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| A Nice Night to Die Hard...or something.; [Open to anyone in Hell's Kitchen] | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 1 2014, 07:07 AM (601 Views) | |
| Anole | Jul 1 2014, 07:07 AM Post #1 |
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Unregistered
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June 7 Midnight Vic clung to the wall of the building, his feet firmly planted so that he could lean back against the wall in a pseudo sitting position. His camouflage was activated, helping to blend him into the wall. He'd forgone his usual uniform, thinking it best not to wear anything that could be traced back to the Institute. Plus Vic had lately been forming the opinion that it was useless for someone with a physical mutation like him to even wear a uniform. He was only wearing some comfy cross-trainers, a pair of worn jeans, a blue t-shirt, a small backpack and a bulletproof vest he'd managed to abscond with that was normally used for training. Clipped to his belt was a police scanner with a set of ear buds attached. Lately Vic had found himself afloat on a sea of uncertainty about his future. And he wasn't really sure just exactly what he was doing now. He had sneaked away yet again and now here he was about to break one of the strictest rules at Xavier's- NO VIGILANTISM! All he knew was that if he was to become a superhero, he needed to experience all the various types of hero including the vigilante. He'd picked Hell's Kitchen because of the tragic death of Daredevil at the hands of Spiral. Vic had respected him almost as much as Captain America, and was hit just as hard when he died as he was when Cyclops had been killed. The difference being that Cyclops had come back, but Daredevil probably never would. And was there really a difference between those who fought Omega-class villains bent on world destruction and those who simply fought to protect their home and neighbors? Vic didn't think so, they were both heroes in his eyes. He truly believed that there were no small crimes. Although some small crimes led to some very big fish once in a while. So here he was clinging to the wall of an abandoned building used by a known drug dealer and he was about to go in and try to take him out. He was listening to the police scanner to keep track of any police in the area. He'd taken his time and made sure where everyone was in the building. Two men at the front and two at the back. One man guarding the rooftop access with all the main action occurring on the third floor of the building. Vic crawled to the roof thinking the entire time, 'what the hell are you doing?' He wasn't the Punisher, or Cap, or Spider-Man, or even that archer lady he'd heard about. He peeked over the edge at the roof thinking, 'this is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy, etc.. The rooftop guard was just standing there talking on his cell phone with someone named 'LaRhonda.' 'See, now this is professionalism at its worst,' he thought. 'Talking on the phone when you should be guarding the door. Unbelievable!' Vic began to crawl up onto the rooftop when he heard a noise behind him. |
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| X-23 | Jul 1 2014, 07:43 PM Post #2 |
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Wolverine-Girl
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Some things did not change, it seemed. No matter where X-Factor were based, they had a multitude of responsibilities. Of them, some were large, some small. But they were always important. Saving the world did not always mean stopping an alien invasion or killer robots. The ‘world’ was relative. And little things were always important. So, things were not overlooked if they were there to be seen. Or in this case, heard. Contact was always maintained between the X-men and X-Factor and just a short time ago, a call had come into the Complex to state that a student had decided to go out and not come back for curfew. As it was a two hour drive to the city from the school, it was easier and quicker if persons already in the city could respond and find the young man, talking some sense into him if necessary. Dressed in her combat suit, X-23 was not spoiling for a fight though. But this was Hells Kitchen and since the death of Daredevil, despite interventions, the area was a little rougher than under the Man Without Fear’s protection. Hence it was important to find the student and yank him off of the street. The novice was going to get himself killed if he tangled with the wrong villain and it did not even have to be someone with powers. Hence she was not alone, even if Vic might think that she was at first. X-Factor was all about being on a team. X-23 was an experienced hunter, even if she did not know the scent of the one she tracked. Hunting was more than that. It was also observation and it did not take her long to find what was out of place. And smell what was out of place. The residual scent of the school and the surrounding area clung to the boy faintly, even if he was harder than most to spot. At first, she just tracked him, watching. It was child’s play to follow him. But, it was not something that she particularly enjoyed so when he came to a stop to observe the guard on the rooftop, Laura silently moved from the roof of the building opposite, climbed down the fire escape and sprung to the next, deftly moving up the metal stairs. Springing up in a fluid motion, she pounced, landing lightly on the ledge in front of him. “Curfew. Noun. A regulation enjoining the withdrawal of usually specified persons (as juveniles or military personnel) from the streets or the closing of business establishments or places of assembly at a stated hour.” Folding her arms across her leather clad chest, she nodded her head towards the security guard. “You were not about to disrupt this man, were you? You are in enough trouble as it is, Victor. Do you know the school contacted us?” she raised a dark eyebrow. This was not in her nature, so she would be very glad when ‘help’ decided to pop over the other side of the roof and do most of the talking. |
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| James Proudstar | Jul 1 2014, 09:06 PM Post #3 |
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Unregistered
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Jim had a remarkable knack of being in the right place at the right time. Or wrong time, as it would so appear. He'd gone out with a few friends for drinks when he'd been alerted to the fact that a student hadn't shown up for curfew and he was to keep an eye out for him. This had, of course, prompted him to end his night early and start sniffing around. He'd done a decent sweep of mutant town and kept himself in the loop with X-Factor. They had been in contact too of course, and it was more likely for them to kind him before he did. It was nice of course that Anole wasn't too difficult to find. He was, after all, a rather distinctive lad, and he'd encountered him since he'd gotten back from his trip, so all of his physical signs were fresh in the Apache's mind. Jim was a seasoned tracker, and even in the concrete jungle, he was fairly confident in his ability to track down the student. He wasn't as familiar with Hell's Kitchen as some of the other parts of New York, but he knew it well enough to know where to find trouble. The entire area had started to go back downhill since Daredevil had been killed, and this certainly was no place for a student to be by himself. It wouldn't take much to put him in serious danger; it didn't take super powers to make someone lethal, especially to a teenager. Even as it was, Jim had both knives in plain sight, strapped to his belt in case something got messy. He kept his eyes to walls, roofs, waiting for something that caught his attention. Anything out of the ordinary warranted his attention. His focus paid off. The school had a smell that stuck to it, and it was out of place in the dark city. That, paired with a sneaker imprint on a wall gave him something to track. He followed it religiously, moving up fire escapes or anything he could get his hands on to get higher up on the buildings. As he neared, another scent caught his attention. It wasn't one he knew off the top of his head but it was close to Anole. Shortly after however, a voice paired itself with the scent. Sounded like X-Factor. He'd been right about them tracking him down. As she finished speaking, Jim pulled himself up onto the rooftop and walked towards them, one hand resting on the knife on his hip. His eyes went to X-23 for a moment before they locked onto Victor with a ferocity that could of lit fires. This kid seemed to have a knack for breaking rules. That needed to change soon. He was going to get himself into more than he could handle. "You mind explainin' why you're in the middle of Hell's Kitchen at midnight, Victor? And don't tell me you were sleep walkin'." He looked back at Laura and nodded a little at her. "Thanks for findin' him before he got into any trouble." |
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| Anole | Jul 2 2014, 07:38 PM Post #4 |
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Unregistered
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“You were not about to disrupt this man, were you? You are in enough trouble as it is, Victor. Do you know the school contacted us?” 'Who was this lady? And disrupt? Who talked like that?' Vic glanced over at the thug and saw him mouth, 'what the f-?' "You mind explainin' why you're in the middle of Hell's Kitchen at midnight, Victor? And don't tell me you were sleep walkin'." He looked back at Laura and nodded a little at her. "Thanks for findin' him before he got into any trouble." Vic rolled his eyes as Warpath joined the party. Ignoring their questions, he looked back at the thug. He'd dropped the phone, no doubt LaRhonda would be mad. And he was now reaching into his leather jacket. Using the strength in his right arm, Vic launched himself into the air. He executed an almost text book flying cartwheel moving between X-23 and Warpath. He continued his forward momentum with a somersault. As he came upright, he grabbed a brick and tossed it from his crouched position at the thug, hitting his hand and knocking the gun out of it. He then charged the thug, and after executing a couple tumbles, leaped into the air and brought his right heel across the face of the thug in a roundhouse kick. The thug fell, already unconscious. He then picked up the gun, and ejected the magazine. He then pulled the slide off the semi-automatic, and tossed the two pieces to opposite ends of the roof. He looked at X-23 and Warpath. "Me, get hurt? I didn't turn my back on the drug-dealin' gun-totin' thug." With a quick smile, Vic yanked open the door to the stairwell and ran inside. |
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| Volt | Jul 2 2014, 10:51 PM Post #5 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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The door to the stairwell flung open and in barreled a little green lizard kid... right into Jonny Harper's waiting arms... well, if waiting arms meant hands crackling with a lightning storm preventing every possible escape, unless lizards were suddenly immune to electricity. "Well, shit," Jon said, his normally jovial tones dark and annoyed, his eyes glazed and semi-unfocused, but that did not make him any less deadly. "you fucked this whole operation up, kid." ***** Five minutes earlier Jonny stood in the warehouse with the Pharmacy, a mutant with the ability to synthesize various drugs from the excretions of his body. Blood, sweat and tears, each one producing a specific effect ranging from narcotic to purely medicinal. His 'human name' was Procter, and being the sort of entrepreneurial fellow he was, he had made quite the name for himself in certain circles. Technically, this was not illegal according to Procter, because, as he said, "Some asshole wants to buy a vial of sweat, who am I not to take his money?" So, there wasn't much to be done to stop Procter's body fluid operation unless the DEA found a new way to classify illegal substances. They were definitely trying, they were watching Procter's back as closely as they could, but mutant law, and mutant rights was a hot button right now, and human law enforcement agencies were finding it difficult to do what was necessary to take mutant criminals off the streets. Honestly, what was the penal code for "unlawful tear licking?" There wasn't one. Don't be stupid. So, in desperation, they had turned to SHIELD, who in turn had turned to mutant factions who functioned in the role of mutant cops, which included groups like the X-Men, and X-Investigations... or in this case, X-Factor. They had gone into Mutant Town, and done a little sleuthing and found out that Procter knew a little something beyond pedaling hallucinogenic body ooze. For months now, there had been a rash of attacks on mutantkind, human thugs using tech far too advanced for their paygrade. Nullifiers, genetic decoders, x-gene eradicators. The Legacy Squad at the School, basically the X-Men's secondary team, had spoken to X-Factor about this and it turned out that two birds had been killed with one stone. Procter knew something about these tech suppliers, and he was willing to meet with Jonny Harper, the X-Factorite codenamed Volt, to discuss what he knew in exchange for some wiggle room regarding his fluid production. But they weren't going to meet in Mutant Town, hell no. Too many ears. Too many eyes. Sometimes both on the same mutant. Either way, on this night, Jonny had agreed to meet with Procter, and the leaky mutant took his best men to stand watch. There were other members of X-Factor patrolling elsewhere, including a couple who were scouring the city for a runaway student from the school but surely that wasn't going to interfere, would it? The only annoyance regarding that was it meant Jonny was going to have to meet with Procter, alone. Not that that Jon oculdn't take care of himself. He used to be a murderer for hire after all. But it meant there was no one around to appreciate his witticisms and devastating good looks... ... well, except Procter. "You're killing me, Harper," Procter pouted, "not even a little taste? Just for friendship's sake... It will make you feel really good." Jonny smiled at Procter, and said, "Now, now, business before pleasure you wicked thing. Trying to seduce an officer of the law." Procter winked at him, "It's always good to have a friend in high places." "I'm sure it is," Jonny smiled, "in fact I know it is. I'm dating the Sub-Director of Shield, remember." "Hmph," Procter stomped his foot, "what's she got that I ain't got." "You really need to ask?" Jonny laughed, "But what you do have is very important, Pharm. You know who's out there killing our people. You've seen them, haven't you? You know them?" Procter's eyes lost their humor, "If I give up this info, Jon, I demand protection. I demand some sort of recompense, because I won't be out on the streets without a null dart jammed in my neck. Those fuckers are serious and they are dangerous. Why you think I got LaRhonda here to watch my back" He looked over at LaRhonda, a seven foot tall woman with plate scale armor covering her back and meaty arms, currently on her phone with one of the lookouts. "LaRhonda is more than capable of taking care of you but don't worry. We're on it," Jonny said, "Tell me what you know so we can stop this." Suddenly, from the roof above them, there was the sound of a scuffle, and the sound of running, men beginning to shout. LaRhonda dropped her phone and said, "Pharm, the lookout on the roof is down. This is a set up!" Procter glared at Jon, "What the fuck?" Jonny raised his hands, "Pharm, this isn't my doing, I swear. This is on the up and up." "Bullshit," the Pharm said. "LaRhonda?!" LaRhonda vanished in a pillar of smoke, and reappeared behind Jonny grabbing him by his neck, and though Jonny clamped his hand on LaRhonda's giant mitts, and the lightning coursed through her body, he was lifted off the ground by his neck. "You want I should snap his neck now, Pharm?" "Don't..." rasped Jonny, "you're... making a... mistake..." Procter wiped his eyes, and said, "Maybe, but this deal is off. You idiots can't protect yourself, I need someone better to protect me." Then he flicked his hand, splashing his tears into Jonny's eyes. The world went topsy-turvy, and Jonny collapsed to the ground. He got dizzily to his feet, but LaRhonda put her hand on Procter's shoulder and the two vanished. "Sonova..." Jonny muttered, drugged and loopy, but recovering from it quickly. He struggled to his feet, and bolted for the roof. Whoever fucked this shit up was in serious trouble. His hands crackled with his electricity, and his self control was low. Someone was going to hurt for this. |
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| X-23 | Jul 3 2014, 11:38 PM Post #6 |
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Wolverine-Girl
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X-23 had caught the scent of the X-man Warpath before he spoke, so his appearance was of no surprise to her any more than her own presence was to him. Although she only knew him in the most casual of respects, she was aware they had some very similar powers and he would know how Wolverine operated very well, so...There was little worry or confusion to be had in this chance team up. Then, a series of things happened very fast in a disastrous coincidence. Well...It could all have been so very worse. It was not how it seemed either and the feral clone held up a hand to still Warpath as Anole assumed he was showing off and getting the better of a mutant tracker and one of the best assassins in the world. Dear boy, dear, sweet boy…He was clumsy and assuming far too much, overstepping his bounds in many more ways than one. A potentially costly mistake, because even if he ran away, they would still know about him. It could have gone so much simpler, more pain free if he had admitted to his mistakes and just walked away from Hell’s Kitchen that night. As it was, he was lucky that he had not been shot in the face. Clearly he was dealing with a rank amature to have taken them down with so little effort Her lip curled up into a smile as the door burst open, a familiar scent growing stronger. But her expression quickly changed. Something was wrong. Her claws slid out on both hands. For show, mainly. The situation was tense and it was still unpredictable as to what could happen next. Silently, she padded up behind Vic where Jon now held him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “We turned our backs on no one. That was not our call. But you, you turned our backs on us...I am not sure that was a smart choice.” Jonny could squish the boy like an insect, or cremate him with electricity. But that sadly, would be rather bad, as much as it would teach him a lesson. “Jon...Set him down. Now. He made a foolish mistake,” she spoke levelly. “We shall deliver him to the school in the morning where he can explain just exactly what it is that made him run away to play in the city,” glancing at Warpath she nodded. “It is late and I am sure you do not want to make the two hour drive back to Westchester. We have room for you both…” That nicety offered, Laura shifted her attention back to Jonny. She did not delight in seeing him like this, so pulling the claws back on her right hand, X-23 moved closer and put a pale hand on his arm. “Volt...Are you with me, Brother?” her voice was mostly devoid of emotion but there was real concern there. Flicking her eyes to Vic, she smirked a little at him. “I also forgot to add...I have a message from Wolverine for you.” Going into her pocket, the clone pulled out a cellphone and after a few swipes of the screen, held it up a little. “Borkowski, you get your damned punk ass with X-Factor then back to the school ASAP. So help me if I have to come there myself for you, it ain’t gonna be fun. If you think this is a game then you can go play in Wolfsbane’s class. We understood, bub?” Her hand went back to Volt’s arm and she gently pulled again. “Come. Victor here is going to be suitably shown the error of his ways. Is that not correct, Warpath?” |
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| James Proudstar | Jul 5 2014, 05:47 PM Post #7 |
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Unregistered
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The moment Victor did anything but start apologizing profusely, Jim was ready for something stupid. He wasn't expecting stupid on the level that it occurred, however. Now he was a little pissed at the kid. As Anole launched himself through the air, Jim was ready to yank the student back, only stopped by the raised hand Laura gave him. He shot her a look of confusion as Anole attacked the guard. Jim trusted Laura, although her stopping him raised plenty of questions. Anole was lucky the guy hadn't shot him, and he was obviously poorly trained to have been taken down so easily by a student. He scowled a little as Anole got fresh with the both of them. Who the hell did he think he was? "What're we--" Jim stepped forward as Anole opened the door, but froze in his tracks as his question was answered and he saw who was behind it. Good to know Laura wasn't by herself. Jon, however, looked wrong. Something was definitely off. Jim could hear Laura's claws show themselves and his hands snapped to his belt, gripping the hilt of his knives. He approached Vic and Jon quietly, watching for any sign that Jon was going to electrocute Vic or something. While he probably deserved a little bit of roughing up, Jon was quite capable of incinerating the boy and that wasn't going to solve anything. First the incident at the expo, and now this. Anole seemed to enjoy getting in trouble. Jim hadn't been able to do much during the expo as he was still technically away from the team, but now he was back and had that authority again. He stood silent as Laura talked Jon down, still tensed and ready for move if anything happened. Something serious must of happened downstairs to leave Jon in such a hostile state, and that was dangerous. The look in his eyes was foggy and unfocused, which was strange and possibly very dangerous. Anole had fucked up something important, that much was clear. He glanced to Laura and nodded a little when she offered to let them both stay with X-Factor until tomorrow when he could get them back to the school. It wasn't until Laura pulled her claws back that Jim finally relaxed and let go of the hilts. He watched Anole like a hawk still though, if the boy did anything that even resembled trying to get away from them again, he was going to put a stop to it. He was fast enough to catch the kid and more than strong enough to keep him from getting away. There was going to be no more funny business. James did smile a little however, when Laura pulled her phone out and Logan's voice came from the other side. That was a very nice touch. He nodded again as she pulled on Volt. "Absolutely." He growled. "Thank you for letting us stay with you tonight, I appreciate it." His focus shifted back to Anole as he folded his arms. "We'll stay the night at X-Factor, and in the morning I'll drive us back to Westchester, and then you can explain to Warren why it is that you decided that you could come and play hero in the middle of the night. You can also start workin' on how to apologize to X-23 and Volt for messin' up their operation and smart-assin' them. We have these rules for a reason, Anole, and it's to avoid situations like this. You're damn lucky that he--" He gestured to the guard who was starting to sit back up and holding his head. "--Didn't shoot you or otherwise hurt you." |
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| Mystique | Jul 6 2014, 01:04 PM Post #8 |
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Unregistered
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"Jon-boy." Her voice crackled over telepathic comms, facilitated by her small friend Shortpack. "Your lovely couple just popped up on the other end of the block. I've a tracer round loaded and ready; the woman shouldn't even feel it with that back acne of hers. It'll make them easier to find. If you can peel your attention away from babysitting the ingrates of that school for a moment, I'd like your opinion on if this charmer is worth tailing." Mystique looked down at the unfolding situation on the rooftop. Her skin was the color of rivited, corrugated steel, like the water tank behind her. The rifle was loaded with one specific bullet; a gift from her own massive stashes of hard currency. Of course, X-Factor wouldn't be keen on lead remedies, but trackers, well, they helped so much. "She's a big one. Looks like she's getting ready to hop again." A yellow eye squinted as the other stared down a cylinder at the magnified image. Her trigger finger itched. One vial of anything from that creep and she'd be paid up for the month, she knew it. The boy down on the rooftop irritated her even if her aggression was passive. Spending six months at a school full of people who didn't at all trust you, your children included, had a way of embittering one to an entire package. Of course, McLellan was there, but she couldn't help but feel like a novelty to him. A flash in the pan. Like she could disappear and everyone would say "I told you so." and he'd get on with his life. "I'm taking the shot." She said, "We can decide to follow later if we want." She certainly intended to. A pffbt sounded briefly, one only the likes of Laura and Proudstar would here, the suppressed bullet firing quiet but long, the sticky tab zooming across the streets and down against one of the woman's sickly plates of armor. "Two points." She whispered before jumping down the ladder. "It will never cease to amaze me that these children who live in a school can be so stupid. You're aware that they keep you there because there are worse things to stalk the streets than drug dealers and alley rats, right?" Like you, Mystique. Ignoring her interior self deprecation she folded her arms. "Your stupidity could have gotten Harper killed," she exaggerated, "we sort of like him." |
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| Anole | Jul 7 2014, 06:40 AM Post #9 |
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Unregistered
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By using his wallcrawling ability to glue his feet to the floor, Vic managed to stop before running into the new person and being fried by him. The man spoke to him. "You fucked this whole operation up, kid." Vic gave the man a withering look, thinking the entire time, 'gave me a break, jerkoff.' When each word from the people lecturing him, Vic's normally green skin was slowly turning red with anger. The frustration from all the disappointments he'd suffered lately began bubbling to the surface and were about to burst. He looked back over at the dealer's thug when Warpath started talking about him. "You're damn lucky that he--" He gestured to the guard who was starting to sit back up and holding his head. "--Didn't shoot you or otherwise hurt you." Vic, with his arms crossed, walked over to the disoriented thug and kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious again with a large purple bruise beginning to spread across his face. He walked back over to the group, and looking at Warpath said, "you're right...he's vicious." He then turned to X-23 with an irritated look on his face, and said, "look, Mini-Me, I was camouflaged, and that thug had no idea I was here and everything was under control 'til you and Gigantor here," he jerked a thumb at Warpath, "lumbered into the middle of all this alerting him to my presence. I could have easily made my way past him while he was distracted talking to his girlfriend." He looked over at Volt. "By the way, nice 'secret' meeting place, double-oh-7." Vic made little air quotes when he said the word 'secret.' "I found this place in less than an hour. The ten year old kids the dealer had posted as lookouts two blocks in each direction were a dead giveaway. Not many parents, even in a place like Hell's Kitchen, let their kids wander around at midnight, much less buy them cell phones." "It will never cease to amaze me that these children who live in a school can be so stupid. You're aware that they keep you there because there are worse things to stalk the streets than drug dealers and alley rats, right?" He noticed Mystique for the first time when she started to speak. 'Great,' he thought to himself. 'Another one.' "No, they keep us there to train to fight against those worse things, but that doesn't mean the drug dealers and alley rats should be ignored." "Your stupidity could have gotten Harper killed," she exaggerated, "we sort of like him." "Who the hell is Harper?" Vic asked as he shrugged and shook his head, a look of confusion on his face. He continued on without waiting for an answer. "Let me explain something to all of you. I've had no less than five years of combat training with one of the most vicious bastards to ever wear an X-Men suit, Wolverine. I've had acrobatics and infiltration training with Nightcrawler. And of course there was also tactical training with Cyclops. There are Navy Seals who've had less training." He looked at each one in turn. "As for what I'm doing here. It seems to me as if everyone has ceased to give a shit about these people and this place since Daredevil died. Even the guy pretending to be him stopped after Spiral ceased to be a threat. So if not me, then who? You?" He started laughing as he pointed at Mystique. "What? Her?" With that Vic pushed his way past the group and started down the steps. He just as suddenly stopped as he heard the running footsteps of the remaining four guards rushing up the stairs. He quickly backed himself into a corner on the landing, trying to make himself as small as possible, and activated his camouflage, making him unseen. |
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| X-23 | Jul 16 2014, 01:08 AM Post #10 |
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Wolverine-Girl
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Joint Post with Volt and X-23 It was hard to think through the dosing the Pharm had given him, and had this been only a couple years ago, Jon might have relished the mindless release of the killer he had been built to be. Blood pounded in his ears and behind his eyes and the electricity that was his power, his lifeline, crackled at the ports built into his hands. His fingers twitched and he was finding it hard to remember why he didn't just electrocute this smart mouth little brat, cause a heart attack, cause a seizure burn him to a crisp. But Laura was there, and Mystique, and Jimmy, and they knew what to say, what to do. His sister-clone-killer-hero put her small hand on his arm, her claws sheathed, but ready if he lost it, and she spoke to him in an emotionless monotone that only he knew was loving concern. "The Pharm dosed me," he said, as Mystique explained she was going to put a tracker in LaRhonda so they could find them later. "I'm high as a kite right now, but it's working it's way out." His voice was tight, and a bit slurred, but it was losing the out of control edge. The kid ranted about being a hero or whatever and Jon rested his head against the wall of the stairwell and laughed, "Wow. Just wow. I guess this is what happens when Scotty goes off the reservation. The young braves think they're heap big warriors. Gonna scalp 'em the pale face." He wasn't making a lot of sense and he knew it. But he wasn't in a position to care. “The young warriors who do not leave the reservation enough to know what actually happens,” Laura said with a sour note in her voice. Hells Kitchen might have gotten rougher around the edges, but members of XFI had been doing what they could as well and it was not hopeless. But clearly, those who ran around shooting their mouths off did not bother to ask questions before. It was not so surprising. Whatever impression Anole was hoping to make, had fallen flat, hard. “Five years of combat training? If you were as good as you think, then you would be a full X-man. That is nothing. Your arrogance marks that and lets down the example those at the school would set you..” More than five years ago she had been killing, dozens of people at a time, without a single shred of remorse or empathy. Jon had been a killer once too, and Raven. Jimmy had seen some dark things in his time she was quite sure. But one little boy wanted to make a big noise and claim to be better than them. Sighing, she gave Jon’s arm another pat, concerned for her teammate. Putting his hand over Laura's, Jon smiled sloppily at her and said, "You know I love you, right?" And it was more than the drug, more than amusement that she played along with his silly indian babble. She was holding him together in a way that was usually reversed. She was growing and becoming more and more than she thought she could be. It made him feel like he was able to keep being more himself. She scolded the boy for his arrogance and incompetence, and Jon's smile became a smirk as the boy tried to stalk off, only to find his path blocked by the impending arrival of what he probably assumed were drug lord muscle. A quartet of Shield agents, tactical swat level, not supers and not special ops, burst into the stairwell, weapons drawn. "ID yourself!" Jon raised his hands and said, "Front pocket, my shield id." The lead officer reached into the pocket and pulled out Jon's id. “Of course you do. Who else would put up with you? Aside from…” Anole had gone camouflage, but she could still smell him and indeed, no doubt so could Warpath. She simply shot the large Apache a look, raising her dark eyebrows and shaking her head. This was...What would it be called? Fucked up. Then SHIELD turned up, predictable as ever. “...Sub-Director Hill,” X-23 smirked. “Remove the badge and flip it over…” she instructed the one who took the card, trying to remain casual as she backed away, but her hackles had raised slightly. Despite everything, Laura remained naturally wary of SHIELD and probably always would. As far as her senses could tell, the student was still on the roof, but he would have to turn some amazing trick to avoid being tracked by herself and the X-man present. The Shield agents looked at the badges and at Mystique and Warpath. "Who are they?" "They're with us," Jon said, "This is a sanctioned operation." The Agent looked at him with an incredulous glare, "Yeah? Superheroes go around high?" "I was dosed," Jonny said, "Already coming down." One of the other Agents returned, "High up is giving them the clear. Said they were supposed to give an all clear, though." The Officer nodded and looked at them, "Things go south?" "We had an unexpected setback," Jon said, nodding to where Anole was camoflaged. "But it's all clear. We're all clear." “You may want to do a sweep of the block, however,” Laura put in, keeping SHIELD hanging around the area just in case. Their presence would put any other reprobates off from trying their luck, so it would be useful until they could effectively pack up and move out. This was turning into a less than productive evening for X-Factor. And potentially SHIELD, who no doubt would not appreciate the fact their time was spent here rather than at a more deserving call out. But it was good they had turned up. Now, if any of them turned to IR on their goggles...Well it probably would not be too good for Anole, but maybe a night in the Helicarrier brig would do him some good. “We can finish off here, officers, if you wish to sweep below. Thank you.” The agents looked at Laura, and did not seem all that pleased to be given orders by a girl but the little clone didn't bat an eye, and Jonny loved her all the more for it. There was a long tense pause and then the Officer said, "All right, keep a tighter rein on your operations though, X-Factor. The civvies are on high alert. We don't want any incidents that might cause... concerns. We clear?" "Crystal," Jon said. "Send my apologies to Maria... Sub-director Hill." The Officer rolled his eyes but from the pack of agents one of them let out an "Oh" of recognition, realizing now who Jon was. The agent next to him gave him an elbow to the ribs and Jon could barely hold in his laughter. "I'll send your regards," the Officer said. Then, Shield was gone, the way they had arrived, quiet, quick and efficient. Jonny let out a peal of laughter and said, "I am so going to hear about that later." “Clear, Officer,” Laura responded in kind and glanced to the others. She was on edge, almost on tiptoe as they waited for SHIELD to leave the rooftop, sniffing the air carefully. Oh they were still there. But a small smile crossed her face as Jonny laughed about it. “I am sure Maria will appreciate hearing about this...Just as I am sure Archangel and Beast will appreciate hearing about this. I think we have wasted enough time. Shall we leave now?” Jon nodded, "Someone wanna corral Gecko Boy? I don't trust myself not to shock the attitude out of him." Rolling her feral green eyes, she clapped him on the shoulder. “I do not trust you either. Come. We can order in some late food. I have missed being able to order in.” Waving her hand to Raven and Jimmy, Laura, looked over her shoulder to where Anole would be stood. “And that vicious bastard who wears an X-suit is my genetic donor. So I would be careful how you speak about the man who is technically my father. Because if you think he is vicious…” She had taken an oath not to kill anymore. But some days? Oh could she ever make an exception. |
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| James Proudstar | Jul 17 2014, 02:37 PM Post #11 |
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While Jim was watching Anole carefully, he was, at the moment, more concerned about Jon. Whoever "Pharm" was, had fucked with him in a way that made James very tense. Jon wasn't exactly the kind of mutant he had confidence in restraining if he suddenly snapped. Today wasn't a good day to be reduced to smoldering ashes. Behind them, Jim picked up the softest sound that he quickly identified as a gun. Didn't fire a bullet, it lacked the distinctive crack! that bullets gave off, even with a silencer. It also wasn't in his direction, which made it drop off of his list of things to factor into the situation. The woman who had made the shot on the other hand, was rather important. Mystique spoke up and Jim couldn't help but glance over at her for a moment before returning his gaze to Anole. The kid went on some big speech about why he was totally okay to break rules and not obey any of the people present there. James was characteristically silent when Jon and X-23 spoke (although Jon's metaphor was a little interesting). He was not impressed. If anything, Jim was visibly angry, his jaw set and features in a scowl. Five years of training did not make you the baddest ass on the block. Jim lacked the dark record that Laura, Jon or Raven had, but in the last five years, he'd seen some dark stuff. Done some dark stuff. This kid clearly didn't understand who he was around, and more so didn't understand that what he was doing what reckless and dangerous. He had little dog syndrome, thought he was one of the big boys. Anyone on that roof could of disposed of Anole rather quickly, and by no means were any of the mutants present the absolute most powerful or dangerous people out there. Hell, Jim had seen mutants destroy people with a thought. While this wasn't a mano y mano fight with Exodus, they'd been strong enough to throw Harper off his rocker. As Anole started to push past them, Jim got ready to follow him when he caught the scent of more people. Who else had decided to join this little party? SHIELD. SHIELD was who. Goddamn. Jim's hands twitched towards his belt for a moment, but looking even vaguely threatening to an agent probably was going to end with him being arrested, shot, or both. He was tempted to like, raise his hands over his head or something, as if they were the police, but instead tried to relax. He didn't truck well with SHIELD, not since John, and felt suspicious of why they were there. Nothing had been blown up, only one guy was going to end up with a bruise (possibly a minor case of serious brain damage) and there weren't exactly monsters destroying the city. It felt a little low for SHIELD to have made their entrance. But as it was, they were there and the only thing Jim could think to say was: "Uh, I've got my driver's license in pocket?" He had such a talent for word choice. However, it seemed that Laura and Jon had them covered. As they were discussing the fact that they weren't hauling any of them to the helicarrier, Jim looked to the stairwell. Vic had activated his camouflage, but he could still smell him there. Really, his scent was all it took. With it, Laura or himself could track Anole, and that was only one piece that he gave them. Running away was just going to end up with Anole getting arrested. Although maybe a night on the helicarrier might do him a little good. He matched the look Laura gave him and nodded a little. This was all a fucking mess. As SHIELD went from whence they came, Jim rolled his eyes a little. Explaining this to McCoy and Worthington was just going to be great. "I'll grab him." He moved to where Anole's scent came from and grabbed the boy roughly, hoisting him to his feet. He was tempted to throw the kid off the goddamn roof, but something told him that was going to go over as well as Jon electrocuting him. Jim had a grip on the boy that was probably on the borderline of being painful, but Anole wasn't going anywhere. "If you try something, I'm giving you over to SHIELD." He growled. "And they won't be listening to any of your crap, kid." Still holding Anole tight, Jim nodded a little at Raven. He lacked the resentment he knew some people still had for her, and while he didn't trust the woman as far as he could probably throw her, he was working on the whole "don't judge people by who they used to be" thing. He turned towards the way he came, Anole in tow. It was going to be a fun ride back home. |
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2:39 PM Jul 11