Too many faces

[Samantha McManus]

It had been days since she arrived. She checked in with Paladin periodically, but luck wasn't something she'd had a lot of. It was as if Nailah didn't exist here, though she knew the sphinx did.

She'd changed guises a few times during her search, and procured less conspicuous clothes. Now, she found herself resting on a dilapidated bench in an all but abandoned park.

[Faultline]

Walking through the park with a Legion on a leash Faultline spots the lonely person sitting on a bench and walks up to her, yanking on the chain to pull Will along.

"Well then. And here I thought no one appreciated our beautiful parks anymore." she says sarcastically.

[Legion]

Legion panted.

[Samantha McManus]

It was hard to hide her expression in reaction to that, at least at first. She stood, warily.

"I can be moving along. I'm not looking to start anything..."

[Faultline]

"Oh, no one ever wants to start anything. At least not people looking like you." she says, blocking the woman's path, though she keeps a suspicious eye on her in case this is a trap.

[Samantha McManus]

"You don't have to do this, I was just looking for a place to rest for a short bit."

[Faultline]

"Terrible idea. These are Apophis prowling grounds and you look just weak enough to interest the opportunistic lizard."

[Samantha McManus]

"Well you can let me worry about that, right?"

[Faultline]

"Oh sure. But if he gets to you first then I wouldn't have a chance to ask you why there's a shapeshifter snooping around in our frontyard."

[Samantha McManus]

"I don't know what you're talking about, there."

[Faultline]

"Cute." she sneers. "Are you one of the General's spies? It's been a while since he tried a shapeshifter."

[Samantha McManus]

"There's no love lost between the General and I, but I know you've no reason to believe me."

[Faultline]

"Then you better start explaining yourself because I can always use more test-subjects. Keeps you from being too specialized, you know."

[Samantha McManus]

Her gaze strayed to the man on the leash, then back to Faultline.

"That confident, are you?"

[Faultline]

"Care to find out?" she grins.

[Samantha McManus]

"I suppose if everyone else in this miserable place is spoiling for a fight, you'd be no different, Sara."

She hoped the momentary surprise of using Faultline's real name would provide enough of a mental gap to loop the woman's mind and give her an opportunity to escape.

[Faultline]

"Cute, but hardly that much of a secret." she says.

Well, after second or two of blinking and cycling through her previous expression anyway.

[Samantha McManus]

"I suppose not, any moreso than what you've done to Will there..." She tried to widen the gap, as she'd evidently gotten some purchase.

[Faultline]

"You're not the first who thinks they've got it all figure--The fuck!" she suddenly lets out, the thought of the well protected secret raising her suspicions almost out of reflex. There's the sound of stone cracking and grinding as she shifts to stone, her mental defenses hardening as she does. "Made a little telepath friend, did you?" she growls and glances around, trying to spot the accomplice she believes to be there.

[Samantha McManus]

Taking advantage of this, Samantha gave a panicked look and shot her gaze to a copse of overgrown trees.

"McDohl! We're made! Get out!"

Then, promptly, she made to dash in the opposite direction.

[Faultline]

"Nice try, but I bashed that little shit's head in months ago." Though she is still distracted for a moment before this registers so Sam manages to put some distance between them. Until the ground around Sam violently erupts into stalagmites and shifting slates.

[Samantha McManus]

"What is with everyone's bloody fixation on doing things the hard way in this city?"

"I don't want to hurt either of you, but you're not giving me much choice..."

Samantha increased in stature, her civilian outfit ripping to show the jumpsuit underneath. Her left arm swelled into an immense ram of bone and muscle, sweeping away some of the stalagmites before reverting. She made through the gap that resulted.

[Faultline]

New here? Doesn't want to hurt anyone? Shapeshifting telepath!? It doesn't take much to put two and two together and the familiar looking shifting seals the deal.

"Holy freaking crap that looks familiar! Don't let her get away!" she barks at Legion as she melts partially into the ground and propels herself after Sam on a shifting mound of earth.

[Samantha McManus]

Samantha was shrinking back down to normal size, shifting her reserves away from her physical shifting, and back into telepathy.

With that resource coming back around, she directed a mental illusion at Legion. At the moment she would simply seem to be... everywhere he looked.

She turned her attention to the approaching Faultline.

"So you think you've figured it out, do you? Then perhaps I'm the one who shouldn't let you get away!"

[Faultline]

"Oh this just got interesting!" she grins as she uses her momentum to bear down on Sam, building more and more mass to simply slam into her.

[Legion]

Legion stood up...and froze, looking around.

"Telepaths..." he spat...and then followed his nose, as it were, leaping towards the one he thought was real.

[Samantha McManus]

Unfortunately for Samantha, Legion had chosen correctly. She went into a tumble, just barely avoiding his onslaught. Whether either of them could get out of Faultline's way in time was anyone's guess...

[Legion]

Legion didn't even particularly try, trying to keep Sam pinned down.

[Samantha McManus]

Samantha kicked at Legion as she tried to scrabble out of Sara's path.

[Faultline]

Faultline jumps out of the wave of stone that's propelling her and aims for the Legion and Sam pile, arm pulled back and shifting into a blade as she comes down. She's not trying to avoid Will but she is aiming for Sam's legs.

[Samantha McManus]

Freeing herself, Samantha nonetheless came out of the altercation with a nasty gash on her leg. Deciding she wasn't likely to resolve this without getting rather a bit rougher, she shifted back into the flock, heading for the trees. Faultline's blade was slick with blood.

[Faultline]

Faultline looses her balance when her target suddenly dissipates and goes into a roll, coming up on one knee.

"That's new..."

[Samantha McManus]

If the ravens were interested in staying to chat, they gave no indication, retreating at all available speed.

[Faultline]

Sara certainly had no means of following her and she's not stupid enough to send Will after a powerful telepath. Not to mention that she's rather distracted looking at her bloodied 'arm', grinning like a mad-man. "I think we just hit the jack-pot. Let them fuck around with their portal, we just got something even better!"