Gabriel Byrne Location: SHIELD Prison Thoughts: Trap sprung, the clock is now ticking…
The blonde-haired grey-eyed marksman enjoyed the feeling of the weapon’s recoil as he fired. Each impact dug into his shoulder, the force reverberating into his joints and through his chest. It was like thunder was being mainlined to his heart. The flash of the muzzle flair was light starlight as he opened fire. Three short bursts of kinetic energy to propel pieces of lead at nearly 920 feet per second. In short, he was firing a 5.56 round at well over 600 miles per hour.
It’s a shame he was using rubber rounds.
Raine thanked him for being her eyes on the outside. He didn’t respond, deciding to remain outside. This of course lead him to witness firsthand the Helicarrier’s arrival and the deployment of the barrier. He’d removed the suppressor from his weapons, knowing that it wouldn’t be necessary for now. They knew that they were coming. Keeping overwatch he observed a group of armed soldiers in two HUMVEEs making their way towards the prison, chances are they were lying in wait to move in once the trap had been sprung. He'd lost track of Dom as he set forth to prepare for what he imagined was going to be considered a very stupid idea...
“I have eyes on soldiers moving in. Looks like a variation of the ol’ hammer and anvil.” he called through on his comm, “Moving to intercept. Will call if backup is needed.” He sprinted from his hiding spot, opting to open fire, draw their attention. He purposely missed, choosing to divert their attention by hitting the armored doors. It worked. Sprinting he got his way to a pile of stones, using them as cover. It just so happened to be near where one of the soldiers he took down was laying. He wasn’t dead, Gabriel made sure of that, but out cold. Chances are he was going to be feeling that for quite a while. He heard the brakes screech and shouting orders, followed immediately by gunfire. The hail of bullets ripped through the stone, chipping away at the impromptu barricade. Gabriel kept his calm, he’d experienced this all before.
He heard them start to reload when he turned and began to retaliate. One hostile down, some rock fragments hit the mask, cracking one of the lens. He felt a piece pierce through the armor plating, digging into his cheek, the warm blood slowly oozing down to his chin. He popped back out and fired more rounds, two more soldiers down. Six more left, and he was running out of ammo fast. Dropping the rifle he switched to his SMG hoping to do some more damage. Thinking fast he ran towards the unconscious soldier, grabbing onto the man by the vest. He snagged one of his flashbang grenades, he then felt a round hit him in the leg. Scrambling behind cover he checked the wound, it was a clean one straight through the quadriceps. Luckily it did not pierce bone. The pain was unbearable, but the anger he felt was even greater. His grip on his weapon tightened, as he pulled the pin to the grenade, throwing it towards his target. He waited right as the grenade detonated, flying out as best he could. The dazed soldiers were met with methodical shots that incapacitated all of them remarkably quickly.
Ripping off the damaged face mask, Gabriel made his way to one of the HUMVEEs, the engine still running, grabbing his comm he announced, “Siege to team, be advised I am coming to the entrance with ground transport.” he checked the bleeding in his leg, “And I may or may not be bleeding out. Too soon to tell at this point.”
Things were getting woozy, but he didn’t care as he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal to meet up with the rest of his team.
OOC: Let me know if there’s anything you need me to change!
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:21 pm
Mutation: Geokinesis Alpha Location: Forest/MRD Base
Leo asked if she could take down one of the walls, to which she could only grin and comply. It took a bit more concentration, but she was able to bring it crumbling down. As she felt her concentration on the wall break, an overwhelming sense of fatigue washed over her. Her vision blurred momentarily, a ringing overtaking her hearing as she glanced at Leo. He should have known better than to question whether she would be able to pull an order off.
The rumble of engines from above caught her attentions, her breath catching in her throat as she searched the sky for its origin. There was nothing visible to the naked eye, but they were the X-Men. They faced stranger things than comoflauged aircraft before breakfast every day. Instantly, her eyes shot over to Leo, noting his reaction.
Katarina and Julian reappeared with a third party she didn't recognize, her brown eyes scanning over him for a moment before turning to her teammates. Had she heard the shapeshifter correctly? This was all a trap? She wished she could say she was surprised, but the reality was, the chances of it being a trap were always higher than them accomplishing their actual goal. Whoever had gathered the intel on this one was going to get fired immediately...
Leo immediately called for them to abort their mission, Tara's eyes moving over to the crumbled wall as a knot formed in her stomach. Whoever had set them up, they had played directly into their hands. A force field came from seemingly nowhere, enclosing them and the prison, in a giant electro-bubble.
"Well, that...sucks," she blurted out, her hands finding the small of her waist as she stared up at the surce of the barrier. Kali and Eidolon had a quick exchange regarding whether they should trust the prisoner they had brought back or not, the latter simply stating that whether he is on it or not, they had no choice but to go with it for now. Their new addition insisted that he had nothing to do with their current predicament before offering his services to get them out of here.
"Well, to be honest, it kind of seems like the least you could do, given the trouble we walked into to get you out." Part of her was kidding - part of her wasn't. She knew he wouldn't know which was which. She really didn't care.
Katerina, [Julian and Leo started vetting their resident shapeshifter to see if they could trust him to help them out. That was for them to figure out, thank God.
Thomas stepped in then, suggesting that they focus on staying alive and getting out of this mess rather than arguing amongst each other. The brunette resisted the urge to laugh - they weren't the Omegas. They should be able to set it aside and get back to work. Honestly, she didn't have the energy, after taking down the wall, to get too involved in trying to sort it all out. It pained her to think that she expended so much effort on this when it was all a trap. Everything. From the very beginning. Crossing her arms over her chest as she rolled her neck in a circle, fighitng off a wave of nausea, she jumped slightly as Thomas came over to her with a syringe.
"Jesus ******** Christ, Tommy, this isn't the time to be going Dexter on your own teammates," she joked with him, watching as he extracted some of his own blood with the needle and moved towards her. Her brain told her to resist, but she forced herself to remain calm, wincing only slightly as the needle penetrated her skin and its contents burst into her skin. She had to keep herself from thinking about it too much - if she did, she wasn't sure she'd be able to hold down her last meal.
"There are too many horrible jokes here, I can't pick one," she muttered to him, cracking a smile despite herself as he held a piece of cotton to the injection site. He told her to try to be more careful, the earth manipulator throwing him a sideways glance as if to say, 'yea, right.' Even if she wanted to, they were trapped like fish in a barrel with MRD soldiers and live ammunition.
"I can't make any promises, handsome, but I'll do my best." Already, she was starting to feel the effects of his "medicine," the fatigue beginning to melt away from her as she waiting to see what their next move was going to be.
Leo seemed to be trying to put some sort of plan together, Tara simply standing back and letting him work. If he needed her, he would tell her, and she would oblige. It was her a** on the line, too. It seemed like Julian was going to be their ticket out of here, though he wouldn't be able to take all of them with him at once. Spouting something about an idea and disappearing in the blink of an eye, Tara shifted slightly where she was standing, turning back to Thomas.
By the time Darien had finished working over the punching bag, his arms were giving out from the stress.They burned and they ached, and it felt so refreshing."Come on, keep it together. Twenty laps, then you can rest for a bit,"he said to himself, working to encourage himself and force everything he could out of his body. Breaking out in a hearty, quick run, Darien seemed hellbent on working himself into the ground.
The day wasn't all that bad so far, and the new place didn't seem so bad. It wasn't too long before he had downed two laps, and a third soon after. He still had plenty of drive left in him, keeping a steady pace as he rounded the fourth and fifth laps. Several more minutes passed by and Darien had managed to almost completely exhausted himself. With heavy breaths, he started to make his way back down the hallways and to the elevator. He was headed back to his dorm room, to rest up a bit and change into some better clothes.
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:49 pm
Raine’s quip as they entered the yard about the goblin king caused mirth to lighten her gaze and lift her expression into a less-stressed one. “We will have to try it out on him when we get home… just to make an educated decision.” She returned, wondering if the newbie would take offense to the suggestion of getting ‘dolled up.’
The deafening blows of gunfire threw her off kilter, leaving her insides quaking as fear rushed through her veins like heroin. She repeatedly whispered to herself that the sounds weren’t made from a bomb, but that did little to stop the situation from rattling her. Bella seemed to hear her murmured reminders and assured her of the same thing - and that did even less. It was one thing to be panicking about a triggered memory - it was wholly another for someone else to peer in on it - her job or not. The telekinetic tried for a smirk for their leader’s sake, but the expression fell flat of her expectation. Her sapphire-imbued eyes said what she couldn’t find the words for: just because it wasn’t a bomb made it no less dangerous to be here. The longer they stayed, the more likely it was someone would get hurt.
As they proceeded inward, Bella used a high-pitched sound wave to immobilize a few of their adversaries. The noise didn’t hurt persay - but she and Dimitri agreed that it had been uncomfortable. Silently she likened the noise to one of nails on a chalkboard, or even pieces of styrofoam rubbing together. “It was precise. It’s just not a nice noise.” She responded tactfully. “I’d hate to actually be in front of that hit.”
Doing as she was instructed, invisible threads lifted their adversaries’ weapons and tossed them back to Playboy to melt, which he did efficiently. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your lava constructs before.” She said with a little distance to her voice, despite her interest in the mutation. “Guess the ladies back home call you ‘Hot Stuff’ for a reason.” She said, reaching for humor that wasn’t quite accessible.
The chaos ensued, and the telekinetic’s thoughts fell back on her friends on the other side of the team - particularly on Kat. Even though the shapeshifter was well vetted on the field, she couldn’t help but worry anyway. Her best friend was out there, and trusted no one else on the team… Bella heard her mutterings and assured her that Leo’s side was alright, even if she hadn’t heard anything yet. “I can’t live by that ‘no news is good news’ mantra.” She admitted with a smirk. It wasn’t mean or spiteful, but honest. No matter how long she stayed on the Alphas, no matter how many fights they found themselves in, she would worry about those she cared about; it was just her nature.
More gunfire echoed through the compound and Aurie called out for Leo and Kat on her comm - ice in her stomach and worry threaded in her tone. Kat answered her call first, the concern in her voice enough to let Aurie know she was alright, and not in immediate danger of being shot just yet. “Nothing.” She responded to her best friend, clearly relieved. Right now wasn’t the time to explain why she’d paged them. It would clog their lines of communication unnecessarily. Leo’s voice wasn’t far behind, and the tension winding within her loosened as he suggested a plan.
The prisoner lashed out in that window of opportunity, and she reflexively pushed all around her with telekinetic shields; Bella and Dimitri fell to the floor, and Esben flew across the room. Aurie turned her attacker upside down and alerted their small group about the sudden change in the jail’s dynamic. Unfortunately, her calling out the leader’s name served as a distraction and the man the sound manipulator had been fighting took advantage. She mostly held her own and Aurie bit her lip, still holding the one prisoner suspended in the air. This long upside down though, and he was bound to pass out sooner rather than later. “Sorry.” She said to the group, feeling that Bella’s injury was partially her fault. “I think we got your mutation wrong, Wukong.” The former ballerina said, trying for a smile. “You land on your feet like a cat.”
The dark-haired woman asked about her, and Aurie absently touched her fingers to her forehead. Her fingers touched something wet, sticky. Aurie nodded, crystalline eyes quickly becoming hazy. “Are you?” She asked, noticing the blood on her superior.
Julian popped in then, and said he had an idea to get them out of the trapped they had so readily walked into - stating he would need Bella and Dimitri’s help.
The Heli-carrier loomed above them, and Aurie’s insides twisted at the sound of those engines. Weren’t they supposed to be the good guys? “Why?” She asked aloud, afraid she already knew the answer. Bella confirmed it when she started broadcasting to the team. Every person in the compound was the enemy.
“Glitter...” Bella had assigned her boyfriend to look after her friend, and while she trusted Dom to do just that - their end of communication had gotten a little too quiet for comfort. But just as Bella was finalizing orders, she spotted the two of them.
“I’m fine.” She answered when the Columbian beauty asked for her to shield up around her teammates. So long as they didn’t step on a landmine, her force fields would hold out a long time. But a part of the leader’s request caused her to hesitate. Bella didn’t want to be within the dome, and her thoughts drifted back to the clunky watch that she wore. Leo. He definitely wouldn’t want his girlfriend (assuming that she was correct) out in the open. “You don’t want in? My shields are strong - they’ll deflect those bullets...” She didn’t say what she wanted to - that Leo would be angry with both of them if anything happened to her.
“Try not to get too far from me, guys.” She said, drawing an invisible dome over the Alphas and the stray Omega. Dom eyed the blood on her temple, but knew better than to say anything about it now.
Dimitri started aiming his gun from within the shields, and her initial fear of him actually firing off the weapon caused her to stumble as it hit the invisible wall. The shields faltered in and out for the next few seconds as she tried to stand upright and regain her composure. “Playboy…” She grimaced, imagining how peppered shots would feel as though they'd went through her skull instead of just her force fields… The outside of her shell had been strengthened after rigorous training with Jean and Psylocke, the inside was still fragile from containing the bomb’s explosion a few months previous. Each part of her shields had been shattered the way an egg would if it were dropped from the top of the Empire State building; it would take time for her to heal the psychic damage completely.
Simply put, they couldn’t withstand that kind of pressure from within. She struggled to find the words, opened her mouth to speak, but it was all she could do to suck in a lung full of air. If he wanted to take out targets, he was going to need to warn her of the shots first. Maybe then she could make a hole for him to shoot out of… Even then it would compromise their safety if their government adversaries caught on. Would Bella think her insubordinate again if she dropped the dome so they could attack? "Please don't shoot that without telling me first."
Taking a deep breath to remind herself that nothing had happened just yet, the blond straightened her back and schooled her expression into one of determination. “We aren’t far from the entrance now.” She said, eyeing their destination. As they moved toward the building, Raine asked if she needed a break and Aurie shook her head. “Not just yet…” She said, despite feeling a headache coming on hard and fast. She was their protection. No matter what, she needed to hold out.
What she didn’t expect was to hear Siege’s voice on the comm. Aurie glanced at the teammates surrounding her and frowned. They had even more reason to hurry now. When were things going to stop going from bad to worse?
"Renaissance Man, how close are you to the entrance?" She asked for Gabe's sake. While she doubted he'd be talking if he was bleeding out, the telekinetic could not ignore the idea of a friend being hurt and alone... and in a vehicle that could explode if someone shot the gas tank.
OOC: Sorry for the wait...please let me know if I have missed something.
....❖══════════════════════════════❖ ❖═════════════════════❖ Methuselah ❖×❖ Ashecroft ❖═══════════════════❖ ....❖════════════════════════════════❖ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ❖════════════════════════════════════════════════════❖ ▼ The deafening whir of the helicopter's blades cutting through the cold air of the Canadian North met Ashe's ears as he and his escort flew over the trackless landscape of the forest around Lake Alkali. Oddly enough, though Methuselah wasn't taking in the details of the area around him the way most people would. As they approached the place they would be spending the foreseeable future, he was more bothered by the thoughts that concerned the time leading up to this point, the girl - his mistake - and any possible way to put a positive spin on uprooting himself in order to become a student of the Xavier Academy. It would be odd to be a student again... college was so many years ago after all. Before he realized it, the aircraft halted its movements - the blades whirred to a stop, the intense vibration in the machine came to a halt. He felt a draining from his body in a way most people couldn't even dream to sense. For a second, he was tempted to mess with the fading vectors of the vehicle but there wasn't really any point in doing so.
"Out." A feminine voice said from the pilot's seat. The woman sitting in the seat was dressed quite professionally, dull gray and conservative like what one might imagine a secretary would wear. Again Ashe was more preoccupied with his own thoughts than the details of the world around him. Though perhaps he should have been more focused because the few seconds that he stared blankly at the woman took too long by her estimation. A pair of noises resounded in an instant - the thunk of the door's mechanisms popping open and the click of his seat belt followed by the whir of the belt. Though he did not dwell on that for long as an invisible force dragged him from the helicopter and unceremoniously deposited his a** onto the large concrete pad. His bag levitated out of the cockpit before it dropped next to him.
Standing and rubbing in the sore spot where he landed, Ashe leaned into the cabin of the helicopter once more. "They know you're here. Don't cause any trouble and don't bother calling, I don't need to tell you why." The woman said before the door closed in his face and the whir of the blades kicked up again, forcing him to evacuate from the immediate area. Methuselah Ashecroft watched as the UH-60 Blackhawk pulled up into the air and drifted away out of sight as the hidden doors to the hanger closed themselves. The old decommissioned helicopter was his father's toy and it was suitable to one pilot - Amalia Ashecroft. Her titles included sister, federal district judge, aspirant for supreme court judge, and perhaps his favorites: mutant, telekinetic, and Suma Cume Laude as well as valedictorian, for a year she kept a secret for some reason, of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Though that last one had long been kept a secret replaced with dummy records of a different prestigious non-mutant school.
Giving what he was walking into a glance, he stared for a second; after all, it wasn't often that the prestigious new school you were entering lay underground and under about a mile of concrete... considering the current state of affairs regarding mutant-rights, summarized as be imprisoned or die, perhaps it wasn't so strange. Though coming out of his thoughts he realized that he wasn't alone here in the large hanger and that he was in the presence of a rather attractive woman who was apparently here to greet him...
“Welcome Sugah.” Rogue greeted Methuselah with a smile as he arrived at the facility. Motioning for the man to follow her, she quickly led him through the halls. The first stop being medical to make sure everything was kosher, then heading for the dorm rooms. “From what ah was told, you’re going to be on the Omegas. Ah’m afraid none of them are here at the moment, but ah don’t think it will be much longer before they return. Then introductions can be made.” The woman spoke as they moved through the halls.
“This facility is more expansive than it seems, and despite being underground, we carry around a lot of the same comforts. Ah believe your room will have a map inside, but if not, you can always make a request for one.” Falling silent as she stopped in front of an empty dorm, Rogue motioned for the handprint scanner by the door. “If you don’t mind.” Given him the appropriate time to do so, Rogue motioned for the arch over the doorway to show it would now bear his name as the door opened. Stepping inside, Rogue began pointing things out.
“You will find a communicator inside, ah recommend keeping it with you. That’s how we get in touch. The room is fully stocked, and if for some reason you desire sharing a room, arrangements can be made.” With that Rogue stepped back outside the room. “Okay sugah, ah’ll let you get settled in. Some areas might require further permission, but most of the areas should be open to you. Ah’ll return if you call for aide. Take care sugah.” With that finished, the woman left to give him time to do whatever he needed to do.
Methuselah meekly allowed himself to be guided about the facility by the southerner, through the halls, into medical area, and up until she took him into his room. She relayed to him a wealth of important information and then scuttle off onto whatever her next task was. Placing his hand onto the scanner he entered into the blank slate that was his room. He moved to the bed and placed his bag down and zipped it open to begin unpacking it. It was nothing more or less than ten outfits of varying colors and styles ranging from a sharp looking black suit and a beat up looking pair of jeans and a run down hooded sweater. Aside from clothes, there was a laptop that looked like it could take a bullet and keep it running, next on the list of tech was a small aluminum cased portable hard drive that contained the entirety of his research into his powers, and the last thing in his bag was an unopened pay-as-you go phone he bought for about twenty bucks at a local gas station. This was the current approximation of his existence to this point; ten outfits, a laptop, a burn phone and a hard drive. ▲ ❖═══════════════════════════════════════════════❖ Post Information
OoC: ... Team: Omega Accompanying: Rogue [Authored by Cliff] Post Summary: Arrival
Super Power: Vector Manipulation - The ability to control, specifically, Euclidean vectors which are physical forces and present in nearly everything.
Strengths: A Euclidean Vector is a measurement of direction and force, from a simple breeze to a bullet zipping through the air both are driven by and produce vectors. With enough skill, the user can be practically untouchable as they can shift or move anything with a force driving it.
Weaknesses: However that amount of skill is practically impossible to attain. In order to manipulate a vector one much be able to calculate the approximate force of the vector and then apply the countering force through manipulation, things that are too fast or produce several vectors would of course be more challenging to control as Methuselah either has too short a time to manipulate the vector or there are simply too many factors to manage.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:02 pm
The Omegas:The Mall |880|
"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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Arriving in the mall, the pair headed in the direction of the nearest coffee shop after cementing their cover. After a short time, Felix commented that Peyton wasn’t a bad actress and suggested it as a career. Peyton was quick to say she wasn’t interested in pursuing that, and the speedster shrugged. “On second thought, you probably have the perfect attitude for a famous person, but who cares about that.” Smirking at her, the man said no more. Felix certainly didn’t have any desire to be a famous person, so he couldn’t blame her for that. Even if her reasons were likely different from his own.
Stopping for coffee, the woman questioned how well caffeine would mix with his ability. Assuring her that it wouldn’t affect him like that, the two then had a surprising conversation about their abilities. Neither could exactly shut off their respective abilities, and both abilities could be potentially dangerous to other people if they weren’t careful. Peyton’s more so to other people, while Felix’s could be more so to himself. The discussion was surprisingly pleasant given past conversations, and certainly showed that they at least had some things in common. Commenting on that fact, Peyton simply nodded in acknowledgment.
After taking Peyton outside a lingerie store, mostly just to judge her reaction, Felix pulled her towards a nearby music store. The woman fought him at first until she realized they weren’t heading inside. Then the conversation turned to music and Peyton mentioned working out. Commenting that he had no need to workout, Peyton mentioned there being other reasons to workout. “I find other things a better use for my time, especially considering all the running I do, but I understand it’s calming for some. The routine of it, and time to get your head on straight.”
Peyton admitted that she liked it, that it felt good, and Felix nodded. “At least you are able to enjoy it.” The speedster commented as he gave a quick glance around the store. Unfortunately work called in the middle of their most civil conversation to date. Pulling them into the bathroom, Peyton questioned his cover for them entering the bathroom. “Perhaps I just wanted to see your reaction. Who knows.” Felix stated with a small smirk before quickly suiting up.
The woman stated her desire for causing trouble, and eventually discussed a new nickname for her. Mentioning that the nickname “Big Bad” didn’t quite bring the attention her eyes deserved, she stated she wasn’t worried about it. “I will take your input under advisement.” Felix spoke before moving them to the food court in a snap. Leaving Peyton for a second to dispatch some soldiers, Felix shot a comment at Aren. “My my, getting bigger has clearly given you a god complex. Didn’t anybody ever tell you that size isn’t everything?”
Heading back to Peyton, Felix proceeded to bring her to the Sentinel. Promising to stop calling her bright eyes for a week if she brought the Sentinel down, the woman smirked and mentioned it would be big bad as she took off. Watching Peyton topple the giant machine, Felix caught her before she hit the floor and mentioned her falling for him. Peyton rolled her eyes and Felix chuckled at her response. “You do good work for the record. Do you take requests?” Felix spoke in reference to the Sentinel.
As Aren and Peyton went back and forth for a moment the speedster shrugged. “You know what they say, the bigger they are…”, trailing off, apparently it was time to evacuate. Grabbing her and heading back for the portal, apparently it had quite a few people congregating around it by now. Mentioning a new nickname, Peyton smiled and said she’d allow it. “Peytron it is.” Mentioning her going through the portal, the blonde rolled her eyes and called him an a*****e, then mentioned no one going off on their own. “I suppose you’re right. You know, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you actually cared.” Turning to look at the others, apparently a new girl was giving them some trouble about going through the portal, but Felix mainly noticed his rather oversized friend decided to hulk off on his own after a certain blonde leader. So for the moment, that would take precedence over greeting the others officially.
“Yo’ big guy, didn’t you hear? We’re on our way out, and that seems to be in the wrong direction. Aren’t you people supposed to be good with directions?” In a blink Felix moved in front of Aren several feet and held his hand up. “Remember that thing about not going off on your own? You stick out like a sore thumb, and no offense, but you’ve put on a little weight and are literally the broadside of a barn right now.” The others could handle the unruly new girl while Felix talked Aren off the metaphorical ledge. “If you’re worried, I can take a quick run around the area and look for any of our own, but honestly, it’s unneeded. Just relax, and help hold down the fort.” Speaking, Felix prepared to at the very least run with Aren, that way he wouldn’t be a sitting duck if his one track mind got him in trouble.
(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."
Things were bad. Things were getting worse. And if he did not do something now, things would be catastrophic. Julian could not let that happen.
He managed to ignore Kat’s mouth when she responded to his request that she leave the former prisoner alone for now. Julian did not care in the slightest over the stupid boy’s safety, and if he was involved Julian assured himself the child would suffer the appropriate consequences, but right now they bigger fish to fry. Significantly bigger fish. They had no time for mindless posturing when they had a giant flying version of the biggest piece in the Battleship playset hovering hundreds of feet above their very heads, presumably readying itself for an all out assault on the team of young X-Men. He assumed, given the giant shield, and the presence of decoys and the facility in question, that they would not simply carpet bomb the entire location into oblivion.No, these people were far crueler than that. They wanted to capture them and experiment on them to their hearts’ content. Why was it that everyone who wanted to oppress and subjugate a people always wanted to experiment with their bodies? What was it about the oppressed that always made egomaniacs want to play with their insides so much? Either way, Julian was not interested in finding out anytime soon. He attempted to teleport out of the shield, to test out whether or not he could help everyone flee to safety, but failed to do so, the shield apparently making his ability unable to go past it. He cursed to himself and informed the others that he could not help them escape at present.
Kat quickly laid out all the information about the base to Leo, and after telling Leo about his powers and what he could do to help bring down the Helicarrier, he quickly teleported toward Bella’s group with his own plan he’d concocted in tow. After analysing the group’s current situation, he teleported closer to Bella just in time to avoid her accidental attack toward him, standing next to her. He told her had a plan, assured her that it was extremely dangerous, and informed her he needed to of their most destructive members, namely herself and the lava projector. The lava projector seemed enthusiastic to go through with his plan, even though he had not revealed it quite yet. Far be it from Julian to question a man’s sanity at this time. ”I’m glad you are so enthusiastic,” said the masked man in his usual English accent. ”You are the key to this. Or at least half of it.” Bella quickly went to her communicator. She assured the team that the plan would stay the same, but that after he was done helping the two he’d chosen for this spur of the moment plan, he would come and collect them two by two and bring them to Leonardo. Julian was not entirely sure he could haul so many people without causing damage to himself, but for the moment, he had no choice but to do it. When Playboy and Siren each offered their hands, he took them in his own firm grip, and with a blink they were all gone from existence.
When they reappeared, they were each standing on the deck of the Helicarrier. From the altitude, he could feel the heavy winds causing his coat to flap about. He looked around for a moment, then looked up. He spotted the top of the giant neat, seeing a large device which the massive shield held up to the sky. No doubt, that was what was projecting the shield. ”Up there!” he said to his two teammates as he pointed toward the device with the blade of his cane sword. ”You two have two of the most destructive powers of the entire X-Men. Surely with your powers combined, you could reduce that thing to dust. If my guess is correct, that thing is projecting the shield currently holding us prisoner. With that thing gone, we could call on our home base to send us a portal home. But that is just phase one of this mad plan.” He turn toward the portside of the floating ship. He pointed out the two of four massive engines holding the Helicarrier in the sky with his blade. ”After you bring down the shield, the best bet is to destroy those two. This ship has four engines, but all you would need to bring this vessel down is to destroy the two on one side. This will destabilize the ship and send it crashing earthward. If we do this right, we can crash it into the building below.” He had a feeling he did not need to explain the rest. The damage done with such a plan would mean catastrophic losses for those within the vessel and the prison facility. But right now he held little to no concern for those who would seek to trap them and their kind for the cruel experiments. ”Two birds, one rather large stone.”
Right now they could not afford to hold back, not when so much hinged on their success. ”As you two work on the shield, I will gather everyone in one area so that, when it goes down, they could all leave in one single motion. I will be back for you.” He reached into his coat’s side pocket and pulled out several smoke pellets, then vanished into thin air. He reappeared close to Leo’s group, then threw the smoke pellet against the ground, letting it explode into an ever-expanding cloud of smoke that would obscure them from their enemies’ sight once enough of it spread. He wasted no breath, and immediately grabbed for Leo’s and Kat’s shoulders, and teleported them into the sublevel bunkers of the prison, where they could best defend their position as Kat had explained earlier. Following that, for the next several seconds, Julian blinked in and out of existence, grabbing every member of this mission’s team, two by two- giving priority to those most heavily wounded- and teleporting them into the very same bunker where he’d dropped off Kat and Leo. He did this without stopping until every member of their team- aside from Flairer, Forrest, Siren, and Playboy, of course -was inside the bunker. Each time he reappeared in the outdoor of the prison, he threw down another smoke pellet to obscure their escape.
((OOC: Sorry this is short and crappy. I had to write this in a hurry. Also, no, you don’t get a choice in whether or not you get teleported. I was asked to do this by the guild captain herself.))
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Oh, if we run this lightxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Take a little lifexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx No one will care at all.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Oh, we canBurn it and leavexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For we are the beautiful thieves. No one suspects at all. No one suspects.xxx
Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 5:47 pm
Name: Narcissa "Cissa" Grace Codename: Solaris Team: Omega Location: Columbus Circle Shopping Center --> Then back to the Armory
Narcissa glanced at Amarillo when he questioned if she was an ‘Abercrombie’ girl—Expression crossed with disbelief and incredulousness. Despite the fact that he was joking over the comms, she could feel her skin crawl from the thought of wearing either horrible brand. “There’s a reason Abercrombie rhymes with zombie…You’d have to be bloody dead to wear it.”
That being said—If any poncy prat ever thought it prudent to bury her in such unevenly sewn burlap…She’d make it the work of her unlife to haunt them into eternity.
The blonde bombshell watched her better half cross the room to pick up Blake’s lady friend. Her eyes were filled with too much light, signaling she was ready to snap a rather wicked energy blast at anything that neared him. Thankfully, the MRD seemed more interested in the others. Not that she could blame them…The creature feature that was Christian was far more of a threat than Tiny and Aftershock. The surprise of a werewolf in a shopping mall worked out temporarily for the best. As much faith as she had in Aren…He was handicapped by the injured girl he held onto. Ever the white knight, he would keep her safe, even at the potential cost of his own wellbeing.
Not long after they’d left her line of sight she heard Aren’s voice through her comm, mentioning that Aftershock had left her purse underneath one of the tables. Her eyes rolled heavenward, but she responded slowly, her annoyed tone having all the grace of the British Isles. “Roger that. Just get her home and into medical.”
While Blake finished wrecking the Sentinel six ways from Sunday she looked towards the tables in the food court. She didn’t see it immediately, but made her way through the debris, somehow managing not to trip on something in her heeled boots. Energy erupted from delicate hands in order to turn the purse, rather, the back pack, to ash. This was likely the reason she hadn’t heard Blake move out—too focused on destroying any evidence of their involvement. The whole idea was to swoop in, nab the kids, and disappear. They were already off course, and she wouldn’t have it get any worse.
The incident with the tranquilizer dart happened, and she destroyed the bag before she slipped away, hiding in newly abandoned store fronts. There was no way to go back the way she came. Blake’s voice moved through her ear piece and she sighed. Now he noticed? “Trapped between Baskin Bloody Robbins and a wall of rather poorly dressed MRD. You?”
Poorly dressed, not poorly coordinated. She’d been right about them setting up barricades. Soon enough, escaping the mall would be like escaping a fortress. Except that walls didn’t mean much to her. If she couldn’t find an exit—She wasn’t above making one.
Her sarcasm would be beyond palpable. She still hadn’t quite forgiven the Texan for disappearing on her—not when her head was still thumping like a jack hammer was going off somewhere between the left and right sides of her brain. It had likely been an oversight on both their parts… But Narcissa never admitted carelessness or inefficiency. She was never so focused as when raining holy hell down on whatever poor fools the X-Men set the Omega’s against. She didn’t make those kinds of miscalculations.
The Red Queen didn’t relish the thought of having to fight her way out, but she hadn’t discounted it. It didn’t seem dire enough that she needed to cause a scene—But the state of affairs could change in the matter of moments. The longer they lingered, the worse it would be.
Narcissa could feel a subtle draw on her very being… She knew it to be Aren and it made her feel all the more anxious about finding her way around the government issue soldiers. She could feel his determination, his wants… She knew him. The native would be worried. He wouldn’t hesitate to toss himself back into the fray. Not ten seconds later his voice came through the comm, claiming that he was coming to find her. Once again her eyes rolled heavenward. Called it.
Part of her, the selfish part, wanted to let him come. They’d been separated minutes at most… And she already missed him. In the middle of a fight, and quite possibly risking capture by the enemy, she missed him. This bond was driving her to absolute lunacy.“No.”, she hissed back to her comm, voice strained from the internal dilemma.
“You will do no such thing. It’s too dangerous. Stay where you are, and do as I’ve asked.”
‘Please.’
It was a beyond painful thing to say. Narcissa suspected that he would feel that she was lying through her teeth. It was one thing to issue cold orders and tell her team members what to do… But Aren knew the truth. He knew the truth of everything. For all of her perceived selfishness and nastiness…Her own wants and needs didn’t matter. She operated on what was best for the Omega’s as a collective.
It didn’t allow room for the fact that she felt blind, deaf, and dumb without him.
Kerrigan’s response to her last directive at least brought her some form of relief. The daywalking red head would know that above all else she was serious. Ten minutes meant exactly that. Ten. Circling around a large vestibule she made a dash for a store that she believed faced the outside world. Who would have thought that Motherhood Maternity would have saved the day? Disappearing into the back she rushed by a few frightened employees and raised her finger to her lips, signaling that they remain silent. Glancing down at her watch, crystalline blue eyes grew hard. Sure fingers found her comm, her voice that of a little queen as she addressed her missing Omega’s. “What’s your status? Three minutes, Knoxx.”
If Kerrigan didn’t have a favorable report…It would drastically change her route. The blonde goddess ushered everyone to one side of the store room and raised her hand to the outer wall. How she wished she’d seen a door to make this easier. Weren’t they required to have an emergency exit? Brilliant blue eyes brightened and filled with a terrible light, the energy she wielded moving swiftly beneath the flimsy surface of her skin. A focused beam shot out of her hand and she carefully burned a hole a little bit larger than her person through concrete and drywall. The edges were still molten when she stepped through it, not bothering to pay attention as it cooled.
The diamond heiress’ gaze fell to her watch as she realized that her second in command was officially late. Time always flew when they needed it to slow down. Pressing back to the wall for a moment she closed her eyes and tried to focus on her missing teammates. It was hard to do. There were so many people in the mall, so many energy signatures to follow. And then there was Aren…Eclipsing everything else.
She ducked around another corner as the sound of a walkie went off, voices coming through it. Her heart beat loudly enough in her chest that she wondered if they might hear it… She’d been so focused on finding Knoxx that she hadn’t felt what was right in front of her.
“There’s still a few of them left. One of them looks like a freaking monster. The captain has eyes on them, but he doesn’t think tranquilizers will be enough. We can’t take the chance that they’ll shrug it off and keep going—There are still civilians inside. Permission to upgrade ammunition?”
Solaris heard a pause, and she waited for the reply…Perhaps letting the soldiers get a little too close for comfort.
“..Granted. But only if absolutely necessary.”
Swearing in her head she was thankful when she caught a glimmer of Kerrigan’s aura not far away. Turning in the opposite direction she ran up the alley mostly unobstructed, giving herself enough time to get out ear shot. She could hear the boots of soldier hitting the ground not far off, and she redoubled her efforts, blasting the lock off of an employee entrance to get back inside. The noise made her wince. “Knoxx—Get the bloody hell out of sight. They see you and they won’t be shooting roofies much longer.”
Her initial assumptions about Feral had been correct. He was an excellent distraction… But he made them all targets. Humans weren’t used to the terrifying things mutants could become. It only made sense that they would fear him, despite the fact that some of the more harmless looking Omega’s were most dangerous.
If her ability hadn’t led her in the wrong direction, Kerrigan and her misfit children should be right around the corner. Stepping out of a Footlocker she seemingly appeared from nowhere beside her rag tag Omega’s—a blast already in hand. She felt a flicker of energy that led her eyes to a group of warm bodies clustered not far away. They were all so close together she couldn’t help but scowl at the odd formation. What were the MRD doing? Hugging? The men began taking aim from the mezzanine above them and she tensed…But true to form, didn’t hold back, and shot the hell out of the foundation beneath the platform. It collapsed in a hail of screams and dust, debris skittering across the once polished floor.
The young woman clenched her fists and temporarily forced her ability down. The soldiers would need a moment to recover, and they would be gone before they did. The Red Queen also didn’t want to waste any energy that she didn’t have to. Not when they were going back underground.
“Knoxx keep taking point, I’ll bring up rear. Lucky stay between us and help Chameleon.”, not that Gracie hadn’t been doing fine…But Charlie was physically stronger, and could likely carry the very, very green looking Daylia if they needed to move quickly. Thankfully, Narcissa had missed the puke session. “Feral watch the left, and Jinx keep an eye on the right.”
In Solaris’ eyes, the seemingly simple mission had been a complete and total cluster ********>. There were several times her teammates had defied direct orders, and they’d had far too much exposure. She could only be annoyed with herself for the latter, but it could hardly be helped. Knoxx, Thelma and Louise, and the Hardy Boys made it back to the portal without too many incidents, but that was mostly because Solaris struck at the first sign of a gun. By the time they’d arrived to the correct location in the park, the surrounding area was littered with downed MRD.
The sight of so many people down should have frozen her, or any normal human being to the core. So much violence should have been staggering. But it wasn’t. The soldiers weren’t dead, but most were injured. Some of them gravely. Instead she’d merely stepped through limbs as if they weren’t there.
Narcissa ushered the remaining Omega’s through the portal, before crossing the inter-dimensional doorway herself—never more relieved to see the Armory when Gateway closed the portal closed behind her.
Remy LeBeau had already taken the kids they’d brought home to see Emma, while medical staff started evaluating the rest of them. “Gracie… Be a dear and make sure that Daylia gets checked out.”
What sounded like a quaint request was really an order. Those two…Honestly, they made her wonder. Did it surprise her that they’d gotten in over their heads? Not exactly. But she wasn’t happy about it. She lorded the fact that her team, with the exception of Roland, made good decisions. Better decisions than any Alpha ever could. She didn’t like being proven wrong.
Hard blue eyes lingered on some of the others as she deactivated her uniform, her small frame once again wrapped in a classy black and red micro-mini dress. It was hard to believe that she’d been the she-devil tearing apart anything she could not moments ago. She walked by Aren without so much as a glance, though her finger tips brushed his. It was brief, invisible, but a small luxury that took the raw feeling from her nerve endings. He was solace to her, endlessly comforting. He clouded her judgement more often than not, but she felt like she’d never seen anything clearer.
Aren would know that it took her a long time to settle back into simply being Narcissa, not Solaris. Once her head was in the game… It was near impossible to separate the woman from the soldier. To most there wouldn't be a difference... But he would know.
“Omega’s… Mission complete. It was sloppy, and some of us will be having words you won’t like…But we got the job done. Good work.”, she called through her comm, eyes sweeping formally over her crew. As always, it seemed like she might have been holding court versus ending a fight. Most knew that Narcissa was a cruel task master if there ever was one. It would have been hard to please her, even if everything had gone as intended. “If you’ve been injured, follow the medical staff to the infirmary. The rest of you should put your weapons away and clear out of the Armory. Then get cleaned up. The lot of you smell like trolls.”
From there the sun goddess leaned against the briefing table, all leg and lace. She waited for the rest of her team to drop off their gear, and more importantly, she waited to see who went to the infirmary and who didn’t. The Red Queen was hell bent on riding Elixir’s a** until her team members were operating at a hundred percent.
Not because she was worried, of course. She didn’t worry.
Solaris just couldn’t tolerate sub-par performance. It wasn’t the Omega way.
Not only that...She was a little curious about the snot nosed rejects that had stolen her mission. Were the Alpha's even back yet?
[OOC: Pop me a msg if I missed anyone please - Another quickie post and my first try got eaten sad ]
Selena Lucania
Dangerous Lover
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Aeon-of-Eclipse
IRL Werewolf
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 8:49 pm
★ At this Location: Outside of the prison, then in bunker ★ Thinking About: Support feels a lot like a warm fire keeping you company, and I can do both! ★ While on Team: Alpha
Bringing down the mooks that rode in the truck was done surprisingly fast, with no hiccups in their procedure. Lyn, of course, many qualms about hurting someone else intentionally, even if they were a bad guy. Seeing the burn mark of her hand over her opponent's face was sour, and she had to pretend that the smell of burnt flesh wouldn't be lingering in the air. Tara's words weren't necessarily salt to the wounds, but they did serve to remind her that she did a terrible thing. "I wish I didn't have to show him." she said quietly, turning her back on her work and continuing on with the mission. If the entire thing was supposed to go smoothly, she had to try and muscle through the tougher moments. She couldn't afford to get choked up so early in their mission.
With the bad guys secured and put away, the mission did in fact continue, Leo giving the next set of instructions as he brought up some visual clarification with a map of the prison. They were put in pairs, Lyn put with Thomas, someone she had to admit she wasn't too familiar with, despite being on her team. No time like any other to learn about someone on the field right next to them. She gave him a brief greeting, which he returned in a just-as-brief greeting of his own. He also gave her assurance that everything would be fine, something a doctor would probably be telling their patient routinely. She returned his smile, not at all feeling at ease, but sill appreciating his attempt to ease her concerns. She supposed her nerves were quite visible.
At the wall that Leo wanted Tara to take down, they were intercepted by a teleporting Julian and Katerina, along with some other person she didn't recognize. There was some quiet talking Leo did before they showed up, and the appearance of the two other Alphas and their cargo prompted a word that started her heartbeat that much harder: a trap. The word rang in her head louder than any of Leo's actual words (not the she was ignoring them), Lyn crouching down just a little more in response. Something went wrong, even if it wasn't her fault.
Suddenly, an electric barrier fell around the prison yard, effectively trapping the Alphas within the premises, and adding further meaning to the trap the were caught in. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. What happened?!" she said, panic settling into her features. She didn't know how to handle the situation, besides following the leader, who himself seemed to be put into distress already. In her distress, she did not notice that her partner, Thomas, had left to go help Tara, who was hurt earlier, until she turned to vent her shock to her partner, only to find him gone. Brief panic set in yet again, until she spotted him near Tara's position.
Calm down Lyn, you can't be useless now, when your team needs to play right. she thought to herself, putting a hand to her chest to try and calm herself down, to counter her beating heart. Things went relatively well the last time the Alphas went out, and it's not like she could have prepared for failure. She had the innocent belief that everything would turn out well, barring any violent altercations with the "bad guys", but S.H.I.E.L.D. putting their intrusive barrier down put a damper on that notion. She had hoped that the worst of the day was over when she personally burned a man's face, but by the look of things, there was more damage to be done. She had to tell herself that if she was gonna keep her team same, the bad guys had to suffer. They were bad guys. They were the good guys. This was how it goes: the good guys always win.
As if Lyn's self pep talk signaled a cue, Bella began broadcasting through her communicator, telling her just what she needed to hear: stay calm, and keep up the teamwork. She had her own pep talk to give to the teams, mostly damage control for the shock of whatever trap whoever was behind all of this had done, letting them know that the Alphas were, in fact, still in control. To prove it, Bella was gonna lead her team over to Leo's to regroup, and they would be that much closer to breaking out themselves and coming home with a medal on their chests for a job well done. It was a confidence boost, that was for sure, and it made her that much happier for the possibility of escaping still being palpable. Though, her hopes were shrunk at the sight of Julian teleporting away and reappearing some distance away from the group, still within the barrier's hold. It seemed it wouldn't be as simple as Julian getting them all out safely, but if there was a trap in the first place, she had to guess that the bad guys were intent on throwing down the gauntlet.
Leo began talking again, quickly asking an approaching Julian how many people he could get up in the helicarrier. By the sound of things, he had a plan in motion, but it involved getting on the very thing that disrupted their own plans. Immediately. Lyn covered her mouth, suppressing a gasp. "You want to go towards the people that wanna shoot us?" she asked, trying to make sure he was aware of what he was suggesting. Direct confrontation wasn't her thing, despite what her power was certainly capable of. Fortunately, she wasn't the only one who openly questioned what Leo suggested; Marcel jumped in with his own suggestions about escape routes. The idea seemed to be good , but almost too good to be true: yes, many facilities usually had a few escape routes that weren't necessarily advertised as heavily as others, but wouldn't the option have popped up from the people who were already inside? And even if she didn't like the idea...Bella wouldn't put Leo in charge unless she had some faith in Renaissance Man. It was only fair to put some of her own faith in Leo in return.
She was going to voice her concern, but Julian had already teleported away, causing her to shut her mouth just as quickly as she opened it. Hopefully her earlier doubt wouldn't put that much of a damper on Leo's confidence. Again, Bella's instructions came through the communicator not long after, letting them of the plan that was lain out for them: Julian would teleport them to Leo, and Bella would do...whatever it was that they planned with Bella. Her role, at this point, was to play defense once she was in position. She could definitely do that. Any harm that these bad guys fell under as they attacked could be chalked up to self defense: Lyn could live with hurting them under these pretenses.
Julian reappeared in Leo's presence again, throwing down smoke pellets in the meatime. Quickly grabbing Leo and Kat, Julian disappeared with the smoke building around her group. The bad guys would be coming in on them soon, but thanks to the smoke cover that Julian laid down for them, they had little to no vision of them, save for the giant cloud of smoke that let the bad guys know where in the general area they were, but they still wouldn't be any easy targets to shoot at. Julian would continuously reappear among Leo's group in neat intervals, grabbing two of the nearest members of Leo's group and teleporting away. Lyn gasped as Julian materialized near her and grabbed her person, along with another, and blinking them to their safe spot. She suppressed a shout as they landed in the bunker, nearly falling over as they made it with the rest of the team, before Julian popped away again just as fast as he showed up. Julian's transportation did not feel as comfortable as their quick entrance to the mission in the first place, and she had to hope that it wouldn't happen again: she can't say her balance would be maintained next time. She sat down, scooting over to a wall to support herself. Everything happened so fast, it was almost a blur. However, a few breaths, she looked up and eyed the rest of the team. "Hi guys!" she said, eyeing some of the faces she was more more familiar with. The cheer that was on her face sobered, however, and she put on a game face just as quickly as she gave a friendly smile to her team. She positioned a hand toward one of the entrances, heat waves starting to pulse out of her palm. She was ready to defend her team, while Julian got the rest of them inside. With all of them working together now, all in one place and so close to leaving, there was not way she was going to let things go downhill now.
Ding went the elevator, and Darien stepped out as the doors opened. Making his way to his room, he threw his jacket off onto his bed. Slowly, his mind began to grind to a halt, and a quiet groan escaped his mouth."I'm pretty sure I forgot to pack clothes for the move over here. I'll probably have to run out later and get some,"he thought, silently cursing at himself. It could wait, as he seemed to remember the academy providing at least a workable set of spare garments if they were needed.
Opening up one of the drawers to find a grey Tee, Darien pulled it out and switched shirts after wiping down with the dirty one. Thinking for a bit, he just sat back on his bed, laying back to relax. Might as well just sleep until they all get back. Hopefully he wouldn't sleep through any announcements, again.
『L o c a t i o n ↙ ↙ 』xxx『 T h o u g h t s ↙ ↙ 』xxx『O O C ↙ ↙ 』
[ With Omegas ]xxxx[MRD's. Of course it wouldn't be easy] xxxx[ and action!]xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Every time the X-men sent out the junior teams, Blake had expectations of how things would go - his mind automatically worked out the best and worst case scenarios, and anticipated that things would end up somewhere in between the two spectrums. Alice’s presence had not been anywhere in that, but she served as a happy surprise - even with her foul language that he was certain caused angels to cry. His greeting was a line she was familiar with, reminding her about that potty mouth. He threatened soap and despite his disguise brought on by the image-inducer, she knew exactly who had strode up beside her.
He teased her a little more as a welcome back to the X-men, and spent time between hitting their adversaries catching up with her. The conversation helped desensitize him from the violent pandemonium. She made it obvious to him that she was lying about where she had been in the past few months by promising him pictures of her “vacation,” and he couldn’t help but add a line about naughty ones and how she should keep those from his view. “I will skip that pile; I have a reputation to uphold and all.”
He could have stayed there, fighting off the MRDs as they worked their way out, but their adversaries had a sentinel to bring crashing down on their party. Aren shifted size as a distraction, Peyton used a gale-force wind to bring both friend and foe to the ground, and the rest of the Omegas barreled into action. Both he and Alice rushed toward the robot even though better judgment bade any mutant run in the opposite direction. Alice’s seismic quakes gnarled the metal to expose the inner workings of its system, and as she revved up for another attack, the sentinel took full advantage and swung - tossing her as easily as an NFL player would a football across the food court and into a wall.
Blake watched in horror as she landed, his voice calling out her codename in an instant. She didn’t move, and he ground his teeth together, forcing himself to reattach his focus to the immediate threat. Narcissa called out the order for Measure to see to getting her out of the building; the fact that Aren immediately took to the orders was enough assurance she would be safe.
Cissa directed him to finish off the robot, and his neck moved in a stiff nod. Taking a second to glance back at his leader when she spoke to him, he caught the tail end of her sending energetic, destructive blasts toward one of the clothing outlets.
The cowboy’s shoulders rolled with a have-no-care shrug when Narcissa’s incredulity took her expression hostage. “Well I was just wondering, considering your hatred for the Gap.” He said, casually back to her over their comm link. “A gal has to get her clothes somewhere.” If he had known her better he might have suggested another department store next, but chastising Narcissa was a literal version of playing with fire. She already had made it clear she did not think highly of the company he kept, and for that reason alone Blake actively tried to stay off of her radar. He just had not been able to help himself when she took to settling a score with the Gap shop - even if the luminescent glow from her eyes should have served as a warning.
“Well we always knew you were disease-ridden.” Blake retorted back to Aren, unsure if he did it for his own amusement, or to make Alice feel a little more at ease with the strange size shifter. “And daft enough to fight just about anything.” The native called the human shockwave delusional for preferring the Texan to his red skin, and Blake chuckled, the sound hearty despite their circumstances. “Southern boys just have it - and it comes with the promise of manners that a savage straight out of a teepee can’t learn.”
After Aren saw to transporting Alice out of the mall and assured him she was safe via a bout of banter, he rounded his attentions back on what remained of the sentinel and set to decimating all of its molecular structure to the point of no return. The Texan went quickly, punching through the twisted metal to reach the core of the robot. His fist went through the cables and as he pulled back the materials disintegrated, bursting into so many slivers that the shards were no longer recognizable as a part of their original form. Once their Brobdingnagian enemy had been reduced to ash, Blake glanced back over his shoulder at the Omega leader and bobbed his head in the direction of the door.
His comm must have shorted out when he asked if she was ready to depart, as she didn’t follow him out of the debris. Unfortunately, he did not realize she was still trapped inside until he reached the rendezvous point. Grimacing, he clenched his jaw in frustration, took a deep breath and relied on his comm again - asking just where she was. With as many explosions as he had heard behind him, he thought she was blasting and running behind the path he had worked to make for the two of them. The bite to her tone was acrid enough to let him know she wasn’t pleased with being left by herself. “At the rendezvous point. I thought you were moving behind me. Do you need cover to get out?” He asked, knowing that she likely couldn’t run on blasting things forever - especially with the barricades the MRDs had been trying to set up to contain what mutants were left in the mall’s perimeter. Their fight had been a taxing one; it wasn’t going to get easier the longer she stayed inside.
He took over tending to Alice, offering her his shoulder to latch onto. She shimmied up part of her shirt to ask him to assess the damage, and he inhaled sharply at the drastic change in color. It had only been a few minutes and a sizeable, brutish hematoma had started to form over her ribs. The medbay was in her immediate future. The blond gave him a hard time about his reaction, biting out a few sarcastic quips and he couldn’t help but shrug. “You didn’t specify you wanted me to lie to you, dollface. Besides, I have nothing that needs sellin’ anyway. But I did say you’d live.” He reminded her, shaking his head at her atrocious impression of him. “Is that what you believe I sound like? Or did the sentinel really just rattle your brains around so much that they’re scrambled better than eggs on Sunday morning?” Blake asked, his gaze sweeping over her again as he laid his accent on extra thick.
Just as he was satisfied that she would live, Charlotte spotted six MRD’s headed toward them and the Omegas took little time to dispense themselves of the threat. The display of power was an impressive one, but he still wound himself for defense - ready to serve as a human shield should the militant humans spot Alice’s vulnerability.
Unwilling to leave the field as one of the more experienced mutants, Blake’s gaze bounced around on his teammates, trying to decide who to send through the portal first. Alice for sure. Given the injuries she had sustained, she had reserved herself a date with the med bay. Of those nearest him, Charlotte seemed the most level-headed, and he requested that she escort his old recruit through, to which she thankfully agreed. It took her a few scant seconds to close the gap of distance between them and introduce herself to the new girl.
Now if only his stubborn mule of a friend would have been as cooperative with his plan. “I’m not thrusting you off because I think you’re unhelpful. I’m asking you to take go with Charlotte here to see Elixir and get yourself fixed up. By the look of that bruising, you’ve at least cracked one or two ribs and there could be soft tissue damage done beneath that. Your safety is first, and the remaining Omegas will be right behind you.” He couldn’t leave her on the field in good conscience. The longer she stayed, the more likely it was she would sustain more injuries.
“Solaris has ordered any injured and most of the team through. It’s her field and not my call to make.” He said firmly enough to leave very little room for argument. Not that he disagreed with the call. If she stayed, her safety would serve as a distraction that none of them needed right now. “Charlotte here is good company - don’t punish her because she’s adhering to my request.”
Roland returned then in time to hear Alice’s spiel about not being weak, and he compounded to the reasons why she needed to follow directions, threatening to knock her out if necessary. Blake doubted she would be willing to fight all of them out of pride - it wasn’t one she would win, and that would likely sting more than being sent home early. He mouthed a silent thank-you in the rogue's direction.
“If Solaris sees that I let you stay on the field, it’ll be my rear in the fire.” He added, hoping that she’d agree even if it was only to keep him out of trouble. “As soon as she’s clear of the building, I’ll be leaving the field as well.”
Blake’s cerulean stare fell on the others and he let out a deep breath. Several had gotten hit while defending the portal and would likely benefit from some R&R. Madga wasted no time in asking who Alice was, but the cowboy was hardly concerned in introductions. “She is headed back to the base.” He said, raising an eyebrow much the way a parent would while scolding their child. “Solaris has requested that most of us evacuate if we can afford to.” He said, as if inviting a few of them to take their leave if they wanted safety. The way he said it made it pretty clear he wasn’t headed back quite yet.
It had not taken but a few more minutes for the stragglers to make it to the rendezvous point, much to his relief. When the molecular manipulator caught sight of Narcissa, he shook his head in a silent apology for leaving her. He offered no excuses because frankly, there wasn’t one. It was an oversight that he hadn’t noticed her falling behind. It was on oversight on hers that she hadn’t noticed him pulling away. He would take all of the blame, because he didn’t expect her to.
Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to pass through the portal for the second time today. “Thanks for looking after Aftershock. Her real name is Alice.” He said simply, unsure if she would really care about the newbie's identity. “Roland and Charlotte should have her in the medbay by now.”
As soon as he felt his shoes hit the interior of their base, Blake pressed a button on his watch and melded back into himself. He made a beeline for the infirmary and peeked around the corner, searching for the three he guessed were still here. “Anyone home?”
OOC: Let me know if anything needs changed.
Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:14 pm
[ ʈ | ɦ | ҿ ➸ S | i | z | e | - | S | h | i | f | t | i | n | g ]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxOmega - mall
As per usual, Felix and he could not put a halt to their glibs toward each other - Aren claimed he was to be worshipped when the speedster stood at his feet just before Narcissa instructed him to retrieve their fallen newcomer. “My people are not indigenous to the city. There’s no moss growing on the columns for me to know which way is north.” He retorted when Felix informed him that the exit was in the opposite direction. “But at least my people don’t depend on a satellite to tell them when to turn left.” Chocolate eyes spotted Felix right as he went to take another step, and he grinned when his friend laid the jokes on thick.
The native twisted his waist just a bit and held out a hand behind his his back. “Does this size make my butt look big?” He asked mockingly in a booming voice, as though he was completely unphased by the dangers of being so exposed to the MRD’s. He never let the enemy see him frazzled. Kerri said she would have his back and the size shifter’s grin only widened. “No offense speedy, but I’d rather have a woman checking out my backside.” He said, turning to wink at Kerri playfully. The eagle mask didn’t quite mirror the expression underneath, but it did well enough to capture his joking manner.
Aren towered over the blond he’d been instructed to pick up and see to safety, and greeted her with the same thread of humor he had shared with Felix. He warned her before he scooped her up that she might experience a little discomfort, but she kept a brave face. Unable to stop himself, he made a joke about her mutation and she gave as good as she got. “Shattered hearts, huh?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow in question. “A little over-confident there, I see.” He teased.
“So if we play you backwards will Spot come back?” He asked, changing his joke from her being the inspiration for country songs (Rock my world by Brooks n’ Dunn) to actually being one. “My brothers would appreciate you returning him.”
She wiggled her fingers as a way to test them, he guessed and he seemed unperturbed about her potentially breaking his bones. “I’m durable.” He declared candidly. “A broken bone would be the least that they’ve had to patch up on me.” He informed her but chose not to get into the gritty details. Having his hands burned down to stubs had been a lot of work to fix.
Alice maintained her saucy attitude, which made him appreciate her personality all the more - even as she threatened him. “You’ve got me confused. I’m ethnic; not Irish.” He said in response to her potato remark. “I don’t even know how one would toss a sack of tubers.” If he was worried about the state of his kidneys, he hid his concern rather well. The blond would soon find that no matter how bitchy she got, he would retort back with some sort of comedic statement; he had practice at this sort of thing. No one could out-b***h Narcissa, and he’d ultimately won that battle too.
Aren darted through the debris, keeping his charge as close to his chest as possible in an effort not to jostle her any more than necessary. His concentration remained split between the conversation with the new girl and where his feet were shuffling. He corrected her on which method of carrying a woman he was using, and then apprised her to the very real possibility that she would at the very least be receiving hate mail from his fan club members in the coming weeks. Alice dismissed the threat of the crazy girls by saying she was more ludicrous than they were, and he chuckled. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. They take threats to their claim on me very seriously.” Not that they really had one… but he had tried to pop their delusional bubble before - it backfired in ways he didn’t care to get into.
She hissed in pain, and Aren empathized, frowning because the sudden movements had been necessary to avoid any more fighting. “Sorry.” He said as he sprung over a table.
With the exit within reach, Alice realized she had left her bag on a table, and Aren peered back over a shoulder and quickly decided he wasn’t going back. Instead, he informed Narcissa of the potential breach in identity and promised the seismic girl with the utmost confidence that no one else would be able to find it either. She corrected him about what it actually was, and he grinned. “Eh, same difference.” He said, knowing that Cissa wouldn’t care one way or another. That whole cafeteria would be up in smoke regardless.
Cissa instructed to get her to the med bay as soon as possible and he did his best not to fight the part of him that protested that order, because defying her on the field would only prove her protests of them being together correct. But he wasn’t leaving; someone else could take Gimpy to the infirmary.
Once outside, Aren caught sight of Charlotte, Magda, Orchid and Roland and waved his fingers as a way of greeting. He set Alice back on the ground, but didn’t allow her to hobble away just yet. Blake would grill him if he let her fall back on the ground in a heap. It was then that he informed Blake of her safety.
The two of them minced words - the same banter as usual between them. Cowboys and Indians. He scoffed aloud when Blake called him disease ridden after he gave him a lesson in history. “Disease ridden! Says the white boy who likely approves of those small pox blankets the pale-faces handed out.” He exclaimed. “You all were too yellow to fight what was left of us without biological warfare. And that is a testament to how awful your people actually were at hand to hand combat.”
Minutes later, Blake appeared but Narcissa didn’t emerge with him. His heart stopped in his chest, and he pulled on the invisible tether that connected them, letting her know exactly what he thought of her not being safe yet. She would be able to feel how his insides reeled, twisted in ways they weren’t meant to. Unthinking, his steps carried him toward the building again before his better judgment bade him to stop. Rather than running headlong back into trouble, he forced himself to stop and wait for her to ask.
Only, his mouth decided to disobey that resolve - and he found himself on his comm, asking her where she was because he intended on coming in there after her. The other half to his soul answered, but the discomfort in her voice sung to him in ways it wouldn’t the others. A part of her wanted him to find her, even if that wasn’t what she said.
She said ‘please,’ and he rocked back on his heels and clenched his fists open and shut again. “Two minutes.” He said finally, breathing out a long drag of numbers he had counted to try and regain his ability to think straight. “You have two minutes.” And that was all he could give her, else his brain would turn to putty from being so wrought with worry. Even a short two minutes was pushing it. Not knowing she was safe eclipsed everything else, and he would soon be instinctually driven to find her - whether it was safer for the pair of them or not.
Orchid and Magda re-met up with the group once the immediate threat was diminished and the prehensile haired mutant asked for a cigarette, while her friend asked for pizza. “I could go for some Doritos.” He agreed, chocolate eyes trailing back to the building. “Wonder what’s taking them.” The native asked no one in particular, doing his best not to appear as though there was a gaping hole in his chest. “Knoxx and the two new boys had been right behind me when I got blondie out.”
As though they were two opposites to a magnet, he started to make strides back to the building when the last of the Omegas finally appeared. He breathed, his muscles unwinding at the sight of his sunlight emerging safely. It wasn’t that he doubted her, but the unknown left him wriggling worse than a worm on a hook. Worry literally crawled underneath his skin and entwined every inch of him.
He forced himself to look down so that the other members of the team wouldn’t notice how much the connection between them had grown. Time in front of the Omegas was spent pretending like they weren’t drowning in a torrid affair. She did the same, but her fingertips met his for a microsecond. It was enough and not enough in the same instant. More than anything, he craved the warmth she could only provide in secret.
“Ki’somma… nothing I do is ever sloppy.” He responded, donning his cheeky attitude once again, as though he had never left it. But he dropped his mask and took a seat away from her. “I keep offering to show you…” He teased, flashing a grin that made his dimples more prominent. “But you never take me up on it.”
Name:Jacen Reilly Codename:Jetsam Location:The Armory Hopefully a better ret-con than One More Day
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Jacen turned his head to the obscured horizon, watching as the helicopter that he had just been a rather queasy passenger on disappeared behind the line of evergreens surrounding Alkali Lake. He couldn’t stop thinking about how this place was simply too cold. He’d heard stories of this ‘Canada’ and its weather, and so far his fears were confirmed. ’Not like I’ll be spending much time outside anyway,’ he thought to himself as a comfort, a beat passing before he realized he should probably not be standing around, outside, in the open. Geez, it hadn’t even been 2 months and he was already slacking. He started trudging towards the entrance he’d been told of, deciding that this was a rather fitting atmosphere to match the generally bleak circumstances that had brought mutantkind to take measures like these.
Not to be taken the wrong way of course. Jacen was glad to be back. His attempts to convince his half-sister to join him, that she wouldn’t be safe just because she was outside the states, had been thoroughly unsuccessful. She was far more stubborn than he was, but he thought for sure his word would have convinced her. Maybe it was for the best, she hated the cold and being in enclosed spaces.
Still, recent events had not contributed to his generally optimistic attitude. He couldn’t imagine what all these new anti-mutant measures were like for people outside any of the factions in play, like the Academy or the Muir Island facility. Heck, even the Brotherhood would be looking out for each other. But Joe-Mutant on the street? He didn’t envy that position.
But then again, helping people was why he was coming back.
He was grateful that Cissa had been able to arrange a ride, it kept him from having to do something stupid like try and hitch-hike all the way to Canada. He’d probably have been followed anyway, and worrying about something like that was not a position he'd enjoy being in. Just getting past the border had been harrowing, his passport already suspicious-looking enough. The mutant shrugged his meager luggage to a more comfortable spot on his shoulder, finally reaching the entrance to the compound. He looked to both sides, examining the metal structure.
What was he supposed to do, knock?
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ Later...
Meeting with Emma for briefings was always a treat, in a surprisingly non-sarcastic way. Their headmistress was generally nice to Jacen, probably because he was such a good little soldier™, to the point where the Omega had never had one of those encounters with her that had given the other students such a bad impression of her. To be fair she was no Sally Sunshine, and he’d seen her in action enough to know that it wouldn’t take much to be out of her good graces. Really though, he just found it interesting to see where Cissa got it.
He scooted past a small group of children on his way out of her office. These must be the kids the Omegas had brought back, which meant the junior x-men team was back at base. He smiled a hello to a gap-toothed mutant passing him before turning a corner, walking the halls where he’d been directed to find his team leader. The base actually wasn’t that bad, now that he was inside. He could even see it getting a little homey. Way easier living conditions than that cave he’d spent a month trapped in. Man, he hadn't even found any treasure during that whole debacle.
He moved through a doorway at the end of the labyrinth, a familiarly fresh attitude present in the room. “Oh come on Aren I’ve agreed to your offers plenty of times.” The mutant grinned at the native, swooping towards the other omega and embracing him in a big ole bear hug, oblivious to the rather awkward position that put him right on the size-shifter’s lap.
Jacen would not repeat that form of greeting with Narcissa of course, a warm smile and nod directed at the team leader instead.
“I saw some new kids up there, successfully save the world again?” He inquired about their recent mission, hopping off Aren to stand next to the two mutants.
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:49 am
Transforming did something to Christian's mind, something that allowed feeling and instinct to take priority over his thinking mind. There were little ticks that begged to be fulfilled at every nagging moment when he had gone feral; from small to large, inconspicuous to demanding, innocent...to sadistic. He didn't feel the urge to overthink things when transformed, hell thinking almost became an afterthought, a burden at times that slowed his body. He wanted many things, usually all at once, and the more time he spent pondering the less he had actually putting into action. It was simpler in his animal mind, reasoning often taking the backseat as he performed. And, he couldn't deny that things were just easier when he went wolf.
The fight he had with the MRD mook before was cake, for instance. Had he stayed in human form, it would have lasted much longer, as he lacked the finesse that Kerrigan and Charlie packed in troves. No, it was easier to just turn into a hulking beast and brush aside his opposition, leaving more than enough time make it to the food court where they were needed. From the looks of things, it seemed like it was needed: the fear of Sentinel company was true, as some of his teammates were already fighting with it in the middle of court. He may have lacked the experience to take one on in confidence, but he was needed elsewhere: let the others have their fun with the anti-mutant Megazord. He had bodies to protect...by breaking other bodies.
Narcissa gave them their first orders, taking Aren and one of the injured into safety, out of the warzone. Like the dog he was, Christian was quick to bound into action, acting as a giant, menacing barrier between the MRD and the VIPs. It was enough to get most the visibly shaken mooks to back off, but for those that thought they could take on a giant werewolf...Charlie and Kerrigan dashed their hopes by taking them out before they could consider being a threat. If the wolf worked beast as an intimidation tactic, he'd allow it, if only to speed things along and get him to do the next set of orders he was likely to get. There was no way Narcissa would pass up the opportunity to sic a menacing beast like him on people that were easily viewed as the bad guys, much less anyone else.
Kerrigan, however, ended up being the saving grace of his hyped up instincts: they were going back to save some stragglers who hadn't made it to the food court yet. More time to flex his muscles and blow off some of that steam he had building up. Once they were given permission, Christian practically lunged back into the field, no sooner than Charlie gave Kerrigan the go ahead to lead them on. The wolf was eager, impatient even, to get knock some skulls around and and do...wolf things. However, it did mean that there was a moment where Christian wasn't sure who exactly he was looking for: save for a few memorable people, everyone's features and bodies tended to blend together when he was in his transformed state, not to mention the breakneck speed he bounded in. But, luck was still on his side, as locating the two lone figures in the outskirts of the food court came into his canine view, and like a pup being called, he clumsily readjusted his course and made a made dash to their position, knocking over unfortunate MRD scum and some tables that dared to stand between him and his destination. It was this vigor and energy that drove him forward that also kept his momentum going as he tried to come to a stop near them, the inertia from his sheer force causing him to crash into the wall near the two girls' spot. Snout and shoulders bounced him off the surface as he backed away, the impact making him rub his nose to ease the slight sting. Apart from giving him a reason to not run so fast at a wall, the crash brought him out of his dog-like goal oriented mind out of "command" mode and into a more neutral demeanor.
If he'd seen himself crashing into a wall, he'd probably be chuckling alongside the two girls that were doing so now. Both of them likened them to a panicked service dog, something that probably wasn't helped by the uniform that he had on. Remembering that he had to rescue two girls, of which these two just happened to be the same gender, Christian began communicating to them the only way he intelligently could: sign language. That probably didn't help dispel the image of a seeing-eye dog these two had branded him with, the eventual "Lassie, who fell down a well?" question rearing it's head back as the two girls tried to make sense of his gestures. That was the issue with sign language: only those that could understand the damn language could interpret it, making it almost as useless at learning it if no one on his team learned the basics.
That was when the tranq dart from the daring MRD goon plunged itself into his shoulder, causing him to jolt, then turn just as fast towards the offending object, then cast a dangerous glare at the MRD that shot him. Being shot meant that he let his guard down long enough for a bad guy to take advantage of. Nevermind that the tranq wouldn't have the strong enough juice to send him out of commission: just nailing the giant was enough to send the wolf into a temporary rage. He growled, snatching the dart out with his enlarged fingers and grabbing the nearest object, a register, to inflict quick, bodily harm on the retreating mook. The sound of a cash register ringing never felt as satisfying as beaning someone with it. With his vengeance exacted, Christian returned back the girls, now registering Charlie and Kerrigan's presence among the group. Jinx identified Chameleon and asked if the wolf could give a ride to the fatigued mutant, something that he responded with a snort. Like Chameleon had stated, he wasn't anyone's ride while there was sleepy sap spreading through his streams. He could actually feel some of the affects starting to kick in too: noises started to sound muffled, and his body was beginning to feel heavier, his movements and breathing becoming sluggish. If was still human, he would have been out by now and another liability, but as a wolf...he was just slowed down.
Kerrigan reminded them all that they were working on a time limit Narcissa had given them, something that brought some life back to Christian. He barked in response, encouraging swift action. Though, as Daylia tried to take the first step, she muttered something about water before puking right at the spot, the wolf reclining back and yelping in response. Jesus, the smell was terrible: his wolf senses enhanced the scent of whatever the hell she regurgitated and made it nightmarish. It was at least successful in waking up Christian just the tiniest bit, if only to get them out of the area quicker to avoid the smell lingering. Daylia gave him a look before telling him not to eat what she just threw up, Christian looking about as offended as his face would allow. What did she think he was, a do-...oh. Yeah. He was.
But there was no way in hell he would be eating something someone else clearly didn't want in their body already. He whined in response, still backing away from the scene. Narcissa's voice ringing through the communicator reminded them that they were still evacuating, and Christian could barely agree with the statement, instead choosing to just keep them moving, Christian bringing a giant paw and settling on Daylia's back to guide her forward, encouraging her to keep going. Tranq'd or not, he was still gonna be some time of guard dog. He made a quick sign to Daylia, pointing to her, then signing another word and pointing to himself before snorting again and pushing her along. "Handicap" and "Service", respectively. If he used any less tact, he'd be flipping her off.
The group continued towards the exit, but the sudden appearance of a particularly glowing Narcissa from a nearby store surprised him, before she fired off a blast towards a group of MRD that he hadn't noticed had been tailing them, incapacitating them. He barked in response to Narcissa's display, before the tranq's effects took another unexpected surge and made him stumble a bit, nearly pushing Daylia over before he steadied himself. Narcissa wasted no time in giving out more orders to the group, putting them into more effective spots to allow for better defending as they made their way out of the mall: Christian's lumbering gait kept their left side guarded as best as it could until they could reach the portal, Narcissa's trigger finger (hand?) taking care of most of the bad guys that challenged them.
And once they made it through the portal, and Christian confirmed they were back at home base with a quick sniff around their area, he allowed himself to crash forward and slam onto the floor in a tired mass of muscle and fur, the tranq still not letting up it's effects. He heard the sound of some of the others changing out of the uniforms, and the wolf shakily sat up from his spot on the group, stretching his body so that he could at least pull some of the tiredness out of his joints. Thanks to his form, he wouldn't be out for the count, even when he transformed, but he sure as hell was going to be tired. He'd need to work on building up a resistance to tranq shots in the future somehow, so that one shot wouldn't leave him as weak as he was now.
With his body as limbered up as it was going to be, Christian took a deep breath before he brought hand to his face, letting his body relax and heartbeat slow. His mind, still racing and responding to all the sense that his werewolf body bombarded him with, was beginning to clear, and the smells of the area began to dim. Then, at the sound of a pop coming from somewhere in his body, Christian blew out one steady, long breath as his body began to steam. His fur looked like it was just dissolving away into steam, leaving less and less left on his body, which also seemed to get more loose and drop off his face. Eventually, even his face and snout began to sag, before the fangs that lined his mouth began to fall out and land on the floor, splintering into pieces and evaporating away just as his fur was. Then, pulling at his snout, it fell off like a stretchy mask, the inside boiling and red, revealing a familiar human face underneath, sweaty and slightly smeared with what looked like blood, but was also boiling away into steam, all the while his body continued to snap, pop, and crack in various points as his skeletal structure reverted back to it's mostly human shape. His eyes still remained their predatory look, but with time, they would revert to their softer shape within a few more minutes. He stood up from the mess of fur and spongy flesh that hung off his body and piled around his feet, which would all boil and dissolve away into steam within a short amount of time, leaving behind no trace that it was ever there save for the remarkably warm temperature the steam had caused.
Narcissa gave the team their congratulations, suggesting (commanding?) that those injured go to the medical wing. An uncertain Christian (still sporting some smoking blood smears on his face and still wolfish eyes) gave a look to Christian, his drowsiness still evident. "Does getting tranq'd count as being injured? Otherwise, I feel fine. Might need some food though." he said, taking a step forward to his friend before feeling something a bit off about himself. He looked behind him and spotted his werewolf tail still sticking out of his tailbone, not fully dissolved away yet. He groaned, pulling at it until it popped off him, and discarded onto the floor where it too would continue to burn and steam away. Then, he deactivated his uniform and felt his clothes replacing the uniform that covered him, before hastily removing the shirt his civilian form had and wiping his face and using it as a towel to dry off the rest of the sweat that remained on his steaming body. Then, letting out a short whoop, he looked back to Charlie. "Duuuuude..." he said, reflecting on the fact that they had just finished their first mission. "First mission, man!" he said, excitedly giving Charlie a friendly shove, smug grin on his face.
Rovek-Winter
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Satin Promises
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 2:28 pm
“Do X-men retire?” She asked, completely serious. Until Bruce was taken out of the equation, Gracie was looking at a life commitment with the X-men; they were the only ones who could halfway keep her safe, keep her her own personality and not become his walking, probability changing zombie again.
In the mall, their first stop was the food court. It was an ideal place for hiding in plain sight - a crowd, loud teens and the distraction of food. Which, of course they had to test just to be sure it was real. Unfortunately, their first plan of action fizzled out into a dud, and all they got out of their lunch was a promise to work out more.
“Before bed…” She repeated, considering the merits of going to the gym in the evening instead of before breakfast. “We’ll see.” She promised her friend as they left the food court to venture into the stores. They decided that they would check the trendy clothes stores - figuring that teens would be in and out of them pretty readily. To keep up appearances, they both picked out things to try on and potentially buy. After all, being underground in the middle of a tundra wasn’t conducive to getting into the latest fashions. Multi-tasking while trying to find a needle in a haystack wasn’t against the rules.
Besides, between Narcissa’s hawkish eyes, Kerrigan’s approachable personality, and the academy’s official recruiter, she doubted that Daylia and her would be the ones to find the kids. If anyone had been watching, it looked as though Gracie had picked up half the store for Daylia to try on - but it was the faux redhead’s fault; she’d asked for help in getting a sense of style. Her friend wrinkled her nose at a few of the tops, but the hex witch threatened to get their team lead involved if she didn’t at least try on the garments. Daylia immediately sensed that she wouldn’t like that option. “That it would be. Plus, anything you liked, you wouldn’t be able to afford… I doubt she’s worn anything from any of the stores in this mall.”
Daylia took on the roles of both herself in Narcissa as she imagined how the day would go, and the Georgian giggled furiously. Granted, Narcissa always looked the height of fashion, but Gracie cringed at the thought of the price tags attached to her closet. Mundane would have been the nicest word she said during that endeavor.
“Makes you wonder if her tailor has skin made of stone for all those insults, right?”
Just as Gracie decided they had enough for round one, some MRD’s tracked them to the back of the store. Hurriedly and completely not thinking, both rushed behind one of the dressing room doors - which left a lot to be desired in the personal space department. “Watch your eye… I might poke it.” Gracie warned as she tried to remember the movement pattern to access her new uniform. Even in the face of a fight with some bigoted officer, both had jokes about how this sort of thing inspired the rumors going around school. Instead of being the heart of one, they decided the correct tactic was to start their own - and the girls quickly agreed that monkey boy was the best option.
Gracie said something about him being an easy target - what with the existence of his tail and all. But Daylia made a remark about Nightcrawler, and the southern belle snorted. “I didn’t know you were into body hair. No wonder Dimitri didn’t stand a chance.” She teased. The MRD banged on their door, and an eyebrow cocked of it’s own accord. “I’m shelving that whipping comment for later - don’t think that this conversation is anywhere near over.”
Miraculously, the both changed without bodily injury, and Gracie couldn’t help but compare their lives to Superman, where he always doffed his true identity in exchange for a cape. At the thought of Maroon 5, she shrugged in agreement. “Now there’s someone I’d let whip me.” She said, grinning. “If he’s into that sort of thing.”
Daylia complained that Superman wasn’t nearly as awesome as Wonderwoman and Gracie shook her head in agreement. “Because woman, versus man.” Emlen pointed out, as though it were as simple as two plus two. “Resourceful, simple minded. But then again, she did allow herself to be an symbol of S&M…”
The man at their door pounded again, insistent that they come out unarmed. Both she and Daylia had a few comebacks for him while they debated their options. In the end, they decided to go through the wall, but not before Gracie left the store a nasty, explosive surprise. After she came through the wall, the hex generator decided she would rather never experience that sensation again. Gracie tossed her now exhausted friend a bottle of water in the midst of threatening an innocent employee who happened to see them come through, and then joked that her friend needed to leave some for the grazing cows.
“All that water sloshing around the copious amount of salt we just ate is going to make you sick. If you puke on me, I’m not talking to you for a week.” Gracie threatened, crinkling her nose in a way to make it clear she was joking.
In the employee halls, she and Daylia made their way to the commotion, using the sounds of chaos to guide them. When they reached the food court, where a sentinel was laid flat on the ground and several shops were ablaze, Gracie shook her head. Unless she could fly them out of there, they weren’t going to get to the exit without a fight.
And given how tired passing both of them through the wall had made Daylia, it wasn’t safe. She pressed the button on her comm and updated Narcissa to the situation before leading her friend back into dark halls. “We are going to find an exit not riddled with MRD’s… One cornered us in a store, and Daylia pushed both of us through what must have been six feet of cement.” Cissa wouldn’t have to be a genius to figure out that it had pushed Daylia to her limits.
“Don’t be sorry. It was the best option… and at least now you know you can do it.” Gracie said. “If we’d gone the other way, I’d be just about as worn down by now, with no promises either of us would be safe.”
Exasperated and lost with no maps in sight, Gracie remarked how they would be better off to find a moose and steer it over the border. Her teammate was immediately on board with the idea, stating she’d look majestic as all get out. “Only you.” She murmured, shaking her head.
They finally found an exit, and they both paused to consider their options before running headlong out into danger. Daylia suggested tailing behind invisibly, but Gracie questioned whether or not she’d be able to hold out until they got to the rendezvous point. “I’m not stuck here because of you… but I’m sure as hell not going to save my tail in exchange for yours.”
She suggested they take it slow, and she point at anything or anyone that got in their way, to which Daylia agreed just as Kerri messaged them, asking for their location. Daylia’s response was sarcastic - considering they had been lost the majority of the fight, but Gracie responded with a general location… grinning from Daylia’s lack of help.
Kerri announced that her group was on their way to help them, and the southern belle frowned, unsure if a large group of mutants was the best idea. “I suppose we can use the newbies as bait while we save our asses.” She joked to her bestie. “What is it that Narcissa would say in a situation like this? Cannon fodder?”
Her jokes were put to a halt though when a large canine creature bounded their way. Both girls exchanged looks and Gracie outright giggled when the poor guy slammed into a wall and Daylia made a glib reply about him losing his seeing eye human.
Christian got up and made his way to them, and began to sign to them - which left both of the girls confused. Daylia asked if Timmy fell down the well, and Gracie nearly lost her entire composure. She bit down hard on her lip, but snickers still burst past the wall she’d tried to make. It took a good thirty seconds before she could string together a reply for the dog, though her response wasn’t much more helpful than what her partner’s had been.
All of their jokes ceased for the moment, when Christian’s flesh was pierced with a tranq. The dog’s temper flared, and he threw a cash register at the officer, just as Charlie and Kerrigan met up with them. She was about to make a Jekyll and Hyde remark when Daylia joked that he just checked the guy out, which threw the two of them into a small fit of giggles again. After a moment, Gracie rubbed the span of her brow and searched the ceiling for something that would simmer down her sense of humor. “I swear we can be serious sometimes.” She assured the group.
The MRD had shot another dart in their direction just before the cash register hit, and it narrowly missed the other new boy on the Omegas. In turn though, he bumped into her. Daylia couldn’t help but make a joke at his expense, and Gracie grinned. “Someone ought to tell him to be careful; you never know which girl actually might like it.” She said, grinning for Charlie’s benefit.
She had asked the wolf if he’d be able to carry Daylia, but given how quickly the tranquilizers were setting in, it looked like someone would have to carry him out too. Daylia admitted it’d be interesting to ride a wolf with just the barest hint of disappointment in her tone. “Maybe if you scratch him between the ears later he’ll offer you a ride.” She said with a wink, her innuendo not as thick as it could have been. Given the severe look on Red’s face, she doubted she found them nearly as funny as they did themselves.
Kerri requested that they move quickly, and Gracie shook her head. “That’s just it… we ran into a few problems, and Chameleon is not as quick on her feet right now.” She said simply, which was why she had asked if the wolf would be able to support her weight on the way out. They hadn’t really needed rescuing once they found the exit. But the cavalry had arrived anyway, and if they wanted to move quickly, someone was going to be carrying the molecular manipulator all the way out.
Shortly after, Daylia paused in walking and launched the contents of her stomach onto the grass. Emlen’s expression contorted into a grimace, and she did her best to hold her breath in case Daylia’s second look at her lunch stank. “Ah! D!” She said, completely grossed out when Daylia asked Christian not to eat her vomit. “Foul!”
Narcissa came in from behind and started barking out orders. Thankfully they were within sight of the rendezvous point, and Remy was waiting.
Time skip.
Once they were safe within the walls of the base, Narcissa asked that she take Daylia to the infirmary, and she nodded, choosing not to say much in response. It wasn’t like she wanted to hear the debriefing of the mission anyway.
The blonde-haired grey-eyed marksman enjoyed the feeling of the weapon’s recoil as he fired. Each impact dug into his shoulder, the force reverberating into his joints and through his chest. It was like thunder was being mainlined to his heart. The flash of the muzzle flair was light starlight as he opened fire. Three short bursts of kinetic energy to propel pieces of lead at nearly 920 feet per second. In short, he was firing a 5.56 round at well over 600 miles per hour.
