The dust settled in the old abandoned warehouse. Fractured concrete made up large swaths of the walls and floor, and laid out almost randomly were knocked out figures wearing masks and helmets, of all the same approximate build. Above them stood two muscular males in far more colorful, body-snug suits, both wearing a domino mask across the top of their faces.
Pyctoral casually flexed, and the debris that had heavily dusted his costume sank in and left him looking pristine. The lupine was left standing tall. His muscular form was tightly clung to by the majorly red material, appearing to strain at the flex. He relaxed, and smiled to his fellow super.
Phasian, who was similarly dusted after their recent tussle with what seemed like an army of goons, simply appeared to grow translucent for a moment, letting the debris fall through him to the floor. Once it had settled the stallion returned to corporeality and casually strode over to his ally. "We really need to talk about your diet one day." He quipped with a smile, his mane somehow just as smoothly draped along one side of his head and neck as before the fight.
With a barking laugh, Pyctoral put his fists on his hips, the pose highlighting his inverted triangle of a torso by pressing his pecs out and shoulders back. His pecs were especially highlighted by the triangular window showing off the crease between them without any of the red material in the way. "Wow, how long have you been holding onto that one?"
"Long enough." The equine smirked, and placed one of his thick, hoofish fingers to the hem of his own suit on his throat, where there was an almost imperceptible bulge. With the light pressure there, he activated the hidden microphone. "Pyctoral and I need some help detaining a large number of unconscious henchmen, or else we're gonna be here all day."
Both supers heard the reply come in through their earpieces. "Sending the clean-up squad to your location."
"That's not a very polite thing to call the constabulary." Phasian playfully scolded the voice on the other end.
Pyctoral grinned. "Well, it keeps them out of trouble."
"They really should have something better to do other than clean up after us." The horse started walking towards the only door left that wasn't blocked by debris of some sort. His torso was less triangular than his ally's, his chest and back about the same width as his waist, though the muscles were no less defined.
Following, the lupine casually swayed his tail behind him, folding his hands behind his head in another pose that accentuated the way his broad chest narrowed down to his waist and hips before his powerful legs continued to the floor. "Think we have some time to clean up some of the debris so there's more than one door?"
Phasian opened the door and paused, before turning to look at the wolf. "You know what, we should-"
Time seemed to slow down, as an enormous concrete sphere swung into view through the doorway. Pyctoral could only reach out an arm and start to shout before impact.
The horse, distracted, didn't see it coming. The wrecking ball slammed into the doorway, breaking the frame and colliding with Phasian's back. For a moment it looked like he'd managed to go intangible in time, but his translucent body was flung across the warehouse, unconscious.
Pyctoral dashed over to try to help his prone comrade, but the intangible body flew right through one of the damaged walls. Gritting his teeth, the wolf put his fists out in front of him, and the fur laid down as he gave his body the physical qualities of steel. He brought both fists together as a point and ducked his head down between his thick arms. The brushed steel wolf pierced through the wall, and he tucked and rolled on the other side. As he got back up, his body returned to its normal flesh and blood appearance, and he looked around rapidly.
There, floating in the middle of the alley on the far side of the warehouse wall was Phasian, still unconscious and still appearing intangible.
The wolf recognized this. It was a defense mechanism, to keep Phasian safe when he was injured. However, it only worked against physical assaults and was useless against energy-based attacks.
~*~*~*~
"Here, eat this." Phasian held out a translucent white block to Pyctoral between two thick hoofish fingers.
The wolf took it and perked at just how light the object was. "What is it?"
"Aerogel. It's the world's least dense solid." The Frisian casually ran his hand through his draping mane as he turned away. "If, for any reason, you need to touch me while I'm intangible, it's your best bet."
"Woah." Pyctoral looked over the small sample reverently. "This..."
The horse chuckled. "Hey, if I can't trust my partner out there, who can I trust?" He looked back over his shoulder.
*~*~*~*
Closing his eyes, the wolf mentally went through his catalogue of materials he'd consumed. Finding the small sample, he focused, and in a ripple across his body, his fur was replaced by a diffuse white, near intangible material.
Pyctoral opened his eyes and took a step, nearly stumbling. He was used to lugging around his body when it was denser than normal, but this was different. The lightest touch nearly sent him up into the air.
![Laying Low [Preview]](https://va.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2833/2833906_TristanHawthorne_patreonsuperhero02-preview.jpg "Laying Low [Preview]")
