To Lyger 0: So a "Megazord," you say… Well, as for the five figures, that gets answered pretty quickly; the five animals get answered presently.
Balanced precariously on Mecha-Man's back, Tyran-X glanced ahead of them at Night Bat, buoyed as he was by his column of air. Beside them, the Prior held Killer Bee under her shoulders, using one of their new jetpacks to fly, his lips curled in distaste as he stared directly at the miraculous in Killer Bee's hair. Night Bat wore a look of intense concentration on his face, his eyes focused straight ahead, examining the five Monsters. A large crowd of civilians had gathered just south of the police line, pressing against the erected barricades as the police held them back. Beyond the police, a line of Army tanks spread out for kilometers in either direction, turrets trained on the Beasts which had frozen in a star shape, heads facing inward, in the center of an enormous cleared-out section of Saint-Denis. But in the center of the formation, as small by comparison to the Beasts as insects, were the Heroes of Paris, three of whom hovered on a level with the heads of the Monsters. And dangling beneath one of the hovering heroes was Ladybug herself.
Tyran-X growled, the sound carried away by the wind rushing past him. Ladybug had been there! Ladybug should have saved Béa! But instead, she and Cat Noir had simply watched while his wife burned. And here she was, caught between forces she could never hope to control, with tank cannons trained on her from all directions. He snorted humorlessly. Under any other circumstances, he would leap at the opportunity to see her get what she deserved – the only tragedy would be if he didn't deal the final blow. But in the face of the disruption and destruction to his city caused by these Beasts, was that where his attention should be focused?
"So what's the plan?" Tyran-X asked, tapping his communicator. His mouth set in a thin line. "Did you hear back from the Heroes after all?"
"No, I did not," answered Night Bat curtly. "But it is no matter. Our new friends seem not to need our help."
Mecha-Man shifted his helmet to look at Night Bat. "If they didn't ask for help, then what are we doing here?"
Night Bat turned to him, eyes narrowed. "You are here to look intimidating," he informed him, nodding to Mecha-Man and Tyran-X as he did so. He glanced at the Prior and Killer Bee, and raised an eyebrow languidly. "They are here at their own insistence."
"Considering that one of these Creatures burst from the mountain on which my temple is built, the Dark Acolytes of the Mundane have a vested interest in what is happening here," the Prior told him, pursing his lips. "Given that the Archimandrite has sent a group of observers from the Temple, I must be here to witness the Beasts and what they do to these miraculous abusers."
Night Bat's nostrils flared. "We shall see…"
The five of them flew straight over the heads of the police officers, cutting directly toward the Beasts. Below them, several officers pointed and shouted, weapons were drawn and pointed up into the sky, though none of the officers fired. Most of the tanks remained motionless, but the command tank's turret opened and a man poked his head out, scanning the sky. As they passed, Tyran-X could see commotion on the ground as more of the Heroes of Paris turned to face them. He could pick both Miss Pinky and Bengalia out of the crowd, standing close to Viperion. Ryoku stepped up on the other side of Miss Pinky and put her hand on the hilt of her sword, meeting Tyran-X's gaze with narrowed eyes. A growl built in Tyran-X's throat. They should be concerned: Miss Pinky was the reason Béa was dead. Once he finished with Ladybug and Cat Noir, Miss Pinky was the next on his list.
All of the Heroes of Paris were staring up at Tyran-X and his companions. Amun-Vatar's face glowed. A golden light construct appeared around him. Hato Gozen drifted out, away from the others, her naginata bared. Eyes narrowed, hanging below the Lancer's lance, Ladybug started swinging back and forth, building momentum. Night Bat seemed unconcerned by the assembled Heroes of Paris; all his attention was directed toward the Beasts. Tyran-X tightened his grip on his lasso.
The Beasts began to move.
It was almost imperceptible at first, a slow, deep, booming roar that began from the Lion's chest and moved up through its throat, vibrating the ground beneath its feet. Tyran-X's eyes widened as the sound reverberated through the air and reached him, shaking every bone in his body. His teeth clattered together. He nearly lost his grip on Mecha-Man's back, only retaining it by the tips of his fingers as Mecha-Man himself quivered. On the ground, all the heroes shuddered and several of them fell over. As the Lion growled, the other Beasts began to thrum as well, softly at first but building steadily as the Lion's roar resonated within them.
"Are we even gonna be able to stop them anyways, boss?" wondered Mecha-Man, a hint of nervousness in his mechanically-distorted voice. "Because I've seen what these things can do, and it's not pretty."
Night Bat's eyes lit up maliciously. One corner of his lips curled up. "Precisely."
The Prior cocked his head in Night Bat's direction. "I am confused. What is your intention here?"
Night Bat smirked. "All in good time." Turning to Tyran-X, he raised an eyebrow. "You are interested in revenge against the Heroes of Paris, are you not?" he asked, nodding toward the Ladybug, standing on the ground in the dead-center of the circle of Beasts. "There they are. A little… chaos… added to the mix could do wonders at this moment."
Tyran-X furrowed his brows, staring at Night Bat in confusion. This was his plan? He wanted to make a move against the Heroes of Paris now? With these Monsters in the mix? The ordinary citizens of Paris were in danger – many of them had lost their homes! Béa's parents had been forced to evacuate because of them! And yet…
And yet, Béa had been one of the ordinary citizens of Paris when she was murdered, and they hadn't cared then. If the Heroes of Paris hadn't done what they did, Béa herself would be here with him, and her parents would have been able to stay with them, instead of living in one of the schools and gymnasiums that had been converted into evacuation shelters. But now, Béa was gone, and the people responsible were huddled between the five Beasts. His eyes narrowed. Maybe Night Bat had the right idea. Whatever Night Bat was planning, maybe it would be enough for the Heroes to feel some fraction of the panic and helplessness he had felt, listening to his wife burn to death.
In unison, the five Beasts took a step forward, followed by another one. The earth shook beneath them – even a kilometer away, the police and military vehicles were thrown into confusion, swaying in both directions as if battered by ocean waves. The Ox lowered its horns, a deep low coming from its mouth. The clicking of the Scorpion's pincers intensified, the groaning of the Turtle and Bear adding to the cacophony. Tyran-X almost raised his hands to cover his ears against the discordant noise. But the Lion's mouth remained shut as the five Beasts moved closer together. The ground around them shook with the power of their steps. Heroes stumbled, bracing themselves to keep their footing.
Ladybug shouted something indistinct. Hovering at the exact center of the star, Amun-Vatar traced a glowing design in the air in front of his chest and waved, and the design shifted, turned parallel to the ground, and expanded before sending walls of light shooting upward and downward, impacting the ground and leaving behind blackened scorch marks where it touched the pavement. Brilliant white walls separated the Beasts from each other, the internal points of the star blocking the Beasts' paths forward. Within the star, the Heroes righted themselves as Carapace held up his shield and formed a pentagonal Shell-ter just inside the light-star. Quickly the Heroes of Paris moved into position, smaller groups arrayed against each of the Beasts. Cat Noir stood directly in front of the Ox, alongside Geber, Capricorn, and another new Hero, with Hato Gozen hovering above them. Black Cataclysmic energy already danced around Cat Noir's claws.
The Beasts strode forward and slammed into the white light-walls in front of them simultaneously. The Ox let out a thundering bellow, its horns struck the walls to either side of it, and its front hooves began to come up off the ground as it began to mount the light-walls. Then its rear hooves dug into the pavement beneath it, pushing it forward. The light-wall crackled, sending off photons and smoke where the horns touched, and suddenly the horns cracked through, smoldering and sending out wisps of smoke. The Scorpion lashed out with its tail, striking the light wall in front of it once, twice, three times before piercing through the light wall in front of it and digging deeply into the Shell-ter beyond. Jagged cracks formed in the green force field. As the Scorpion's tail pulled back, the Shell-ter reformed in that spot, only for the Bear's claws to penetrate the light-wall and grab onto the Shell-ter. Amun-Vatar sent a lance of pure light into the breach that the Scorpion's tail had made in the Shell-ter, turning the force field to a shimmering gold-green. But in unison, all five Beasts pressed through the light-wall and drove their heads straight into the Shell-ter.
The Shell-ter broke.
From his perch on Mecha-Man, Tyran-X watched Hato Gozen and Ryoku both send gusts of wind straight at the Lion's face that blew its mane back, but it ignored them as though they weren't there. Bengalia slashed at the Bear's legs but failed to penetrate its thick skin. As the Scorpion moved forward, its tail lashed out at Taureau Dechaine, who grabbed it out of midair and held it in place while Multiplice separated and scurried up the tail to drop onto its back. Geber blocked one of the Ox's horns with his spur as it lowered its head, and Capricorn caught the horn with the crook of his shepherd's staff, holding it in place for a fraction of a moment. The Ox snorted, tensing to raise its head. Before it could move, however, Cat Noir vaulted into the air, spun through a back-flip, placed his Cataclysm-infused hand on his staff, and ran the end of the staff down the Ox's back along its spine. Black energy exploded out from the spot where he had touched it, but the Ox merely shook its head and shoulders, pitching him off of its back. The Ox threw its head, launching Capricorn into the air and catching him in the gut with his other horn. Tyran-X caught a quick glimpse of the shocked expression on his face as he careened backward into the Lancer, who tumbled through the air out of control, her arms wrapped around Capricorn's limp body, and only barely caught herself in time to lower them both to the ground between Geber and Viperion. Ladybug let out a rage-filled scream, grabbed a spotted cell phone out of midair, and hurled it at the Ox's head. The Lucky Charm bounced off ineffectually, and the Ox continued forward. Next Ladybug looped her yo-yo around the Lion's legs and tugged, but even after Taureau Dechaine and King Monkey both grabbed onto it with her, the Lion continued forward, pitching her forward onto her stomach.
"Such power…" Night Bat whispered, eyes wide and eager. "Such… corruption." His eyes turned black.
Tyran-X frowned. "Should we do something?"
Without turning away, Night Bat called back, "We are," and pressed forward on his column of air, flying straight toward the Lion.
The Prior cocked his head, mouth slightly ajar in confusion. "Surely you aren't planning to–"
"Why not?" Night Bat shot forward, over the Heroes of Paris, most of whom had begun to retreat away from the Beasts. The Lion's leading shoulder touched the Turtle's, and the two began to meld together. On the opposite side, the Ox began to absorb the Scorpion into its shoulder and chest as they met. Hato Gozen had grabbed Multiplice and Sk8r Girl, while Ryoku had Sent-Bee on her back. The Lancer threw the immobile Capricorn over her shoulder and sprang into the air, shooting out from under the Bear as it melted into the Turtle on one side and the Scorpion on the other. Amun-Vatar formed a light-disc beneath four of the Heroes, and they all fled. Still Night Bat flew forward, his hand outstretched.
"Is this really such a good idea, boss?" warned Mecha-Man, dropping back as Night Bat flew above what had been the Ox but was now an amalgamation of the Ox and the Lion.
"Seriously!" Killer Bee shrieked, throwing her top at Night Bat's back. He batted it away with his sword without looking. The Prior nearly lost his grip on her as she yelled, "You can't do this!"
The Lion's head had now reached the center of the star and contacted those of the other four Beasts, all of which were melting into the Lion's head, which began to enlarge. Night Bat placed his hand on the Lion's head. He sneered, a look of triumph in his eyes. Tyran-X's eyes shot wide open as Night Bat intoned, "Kiss of D–"
Suddenly, the Lion threw its head back, breaking the connection. Night Bat froze, staring up at the Beast. Bringing its head forward, the Lion opened its mouth wide, and Tyran-X caught a glimpse of something sickly green building at the back of its throat, just before it spilled forth. The Lion let out a bellowing ROAR that shook the surrounding area, shattered buildings outside of the no man's zone, pushed three of the tanks back into the line of police vehicles, and overturned polices cars for several kilometers in either direction. Civilians scattered, screaming and running in a blind panic. A cloud of green smoke spewed forth from the Lion's mouth, covering Night Bat entirely. He hung suspended in midair, just above the Lion's head, but his air column vanished. Again the Lion roared, and the force launched Night Bat's unmoving form in a high arc to the east, well beyond Tyran-X's sight.
The sickly green smoke began to suffuse the area, spreading out in all directions until it blanketed the army tanks and expanded through the police, many of whom doubled over, retching and coughing. People stumbled in all directions away from the five Beasts. The writhing mass of what had been the Beasts shifted and moved beneath them, congealing and reforming together. Staring down at this horrific sight, Killer Bee swallowed hard and turned to the others wide-eyed. "I–I think we need a parley with the Heroes."
AN: Any last guesses on what the Beasts are becoming? A hint is actually built into the titles of the (main) stories of "The Colossus Saga."