"Mike, I'd love a big box of nine mil for when I inevitably run out, if you have a spare trip in between everything else. Try to come back and get us in half an hour if you can. Maybe swing by JBLM and ask if I can stash these civvies with them until there's a corridor to Tacoma. Otherwise get the fuck out of here and keep doing your thing."

She gives him a daring grin and jumps out, assessing the situation, and giving Maya the Phantasmal Eyes to help survey by circling at the three meter max range. Which cars look like they have people in them, how far away is the bus, and have any monsters spawned yet?

There are thousands of abandoned cars around here, to the point where it's almost easier to run from roof to roof. The problem, it is immediately clear, is that the pile-up isn't just on level ground. No, the bus is on its side in a ditch, almost like a small valley between the road and the town, and more and more cars are abandoned around it, sticking out of the ditch, stacked on top of each other, sideways or on their ends several having wrecked into it, twisting doors and body panels creating a huge mess of metal over everything.. The bus itself seems mostly intact aside from the windows, like an old sturdy steel frame. It's honestly lucky nothing is on fire, with the stench of gasoline in the air like this.

Bys and Sebastian head for the bus, shoving their way past the debris as best they can. "Anybody alive, shout out! We're here to help!"

The kids in the bus all make a huge racket. There's a few cars with trapped people, mostly the ones on the bottom of the pile.

There... Seem to be a few bodies around too. She tries not to acknowledge that.

-And there, and there, in the distance, coalescing from a white glow, is the shape of what looks like - a quivering transparent blob about two and a half feet across. It appears on top of a car hood, and proceeds to slowly move around, leaving a trail clean of ash and grime as it goes. There's another off in the distance. And another. Maybe a dozen in the vicinity, not concentrated on them, and not seeming to be aware of them yet.

Neo jumps up onto the nearest car, then car-hops to the nearest people-containing car that's got an exposed window, her movements light and springy and swingy.

Maya, meanwhile, keeps the phantasmal eyes on a swivel, checking all angles, and especially watching for when the slimes start to pay attention to either the team or the civilians and come closer.

"Okay, folks. We'll have you out of here in a jiff. Do me a favor and lean as far away from this window as you can, and cover your faces with clothes."

The passenger in the car - a young woman in a business suit, bloodstains on her collar - nods rapidly and does her best to scramble away. She covers her face with her jacket.

Meanwhile, Abyssia and Sebastian are shoving cars out of the way deeper into the pile, trying to get to the bus and clear a path. Sebastian can roll cars entirely over, which is necessary since so many of these oversized SUVs and such have their wheels locked up, dead. Abyssia doesn't have nearly so much brute strength, but chops away some of the mangled metal and plastic as they get to more wrecked parts of the pileup.

The slimes do seem to have hearing, of a sort. Their random wandering is taking them somewhat more in the direction of the loud noises. Occasionally they tense up for a moment and hop a few feet forward, instead of rolling or oozing along a surface. One of them seems to have gained a weird rainbow sheen? Possibly dangerous?

A sudden color change from a monster is a great way for that slime to earn Maya's full attention. What's different about you, iridescent pile of goo?

She also watches these hops very closely as well.

Lv. 4 Gasoline Slime

This variant slime has absorbed a large quantity of gasoline, making it faster and noxious. It's also extremely flammable - for better or worse.

The slime hops are all consistent at least- The same amount of force and speed from the same slime, every time. A few go a bit further, a bit faster. The gas slime itself is considerably more motile.

Ah. Exactly what she hoped it wasn't. Well, hopefully they can keep ahead of the foul things long enough. She doesn't dare risk detonating the entire pileup, so she decides against advising shooting it for now.

Sable takes note of Maya's findings, but otherwise continues with what she's doing.

She flicks her wrist, extending her baton to full, then gives the window a solid whack, fracturing it into the typical pebble mess of safety glass. "Okay, whack something through it gently — worst case your own jacket-wrapped hand — to give me a hole to clear it through without pushing it inside."

She... Shoves her pink thermos bottle through it?

"Miss- The screens, should I pick something-?"

"Good job. Tell me your options while I clear this for you." And she gets to work, wrapping her hand in a towel from her bag, and swiftly but carefully sweeping all the glass out onto the street.

"Um, Boss, Laborer, Servant, Driver..." She lists a few more. All Commons. Healer is on the list.

"Healer's a priority in many groups, if that feels like it could be satisfying to you. I recommend aiming for a solid mix of utility and satisfaction. Picking something is a very good idea, but don't be hasty because you can't take it back."

She dusts a few last bits out. "Okay, that's as clear as it'll get for now. C'mon, out you get."

She holds her hands out to the woman and helps her climb through.

Her first rescuee is successfully de-car'd! She dusts herself off and looks around, sort of shell-shocked.

One of the slimes seems to have found one of the three remaining non-bus occupied cars and is sort of- Repeatedly bouncing at the car door, rocking it side to side. Several other slimes are slowly converging on it from all around, more directly than before.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, ma'am."

Neo vaults back atop the cars and starts springing across, bounding closer and closer, then on the final leap slams the baton down on the slime that's actively assaulting the car.

Splat.

The baton sends bits of slime flying as it tears into the tough outer membrane. The slime pauses, shivers, and then tenses to leap straight towards where the blow came from.

Nope! She's not above it, she's twirling 'round and whacking it with the baton like some demented cross between a batter and a ballerina, aiming exactly away from the car and hitting it just as it gets a decent bit airborne.

The slime goes flying, and goes,

FFFPBPBPBPBPBPBT!

The three slimes that were slowly coming towards her are now rapidly leaping at her.

It's oozing from both baton wounds now, but it relentlessly tries one more hop at her anyway. This time it seems at least sort of aware where she is, as opposed to just the weapon.

(Abyssia has noticed the noise, and turned towards her, eyes wide.)

Hahanope! She's not still there, she's twirling past it and slapping it from behind with the baton as it leaps, launching its broken body at another slime.

But this is totally a good time for "backup". She switches the baton to her left hand, and invokes Many Voices, giving perspective, primary focus, the right arm, and aiming to Hailey, while keeping footwork and the left arm for herself.

Hailey draws the pistol, temporarily borrows the left hand for a press check, cocks the hammer, then (handing the actual footwork off to Neo) spins to face her target while leaving it pointed at the ground until Maya says she's clear of people in her line of fire.

She raises the gun, sights carefully but swiftly down it at a slime that has no people behind it, and then fires in the space between exhale and inhale.

The sharp, loud crack of gunfire echoes across the morning air. The slime she targeted seems to expand for a moment, before collapsing down again and spurting out a jet of fluid.

(In the background, Abyssia is yelling and running in her direction, and Sebastian is only just starting to look)

She notes the presence of a convenience store downrange of the fourth and final slime in this group.