((Sorry I'm late with this, Mad Magus said he'd be replying to save technomancer's ass, so I wanted to wait.))
A blur. That's all he saw. One moment, he had Cinderblock in his sights, ready to fire the finishing shot, the next, his arm was yanked off target by a boy not much older than him with wolflike features. He cursed in a rather unheroic manner out of surprise, and hoped too late that there hadn't been any reporters catching that. Press would have a field day with Technomancer's potty mouth. Still, he couldn't let this new player take the blast. Cinderblock might be able to take it, but having the force-limiter deactivated meant that it would probably kill anyone without some fairly impressive durability. The beam fired, missing the lupine figure's head by mere centimeters, and turning some of the hair on his head to dust, which left a horrible smell. The blast merely clipped Cinderblock, though the sheer force of it alone was enough to put a dent in the nearby bank's outer concrete walls. "So, you must be this new player I've heard about tonight. Normally I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but one of my friends will probably need surgery tonight because of you, so forgive me if I'm rude. It's a real pain in the ass to meet you," he said. "Pacify, restraint level 1," he added, causing his arm to bristle with electric current. It would hurt, but he kept it low to insure that it wouldn't do any serious damage.
Time to crack this guy. Who is he? What powers does he have, I don't see any weapons...He willed his bionic eye to give the figure a scan. His vision briefly scaled to a greenish color as he was quickly isolated and scanned by a beam of light invisible to all but the most advanced senses. It sent the data to a computer setup in Titans Tower, where his custom-built Archimedes AI system ran the data through a massive collection of information and compared it to pre-gathered data. Not even a full second later, he was pinged back with a response. Ryan didn't need his computer to finish the thought.
"Metahuman genetic anomaly detected. Warning: Target does not register in any accessible metahuman databases, no combat protocols available for recommendation. Power possibilities are as follows: Cellular regeneration, Designation 2 Biokinesis: Animal, power duplication. Powers unverified, be on guard. Target is also surrounded by an unusually high number of Nth particles, possibility of magical ability: High. Warning: Nth Particle pattern does not match any known patterns, mystical power is unknown. Threat rating: Seven, do not approach alone. Analysis of current events pending..."
Ryan didn't need the rest, he could put it together. Harlow was hurting, Zap was disabled, and Shadowfang was busy tending to her. Three of their heavier hitters unable to participate, and Cinderblock still hadn't even gone down. Maybe if that machine was finished, he'd be able to handle this scenario, but things weren't looking good. Cinderblock alone had been giving them trouble, and whoever this new player was good, having taken Zap down without a scratch. He was kicking himself for not doing more in the fight against Cinderblock earlier...Maybe if he could've helped more, Cinderblock would've been taken down before he could do significant damage to Harlow, and the group would be better suited to handling a new and potentially more dangerous player in this game. "You're a new face around here. What's the story pup? All these villains coming back to Jump City after so many years, all at once? There's nobody here with that kind of pull, and if you had that sort of pull, you wouldn't be here. So, who're you working for, hmm? Ra's al Ghul? Luthor? Vandal Savage?" he questioned, his hard metal mask hiding his furrowed brow. A few years ago, he would've dreaded at the last name he'd ask: The Joker. Thankfully for the human race, the man had made a serious mistake, attacking an air-force base in DC, which just so happened to be hosting Captain Atom as a guest. Captain Atom was a military man more than he was a hero, and when the deranged Clown Prince of Crime made his way through the facility, killing dozens, Captain Atom did the military thing. In this case, this just so happened to involve turning the clown into a fine red mist with a single punch that rivaled those of Superman. Of course, his league membership had been revoked, but he'd also been awarded a medal of honor for his feat, so it really worked out. Honestly, the world was better off for it.
Regardless, it didn't look like they were going to win this. As soon as he had an opening, he lashed out with a whirling kick, but he seemingly mis-judged the distance between himself and his opponent, his foot passing within centimeters of his foe.
He should give the order.
He needed to give the order.
They might die, if he didn't give the order.
They'd look bad, if he gave the order.
He had a plan, for if he gave the order.
It put a bad taste in his mouth, and his stomach hurt as he considered giving the order.
He gave the order, despite how much he hated it. How much he just hated to lose.
He buzzed into his intercom, saying two words, "Fall back,"
There was more, but he sufficed with saying, "Harlow's in no condition to fight, Zap is out of commission. Archimedes is pegging the new guy at a level seven, on par with the best of us, and he's good. I'm running battle projections now, but they aren't looking pretty."
