Indescribable, Indestructible, Insatiable (IC)

[Supercape]

"Blast!" muttered Supercape. He had no doubts about Tarrants intellect or general capability - but he doubted it extended to fighting amorphous blobs of who-knows-what. Assuming that fighting may be necessary. But it may well be dangerous.

He ran into the Janitors room and in a blink of an eye changed into Supercape, his costume twinkling magnificently.

He ran out again, and promptly slipped over and fell hard on his backside. His huge cape, of course, had managed to get stuck on the Janitors equipment, and was tangled up between a mop and a broom. A loud crashing sound accompanied his ungainly fall.

[Fox]

It was a small mercy that almost no one was around to see Supercape trip over his self-named garment; a very bemused custodial worker (who had apparently missed both the commotion and Quentin's escape into the closet) leaned his broom up against the wall, offering the prone hero a hand to his feet. "Reckon you're that Supercape fellow," he noted through a bushy mustache, retrieving his broom and heading off down the hall. "Not gunna ask why you're in a closet. S'pose y'got better things t'do. Some kinda noise outside, ain't it? Probably gunna hafta clean up after it m'self...always do...."

His voice trailed off as he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

[Supercape]

"Er... yes... that's right!" said Supercape, mortified at his entrance. He stood up promptly and in an instant his Cape reformed into its sparkling best.

"Thanks awfully for cleaning up. Good job, that man!" he gave the man a thumbs up and he flew off in the direction the Janitor had indicated.

[Fox]

The blob, it seems, had been busy.

There was a widening trail of destruction leading away from the window into the more wide-open commons of the campus, and the reason for that was awfully clear when Supercape caught up: the blob had grown. 'Grown', really, was something of an understatement - it was now at least a story tall, and expanding, the little rock it used to live in now nearly lost inside the translucent green muck that made up its body; the many, many objects it seemed to have eaten, rapidly dissolving once they got close to its core, didn't help things (and probably explained where it had gotten all that mass). No people could be seen in its...stomach, however, and for the moment it seemed content to slide and rampage around, rolling over small trees and benches to pick them up and add it to its disintegrating collection.

[Supercape]

Supercape had no idea if the blob was sentient, but first things first. No life was in immediate danger as far as he could see (although they might change soon when the blob consumed the city... or even the planet) so he may as well try to communicate on the off chance.

"*Ahem*" he coughed as loudly as possible whilst floating next to the thing.

"We come in peace... errr... welcome to Planet Earth. Umm... we ask only that you are selective in your consumption of matter, particularly organic matter..."

[Fox]

If the thing noticed it was being yelled at, it didn't show; the blob didn't even look in Supercape's direction (in as much as it was capable of looking at anything) but rather spent its time absorbing two trees, a lamp post, several bushes, and a stroller (which was clearly empty, thankfully - the mother had long since grabbed her baby and ran). Everything it ate it dissolved, and everything it dissolved added to its rapidly-growing bulk as it trundled along. By now it had also started to glow, softly, though it didn't seem to be giving off any radiation that was harmful, per se.

[Supercape]

Supercape scratched its head, flying along side it. The thing didn't appear sentient. Well, it couldn't communicate anyway. That wasn't proof of sentience or lack of it, at least for sure. Its behaviour wasn't exactly intelligent either. What was more worrying was that it was growing in size and, perhaps, energy, with everything it devoured. Potentially, that could mean it could consume the earth...

He floated ahead of it, warning citizens to take cover, whilst scrutinising the blob as minutely and in as fine detail as possible... perhaps there would be some clue?

[Fox]

The blob paused, shuffling this way and that as it seemed to look around, eyeless, for more things to eat. Up until this point it had ignored Supercape almost completely, but now it seemed to take notice, shapeless bits of itself orienting toward him with something almost like curiosity. One long tendril grew out of the thing and flicked toward the hero - carefully, half-heartedly, like you'd smack at an insect when you'd never seen that breed before and didn't know if it bit.

[Supercape]

Supercape had no intention of being swatted away like a fly. He would fully admit he wasn't the skilled combatant like many heroes, but even he could manage to float above the lazy tendril and evade it.

Still, that showed some low level of intellect. Maybe not intellect, but reflex, or co-ordination. It was like a snail, or a worm, it appeared. Not that he could rule out some higher level of sentience as yet - especially as it had just been "birthed".

It seemed to be feeding matter it rolled over into the core rock in its centre. Interesting. Potentially worrying too.

Still, this was no time to rush into things. He was a scientist, and he wanted to know what he was dealing with. The creature seemed to emit some kind of throbbing radiation, like a heart beat. He cracked his knuckles.

Reaching out to a few atoms in the blob, he effected the slightest of nudges, just enough to release the faintest pulse of radiation. He continued nudging this way and that, seeing how it responded to everything he could think of on the EM spectrum.

[Fox]

That certainly got the blob's attention. The whole thing turned around, or redistributed itself, or...something; it reared up on its own bulk, stretching itself to Supercape's level and facelessly regarding him with strange curiosity. Another tendril came out, to poke at him this time, like it was trying to work out what he was.

Down on the ground it was still taking in objects, secondary bits of its mass just bulging out to grab anything nearby: a bush, a large rock, some smaller rocks, a laptop, and the fraternity-looking college student who ran up yelling to try to get his laptop back.

[Supercape]

What was on that lap top, the cure for cancer?

Idiot Frat-Boys..

"Stand clear citizen!" he shouted "this unknown entity is a potential hazard!" - and with that, he swooped down and scooped up the student as best he was able. Supercape was neither strong nor weedy. He could carry a man for short distances at a slow pace but that was about it. Fortunately, that was all that was needed.

[Fox]

What looked like fellow frat members were, if not happy in the strictest sense, at least willing to take their friend and drag him off with muttered apologies before he could do anything else stupid and dangerous.

And what else wasn't happy? The blob. As it food was taken away, it reacted....badly, its body churning as it struck out at even the nearby ground, tentacles lashing the grass and stone as it oriented on the caped physicist. A low, angry noise filled in the air that transcended the species barrier - it was angry, and it was going to do something about thieving humans.

[Supercape]

Supercape made a show of telling the young Frat student to be more careful, before turning to face the blob once more. It seemed irate that its food supply had been snatched away - which indicated, to his razor sharp mind, two things. Firstly, it may have primitive emotions, or act on instinct. And second, it may prefer organic matter. The second was deeply concerning.

And worse still, he realised, the blob was now angry with him, and seemed intent on replacing its missing morsel!

He gulped a little and steadied himself mid-air.

[Supercape]

Get a hold of yourself man... It's probably just angry about its food supply... like a newborn babe....

Hey, that almost sounded convincing, he realised.

Supercape braced himself infront of the blob, making sure his quantum force field was active. He raised a finger theatrically - it almost circled - and attempted once more to reason with the thing.

"Please refrain from eating us. We are sentient beings! I am sure that if we work together in a spirit of co-operation and unity, we will be able to procure you matter in sufficient quantities to satisfy your nutritious needs. Indeed, we may potentially both benefit from such an arrangement! I implore you to show restraint and respect for fellow sentient beings!"

He briefly considered sending the message in morse code, but doubted that would be much good. Besides, his morse was pretty shaky, at best.

[Fox]

The amorphous green mass wasn't terribly impressed with the noises coming out of the hero's mouth, one long tendril sweeping out to strike at him...and missing, its anger at having its food taken away fouling its aim. Not that having such a relatively small target helped any.... The blob made an angry-sounding grumbling noise, its body undulating as it shifted back and forth.

[Supercape]

"Right then!" proclaimed Supercape "I am forced to use non-lethal force to contain you until you desist from violent activities!"

He had no idea whether the thing understood. It almost certainly didn't. But he felt compelled to say it, anyway.

Sailing upwards above the blob, and hopefully out of his reach, he released a more furious burst of radiation that bathed the creature with blue light.

[Fox]

The thing flinched, but didn't appear to be physically harmed to any noticeable extent - it was even more unhappy, though. After a failed attempt to stretch up and reach the painful fleshy creature, it hunched down and made a noise. An awful, loud, grating, rumbling noise that probably carried for a mile, echoing off the local buildings. It sounded a bit like a very angry rallying cry...and sure enough, smaller, higher-pitched cries were heard from not too far off, further back in the campus.

Something - several somethings - could now be heard making their way toward the big blob as it sat seething on the ground.

[Supercape]

The creature looked like it could eat radiation for breakfast, noted Supercape.

He changed tactic a little, honing down his perception to the molecular structure of the thing, and tugging away at the atomic forces that bound the creatures molecular structure, loosening them slightly.

If he could find a crack in its armour, he could at least slow it down before some idiot Frat boy got swallowed up and became fodder for the core.

And the situation was looking more serious by the minute, if the noise and commotion he could hear in the distance was any indication...

[Fox]

Supercape's attack didn't seem to do any harm - the thing certainly looked the same as it always had - but the blob certainly felt it. Howling more in rage than in pain, It shuffled about as if searching for something before whipping a tendril out to grab a rather large chunk of rock, slinging the minor monolith at the little flying man that wouldn't let it eat everything it wanted. Unfortunately for the creature, aiming a boulder is pretty hard - it missed the hero by inches, the boulder spinning off to land on the roof of a nearby building with a custodial-wince-causing crack.

Meanwhile, the sound of approaching somethings was getting awfully close, though still hidden from even the lofty Supercape's eyesight. Which was odd, he certainly had the vantage point to spot anything making its way along the ground....

[Supercape]

"Fiddlesticks" muttered Supercape, shocked at the force of the boulder, but also noting the creature was able to adapt and improvise - presumably it had some basic intelligence.

Whilst he would dearly love to have tried to communicate with the creature, having rocks thrown at him wasn't the best start. The thing needed to be rendered safe first. Again, he reached out with his mind and started to unpick the molecules of the creature, searching for some weakness he could exploit - the thing was so dynamic in form it was no easy task.

And he couldn't help but notice the ominous sounds that grew nearer and nearer...

[Fox]

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again - the creature's shifting chemistry managed to elude Supercape's attempts yet again, but its second rock volley didn't fare any better - another hurled boulder, another miss, another wince-inducing landing, though this time it sounded like a tree broke the ammunition's fall...'broke' being the operative term.

The strange noise finally made sense, at least - a group of five, smaller blobs, darker green than their bigger companion, broke out of the ground not too far from the fight. All of them were making a higher-pitched keening noise, which Supercape's enemy responded to with its own low rumbles - reinforcements were here!

[Fox]

On the bright side, they weren't the only new arrivals: Gaian Knight was not far behind them, shooting up out of the ground on a rock platform. His coat had seen better days, and his breastplate looked tarnished, like someone had dumped acid on it, but otherwise he seemed not too worse for wear and wasted no time in sweeping out a softly-glowing hand, jagged spikes of rock erupting out of the ground under the blob quintet. Some fared a little worse than others, but at least two seemed to be a little hurt, and a glancing blow of a spike on one of those's rock cores seemed to disorient the thing.

The earthmover grimaced, though, sparing a glance at the physicist's sparring partner. "Oh good," he grimaced under the face cloth, pulling himself a little higher into the air. "They come even bigger. Pro tip, friend: I dunno what that big one's like, but don't let the little ones touch you. It stings like nothing else."

[Supercape]

"Oh Spiffing!" moaned Supercape, scanning the debris and looking a the quintet of angry blobs below him. "They seem almost impervious to harm too, I'm trying to find some crack in their defences, but they keep throwing rocks at me..."

He located a suitable molecule in the middle of the bunch, and shifted it. "And I don't fancy one of those in my face. I don't know how they target, but this should serve as an experiment...."

The molecule ceased to exist, emitting its mass as a burst of light and electromagnetic energy. The epicentre of the burst was enough to dazzle anybody looking into it. If they used the electromagnetic spectrum as sensory apparatus, then it was unlikely they would be seeing much but static for a few moments at least...

[Fox]

A successful experiment! Though they lacked eyes (or any discernible sensory organs at all, come to think of it) all six of the oozy creatures shuddered, milling about for a moment in what was clearly blind confusion. Then came the rage - oh, the rage. Gaian Knight had apparently been spending all this time making the smaller group very angry, because even in their blind state they managed to grab nearby objects and lob them at him with disturbing precision; one missed entirely, likely due to the blindness, but the other three pelted him with rather large debris, at least one or two of which looked like they gave him a sound knock upside the head.

Apparently lacking a better option at the moment, the giant blob followed suit, hurling a bench at Supercape, but not having any more luck than it had the last time.

[Fox]

"Wh- ow! Hey!" Gaian Knight tried, rather unsuccessfully, to shield himself with the rock he was riding on; it didn't spare him much abuse, though, and his vision swam for a moment when one of those pieces of scenery hit him right in the temple. There was time for headaches and disorientation later, though: for now, he grit his teeth and called up a new set of spikes from the earth, with about the same success - most of the spikes just went clear through the blobettes without harm, but the two he'd hurt earlier seemed a hair more worse for wear. "I am starting," he scowled, "to really hate these things."