He snorted into his glass when Alice suggested he become a politician like his father. "I'd rather not get that much time in the lime light, thank you kindly." Not that the idea wasn't a good one... But after growing up confined to the stringent expectations of the voter base, he wanted out quick, fast and in a hurry. "Besides, I doubt any legislation that came to pass during my tenure would do as it promised. That sort of change brought about by politics does no more than draw the line in a bolder print. And that's assuming no one assassinates those who are in favor of the move."
Their conversation moved back to his heart and the amber liquid sloshed against the walls of his glass. He nodded enthusiastically when she suggested more liquor and motioned for the bar tender to pour them some more. "May as well leave that bottle in reach." He instructed, helping himself to another glass. "It's gonna be a long night of drowning bad memories."
And brawls, apparently. He jokingly accused her of starting the last one with the camera guy as they trounced down the sidewalk in search of another establishment. He paid the cover for another by stuffing a bill into the bouncer's hand, and they found a table for two in the back. "Innocent as my father is too poor to whitewash. How many is that we've been kicked out of now?" He asked, glancing up at the sky with one eye closed as though it would help him count. Alcohol had stolen the ability from him.
Laughter spilled out of him when his earth-shaking friend dubbed him the prodigal son, though it didn't sound as bitter as it might have in a different state of mind. He winced when someone missed a high note, but then carried on as though the woman had not assaulted his ears. "I think you got some of those rose-colored glasses on in regards to me." He murmured with a c**k-eyed grin. "I ain't no more perfect than the next man. Just 'cause I got manners that would make a Mama proud doesn't mean any of those other things are true. But you're sweet as molasses for thinking it. "
He would have loved to be the guy she described - someone stable. A guy some girl aspired to settle down with, but that world had long been closed off to the lot of them. Mutants didn't get peace. A mutant with a politician father who hated anyone different certainly didn't. "Honestly, I think I might have been selfish to even think anyone would want to enter my world." Alice was right on one thing - if he was ever lucky enough to end up with someone, she would need to be strong. No one thin-skinned would last in his life. The pressure, the constant critique, the expectation to appear perfect. Anyone shouldering the smallest of cracks would buckle. "No one deserves to be put through that brand of Hell for the sake of having a relationship."
It took little convincing for the waitress to find them some pizza, and almost as soon as she slid the box in front of them, they began to inhale it. "Next time I have to attend a gala, you're on little Miss." He said around a second piece, cramming it down with such urgency one might have thought he hadn't eaten in weeks. She mentioned his father, and Blake choked at the thought. "A few seconds with him, and you'll think he's a mutant. He certainly has the scales for it." He shook her hand to seal the bet. "One condition. I pick the dress and the shoes."
They left soon after in search of a hotel. As he stumbled and slurred, he still tried to make Alice see Bella for the angel she was, but his old friend would have none of it. "She's a good heart. Cares more about the people around her than herself." He said, grabbing Alice's shoulder so he could look her squarely in the eye so she would know just how truthful the statement was.
While the sound manipulator had broken his heart, how could he blame her for not sharing his affections? She knew better than most the life Blake constantly hid from; even if she had ever an inkling of a crush... Why would she risk so much? Not that it mattered... He had seen nothing in her face that indicated she had even considered him in that way. Frowning, the still-fresh memory haunted him. Her expression held none of what he had hoped for so long. It was that memory, that apologetic expression that he fell asleep to, with her name still on his lips.
Sleeping off the drunken exhaustion took less than a handful of hours, and soon the Texan jumped to life - intending for Alice to do the same. "I love you too, doll face." He said, grinning, still obviously drunk. He instructed her to wake up so they could drink like Cooter Brown, and the reference went over her head.
Scratching the back of his sand-colored hair, the cowboy shrugged. "Cootie Brown?" He tried, but was met with the same blank look. "You know, Cooter Brown. Lived on the line that divided the north and south. He stayed drunk the whole of the war so that he was useless in the military and wouldn't be drafted to either side. That Cooter Brown." Putting one hand to the side of his mouth, he attempted to whisper to her as though it were a secret. "We gotta catch up."
Impatient with his newfound energy, Alice tackled him and held a pillow to his face - only for him to dissolve beneath her and reassemble next to the bed. Picking his fingers, he clicked his tongue admonishingly against his teeth. "Because that was totally going to work. You know, you're a might rude for trying to kill your friend."
Inspired by a sudden idea, Blake somersaulted over the bed to reach the phone and picked it up. "Yes, con-see-airge. Bring up some energy drinks! I don't care which!" And with that, he slammed down the phone to the base and then remembered something. Picking up the phone again, he didn't bother to listen to see if someone answered before adding to his order. "The penthouse suite!"
Alice growled out that he was a monster and Blake threw his head back to laugh. "No! I'm a mutant!" He exclaimed happily. Until she mentioned her panties. That sobered him momentarily and then he lurched as he turned his back to her. "Oh! Right! Shouldn't see those." He said in a sing-songy voice. Cracking another smile, he glanced back over his shoulder. "Then again...." He teased before looking back to the door to allow her some privacy.
-The next day, officially-
The night's festivities had left the stale taste of whiskey in his mouth, his pants on the floor, and their second hotel room completely in disarray. Covers were sodden, hanging from the shower rod, (He vaguely remembered yelling at Alice that the water was cold, and that had been her solution to warm him up.) the drawers to the dresser were all stacked on the balcony, both mattresses were on one bed, and the amount of empty liquor bottles on the floor suggested he bought the corner liquor store out.
Unable to open his eyes completely, he winced as the light caused his head to split further than the crack on the Liberty bell. "Not sure that second round was the best idea I have ever had." He muttered, picking himself off the floor.
Rubbing the span of his face with his palm, he struggled to fully wake up and take in the wrecked room. "Well, at least nothing is broken." Groaning like an old man with gout, he slowly worked his way around the room, cleaning up what he could. Certain spills -alcohol abuse as they had joked - would need a professional steamer, but at least the trash would be off the floor. Exchanging a glance in the earth-shaker's direction, he cocked his head with a question. "About how much of a tip do you think I should leave for the poor sod that has to come in here after we check out?"
-And Back to Canada-
The last week had left Blake no less heart-broken, but once the paparazzi escapade and rumors of a new girlfriend reached his father's ears, he had dodged out of the facility again to deal with the aftermath of his night out. At least, that's what he had told himself.
In all honesty, it had been easier to be gone than to deal with the mess he made with Bella. His pride made it difficult to return, but staying at home offered more problems than he cared to borrow. After five days of leave, Blake found himself at the X-men's doors again, unable to break his promises to the people there.
He immediately retracted his team transfer request, (which made Scott all too happy) and reported to Narcissa that, short of unpredictable changes with his father's campaign, he would not be leaving the base again until November.
Alice hadn't been hard to find, and thankfully she had not begrudged him any trouble she might have been in when they got back to the base, and they fell into step once more. They had been in the gym when Narcissa made the announcement about the team simulation, and he sighed at the thought of working with the Alpha’s. "This should be as fun as a carnival ride that flew off its hinges." He said, his southern twang thicker since he spent time at home.
Changing into their gear, they made it in time to hear the rules. Narcissa's addition that they couldn't eliminate each other caused the smallest of smiles to ghost his expression, because he had been planning on doing just that to avoid crossing Bella's path. If the Alpha leader had spoken, his eyes never trailed her direction to indicate he heard her. Instead, he focused on the blond bombshell next to him. "I assume we'll be working together. If you want to shake them up a bit, I am an excellent shot. My only humble request is that we stay away from... certain adversaries." No doubt Alice would rather go directly to her and confront the person in question. That she hadn't yet was a miracle.
Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 4:29 pm
LOCATION: BAR HOPPING IN NASHVILLE > HOTEL > BASE // COMPANY: BLAKE // THOUGHTS: WANNA SEE IF HER HEAD IS AS EMPTY AS I THINK... // MUSIC: HURRICANE // CLOTHES: UNIFORM
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 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This is a f i g h t for the day,xxxxx Night,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Black and whitexxxxxxxx Avictory dance,xxxxxx A burning riotxxxxxxxxxxxx
We will, we will, we will r i s e again
Alice smirked from around the rim of her glass.“I think you’d be perfect for it, being all good looking and all. You’d be bachelor of the year, if not on one of those ‘Hottest Guys of the Year’ lists.”But, then again, Blake was a bit more timid with other people than he was with her. She had formed this kind of friendship with him. He didn’t take the same kind of jabs at others like he did with her. He was no Ryan Reynolds, that was for sure.“Crazier things have happened.” Her eyes drifted to the waitress when her companion told her to leave the bottle. It would take a lot more than liquor to wash the taste out of his mouth from Bella’s piss poor apology. But, it turns out that fighting was a good distraction. So was bar hopping. Even as they moved from one establishment to another, they laughed the whole way. The perks of having money and a decent piece at your side is that you don’t get denied entrance, and they skipped more than a handful of lines. “I think we are on bar number four or five. I can’t remember, they are all starting to blend together.”She pressed a cool set of fingers against her warm cheek. Maybe this was number six. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind when Blake spoke up again with that goofy a** grin of his. “Nah, c’mon. You got a good heart. It isn’t just about manners. Sure you got that southern hospitality thing going for you, but you’re not an a*****e like Paula Deen. You care about people, why else would you be recruiting dumb kids like me?”
“We’re in the same world. If you really think your side of the grass is really that dry and dead, then get some fertilizer and water the s**t out of your lawn. Don’t be a baby.”She reached across the table, poking his forehead maybe a little too hard in her drunken state.“Being different ain’t easy, but it sure as s**t is interesting.”She took a long drink before the waitress came as a distraction, convincing her to get them a pizza. Their conversation moved on to some sort of gala, to prove that she could be a lady. “A few seconds and I’d have daddy dearest convinced that you should marry me, and that I ain’t even a robot killing mutant with the power to level a city.” She stuffed her mouth full of pizza, swallowing down her bite before answering him on his single condition. “Deal, just don’t pick something where I gotta skip on wearing underwear.”
They left soon after, and made their way to the hotel. There was no way that they were going to be heading home in this condition, but this would certainly get the rumor mill rolling.“If she cared about the people around her, then she wouldn’t have done what she did. And even if what you say is true, and she’s got a good heart, then it’s obvious that her head is nothing but empty space. I wonder if you put your ear to her’s if you’d hear the ocean.”
Finally, after a shower, the sweet release of sleep greeted her, but it was short lived because her best friend was a b***h. She groaned, more than resistant to him trying to literally drag her out of bed. She wasn’t ready for this at all. Her eyes were half opened, in a sleepy glare as she looked at him. “I don’t think either side of the civil war cared about whether or not their soldiers were drunk. How else did they handle shooting their family members in the face?”
She got about two seconds of silence when she put the pillow of his face, before he had sunk into the mattress in the most literal way possible.“If I was trying to kill you, I wouldn’t do it with a pillow,”she grumbled from her spot on the floor. He was nice enough to turn his back on her when she started getting dressed. Honestly, she wore less when working out half the time, so she didn’t really care if he saw her or not. But, modesty and all that. Some people were gentlemen. Once she was dressed, and downed two and a half monsters, she sat on the bed, waiting for him to get ready to go do whatever the hell it was that he wanted to do now. She was going to hate herself in the morning.
-Next Day-
She hadn’t had a hangover like this in a long time. The throb in her head, and the desire to do nothing but empty whatever she still had in her stomach made her less than cheerful. She was wrapped like a blonde burrito in a pile of blankets on the bed. Her forehead sweaty from too many covers, and from the thinned blood in her veins. The sound of bottles clinking is what woke her. Might as well been a gong next to her head. She pulled her head into her tortoise shell of blankets.“I hate you,”she muttered in a child-like squeak that her voice rarely took on.
Her eyes poked out from the blankets, her nose becoming visible as she breathed in the fresh, but stale alcohol smelling air. “Probably a hundred or more.”She couldn’t even see the entire room and the mess that remained after Blake had tried his best to clean it. But, either way, they were probably going to have to replace a thing or two. So much for getting their security deposit back.
-Canada, Present Time-
Alice went about her normal life. Though, she did get a stern talking to by Scott and Emma. Pretty much any adult. If they would have got caught, but they didn’t. If they would have hurt someone, but they didn’t. Blah blah blah. Jesus, she might as well be adopted by the two of them if they wanted to treat her like a child. Reckless this, stupid that.
Blake dipped out to handle their little scandal, which made her laugh silently, to herself, more often than not. She just took to working out, training, and avoiding alcohol like the plague. She got drunk enough during their night out to last her till she was twenty-one. When he came back, though, she didn’t tell him anything. Didn’t speak on the trouble she got in. It didn’t matter. And besides, he would blame himself. And she didn’t need to deal with the self-pitying side of Blake Tanner for at least another week. “When you’re the one that sends the ride flying off its hinges, it’s a blast.” She winked as she dabbed her face with a towel in response to the announcement. It kinda sucked that they had their workout interrupted, but going to the simulation room counted as a workout. They changed into their gear, and Alice wore her gloves at least until they got into the room.
She listened to Narcissa with her arms across her chest and a creepily excited grin on her lips. She couldn’t wait to ******** up some Alpha scum.“As if I get along with anyone else good enough to pair off.”She nudged the man beside her. They were going to be awesome. Just like the sentinel. And she finally got a chance to show these Alphas just what she was capable of. “We’ll avoid her, but if she comes to us, I’m destroying her.” She cracked her knuckles, the sound dull beneath the thick leather of her gloves.
This is a fight for love, lust, hate, desire
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx We are the children of the great empire
xxxxxxx
Norse Princess Crew
Desirable Phantom
Offline
Jinxing Karma
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 9:00 pm
LOCATION: SIM ROOM // COMPANY: MARCEL // THOUGHTS: THESE PANTS BETTER MAKE MY BUTT LOOK GOOD // MUSIC: SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION // CLOTHING: UNIFORM
A fire needs a space to b u r nxxxxxxxx A breath to build a glow,xx I've heard it said a thousand times,xxxxxxxxxxx but now I knowxxxxx
That you don't knowwhat you've got xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx U n t i l it's gonexxxxx
I thought I kept you safe and soundxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I thought I made you strongxxxxxxxx But somethingmade me realizexxxxxx That I was wrongxxxxxxxxxxxx
August had taken his time to really dodge Scott. If he avoided him, then maybe the senior mutant wouldn’t think that he had been up to something that day that he convinced him to work on the bike. It pretty well worked, especially when a pair of Omegas came back after a night of partying, and one of them was underage.
He spent his time hidden away, working on the different bikes and cars that were in the garage. Getting his hands dirty was always a good way to keep himself busy. Though, he did catch up with Aurelie eventually to get the four-one-one on her conversation with her bestie. He did save her a**, after all.
August, for the first time in a while, wasn’t actually spending his day in the garage. Instead, he was up in his room, looking over books and chewing on soft pieces of black licorice. He hadn’t really left his room much with the exception of a shower in the morning and grabbing something to eat from the kitchen. Honestly, he was getting bored with it. But, he needed to give his hands a break from being covered in oil. Today was his cheat day.
Finally, the announcement came to meet for simulation training. He didn’t get a chance to actually train there often, so it would be a nice change of pace. The uniform felt a little stiff on his skin. He got there and he caught the jist of what they were going to be doing. It wasn’t just any old training exercise, it was going to be against the Omegas. And losing team would have to clean the X-Jet. Great. But what did the winners get? To not have to clean the jet? How was that winning anything?
Could they at least sit there and sip beer and watch the losing team clean it? Even if that wasn’t part of the deal, August was going to do just that.
Jesus, they had to pair off? Well, they didn’t have to, but it would be in their best interest. He followed the others in none the less. It never got old, how realistic the simulation was. A single room was almost like an entire city around them now. There were buildings and people. The dark sky stretched out above them, so real that he almost felt like he could touch it. Moonlight painted the scape around them, streetlights buzzed. Even little bugs danced around the golden lights.
He kept his grip on the gun at his side, looking for someone to pair off with. Aurelie and Kat were already bff-ing off together. And he couldn’t see Felix. The speedster was probably already halfway across the grid by now. It wasn’t that he disliked guns, he was relatively indifferent. Growing up in the south, there were two things that you were taught from a young age, and one of them was how to shoot a gun.
His eyes darted to the side when he heard a voice pick up, asking if anyone wanted to partner up. Moving over to the voice, August nodded in his direction.“If you got a plan, I’m down.”Guns were already blasting when the door disappeared. He fell into step behind Marcel, looking down the sight of his gun as he moved through the streets.
He pressed himself to the same wall.“Go, I’ll cover you.”He looked to the manhole cover before his eyes darted, sweeping from one end of the alley to the other. A small space like the sewers would be messy, but it would be easier to manipulate gravity. If it came down to a fight, it would be better to use his abilities, or the gun in his hands. Maybe a bit of both if the timing was just right. But, if the water user knew where he was going with this plan of his, then maybe they would be in the clear of the other teams for a while. If they could just get behind the others in a blitz attack of sorts, it would be ideal. August crouched down, his eye aimed down the sight of his gun as he watched Marcel. He hated the feeling of the uniform stretched across his body. They weren’t nearly as comfortable as a good, worn in pair of jeans, but he probably looked great in it regardless.
'Cause finding what you got sometimes
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx means finding it alone
xx
Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 5:50 pm
Team:Omegas Location: Simulation Room Thinking:Laser Tag Joy
Along with the rest of her team, Kerrigan assembled in the Simulation Room for an always-welcome team training session. It didn't jar her anymore to see New York around her when she knew that they were still underground. Given the amount of time she'd been around the Academy, it took a lot to really phase her anymore in that regard. True to form, she was one of the first to arrive, fitted in her standard uniform, crimson hair in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. Her hands found the small of her waist as she stood silently next to her blonde leader as the rest of them trickled in and took their places before the sun goddess and were met with an irritated flip of her hair. Thankfully, it could have been, and in fact had been at times in the past, far worse. The stragglers should count themselves lucky this time around.
With that, Narcissa began explaining the nature of the exercise they would be participating in today and Kerri joined the rest of the ranks. It didn't take a ton of imagination to put the pieces together, but she paid attention just the same, if not to set an example for some of the newer Omegas. Training deserved the same level of attention and discipline as a full-fledged mission.
As the details of the mission were explained, she nodded in understanding, glancing to the hulking form of Roland next to her. She offered him a small smile before turning her attentions forward once more, green eyes looking past the distasteful wave towards the Alphas, who were assembling on the other side of the block. She couldn't help but grin slightly at her leader's missive - See an Alpha, Crush an Alpha. The stakes were made, and all Kerri could do was pray that their team could pull together and execute their objective with the same tactical precision that she expected of them. No one would want to be around Ciss if she had to wash the X-Jet with the rest of them.
Bella called across the block that the Alphas were ready to go, the redhead turning to the Omega leader as she activated the simulation. Soldiers spawned into the area, some red and some blue, immediately leaping into action as the redhead took cover. Not only would they have to worry about the Alphas, but the generic soldiers were going to be a problem as well. Hopefully their aim would be as poor as most generic foot soldiers. Regardless, this was the kind of exercise that was right up her alley.
As the rest of the team started to disperse, a good strategy as it would force the others to hunt for them and spread the targets thinner, she saw Charlie approach her from the corner of her eye. A smile spread across her face as he asked if he could tag along with her, the helmet of her suit sliding into place over her face and obscuring her features from view.
"Sure ya can, newbie," she said, voice slightly distorted by the mask microphone but clearly joking at her choice of nickname for the time being. He went on to explain that he needed a new partner and thought that she could hold her own, causing the redhead to chuckle softly.
"I was kind of wondering why you and Christian weren't teaming up," she started, adjusting her covered position as a stray blue beam hit a little too close to home, "but flattery is definitely the way to get into my good graces." She thought back to the mall, remembering how well he had done despite the fact that it was his first mission on the Omegas, and it only served to reinforce her decision. Besides, Cissa liked for the more senior members of the Omegas to spread out amongst the newer ranks and help them grow to meet her expectations.
Looking over at Roland, she offered him a thumbs up, "Good luck, baby." Most couples probably would have stuck together, but she felt like it was best to split up their collective Omega experience among the newer members. Not to mention, they spent a lot of their free time training with each other - this was the time to work with other team members, right? Turning her attentions back to the probability manipulator, she gave him a curt nod.
"Keep up," she said simply before vaulting over the stoop she had been using for cover and dodging into the nearby alleyway, scaling the wall with ease to grab ahold of a low-hanging fire escape. She pulled nimbly herself up, scaling it as quickly as possible to avoid damage to her health bar while she was relatively exposed. Instinct was taking over though, and it called for her to get a vantage point and get the lay of the land before picking their targets.
((O.O.C: Please let me know if there are any needed changes or if I misinterpreted something. Thank you!))
"This one's a fighter."
Vai Vedrai Vice Captain
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I-The-Fallen
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 6:49 pm
Roland Anton Chevalier Location: Danger Room Thoughts: Fight smarter, not harder….
The alarm sounded and he set off into the fight. He kept an eye on Kerrigan as she went into the field, smiling when she wished him luck. “You too rosa” he watched as she went off with Charlie the other resident probability manipulator. He considered joining her, but the last thing he wanted to do was crowd her. Plus, she had a better time handling the new recruits. Last thing he needed was to offset the dynamic she’d formed already.
The sound of laser fire echoed through the chamber, the sound of simulated orders being given to simulated soldiers in a simulated battlefield. He lumbered forward into the fight, his movement was deliberate and careful. He weaved between parked cars, moving quickly between sections of cover when fire ceased. To his surprise he was met with Magda appearing near him. She asked if he wanted to partner up, to which he took a moment to consider. Sure it’d probably be nice to go it alone.
But then again, the reality is that if something did go wrong at least it wouldn’t just be on his head.
“Sure, good idea. Remind me again your ability is to repel right?” he asked, “I may have an idea that takes advantage of our respective talents, if you’re up for it that is.”
He was done acting like an idiot, rushing into the situation without consideration for the consequences. For now he was going to take the initiative. Checking his surroundings, he saw opportunity in the alleyways around them. “Are you familiar with how bird hunting works? Use of a dog to flush out the prey, with the hunter ready to pull the trigger?” turning to where she’d come from, he took note of the dumpster, with an alleyway near by. He moved his way towards it, grabbing it by the handle. He gave it a sharp tug, before letting his armor slip over him. The second attempt led to the dumpster actually moving, the massive metal container blocking half of the entrance.
“Similar idea, only this time I’ll be doing the flushing.” he finished, his eyes darting around, “We’ll set an ambush, stay here and keep yourself hidden behind here.” he gestured, pointing towards inside the alley.
“Do you have any ideas yourself? Happy to hear them out.” he offered, last thing he’s going to do right now is make a decision without considering his new partner.
The songstress chuckled softly despite her dour mood when a familiar voice fell down from just above her. The gentle disturbance of air and the sweet singing of her name told her who had followed along. Eden. Darling, wonderful, Vega. “From you? Always.”, the Siren returned to her teammate with what she hoped was a welcoming smile. Her expressions had been lacking as of late. She had a look about her that only one person had the capacity to understand. It was a look of otherness. Of eyes that saw things that were much too far away. Of thoughts that threatened to wander off the edge of the world.
The dark haired Alpha struck a pose and Isabella shook her head in unbidden amusement. Eden certainly hadn’t changed since the last time they’d been around one another. “I say that we do what we can to win—though I may not be very exciting. Let’s go up. I don’t know how big the simulation actually is but I can at least give our side an advantage.”
The Alpha leader wrapped invisible sound waves about her body shoved them down so that she could use them. There was a hum in the air, a vibration, and then she shot off the ground like a cork flying from a bottle. She landed on one knee on the nearest rooftop with one hand pressed against the chilly cement. She kept low and crouched behind an air conditioning unit—expecting that Vega would follow. "I plan to give the Alpha’s the lay of the land before we engage anyone. The Omega’s might has well have a spy in their camp.”
From the rooftop Isabella listened to the Omega’s while they made plans with impunity. Was it cheating? Perhaps. But they were all allowed to use their abilities. Her hearing was the very cornerstone of her mutation. Green eyes surveyed the area below and watched as the Alpha’s scattered and little flickering blue lights disappeared left and right. Some went off on their own, some grouped up, and some chose to stay with the Tron-Cops. That was fine. This was a group exercise in which they were required to use their own ideas and ingenuity to win. She wouldn’t be giving orders this time.
That didn’t mean, however, that she wouldn’t provide information. “Can you keep an eye out for me?”, she asked of Eden kindly. Already, she was trying to filter out some of the white noise created by the simulation. The holo people speaking in the buildings below made her constantly refocus. It almost seemed directly designed to distract her. She mused that it could have been deliberate if this really was designed to limit the effectiveness of their gifts. Messing with her ears left her feeling blind. ”Sometimes when I throw my senses out and try to listen from a distance I can miss something that’s right next to me. Especially in here. It sounds almost like we’re under water.”
She double checked the frequency on her communicator and began to make reports. It was interesting trying to keep up with everyone with the simulation skewing her senses. Not to mention that just because she had the capacity to hear things from great distances didn’t mean that she could comprehend it all. She hoped that all of her Alpha’s were wearing ear pieces to avoid their location being detected. It was standard for when they were in the field. A training simulation wasn’t any different.“Feral has teamed up with Sparrow and seems to be making plans to go after someone specific. He’s set to settle a score and is headed towards the park.”
Everyone seemed to know what Peyton was capable of. Blowing things away, mostly. Christian was a whole other issue. What real advice could she give about fighting a werewolf? Distract with doggie treats? “It would be wise to keep Sparrow and Feral at a distance.”
Isabella paused for a moment, scanning the area, and began again when she heard something new.
“Anima and Paladin are setting up an ambush not far from the Omega starting point. His armor, if he’s wearing it, will protect him. He’ll be hard to bring down. Picture a black bear fighting a camper alone in the middle of the woods.”, Isabella spoke knowledgeably. She wasn’t willing to put money on a bet that she knew more about the Omega’s than Narcissa knew about the Alpha’s—But her memory wasn’t that shabby. She was a little rusty on some of the newbies…But those that had been around the longest? She knew them well. “Scratch that thought. He’s more like a rhino. A very aggressive rhino. In armor.”
Magda could be just as problematic as Roland—If she understood her ability correctly. She could be hard to get close to. She wondered if the girl could also repel shots from their laser guns. They weren’t actual weapons with a real projectile but Isabella didn’t know her limits. “If you cross Knoxx—Be careful. Lucky won’t be far behind.”, she closed her eyes, hoping to get a bead on the Omega’s second in command. It took her a moment to realize that the flame haired woman was doing exactly what she had done. She was looking for higher ground. Kerrigan was just as smart as she was pretty. Isabella should have expected a move like that. She felt remiss for not anticipating it.“In hand to hand – You’ll have your hands full with Knoxx. Lucky is a wild card.”
That was the understatement of the century.
She would have commented on Charlie but her attention was swiftly stolen by those that still surrounded the Red Queen. Blake. Isabella couldn’t help but zone in on him. He’d been gone for what felt like forever. The little bit of information they did get from the outside world told her a lot of things. Rumors. Tabloids loved a good story. Especially, when it came to the frequently traveling son of a politician. Whether she believed them or not…
It didn’t matter.
At first, she didn’t know who Blake was referring to. She lingered on his voice…Just listening. When he spoke about staying away from certain Alpha’s…It dawned on her fairly quickly. Isabella could be naïve— But none could call her stupid. Who else would he want to stay away from? After what had happened in the infirmary and his sudden leave? Her stomach bottomed out when she picked up a response. It came from a female voice she’d never heard before. A new Omega. One of the only new female Omega’s was a girl named Alice or Aftershock. Narcissa had been very pleased with the acquisition. She had been equally pleased that Blake had rescinded his transfer request and sought to rub it in her face as often a she could spare the time.
Either way, this girl she didn’t know, and had never formally met, was threatening to destroy her. For what? “What is it with people vowing to kill me?”, Isabella blurted out unintentionally, a little bit of frustration seeping into her tone. It was really getting old. She glanced toward Eden apologetically. Her words hadn’t been quiet in the slightest and they were trying to be sneaky. Her voice was a little unsteady when she spoke next. “Sorry… It’s just my big ears getting me into trouble.”
“I always hear things I’m not meant to.”
She ignored the fact that Blake and Alice were headed in their direction. Unless either one of them had a sixth sense she didn’t know about it was quite likely they would pass by undetected. Isabella cleared her throat and hardened herself before speaking to the rest of her team again. “Amarillo and Aftershock are breaking away from Solaris. The Red Queen still hasn’t moved. She has a handful of Omega’s close by. Approach at your own risk. Measure is one of them. There’s also one that’s moved off on his own. Imprint.”
This report was much shorter than the others. Her tones were clipped. Impersonal. She was trying her best to remain impartial and professional. She’d already lost her temper with the Headmaster. She would probably apologize for her actions later on—but she didn’t feel sorry yet. Scott Summers had undermined and betrayed her trust in what she felt to be the worst of ways.
It would take a long time before she could comfortably breathe the same air he did. She'd trusted him. Implicitly. And he'd betrayed her.
“That’s about all I can give them for now. We’ll have two Omega’s approaching soon.”, she offered to Eden quietly. She wasn’t sure if she ought to avoid them for the sake of Blake’s wishes—Or confront them for the integrity of the simulation. Alice couldn't have been serious. It didn't make any sense.
"...Everyone's pretty and hiding an ugly truth. Deception is all around. Watch out - Use caution now...."
Angel Reaver
Greedy Capitalist
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ephemeral spirit
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:45 am
Simulation Room - Sub Levels - CLICK SPOILER FOR PRE-TIME SKIP
Katerina looked down at the floor when Aurelie asked about her hand. There was a slight shake of her head; auburn hair curling slightly from being without a flat iron. “This is new. I got irritated and punched the glass…”, she admitted, trying not to show how uncomfortable she was. Normally, she was the one driving someone up a wall. Not the other way around. Lachlan really got under her skin…”The lava lamp already healed everything from the other day.”
Aurelie spoke of the Headmaster and the shapeshifter frowned lightly. She wasn’t fond of authority figures as a general rule. They always thought that they knew what was best…But did they? Really? The mention of her best friend breaking a few rules made a little smile ruin her surly mood. She tended to walk the straight and narrow. That she would risk getting in trouble for her made the former HYDRA agent feel a little less alone. Katerina didn’t know Roland well enough to throw shade; but she knew Felix. The speedster was a treat. In that ‘I-might-be-a-*****>’ kind of way.
Her friend gracefully waved off her apologies and Katerina felt relieved. She’d been a little bit afraid that the blonde would be upset from her less than gentle response to the Alpha Leader. The prima ballerina smashed her hand against the force field and Kat raised a hand to stop her. The force field would give as good as it got and she didn’t want to see Aurelie injured. “Don’t do that. It hurts…I know.”
Aurelie’s chilly ire turned to Rossi once again and Katerina couldn’t stop a rueful smile from crossing her features. “You see…That’s the thing. If Rossi was cold he wouldn’t have stopped me. He’s anything but... That’s the problem, mia amata*.”, she intoned blandly, just a little bit curious. Up until recently she would have bet her favorite bangle on a string that her blond bestie had a thing for her arch-nemesis. It had almost been written on the wall for both of them. Until suddenly, he was gone, and it wasn’t.[*my lovely]
She winced at her friends’ reaction to Rossi being missing from his cell. “I suppose I should have worded that better…”, she muttered, watching Aurelie boil over. Any other day, she would have grinned widely at the sight. Today, she could only offer an amused smile. “He’s nearly killed me more times than I can count. I’ve done much worse to him. It’s all very…”, she waved her good hand in the air dismissively, trying to find the words to explain. “Ciò che va, torna…What goes around comes around.”
“For Rossi…I believe that I broke the rules of engagement. Nearly killing his bambolina*… It was worse than if I had simply attacked him. They released him, because he cannot stay. We are two bad-tempered monstrosities locked in the same small cage. He cannot be here with me. And I will not leave you. So I will wait.”[*little doll/toy]
They spoke of the words that Stone and Rossi had left her with and Aurelie seemed just as surprised as she had been. She didn’t know what to make of Rossi, other than the fact that Stone had rubbed off on him. The Alpha Leader confused her. Truly. Her eyes had been filled with haunting clarity. No one could lie through that. “I don’t know if noble was the word…”, Katerina trailed off, eyes distant from the memory of Stone passing through the sub level. She saw too much. It gave Katerina the creeps.
Aurelie seemed dead set on defending her honor after that. Her head hung low when the blond told her not to give up; not to let others define her. Didn’t she realize she’d been doing that her entire life? Her ideals were less than ideal for the good guys because of her training, and impossible for the bad guys because of her independent thinking. It was pathetic, but she was a freak among freaks. “Aurie…You don’t have to—“, she tried to assure her friend that was slowly working herself into a frenzy. She didn’t want her to get any more involved in this than she already was. The blonde just kept on going and vowed to get her out of jail. Eventually, Katerina realized there was no stopping her and let her go.
She almost felt bad for Summers. Almost.
Simulation Room - Sub Levels
Katerina wondered what was keeping her favorite persons attention away from her. After being locked up for a few days without any company but her own shadow—it hardly seemed fair. The shapeshifter was petulant when she finally managed to draw a smile out of the blond by deliberately bumping into her. “Cheer up, amore.* Between the two of us, I’m the pessimistic one.”[*Love]
She sighed in an overly dramatic fashion when Aurelie too shot down her far flung idea of cocoa and mid-morning soap operas. “Yes madre*…”, she spoke lightly, making a face at Aurelie, little nose scrunching up as if she’d just been told to eat her vegetables. The sour expression turned cheeky after that. “But when this is over—You owe me. Cocoa. TWO cups, se tu per favore.**”[*mother] [*if you please]
Because it was 100% Aurelie’s fault that she had to attend this stupid training. Definitely. She was quiet when Stone explained the rules, though her eyebrows rose to her hairline when it was mentioned that their powers were muted. How did they lessen the effectiveness of a shift? Did she half transform into bear? Katerina didn’t want to know badly enough to speak to Stone so she let it go. They’d find out soon enough. She didn’t think she’d need her powers to win anyway.
Katerina was wearing a rather nasty smirk as they walked into the simulation. Aurelie had said exactly what she’d been thinking. When she took aim at Christian it felt like second nature. It had been a long time since she’d been forced to use a firearm with real ammunition but she assumed a laser gun wouldn’t give her any trouble. It had a little bit of weight to it, and if necessary, could be used to cold clock a particular werewolf into submission. She was glad to see that most of the pixel-people stayed around to fight each other. Whatever could be said about these holograms, though they were real enough looking, they weren’t the smartest bunch.
She snickered when she saw Christian take cover and scramble clumsily away like his a** was on fire. Katerina didn’t look back once she grabbed Aurelie’s hand. She didn’t want Christian thinking he had time to do something silly like fire inaccurately back. “That’s a good idea. I’m just glad we’re playing with toys…”, Katerina responded to Aurelie with a teasing grin. “My wolf would wind up blowing his own head off otherwise. To lose that face… sarebbe un peccato.*”[*would be a pity]
Aurelie squealed when she hit one of the red holo-soldiers and Katerina giggled as she dragged the blond away. Her friend had made a good point about the laser bolts running through her shield. Honestly, Katerina wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to ask Stone bad enough to find out. “Put up a shield.”, the former HYDRA agent suggested. They couldn’t hurt each other—But perhaps her shots would register the similarly to the Omega’s. “I’ll try and shoot out of it.”
Gabriel decided to be their eyes in the sky while Katerina surveyed the playground. It was full of fun things that could be used to trip up a particular Omega. The auburn haired woman recognized that by human standards, Christian was quite composed, but by shifter criteria…He was an oaf. Katerina blinked when Aurelie mentioned something to do with Gabriel and the Red Queen. That was the last person she thought he might hang out with. Was she so out of the loop? “Wait…What did he do to Solaris?”
She wasn’t sure how much she wanted the Red Queen after someone that she might soon be working with. That was like pinning a sign on her back saying, ‘hit me, I’m a target’.
Stone’s voice came through the ear bud she wore and Katerina had to bite back a reflexive sneer while she looked for a good place to temporarily make camp. She wanted to bark back at her, to tell her to mind her own business, until she realized that the information given was actually important. That Christian had teamed up with Peyton instead of Charlie was…Interesting. Her eyes narrowed as she responded to the report for all of the Alpha’s to hear. “Allegra and I will handle Feral and Sparrow. He only –thinks- he can settle this score.”
The former spy took a running head start and jumped up to a dumpster before vaulting almost silently onto the low roof of a building with a sign stating, ‘Little Free Library’. It seemed to be a small reading area for children that was currently closed for the evening. There was a large triangle section of the roof that they could take cover behind. It gave them combat advantage. Especially with Aurelie watching their backs.
They didn’t have to wait long, it seemed. Katerina nudged her friend and nodded her head toward the buildings that surrounded the park. She’d definitely seen movement.
“If you smell wet dog..", she muttered cheekily, "He’s here.”
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:49 pm
Name: Narcissa "Cissa" Grace Codename: Solaris Team: Omega Location: Sim Room - Team Laser Tag
The delicate balance of distance and closeness that she maintained between herself and Aren was an unadulterated threat to the image she had fostered for herself among the X-Men. She wanted nothing more than to be with him, most hours of the day, but her duties made it impossible. The Red Queen wasn’t embarrassed by their actions; she was cautious. Concerned. The former leader of her old team, the Hellions, hadn’t been very discrete in his varying indiscretions. The time manipulator had used the mutants he was tasked to prepare for upcoming missions as if they were disposable. He’d fooled her best friend into getting into bed with him on a whim before publicly breaking her heart.
Narcissa refused to be seen that way. It was weak, abhorrent, and detrimental to her squad as a whole. So she tried, for both of them, for the greater good, to repair the invisible boundaries they’d once had. It was easier said than done. Thankfully, Aren seemed to remember when she couldn’t. She hated him for it. Just a little. “You disgust me.”, she commented on off-handedly, a wry smile touching the edges of crimson lips. He would know it was the furthest thing from the truth.
Once in the cafeteria she kept her back to the door. She could feel Aren closing in but refused to turn and acknowledge him. She wouldn’t deign to give anyone else a proper greeting; she couldn’t do it for him either. Narcissa surveyed the items on the tray that he had dropped next to her—idly flicking away some invisible crumb that hadn’t dropped on her. Disdain rolled off her tongue. “That looks like dog food.”
Aren commented on her perfume and she took a sip of tea in response. Teasing him was almost impossible to avoid. He seemed to like everything about her—regardless whether or not she was trying to entice him. He mentioned something about her cheating on him with an Alpha and her eyes rolled at his grin. “You should be so lucky.”
“It’s hardly my fault that I got blitz attacked by a cretin waving the grand flag of blue idiocy this morning. In this instance…He had it coming.”, Narcissa spoke lightly, the blue of her eyes chilling by degrees. Gabriel Byrne had crossed a line that the sun goddess would not easily forgive. His insulting, callous, and uneducated tone made her want to put a hole where his heart used to be. “One of them came to me looking for my files.”
“He wanted to use my ability as a basis for the creation of a power source that he has no idea how to build or protect. He isn’t a scientist, or even one of the brainier Alpha’s. The daft cow made it seem as if it would be impossible for it to be turned into a weapon.”, the leggy blond murmured. Her eyes narrowed as she popped a little bite of chocolate past her lips. Silence followed as she let it melt. “Some things shouldn’t be meddled with by inept children of gunsmiths with monkey hands. I kindly declined.”
Aren would know that she had been anything but kind. She tilted her body on instinct as she sighed and let her ankle brush lightly against his. It would seemed accidental. It wasn’t. It was painful to have Aren so close and so far away. Sweet torture, that felt like it might break her. Narcissa realized that she was staring at his profile as he inhaled his food and eventually she caught herself—immediately looking away. “Slow down before you choke Aquene.”
“I don’t do the Heimlich. I just fixed my hair.”
“Welcome back, Texas.”, Narcissa spoke with a little sneer in Blake’s direction. He had arrived back to the base just in time for this little soirée. She wasn’t entirely sure what had prompted him to rescind his request for a transfer to the Alpha’s but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to form some decent conjecture. Something unseemly had gone down between himself and his precious Bella. He had a look of torture and heartbreak about him. She could almost hear a sad country song playing in the air as he neared.
“Aftershock…”, the Red Queen trailed off, head tilting as she assessed Blake’s pet earth mover. She hadn’t seen much of the girl since the molecular manipulator had fled to whereabouts unknown. Weren’t they supposed to be inseparable after some wild nights of intoxication that they hadn’t bothered to hide from the media? It was an entertaining dynamic that the sun goddess was content to run with—true or not. That didn’t concern her. Flustering and maintaining control through any means necessary was her only goal. “Your first real assignment is to make sure that this one isn’t pulling his punches.”
“Amarillo might have a little difficulty hurting his friends.”
Blake was lucky that was the only dig she’d passed in his direction. She did not appreciate a coveted spot on the Omega’s being tossed back in her face because he had a yen for the Head b***h in charge on the Alpha’s. She’d been gracious enough to allow him back without much of a fight. He was lucky. Things had worked out, for now, in her favor.
Aren remained close at hand when she gave the rules of engagement to the Omega’s. Her eyes rolled when he whined about his weapon. Of course he would want to play Cowboys and Indians. The Native American tried to downplay her rules about not disqualifying themselves and she glared without shame. He could be as cute and innocent as he wanted but she knew the truth—and so did everyone else with half a brain cell. He looked at her with eyes she wanted little more than to get lost in and it took everything she had not to show it. Instead, she raised her hand and slapped him lightly upside the head. Her voice was scathing and annoyed. “Oh. I don’t bloody know. You?”
He tugged on the bond that ran between them. Aren wanted to be anywhere with her but here. Deliberate or not, he was testing her patience.
Narcissa slowly slid into the mindset of Solaris as she let her team chat amongst themselves. Charlie and Christian, the two frat boys she had somehow acquired, made bets between one another. It was almost cute as they shook hands and solidified their deal. She wouldn’t say anything against it. If it made them push themselves harder and try to win—that was exactly what she required. Her first real thought in regards to strategy was to follow Kerrigan but Charlie beat her to it. Interesting, that he followed her favorite red head versus remaining with his usual partner in crime. One gloved hand fell to her rounded leather-clad hip while she pulled her mask down with the other. It covered the portion of her face above her cheekbones and crown-like points rose from her golden blonde tresses. “Remember…You have the advantage. A small percentage of the Alpha’s are terrified of you by reputation alone. They are a group of special snowflakes that need their captain to hold their hand and mother them to death. You need nothing, and no one. Take them out by any means necessary.”
It might have simply been a ‘friendly’ clash of the Junior X-Men teams but Narcissa wasn’t playing games. It was a challenge. She would destroy any mutant that crossed her path that wasn’t wearing her colors. As holograms appeared around them glacier eyes fell to Micah as he walked off on his own. She looked toward the rest of her motley crew of super-powered badasses and made a quick decision. “Jinx and Chameleon…”, she called for both girls and nodded her head toward the disappearing form of Imprint. “Go with him.”
“He’s new—I don’t want him getting picked off by a couple uppity puppies.”
Narcissa paid no mind to the fact that Daylia may or may not be happy with her for the whole Dimitri fiasco. It amused the Red Queen, right down to her ruby painted toenails, that she’d hauled off and clocked the magma generator.
Some of the Alpha’s started firing straight away and the sun goddess rolled her eyes when Christian seemed to get a little fired up by it. “Don’t be stupid!”, she called after the werewolf as she turned towards the glowing blue bot-soldiers that started firing on them. Red soldiers closed ranks around them to absorb the damage. Narcissa was concerned that Christian seemed to have the common sense of a newborn. The Force girl, who had recently taken out the Alpha Leader, cracked the whip, and he answered like it was built into his programming.
First things first—Narcissa wanted to eliminate the pawns that the simulation had generated to defend the Alpha’s. One less pixelated body between them was one less barrier she needed to burn through to tear her opponents apart. Light flared from her body in a way that would have been considered lovely; were it not for the fact that it wilted the grass around her form near immediately. She was much better at aiming with her ability than anything else. Giving her a gun was truly overkill. “If you’re staying with me Tiny…We take out the grunts first. My power leaves me an easy mark so keep your eye peeled.”
With that she held her hand out in a mockery of what Aren had asked for and drew her other arm back. It would become instantly clear that she was taking the position of an archer. Unstable light created a bow and when she finished aiming she released a volley of ‘arrows’ that mercilessly burned anything it touched. The blue holograms took cover and she noted with mild irritation that her attacks weren’t as effective as they ought to be. The car that one of them hid behind should have been full of holes that were clean enough to see all the way through. Instead, they just barely penetrated the metal and left burn marks that melted the paint. One arrow had taken a soldier down to a third of his health.
Pulling again she took two more shots and watched with satisfaction when he crumbled into disintegrating data.
Selena Lucania
Dangerous Lover
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A Primrose Path
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:44 am
The Texan fought the urge to scowl at the mention of Most Eligible lists. "You're a little late for that bandwagon..." He said, tossing back another shot. "I am pretty sure I've already hit a couple of those - not for Hollywood but for politicians' kids." Plus it didn't hurt that his family basically owned their town. Rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, he made it pretty clear that he regarded it with the same respect as hogwash.
Neither one of them could really remember how many bars they had been removed from, but the bloodied knuckles and the faces they had bruised. Had done well to serve as a distraction. For a moment when Alice mentioned his recruiting, he looked guilty before admitting his reason out loud for the first time. "I got bored leading a team, got tired of dealing with Summers. And then Bella met Gideon. It was a pretty easy decision."
It had become more than a simple escape for him over time; but to say that he'd stepped up to the plate for altruistic reasons was grossly misleading and an outright lie.
Sighing, Blake drummed his fingers on the table and looked away from his company. They were in the same world now, but the one he was expected to return to definitely wasn't. But explaining the difference to his friend would do little to change her perspective. No matter which path he chose, entrapment waited for him. She made it sound easy, as though he had the power to wave a wand and make his problems go away.
She did elicit a grin when she made it sound as though she could easily charm his father. "I think you'd have more luck getting a dead snake to dance out of a basket." He assured her, blue eyes twinkling when he imagined her trying to win the soon-to-be senator over. "You'd have to let your hair grow out. The shaved part would make him grind his teeth and mutter about how I don't keep respectable company."
Alice impressed on him that she could blend in, and after enough bold statements, he rose to the challenge, promising to bring her as his plus one the next time he had to attend a fundraiser or gala - on the condition he got to choose her attire. "I wouldn't dream of choosing something so scandalous, doll face. After all, you'd have to look respectable to get in." Though the smile dimpling his cheeks said otherwise.
The cowboy snickered about listening to the ocean break waves in Bella's ear. "She could make you think you heard that..." He said, trying to sound somber. "But really, for as long as I've known her, she's never put herself first. It's always been about the team and what's best for them. Hell, she even let Katerina stay on the team after all the terrible things that woman has done. I know she sounds terrible because she is the reason we're here, but I am the one who was selfish." Putting his arm around her shoulder as they headed toward the hotel, he pulled Alice along. "Just chalk this night up to my being a bad friend."
It didn't take long for Blake to fall into a bed to take a nap, but Alice obviously had not expected him to find a second wave of energy so soon after turning in. "That's just how the story goes, doll. Cooter drank and drank and drank... Why, he was so stupid drunk he couldn't even sign his own name."
After some convincing and several energy drinks, they headed out for round two.
-Next Day-
He hadn't meant to wake her, but a small smile graced his features when Blake caught sight of the very ragged earth shaker and heard her squeak out that she hated him. "I love you too, doll."
"I'll leave five." Hopefully that would be enough to keep the staff quiet about a trashed hotel room. He even left the mints on the bedside table with an apology.
-Canada, Present Time-
"I think I'll skip out on that experience and still be able to call my life complete." Blake joked. "Something about getting crushed by a mess of metal when it flips over doesn't sound all that appealing to me." He and Alice's workout was cut short by the instructions to report to the Sim room, which was fine. It really just replaced one exercise with another, so he remained quiet about his preferences until they got there.
And then he realized they'd be working with the Alphas. Sighing, he muttered under his breath that he supposed that it was bound to happen some time... Thankfully, Narcissa hadn't been within earshot to hear it, but it didn't stop her from making a jab at him anyway.
Keeping his features neutral, Blake shrugged in response to it. He didn't blame her for having doubts about him, but he had made the decision to stay on the Omegas... He'd follow orders and be a team player. "Like you said, our powers will be muted against each other. A little sting here and there will make them faster next time, right?" A competitive gleam took to his eyes then and he smiled. "Besides, who said I didn't have friends on this side of the line?" Exhanging a glance with the blond bombshell he'd once recruited, dimples formed in his cheeks as his smile widened. "Cooter Brown no more. My side is chosen."
As soon as Narcissa's attention waned, Blake did request that they stay away from certain adversaries - not mentioning Bella by name so that she wouldn't deliberately hone in on their conversation. Even doubting that she might be listening anyway, Blake reiterated his stance on Alice hating the Alpha leader. "Fair enough. Though, I've told you before... You don't have to hate her on my behalf; I am the one who was stupid enough to think there could be something between us." Kicking a rock down the sidewalk, he shook his head, appearing distracted by their conversation.
But his eyes never stopped searching for potential enemies. "And I was then foolish enough to tell her after I knew I didn't stand a chance." The hurt still resonated with the hollowness of his tone, echoing just how empty his chest felt when he admitted it.
Glancing up at the numerous buildings... Blake didn't like the feeling of being a target. "If I were wanting to get an advantage over us..." He trailed off, walking up to one structure and placing a hand on it. "I'd want to get a really good view to lay out the terrain. What do you say to making sure they don't get that luxury?" He asked before going molecular and passing through one of the walls. What he left behind him caused the cement to explode and leave a sizable hole in the base structure Reforming, he transmitted a message to the whole of the Omegas. "My girl and I are planning to ground any alphas wanting the high road, so if you're in a building, let us know before we bring it down."
He made another hole on the other side of the building and listened as the integrity started to buckle. "You want to do the rest?"
It wasn’t like Peyton to be late, though Kerrigan had had a much different experience with the blonde after punishing her to supervised training sims. She could never bring herself to show up less than fifteen minutes late to each session the redhead scheduled. It was a small act of rebellion, and utterly tame for the gymnast. But today she showed up just a few minutes early, donning the laser tag gear they’d been provided. She had one long, golden braid that hung over one shoulder, but swept a few stray strands out of her face as she listened to Narcissa’s explanation of the rules and objective.
That they couldn’t eliminate their own teammates left her feeling a little bitter - with one or two she wouldn’t mind taking out herself - but versing the Alphas seemed oh so sweet. Being able to use their abilities - against friendlies - was just icing on top of the cake.
When the game started, Peyton was quick to disappear into the first alley she spotted. She didn’t necessarily want to be on her own, having someone to watch her back would have been ideal, but she didn’t have much to chose from on the Omegas. Not that she cared to spend any time with. But it could’ve been worse. She could’ve been an Alpha...
Hearing footsteps behind her, the whirlwind Omega spun around just in time to see another red and black clad mutant turn the corner and nearly bump into her. She reflexively braced herself, but he stopped just in time. When he raised his gun at her, the grip she had on her own tightened but it remained at her side as her eyes registered the colors on his uniform.
It seemed like it took him a little longer to realize they were on the same team. He was one of the newer ones, but the red should’ve been a dead giveaway. His apology was met with an unimpressed roll of her eyes. "Please.” she scoffed.
She could see the light bulb click on in his head as she’d been about to leave, and he mentioned that he was about to go up against a few Alphas. Her eyes gave him a scrutinizing once over. If she remembered right, his name was Christian, and he was a werewolf. Maybe he stood a chance outnumbered, but he didn’t seem very bright... "And I care because…?” Did he want her permission? The thought hadn’t crossed her mind that he wanted to team up with her until he asked. The blonde really hadn’t made any friends on either the Omegas or Alphas. Enemies on the other hand… She never really expected anyone to want to team up with her, and didn’t mind being the lone wolf. Even so, teaming up with a werewolf didn’t seem like a terrible idea.
But that pun…
A sharp glare considered him for a moment, arms crossing over her chest before any verbal response was given. "Okay... I'll give you one chance. But if I lose because of you, I'll blow you into next Tuesday."” she warned. Annoyance rang clear in her tone, as she discretely inhaled. It wouldn’t give him any warning when a hurricane blast funnelled through her lips and smacked him in the face. It knocked him, and everything else in the alley, back.
Christian’s exclamation that she was perfect, and surprised expression, drew a pleased smirk out of the iron lunged blonde. "I know.” At the cocky response, she uncrossed her arms and let one hand rest at her waist, while the other hung at her side gripping the laser gun, shifting her weight to one side as her new partner assured that he didn’t intend to get eliminated.
Brows rose incredulously at her teammate. So far he struck her as clumsy, maybe a little slow… Maybe it was a terrible idea after all, but at least he could turn into a giant werewolf. Werewolves could get away with being oafs - you didn’t have to be smart or graceful to tear someone to shreds with your claws, fangs and brute strength.
"Well then, let’s go settle a score. I’ve got one of my own when we’re done...”
She let him go first, following closely behind as they moved through the alley. Her eyes shot back over her shoulder often, with ears on high alert for any footsteps or voices, or any telling sounds.
They stopped in view of the park, keeping hidden in the alleyway, and the other Omega offered to play the part of bait. A small smirk curled the blonde’s lips. "Maybe we’ll get along better than I thought,” She noted suggestively. "You’re already on the same page as me.” Sure, he would be another shot to help take down Alphas, but mostly, he was a bigger, more imposing target than her. Bait, meat shield, errand boy… If he thought he was anything else to her, he was mistaken.
Perhaps he wasn’t the sharpest Omega on the team, but it turned out he had some redeeming qualities.
Hearing a transmission from Amarillo caused her to pause and look up at the tall buildings she was standing between. Was he really about to level the buildings? All of them? Or just the ones he thought had Alphas in them? Did it really matter to her whether it was the former or the latter? She gave her partner a vexed roll of the eyes as she responded to Blake.
"Oh, I was planning to outplay the twits,” Each syllable dripped with venom as she responded to Blake, leaving the channel open to the rest of the reds - utterly disinterested in keeping her comments between the two of them. "But if you need to flex for ’your girl’, I suppose the cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face strategy is just as well.” Her aggravation would be easy enough for anyone to pick up on, especially Christian, who would likely feel the nettled aura surrounding her.
"Thanks for the warning. Now we know to run out into the open before buildings start falling on our heads.” Clearly, not everyone had ducked between buildings, and there were other places to take cover. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Peyton had ducked between buildings, and hadn’t chosen to take cover somewhere else. A sharp tongue was a mild lashing for inconveniencing her. She’d done worse for less.
An aggressive glower swept over to the werewolf once she was finished with Blake, puting her gun to her head and pretending to pull the trigger, all with a displeased smile plastered on her face. Taking a deep breath as she tried to backtrack to Christian’s suggestion, a billowy gust filled the alley before dissipating into still air again.
"Okay, bait.” She deemed, a finger pointing at her partner. "So what? You’re just going to charge in and try to draw fire? Does your other side get a bigger health bar?” It was about as close to teasing as he would probably ever see from the hurricane blonde with her suggestive question.
"Just don’t get yourself killed out there while you’re chasing your tail. I’ll stay back until we see where they’re firing from.” Her head nodded toward the park. Christian didn’t need to tell her where he was heading. He was simple, easy to read. He was staring so intently at it, anyone with half a brain would be able to figure it out.
Y O Uxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ARE DRIVING ME INTO PANICxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND ITxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I'M CONSTANTLY SINKINGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I'M NO LONGER THINKINGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO LEAVE ME ALONE WHILE I'Mxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx F R A N T I Cxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
She half-expected to sneeze as she pulled down one of the more girthy volumes from the shelf, but the facility’s sterility apparently kept dust at bay. Though she had been informed numerous times that their search engines were safe to use, the Georgia belle could not bring herself to trust it. One wrong move… She shuddered to think of it. Since coming back to the X-men, she had deleted all of her social media accounts, frozen her emails, changed her cell phone company, phone and number. None of it made her feel safe.
Her fears had pushed her to the library, where enough books on law sat open to rival a hopeful student studying for the bar. None of them were proving all that helpful. Thumbing through the index, she found the section she wanted and flipped to it. After fifteen minutes of staring at the same page, she grunted in frustration. Most of the jargon and verbiage would take all day to understand just for her to translate the section into anything remotely useful. “Why isn’t there a Divorce Law for Dummies?” Emlen asked no one in particular.
Gathering a few of the tomes and stuffing them into a carrier bag, Gracie re-deposited the books she deemed useless and outdated back on their proper shelves before making the trek back to her room. Her wrist comm buzzed to life with a summons to the sim room, and Emlen fought the urge to groan again. She, a woman on a mission, did not feel like training. She especially didn’t when she spied one of her team mates closing the door to his room, already dressed and ready.
“Well, aren’t you just adorable and all gung-ho to get to a simulation?” She asked, eyebrow cocked in question.
Pulling the door shut, Felix smirked at his company. "Sweetheart, I would take anything over the boredom that is this underground prison. But no, if I was in a hurry to get to the simulation I would already be there.” He hooked a thumb back at himself and stared at her drolly, as though she had missed out on something important. “Super speed."
"I won't dispute the adorable comment though."
Ignoring him preening over the adorable comment, she shook her head. “But you wouldn’t want to seem like the over eager beaver…” She countered, one side of her mouth raising into a grin. “You have an image to keep up, after all. All that not caring about anything but what hole your little dinky is going to go for next must be exhausting though.”
"Oh my, you just have me all figured out don't you? Been observing me a lot lately hotstuff? Little dinky? What are we? Five? It must be exhausting to be that sassy and bitchy. Forgive me, I'll try to get on your level." Completely proud of his retort, his smirk widened.
Rolling her hazel eyes heavenward, Gracie shrugged off the five-year-old remark, deciding not to inform him that a few of the girls were talking… and dinky was all they could muster to describe it. “As if you could manage this amount of sass. And the only reason I mention it is that it's hard not to hear of your escapades, Fee-fee. The compound is small, and the only thing keeping a lot of the girls in here from getting cabin fever is gossip. Don't think for a minute I've checked you out enough to entertain the idea of you being my next mistake."
"Sure, whatever keeps you going hotstuff. Though if you had really never even considered it for even a moment, would you really feel the need to clarify such when I haven't even made so much as a flirtatious comment yet? Seems rather suspect to me, but what do I know. I'm just a slacker on the verge of failing most of my classes. Surely a woman such as you knows better than I."
“I was only correcting your assumption that I’d been checking you out. And you being a slacker, by the way… is exactly why you’ll only ever be able to try to get on my level. But if you’ll excuse me...” Spinning on her heel, the hex manipulator dipped into her room to deposit her newly acquired books and to get changed for the simulation.
It didn’t take her long to meet up with the Omegas. Squeezing between a few people to meet up with her favorite team mate, she found herself next to Charlotte, Felix and Daylia when she realized that the Alphas were joining in on the fun. After the rules were explained, the dark-haired mutant started imagining their rivals as targets, but the two she most wanted to see were noticeably absent. “Doesn’t look like we get to torture Luke or Lynn.” She whispered, sounding disappointed. “Guess we’ll have to choose some other sorry saps…” Even as she said it, her eyes locked on Dimitri.
Narcissa charged Daylia and Gracie with babysitting the new kid, and she nodded stiffly, slightly confused. Pulling her fhaux-red head along, Gracie glanced back over her shoulder with mischief overtaking her expression. “Well, Speedy… I know you called me hot stuff earlier and I'm flattered - truly." She said, not sounding the least bit sincere. "But try not to stare too long at my a** as we leave. Charlotte needs a teammate worth her salt, and I guess you’ll have to do.”
As soon as they were out of earshot from the whole of the Omegas, Gracie let out a sigh. “If I can’t be trusted on the field, she probably shouldn’t trust me in sims and give a false sense of security that won’t be there if we ever go back to New York.” She muttered before looking at her friend to clarify. "I'm just saying, given the circumstances... I wouldn't want to put trust in me either." She said, squinting into the distance to try and find their charge. When she didn’t see him, she decided to try his comm.
“Yo, newb. Tall dark and potentially handsome because I didn’t see your face to make an assessment. You’re with Chameleon and I. Do you copy?” She really hoped the new guy had remembered to turn on his communicator. Switching channels, she paged Narcissa. "What's this kid's name again?"
Exchanging a look of exasperation with her bestie, she whistled lowly. “Do you see him at all? Shouldn’t he know that he’s much too little to be out on his own yet? Just where do they get the recruits nowadays anyway?”
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:47 am
Holding Cell - Sub Levels
At least they’d deemed her fit to heal her injuries, Aurelie thought sourly. That they had Katerina behind bars frayed her nerves… but Scott’s blatant refusal to let her see her best friend had been the worst. “I’ll let them know that there’s another injury that needs tending to. It looks like it’s at least a bad sprain, and keeping you in pain is unnecessary and cruel.”
Frustrated, she pounded the force field separating the two of them, and sank to the floor when it wouldn’t give away. She glared at the cell catacorner from the shapeshifter, dubbing him cold and unfeeling but Kat saw differently. “What he did… the way he lost control…” Her voice was thin gruel on a winter’s day when she spoke of Leo. “He’s not the person I thought he was.” A little sadness gave way then, and she peeled her gaze from the corner of the room, as if it would make the pain go away.
Belligerence quickly replaced that heady mix of emotions though when Katerina stated that he’d been released. Though her bestie had no love for the former spy, she tried to explain Leo’s actions in a way that Aurie could swallow them, but to no avail. It spoke volumes of Kat's character, even if she couldn't see it in herself. “None of that matters, Kat.” She said, straightening her back with her growing conviction. “He knew better. He’s always pretended to be the better man, to the point that I even believed the charade. But losing control and trying to slaughter you…” By her tone, she made it clear that it was unforgivable. The only thing that calmed her a bit was to know that Leo was leaving. A pang of sadness tore through a distant part of her, but it wasn't enough to make even the most minute change in her features. He had chosen what he did... there was no going back from it.
“You aren’t a monster. Don’t ever let anyone make you think that. An upbringing doesn’t make who you are if you don’t let it shape you.” In her heart, she believed that Kat would one day know the difference between right and wrong - and choose the path of morality. While she might not ever see the world in a normal perspective, she would learn that the world wasn’t always dog eat dog, but there were bits of kindness too. But it would only happen if everyone would stop treating her like a criminal.
The shapeshifter shared that Bella had chosen to forgive her, and Aurelie bit out a sarcastic reply. “It was something…” But if the Alpha leader truly had forgiven Kat for the attack, why hadn’t she asked Scott to release her?
The longer she sat next to the cell, the angrier Aurelie became at the whole situation - especially when Kat so dejectedly pointed out how the X-men saw her. After giving her best friend a speech to top all speeches, the telekinetic brushed tears from her cheeks. “You’re more than what they see, love. I promise. Just because they are blind to it, don’t let them tarnish the good things.”
She worked herself into a furious frenzy, and soon vowed to get Kat released. Nothing anyone said - not even Katerina Force herself - would change her mind. “I’ll be back.”
Simulation Room - Sub Levels
A small smile graced her features when the shape shifter reminded her of her presence. “It’s just been a long couple of weeks.” The telekinetic admitted with a sigh. Leo’s letter kept nagging at her. She hadn’t burned it as she had initially wanted to, but she still hadn’t brought herself to read it. Nothing it said could make her forget that he nearly took away the one person on base who gave a rat’s a** about her. Before joining the Alphas, she had thought that person was Scott… had looked up to him as a father. But his decisions of late called that feeling into question.
Her bestie’s suggestion of cocoa and soap operas sounded much more relaxing than attending a team session - especially since she didn’t feel any team spirit at the moment. Tempted as it was, she played the voice of reason between the pair; she had promised Kat wouldn’t step a toe out of line if she were released. Not attending the mandatory session would break that promise all too soon. “With marshmallows and chocolate shavings.” She promised, scrunching her nose in the unison with the shape shifter.
They listened to the rules in silence, and as soon as Kat suggested a plan, Aurie added to it with enthusiasm that she hadn’t expected. Nodding solemnly in agreement to Christian potentially losing those handsome features, a grin ghosted into her expression.”It would be doing the world a disservice for sure.”
Suddenly realizing that her shields might not provide the cover she initially thought, Aurie felt stripped. Doing as Kat instructed, there was a small hum when she threw up a telekinetic shield. “If they can shoot through it, maybe I can bend it the way light bends by making the shields round so that they fractionate land above our heads?” She tried another shield, and found a little solace that the theory worked. True, the walls would need more focus, but Kat was the better shot anyway. “I can either let the shield down long enough for you to shoot, or we can practice the mechanics and adjust our shots so we fire from within.”
Gabriel joined them as their eyes in the sky, and Aurelie shouted out a warning to him, telling him to watch for the Omega queen. Kat hadn’t heard, and unwillingly, Aurelie giggled. “From what Aren told Dom… he approached Cissa to work on some project regarding her mutation. Apparently it was technical, but you know boys and their short attention span… So basically all the Slovene got out of the conversation was that Narcissa almost blasted him.”
Their own leader’s voice patched through, giving them info on Christian and Peyton. Kat volunteered them to take the Omega pair out, and she snickered at her friend’s iron will. “If she tries to make us fly with those gale-force winds, I’ll keep us out of harm’s way.” Aurelie promised.
Following her friend up to the rooftop, Aurelie kept a dome of shields around them, just in case. Kat looked one way, she shored up the opposite. “Hey sharp-shooter,” She called out to Gabe again, her voice much quieter than last time on the off chance that someone was close by. “You see either of them?”
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Even her insults warmed him, and he smiled around the first bite of a taco. “Good to know.” He replied, purposefully with a mouth full of food. He hadn’t waited to sit to start eating.
Once he found her, he dropped the tray on the table as loudly as possible and slid into the seat. Narcissa feigned the slightest interest in what he had gotten, and he grinned at her opinion. “Dogs are eating good these days then.” He replied happily, digging into the burrito smothered with sour cream without a second’s hesitation.
He commented on her perfume, pretending as though it was her scent that allowed him to guess where she had been. “Oh I doubt if you ever give in to this piece right here that you’ll ever stray too far from the bed, ki’somma.” He said, chocolate eyes glimmering with the truth of his words. “No need for an Alpha to warm a spot next to you.”
But she took the bait and informed him what happened; it was an effort not to choke at how naive Gabe had been. “Where would he even get an idea for that anyway? It’s not like we’re running low on our generators here or anything.” His smile widened to pronounce dimples on either side of his mouth when she mentioned ‘kindly’ declining. “...Right.”
Were he a cat, he might have purred with the small contact with her. Instead, he hurried all that much more in shoveling food down his pie hole. “I’m a growing boy.” He countered, cheesing once he swallowed the last bit of food. He chased it with his remaining milk and slammed the glass down on the tray. “Plus I didn’t want to prolong your torture of sitting here, watching me barely chew my food.”
Kicking back, Aren laced his fingers behind his head and grinned as he let his lunch settle. “Now what do you want to do? I mean… I know of a few things… but they’ll require messing up your hair.” He said, his voice lowering an octave of its own accord.
Time Skip
The rules of engagement had a stipulation made specifically after he and Dom had ducked out of one of the sim sessions, and he couldn’t help but comment on it. Even with her most vicious glare, Cissa could not intimidate the smirk from his face. He asked innocently who would think to disqualify themselves, and her scathing annoyance was clear. “I mean… that doesn’t help the team.” He coughed, trying to look patriotic despite what he was doing behind the scenes.
He pulled on their tether, and it seemed to thrum with need, but Narcissa’s response was clipped, cutting him out for the moment. She gave the team one of her infamous pep talks that was more drill sergeant than cheerleader, and the team dispersed.
Falling into soldier mode as much as he could, he followed his leader, nodding when she gave him instructions. Despite his initial protest about guns, Aren was a good shot, taking out three grunts in the first minute. Shrugging in case she was colored surprised, he snapped the clip to ‘reload’ the laser. “When you live in the woods, you learn very quickly that guns are better for bears.” He said.
She made a makeshift arrow of light, and he bobbed his head appreciatively. “You’ll make a good rez girl yet, ki’somma.” For now, he left their invisible tether alone, because distracting her when she was supposed to be leading a team had been one of the arguments against letting everyone in on their secret. But doing so ached, pretending that it wasn't there left him feeling as though he were missing a part of himself.
"Just so you know though... if we get taken out early... there are plenty of other ways to exercise."
Amarillo broadcasted that he and Alice were going to take out the buildings, and Aren scanned the horizon. Taking out the higher ground might be a good idea."Just remember to yell, 'Timber' so they know where you are, cowboy."
Fluttering over to Bella, the raven haired leader of the Alphas seemed happy to see her, and Eden was helpless to keep her features from warming into a bright smile in return. She was ecstatic to be on Bella’s team, and even happier to be able to spend some time with her. The songstress had always been good company, so sweet and friendly that it was hard not to love her. Yet she couldn’t help noticing something a little… off with her friend. It was understandable, considering what she’d heard about everything that had happened, but a little disheartening. Maybe a little laser tag was just what she needed, something to focus on.
She perked up as Bella took her as a partner for the game, and suggested they do their best to win. ”Definitely! Isn’t that the point?” she agreed cheerfully. Why play if not to win? She shook her head softly at the next comment, ”Oh don’t you even worry about that. As long as I have my amazing, beautiful Siren, I’m happy.” If she’d been texting, the message would have easily required a big, throbbing heart emoji. Or ten. But Bella would just have to hear it in her tone as it got a little gushy over her favorite songstress.
Chocolate waves bobbed as she gave her friend an agreeable nod. ”Up is my specialty.” She noted happily as she watched Bella wind up and shoot off into the air. Eden took to the skies to follow along, her feet landing gracefully on the very edge of the roof as her eyes grazed the streets below - for both red and blue. Being on the ground made her feel practically blind when she was so used to a bird’s eye view.
Sometimes she worried that she couldn’t contribute much - her ability had little offensive use aside form high speed body slams or dropping things on people - but she would always lend any use she had to her team. Providing information was one way in which she could help. However, Bella beat her to it, planning on putting her own ability to use to give their team an edge. It seemed so dirty, but wasn’t actually against the rules. Was it? ”Love it. Let’s tear them apart.” Insert smile emoji here.
Eden’s head bobbed in an easy affirmative when asked if she would watch the siren’s back. ”Always.” She acknowledged tenderly, giving the sound user a soft smile. ”Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.“ Bella began calling out the Omegas and Eden listened in as she kept watch on the area around them. She really didn’t know much about the Omegas - or most of the Alphas for that matter - so any bit of information was helpful to her. Don’t get too close, aggressive rhino, etc….
When the team leader mentioned someone trying to kill her, the friendly brunette’s head tilted a little and her brows furrowed. ”Like... really?” she asked as her friend tried to brush the comment off. It was hard to imagine why anyone would want to kill someone so sugary sweet, but the songstress seemed a little irked by it. In a way that it didn’t seem she would be if whoever had vowed to do such a thing had been playing around.
”Why?” she pressed, curiously.
At the warning that two Omegas were heading their way, Eden quietly peeked over the edge of the roof to scan the streets below. She only assumed they would be on the ground - she wasn’t used to anyone being on her altitude. Her feet silently left the ground to get a better look as she heard an awful noise at the building next door.
Hovering a little closer, it shouldn’t have been such a surprise when she spotted the culprits (Blake and Alice). But it sent a startled jolt through her spine when she did, and she let out a squeak of surprise before pointing her gun at the two and spamming laser shots at them from high above as fast as she could. She was by no means a good shot. The only guns she’d ever held before were loaded with water, or Nerf darts. But a bunch of scattered shots might hit one of them? If she was on top of their heads?
”Stick ‘em up!” she called out playfully, ready to dart out of the way of any shots they tried to take at her. She ascended a little higher where she felt more at home, and tried not to stay in one spot for too long. She couldn’t get eliminated - Bella needed her backup. And one thing she felt like she could do was be a hard target to hit. And maybe a bit of a distraction...
XX【 】Name: Alexander Magnus XX【 】Codename: Wraith XX【 】Team Affiliation: Alpha XX【 】Location: Training Simulation
Despite his desire to be more proactive, Wraith understood the nature of the simulation. This was a game perhaps, but it was also training. That meant doing your best to win using your skills. Sure, it is fun to come in gun blazing and take out a few as you go down in dubious glory, but his powers were more subtle than that. His abilities were dismally normal, at least where his power was not involved. That power was specifically tailored to ambush and sneaking, so that was what he would do. Moving around the simulation, he did his best to stick to normal hiding places, taking care to use his shadows to obscure his indicator whenever he had to move. The thought of cloaking his entire form was not foreign to his mind, but shadows were not one-way. If he hid all of himself from others, then he wouldn't be able to see either. No, he had to be careful. Cautious. Paranoid. Thankfully, those were traits he was exceedingly familiar with. The moment he fired a weapon or got careless, he would become a target. Thus, stealth was the order of the day.
He was also acutely aware of the fact that neither movement nor his powers would muffle sound. He only moved when he felt completely safe in doing so, and used his power sparingly. Still, after a while, he began to realize he was still part of a team and should act like it. Reaching up with his hand, he activated the comm unit, and looked around to make sure his voice would not give away a position. He also noted possible escape routes as he hid behind cover. First rule in any situation: have a backup plan. His voice was calm, soft, not much above a whisper as he spoke. Partially because he was not keen on giving away his position . . . and partly because he was not yet used to being part of a team. "Uhhh, hi. Wraith online here. Sorry I was late getting to the party. Anybody need backup on team Alpha?" The voice almost cracked several times in uncertainty. Confidence was not one of his stronger suits, but he could make a stand if he had to. In the meantime, he peered around for any sign of being discovered.
Without obvious sign, he began to look for options. This was training for a variety of things. such included power usage. it would be awesome to be able to fly! he thought. Better vantage points, out of the typical line of fire, and similar things. But he could make shadow constructs. That got him thinking about how to make it work. He wondered about making something for just a moment to stand on. A stepping point. He would be able to walk wherever he wanted at any time! Or perhaps he could cobble together a platform just big enough to sit or lay on and fly like the superheroes. He didn't dare right now, since flying around would make him both easy to see and a prime target- but it was something he logged in his head for later experimentation. For now, he was unsure where to go, or what to do other than not get hit, and try to help his team.
Trouble was, he didn't really know much about the team, having just recently been assigned to one. Sure, he was aware of the Alpha and Omega groups, but never gave either a whole lot of thought. The Alphas were the more safe and boring group. While no less powerful, they were more a cohesive unit and slower to the flashy stuff. Omegas were all about power from what he saw, and quick to go in and start trouble. Trouble was they were not as much a group as a classification. Team versus group, family versus mercenary. Wraith had heard in the theater that "The devil has all the best tunes." Bad guys and roughstarters were more fun to be in the moment, but they lacked the stability of a team. For his first foray into the team environment, this would be the test to see if he was right. For good or ill, Wraith was part of team Alpha- time to see what that meant.
The alarm sounded and he set off into the fight. He kept an eye on Kerrigan as she went into the field, smiling when she wished him luck. 
