Welcome to Gaia! ::

Katerina chuckled softly at Aurelie’s innocent response, having long ago realized that there were certain things her roomie wasn’t ready to understand. On occasion it worked out for her benefit, but there were times when she wished she could set her down and explain how the world worked. Was she doing her a disservice by keeping the telekinetic in the dark? The shapeshifter wasn’t sure. “Boys shouldn’t hit girls…Except that he was never a boy, and I was never a girl.”

They were weapons to be used, not people. HYDRA spoke of family and loyalty…But everything always boiled down to power. The organization lost a valuable asset in Gideon, and an equally valuable asset when she’d fled the Viper’s castle. By rights, Gideon should have taken her head off. Aurelie couldn’t possibly know that injuring her just enough to subdue her was a kindness. “Unfortunately…We don’t get the luxury of ideal situations. For people like us, things are what they are.”

It sometimes made her wonder how the young woman had fancied Rossi for so long...Didn't she know? They were all cut from the same mold.

Isabella came and went, and Katerina only bothered to respond to Aurelie in the end. Was Dominik thinking like a boy? Nope. “Gay.”, the shapeshifter confirmed loftily, tossing her long ponytail back over her shoulder as she went.

Inside the facility, the former HYDRA agent rolled her eyes when Julian addressed her as the form she’d stolen. He moved the guards regardless, and honestly, that was all she cared about. Katerina stared at the medical wing for longer than she should have, beady black eyes absorbing things with an acuity that only came from experience. She glossed over things that didn’t matter, her mind automatically red flagging the rest.

Faking the results of patients would completely defeat the purpose of testing…Could it be that the part of the program had shut down, and this was some kind of system error? If that were the case, why had there been guards? It made the hair on the back of the flesh bag’s neck she wore stand on end. The answer was there…She just hadn’t found it yet.

When Eidolon announced that it was insurance fraud, she cocked a brow—not immediately following. Yet as the teleporter explained, she couldn’t help but agree. This was completely wrong. “It’s meant for us.”

“They obviously made a show of having mutants imprisoned here on paper—Else this facility wouldn’t have hit our radar. It doesn’t make sense.”, Katerina spoke quietly, forcing her eyes to move away from the screens. Julian whisked her away not long after that, and she had no commentary for his observation about the cells. He’d unknowingly read her thoughts.

Katerina shifted back to her natural form, and waited impatiently for Rykov’s response. She did understand that it would be difficult to trust either herself, or Eidolon in this situation…But there wasn’t time to hold hands and sing about it. The former HYDRA agent only understood tough love when on a mission. If the boy wanted to be coddled, he would be with Stone soon enough.

Thankfully he came around all on his own, and to her relief appeared excited to leave with their assistance. The young woman raised an elegantly arched eyebrow in cold amusement at his language but allowed him to take the key nonetheless. Despite the fact that he was being freed, there was a victory in removing one’s own shackles. Katerina still would have preferred to remove it herself. “We can have formal introductions later…I’m Kali, this is Eidolon—”

Katerina paused in speaking when Rykov pulled the collar from his neck and tossed it towards the electrified wall. Her arms raised defensively, though perhaps unnecessarily since Julian intercepted the device in the blink of an eye. She exhaled when she realized she wasn’t going to suffer third degree burns, gun metal blue eyes narrowing on Eidolon. He always had something smart to say, didn’t he? “Don’t be so dramatic… It likely wouldn’t have killed us, but it wouldn’t have been pleasant.”

The brunette allowed Julian to touch her shoulder, spacing her feet just a little bit apart to prepare for the teleport. It wasn’t an exactly unpleasant experience, but it did make her stomach turn over. “Don’t thank us yet…We still need to get you out.”

Something Rykov said stuck in her head. He was the only prisoner they’d come across on the inside, and seemed to be under the assumption that he actually WAS the only prisoner. The gears started turning in her head again, and her lovely face twisted in a sudden snarl. Everything that they’d seen combined with that confirmation, if he was telling the truth—Julian was right. Rykov was bait, and they'd swallowed it whole. Raising her comm to her lips she sent her scathing words across both Stone and Rossi’s channels… “This is—“, she was cut off as they teleported, suddenly finding herself standing next to Rossi. “—A ******** trap.”

Katerina dropped immediately when she realized they were standing in the bushes and reached out to pull Rykov and Eidolon down none too gently. She released their hands a moment later, almost as if they were made of acid. The former HYDRA agent looked out across the yard, expression becoming fierce as she noticed some kind of barrier completely surrounding the compound. Bravo, humans.

“Not that this hasn't been a pleasant outing, but its time to go. The prison is just a shell, the cells have never been used. They had one prisoner—“, she murmured lowly to Rossi, her accent thick as she gestured towards Krystof. “Him.”

“And you—“, Katerina turned her piercing eyes on Rykov, distrust blooming in her irises. He didn’t seem like a soldier, nor did he seem like he was lying…But there were at least a hundred people in the yard wearing prisoner garb, that she was ninety percent sure, weren’t wrongfully imprisoned mutants. “If I find out you had anything to do with this—you’ll wish we’d left you to rot in that cell.”

The shapeshifter itched to find Aurelie. This wasn’t the type of fight Katerina wanted her alone in. She didn’t trust Stone or her boy toy to keep her out of the infirmary, not with her insatiable need to help and do the right thing. Protecting others made martyrs out of soft hearted soldiers. Katerina shut down nearly immediately after that, a low and frustrated growl burning in her throat that wasn’t entirely human.

All she needed was an excuse to shift and start tearing into anyone who stood between her and her telekinetic. Be that Rossi, or the MRD. Both were wastes of oxygen, and completely irrelevant.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxOmega - mall

It was a mockery to see these cheap, made-in-Taiwan carvings being pandered as something from his culture and he made certain to tell the clerk of the fraud. Narcissa stayed quiet, allowing him a rare moment on his high horse. He left the store with the cashier sputtering as he wrapped his arm around the epitome of warmth, pulling her into the shelter of his shoulder. “White people.” He glibbed, shaking his head in dismay as he tried to conceal the smile that the long-running joke brought.

Admittedly, the little figurines had struck a nerve, and when he likened them to a neanderthal’s idea of art, Narcissa teased him. “Yes. Me make pretty for you.” He responded back, deadpan. Too often she had compared him to one, and he might have been offended if he did not know she was only joking. He opened his mouth to add to their banter, but Blake’s message cut them short. “Time to get to work.” The native sighed, shielding the sun goddess from the public eye as she changed. Shortly after he did the same, allowing the leader the first glimpse of what he had chosen for his new uniform.

The eagle he’d painted caused her to pause, and his pride reveled in the fact that she obviously understood its meaning. Giving her a cheeky grin he stared down at the woman he had come to adore. “Just don’t mistake this for that national headcase. I’m never going to be bald.” They turned away from each other and headed toward the SOS signal, shelving their own wants for the time being.

Almost as soon as they reached the food court the MRDs tried to swarm them. The size shifter hung the one out to dry on the flagpole hanging over the first floor from the second just as the sentinel crashed in on their party, raining not only on their parade metaphorically, but sent thousands of shards and slivers of glass down on their battle arena. The giant turned to face the machine and posed the question about shifting back after he head the computer “assess the target,” but he did not hear anyone answer the query with the technical answer.

Cissa assured him that the robot wouldn’t get the chance and he shrugged. With as tall as he was, the motion almost appeared too slow to be fluid, natural. Swallowing a lump of dry air, Aren quickly gauged his options and geared up to try and grow another six feet; his mentality falling to the idea - the larger the area, the smaller the hole. “I was just guessing that now is a good as time as any to see if I mutate well under pressure.” He joked, forever hanging onto his humor. He sincerely doubted that his girlfriend would appreciate the joke.

The Omega leader shot light out of her hand as a distraction and the native shifted back to his normal size, just as Peyton blew out gale-force winds. He landed flat on his back, glass digging into his neck and scalp. It took a second for him to breathe - the fall had stolen his own wind. “Next time, don’t blow me so hard!” He called out to his teammate as a way of assuring anyone who cared that he was fine as he moved toward Narcissa.

Scrambling back to his feet, the whole scene was a lot to take in, but he did catch the sight of an unknown mutant attacking the robot with a force that felt as though she moved the tectonic plates deep beneath the soles of their shoes. The foundation of the mall moved, and Aren threw a hand back behind Narcissa which served to steady his own balance while preparing for her potential fall.

Even with as much punch as the new girl packed, it proved to be short of dismantling the sentinel, as evidenced by the machine flinging her into a pillar. He sucked in a breath as he watched in horror and had already started to run toward the point of impact when he heard Narcissa’s order to collect her. She was holding her ribs, and he grimaced. Someone who had decided to help them did not deserve to be punished for the effort.

“Going my way?” He asked, offering her a hand to stand up as he grew three feet in the span of a second. “I have to admit… that when a guy tells a woman to rock their world, they usually mean it figuratively and not literally.” He opened as a way of breaking the ice. He grinned from behind his mask, and somehow the eyes of his eagle emanated that in correlation with the bottom half of his face.

Aren might have gone through an introduction, but there simply wasn’t time. As seconds ticked by, more MRDs found their way to the food court. “Forgive me for this…” He said as his only way of warning her. Careful not to jostle her too much, he simply whisked her bride style into his arms. It’d be far faster to carry her to safety than to help her walk there on her own.

“You can rib me for this later.” He promised, his steps swift as he danced away from the onslaught of officers. He muttered a few apologies when he moved too quickly to stop the natural inertia of jarring her, but made it out to the rendezvous point with little issue, coming up just behind the Texan on their team.

He was asking about the whereabouts of an “Aftershock,” and given the fact that no one on the Omegas had that code name, and it seemed to fit the blond he was carrying, Aren couldn’t help but reply. “Relax, Romeo… Your girlfriend’s right here. Though, she might be more keen on indians to cowboys after I rescued her and all.” Just as painstakingly careful as he had been with picking her up, the size shifter allowed the new girl to stand, hovering as he waited for Blake hopefully catch up to take hold of her. He doubted with what looked might be a cracked rib from the way she held it that she’d be comfortable standing completely on her own.

Golden eyes did a head count, and found the one he found to be most important missing. “Ki’somma…” He opened his comm link, debating on whether or not he should go back into the mall to help round up the loose ends. The invisible tether between he and his other half felt taut, as though it was stretched beyond its capacity, though he could not determine if it was his worry or Narcissa’s that caused it. “Knoxx and her crew aren’t here yet, neither are Jynx, Chameleon, Dart or Sparrow..” He didn’t ask what he wanted, but his discomfort with her still being within the walls of the mall would be obvious to her; he wanted nothing more than to go back in, grab her and drag her to safety. Which was precisely what she wouldn’t want.

Staring back toward the building, he fought the impulse as he envisioned the lecture he’d get after. This was precisely why they’d been fighting being together. The lines blurred made it hard to prioritize, and he’d make a mistake in trying to protect her. Hurry.

No doubt Kerri and the two newbies would be out soon - the wolfish one had done well to keep the MRD's off his back when he'd been toting out their visitor. What was keeping them?

The Omegas: The Mall
|1621|


"If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well.
Then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell.
I hope it gives you hell.
Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself.
Yeah, where did it all go wrong?
But the list goes on and on."


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Needless to say, Felix had spent at least part of his time with Peyton pushing her buttons in little ways, but never enough to fully set her off. It was all in good fun for him. Whether he was insisting she found him attractive, or bringing up Roland to focus her anger. Roland seemed to be the topic that generated the biggest reaction from her, just not so much in her words. It was easy to tell from her body language the moment Felix brought him up, that she hated him. Clearly even more than she hated the speedster, and that was saying something.

Suggesting they team up, and snagging her for this mission, Peyton tried to press him for what a potential team up might entail. Giving her a stock answer seemed to irritate her even more, but the truth was, while Felix had a basic idea or two, he wasn’t entirely sure what it might entail. He just knew if they could get along long enough, they could cause trouble together. Of course, he didn’t think admitting he wasn’t entirely sure to the blonde would do much good, plus he didn’t want to admit to not knowing outloud.

Peyton pointed out a potential kink in his plan and Felix smiled along knowingly. “That’s very true, which is why you must be willing to overlook the small things. If you can work on that, I will work on the bigger things.” He mentioned, offering a small compromise. It wasn’t a grand gesture, but it wasn’t like Felix was trying to date Peyton, just get her to see them working together could be very good for both of them. And bad for most everyone else.

As the blonde mentioned keeping her happy, Felix shot back in a way she probably expected. This started a conversation that eventually landed on her accusing him of overcompensating. Giving the woman a short laugh, the speedster cleared his throat. “Please, if anyone’s a classic case of overcompensation, it’s the neanderthal. I have no problems in that department. I would offer for you to see yourself, but I find myself already having a companion for nights, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. Unimaginative as it clearly is.” The last bit was spoken with a smirk to show her it was all in good fun, but he doubted that would stop her from potentially getting angry anyway.

It was just their way. He made her mad, and… Well… He made her mad.

Inside the mall, Felix was quick to pick the cover that would both best work, and best annoy Peyton. Holding hands was obviously difficult for her, but she played the part rather well. Despite a few comments at the beginning of their cover involving some comments, things went rather smoothly. “You know… You’re not a bad actress, if not for the whole, angry thing, I would suggest a career in it.” The speedster whispered to the blonde beside him.

Letting her pick the first stop, Peyton settled on coffee. Expressing his displeasure in the such a tame location, Felix nonetheless headed in that direction. He was a man of his word, and he had offered her first pick. He would have been lying if he said that he didn’t view this mission as a vacation of sorts after being cooped up for so long. To be outside and in such a setting was beyond nice.

His companion asked if coffee was a good idea, and Felix responded to her question, before posing one of his own. As she began speaking, Felix actually found that he could indeed relate to her dilemma. “I don’t find that hard to imagine at all. Imagine if you will that you can move as fast as I can. Now imagine that moving that fast is simply your default setting, it’s not entirely easy to keep at a normal pace. Imagine going to touch someone and suddenly hitting them with full force because you can’t control how fast you are going to do just that. It’s not fun.” Felix spoke, still in a low voice and without missing a beat.

“I guess we have something else in common after all.” The speedster spoke with a shrug as he pulled her along.

As they arrived at the lingerie store, Peyton hid her anger quite well, but the tightening on his hand showed how angry she was. Personally he was glad she didn’t have super strength, that could have been rather painful. Letting things sink in for a moment, Felix suddenly dragged her over to the nearby music store instead. Granted arriving in front of it, she still seemed more than a little angry and trying to control herself. It was to be expected. Making the assumption that she liked music of the girly persuasion, Felix probably should have expected that just wasn’t the blonde at all.

As Felix apologized, Peyton corrected him on her reason for disliking it. Chuckling a little, he held up his hands in mock surrender. “No arguments here. It is quite terrible.” As she asked the music he liked, Felix responded quite easily. Peyton seemed to agree with him, and again they seemed to find something they could potentially bond over if they were those type of people. “I can imagine music with energy being good for working out. My… Condition makes working out pretty much pointless, so I don’t listen to music for that.” The speedster mentioned the last bit as vague as he could manage, ever mindful of the potential for curious ears.

Their downtime didn’t last long after before Blake was coming through the comms. At the mention of power nullifying cuffs, Felix made a comment that Peyton was quick to respond to. “Lucky us, our luck is never that good.” Cissa came through the comms next, and as Peyton made a comment, Felix pulled her towards the nearest bathroom. Making a few comments about why they were heading towards the bathroom, Peyton played along. At her question once they were inside the bathroom, Felix raised an eyebrow towards her. “Would you prefer any people who saw us go into the bathroom wonder what we were doing going in the same bathroom and then coming to check?” Not that it really mattered he supposed, but he’d rather his face wasn’t plastered on wanted posters everywhere.

Swapping his civilian clothes out for his uniform, now sporting a mask, Felix listened to the message about a sentinel. Peyton made a comment and Felix smirked. “See? Our luck always goes from rotten to worse. I honestly might die from shock if things actually went like they were supposed to.” After they were both ready, Felix took Peyton’s hand and asked if she was ready to cause trouble. “See, but big bad doesn’t draw attention to your best features like bright eyes does. We can discuss this potential change later, however.” With one final smirk, Felix zipped them through the mall and towards the food court.

Dropping Peyton by some MRD soldiers, Felix quickly disarmed them and dispatched them then headed in Aren’s direction. Giving a little banter, Aren returned it quite easily. Smirking, Felix tapped into his comms as he moved away from Aren. “Now now, I know you idolize me, but not everybody can be as great as I am Chief. Trying to emulate me and going faster would just result in you making a fool of yourself. Stick to what you know and get smaller.” Felix shot back towards the man without missing a beat.

Dispatching more soldiers in a flash, Felix stopped near Peyton again, offering her a piggyback ride. Peyton responded and Felix nodded. “Let’s do this. You bring this thing down, and I’ll stop calling you bright eyes, at least for a week.” Progress right? Grabbing the blonde, Felix ran towards the sentinel, arriving in time to drop Peyton off and move out of the way quickly. Stopping a bit away, Felix stopped and watched the blonde run towards the sentinel before literally blowing herself up into the air, and then sending the machine tumbling to the ground. All in all, the speedster had to admit it was impressive. Hearing Aren had bee flattened was enough to cause him to smirk. “I told you that you should’ve gotten smaller. And seriously, phrasing. There are ladies around, and I thought I was bad.”

As Peyton began falling, Felix was yelled at to catch her by both Peyton herself, and Cissa. “Relax.” Felix called out over the comms. Timing it perfectly, Felix caught the blonde moments before she hit the ground, for dramatic effect. “Miss me? You know, I knew you liked me, but I didn’t expect you to fall so early in our relationship. I’m not sure I feel the same way.” Winking at her, Felix slid to a stop and dropped the blonde on her feet. Suddenly Felix found the ground a little less steady than it had been moments before, but he managed to stay on his feet.

As Cissa gave the retreat orders, Felix sighed. “Guess that means our fun is over.” Grabbing Peyton’s hand, Felix brought his comm to his lips. “Anybody need a quick extraction?” Felix called out over the comm, and then he was gone, getting Peyton to the portal, Felix stopped outside of it. Eyes quickly making sure there weren’t any approaching hostiles. “I guess you earned yourself a nickname change. Maybe I'll even start calling you Peytron Destroyer of Worlds.” The man spoke towards Peyton. “You should head inside, I’ll wait here and make sure the others make it back in one piece.” With that, Felix waited to hear from any of the others.

(OOC: PM me if I missed something.)



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"Truth be told I miss you.
And truth be told I'm lying.
When you see my face.
Hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.
When you walk my way.
Hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪【 Super Breath 】▪【 New York City 】▪【 Blowing Off Steam 】 ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

She’d expected to be irritated for the entirety of the mission, being teamed up with Felix as she was. Surprisingly, he was tolerable, at least part of the time. He’d proposed they work together and help each other out. An alliance of sorts. She wasn’t sure what ideas he had brewing but was curious enough to play along for now. She warned him that this alliance would fall apart as quickly as he pissed her off and he offered a compromise? She was skeptical at best. If she didn’t let the little things get to her, he would work on the big things. It was hard to believe anything he said when his favorite pastime was to get under everyone’s skin. She would just have to wait and see how this went. "I’ll work on it.” Her tone wasn’t quite sincere but it was as good as he would get from the blonde.

A sly smirk curled her lips as Felix fought her comment that he seemed to be compensating for something. He tried to deflect her but she wasn’t that easily manipulated, especially when his accusation was so laughable. "Oh please,” she argued with a roll of her eyes "What exactly is he doing to compensate? He’s so pathetic I almost feel bad trashing him. I’ve never once seen him even try to be impressive.” Or perhaps he was just so bad at it she hadn’t known. "I knocked his girlfriend around and he was too much of a coward to even get mad at me. I’m sure he’s a sad excuse for a man, but I’ve never seen him try to compensate for it.”

"You, on the other hand...” She trailed off, he would know the jab she was taking. He mentioned that he had a ‘companion for the nights’ and her expression soured slightly. "Poor thing...” Whoever it was was clearly in a bad place to be sleeping with Felix. He’d missed hitting her buttons, whether he was trying to or not. Telling her he wasn’t going to show her his d**k was a relief more than anything. She honestly didn’t give a s**t about it or how big it was.

After being in the mall for a short time he commented that she was a better actress than she’d given herself credit for, if only she could keep her temper under control. But it wasn’t going to happen. Even when she was calm she was angry. Always angry… She wished it were different, but her dreams had been taken from her and she wasn’t sure she would ever recover from that blow. "Not interested.” she stated simply at the idea of her making a career.

After getting some coffee, she questioned the effects of caffeine on speedster. He assured it wouldn’t amp him up. The conversation then turned to their abilities and their struggles at controlling them. Her gaze turned down to the drink in her hands after trying to explain her difficulties to him, listening to his own. One side of her mouth briefly curled up in an attempt to force a smile that was largely unsuccessful. She certainly wasn’t happy about it. Unlike others who could turn their abilities off and on, she was taking careful breaths, being careful especially in public. Even among friends she had to watch herself.

She gave a small nod at the speedster’s comment that they had that struggle in common.

A quick stop at a lingerie store quickly brought her back to her usual self, pissed. There was no way… She’d even fought him as he dragged her off, thinking he was going to lead her into the store. Instead they ended up in a record store, discussing music. He mentioned that he didn’t need to workout with his ability. "That must be nice, but I’m sure there are other reasons to workout.” As a gymnast, she’d worked out - trained - her body in many ways. Weight loss wasn’t her goal at this point. Strength, speed, control. There were plenty of things you could accomplish through training, and cardio and fast metabolisms could only get you so far. She knew not everyone was an athlete. It seemed Felix wasn’t if he wasn’t interested in working out.

"I like it, it feels good.” she admitted. Disregarding the results, it felt good to push her body, to exhaust her muscles, break a sweat. It somehow felt refreshing.

As they chatted in the music store, the message came through on their comms. Suit up and get to the food court. Felix led her to the bathroom and came up with an oh so clever cover to sneak in. She questioned him about it and he came up with some bullshit excuse. "We could’ve gone into different bathrooms.” She stated obviously. "Or just walked in. People really don’t give enough of a s**t to pay as much attention to you as you think they do.” Not to mention she was sure the commotion in the mall was stirring up, drawing attention. Soon enough, people would forget the mall even had bathrooms.

The changed into their uniforms and Peyton expressed a desire to cause some trouble - destruction - when the speedster asked. She also noted her preference for his new nickname for her. He told her it didn’t give her eyes the attention they deserved. "I’m not worried about it.” she assured, but they had to get to work and their conversation about it was left short.

They arrived at the food court in no time due to Felix’s ability. He took off on her for a moment, but was back soon enough and as requested, he brought her in close to the sentinel so she could do as she’d promised the team. She smirked when Felix told her he would stop calling her Bright Eyes for a week if she brought the giant machine down. "Big Bad it is...” she uttered as she took off.

She’d seen the giant native as she attacked the sentinel. But did he really expect her to wait for him to move his a** out of the way and risk losing her opening? He returned to his normal size but hadn’t made it out in time and was caught up in the force of her winds.

She’d called out for Felix as she quickly approached the floor, and the speedster came through and caught her before she hit the ground. She was about to thank him - maybe - until he opened his mouth and instead rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming.” was her sassy retort as she was set down. She heard Aren holler at her about ‘blowing’ him. "Next time get out of the way!” she called back over the commotion with a subtle smirk shot in his direction.

The building shook and the blonde looked back over to the sentinel to see others going to work on it. Narcissa gave the order to retreat then, Felix grabbed her and quickly zipped back over to the portal, dropping her off in front of it. He admitted she’d earned a new nickname, and that he might start calling her ‘Peytron Destroyer of Worlds.’ "I’ll allow it.” She liked it, a soft smile warming her words.

Another roll of the eyes met Felix when he told her to go through the portal while he stayed behind to make sure the rest of the team made it back. "Shut up, a*****e.” was her unamused response. "We’re supposed to stick with our partners, nobody goes anywhere alone, right?” It would be harder to get rid of her than that. She was going to soak up what sun she could before heading back underground. And protect their portal in the meantime. Her ability was suited to clearing out enemies. If they had any unwanted company, she would take care of it.

Arms crossed over her chest as she turned back to watch the mall, waiting for the rest of the team to emerge.



▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪【 End 】▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Y O Uxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ARE DRIVING ME INTO PANICxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND ITxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'M CONSTANTLY SINKINGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'M NO LONGER THINKINGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
SO LEAVE ME ALONE WHILE I'Mxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
F R A N T I Cxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tara followed her group through the portal, catching Leo's eyes and giving him a small smile, which he replied to with a small nod of his own. She was glad that they'd been placed in the same group, given how well they got along in and out of missions. He at least knew how to lead a team, taking them from the rest of the Alphas and leading them into the forest. Before long, they encountered a group of soldiers approaching them in a vehicle, the brunette turning to their group leader as he dished out instructions.

As the vehicle got closer, she brunette nodded to Leo as he asked her to stop it so they could take care of the soldiers within. It wasn't hard for her - the ground beneath the front wheels sunk at just the right time to catch the tires and prevent the jeep from moving any further. Immediately the rest of the group sprung into action to disengage the soldiers, Tara joining them when one of the solider's almost got away. Picking up several small rocks from the ground, she threw her hand forward, sending them in a barrage towards her target to knock him off his feet. Pivoting around, one of the larger ones collided with the back of his skull, hard enough to knock him out cold before the rocks fell to the ground once more.

The sound of muffled screams caught her attention as she turned to see Lyn subduing a different guard by burning his face with her bare hands, begging him in the softest voice to stop. Eventually, he complied with her request, passing out with a Lyn-sized handprint front and center on his face. Brown eyes turned to to the redhead, raising an eyebrow.

"You showed him," she joked, making a mental note not to shake the girl's hand anytime soon, or ask her for a back massage. Tara was quite alright not being branded.

She assisted her teammates in securing their targets with zip ties and putting them back in the jeep. Their efforts were recognized by Leo's small amount of praise, thought it was short-lived, as they needed to keep moving. Following his lead, their group made its way down the hill, Bianca splitting off to get a good vantage point while they rest of them took cover as best they could.

Once at the bottom of the hill, Leo produced a map of the complex using his comm device, pointing out the snipers in the courtyard they needed to be concerned about first. Once they were dealt with, they would take care of the guards in the main courtyard, though they needed to be careful not to accidentally harm any of the prisoners they were supposed to be rescuing. Tara accepted the key that was offered to her, which would allow them to take the collars off the prisoners they came into contact with. He tried to make a joke, cracking a smile, to which the earth manipulator could only shake her head with a small smile. Bless him, he was trying in the humor department...

With the overview of the plan taken care of, they were sorted into pairs, Tara assigned to Leo. He reiterated the importance of sticking with their partners once they were inside, the brunette flashing him a playful smile. "Oh, you know that's not a problem, Sugar. You've always made good eye candy." It was clear that she was kidding around, motioning for him to lead the way since she would have his back.

Once again, he had a favor to ask of her, brown eyes moving to him once more as he explained what he needed from her. She stood in silence as he articulated his request - she was going have to bring down a wall, at least where the guards were Doing so would give them a way to escape, as well as take care of the snipers that they needed to disengage before they could safely move into the courtyard. He was kind enough to give her an out, in case she didn't think that she'd be able to accomplish such a feat, though the brunette simply smiled at him.

"You know, I'm a little hurt that you think I need an out to take down a wall. Where there's a will, there's a way, sweetcheeks. You just leave the wall to me." Offering him a confident smile, the brunette cracked her knuckles as she took a few steps from him, her gaze falling on the wall. She closed her eyes, feeling for the small particles of rock and sand in the concrete that she might be able to get a grip on.

The initial bombardment of her senses with the number of small particles in one section was momentarily overwhelming, her body flinching slightly as she tried to isolate each one within her mind. Her stance widened slightly as she took a deep, steadying breath, extending her hands over her head. As soon as she'd gotten ahold of as many particles as she could handle, the brunette threw her hands downward, a soft rumbling sound moving through wall as the entire section exploded outwards in tiny bits of rubble as the rock and sand separated from the cement holding it together. The snipers atop the wall fell with a panicked yell, landing under the pile of rubble the wall had been reduced to. Someone else might have felt bad about the collateral damage - Tara secretly hoped they choked to death before they could dig their way out.

"Told ya," she said with a small chuckle, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she shifted her stance back to normal. The strain of her feat was evident on her features, though she hid it well. If she could rest for just a few minutes, she'd be right as rain, so she decided to let the others rush in and get the party started.

Roland Chevalier
Location: NYC
Thoughts: Fighting in the light, unveiling my true nature…

The streets of New York were lively, the people of the metropolis were moving about as if part of a rather incredible super-organism. The ebb and flow of the populace in the black and grey flesh of Manhattan, the metallic subway cars moving about transporting those that needed to get where they needed to be. But every now and then, there were patches of green dispersed throughout the grey and black. Central Park, the High Line, Highland Park, all these patches of green sitting in this massive organism of grey and black. And that was something the New Orleans born warrior was amazed by. Such a massive city and only these little patches of grey. He was used to plenty of green through the urban landscape, not this bloated mass of metal and concrete.

He stood there waiting in the park as Charlotte and the rest of them gathered. He offered a kind hand towards one of the twins, Veronica if his memory served correctly. He ignored what came out of Orchid’s mouth, it was likely something narcissistic and he just was in no mood to listen to any of that. She nodded when he stated they should get moving, and off they went. He put himself at the front, knowing he was a larger target for any shooters that were going to come their way. If someone was going to get shot, it was going to be him. He wasn’t about to let some kid get shot on his watch.

The sight of several MRD agents making their way towards them, followed by Gambit showing up at least made things interesting. He ordered them to hold the position for the others, as he escorted the kids out through the portal. Something that made him smirk as he let the armor form over himself again. He began to rush forward, maintaining a serpentine pattern through the treeline to avoid fire. Five agents to go, Charlotte having been kind enough to reduce their number by one. Moving forward he brought a baton out of his armor hoping to draw at least one away from the group. He used this to swat at one of the officers, knocking his rifle out of his hands. Another agent broke off from the pursuing force to engage, to which Roland moved in close to remove the threat of his weapon. Slamming his foot into the agent’s shin, he then proceeded to headbutt him and knock him to the ground. He stripped the rifle off of him, ripping it apart with bare hands.

His partner pulled out a telescopic baton, a 21” ASP steel baton. Nasty stuff, he saw wha the could do to people. He was kind enough to let the other guy get up, who also pulled out an ASP. Great he thought to himself, I could really use the challenge today. Between Peyton’s attack and all the nonsense on base, he just needed to let loose. Too bad for these sons of bitches. The first officer tried to simply go in hot, yelling out. A big mistake, which Roland taught him the error of through a strong kick into the stomach, followed by hitting him across the femur with his own baton, feeling the muscle and sinew give way to the pseudo-metal that was in his hand. He knew he didn’t break a bone, but after today he was not gonna be walking on that leg very well for a good long while. He staggered back, trying to keep himself up. He moved his way towards him, when he felt a blow to his back as the other officer struck him from behind. He felt another blow, harder this time as he turned around and stopped him from swinging a third time. With one hand he kept his forearm in a vice-grip, with the other he made a straight shot right to the chest. He felt something crack, hopefully his sternum, as he connected dead on. He then drew back and connected a second blow directly into his shoulder, dislocating the arm right out of the socket. As he collapsed in pain he brought a kick directly to his face, putting him down for the count. Turning back to the gentleman trying to stand he pushed him to the ground. Grabbing him by the collar, he brought a fist up when he saw something.

A woman, a mother actually, with her son. The kid was no doubt seven or eight years old, but he just looked at them. The two of them met eyes, and he realized he was better than this. So turning the officer over to the side, he grabbed a pair of handcuffs that were attached to his belt and opened them. Flipping him onto his stomach, he brought his arms behind him and cuffed him.

“Your leg isn’t broken, if anything it’s a nasty sprain.” he said to the guy, as he whimpered, “Make sure a medic gets that looked at ASAP, your partner has either a bruised or broken sternum, a dislocated shoulder, and a concussion.”

“Why are you doing this?” the officer asked, “Why are you cuffing me?” Roland sighed to himself as he checked the other officer. He was down for the count, but breathing.

“I’m wondering that myself.” he answered simply, grabbing his communicator, looking towards Charlotte’s position“Two more down for the count.”

OOC: Let me know if there are problems, issues, fixes needed, etc.

Kerrigan, Christian and Charlie made their way through the mall, deciding it was best for them to stick to their "gym rats" angle. She began making small talk with Charlie as they made their way through the crowds, the redhead shaking her head as he confessed that her interests were similar to his in terms of physical activity. It was nice finding yet another who seemed to be as much of an adrenaline junkie as she was - no doubt the two of them would become friends.

She couldn't help but laugh as Christian bet on her in a match between her and her new friend. There was nothing else she could do but accept the challenge to a spar once they got back to the base, "I won't let you down, coach," she responded with a chuckle. She quipped that he was going to make some money on the bet, to which Charlie could only respond that they would see when the time came. She explained that she loved sparing with people, especially her teammates, because she felt that one could learn a lot about a person based on such an exercise. He assured her that he was looking forward to the same thing, to which she could only offer him another smile before tossing her hair over her shoulder as they reached their first stop on their sweep - Finish Line.

The trio looked at some shoes, which the boys had some input on, though that never stopped her from glancing around their surroundings, keeping an eye out for their "prey." Before long, however, their communicators went off, the redhead watching as Christian made an attempt at a smooth exit. She righted the shoe he'd knocked over in the process, joining her companions outside the shoe store as it was announced that the Wytner Twins had been found. Charlie joked with his friend that he didn't have a future in acting, to which the wolf man coyly remarked that it was just that they couldn't understand his work. She couldn't help but laugh at his response, attempting to assure him that nonchalance got easier with practice.

With the announcement that they'd found their charges came with the order to suit up and make it to the Food Court. Their feral friend suggested that they head to the dearest bathrooms to switch into their uniforms, which seemed as good a plan as any. Kerrigan was quick to change into her suit, thanks to their most recent technological addition, joining the boys outside once more. Charlie expressed his jealousy at her suit, inquiring as to where he might be able to get something like that. She joked with him that he would have to earn an upgrade to something like her suit, though he didn't seem convinced by her "walk before you run" proposition. He countered that sometimes "throwing one to the sharks" was just as effective, the girl's shoulders rising and falling in a simple shrug.

"I can't argue with that. However, these suits cost money, and it's a lot to invest in someone before you're sure they can handle it. Just give it some time. I'm sure we can work something out," she responded, giving him a reassuring smile.

Their light-hearted exchange was short-lived, however, as the sound of a loud crash emanated through the area, followed by an announcement from their leader that a sentinel had landed on the property. Instantly, her green eyes went wide, the redhead suppressing the moment of panic that washed over her at the knowledge. They hadn't been around for the last round with the sentinels, but she'd had to scale one from the outside to open a soft spot for the rest of the team to take it down. If it hadn't been for Magneto, as much as she hated to admit it, she'd have been seriously injured, if not killed, in her launch from the machine's body. It was a fight she didn't like to think about when she could avoid it.

It was this lack of experience with the machines she knew caused Christian and Charlie to try to make light of the situation. She brought them back to reality at that point, trying to emphasize the fact that this wasn't a joke, and that they needed to take this news more seriously. Sure, she was probably being a little stick-in-the-mud, but that was the kind of mentality that was going to keep them alive long enough to get some experience on the Omegas. Charlie assured her that they had her back, to which she nodded, offering a reassuring glance. "I know you are."

With that, they headed towards the food court, her charges asking if she remembered where it was from the map. Lucky joked that his nose should lead them to the right place, proceeding to give an educated guess that they should go the opposite direction the panicked patrons were heading. It was solid logic, she had to give him that.

Fighting against the flow of the panicked traffic, it was slow going. They didn't get too far, before encountering a group of three MRDs, which stopped them in their tracks. Her gaze shifted between the three bodies before her as Charlie tried to diffuse the situation, to no avail. Thankfully, however, he made the first move, which instantly set Kerrigan in motion as well. She went after the MRD on the right, She was glad that Christian seemed to fall into step and take care of their assailant to the left. He was able to easily dispose of the man's weapon, though for a moment it looked as if the cuffs were making their way onto her companion's wrists.

Unfortunately, Kerrigan was still entangled with her own grunt, and unable to offer assistance to the younger Omega. At that moment, however, the boy began to change in what looked to be quite a painful transformation into the wolf she knew he could become. She was forced to avert her eyes, not because it was disgusting (though, it was), but because she still had her own enemy to deal with. Once she had disarmed her own attacker, she shot a single tranq dart into the main, training her weapons on her companions to make sure that they didn't need any additional assistance.

Feral shook off what looked to be the remains of his human form and barked at Charlie as she ordered them to keep moving when she realized that they were fine. It was good to know that they could handle themselves - Lucky, in particular seemed to be having fun, not that she could blame him. As much as she hated the fact that they had to fight so often, she enjoyed doing the things she was good at. Kerrigan was good at this part.

The boys followed her lead as she began fighting her way towards their destination once they had fully dispatched of their initial targets. She focused more on stunning those that stepped into her way, confident that her companions would dispatch of them as they brought up the rear.

Slowly but surely, they made their way to the Food Court, the redhead nearly losing her balance as seismic shocks moved through the ground. Quickly, she regained her footing, though a brief look of confusion permeated her expression, "Avalanche?" It was a question more than a statement - aside from Tara, she wasn't sure who else would be able to produce such seismic activity. At the very least, it felt like they were moving in the right direction.

Once they arrived at their destination, they took a moment to take in the lay of the land before the redhead leapt into action once more. The sentinel continued to tower over them, being engaged by a few of their own to keep it busy while the rest of them did what they could to get civilians and others to safety from the MRDs, who were still in force. There were a couple of faces that she didn't immediately recognize, though she had a feeling they were either reinforcements or other mutants judging by the fact that they seemed to be trying to help as opposed to running away. Eventually, however, she saw the one face she was trying to locate.

Narcissa called out her codename, instantly drawing the redhead's attention. She nodded to show that she understood their mission, calling out to her companions as she wrapped her arms around an MRD from the side and threw all her weight around to send him flying into the ground, "Somebody get eyes on Tiny." Christian was the first to respond, taking off over the tables and coming to a stop next to the Native American and his precious cargo. The redhead followed suit, vaulting over an upturned table with ease. As several MRDs backed away from the snarls of their canine companion, the redhead surprised them from behind.

After stunning them by throwing their bodies into each other, Knoxx threw her elbow into one MRD's face, while kicking the opposite one in the stomach to send him toppling back over a chair with a loud thud. Christian was doing a fine job of protecting their targets, using his size and intimidating nature to keep the MRDs at bay enough while Kerrigan and Charlie handled those that got too close. Her backup told their teammate to go, promising that they would have his back, to which she could only give him a confident nod. Aren managed to make it out of the food court with his ward, leaving the trio to stay behind for now to assist the others in getting out and keep the MRDs at bay.

Solaris called for a full retreat, the redhead looking around the battlefield as she tried to do a quick headcount of who they'd seen and who they hadn't. Roland was the first to pop into her mind, the redhead activating her com, "Paladin, what's your status?" The redhead waiting just a moment before his voice responded, telling her that he was fine at the extraction point. A wave of relief washed over her, "Copy that. See you soon."

Daylia was the next name that popped into her head, the fighter not recalling seeing her fellow redhead since they'd arrived at the food court. Activating her com once more, she sent a message to the camouflager, "Chameleon, what's your status?" When the girl responded, giving them their approximate location, the redhead turned to her partners, offering them a soft shrug as though there was nothing else they could do.

"We can't leave them behind," she said simply, taking off running in the direction she thought Daylia and Grace were located before sending a message to Narcissa, "Solaris, I'm taking Lucky and Feral with me to locate Chameleon and Jinx. We'll meet you at the extraction point as soon as we can. Take a headcount - if anyone else is missing, we'll round them up."

"That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me. This one's a fighter."

"They're acting like they want a riot, it's a riot I'll give them
As the sound comes higher on this violent rhythm."

Krystof's victorious smirk faltered as the male liberator utilized either some form of extreme speed or teleportation to prevent the object which had once been the bane of his existence from meeting a most gratifying end against the powerful defenses which locked him in place. Krys half scowled at the man as he pointed out the explosive, warning the former captive of the damage his brash decision could have caused. Partially, he was thankful for the super-fast stranger's observation, Krys had been wearing the damned thing for... only God knew how long and he'd never noticed the explosive on the back. Still a simple nod was all the apology he would receive from the mutant. Still, having just been liberated, he couldn't keep and grudges just yet, not till he was out of this God-forsaken death camp. Of course, seeing the blue-eyed female flinch like that did make Krys feel like a bit of an a*****e. Being tough was one thing, but being around people was an entirely different issue.

"Yeah... uh... my bad I guess..." He would mutter as the female would relax. "Just so ******** ready to be out of there and have that thing off..." He muttered. As introductions were made, he stiffened up a bit, nodding to the two of them as their names were given.

"Krystof, Krys, Khaos... call me what you want." He would shrug, reinforcing his tough-guy image, stepping further out of the cell. "Either way, I'm all for ditching this fort... How're we gettin out? Chopper? Truck?" Krystof spoke, asking genuinely, obviously more concerned with the exit strategy than getting to know one another. However no later than he'd finished his inquiry did he feel the masculine touch of the male's hand upon his shoulder... and then his whole world turned upside-down and inside out all in an instant... and just as fast that feeling left him... but the effects would have had his gut pouring out across the concrete floor, if there was anything in it. And... also if there had been a concrete floor beneath their feet.

"The ********> he cursed, disoriented and confused, and again, suddenly tugged down to his knees.

"Somebody wanna tell me what the hell is go-" His words were cut off by Katerina's threat. His eyes narrowed at her as she spit acid in his face, grinding his teeth. "Look at me... you think I planned this s**t? You think they'd slam me in a meat locker and wrap a pretty little shackle around my neck and build this whole ******** fort around me, poke me with ******** rods and slam my head into rifle butt and s**t if I was in on it?!"

That was when it clicked... the pieces fell together, he was bait... the ******** knew that this nameless clan of heroes would come rushing to free a captive... and he was that captive.

"Well... ********> His face gave him away, he retracted his fangs and turned his head on a swivel, trying to get his bearings. Nothing seemed familiar, nothing made sense... nothing except he knew they would need his help to get out of there alive.

"Ya'll risked your lives to get me out of there... would you trust me if I did the same?"

( outofcontext: Short post is short, but gets things going. Sorry for the wait peeps. Anyway let me know if I missed anything. )

"Go on already, hit em! You gotta be kiddin'
Wanna talk about a victim, Imma put you there with 'em!"