Monroe, still a distinctly old woman, had been watching with mild disinterest. The way Cadenza fought was bland to him. The Quincy could only recall Zorlo summing it up in a few words:

"Cadenza can either make a fight very interesting or very boring. No matter which method she chooses, it would be interesting for me since her tricks aren't apt to easily kill me, even from the inside."

The meaning of this had relatively eluded Monroe as to what the green haired man had meant until the moment the giant was dead. If Cadenza wanted to, she wouldn't have to really fight at all. Then again, the fact she had magic made fighting all the easier.

The archer had always resented magic and those who used it. Deep down, he acknowledged that, no matter how much he trained; how many new tricks and skills; or how long he studied it, he would never be quite as powerful as a good mage. There was one simple reason, he had deduced, behind this notion: magic had the power to bend the laws of the natural world, if not downright shatter them.

Still, none of that mattered right now. The hag who had stolen his body was dead. She was just far too stupid to realize it. The dark clad man thought back to the fact he had even gone so far as to call in Zachary. Well, the amateur sorcerer's assistance was no longer required. Still, he'd expedite this fight a little bit.

Monroe felt his feeble body shake for a moment and began to cough painfully into his hand. Removing his hand from his mouth, he could see the red stains of blood from whatever disease this damned woman had. He was going to expire soon if something didn't happen. Such rotten luck and no one to blame but himself for this predicament.

Cassandra Dionne, who now wore Monroe's body like a trench coat, began to find growing frustration in dealing with Cadenza Madrigal. Every punch, kick, or arrow shot had almost no effect it seemed. Monroe would have laughed at the woman and told her that her quest for revenge, even in that body, was doomed to fail. After all, no matter how strong Monroe was, Cadenza was on a completely different level.

Still, a little thing like logic never stops women. No matter how much reason you apply to them, emotion steals the day. It was from this Monroe found the weakest point in a woman: what she cares about. Take that away, and they fly into a blind, anger filled rage and don't stop until something is dead. To his credit, Monroe acknowledged that it wasn't only women who did this, but everyone. It was just that women were more likely than men.

Still, the two women continued their dance of death. The Quincy acknowledged it would be over soon. The body snatcher stepped backwards and drew the bow back. In a burst of light, a great number of arrows erupted from the bow towards the alleyway where the shadow mage was standing for the moment. Still, by the time the arrows arrived, she had gone. Still, someone else was there.

Zachary, much to the misfortune he normally found when coming to help someone, arrived too late to be of use. He looked at the two fighting women, one of which who had been using Monroe's body to fight, and was stalled for a moment. It took a few moments to register that the woman had really stolen his body.

The photon arrows crashed into the stone building, breaking some of the roof off and causing it to begin to cave in. Zachary's eyes widened as he saw a small figure, crawling backwards, scared. Dammit, a bystander! the ice mage thought quietly as he rushed forwards and slid to a stop, spinning around as the ceilings collapsed onto his shoulders and back.

The massive stones began to push him down as he held them up and smiled at the small girl. "Please... run," he told her. "I can only hold this for so long," he commented with a pleasant smile. The Replicator turned his attention back to the women.

Some form of a break had been taken, or perhaps Cadenza was doing her normal bit of dancing around to remind her foe how much weaker they were, and had allowed Cassandra to turn her bow back onto the ice mage.

A series of blasts erupted from the bow and caused larger chunks of the stone buildings to come crashing down. Zachary pressed his teeth together as he was pushed to one knee as the heavy stones continued to push his body down. "Please," he whispered, almost begging, "run!"

Not more than a few seconds after, another wave of rocks from the roof slid down onto the now massive pile amassed on the Replicator's back and brought the house down, almost literally, on the ice mage.