Swamped

You're suddenly noticing a distinctive smell. Several, actually.

The menagerie is nearby... and the intruder just took a turn towards it.

Maybe they're looking to cause a diversion by releasing the animals. That wouldn't help much, though; not when you don't have any backup as it is. The animals would just alert more troops to the area. And opening cages would take precious time, you'd be able to catch up easily.

They could just be making a desperation ploy. But... well, you've got a hunch they're up to something else. Not that you have any clue what.

The answer arrives not long after they run into the menagerie. Before you can get in yourself, they're glancing around the room for some reason.

Then they turn towards the caged fenguin.

As you enter, you see the intruder's body change form. The flames on their mask start shifting, and they change into an enormous creature - part human, part fenguin.

Well. This definitely wasn't what you were expecting. Now what?