in panic. Yes, Howell’s doing a great job not popping the poor boy’s dream bubble. Thanks Howell. Quickly telling himself that this is not how a hero should behave, the boy scrambled to grab his gun, only to find it crushed into two under Tauren’s horrendously unkept and disgustingly huge hooves. “What now buster?” grinned the giant bull.

As expected, Alpha and Fluffy appeared soon after, the latter helping their avian friend out of the ceiling debris. With the beasts effectively surrounding them (Howell actually constricted by one) and out of gadgets to use, iBorg claims he was left with no other choice but to use his secret weapon. Bringing to fingers to his lips, Jared whistled as loud and as long as he can, face turning red in the process.

Hopefully it works.

ooc:
EEEP. Crappy yo. Apologies for that. >.>. Also, I'll let you decide what the whistle will bring. Since I'm all urgh with good ideas like that. SOOO SORRY BERET. Don't keel me.
- Jam

[Howell Chilton]

Howell really felt terrible for costing Jared/iBorg his one and only shot. It probably would've made him feel like The Lady off The Quick and the Dead,or at least Han Solo. But at least it beat missing it on account of a giant snake squeezing the 'life' out of him. That, Howell reasoned, was at least worthwhile. He would've even been cheering at the roundabout success anyway if he wasn't the one in aforementioned life-squeezing.

This was it.

The "All hope is lost!" moment.

The moment when the audience flings up their arms in surrender, weeping in despair over the downfall of their beloved hero. Altilad was losing air, iBorg's gun had just been crushed, the Animorphs were closing in on them. This was their solemn hour, and everyone knew that it was only going to go downhill from here. Oh, of course Altilad could've just activated his boots, flew into the ceiling, knocked Venom unconscious, and leap to the other's rescue. But then he'd be stealing the real hero's spotlight! And that, he knew, just wasn't done.

But lo! A shrill sound pierced the air. A dove's cry from iBorg's lips, heralding in that ray of hope to stand against the doomed predicament. The Animorphs' ears (at least, those with ears) twitched in annoyance. Altilad looked at his counterpart in confusion for a moment, before remembering his role and continuing with his eyeballs-bulging, face-reddening look. A pause from all sides, before the Animorphs resumed their goal of pulverizing the two of them. NOTHING would save them now.

Minus a flying, anthropomorphized blue whale bursting through the wall.

And in came a flying, anthropomorphized blue whale bursting through the wall. Hello, flying, anthropomorphized blue whale!

The giant aquamarine mammal sent the wall tumbling down with a rumbling cry, a wave of rubble putting Tauren in the same predicament as Talon (though stopping just short of where iBorg stood, amazingly enough). A part of the ceiling cracked, and a stray part broke off to smash against Venom's head, once again knocking him right out and leaving him whithering onto the ground. The whale reared back its curled-up fin, then delivered a megaton punch right into Fluffy's snout, sending the feline flying to crash through the opposite wall, leaving a hole shaped like a perfect outline of his body. Alpha finally freed Talon, only for the two of them to scramble out of the way of the newcomer. The mammoth cete, going by the magnificent name of "Bubba Blue", turned its attention iBorg (sending another section of the building crashing down just by that action).

"You've got two more, friend," it rumbled. It was, as everyone knew, referring to the time that iBorg had saved the ocean's creatures from a previous attack the Animorphs had waged against them, involving oil and plastic popcan holders that ended with everyone leaving with a valuable lesson about protecting the environment. Bubba Blue, who was eternally grateful for the daring rescue, promised to the hero that he would come to his aid three times, called by the sound of a whistle. How it knew just when iBorg was the one whistling, how it got there so quickly to that exact location, or why it would only come three times were irrelevant and should not be acknowledged by anyone ever.

Anyway, with his work done for today, Bubba Blue retreated back through the giant hole it'd made, flying off back to the depths of its home to await a time it could play deus ex machina again.

Altilad gawked at where the whale left for several seconds, before turning to stare at iBorg. "That.. was.. AWESOME."

Though there was still the matter of Alpha and Talon, who had returned onto the scene after Bubba Blue's departure.

ooc: ..... I'm so sorry xD

[Jared Park]

He couldn’t believe it. Bubba Blue actually came. He actually did.

ZOMFG!

Not that Jared ever doubted him, no. Whales after all have a strong sense of loyalty and honour – except for those pompous and showy dolphins anyway, thinking they’re above the holy cetacean code because they’re supposedly as smart as chimps (who for the record, are equally annoying as well, iBorg says). They’re just jealous of narwhals having all the magicks the whale bloodline has to offer.

In any case, the Asian superhero watched with glee as Bubba Blue did his work, smashing up what remains of the building floor (because apparently everything can be thought of as collateral damage when superhero antics are concerned) to round up the pesky beasts. He knows he shouldn’t pick favorites (heroes shouldn’t be happy with the misfortune of others after all), but he’d have to say the way Bubba took care of Fluffy was just amazing. (Nope, you did not see him taking a video of Fluffy’s fall down the building with his shield-cam. That flashing red LED light proves nothing, he says).

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks Bubba!” said iBorg as the giant anthropomorphized blue whale flew out of the building and back to the ocean, waving furiously as he grinned from ear to ear. He quickly turned to his stunned sidekick, pulling him into a quick hug and (slightly) jumping up and down. “I’m so glad you’re safe!” Because Jared couldn’t have a Jason-Todd moment in his dream. It wouldn’t be fair, he says.

“T-This isn’t o-over,” growled Alpha as he and Talon slowly approached the opening Bubba made. He was limping, something iBorg can just assume happened due to some of the debris hitting him bad. Oddly enough, he feels sorry for the canine. He looks just like a hurt puppy right about now.

When they reached the tip, Alpha smirked and showed iBorg and Altilad what he had on his paw – a white capsule with distinct red markings on it. Talon had a similar one on his wing, only his had yellow markings on it. iBorg’s eyes widened, squealing, “Was that from-” “-Mahika gave it to us. She said it’ll help us bring your doom.” “No don’t! She’s a-”

Too late, as the two beasts quickly ingested the capsules and grew unconscious, falling down around thirty stories down. A bright flash of light suddenly happened, then the next thing iBorg knew, there was this giant dog-bird hybrid looking straight at them. Yes, his paw was roughly as wide as the whole building floor now.

Yikes.

“This is…bad,” gulped iBorg, backing slightly, one arm protectively over Altilad. “I didn’t want to resort to this, but we have no other choice.” Why the humongous dog-eagle was just looking at them and not destroying the building they’re currently in is a mystery I’d rather not dwell in at the moment, but it did allow iBorg to give his trusty sidekick what seems like a trackpad with a blue button in the middle. “A good friend gave this to me. He says to use it only when we’re in utmost peril.” (Read: Another deus ex machina).

With a sagely nod, iBorg pressed the button on his trackpad and immediately he was engulfed in what seems like a swirling rainbow, his feet lifted slightly off the ground so that he can have that transformation sequence reminiscent of those motorcycle-clad superheroes in old Japanese live-action cartoons. He even had his own theme song.

As the rainbow waned, iBorg’s new attire was revealed, showing himself in shiny armour reminiscent of the infamous Rainbow Unicorn, complete with a flowing rainbow cape and a narwhal tusk unicorn horn. “You ready Altilad?”

Is this turning out to be quite the wet dream or what?

ooc:
HERPDERP. I didn't do as much. Sorry. I'll leave the action initiation to Altilad I think. >:B.
- Jam

[Howell Chilton]

Altilad joined the hero in the revelry, glad that things were taking a turn for the better. It was short-lived, of course. He turned towards the two remaining Animorphs, sharing iBorg's pity for the poor guys. They were just dream beings - fabrications - but Howell allowed himself to be fooled by the image, as he always did in this world. It made the experience feel more genuine that way.

But even that mood was to be briefly enjoyed. The capsules didn't hold any particular meaning to the sidekick - he was just a foreign presence here, walking in without a reference sheet to the story he was taking a role in. Though the alarm in iBorg's voice alerted him to the severity of the situation. And now there was a new player in the game, someone going by Mahika? She must be iBorg's arch nemesis! This just kept getting better and better.

And he spoke too soon. The two animals took their respective capsules, and now the two crimefighters were facing off against something that looked like it waltzed right out of a Power Rangers episode. A real twinge of fear found its way in Altilad as he gazed up at the monstrosity. He could only nod his head at iBorg's observation on their situation. Bad? Yeah, bad was a word for it. Yet once again iBorg was leaping into action, like a true bamf hero! Though any other person would have beheld the colorful transformation with guffaws, the faithful sidekick was again struck with wonder.

He looked down at his own device before all too eagerly pressing the button. The sequence was almost exactly similar to iBorg's, only Altilad was enshrouded in a cloak of night and stars, a streak of rainbow briefly being seen within. He even got to listen to his own theme song to enjoy during the sequence. The sidekick reemerged clad in armor - the torso and leggings shimmering gold, with a pink coloring on the front. His helmet had two cat ears adorning its top. Once suited up, Altilad stepped up beside the hero. "Ready as I'll ever be, iBorg!"

It was a good thing, too, because the Gigamorph (Howell thought it was a witty title for their new adversary) was taking first initiative. A horrifying roar that sounded like a mix between a howl and an owl's screech bellowed out, the likes of which could make elementary school viewers wet themselves and censor programs have a hayday. A fur-covered talon followed, coming down to swipe at the pair. Altilad rushed to grab hold of his unicorn-themed friend and propel off the ground with his new and improved boots. Midair, he began spinning the other around, building up momentum. "Up you go!!" At full velocity, he released his grip, hurling iBorg up towards the Gigamorph's head.

[Jared Park]

JarediBorg watched as his sidekick underwent his own transformation, giggling to himself as he heard Altilad’s transformation theme song. That song has been stuck in his head since the start of the week and it’s been killing him; it’s almost always coming in the most inopportune times, like that time he was in the middle of his chemistry exam and he couldn’t remember all the relevant chemical reactions. (He’s so hoping for decent part marks really).

“Woah. Nice detail,” chuckled the boy as he gave Altilad’s twin kitties a pat. He was about to add something, but their little banter was cut short by the ear-splitting wail of the Gigamorph. (How long has he been waiting there watching again? Was he distracted by the color-blinding quality of the rainbow the two exuded?). iBorg had to shield himself slightly with an arm as the wail sent a strong gust of wind towards them, sending him a few feet back. “Goodness Gigamorph, ever heard of breathminths?” said the Asian superhero with a disgusted face as he waved his arm in front of him to fan the fumes away, “Or did you just gorge in from some all-you-can-eat corpse buffet?”

Because a proper superhero battle isn’t a battle without some witty comment. The only exception is if you’re part of the Bat family. (And yes, it was witty in his head).

He couldn’t have foreseen Altilad’s sudden move, and though it was a little dizzying, boy was it effective. It took a split-second or two for the boy to get his footing back as he was whizzing round and round, and when he’s finally released, he lowered his head (read: the tip of his horn) and extended his arms out, feeling very much like a superhero for the short time he was whizzing through the air with his cape making a trail of sparkly rainbows behind him.

His sidekick’s aim was impeccable though, with his horn hitting the beast’s legs and making him fall on the side with a loud growl of pain. Only problem now is his horn’s stuck. “Err, Altilad! Help!” he said as he scrambled to yelp free, narrowly missing Gigamorph’s paw swipe.

But it couldn’t go any worse, couldn’t it?

Oh wait. The three other Animorphs just woke up. And swallowed their respective pills. (Gigamorph was glowing with iBorg stuck in one of his legs). And now he’s more than just a canine-owl monstrosity. He had feline, bovine and serpentine characteristics now, most notably the tail which has Venom’s head on it. And is slithering towards Altilad at the moment.

“Altilad! Behind you!”

ooc:
Sorry this took so long (and if it is rather crappy). Last week was my finals week so I didn't have enough free time. And after that my muse was drained so it took me a while to recover. I promise to do better next time. So so sorry.
- Jam

[Howell Chilton]

With his witty banter, iBorg stirred up another bout of chuckles from the poptart-feline-themed sidekick in spite of the fake threat they were facing. It wasn't really much of an accomplishment, seeing as how Howell found everything funny here. But still, good effort, Jared.

Perhaps the only thing that could dampen his spirits was a mess-up. Like say, completely missing his intended target. Altilad frowned at that. How could he have missed? Maybe he didn't take the wind into consideration. He put his finger in his mouth, then held it out above him. Yup. Definitely the wind.

With that mystery solved by the amazing Detective Altilad, it was now time to go retrieve the hero lodged into the owl/dog's leg- wait no it was an owl/dog/cat/snake/bull leg now. The suited sidekick paused in his running, too taken aback by this new transformation to remember his mission. Large horns going out the sides of its sabre-toothed tiger-like head, which sat atop the hulking body of a canine structure, its fiery fur in sharp contrast to the cerulean head. Sprouting from its back were two truly gigantic golden wings, which thankfully were folded in on themselves for the time being. The front pair of legs were razor-sharp talons, while the back pair (one of which Altilad had the privilege of flailing wildly on) belonged to the brown bull portion. And the pièce de résistance: a snake tail, adorned in emerald coils, which was winding all around... to...

Oh. Poop.

"Altilad! Behind you!"

Yeah... yeah, he knew.

Instinct alone saved him from another tussle with the snake. He instantly shot up, leaving the snake's jaws to snap shut on rainbows and stars. Altilad flew in towards the the stuck hero, narrowly avoiding a swipe of the claw on the way. Returning back to solid ground, the sidekick grabbed ahold of iBorg's waist, yanking back with all his might. "C'mon, iBorg! We can't stick around here!" Found. Everything. Funny.

But just as he had finally dislodged the crime fighter from the furred leg, both would find themselves tumbling right into an awaiting claw. It enclosed tightly around them, and something familiar to a triumphant chuckle rumbled out of the Gigamorph as it brought the pair up towards its feline face. Before they could do anything to break free, the monstrosity shoved them into its muzzle and gulped heavily.

... Well. That could've gone better.

[Jared Park]

They’re doomed.

And nope, it’s not because JarediBorg found himself stuck to the Gigamorph’s leg. Or they almost got swiped (and later on actually got swiped) by the said monster.

They’re doomed because oh-plucky-sidekick decided to laugh and indulge his less-than-stellar superhero.

Ok, I know that sidekicks are supposed to make their superhero partners look good. Maybe even condone them a little with their guilty pleasures and affirm their efforts. You know, the whole ‘stroke the ego’ thing. And even though Jared barely has an ego, he could honestly say that he feels so special (and very much like a true hero) with the way HowellAltilad has been treating him. While this is almost always a good thing, one thing to remember is that they’re in a different world. One created by Jared’s overactive imagination, subject to its every whim and fancy.

And affirmation could only mean even wackier ideas for them. Just saying.

(Anyway, back to the ‘real’ action.)

Despite being busy trying to rid himself from the monster’s leg (though he did notice that every time his horn twitches and moves, the fearsome amalgamation growls slightly and gets a little off balance, which means it can’t exactly be a bad thing), Altilad’s impressive display did not escape the boy’s attention. (Since this is Jared’s dream, actual stars when the snake-tail-head snapped its jaws a little hard but didn’t actually catch Howell appeared). “WOAH. That is amazing. You should teach me how you do those things,” grinned the boy as the blonde dreamwalker landed beside him and helped him yank his stuck horn off.

Everything seemed to go rather well, until they were grabbed by the cat (or is it a dog’s?) paw and instantly thrown inside what seems like a dark, bottomless pit.

And since they are in Jared’s dreams, well, it suddenly became one. The Asian kid just watched ‘Alice in Wonderland’ the night before the fell asleep, so if Howell finds the environment around him oddly familiar, well, that’s where the Canadian got his random debris and furniture falling with them idea.

Him being stuck must’ve done something to the circuitry of his helmet that iBorg actually needed to bonk his head a bit for the headlight to work. “Altilad? Altilad are you there?” he shouted and looked around as they fell. (No, the fact that they’re still not reaching the bottom doesn’t seem to rile the boy every so slightly). Though he did grab a nearby umbrella and his descent fell a little slower. “I don’t think I have flight installed in my boots so I might need you help getting out.”

Good luck with that.

Ooc:
DUDE. I really don’t know what happened to me. Why the hell did I take so long to write this and stuff. I really really really really really am sorry. Please forgive me Beret. It’s all me. >.<
- Jam