"Stand down!" Luna wanted again. "You can't believe to win! You're just regular, nothing equal or above a pheno, that means us-"

"Way to flaunt around an ego," Lincoln poked. "Alex, all yours."

"With pleasure-" Alex sought to attack in offense against Lynn and Luna, but when she went transparent, Luna had somehow become immune to Alex's attacks. It started with the right counter moves, a firm tail sweep, the graceful defeat of the next round between Alex and Luna. "Wait-"

Luna held Alex down with all four limbs, her face of those sharpened, deadly teeth being too close to make her fidget. "I can smell you and hear you breath."

"D-damn you, Luna!" Alex defiantly tried to escape, but the lizard-human proved more powerful at the moment. "Guys! Guys, don't just stand there! I've helped you aplenty!"

Lynn got in between the others and Luna and Alex. "You're welcome to try it if you believe."

Luna ran her claws against Alex's suit, trying to tear it to shreds, but it didn't seem to work. "And just what is this made out of?"

"Your fucking skin!"

Luna headbutted the time traveler square in the face. "We've just beaten you!"

"W-we?" Alex, albeit disoriented, still tried to get away, mocking Luna with a hardened laugh. "Pathetic bitch relying on her ugly side to win the battles! You're nothing without it, huh?"

Luna narrowed her eyes, studying Alex. "And you aren't reliant on this suit?!"

Alex formed a sadistic grin, finally having a compelling reason and drive to escape the suit. "Suit off!"

"Eh?" Luna jerked back when the suit had disappeared, revealing only Alex in an AC/DC shirt and gray jeans. Both of the Mexican girl's legs had come loose to kick Luna right in her chin. Alex quickly rolled over and crawled away from both Lynn and Luna.

"Suit on!" Alex brought back the dark blue uniform over her body and vanished before them. "If you can smell or hear me, then I guess I'll have to-!"

Luna was met with a barrage of rocks and twigs coming at her, followed by scoops of dirt. "Quit it!"

Lori played along, jumping to Alex's aid. Like the Mexican, Lori heaved rocks and dirt at Luna, running circles around them while Alex, relinquishing her task, punched and kicked Luna one strike per lap, ducking and avoiding Luna's desperate counters. "NO, ALL OF YOU!"

Lincoln and Dylan came lunging for Lynn, both of them throwing punches at her without stopping. Rules didn't matter, her status as a female meant jack shit to them, when there had been women wjo proved to be friend and foe among these parts. As for Lynn, she could not handle both of them- She pushed Dylan away as best as she could, but Lincoln delivered a knee into her stomach that took the breath right out of her.

In that instance, she still remembered seeing the future version of herself and the others- and the albino girl she had just seen seconds ago was the very same one that she saw back then, too. The girl she assumed could have been Lincolns kid. What were the fucking odds, right? Thing were just as confusing as she had seen, but her mind, her thoughts, they were only fixated on why her guaranteed powers weren't working. All she had for show was some super strength- which didn't seem to be working right now.

Lynn took the blows hard, both front and back. She plummeted onto her knees, forced backwards by an insane kick to her face. Her nose broke, and she ruptured blood, unable to properly understand the basis and failure of her powers. "L-LUNA!"

Alex and Lori wore Luna down, enough hits having weakened Luna Lizard. She succumbed to her attacks and had fallen on her ass, trying to regain that lost energy. Even with her regenerative properties, Luna had known what defeat looked like...

But giving up-

Not after Luna had broken out. She could not land back in the webs again. "No, no, you'd better think again-"

She didn't bust out of the Vial Corp facility to be beaten here, to be defeated at the hands of these marquees, certainly not Lincoln- if this was the real one or not, still confused her- or these others here. Her allies, all downed around her, putting her at the ultimate disadvantage- Her body flared up with saddened intensity, heat flowing through all veins to fuel her when she didn't think it possible, simply because she didn't consider it in general.

The spike in her body transformed her, turning her into an uglier version of the beast form she had not even mastered as of yet. The skin turned from its dark green to plain black, scales hardening as if they used the fiery rage to add layers of magma for added protection. Luna's size had increased by a foot. Her tail had also followed the protocol, going through an upgraded metamorphosis as well. Luna had hit an ultimate form far superior from the base monster form, witnessed by all around her.

"L-Luna..." Lynn croaked out. "F-fight..."

Lori jumped back, scared of this new and improved Luna,, but Alex didn't let up. "No, keep fighting!"

Luna pushed right through Alex's predictable attacks, flinging her arms and tail around, and grabbed Alex when the reptilian beast felt the adversary. She picked her up and sent her down to the ground fairly easy. The suit had then sustained sufficient damage that it glitched out on Alex, rendering her visible now. "MINEEEEEEE!"

"CRAP!" Alex scattered herself back, dodging the wild swings Luna pulled. "A LITTLE HELP HERE!"

Lincoln scouted the dirt ground for rocks, heaving those he found at Luna. "Over here!"

"I thought you said that suit could easily take such beings out!" Dylan berated Alex.

"Give me a moment!" Alex screamed. "The battery does deplete, you know!"

"What- Battery operated?!"

Luna stampeded towards Lincoln, galloping on all fours. "BROTHEEEEER!"

Alex prioritized the albino man before herself and the others, quickly hurrying to push him out of the way, taking the hit from Luna's great force of nature. She flew back some ten or so feet, doing a few rolls after smacking on the dirt.

"What are you trying to pull?!"

"I TOLD YOU I NEEDED YOU TO STAY ALIVE!" Alex then had an idea. "GET AROUND ME, NOW!"

"Girl, what's the plan?" Lori had doubts on being able to keep away from the berserk Luna forever. "We can't fight that!"

"She'll turn us to cannon fodder!" Dylan added.

"Luna!" Lynn moved around the behemoth of her sister. "The double A guys told us to capture, not kill!"

"ARGH- L-LINCOLN..." Luna stomped out hard, looking around the foes and her only ally on her side left. "All- All of them-"

"Control yourself!"

Luna blinked her dreadful, yellow eyes, and for a mere glimpse of a moment, the Lynn right beside her was the very same Lynn who repelled and threw her out while she was in her drunken state. That Lynn and this one- they were, always, of the same one. The one who humiliated and injured Luna far past the physical way. "LYNN!"

Lynn made an error in freezing, being slow to see the rage shift in Luna. "What-?"

The inhumane beast ran her claws against the ground, scratched up dirt and flung it at Lynn's face. It blinded her, getting right into her eyes. She rubbed at her eyes violently, groaning away in irritation. Luna whipped her tail at Lynn's feet to knock her flat on the ground,

"LUNES, WHAT THE FUCK-?!"

And it was as if Luna had gone off the deep end, a sort of psychotic break to dominate her actions and behavior from this point onward. The beast locked away that had beaten her, to take full control of the persona the others once knew. Luna Loud was leaving the building, mindset being reduced to a primitive being.

The thing attacked without hesitating, but Lynn quickly rolled away from the beast's range. Lincoln helped Alex up while Lori and Dylan assembled to the Mexican girl. "Here- This is one fight I can't win like this-" And she hated to admit it, but- "She's just matched me in power because it's draining, but I have enough for another getaway trick!"

Lori couldn't help but wish to save Lynn when it was already apparent that Luna was trying to kill her. "What of her?"

"Not my priority!"

Lori broke away from Alex, denying herself the safety. "No way I could not unrecognize those two!"

Alex only stated on. "Damn it-"

"You can leave her behind," Lincoln suggested.

"Is there any honor here?" Dylan seethed. "I'm not ducking tail and running!"

Lynn had fallen on her ass, dragging herself backwards as Luna approached her, the size of her that intimidated Lynn. "DIE- RGHHHHHHH!"

Lori covered Luna's attacking claw with her whole body, holding onto it fiercely. "That's Lynn! That is your baby sister!"

Dylan did the same with the other hand, forcing it down. "Look at you all broken up!"

"Luna- Whatever this is-" Lynn pushed herself back, eager to maintain her distance. "Lunes..."

"What the hell-?" Alex began.

"Do you think you'll succeed?!" Lincoln bellowed. "You're all insane!"

"They're both buying us time, Lincoln," Alex whispered. "We need to retreat!"

Luna got the better of Dylan and forced him down to the front, kicking him away. "BLONDIE! LYNN!"

And before Lincoln's own pair of eyes, Luna ran her deadly claws into Lori's stomach, moving them around before tearing her entire stomach apart, revealing the inner contents of the woman's body. A large gaping hole of red dangling intestines and blood came out, leaking and wiggling out of place. Luna endured the smell of Lori's bloody flesh and devoured whatever had come out, and Lori simply fell back in pure horror, the color of her face draining to chalk white. "N-no..."

Above them, Lupa and Liberty had stayed to spectate the entire thing, and Lupa winced at Lori's fatal injury. "Jesus... We should go."

But Liberty only displayed an expressionless silence. Lori...

Lincoln rushed into the heat of the moment against Alex's wishes. "LORI!"

"D-damn it, I should have been more prepared!"

Darcy had finally woken up from her subconscious state, finding Luna going postal on them, and Lori dying around the area. "Whoa!"

"No, help her," Liberty suggested, pointing to Lynn. "Don't know what's going on, but- Put Luna's lights out, will you?"

"L-Luna?" Lupa hesitated, but then pushed Luna away from the group with a firm hand gesture. "They'll know we're around. Why the change of heart?"

"B-because..." Liberty's heart did a flip when she eyed the mortally wounded Lori. "I need to."

Alex already gathered that Lupa was around, watching over them like a guardian angel. So you're both still around...

Lincoln bent down to Lori, placing himself on her side. "Lori-"

She coughed blood, moaning out in her weak effort to talk. Her breathing decreased drastically, but still otherwise painful. "Luh-Luh..."

Luna went and tore away at Dylan gruesomely, with Lynn still trying to plead with the carnivore. "STOP IT! LUNA, LOOK AT ME!"

Luna ate her two fresh victims, eating chunks out of them, uncaring about who and what at this point. "LYNN LOUD!"

"L-LUNA, COME ON! I- I KNOW YOU MIGHT BE MAD-"

Luna broke into a run and jumped up before meeting Lynn, intending to land on her. "DIE!"

"HELP HER!" Liberty shrieked.

"Okay!" Lupa responded.

"No! Not you- Her!" Liberty pointed downwards to the glitched-out Mexican.

"All for this!" Alex allowed Luna to slaughter Lynn so easily, and when she turned her attention to Lincoln- "You morons, I'm risking being stranded in the past... L-Liberty-"

"Don't even think you'll hitch a ride through my own transportation!" Liberty squealed, falling right out of the tree she stood on, forcing Lupa to give her a soft landing. "Not for free..."

"H-hold on!" Alex knew what it was tje albino girl wanted. "No, not that! I'll do anything-"

"Gimme the chip for the piggybacking!" Liberty bartered. "Lose this to return... And return in shame!"

Darcy dove in and fought against Luna. "WHO'S THE IDIOT WHO THOUGHT TO GIVE HER MEDI-SIN?!"

"Return in shame..." Alex took out the chip, holding it to both her's and Liberty's faces. "This wasn't as important than it needed to be... I don't want to, I really don't want to-"

Liberty smiled with ecstatic glee. "Whatever reason you had to win this competition, you won't have it- You won't have accomplished your secondary achievement."

Alex sent deadly daggers across into Liberty's eyes. "You really don't want me doing this, if you knew what I know."

"Sorry, but I want what I've been offered after presenting this!" Liberty took the chip off Alex's hand, giggling in great joy. "I know you're going to be upset, but this was not what I've been told you came here to do!"

"Yeah, of course he let you in on all the right details..." Alex and Liberty both stared at Dylan Bloo's dead body. "And then some."

"Talk about bloody..." Liberty dug into her sweater and pulled out what appeared to be a watch, strapping it on her wrist. Once it was placed, she raised her finger over the center of the device. "I know you know what this is. Bethany and Lissandra praised one of these."

"Anyone would, but..." Alex crossed her arms. "Of all the things he'd give you, this-"

Darcy and Luna were nearly matched with one another in the meantime, exchanging blows.

"I hate it..." Alex tragically confessed. "He offered you more, and you're- You're just a clone."

"Yeah, but he trusted me with it, and that could only mean that he has the same amount of trust in you."

"Explain-"

"Were I another's clone, I wouldn't have so easily been shared this!" Liberty pointed out. "We're both special to Blood."

"Oh- Okay, I guess that makes sense- Hey, take yourself back before Luna clobbered everyone!"

"Yeah, I know you have to win here, and I'll help you, I've got Lupa on my side already."

"Thanks." Right as Liberty was about to press her finger onto the watch, Alex hiccuped and waved. "Hey-"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell me where it went, and don't ever ask Blood what I wanted to gain from keeping the chip away from you, got it? I've lost, I accept that... And it hurts me."

"Oh..." Liberty felt a degree of guilt. "Damn, I almost feel bad! HAHAHAHAHA!" Liberty then pressed on the button, a large flash of white light then bursting out of the device right after.

Timeline X, Chapter Eight: Patriots