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✦ At this Location: Park }{ Base (Infirmary)✦ Thinking About: Stubborn Little Mule ✦ While on Team: Omega ✦



At Blake's request that she escort Alice to the Infirmary, she of course obliged, making her way over to the new girl and introducing herself. She wasn't sure why she thought it would be easy to get a girl like that to acknowledge that she was injured and needed attention, but despite her friendly introduction, the girl spat back that she wasn't weak or broken, and that she wasn't going to go anywhere until she was sure that everyone else was back. Charlotte was many things, and she was as pleasant as they came, but she wasn't going to play babysitter because someone was as stubborn as a mule. The new girl even went so far as to challenge the redhead to try to get her to go along, threatening her, in some sense, with a boot to the chest.

Roland arrived and chimed in that their orders were to get them evacuated, and threatening that he had no problem forcing her to go through the portal if he needed to. Apparently, he had quite the resume, which he was happy to recite to her, starting with his experience keeping Narcissa from going nuclear. The redhead, while she certainly didn't have a reason to have a problem with the boy, couldn't stop herself from sighing slightly. She knew that his heart was in the right place, but boy did he need to learn that sometimes threats weren't the way to get someone to do what you wanted. If it came down to it, Charlotte was confident that she would be able to get the girl to go where they wanted her to go, with or without the brute's help. Still, it was nice to have the backup, if it came down to it. And, she didn't feel the need to call the girl out in public for it...

A slight frown settled onto her features as she looked her teammate over before moving back to look at Alice, arms crossing over her prominent chest, before releasing a soft sigh and leaning in towards the girl, speaking with a lowered voice.

"Listen, I know you're tough as nails, but even a boot to the chest isn't going to hurt much through all this paddin'. So, I'd prefer for you to hold your own weight, but I'm not afraid to take ya kickin' and screamin', if I have to. Besides, you've got enough damage there that I doubt you'd be able to do much to stop me once the adrenaline starts wearin' off and the pain kicks in. So, if you really want to put up a fight, we can do it that way, and I can let meathead there think he's helpin', or you can let those that can stand on their own take care of things here and we can get you checked out and to Elixir so you can do some damage again later. I promise, we'll make it look like you're walkin' off all on your own, ok? Up to you, darlin'." There was no malice or threat in her tone as she spoke to the girl, everything nice and even, despite the look on her face to indicate that she wouldn't be bossed around by someone she'd never even met before. It just wasn't in her nature.

Orchid asked if she had a cigarette, to which the redhead could only apologetically shake her head. Blake turned to the girl at that point and confirmed what she'd said, trying to impress on the girl that it wasn't because they didn't think she could be of any further use, but insisting that it was for her own safety that he was asking she be removed from the field. If her own words wouldn't get through, maybe the words of an (apparent) friend would? When he brought in the orders of their team leader, who had given express instructions that the injured should be moved back to the base, that was the end of the discussion. Peyton chimed in at that point, asking if she needed to get involved as well, to which the redhead only shook her head. It shouldn't take this many people to get one person, one injured person, to get their butts in gear towards the Infirmary.

When the Texan looked back at them, indicating that he was staying behind but they should go ahead through the Portal, the redhead gave him a firm nod to reassure him that she would take care of his request.

"Alright, you heard the man. Let's get you up and movin' toots," Charlotte muttered to her charge, offering a hand down to the girl to help her up before moving to give her whatever support the girl thought necessary. She wasn't out to embarrass the girl, and she would do whatever she could to help her preserve her "dignity," for whatever that was worth, but she was going to get the girl to the Infirmary, no matter what it took. She'd given her word, after all.

Thankfully, there wasn't too much of a fight by that point, the two girls making their way through the portal and back to the base before turning and immediately setting towards their destination in the lower levels. For just a moment she mused how embarrassing it would be if they got lost - their new home was such a maze, after all, but thankfully, they didn't run into that problem.

Once everyone was back on the base, their tiny leader sent a message to them through the comms, informing them that the mission was complete, but it hadn't been quite up to her standards. She could only hope that she wasn't one of the sorry individuals that were going to have words with Narcissa, as the girl promised. Sure, her first mission with the Omegas had been far from perfect, but she thought that she'd actually done a pretty good job on this one - she'd found the twins, had kept them safe (with a lot of help from her teammates) on their way back to the extraction point, and had guarded the point while the rest of their team made it that way before bringing one of the more injured to the Infirmary. There was always room for improvement, she knew that, but in comparison to her last mission? This one had gone well.

After a bit, Blake made an appearance in their room, Charlotte having elected to stick with Alice until she was told to leave by a doctor or one of her fellow teammates. Standing back as she was checked over, the redhead looked down at her comm, wishing that they would get an update on what was going on with the Alphas, and why they weren't back yet. It was natural for her to worry about Lyn, given she was the older of the two sisters, and since their mission hadn't exactly gone as planned, she could only hope that the other team hadn't experienced the same kind of set backs on their mission. At least she knew that the Alphas would take care of her sister if it came down to it. It didn't stop her from having that small pit of worrying in her stomach when she thought about everything that could have gone wrong.

"So, Alice, how do you know Blake? You guys seemed awfully chummy back there." Rather than dwell on her own thoughts, she figured she might as well try to get to know the girl a little bit. Of course, it was obvious that she could handle herself in a fight, even if the redhead hadn't been around to see the extent of her abilities.

It was that Texas twang that broke her attention from the girl, asking if anyone was home. She turned to see Blake, back to his original looks, peeking around to look in the room. "Yea, come on in, handsome," she called to him, stepping out of the way to give him more room to come in with a small smile on her lips.

"Hey, have we heard anything from the Alphas? Seems like they've been gone awhile." Any idiot, or at least any idiot that knew her, would be able to see that she was trying to figure out if she needed to be more concerned about her sister, or if they had been expected to be gone this long. If anyone would know, she figured it would be Blake. After all, she could only guess that there was a certain raven-haired songstress he was eager to get a status update on as well.

This is a fight to the d e a t h,xxxxxxxx
Our holy war,xx
A new romance,xxxxxxxxxxx
A trojan whorexxxxx

We will, we will, we will rise again
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This is a f i g h t for the day,xxxxx
Night,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Black and whitexxxxxxxx
A victory dance,xxxxxx
A burning riotxxxxxxxxxxxx

We will, we will, we will r i s e again



Alice couldn’t help the grin that was threatening to overtake her features. She missed this. Their back and forth banter, between jokes and half-serious truths. It was pretty often that she turned her potty mouth up to eleven whenever she was around him, just to watch the nervous tick it would cause in the Southern gentleman. He probably would try anything short of sewing her mouth shut if it meant getting a few moments of swear-free conversation from her. Blake would never be cruel enough to take it that far, however. As much as he disliked her colorful language, he never seemed offended. He seemed… Amused. And she liked it. He never once asked her to be anything but herself, foul-mouth city vernacular and all.

She nodded, “Yeah, you do, and it might get you in more trouble than you’d ever intend to be in.” She winked at him playfully before turning her attention to the situation at hand. All jokes aside, they were in the middle of a pretty serious fight. But it was like old times. It wasn’t often that the two of them had a chance to practice, train, or actually fight alongside one another, but this was still like riding a bicycle to her. Even when they both sprung into action and took down the giant robot, even when a devastating hit sent Alice flying through the air like a gnat, even when she hit the pillar and felt her ribs crack. They were in this together.

After that, everything moved so quickly. She was scooped up by a stranger, carried off to a different location. She tried to pay attention to something other than the throbbing pain that was shooting through her body. But every jostling movement made it impossible to ignore. Even with the refreshing banter between the two boys. She found it hard to laugh, and harder to retort after a while. “Now, now… No need to… ugh… fight over little ol’ me.” She spat blood and decided to try to keep her talking to a minimum for now.

When she was traded off of Aren and into Blake’s care, she was careful to show the bruises that she knew would be there. She could practically feel them turn ugly shades of purple and blue. She snorted a laugh, mostly just air out of a nose to keep herself from really laughing. “Definitely. I always picture you riding a horse with straw hanging out of your mouth, too.” She shifted her weight, trying to get as much of it as possible off of her side. The way he spoke made her laugh, laying on that accent heavier than whipped cream. “Nah I don’t know bout somethin’ like that, sir, but I’m sure a strong Southern gentleman such as yerself could fix me up even if my brains were scrambled,” she retorted, the southern belle accent atrociously thick.

And then, she was being pushed off into the care of someone else. She didn’t know who gave Blake the order to jump back into the action, but she absolutely wasn’t okay to be thrusted off into the arms of some stranger to be babysat while he went running head first back into danger. He seriously couldn’t expect her to follow along like a good little puppy and go back to wherever it was that they were getting taken to. She hadn’t even seen the new base yet, and she was about to get thrown into a portal leading to it by a bunch of strangers. Naturally, Alice’s fight or flight activated with whatever remaining adrenaline she had left in her system.

Between the redhead barking at her, and then Blake, and then some other guy. Wait, where did he even come from? It seemed that everyone was ready to pick Alice up like a sack of potatoes and toss her into the portal whether she liked it or not. Growling under her breath, she grabbed her gloves and pulled them onto her hands with as much attitude as a teenage girl getting told that she had to change clothes before she left the house by her father. She looked at those that were surrounding her before finally strapping her gloves into place. “Fine. Three things first. One,” she held up a finger before pointing a Charlotte, “stop with the pet names. Two,” she jabbed her finger at Blake, “As soon as I’m better, I’m kicking your a**. And three,” she looked at the other guy, Roland, “you better at least buy me dinner before you start shoving me anywhere.”

With that, she turned, her hand on her ribs firmly, and limbed her injured a** through the portal. She hated the feeling of passing through those damn things. It always reminded her of the drop on a roller coaster, you know, the way it makes your stomach feel like it just turned inside out? And combined with the feelings of disappointment, weakness, and being treated like a child in front of total strangers, all sprinkled on top of throbbing pain, made her feel like she was going to either spontaneously combust, vomit, or faint. But as she walked, and her heart beat stopped hammering away in her chest, each hard pulse making her vision go just a little bit dark, she figured it was going to be the last one.

However, just as she thought she was going to become intimate with the floor, she felt an arm catch her and escort her into the medical bay. Whoever it was, she was grateful for their quick judgement, even if having someone almost carrying her made her feel uncomfortable.

When they entered the sterilized, and bright, room, she was shown the bed. She wiggled onto the elevated surface. As soon as she was no longer moving, the room stopped spinning and fading in and out, which was a major relief. But damn, her side hurt. She moved about to look down at the bruising, lifting her shirt to do so before finally just scrapping the garment all together. Either she take it off now, or who ever was going to be wrapping her up was going to cut it off. She grit her teeth tight as the simple task seemed to set her muscles on fire.

She sat, awkwardly, with the others that had seemed to join her in her medical adventures. "You know, you don't have to stick around. I'm not a child." She tried to shift her weight and lean away from her bruised side, though the stretch caused just as much discomfort as the weight of her sitting did. Sleeping was going to suck.

Charlotte, instead, asked a question of her own and Alice shrugged the one shoulder that didn't hurt. "He's a friend. Brought me to the mansion. Saved me from myself. Whatever." She didn't like talking about it. How she was back then. Destructive, uncontrollable. She was still one of those things, but not both. Alice reached up to bring her hair over to the side that wasn't shaved, fingers brushing over bare scalp as she did.

Blake's voice, however, caught her attention. She raised her gaze towards him, her expression not changing much. She was still pissed that she had been forced through the portal when she could have done something, anything, to help. Or at least he could have let her wait until he was back from being a damn hero. If she didn't hurt so bad, she would punch him. Hard. With a chair. Even if it wouldn't do any good. "Hey, country boy, you think they'll give me good drugs as congratulations on taking down a giant, mutant killing robot?"

[OOC: Editted. Alice is now in a bra.]



This is a fight for love, lust, hate, desire
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We are the children of the great empire

Name: Leonardo Rossi
Team: Alphas
Location: Outside Prison - Inside Prison
The Quiet Before the Storm

They were trapped, cornered, and without a lot of options. One of the first things that ran through Leo’s mind was ‘How did this happen to them?’. They were the X-Men, a supposedly elite mutant fighting force. Things like traps didn’t actually trap them because they were supposed to be so great and amazing. Was their intelligence wrong? Did they botch something in the planning stage? In all honesty, there were a lot of things wrong with the junior X-Men. There was a list quickly compiling in Leo’s head of what were the problems, and possible solutions, and that list would be presented probably not too kindly to whoever was in charge when they got back.

However, he didn’t have time to sit there and think about what was wrong. He had to get everyone out of there alive before he could fly off the handle.

Katerina was explaining to him what the inside was like, and he was luckily correct in guessing that the prison would have safe areas where staff and guards could access and not have prisoners get to them. Luckily, that meant that more than likely, SHIELD couldn’t get to them either. The shapeshifter had mentioned something about access codes, but Leo wasn’t worried about that. They had enough people and powers to block off the entrance and hold them off until they could get the barrier down.

A plan had already started to formulate, which was basically to attack the source of the cage that was holding them in, but apparently Julian had a better idea, as he suddenly teleported away with no explanation. In a less stressful situation, Leonardo would be more than miffed if someone just ran off without even the slightest hint as to what they were doing or where they were going, but right now, Leo just wished whatever was going on in the teleporter’s head was smart enough to save them. If it wasn’t… then Leo would have to improvise.

Through all of this, he heard Bella’s voice come over the comm. She gave out the orders that any good leader would do – keep calm and stick together. She ordered her group to move out to Leo’s, and he was about to protest because they had virtually no cover and had no way of protecting themselves, but then she said something that gave him pause. Her tone was eerie, like that of someone that was so sure of themselves. She said that SHIELD had underestimated them – Leo would have said that there was some of that going on with both sides of this current conflict. World governments had been bagging and tagging mutants for years, if not decades… they knew what they were doing.

He could feel Kat’s eyes on him, and only gave her a small glance. She looked confused – she was used to thinking that Bella had no sort of spine. By the way she was looking at him, it was almost as if she had expected those words to have come out of his mouth, instead of the siren’s. In all honesty, they could have, and they really shouldn’t have come out of Bella. Bella wasn’t like him – at least, she shouldn’t be.

Leo keyed his comm and made sure it was sent out to both Alpha teams, “A better idea might be to heard towards the prison. Sounds stupid, I know, but it’ll at least give us a fighting chance of holding off SHIELD until we can get that barrier taken down and call for a long-range teleport.” Then with a quick button-press he was called in to just Isabella. “Don’t do anything I would do,” he said hoarsely, the faintest hint of plea etched into his words. To some, it might have seemed like a weird communication – Leo was an experienced fighter, especially when it came to the people he had worked for. Bella would understand what it meant, though: Don’t do anything that the animal in me would do.

At that moment, he noticed that the hydrokinetic of their group, Marcel, was dispatching some guards that had noticed them. Luckily, the only ones that had noticed them were knocked out, and the rest were too busy either digging themselves or their friends out of rubble. Then Marcel mentioned something about the prison having escape routes, to which Leonardo furrowed his brow. Escape routes? In a prison? “Even a prison like this wouldn’t have an escape route,” he explained with as much kindness yet candidness he could muster. “In times of crisis, the guards would take a VIP to a fortified area and hole up until any sort of threat subsided – which is exactly what we’re going to do.”

Bella’s plea came through loud and clear, and Leo’s face turned into a grimace. If anyone should be the sacrificial lion to bring them home, it should be him. Either way, Bella gave him a task, and he was going to perform it to the best of his ability. “No one gets left behind,” was all he said, in a very final way. That meant everyone, including those that were going onto the helicarrier. Even if Leo had to come back for them, he was getting them out, one way or the other.

Katerina started to insult Bella’s leadership choices to Leo, and at first, the only thing Leo could do was return the same glare she was giving him. It was understandable for someone with her personality to lash out and attack something that wasn’t the actual problem, but Renaissance Man had just about had enough of the Italian’s running mouth. Baring his teeth, he shouted, "Christ, Katerina, don’t you ******** care–”

His rant was cut short by a familiar sound and a hand on his shoulder. Leo instinctively snapped his eyes shut and held his breath as he was teleported. It was something he had done many times before, so he knew that in order to deal with the disorientation that almost always came with a sudden teleportation, he had to act like he was jumping into a pool of water before taking in the new surroundings.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in one of the prison bunkers – good. Katerina had come with him, but he soon saw that he was not alone with his nemesis; two by two, the Alphas populated the medium-sized room in the next few seconds. He saw Aurelie, and any sort of anger he’d had aimed at Katerina started to fade. "Aurie,” he said, voice a hoarse whisper. She was injured, and was showing signs of fatigue. Really, almost all of them were, especially the ones that had been with Bella’s group. Fortunately, most of Leo’s team was still fresh, save for maybe Tara. Turning his attention to the rest of the group, he quickly started to count them off, as well as identify who was injured. There was Raine, Marcel, Aurelie (injured), Tara (fatigued), Katerina, Lynette, Thomas, Esben, and Gabriel (injured). “Dammit,” Leonardo whispered when he got a good look at Gabriel, who looked like he had been shot in the leg. Honestly, it could be worse.

Keying up Julian on his comm, Leo spoke, “Eidolon, if you’re going to do anything after taking down the barrier, do it quickly. If they find out what you’re doing, they might just start hosing the area.” If that happened, there wasn’t really much they could do, other than pray someone survived in the rubble.

“Alright guys,” Leonardo addressed the group softly. They had bought themselves a good amount of time by teleporting into the prison, and the last thing he needed was everyone freaking out. “All we have to do is keep SHIELD at bay until the barrier is taken down, and then we can call in for a portal to be opened and we can all get out of here.” Then, he started to move through the room, putting reassuring hands on shoulders to those he was addressing. His voice also raised a little, like that would a battle commander giving calm, yet stern orders. “If you have an injury, head over to that corner,” he pointed to a back corner, the one furthest from the door. He made sure to make a pointed glance at Aurelie. It was at this point that he came to Thomas. “Make sure everyone is patched up and ready to go. Take care of Gabriel first.”

He moved towards the front of the room, and reached the door. “Glitter and Blaze, take point at the door. Everyone else willing and able, take up defensive positions around the room, making sure to spread out. No need to hit each other if things go sour.” He didn’t want to tell them that the main reason for spreading out was so they wouldn’t all be bunched up have one grenade take out all of them, so he left that part out. “Also Glitter, fry the control panel. That should slow them down.” With no controls to use or even override, the heavy metal door wouldn’t be opening by conventional means any time soon.

Returning to the back of the room, he muttered to Katerina, “I want you with them,” pointing to the corner that he had designated as their makeshift medical ward. He knew that Katerina wouldn’t refuse if it meant she was able to protect Aurelie. Turning back to the rest of the room, he said, “Everyone, defend yourselves by any means necessary. And I mean any means.” Would he feel bad if someone had to kill a government agent in order to protect themselves or someone else? Sure, but he was not going to lose any of his people today, even if it meant he had to resort his old methods of dealing with problems like this.


((OOC: This post is a bit rushed, and I apologize for any errors/anything or anyone skipped. Please message me if I forgot to include you or an important detail you feel should be included.))

Gabriel Byrne
Location: HUMVEE/Prison Bunker
Thoughts: Poof! I’m still bleeding over here…
Gabriel’s leg continued to bleed, the red flowing from the hole that tore open the flesh in his muscle and skin. He was fortunate it had not, by the looks of it, hit the femoral artery. That said he needed attention immediately, otherwise things might not look too good for him. Though as far as getting shot goes, its not as horrifying as one might think. As long as he didn’t try to remove the bullet he was all right; he risked ripping open a blood vessel. Bullets are sterile, mostly due to the heat from the initial discharge, so any risk of infection was nonexistent. In fact the whole “biting the bullet” concept from old movies was all just to show how tough the hero was, no doctor in their right mind would try to remove a bullet. But his priority right now was getting the bleeding to stop.

Which was made a tad bit difficult by the fact that he just drove straight into the entrance of the prison facility. It rattled his brain a bit, throwing him off kilter, even more so due to the sudden loss of blood. He tried to find a med kit; they likely had one, just in case something happened. He’d been recently reading up on Vetigel, a new medical compound that acts as a stimulant to the natural clotting process. Just a little bit of that, and he might be able to stop the bleeding. Of course in his attempts to paw around, the sudden arrival of Julian in the cab surprised him. And in a split second he was… well he wasn’t sure where he was. He guessed a bunker? He took note of the rest of the team down there, with Leo taking charge in Bella’s stead. He did not seem entirely enthused by the sight of Gabriel’s injuries. Understandable. He wouldn’t be too thrilled were he in his position either.

“The price for trying to be confident right?” he said somewhat sarcastically. His leg hurt for chrissake, leave him be. Orders went about from Leo asking Thomas to help him out first when checking the wounded. To which he sat there, just kinda wondering what was up next.

“So I take it we are waiting here for now?he asked no one in particular. Raising his weapon, he shouldered it as he heard the standing orders to defend themselves, preparing to get any sort of medical attention.

“Let me know if you need me to let loose my tungsten rounds. Just be prepared to carry me out of here.” he offered. He rarely used his mutation, primarily because of what it did to him, but now would probably be the appropriate time to do so. Given the circumstances he was about ready to do anything to make sure they came back safe and sound from this situation.

Anything is better than what they were in right now.

OOC: Let me know if I missed anything, I’ll edit accordingly. Sorry for the short post.

It seemed every person who happened to luck out (if it could be called luck, really) and be born with an X-Gene seemed to also have the perfect combination of life events that led them to either being collared, killed, or an X-Man. Madison Doyle had, surprisingly enough, avoided being killed so far. Of course, she had certainly killed some of those who had tried to do the deed. When you can make knives and arrows with your mind, it doesn’t usually lead to hugging it out with people like the Brotherhood of Mutants. Collaring, so far as she could remember, hadn’t happened yet. That had been mostly thanks to her secondary mutation, a perception filter, which kept her off the radar so long as she wasn’t too clumsy. Now, the part about being an X-Man, that was more complicated.

See, Maddy had gotten out. When she was younger, she had been a student at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. She even had the “privilege” of being recruited to the Omegas, one of the two elite teams for the students there. As far as she had always understood it, they were basically broken up into teams of Scott-Summers-Do-No-Harm-Sucking-On-Xavier’s-Dreamsicle, and Watch-These-Kids-Please-They-May-Very-Well-Become-The-Next-Magneto. But being an Omega, dealing with all the brain-washings, mutilations, and sewer running had just… burnt her out.

Unfortunately for her, being ingrained with an all-consuming need to risk one’s self in the way they always did doesn’t really have a support group. No Super Heroes Anonymous. Which largely explained why she had bounced back into the life of running on rooftops and shooting people with arrows several times in the past two years since high school. Sometimes with the Omegas, and sometimes on her own, up in Boston. Hell, she was still wearing her old uniform.

This brought her to now, up in a tree, looking down the scope of a standard issue SHIELD sniper rifle pointed at two people standing outside the prison looking confused. The gun’s owner was buried under a mess of sticks and leaves at the base of the tree. Maddy had managed to get a tip from one of her informants about a mutant prison out here, and gotten the idea that she could maybe sneak in, mess with some computers, and get out with some people completely unnoticed. That was her MO after all. What she hadn’t expected was a whole host of Scott-Summers-Do-No-Harm-Sucking-On-Xavier’s-Dreamsicles, AKA Alphas, raising the alarms and having SHIELD on their asses. But now, if she caught the light at the right angle through her scope, she could see the tell-tale shimmer of a barrier around the prison.

Maddy recognized one of the two who were left outside the barrier, at least, a blond girl whose name she couldn’t quite remember. Alex, or Alexi, or Alexandra. Something like that. The other, the boy in 2007 cargo pants with her [Luke], she did not recognize.AS they walked away from the barrier and towards her, Maddy strapped the gun the her back, with her bow, and slowly made her way back down the tree. She could here Alexandra saying she couldn’t get through to the others on the comms, which didn’t really surprise Maddy. The signal would be essentially drowned out by the barrier, although there were ways to work around that.

The two Alphas were feet away from her when she dropped down out of the tree, dropping onto all fours. If she had stayed above them, they would have never even noticed her, or, for that matter ,been able to consciously recognize that somebody was there, even if they were looking right at her. Again, yay perception filters.

Maddy pulled back her hood and put her hands on her waist, looking at the two in front of her. “Aww, did the cool kids leave you behind?” she asked, with a smirk.

Not waiting for a response, Maddy pulled out her old comm from the clip on her belt. It was a banged up, worn thing, but it still worked, usually. “They’ll work better if we get to higher ground,” she said, shaking it. “Plus you can bet there’s a s**t-ton more SHIELD on their way, so we should get to higher ground anyways to try and give your people cover if they manage to make it out.”

“Also, hi.”

"Hey, even if I was a licensed barber, I'd excel at it. Like I do everything else," the brunette responded to Dimitri's comment. The grin on her features would betray the fact that she was kidding, though the reality of it all was that she was confident she'd be able to do anything she put her mind to. It was one of the qualities that was going to help her succeed in the future. And everyone knew, Raine had a future that went beyond the X-Men. She was probably one of the few students that put as much emphasis on her academics as she did on her team activities.

Aurelie joked that they would have to test out "dolling up" Esben when they got back to the base, he brunette nodding enthusiastically. "Anything for a makeover." A coy smile spread across her features, though it was clear that she was only kidding around. She and the blonde telekinetic had good taste in common - there was no way they would ever make him look bad, once they got ahold of him. All that was predicated on the notion that they could survive the night, however. Gunfire erupted around them, the brunette turning her focus to the mission and the mission only.

The Alphas made their way inward, while Raine responded to the call to clear out one of the surrounding towers, which housed several snipers. She was able to take care of it with relative ease, taking care to secure the soldiers she had knocked out so they couldn't just rejoin the fray when they came to. Rejoining the rest of her teammates, she took her place per Bella's instructions, ushering the freed prisoners away from danger and holding down the line as best she could.

As the barrier descended over their position from above, the brunette took a moment to survey the situation, reaching out and trying to siphon off some of the energy crackling along the edge in an attempt to find a way out. Unfortunately, but predictably, it didn't make a dent. She inwardly sighed as she took a step back from the bars of their new cage, turning to Dimitri as he complimented her thinking. Her shoulders rose and fell slightly, "Yea, it was worth a shot."

Julian made an appearance, a plan forming to get them out from this trap. The plan seemed limited to himself, Bella and Dimitri, which left the rest of them to defend themselves until they could get out of this place. Their instructions were clear - if they weren't with them, they were against them, and they were to do whatever was necessary to take care of their own. Everyone, even the prisoners they thought they were saving, were the enemy. It left the brunette with a sour taste in her mouth. This was the first time, the first mission, that she felt...lost. Everything had happened so quickly, she wasn't even sure whose side they were supposed to be fighting on anymore. At this point, it was all about survival.

Aurelie raised a telekinetic barrier around them to protect the team from gunfire while their teleporter took the necessary parties to effectuate their plan. The firefly checked in with the blonde, wanting to make sure that she didn't overexert herself. If she released a timed blast, she could probably disable their assailants long enough to give the blonde a slight reprieve. She nodded when the girl said she was fine, asking the others to stay close to her. Slowly, but surely, they made their way towards the entrance, where they would meet up with Leo and his group. It was slow going, understandably, her hazel eyes continually moving over to their telekinetic to monitor her exhaustion. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't right that that it always seemed to come back to Aurie to protect the group, constantly pushing her to the limits of her abilities. It was impressive, for sure, but she wondered if they were becoming too reliant on her in a pinch.

Siege's voice came through the comms, informing them that he was on his way to the entrance with transportation for them, but that he might be bleeding out. It took Raine a little off guard - he really should be more concerned about that than he sounded. Hazel eyes turned, searching for someone else that seemed as concerned about it as she did. True, they weren't besties, but they were teammates, and if he was in medical danger, she wanted - no, needed - to make sure that he was ok.

Almost out of nowhere, Julian appeared once more, grabbing them two by two and bringing them to a bunker in a flash of smoke, where the rest of the group was waiting. Staggering away from the teleporter as he left her, hazel eyes moved around to her surroundings, taking note of the people around them and their varying statuses. Lyn, being her normal self, happily greeted them, though her chipper demeanor seemed to melt away into a simple, friendly smile. It was probably for the best - the longer they hung out here, the more dire their situation seemed.

Her gaze turned to Leo as he addressed the group, watching him intently as he explained that they needed to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. at bay until the other could take down the barrier and they could call for an extraction. They were supposed to get checked out if they were injured in any way, which she wasn't, and then specific orders started being given from their makeshift leader. He asked her and Lyn to take point at the door, to protect the rest of the team, as well as take care of the control panel, which should slow down their pursuers.

"Yes, Sir," she responded simply indicating that she understood before nodding to Lyn to indicate that they were now buddies. "Come on, Red, we're the bouncers," she said to the girl with a grin, motioning for their half of the twins to follow her as she headed towards the door in question. Locating the control panel, her fingers glided over it for a moment before tiny beams of electricity flashed from her fingertips and danced across the surface of the control panel before the whole thing erupted in a spray of sparks.

A contented sigh escaped her as she turned from her work, joining Lyn by the door to keep a look out. There was something satisfying about using her powers to put a literal heavy metal door between her friends and danger - it could become their primary form of defense for the time being, while the rest of her team took to finding defensive positions and preparing themselves for yet another fight for their lives. Leo instructed them to use whatever means necessary to defend themselves, Raine's hands forming fists on either side of her body as she turned her sights back to the door.

"Lyn, would you be alright with standing back just a little? If someone tries to get in, I think I can slow them down somewhat by pulsing some electricity through this door. If it's solid metal, it'll be a good conductor. I'd hate for you to get accidentally electrocuted."

“I thought you said your men were the best…”, Scourge sneered darkly at the lovely Agent Drew. His guttural tones broke the tense silence of the bridge, causing several of the flight deck officers to flinch. The dark haired S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent seemed not to notice his taunt, or she simply didn’t care. Her fingers flew over the system that kept her in constant communication with the different units, expression devoid of any emotion that would give away her thought process. “How exactly did a baker’s dozen mutants slip through your fingers when they can’t cross the barrier?”

“I should have gone after them myself.”

“No.”, Agent Drew responded tersely, pointing out a cluster of red dots on the map. It took her a moment to realize that the dots were underground, just beneath them. “They’re here… They’re hiding in the prison itself—In the riot bunkers…”

With so many concentrated mutant signatures bleeding red on the mini-map she didn’t realize that a few of them were actually above ground. More specifically, on the carrier itself. “There are also a few stranglers in the south-west corner of the woods. No visual, but I’m deploying another unit. They’re probably trying to get outside of the blackout zone to call for help.”

Scourge was silent for a moment as he rubbed his chin—enjoying the view of Agent Drew’s backside far more than her report. He was beginning to see why they had such trouble capturing and containing the creature feature evolved humans they chased.

They were too indirect. They were children playing a game of tag with hungry rabid tigers.

“Put me on the monitor screens in the bunker, Ms. Drew. I’d like to greet our guests properly.”, he demanded after a moment. He didn’t like what he saw. Why would they put themselves in a cage? It was exactly where he wanted them to be…Which meant that was the last place the mutants would have willingly fled.

The flat screen monitors lit up within the bunker and the cameras in the corners of the room flared to life. A blinking red light signaled that they were suddenly in use. His visage was eerie from the captain’s chair, complete with a garish mask and white topped fedora. “Give up.”, his voice boomed through the room, invisible threats lingering in the silence he allowed to follow.

“You cannot outrun us…. There is nowhere to hide. You will never be safe…”, Scourge went on, deliberately trying to provoke an emotional response within the people he’d been well paid to help capture. “Even if some of you escape…”

“…I will find you. The longer you remain on the run…The longer I’ll have your accomplices to keep me company.”, he went on, watching the cameras on his end to see which of them snapped first. They’d already a rather rude awakening…He could only imagine how on edge some of them were. “Tick tock…”

“Our soldiers will get to you eventually. I give it about twenty-minutes—“

Scourge stopped talking when red lights began to flash in the bridge and all of their screens turned to the surveillance on the main deck. Hearing his handler swear he followed her line of sight. A slow grin rolled underneath his mask as excitement boiled in his blood. “You really are too much. You lock yourselves in the prison for me…And sent gifts. Who ever said terrorists weren’t thoughtful?”

From there the man chucked and stood up, walking off camera. A few moments later a dark haired woman filled the screen. She didn’t appear unkind, but there wasn’t an ounce of leniency within her. She was a team player, and a company girl. The sounds of gunfire echoed from somewhere in the distance. The alarm blared angrily, menacing. “…We never wanted it to be this way. We had no choice.”

“I would do what he asks…For your friends. For yourselves. If you resist, he won’t spare them. Or you.”

The screens went blank and turned into a slowly spinning S.H.I.E.L.D. logo—But the audio remained strong. There were shouts amidst pregnant pauses. The sounds of an extremely violent struggle. Eventually the voices returned.

“Tell them to come out and play nicely…Or I’ll be forced to liberate your brains from your skull.”

“This is against protocol—Scourge—What are you doing?”

“Stay out of this, Agent—“, there was more of a scuffle, followed by the unmistakable sound of something solid hitting flesh. “I SAID TELL—”

And then the sound was gone too, leaving the group in the bunker with complete and deafening silence.



"We shake them, we break them. We win."

Scourge dropped the terrified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that he’d stolen from a data station at random. The kid was out cold, and fell into a heap. One glance at Drew told him that he’d pissed his keeper off by pistol whipping one of her babies a few times. “You ought to train your cannon fodder better. I barely sneezed on him.”

“Don’t do that again, or I’ll have you locked up with the rest of them.”, Drew spat out, putting on her bullet proof vest as they prepared to mount an assault on the mutants that had set foot on her helicarrier. Enough was enough. She wanted to end this.

Scourge didn’t bother with weapons or armor and walked out with the rest of the soldiers.

He whistled as he walked down the hallway, mostly unhurried. He was grateful for the change of pace. Finally some ******** action.









Note: This post pertains to the Alphas.