posted September 01, 2003 06:19 AM
Morning broke as it usually did at Xavier's School for the gifted, that had always remained the same. Other things, however had not. The Mutant Registration Act had been one thing and the forming a legitmate mutant hate group had been another. But for most of the mutants at the school what was wieghing most heavily on thier minds was Kiarah's mid-term exam.
She had woken up eariler and then usual and was done with her morning routine by 6. She walked into her dark office. It was not dark due to the early morning, her office/classroom was always dark when students were not there. Her eyes were extremely sensitive to the light. And she always wore a pair of silver reflective sunglasses to protect them. Dressed in her usual outfit of a redt tanktop, black jeans and long leather overcoat, her perpetually pale skin had earned her the nickname of DayVampyre among the students, but they would never let her hear them call her that. Seeing as it was going to be test day, Kia decided to bring more light into the room.
"That'll confuse a few of them," She thought to herself, as she began to light up her gothic style office. She had just finished and began to look over the day's test at her desk when there was a knock at the door. She looked up and hit the small silver button underneath her desk. The door opened and into the office strode quite a handsome man. His hair, jet black and spikey was still messy from sleep. He wearing a rumpled white shirt and a pair of old jeans.
"Danté, you still look asleep..." Kia laughed.
"No coffee...Danté need coffee..." He murmured caveman like as he walked into her office. He walked over to her desk and gave a goodmorining kiss on the cheek. Looking over her shoulder, he saw the tests.
"What's this?"
"Mid-terms, I'll bet two studied last night." Kia said laughing, " There's coffee in my room, Cave boy,"
"That is good...Cave boy happy..." He grunted, giving Kia a wink as he walked in the direction. Kia laughed and went back to her tests.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wyatt: All I ever wanted was just a normal life.
Doc: There is no 'normal' life, Wyatt. There's just life. You deal with it.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 01, 2003 08:10 AM
"Did you study?" Verity asked her best friends, Matt and Natalie. They were walking down the hall from the dorms at Xavier's School for the gifted towards Kiarah's classroom, where their evil mid-terms awaited. It was just after winter break, and the school was heated and warm as the children too young for midterms helped teachers remove holiday decorations.
"What kind of question is that?" Matt asked, rolling his eyes as the group turned a corner. Natalie and Verity laughed, sarcastically joking that they hoped Matt would fail the test. Matt never studied, but somehow always managed to pass any test. But somehow, this mid-term and the final in June was more important to Matt and Verity. It was different this year...
For Matt and Verity were both turning eighteen soon, and would have to brave the real world or stay at the mansion, teaching or helping the X-men. Verity had her future set, but what about Matt? Verity shrugged this question off as the tired teenagers took an elevator down to the floor that held Kiarah's, or DayVampyre's, classroom.
"Hey, that's new! Can I borrow it one day?" Natalie asked groggily, lifting up a seam to Verity's skirt. It was the usual black gothic-style skirt, but Verity had added a pink lace fairy skirt underneath. Verity liked wearing anything-but-basic black, leather and chains, with the occasional ruffles or tiara. Verity grinned.
"Sure, but maybe next time you should at least leave the dorms without some form of pajamas on!" Verity replied, smirking at Natalie's pajama pants. Natalie always claimed that she was just too tired to go anywhere without her pajamas. She always said that they had to wake up at such an ungodly hour that she shouldn't have to worry about anything but waking up.
"Enough of your fashion tips already!" Matt exclaimed, flailing his arms. They had come to Kiarah's door, and Matt was already knocking on it expectantly.
----------
DayVampyre is a goober, because Aylwen can talk in Spanish and refer to herself in the third person whenever she wants.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 01, 2003 09:58 AM
Danté had already left, morning cup of coffee in hand. He was giving a mid-term as well, thought the kids probably would like his better. He taught beginning mechanics, while Kia taught a combined socialogy and psychology course. It was a popular course, but that didn't make it easy. It was around eight o'clock when the first knock came at her door. She pressed the button and let the students in. There were three of them. Matthew, her perpetual trouble-maker, Natalie, lively and methodical, and Verity.
Verity was an enigma to herself. Having accompanied Kia and two others a reconassience mission, Verity had been taken onto the X-Men team early. The three took seats together, Verity caught Kia's eye and Kia gave her a little nod. Soon after, students began to filter in to the room.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wyatt: All I ever wanted was just a normal life.
Doc: There is no 'normal' life, Wyatt. There's just life. You deal with it.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 01, 2003 10:17 AM
"This makes me wish I had taken mechanics instead of psychology," Natalie chirped to Verity as they waited for last-minute stragglers to enter the room. Natalie had been optimistic about the test the night before, when she and Verity had tried to study. Now Verity's slightly younger friend was biting nervously on the end of her pen. "Just being in here for a mid-term psyches me out!"
"You originally did want to sign up for mechanics, remember?" Verity pointed out, her voice soft and melodic. Natalie rolled her eyes at the memory. Verity continued, "You thought it'd be a good chance to meet guys. But we talked you out of it because we know how you are with sharp metal objects."
Natalie and Verity laughed, but Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head regretfully.
"But then, we don't know what went wrong with you, Matt," Verity continued, Natalie began to stifle giggles as the last four students entered the room. "Somehow you ended up here instead of at advanced mechanics and vehicle repair."
The students quieted as Kiarah moved to the front of her unusually bright classroom, twenty large packets of paper in hand. She grinned, using her free hand to waft the pages back and forth.
"Ready for your test?" She asked, and all the students made a predictable, collective sigh as Kiarah passed out the tests.
----------
DayVampyre is a goober, because Aylwen can talk in Spanish and refer to herself in the third person whenever she wants.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted September 01, 2003 02:04 PM
She sighed and shivered a bit as she looked around the dingy gas station Stop-and-Shop. The man behind the counter looked at her hard as she bit her lower lip, trying her hardest to keep her temper. It would not be easy.
She subconsciously rubbed her wrists. It was almost as though she could still feel the handcuffs. Well, it had only been about a day since she got away. She still had a headache, and she flinched when the man finally spoke, glaring at her as though she was a horrid beast that was not to be trusted.
“We don’t serve animals,” he finally said, realizing that she was not planning on leaving.
“You wouldn’t make an exception?” she leaned over the counter, resting on her arms. She tried to look innocent, in the hopes that a bit of flirting would get her what she needed. She flinched as the sound of metal clinked on the countertop and tried not to look disappointed that the dog tags had fallen out of her shirt.
She saw the man’s eyes become even more determined as he read the tag. He was probably reading the dangerous right now. She guessed she was somewhat dangerous. She wasn’t able to use her powers when they arrested her for some reason. They had probably found some way to counter a mutant’s powers. Everything about her was on record, after all. She saw the man duck down behind the desk. When he stood up, he was holding a gun.
“Leave now, Dragonfly,” he said bitterly. She looked around, trying to judge distances. Even if she changed as quickly as she could, he would still have time to shoot her. Also, it hurt to change so quickly. She would need five seconds at least for the fastest comfortable change.
Then there was the truck driver at the other side of the store. Even if she turned into a tiger, he probably had a gun. They all had guns. Everyone had a gun these days. And what purpose would killing a shopkeeper serve? It would probably only land her in jail again…but she was not going to give up that easily.
“Look, I just want to buy this bottle of soda and these bags of chips,” she said, still leaning forward, trying to look unconcerned by the gun barrel that was about four inches from her face. She knew she was doing a poor job of looking this way, too.
A rough hand touched her shoulder. Her dog tags made a clinking sound as they dragged along the counter as she spun around. Dragonfly subconsciously tucked them back into the lowcut neckline of her leather bodice. She also pulled up her lowcut jeans and tried to stand as tall as she could in her boots, which brought her up three inches to an even six-foot one. Even with the boots, she was only just as tall as the man that faced her was. It was the truck driver. She sized up his large arms, full of tattoos, his thick neck, his long, greasy hair, and his rough beard. There was no way she could take both the shopkeeper and the truck driver when they were both at such close range.
“I believe he told you that he wouldn’t serve you,” the man said, adding a name for her on the end that made even Dragonfly flinch. The derogatory terms for mutants were increasing, it seemed. The driver reached out and touched the necklace that hung around her neck. “This is very pretty. What is such a pretty animal doing so far from home?”
“How do you know where home is?” Dragonfly retorted, “I could live just down the road.”
“The car outside is yours, yes?” the man asked, indicating to the car where Pyro sat, playing with his lighter. “Well, those are New York plates. You’re still in Jersey, love.” He paused and looked at her for a second. “You mutants almost look like real people. It’s frightening how much you resemble them. You could almost pass for a pretty little girl.” He grabbed her by the arm, “But not quite. I think that this is your cue to leave.”
The man roughly dragged Dragonfly to the door, taking out the gun that was tucked into the waistband of his loose, worn jeans. The old black Guns and Roses t-shirt that the man had on had concealed the weapon.
“Time to go, love,” he said, pushing her out of the shop. She put out her hands to stop herself as she tumbled to the ground. She glared at him from the ground.
“Leave,” he said, pointing the gun at her. Dragonfly stumbled to her feet and ran to the silver Toyota Spyder. Pyro had jumped out of the car when Dragonfly had come tumbling out of the store with the man, and he still stood, eyeing the man and calmly flicking his lighter open and closed.
“Don’t be a moron, John,” Dragonfly said as she ran to the passenger’s seat, “It’s not worth both our necks.”
Pyro looked at the man for a second longer. He looked back at Dragonfly. She could see the murder in his eyes. Oh, please don’t, she thought, I couldn’t stand another night in jail.
“Please, John,” she whispered, controlling her voice and speaking each word slowly, “Get. In. The. Car.”
As she finished, a shot rang in the air. The truck driver had fired the gun into the air. Dragonfly flinched and gave a little squeak, her head still throbbing. She quickly tried to conceal it by tugging on the sleeve of Pyro’s leather jacket.
“Let’s leave now,” she said.
Finally, after what felt like a year, Pyro got into the car, muttering curses to himself and calling the truck driver names. He started the car and, although the wheels spun and burned rubber as he pulled away, it seemed to take forever for the station to disappear behind them.
After a while, Pyro spoke, choosing his words carefully, “Rochelle, I don’t know why you let them do that to us. It would have been so easy–”
“Yes, it would have been easy,” Dragonfly snapped, breaking in, then flinching at her headache, “But do you want to spend another night in jail? ‘Cause I don’t. You want to get yourself killed, that’s your business, but leave me out of it.”
“You can be so…so…” Pyro growled to himself as he pressed the accelerator harder. The car lurched forward and another stab of pain flashed in Dragonfly’s head, sending little lights dancing all over.
“John, stop it,” Dragonfly said, rubbing her head. She paused, then added, “I think I have a concussion. Probably from those policemen.”
“Well, if you hadn’t been so stubborn, we would have been out of there a lot sooner,” Pyro said, brushing some of his straight brown hair out of his face and looking at the road intently. At least Dragonfly thought that it was an intent look. With Pyro’s dark brown eyes, he always looked like he was focusing hard, even when he was hardly paying attention at all.
“You’d still be in there if I hadn’t been with you,” Dragonfly pointed out, “I’m the one that went dragonfly to fly out. I did it quickly too, and you know how much that hurts.”
“You’re the one who chose to change quickly,” Pyro said, gripping the wheel a bit harder.
Dragonfly sighed and flipped the radio on. “ It’s like I’m / paranoid lookin’ over my back / It’s like a / whirlwind inside of my head / It’s like I / can’t stop what I’m hearing within / It’s like the face inside is right beneath my skin…”
Pyro grunted and moved to turn the radio down. “Too close to reality for my taste,” he grumbled. He turned the car into the lot of a small highway motel.
Dragonfly slapped his hand away from the radio volume as the old Linkin Park song continued. Pyro pulled it away with a curse. “Why are we stopping here?” Dragonfly asked, “We’re only about a half hour away from New York anyway. I don’t think it’s even noon. We could be back at the apartment by one-thirty, maybe two at latest.”
Pyro turned off the engine in the motel parking lot and turned to look at Dragonfly. “Rochelle, think about it,” he said, “We’ve burned nearly every bridge we have in New York. We’ve betrayed all of them. Do you really want to go back there?”
“Magneto might take us back,” Dragonfly said, “And John, we have to get home. We eventually have to face that.”
“But do we want Magneto back? We’re working on our own and I think it’s going well. I’m willing to talk, but let’s get a room first.”
With that, Pyro left the car and went into the motel office. Dragonfly sat, rocking a bit even though the radio was off. A few minutes later, Pyro left with a key. He silently got into the car and pulled it around to the room. Dragonfly grabbed the key and opened the door to the room. It was small and obviously one of the ones saved for mutants that might pull in wanting a room.
Dragonfly sat on the bed and idly turned on the television. There was a woman demanding that all mutants be chased out of their holes like rabbits and shot like the convicts they were. Dragonfly cursed and turned the television off quickly. Pyro came in, carrying their bags.
“Need help?” Dragonfly asked somewhat sarcastically. Pyro told her to go do something to herself, and Dragonfly quickly quieted down. There was no need to provoke him. He was disturbed enough about going home without having her on him too.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Dragonfly said. Pyro only grunted. He had hefted their stuff on the floor and was laying on the bed, flicking his lighter open and closed. “And please, please, please,” Dragonfly went on, “I beg you, John, don’t burn anything down. Please?”
“You should talk,” Pyro said, not looking up.
Some time later, Dragonfly stepped out of the shower. She left the small bathroom in the white towel that the hotel left. At least this hotel had towels. Once checking to make sure Pyro was sleeping, she dropped the towel and hung it on the towel rack. She began singing to herself as she brushed her hair.
“You don't own me, I'm not just one of your many toys. You don't own me, don't say I can't go with other boys…And don't tell me what to do…And don't tell me–”
“You’re really singing that?” Pyro’s voice interrupted from the bed. Dragonfly quickly grabbed the towel next to her and pulled it around herself.
“I thought you were sleeping,” she said, still startled and pulling the towel tighter. Pyro rolled his eyes. She didn’t know whether he rolled them at her singing or her desperate attempt at modesty.
“It’s a very empowering song,” Dragonfly said, trying to redeem what little dignity she had left. She only got a condescending mmm-hmmm from Pyro at that. He lay back again on the pillow, playing with his lighter once again.
Dragonfly dressed as quickly as she could manage. She sat on the edge of Pyro’s bed, once again in her lowcut denim jeans and black leather bodice. She was, however, barefoot now. She smacked his legs and he moved over so she could have a place to sit on the bed. She pulled her feet up and moved in so that she was sitting by Pyro’s feet.
“Will we go back tomorrow?” she asked, “Home, I mean.” Pyro nodded and flicked his lighter open and closed. Dragonfly gave a quick, deep sigh and looked around the room. “It’s not that bad. We’ve stayed in worse.” Pyro only gave another nod. “Are we going to just sit here all day?” Pyro nodded again, continuing to play with his lighter.
Dragonfly pushed at Pyro again and he moved over more. She lay down facing the other bed away from Pyro. Only another day, then they’d be in their own apartment. She closed her eyes and imagined she was in her own bed. At some point of her daydreams of home, she fell asleep and they became real dreams of home. They blended together until finally she settled on a dream of a long forgotten home.
The beach was so familiar, it was as though she were really there again. It all happened in a blur: Crystal was gone, then there was water. The water didn’t bother her. She couldn’t breathe, but it didn’t seem to matter. Crystal was there. Safe. Water, swimming. But then land. She came up. Air. She could breathe. People screamed. Some hit. Why? Then she realized: change. But what changed? Nothing was different. She was different. But then, just as quickly, she was back. But still screaming.
Dragonfly awoke with a gasp. She was still in the hotel room.
“You were talking in your sleep again,” came the voice. Dragonfly spun in confusion. Pyro was there. Everything came back again and Dragonfly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, it was more screaming in your sleep, but still…” Pyro was still playing with that accursed lighter. Dragonfly was used to it by now, but sometimes it got on her nerves. “What did you dream?”
“Same as always,” Dragonfly said. She whispered to herself, “Crystal, why did you go?”
She felt Pyro’s arm slip around her waist comfortingly and she slowly drifted off to sleep again, even though it was only about six o’clock in the evening. She remembered nothing of the dreams she had then, and only remembered that she slept well.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 01, 2003 03:43 PM
Kia handed out the quiz papers to each student.
~~Oh man, I don't know a thing on here~~
~~I wonder if she'll read it if I write it rrreallllyyyy small.~~
~~wish I was and Oscar Meyer weiner, that is what I truly want to beeEEee, cause if I was...~~
~~How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?~~
And those were just a few of the thoughts that Kia had picked up from her students. Being a telepathic mutant was often interesting, although the Professor perferred that she didn't use her power so frivilously. But on test days, Kia could rarely help it. She finished passing out the tests and walked back up to her desk.
"you will have one hour to complete the test, I let you know when you have 15 minutes left. Are there any questions?
~~If the Professor from Gilligan's island was so smart, why couldn't he make a boat out of coconuts?~~
"No? Then please begin." Kia said, chuckling as she sat down.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 01, 2003 05:44 PM
Oh God, Natalie thought, chewing her pencil nervously as she read and got stuck on the first question. The first twenty qustions were multiple choice, or, for most of the students, multiple guess. The first question stated the definition of one phobia, and the choices were the scientific term for that phobia. Which one, which one? Arachnephobic? No...no, that's spiders...Which one?
Matt breezed through the multiple guess, confident that he'd get most, if not all of the answers correct. He moved on to the treatment and correctional part of the test, where questions were asked about what to do for a certain social disease or disability. Matt chuckled about twenty minutes into the test, thinking of how easy the quiz was. He hadn't even studied!
Verity envied her friend, as he was halfway done when she was just finishing the multiple guess. The last question was above her, and Verity decided to draw a blank and just circle choice C, "Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia". Isn't that fear of long words? Verity asked herself, but shrugged it off, not worrying whether she got just that one wrong.
"Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline!
- If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.
- If you have multiple personalities, press 2, 3 and 4.
- If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter what number you press. Nobody will answer.
- If you are paranoid delusional, we know who you are AND we are out to get you. Just stay on the line while we trace your call.
- If you are anal retentive, press 1, 5, 6, 8 and the # simultaneously, while standing on one foot and hopping..."
Verity whispered to herself in a sing-song voice. When would the class be over? The class continued testing through an hour and a half. When the students were finished they gave their test to Kiarah, who proceeded to dismiss them to their next class and next evil mid-term. Of course, Matt was the first one done and was off to his advanced trig class within forty-five minutes. Verity and Natalie were the last two students in the classroom when the tone sounded, signaling for all straggling students to make it to their next class.
Natalie was still biting on her pencil, and had yet to finish the multiple choice, whereas Verity finished her last question quickly when she heard the bell. She looked at her best friend sympathetically before standing and handing Kiarah her papers.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 01, 2003 06:59 PM
Ann sighed. The morning had started off so beautifully… She had woken up before dawn, as usual and slipped outside into the snow. It was a beautiful day (or late night, rather) in a beautiful winter. It was frigidly cold and there was about a foot of snow on the ground. The stars and moon had been bright and had given the frozen woods a dreamlike quality. There had been deep shadows to hide in beneath the fur trees, and there had been pathways of silver to run down where the light penetrated the trees. It had been wonderful simply to be a lone wolf running in the snow.
Dawn had just been breaking when she saw the first rabbit. It was a good distance away, and had seen her almost immediately, but she had chased it just for fun. Unsurprisingly, it had escaped. That was to be expected. By the time she saw the second one, Ann was starting to get hungry, so she took more care. But of course, the sun just had to come out from behind the hill at just the wrong moment, and it just had to ruin the shadow she had been hiding in. It had nicely shown her dark coat against the white snow, and the rabbit had gone skipping lightly over the snow while her heavier body floundered after it. That had been annoying. But when the third rabbit in a row escaped her, it was too much. Ann had decided to head back to the school for breakfast.
She had just managed to shake some of her bad mood when she arrived at the school. That, of course, was when she realized that somebody had moved her clothes. Again. Others sometimes find it somewhat distressing to have a naked woman wandering around, so Ann always kept clothes hidden in the bushes beside the door so for when she shifted back to human form. But, of course, there was always someone who came by and did their good deed of the day by taking them up to lost and found. As it is somewhat difficult for a wolf to open a door, Ann was now effectively locked outside. With her stomach gnawing on her backbone. She tried to reach her friend Thistle, who had been too lazy to get up and come with Ann this morning, but, predictably, the mutt was still asleep and Ann had yet to figure out how to wake her up telepathically. In return for a promise of food, one of the resident mice was willing to go bug someone who, hopefully, would figure out the message, but that could take a while. Ann sighed again and curled up on the step to wait for rescue. She hated feeling like a silly damsel in distress. If her luck continued the way it had been so far today, it would be Wolverine who found her. Again. He would think it was hilarious. It would be so embarrassing…She hoped the mouse bit someone.
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
[This message was edited by Dancing_Hobbit on September 02, 2003 at 07:29 AM.]
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 02, 2003 01:29 PM
Kia took the tests and sat down at her desk, bringing "Ol' Red" from out of her drawer. The final students bringing up papers and then quickly flying out the door[literaly for some].
As she graded the test, her pen would make two distinct sounds. A soft swoosh as she marked a 'c' for correct and then a angry sound as she marked 'x' as if it said "That's Wrong, that's wrong." She graded the first few and the students did pretty well. The grades so far were ranging from 90's to 85's. Coming to Matt's paper, her eyes cruised across the paper. A 60 was the red grade marked across the top. Verity's was scribbled on and had various notes and reminders in the margins. She earned a 90 on that mid-term. Natelie, one of the few who did consistently well, scored a 100. Kia smiled, good for her, she thought.
There was a knock at the door and Kia buzzed in the waiting person. In rolled the Professor.
One of the most talked about and respected people on the school, Charles Xavier. Dressed in a grey suit, he wheeled up to Kia's desk.
"Mid-Terms, today, Professor" Kia said looking up at Xavier. Although she was good friends with Xavier, she always preffered to call him Professor.
"Indeed, how did they do?" He said, tapping his temple. Kia sighed and took off her sunglasses. The professor hated that she wore them indoors.
"Alright so far, but I don't think you came to my office to discuss the mid-terms, Professor."
"Hmmm, always with the intuition, Kiarah. I've come to let you know that there will be an emergency meeting at 11 tonight. I don't have time to give you all the details now. I'm going to be away from the school until then, I've got some things that I must find out between now and then. I'm leaving you and Danté in charge until I return. I'll trust you to tell the right people." He said, maintaing his calm, serene smile the whole time.
"Yes, Professor," Kia said as he left the empty classroom...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 02, 2003 02:31 PM
"I'm sure you'd all like to know how I did on my trig mid-term!" Matt jeered as he, Natalie, and Verity made their way to the cafeteria to eat the poorly prepared lunch. Though Matt had gone off for advanced trig, Natalie had gone off to Journalism Production and Verity had gone to Current Music Perspective (Yes, it is a class).
"We know, we know, 'Finished first, got an easy A'," Natalie and Verity chorused, taking their seats at an empty table boredly. What else was new with Matt? There was no use trying to explain that the teachers weren't out to get him when he recieved C's and D's instead of his expected A's. So, Matt's girl buddies would just sit there and let him wade in his pride and let him expect the impossible. Matt was not getting an A for mid-terms. There was no way.
"How was Journalism? Was the mid-term hard?" Verity asked monotonously, taking a bite of her pretzel. Pretzels were about the only thing that tasted decent. Verity had thought the School would have better food than the public schools, but it was the same greasy stuff where you couldn't tell if it really was pepperoni on the pizzas.
"Ahh...you know me, Verity..." Natalie replied sadly. Verity nodded with simple understanding, giving her friend a reassuring smile. Natalie really was smart, but when it came to tests and exams, she just froze. In the end, past all the jitters and expectations, Natalie always got an A. Always. "What about your music class?"
"Easy. I'm not exaggerating, either," Verity replied, glaring at Matt playfully. Music was always easy for Verity. That was what made her a mutant, after all. Verity could concentrate musical notes and melodies to lift and move things. Despite, music was her passion. "Like being Hispanic and then taking a Spanish class in High School."
"What's next then, ladies?" Matt asked, leaving hsi tray half-full before tossing it into a nearby trashcan. No one ever finished their meals. It wasn't healthy to finish them. Verity and Natalie followed suit.
"AP Physics. I hate science," Verity replied with a groan.
"Basic Child Developement. We get to play with the kiddies! But I know its a freshman course...I hope I don't fail the mid-term..." Natalie chimed in, her words ending in a nervous flutter. Verity sighed. Natalie always got nervous around mid-terms and finals. It would wear off once they got the results.
"I'm off to English. Yay," Matt finished as the three walked to the main hallway. Matt's tone was one of sarcastic self-assurance as the three started to part ways. "But you know I'll..."
"Ace the test. We know, Matt! Verity, where are you going? Physics is this way!" Natalie called to her friend, who was going in the opposite direction. Verity waved a hand before getting lost in the post-lunch crowd.
"I have to go see someone!" Verity called, but her voice was drowned out by the crowd. She needed to talk to Kiarah.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 02, 2003 04:48 PM
Kia finished off the last of the mid-terms and was filing them away in the filing cabinet. Her students as a group had done well, not great, but good enough. Kia had slipped the glasses back onto her face once the Professor had left. Her eyes being solid black were often irritated by the light and a full blast of it could render her temporaly blind.
Running through the mental check list in her mind, she ticked off the names of people she had to tell about the meeting late tonight when presently there was a knock at the door and Verity came in.
"No Verity, I can't give you your test grade, but no, you didn't fail," Kia said looking over to the girl as she walked in.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 02, 2003 05:03 PM
"Err..." Verity stammered, always forgetting that Kiarah would always know what Verity was thinking if she wanted to. "Umm, well, that too. Err. I was also going to ask..." Verity hadn't really come to ask anything else, but it was her nature to make up excuses. "How'd Natalie and Matt do?"
"Not telling. Passes though," Kiarah said with a grin. Kiarah shut her filing cabinet and locked it, though no one would be stupid enough to try and take a peek anyway. Verity sighed and wished that she didn't have to go off to Physics.
Last night / I had to study / For this test / I forgot / Man I'm dead / And now my brain is bursting / Out of my head / I can't think / I can't breathe / Once again I'm screwing up every little thing I try to do... Verity sang the song in her head, humming to herself.
"Something else, Verity?" Kiarah asked, snapping Verity from her reverie.
"Oh, no. Sorry. Just wanted to postpone the doom to come with physics," Verity replied sadly. If she were in a public school, it'd be her last year of school. If I were normal... Verity thought. But learning never ended at Xavier's School.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 02, 2003 05:41 PM
"I hated physics too. Lousy subject in general," Kia said leaning her elbow onto of her cabinet looking to Verity.
"You're telling me," Verity sighed.
"Come on then, you're not going to want to be too late," Kia smiled, walking toward the door.
The hall had emptied and most of the students were already in class. Their steps echoed in the corridor.
"The professor called a meeting tonight at 11. Its about something important." Kia said as they reached the classroom door. Before Verity could barage Kia with questions about it, she had already left.
Kia was walking toward her office when a curious little mouse scurried across her path and stopped. Kia, finding this odd, saw that the mouse had noticed that it had grabbed her attention and went speeding off down toward on of the doors leading onto the Mansion property. Eyebrows raised, Kia followed.
The mouse squeezed out the door just before Kia had turned the nob. Once she had the door fully open a wolf sauntered in at an easy pace. Kia rolled her eyes.
"One day no one will noticed your messengers, and then what?" She said, jokingly, "I believe the misplaced clothes are on a low shelf in the lost and found, Miss Ann. After your ready, swing by my office for minute, it's important."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 03, 2003 03:26 PM
Ann glared at her rescuer. She was never sure how much of her thoughts Kiarah could read, especially when she was in wolf form, but she tried to think at her anyway. Very funny. You try spending a morning in the snow while your stomach eats a hole in your backbone sometime and see how you like it. If I had a better way of getting this cursed door open I'd use it. If only our students were a tad less conscientious... Ann sighed. Thank you though, I’ll be in your office in a few minutes. If you can even hear me…
Ann was absolutely not in the mood to deal with something “important” just now. All she wanted was a good breakfast (despite the fact that it was after lunchtime) and a good book in front of a warm fire. Well, it would have to wait. She slipped upstairs to her room as quickly as possible. Thistle, of course, was lounging in front of the fire. The dog woke up as Ann pushed the door closed and switched shapes. Thanks for all the help pal.
Thistle snorted. It’s not my fault I have enough sense to get some sleep in a warm room when I have the chance. You humans simply have no common sense.
Ann ignored her and grabbed a shirt and pants out of the closet. She’d retrieve the stuff in the lost and found later. She hurriedly pulled the clothes on, ignored her shoes, and headed down to the kitchen. As lunch was over by now, she just grabbed some bread and cheese and was about to leave when an indignant squeak stopped her. Ann looked down to see a mouse gazing up at her expectantly. Oh. I’m sorry. Here you are. Is just some bread and cheese ok? Thanks a lot for your help. She placed some food in the corner, and the mouse, making no reply, immediately set to. Ann turned and headed for Kiarah’s office.
The food was gone by the time she got there and hadn’t done much to appease the hunger, but there was nothing to be done about it at the moment. Ann brushed the last crumbs off her hands, knocked on the door, and entered.
"Thanks a lot Kiarah. I really need to find myself a better hiding place, prefferable a bit farther from the mansion. This is really beginning to get annoying. Anyway, what did you wanted to talk to me about?"
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 03, 2003 03:34 PM
"Thanks for coming, Ann" Kia said looking up from her desk. She gestured toward one of the empty chairs. Ann smiled and sat down in a near one.
"The professor has asked us to meet with him late tonight around 11. He hasn't even told me what about, but he said that it will be important. And he had asked me to tell everyone, you'll be there right?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 03, 2003 04:46 PM
An hour later, Verity was out in the halls again, rejoicing in her post-Physics freedom. She didn't think she had done so well on the test, but it wasn't so bad that it'd affect her grade. She was loathe to go off to her chosen tech class: carpentry, for the mere fact that she knew the teacher would yell at her for not being properly dressed for a work day.
In the halls, Verity caught sight of a familiar face and excitedly weaved through the crowd to see the psychotic man she called "Electro", the Rio Party Boy. People gave her slightly snide stares as she went in the opposite direction of hallway traffic, but Verity didn't care. Maybe Electro didn't know about the meeting yet.
"Yo! Electro!" Verity hollered at the man, whose back was to her at the moment. Verity liked to try and talk like Electro when she was around him, so it always gave away who was calling him as the man turned around slowly. "Yo, Electro! Did you hear about the meeting tonight, home slice?"
"Home slice? What ever happened to home fry?" Electro asked, laughing as if he hadn't done so in weeks. Verity snorted and recalled what had happened when she had used the term the week before in front of the cafeteria ladies.
"Ah, I Verna Walls said I needed to rephrase my words or she'd tell Proffesor I was practicing discrimination or something like that. Anyway, did you hear about the meeting or not?" Verity asked, putting a hand on her hip and pretending to smack imaginary gum around in her mouth like a cow.
"Nah, what's that all about?"
"Dunno, Homie G Doggie Dogg," Verity snickered. "Kia just said that it was at eleven. She also said it was important. Other than that, I'm clueless. I don't know if its just for, you know, X-men, or if its for everyone. Then again, I'm usually not told about these things until they happen so I'm just happy to know ahead of time.
"Thanks, girl. I suggest you get off to carpentry before he gets upset with you," Electro said cheerfully, pointing out a red, fuming man at the other end of the hallway, wearing a smock with a hammer in his hand.
"Ohhhhhkay. Seeya at eleven then, Dawg," Verity said, glad that the meeting had been short, else she would have started sounding too much like Electro (which isn't always good). Verity ran off to the angry teacher, who got even redder when he noted solemnly that Verity was, again, improperly dressed for carpentry work.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 04, 2003 07:28 AM
Ann raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting. I thought we were enjoying something of a break between emergencies. Ah well, I’ll be there. In the meantime I’ll try not to let my imagination run away with me. Is there anyone you want me to catch and tell for you?” Ann gave her a feral grin. “You know I always enjoy a good hunt, and the snow is making it hard to chase the non-human kind at the moment.”
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 04, 2003 02:19 PM
"Just the other X-Men, Ann, no need to let the whole school know about it. Lord knows that they have enought on their minds without knowing about this." Kia said smiling at Ann. Ann nodded and left the office.
Kia slumped back in her chair, teaching was always draining on her, sometimes it was more taxing than using her telepathy. She had most definitly gotten better at it in the past years with the Professor's help.
The phone rang in her office.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kia it's Danté, turn on your television."
"Did you here about the mee--"
"Yeah yeah, turn on the tv."
"Alright then" Kia said irratated at Danté's ordering her about. She flipped it on and was horrified.
"This just in, radical members of Clean America have begun attacking registered mutants at random. Authorites have been trying to calm the public but so far have been unsuccessful."
"Are you seeing this?"Danté asked.
Kia turned it off
"What the h**l is happening to the world?" Kia said before hangin up the phone. After placing the reciever gently down on the hook, Kia leaned foward on her desk and held her head in her hands.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted September 04, 2003 02:20 PM
There was a siren. Dragonfly woke up and sat up with a start. Pyro was not there. She was alone in the room. Suddenly, the door burst open. Pyro ran into the room, not bothering to shut the door. He ran over and began picking up his bags. Dragonfly tried to catch his eye to see what happened.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice, while at the same time attempting to put on a suspicious voice. She failed, and her fear showed through. Even Dragonfly could hear her voice shaking.
“It’s time to go,” was all Pyro said, hoisting his bags, “Get your stuff.”
“But-but…” Dragonfly rolled out of bed. She immediately smelled fire. This time her sigh really was with exasperation. “John, what did you do?”
“Just what was necessary,” Pyro said, leaving the room, “Come on.”
Dragonfly quickly packed up her bags then ran out of the hotel room. She shut the door, then threw her stuff in the trunk of the car. Pyro slammed the trunk, then jumped into the driver’s seat. Dragonfly turned to get into the passenger’s seat, then stopped and gaped. The motel lobby burned with a tremendous uproar dangerously close to where they were parked. Dragonfly flinched at the heat, then turned to look at Pyro, who was waiting impatiently in the car.
“What did you do?” she asked incredulously.
“The man behind the desk was going to call the police. I had to stop him. Now get in the car,” Pyro said, glaring at the burning building.
“Where is the man?” Dragonfly asked, growing increasingly suspicious.
Pyro did not answer, but his silence told Dragonfly everything. She glared at the fire, then at Pyro. There was nothing she could do now. If she had been awake earlier...but she hadn’t been. What was done was done. She hopped in the car, watching the blaze as they drove away.
“You shouldn’t’ve done that,” Dragonfly said quietly when they were well away from the fire. Pyro turned to face her. His eyes blazed with as much fury as the fire they had just abandoned.
“He was going to turn us in again. I thought you said you didn’t want to go back to jail. I was eliminating that possibility before we really had to deal with it.”
“You could’ve just gotten me up and we could’ve left without making much of a fuss,” Dragonfly pointed out, “John, they’re going to want us even more now.”
Pyro stomped on the brake. The car jerked to a stop. The car a few paces behind them honked and the driver cursed and made rude gestures to them as he swerved past them. Pyro turned to face Dragonfly, his eyes on fire with more intensity than Dragonfly could ever remember seeing. She tried to steady herself from the sudden stop gracefully, but the intensity of those eyes made her just shrink back into her seat.
“I’m not in the mood, Rochelle,” Pyro said, a quiet fury blazing from his voice and his eyes, “Another time, any other time.”
Dragonfly tried to sink back farther in her chair, but sadly she did not have the power to disappear through solid objects. She eyed the lighter in his pocket warily and with a bit of fear. This kind of fury usually resulted in things blowing up or combusting. However, Pyro had just burned down the motel lobby. That might ease his desire to burn a bit. But one could never be too sure…
“I’m sorry,” Dragonfly whispered, “Please, John, let’s just go home. I’m really sorry.”
Pyro growled and looked ahead. He started driving. Dragonfly sat, leaning against the seat. They drove in silence for some time. Dragonfly did not dare to turn the radio on. The sun began to set as they neared the city. Soon, they could see the New York City Skyline drawing closer. It was sunset and the buildings reflected what was left of the light, making the city seem to glow.
Dragonfly sighed as they pulled onto the streets of New York. They had not spoken since Pyro’s temper tantrum. Now they were almost home and still apparently not on speaking terms.
They pulled into the garage under their building. They silently took their bags out of the car and walked to the elevator. They silently made their way up to the apartment. The door opened and they walked down the hall and opened the door to their apartment. Pyro and Dragonfly had been able to pay for the apartment with money that Pyro had obtained by means that Dragonfly did not want to know. She kept trying to tell herself that Magneto may have supplied the funds, but she knew better.
Dragonfly quietly put her stuff on the floor of the closet then went into the blue bathroom to look in the little mirror. She closed the door behind her. The other room was silent, anyway. She figured that Pyro was still brooding. It often took him a while to come down from his fury. He had, after all, been angry enough to blow up a hotel lobby. Although he did have the tendency to get lighter-happy, he usually tried not to kill people in his messages to the world. He probably just needed a day or two.
She sighed and turned away from the mirror. She opened the door. Pyro wasn’t in the main living room and bedroom. He was probably in the kitchen. Or looking out the window. He did that a lot when he was upset. Dragonfly pondered whether to go out there or not. There was still the matter of dinner too. Chinese takeout should suffice.
“I’m going to go get takeout. Do you have any preference?” Dragonfly yelled into the next room. There was no answer. She heard footsteps, then a window open. Yes, he was going to sit on the windowsill again. She did not like that he was so close to the edge, but, once again, best not to press…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Dragonfly got back, Pyro was still out on the window ledge, looking out at the city. She entered the room.
“I got dinner,” she said quietly. He nodded absently and she went into the living room. She ate her dinner in front of the television, watching MTV. When she was done, she went to check on Pyro. He was still sitting on the ledge, looking out the window.
“John,” Dragonfly crossed over and touched his shoulder carefully. She kept her eyes on the lighter in his pocket the whole time. “John,” she continued, “You have to eat. We did not eat at all today. Between the gas station and the hotel, neither of us has eaten until now.”
Pyro looked at her for a second, then picked up the takeout food she had ordered for him. She sat and watched him shovel food into his mouth as though he did not really want to eat, but was forced to do so. When he was done, he threw the container out, then went back to sitting by the window, paying no attention to Dragonfly.
Dragonfly sat for some time. When it was clear that Pyro was not going to acknowledge her, she went to her closet and took out her lilac, flowered pajamas out of a drawer and went into the bathroom to put them on.
When she came back out, Dragonfly went to check on Pyro. He was not on the windowsill any longer, though. She frowned. What happened to him? Oh well, he was around. It was not that big an apartment.
Dragonfly turned around and came face-to-face with Pyro. She shrieked. “You scared me!” she said, accusingly. Pyro grabbed her and kissed her. She backed away and looked at him questioningly. “Are you okay?” Pyro grabbed her by the arm and threw her on the bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragonfly gasped and woke up. The dream of Crystal had come again. She felt Pyro’s arm around her waist. She quietly moved it and slipped out of bed. She shivered. The air conditioning was on too cold a setting. She slipped back into her pajamas and went over to adjust the thermostat. Even after it was adjusted, Dragonfly still felt cold. She slipped back into bed and under the covers. Her shivering seemed to wake Pyro up.
“What is it?” she heard his voice right by her ear and his arm was around her waist again.
“Just a bad dream. And it’s cold in here,” she said quietly, “Go back to sleep.”
“What did you dream?” Pyro was still half-asleep, and Dragonfly wanted to get back to sleep. She tried to think of some way to divert questions until morning.
“Not now, John. It’s late…or early…I don’t know which,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
“Oh, another Crystal dream. That figures,” Pyro said, not seeming to catch her hint to go back to sleep.
“Yes, another Crystal dream. What of it?” Dragonfly said, feeling the edge in her tone as she sat up, causing Pyro’s arm to fall away.
“Nothing. I just find it amusing that you insist on weakness when facing the humans when you have been hurt in such a way,” Pyro said, turning on the light. Dragonfly flinched in the sudden light. Pyro sat up and looked at her.
“It is none of your business,” Dragonfly said, “And you know I hate them just as much as you do.”
“Sometimes I wonder,” Pyro said, looking at her closely.
“You know that I…wait!” Dragonfly exclaimed, accusation sneaking into her voice, “Why am I trying to explain myself to you? What do I owe you?”
“Nothing,” Pyro said, still remaining calm, “I was just making an observation.”
“And you expected me to do what? Just sit here when you questioned everything I’ve fought for? I’ve been here with you the whole time! If you don’t know me by now…I don’t know why I even bother. You know how I feel. You know what Crystal meant to me. And what her death meant for all of us.”
Pyro just looked at her. Dragonfly put her hand up to her face and was surprised to find tears on her face. She turned away. Pyro never cried, so she hated it when he saw her crying. She quickly tried to stop crying so she could turn back and face him.
Pyro touched her shoulder. That only made it worse. Dragonfly closed her eyes and continued to cry silently. It seemed like just yesterday that she would sneak out of her room at night to go to Crystal’s room. They would sometimes sneak out and hitchhike to the very city she was living in. They had gotten in trouble for their wandering so many times. It had been their escape from reality. Just for that night, they were not cursed to be hated. They were normal teenage girls sneaking into nightclubs and getting in trouble. Everyone knew who she was now. And she had to wear the awful dog tags. She could still feel them around her throat. As another fit of tears came along, Dragonfly ripped the tags off and threw them across the room.
Pyro gently hugged Dragonfly as she cried.
“Why aren’t things the same as when we were at Xavier’s?” Dragonfly managed to get out. She snuffled none too delicately.
“Do you really want to be back there?” Pyro asked, “They’re weak. They’ll be the first to go when the humans get sick of us.”
Dragonfly looked up at Pyro. “They’ll get Bobby. And Rogue. Aren’t you worried about them?”
Pyro looked down at Dragonfly, “What do you care? You never liked them much anyway.”
“They were your friends,” Dragonfly said, “I liked them all right. Just because I didn’t really get along with Rogue…no reason we shouldn’t worry.”
“They chose our path, we chose ours,” Pyro said, his voice growing hard. He turned off the lights. “I think that we should go back to sleep.”
With that, he put Dragonfly back on her own pillow. He turned over and faced away from her.
“I’m sorry,” Dragonfly whispered, touching his back. Pyro just grunted. Dragonfly sighed and rolled onto her back. “Good night,” she said quietly and attempted to return to her uneasy sleep.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 05, 2003 06:16 AM
After leaving Kiarah’s office, Ann made a brief stop at the lost and found and then headed straight back to the kitchen. When her hunger was finally sated she headed back down the hallway and was met by a notorious mutt by the name of Thistle.
Hey! Come outside with me!
Are you crazy? I just got back in.
Oh, come on, you know you want to…
No. I’ll let you out if you want, but I plan on spending some quality bonding time with Shakespeare.
Oh all right. Go be boring then.
I’ll come out this evening.
Deal.
Oh, and while you’re out, would you keep an eye out for a new hiding spot for me? You don’t have to actively look, just if you see anything.
Sure. It’s in my best interests too. I’d rather not get locked out with you, and you know the stuff is never moved until after you go out.
I know. I make a point of checking every time. I very strongly suspect foul play. See ya.
On her way back to her room Ann knocked on a couple X-men doors just in case anybody was in. Only Wolverine was.
“Hey Logan, did you hear there’s to be a meeting tonight at eleven?”
Logan raised an eyebrow “What about?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Humph.”
“And do you want to come see if the pond’s frozen with me this evening?”
“All right. I’ll meet you there at about five?”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
Ann returned to a room well warmed by a blazing fire. She smiled contentedly and curled up in a chair next to the fire with her Complete Works of Shakespeare.
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
When Ann left Kiarah’s office she stopped briefly at the lost and found and then headed straight to the kitchen. On her way out, after finally sating her hunger, Ann met a certain notorious mutt by the name of Thistle.
Hey! Come outside with me!
Are you crazy? I just got in.
Come on, you know you want to.
No. I'll let you out, but I am planning on spending some quality time alone with Shakespeare.
Oh, fine then. Be boring.
I'll come out with you this evening.
Deal.
Oh, and while you're out, would you mind just keeping an eye out for a new hiding spot?
Since it's in my own best interests of not getting shut out with you, sure. You do realise that your things only ever get moved after you go out, don't you?
As I make a point of checking that they are there every time I go out, yes. I'm fairly certain there's some foul play going on. You can help me hunt the culprit down later. See you.
On her way back to her room, Ann knocked on a couple doors to see if any of the X-men were in. Only Wolverine opened his door.
“Hey Logan, did you hear there’s a meeting tonight at eleven?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What about”
“Your guess is as good as mine at the moment.”
“And, knowing you, probably far less far-fetched.”
“Well at least I have a good imagination. Oh, did you still want to see if that pond’s frozen over yet? I was going to go have a look at around five.”
“All right. I’ll see you then.”
When Ann returned to her room she found it well warmed and lighted by a blazing fire. She smiled contentedly and curled up in an easy-chair next to the hearth with her Complete Works of Shakespeare.
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 05, 2003 05:30 PM
"Me gustaria comprarte flores cada dia
Hacer cada dia un vacacion
Y habla mas y mas y mas de ti
De las cosas que haces..."
Verity hummed to herself as she sat on the common room couch next to a very self-satisfied Matt. Natalie was at one of the tables with notebooks, papers, and a thick Spanish Three book. Verity was glad that she had chosen not to take a language this year, since she had already gotten through Spanish three and Latin. Natalie was fussing about knowing everything and getting a good grade, but everyone knew she'd do fine.
Matt was boredly flipping channels on the common room television, his eyes drooping every few seconds then flying back open with each new channel. He stopped on a favorite news channel, which was usually on anyway.
By then, most of the children and teens at Xavier's school were used to the Anti-mutant protests that often graced the TV on the afternoon news. They were also getting used to Clean America, but the group got more radical and over-the-top everyday, so it had become a topic of either frightened seriousness, or sometimes comic relief.
"Random harassments towards registered mutants and two mutant killings have all been linked to Clean America, and though authorities have brought this up in their case files, Clean America declares this their right as...well, clean Americans." The voice on the stereo was fuzzy and slightly muffled with static, but Matt and Verity heard it easily and Natalie even chanced to look up from her books.
"Someone should do something about those psychos," Matt murmured, changing the channel to Disney for all the younger kids that came in and out of the common room. Matt stood up and stretched tiredly before walking off down the southern hallway. "I'll see you all at dinner in a bit."
Verity waved him goodbye, and Natalie went back to her work.
Kia and Danté probably already know, Verity reasoned. She couldn't wait for the meeting, just to find out what it was all about.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 06, 2003 02:20 PM
Shaking off the news Kia left her office and nearly ran into Electro who had been coming to see her.
"Hey there, Lady, I ran into Touchtone, she said there was a meetin' tonight?"
"Yeah, the Professor called it."
"Hmm," Electro mused for a moment, "You look like a wreck, you're workin' too hard, come on, me and Danté are goin' to play some basketball on the quad, lets go!" Electro said not really waiting for Kia to answer, dragging her outside.
The older mutants had already gotten a game going and Danté had the ball. Sweeping down the court, Danté passed the ball to a blue mutant who faked a shot and passed around back to Danté, who then took the ball up to the hoop and slammed it. He had ditched his shirt and coat on a nearby bench. Without his shirt one could see the red tattoo-like flame shapes running up his arms. Danté saw Kia and Electro coming up the way and waved them over. Electro dressed in a light blue tanktop joined the fray on the team against Danté. Kia left her coat on the bench next to his and joined Danté's team.
No mutant liked to lose to another, bragging rights were important to some, Electro included. The sun was out now but gave no warmth, seeing as it was two in the afternoon but late in the year, however, 10 minutes later, timeout had been called by Electro's team, and both sides were hot and exhausted. Danté called up his team together, they were winning but only by a few points.
"Alright guys, I know why Electro called the time out, he's tellin' his guys to play dirty, and bygod, so will we." Danté said, his hair matted with sweat.
"Electro's got a bad ankle, one swift boot to it and he'll crumple," Kia put in, tired out as well, her sunglasses reflecting the light onto the tarmac. The game was beginning to gather a snall but appreciative audience of younger mutants. The timeout ended and the game continued.
Danté had indeed been right about Electro's timeout and one of Danté's players had been minorly assaulted. Play continued. Danté in posession of the play slipped down court and passed backhandly to Kia. Kia, faked out a pass, past Electro, sped down the court, passed to Danté who slammed the ball into the hoop. Cheers went up from the sidelines as the audience had gotten bigger. Electro, now controlling the ball passed to a red haired mutant, but the ball was stolen by Kia who was drving the ball back to Electro's goal. Kia steadied for the shot, but got hit from behind and when she opened her eyes was met with piercingly bright light. She dropped the ball and went to cover her eyes. The pain was terrible and brought Kia to her knees, she heard Danté call timeout above her and felt him and someone else help her to her feet.
Walking her off to sidelines and to the bench, she felt the sunglasses slide back onto her face. Relieved she opened her eyes. There was a dull sting, but at least now she could see, Danté was yelling at Electro on the court, and it seemed that Electro was apolgising. Making a final threatening gesture, Danté ended the timeout and the game went on.
TAG: Aylwen, if she wants to go to the game and be there for the aforementioned events
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 06, 2003 02:33 PM
Verity, for lack of better things to do, had gone outside with Matt to the basketball court. Matt had found out about some kind of game, and had gone to get Verity and Natalie to watch with him. Natalie had refused, but Verity had allowed Matt to drag her along to it. When they got outside, their breath beginning to show in the air, Verity could see about fifteen younger mutants watching some of the older ones play basketball.
Matt dragged her to the bleachers, and Matt immediately began rooting for Electro's team. Verity was indifferent, since she really didn't care for basketball in the first place. The crowd had gotten bigger, and even Verity cheered when Danté had made a shot, Kia with the assist. Then, when Kia had the ball and was preparing to shoot, she got shoulder-shoved by Electro. It was all fun and games of course, but sometimes things got competitive between friends at the school.
Kia was ushered to the sidelines by Danté, but the game continued despite the injury. Verity stood up from her bleacher seat and hopped down to where Kia was sitting and plopped down beside the woman.
"Getting a bit rough out there, eh?" Verity murmured, smiling grimly with respect and sympathy for Kia. "But you know good old 'Lectro."
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 06, 2003 02:42 PM
"A little? if it gets any rougher out there, no one will be able to walk off," Kia said, wincing when Danté had finally delivered the swift boot to Electro's ankle. He stumbled but was able to regain his balance.
"How were the rest of your finals," Kia asked, looking momentarily away from the game.
"Meh, not bad," said Verity as Electro dunked one in for his team.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 07, 2003 05:51 AM
"Meh, not bad," Verity had said, cringing at the memory of her carpentry final. The rest of her finals had gone pretty well though. "I don't think I failed anything but carpentry. I'm not much of a woodworker anyway. So, how long have you been out here playing?"
"I don't know, but we came out around two. Do you know what time it is?" Kia asked, rubbing her temples as she gazed out onto the frosting court and the snowbanks beyond it. At least in New York they have a white Christmas every year... Verity thought to herself before answering.
"Ah, its almost four-thirty. Dinner's at six so you still have an hour and a half if you want to watch Electro beat up your teammates and your teammates get back at him," Verity replied, looking once at her pirate skull watch that she had won the year before at some sort of Fourth of July festival. Verity leaned closer to Kia and whispered in her ear, "So do you know what the meeting is about? Where is it?"
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 07, 2003 09:14 AM
"I haven't the slightest idea what it is about, but if you meet me at my office around 10, I'll be able to get you there. THis is your first meeting isn't it?"
Verity nodded.
"They're always in the same place, the Professor likes to keep some things simple." Kia said looking toward the court. The game had ended abruptly when Danté had accidently melted the ball while going to to dunk it. When the mutants walked off the court, Danté's team had been ahead.
Kia was headed back to her office for a shower and maybe a quick nap before the meeting. Kia's office had been thoughtfully built with her apartment attached to the side hidden by a false wall. And indeed after a shower, Kia had barely hit the pillow before falling asleep.
**BANG,BANG,BANG**
Someone pounding on her door woke her sharply up. She looked lazily over at her clock and it read 9:00. She sighed and got up. Opened the door and there stood Electro.
"You keep sleepin' and you're goin' to miss the meeting." Electro said.
"We brought pizza!" Danté called from in the class room.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 07, 2003 10:34 AM
"No, no, no, wait. It's B5, A#5, then Cmaj7. Got it? The thing with punk music is that it keeps your right hand moving, and that's just punk music, period," Verity explained, moving her fingers along the fretboard of her Les Paul Standard Electric guitar, trying to show Natalie the chords to a song Nat had chosen to learn. Natalie tried to imitate Verity's finger position on Verity's old stratocaster, but was having little luck. Verity had always thought it was a lot harder to teach guitar than it was learning, but seeing Natalie made her change her mind.
"So lets see, how do the words go again?" Verity muttered, talking mostly to herself. She plugged in her Standard and turned her amp on before turning the connected CD player to the correct song on the album. Verity could tell which chords were being played just by listening, and immediately began to play along with the song while Natalie watched jealously.
"So go on and scream...
Scream at me, I'm so far away
I won't be broken again
I've got to breathe
I can't keep going under..."
Amy Lee's voice blared out loud, beautiful harmony against the drums and guitar as the guitar solo came up. Natalie played along with the part, though she was just a tad slow on the tempo.
"Good job!" Verity cheered as the song ended, and she looked at her alarm clock. Nine-thirty. Kia had said to be at her class at ten. Verity began to pack up her guitar, suggesting that Natalie go practice or go and study. When Natalie was gone and Verity's music things were all packed, Verity left her room and walked down the hall and elevator to Kia's classroom.
Verity knocked on the door rhythmically.
"Who'sit?" Verity heard a muffled call that sounded like Electro's voice.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 08, 2003 07:04 AM
Ann finished “Much Ado About Nothing” and closed her book contentedly. A good Shakespearean comedy always put her in a good mood, especially that one. The verbal battles between Beatrice and Benedick never got old. Ann looked out of her window onto the darkening frosty woods. What she should do, she realized, was start doing drama. She could hold auditions for the students and have them put on a play. Perhaps she could start a drama class as well. Anybody in the class who didn’t make it into the play could to tech. crew. That would be great! She’d have to broach the topic to Professor X next time she saw him. Wait…that would be tonight at the meeting. Not a good time. Ann hoped desperately that nothing serious had happened. She glanced at the clock: nearly five. Well, she had a good six hours to wonder about it.
The door swung open and Thistle trotted in. Ann looked over at her in surprise. How did you get in?
Everyone was outside watching a basketball game, so I just went over and looked at a student imploringly. Are you coming out? I found a good hiding spot.
Ann nodded and got up to find her warm clothing and ice-skates. Once she was ready she went over and knocked on Logan’s door. He wasn’t there, he was probably already on his way.
When Ann and Thistle reached the pond Logan was there waiting for them. Ann called to him “How’s the ice? Think it’s thick enough yet?”
“Come have a look and see what you think.”
Ann whistled softly when she caught sight of the ice. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that thick this early in the year. That’s amazing! It’s almost like being back in Minnesota!”
Logan chuckled “Well are you going to stand there and stare at it or are you going to come skating?”
Ann threw a handful of snow at him and started pulling her skates on. The ice was beautifully smooth. It had managed to get good and thick before the first snow fell, so there weren’t many lumps in it. They did have to clear the snow, but it was easily worth it. Logan was a much better skater, having lived in a country that had ice in the winter for longer, but he was willing to teach Ann some of his tricks, and when they started a snowball fight, Ann had the advantage of having Thistle on her side (although the dog did have rather a lot of trouble with traction on the ice).
By nine o’clock they were all hungry and tired and willingly headed back up to the school for dinner. When they reached to school Thistle left them to go find the food that would have been left out for her in the kitchen. After stopping by their rooms to shed skates and warm clothing Ann and Logan were heading towards the kitchen when Ann’s keen nose caught smell of something. She sniffed. “Do you smell that?”
“Smells like pizza to me.”
“I do believe it’s coming from Kia’s classroom.” Ann knocked on the door. Logan was more direct. He didn’t bother to wait for an answer and just opened the door. Kia, Dante, Electro, and Verity all looked up in surprise.
“Hello.” Said Ann a bit sheepishly. She was a bit embarrassed by Logan’s rudeness. “We smelled the food. Mind if we join you?”
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted September 08, 2003 07:40 AM
Heather had arrived.
She'd used most of her savings to get here, calling a taxi to take her and her suitcase to the airport (after having broken out of the house) and then buying a plane ticket. Instead of a cheap seat, she purchased one in first class, figuring that if she was runing away from home, she might as well do it comfortably. The other passengers looked at her suspiciously, not used to seeing unaccompanied fifteen year olds in first class.
After the flight landed, she hired another cab to take her the rest of the way to the school. So there she stood, in the lightly falling snow, looking at the high gates in front of her. No one was in sight. They were probably all asleep, it was close to midnight.
Reachign hr free hand out, she pressed softly against the cold metal of one of the gates, wondering if it would open. It did, and without a sound. She walked through. At the end of a long, rather icey walkway lined with barren frosted trees, she stood at the doors of the school. Should she knock? Or just walk in? Deciding on the latter, she turned the golden doorhandle, and opened the right hand door. Warm air hit her face, melting the tiny snowflakes caught on her lashes. Hoisting the suitcase inside, she shut the door behind her.
She was alone in the main hall. A crease appeared between her brows; she had thought that she was expected. Had she errored? The sudden sound of footsteps wiped this from her mind. Wheeling towards her was a man in a wheelchair, gliding towards her without a sound; a young man walked beside him. Heather waited, her suitcase on the ground beside her.
"Welcome." The man in the wheelchair greeted her in a British accent. He was almost completely bald, very dignified, had a large nose and a wide smile. "Heather Marcus?"
"Yes, that's me," Heather replied, not knowing what else to do.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Professor Xavier." His cheery smile put her more at ease, and in return, a timid smile crept onto her own lips. The boy beside the professor grinned at her.
"I'm Matt, from the Senior class here."
"I'm only a sophomore," Heather replied, the timid smile becoming a grin to match Matt's.
"Matt will introduce you to the school, and get you settled in. I would stay and show you around myself, but I have some things to take care of. I'm sure we'll talk again though." Professor Xanvier reached forward, and shook her hand heartily. He glided away, leaving her in the hall with Matt.
[This message was edited by Eruanne on September 08, 2003 at 11:50 AM.]
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 08, 2003 02:03 PM
"You may as well, we seem to be hosting a party here anyway!" Kia said laughing as Logan and Ann walked into the room.
"Well, if it's a party then..." Said Electro, bringing out a six-pack.
"Electro! This is a school!" Kia said, meaning, hey you moron, Verity is very underage and in here!
"You're never any fun Kia you know that?" Said Electro as he put the brew away.
OoC: I'm going a wait a post or two to let people mingle around in Kia's office before headning down to the meeting...is that cool with everyone?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 09, 2003 05:23 PM
"Okay, lets go. I'll show you around a bit and take you to your room," Matt said quietly, picking up Heather's bag and leading her down the main hallway. Using his mutant powers with shadows Matt cast away all the darkness prvided by the dim lighting until all the shadows were crammed into one corner. Matt grinned again. "You'll make a lot of friends here, just don't be shy. If you think that no one understands what you're going through, you've just found a whole school that understands. Just don't worry about fitting in; you will."
Heather nodded, taking in her surroundings without answering. Matt led her on down through the hallway until they came to an empty common room.
"This is the common room. This is where everyone hangs out between and during classes if they aren't in their rooms or outside," Matt explained, showing Heather everything and letting her look around. "Television, games, foosball, and all the outdoor things are in this room. We usually watch a news channel, since we as mutants are always the top story every hour, but no one will kill you if you change the channel. Verity always does."
Granted, Heather had no idea who Verity was, Matt had the tendency to ramble on about the stupidest things. After they were done looking around the common room Matt led Heather to the elevator and took her upstairs to the Girls Dorms. He began to walk noiselessly down the hall, shooing away the shadows created by the almost non-existant light. Matt stopped at room fifteen and took out a key before unlocking and opening the door.
"This is your room. You can do anything you want to it and decorate it however, since I know it looks really dreary and blah right now," Matt told Heather, ushering the girl into the room and putting her bags just inside the doorway. The room was cleaned and completely dust-free, while frost gathered on the window that showed the basketball court eerily lit up in the moonlight. Inside the room was a bed with standard issue bedsheets that were allowed to be changed, a desk, a closet, and one bookshelf with six large shelves. "You can move everything around and change the sheets, whatever you want..."
"If you need help tonight, my friend Verity is nextdoor and will be happy to help. If she's not around, Natalie is across the hall. She'll probably be studying, but if you knock seven times she'll think you're Verity and will open the door for you," Matt explained as he handed Heather the key. "Classes start at eight, but if you don't have a schedule, just look for an instructor or teacher and they'll help. I know it seems a bit intimidating, but you'll get it in a week or two. I'm here to help you always, Natalie will help if she isn't studying, and Verity will help if she isn't working on music. G'night, Heather. Welcome to Xavier's School for the Gifted."
With that, Matt left Heather in her room and proceeded to go back to his own in the Boys Dorms.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted September 09, 2003 09:46 PM
Dreary and blah indeed. Flicking on the light switch, she set about to change the room to her liking.
Inside the closet, there were several changes of sheets. Heather pulled out a set with apple green, bright pink and electric blue stripes. Perfect. Pulling the plain sheets off, she quickly put the striped ones on. Better. The bookshelf... She had several books in her suitcase, all old favorites. Snapping the suitcase open, she retrieved them and put them neatly on one of the shelves. Still depressingly empty though.
The desk was perfect for her laptop. Her father was well to do, and last Christmas, he had given her a top of the line machine. Picking up the laptop bag that she had carried separate from her suitcase, she unzipped it. Nestled inside was an inch thick gleaming wafer of silver and grey. She opened the machine. The laptop lit up, and gave a satisfying hum. All she needed now was internet connection. Now to get the clothes hung up. Heather grimaced to herself. The worst part of going anywhere, she thought, is putting the clothes away.
It was now 12:27 A.M. Heather had put the clothes away, and she now had two choices: go to sleep, or explore a bit. Wanderlust won out over common sense.
She took the elevator down to the level with the common room. A good place to start. Prowling stealthily down the darkened hall, she came to the end. There was an unmarked door; brilliant, something already. Opening it, she found herself in what appeared to be more dorms. However, these doors weren't labeled. Interesting. Who lives here? she wondered. Something caught her attention. A couple of doors down, she could hear laughter. Creeping to the door, she pressed her ear against it. There appeared to be several people in conversation. But they were talking a bit more quietly now. Can't quite hear, dammit. Suddenly, someone spoke louder than the others. "Someone's outside the door." So caught in her listening, Heather realized too late that the person outside the door was her. She scrambled back away, intended to escape, but she was far too slow. The door banged open, and a man grabbed her by her shirtsleeve, and pulled her inside. "Well," he said, "looks like we have an eavesdropper."
<~:*:~>
...and I fired two warning shots. Into his head. - Chicago Click? Click!
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 10, 2003 02:27 PM
Danté had pulled her in.
"Well, we don't have time to deal with her now," Kia said quickly, "The Professor just called, he got held up, but he is dowstairs right now, we have to go and take her along with us," She said leaving her office and walking briskly to the elevator ajacent to her room. The mutants all shuffled around into the elevator, their new 'friend' in tow. Kia pushed the 'shut door' button and then swiped her card then the elevator descended...
A few moments later, the door opened onto the sterile labs beneath the school. The group moved quickly through the coorridors, passing through a great many doors and security check points. The lights of the labs were glowing their perpetual soft white-blue, so Kia had had no need to take her glasses along with her. Danté next to her side and Verity close behind, the group passed through the final security check.
It was a small, circular room, with steel chairs and small tables placed about. Xavier was waiting. The mutants always had a restrained respecct toward the wheel-chair bound man, and it was clear tonight that worry and anxiety clouded his blue eyes. He asked them all to sit and then began.
"Today, I was able to gain access to a Clean America facility." he paused, "I spent a few hours combing the immense...fortress...as it were. You have all heard," He said looking around the room, hitting each of their eyes, " the stories surrounding these places. I went to gather what truth I could about them. They are being built faster and faster, soon there will be 5 in each state. " Again, he paused, "These...institutes...appear to be wholesome on the upper levels, however, I perceived that this is mearly a cover-up of something far more terrible that it must be concealed. I believe that mutants are being held there against their will and are being used for experimentation. We...must...stop...this." He said the last words slowly and delibretly. "I will request that a group of you go in and try to save as many as you can, without harming the humans," He put strong emphasis on the last bit of the sentence. "But before I ask for your help there is something else you must know." Xavier paused.
"What, Professor?" Kia had dared to venture. The room was still and tense.
"The Brotherhood of Mutants, will aid you," He finally said, and there were quiet grumbles rippling through the group. "Clean America has also been developing a virus. A virus that, if released, would only infect mutants and then kill them. Magneto and the Brotherhood, have created a vaccine against it. But, the vaccine is still in its infancy, and they require more of this germ to make a stronger, more potent vaccine." He stopped and canvased the room once more. "Is there any willing to go?"
"I will go Professor," Kia said, standing up.
"Count me in, too" Danté said, placing a stiff arm around Kia's shoulders.
"They're goin', I'm goin'" Electro added, pushing himself out of seat and to his feet......
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~~Your finger hired the crew?
~~~No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbol.
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 11, 2003 04:38 PM
Ann and Wolverine both stood up as soon as the professor finnished speaking. Wolverine was silent, leaving the obvious unsaid. Ann nodded. "Of course I'll come." She paused for a moment. "Thistle would like to volunteer as well."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 11, 2003 05:16 PM
"Err, you know I have to come along!" Verity exclaimed exasperatedly. "I have to make sure Electro doesn't bring his music along. We all know what happens if he does smuggle it along..."
Verity stood up in front of Electro and next to Ann and Logan. Finally! she thought a little too merrily, Bout time we saw some action again!
"So lets see, that'll be Kia, Danté, Electro, err, oh yeah, Ann and Logan, and me! See, since I passed math, I know that that's six people. Will that be enough, Professor? When do we leave?" Verity asked, stifling a yawn. After all, it was almost two in the morning.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 11, 2003 05:26 PM
"Verity this is not a task to be taken lightly, the danger is very real." Xavier said, having read her thoughts, "This trip, I am afraid, will not be as light-hearted." He said giving her a meaningful look.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Time to save the world again?
~~~Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted September 12, 2003 07:42 AM
Heather had been seated in the back the entire time, listening with horrifed fascination as Professor Xavier detailed his findings, and asked for volunteers to go in. One by one, the mutants stood. Suddenly, involutarily, Heather stood. "I'll go," she said in a calm measured voice.
<~:*:~>
...and I fired two warning shots. Into his head. - Chicago Click? Click!
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 12, 2003 02:17 PM
Xavier looked over to the girl that had spoken up. A trace of guilt washed over the girl's face. She knew that she shouldn't be here and she knew it. Xavier smiled.
"Well, then, I believe that covers everyone. You will meet here tomorrow morning, when I shall instruct you further."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Time to save the world again?
~~~Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 12, 2003 04:21 PM
"Aye, Professor," Verity murmured, more seriously than before she had been chastised. She made a mock salute to the kindly gentleman, and smiled faintly before turning to Heather and slinging an arm over the younger girl's shoulder. "This means we can get some sleep now, yes? I'll take Heather, so she doesn't get lost in this huge place."
Verity smiled and led Heather out of the room, nodding and waving a tired goodbye to all those gathered. The two girls made their way back to the main hallway in silence, Verity on the verge of falling asleep where she stood. Before long they had passed the common room and were on their way to the elevator that led upstairs.
"So, Matt showed you around, eh? Told you where you could get help, right? Not that it matters now, since you'll be leaving the mansion with us tomorrow," Verity trailed off, pressing the button for the secong floor. Verity would have openly laughed at Matt trying to kindly show a newbie around, but she was just too tired.
"Yeah, he's a nice guy. Said I could find him for help or get his friends to help, Verity and Natalie," Heather replied, murmuring her answer. Verity tried to think what it would feel like to be in Heather's shoes, and tried to remember her first day at the mansion.
"Oh, I must not have introduced myself yet! I'm Verity, the psycho musician Matt was talking about. I live nextdoor. Hey, who brought you?" Verity ended her words with a question, curiosity ringing through her exhaust. Verity had been brought to the school by her best friend, and the bassist for her former band. Verity never wondered what her parents thought, but could only assume that her friend never told. A true best friend, Verity thought.
"Came alone..." Heather murmured quietly, and Verity's lips formed a small 'O'. Probably best not to say anything, Verity, the musician told herself. It didn't seem like a subject Heather wanted to discuss. So, the remainder of the elevator ride was spent in an awkward silence until they got to the hallway of the Girl's Dorms. Verity led Heather down to their rooms, making sure that Heather had remembered her key before opening her own door. Not that a few mutants here wouldn't be able to break in...not that they'd want to...
"Well, goodnight. I'll come over and knock tomorrow just in case, so neither of us are late. Have a good night!" Verity said, waving Heather farewell before going into her own room and collapsing into the bed, narrowly missing her guitar stand and music stand.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
After waving good-night to the girls, Verity headed back down to the Professor. She knew he had more to say. When she got back down there, Danté and Xavier were the only two left.
"Professor, what did you see while you were there?" Kia said, not making an attempt to read Xavier's mind. She sat down close by, next to Danté.
"It was bad, and I am worried that you are taking so many young mutants with you."
"Professor, only Verity and Heather are the new ones, they will quickly adapt." Danté said.
"For their sake, I hope that they do. The Clean America Facilities are expertly guarded, it will be hard to get in. The upper levels of this mazed fortress are clean and sterile, resembling a hospital or a sanitarium. But the lower levels, underground. That is where you will find the trapped mutants." Xaiver said, looking at the ground. "It is late, I believe that you should go."
Danté and Kia bid him goodnight and Danté walked Kia to her office. He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder.
"I don't think you should go." He said looking into her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Kia said, defiantly back.
"Don't play stupid Kia, even I could feel Xavier's unease. I think you should stay."
Kia pulled her arm away from him.
"Don't treat me like a child Danté." She said coldly, "I know how to take care of myself, and I have just as much right to go as you do."
"Kia, with you leg, I dont think that--"
Kia cut him off.
"Don't give me that b**ls**t, Danté! That was awhile ago, I'm going and if you don't like, then to h**l with you!" She finished walking into her office and pulling the door shut. Kia went to bed and almost immediately fell asleep.
------
Danté walked back to the small apartment that housed the older mutants. He shared a room with Electro, who was already asleep. Danté fell asleep angry with Kia and himself. There he fell into uneasy and evil dreams...
~~He found himself dressed in a military type uniform. In fact, he didn't seem to be himself, another person even. He was walking swiftly down a dark and noisy cooridor. Some kind of prison, he thought, like the one he had seen in the newest James Bond flick, what? in Korea, maybe? There were shouts coming from all around him and once or twice he yelled back at them to "Shut theit holes!" but the voice did not belong to him. Rounding the corner, he came to the interragation room and he found himself putting his hand on the door knob and going in. He saw a steel table and two metal chairs, one on each side. The group of three men facing him, two standing, one sitting, appeared to be trying to get information from a mutant. They had a very bright light shinning over thier shoulder into the mutant's face. Two other officers were standing behind it and at certain times striking out at it. The sitting man asked it a question, what, Danté couldn't make out, but the mutant did not respond. The man grew angry and stood up and punched it squarely in the face. The blow had been powerful and knocked the mutant sideway's in its chair, it was then that Danté noticed the mutant was female. The guards behind her forefully pushed her into back upright in her chair. Danté walked foward and the men fell silent. Apparently he was a man of importance.
"What is going on here?" He barked harshly at the men, once again noting the oddness of the voice.
"This scum refuses to tell us where her friends are hidden, we believe that they are hiding in the compound of somewhere just outside of it." The sitting man said, his voice irritating and sweaky.
"What's the name?"
"She had refused to tell us anything, we only know that she is a telepath, we have, of course, taken care of that." The man said, smiling, but on his face it was a grimace. Danté looked down at the mutant. And looking up at him was a battered and torn up Kia.~~
Danté abruptly woke up. It was still dark out and he was cold with sweat. He looked around the room. Electro was sleeping fittfully and so was everyone else. Danté fell back on his pillow and fell back into a now dreamless sleep.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Time to save the world again?
~~~Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted September 13, 2003 01:28 PM
Dragonfly opened her eyes as light shone through the apartment and right onto her face. She blinked in the bright light. Pyro’s back was still to her and she saw the shape of his body rise and fall with the slow breath of sleep. Dragonfly groaned and rolled over to find her clock. As she reached for it, her hand began to shake. Dragonfly groaned again and looked at her hand. Not now…of all times, not now. She shook her hand and the trembling stopped. Finally, she looked at the clock. It was eight o’clock in the morning. Dragonfly pulled herself to her feet, giving a large yawn.
Coffee, she thought, that’s all I need: some nice, fresh coffee.
Dragonfly was halfway to the kitchen, still bleary-eyed, when she remembered: there was no coffee. She swore loudly, then quickly turned to make sure she had not woken him up. He lay still sleeping. Dragonfly sighed. She hated getting home after a long trip. She had to go out and buy food and the like. Oh well, Antonio Shapiro always opened early for mutants.
Mr. Shapiro was, himself, a mutant. Dragonfly did not know what he could do, as he refused to openly use his gift in front of anybody. It was obvious that he was a mutant, though. His lizard eyes gave him away.
Nothing else about Shapiro was that remarkable. He was a heavy man and he had a slight Italian accent. He owned a small grocery store down the street. Dragonfly had always gone to him for her shopping. She felt comfortable with him, as he was another mutant, like she and Pyro were.
When Dragonfly was once again dressed in her bodice and jeans, she moved towards the door. She remembered her dog tags were still on the floor. She crossed over to retrieve them. Once they were safely around her neck again and tucked into her bodice, she slipped over to the door and quietly left the apartment. Old Eva Croft was already out in the hallway, fretting about something.
“Rochelle, love, you’re safe!” Mrs. Croft knocked the wind out of Dragonfly with her enormous hug. It was almost comedic that such a small, frail-looking woman had enough strength to knock Dragonfly over. “I was so worried about you and John!”
“You know we always get back safely,” Dragonfly said, smiling. Mrs. Croft had always been accepting of the mutant couple she had as neighbors. She had become like a mother to Dragonfly and Pyro. “I’m off to get food and gossip from Mr. Shapiro.”
At that, Mrs. Croft began wringing her wrinkled hands. Her wild, white hair was even whiter than Dragonfly remembered, and her face showed more wrinkles than she ever remembered.
“Know what? What happened?” Dragonfly asked, suddenly worried.
“Well,” the old lady continued, wringing her hands, “Oh dear, Antonio was such a nice man. Hardly obvious that he was…you know…well–”
“A muitant?” Dragonfly offered. Mrs. Croft flinched, as she hated using those words. She did not continue. “Go on, Mrs. Croft,” Dragonfly pleaded, “Please tell me what happened. I’m not offended.”
“Well, he did what they said: he registered and everything,” the old woman reverted back to her mumbling, “No reason, no reason at all…”
“Mrs. Croft,” Dragonfly gently reminded the woman, beginning to lose her patience.
“Yes, well…oh, my dear child, I’m so sorry…well, they found him the other day.”
And with a furtive glance around, Mrs. Croft began divulging the gruesome details of the demise of Antonio Shapiro. They were so familiar. Just like Crystal…Crystal. Dragonfly felt her hands begin to shake again, this time a bit harder. She clenched it, so poor Mrs. Croft would not see her shaking.
By the end, Eva Croft’s eyes were wide with fear anyway, regardless of Dragonfly’s shaking hands. Dragonfly took in a breath and looked down at the floor. She would cry later; she had to try to be strong in front of Mrs. Croft.
“It was just like all the others,” Mrs. Croft whispered as she finished her description.
Dragonfly’s eyes shot up from the floor to Mrs. Croft’s at this comment, to meet the woman’s wise, piercing blue eyes.
“What other?” she managed in a whisper.
“You haven’t heard? Darling, I’m so sorry,” Mrs. Croft whispered, eyeing Dragonfly’s dog tags, “There have been attacks on registered citizens all week.”
“Mutants, you mean,” Dragonfly said in a harsher tone than she intended.
“Yes,” the woman whispered.
“How many?” Dragonfly asked, trying to force the lump in her throat back again. Her hands began to shake a little more, but she hid them from Mrs. Croft.
“This week?” Mrs. Croft paused, “About twenty here in the city. All registered…all like poor Antonio.”
“All like Crystal,” Dragonfly whispered, trying to keep her hands still. She swore in a whisper. Mrs. Croft did not even flinch at the harsh language.
“Will you be leaving again, then?” Mrs. Croft asked, “I know you are John are, well, registered.”
“And dangerous,” Dragonfly whispered, imagining the dangerous warning on her tag. She addressed Mrs. Croft, “I don’t know, Mrs. Croft. I’m sorry. We’ll have to…talk it over, I suppose. I really don’t know.”
“I am here if you need me, child,” Mrs. Croft forced a smile. In her compassion, the old woman suddenly seemed more beautiful than anyone Dragonfly had ever known.
“Thank you,” Dragonfly whispered, her hands shaking beginning to stop their shaking a bit. She cleared her throat and continued, keeping her voice steady, “You wouldn’t happen to have coffee and breakfast, would you?”
Mrs. Croft smiled genuinely this time, “Wake up that boy of yours. Once you come back with him, you’ll have all the coffee you want. And anything you want for breakfast.”
As Mrs. Croft went back into her apartment to put up coffee, Dragonfly fell backward against the wall in fatigue. Her hands still shook. An image of Crystal flashed through her head.
“No,” Dragonfly whispered, “Never again.” She banished the picture and the thought and clenched her hands to stop their shaking. She quietly opened the door to her apartment and went in to wake Pyro.
****************
“No,” Pyro said, looking down into his eggs, “I won’t leave.”
“Do as the girl says,” Mrs. Croft said quietly, “I think it’s for the best.”
“How weak do you think we are? One mutant gets his stomach slit, now we’re supposed to run away?” Pyro asked incredulously, raising his voice.
The stomach comment was the last straw. Dragonfly through her fork down at the graphic image, swearing loudly, “John, stop it. We’re leaving. It’s not safe here anymore.”
“And where will we run? Back to Magneto? Back to the school? Do you really want to leave?” The two glared at each other, silently arguing.
Dragonfly pushed her chair back, standing up quickly. “I’ve had enough,” she said, “I’m sick of this. I have my own say in this too. All we ever do is what you think is best: we’re going to a rally, we’re getting out of jail, we’re staying in town even though their slaughtering mutants! Are you crazy? We’re leaving tomorrow, and that’s it.”
Pyro stood to face Dragonfly, glaring. With her boots on, Dragonfly was a few good inches taller than Pyro. She stood up even straighter to emphasize the difference. Poor Mrs. Croft seemed to grow smaller at the sparks of battle that waged between the two lovers.
“Where do you think you’d be without me?” Pyro asked. Neither of them was bothering to control their voices anymore.
“I’d be safe. I’d probably be with Professor Xavier, back at school. Maybe I’d even be teaching! Who knows? Maybe I’d have a normal life!”
“This is normal for a mutant,” Pyro raged back, “You think that by hiding what you are, you can rise up in human society? Everyone will know you for what you are.” He took her dog tags and held them up.
“Why do you think I’m registered? Because you got us arrested!” Dragonfly fumed back, “I’m sick and tired of everything. I’m going.”
“And why do you bring this up now?” Pyro fumed.
“Now’s as good a time as any,” Dragonfly said, “Better now than in two months…if we’re alive then.”
“Mutants are always going to be killed!” Pyro said, “You can’t do anything about that. The only thing we can hope to do is eliminate the threat before it reaches us.”
“Big help we are! At least Professor Xavier had a goal! All we do is go to demonstrations and riots. Do you think that will solve anything? No! Those riots do nothing to eliminate the human threat. All they do is make the humans hate us more. I should’ve stayed with Magneto when you left, rather than following you like some stray puppy!”
“If you love Magneto so much, why don’t you go back to him?” Pyro said, taking a step closer to Dragonfly, as if daring her to hit him.
“I just may!” Dragonfly said, not able to think of anything witty or sarcastic. She realized then that her hands had started shaking again. She tried not to draw any attention to them. She had to calm down. If she didn’t calm down soon…
“I just may!” Dragonfly said again, walking out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her. Once she was out in the hall again, Dragonfly took a few deep breaths, trying to get her hands under control again. She waited a few seconds, then went back into her own apartment. The suitcase was still packed. Dragonfly took down another suitcase and started taking her clothing out of her closet and her drawers. Her hands still shook violently. She tried to undo the buttons on a sweater that hung in the closet. Her hands just shook. The neckline was too small to take it over the hanger. She took the hanger out of the closet and tried to manage the buttons again, to no avail. Dragonfly screamed her frustration, throwing the sweater and hanger at a lamp. It just landed on the bed, not touching anything. If only there was something she could break…
Dragonfly sat on the couch, trying to stop her hands. She rocked slightly, taking deep breaths and trying not to think about Crystal. Crystal. Everything revolved around Crystal. That was why she did everything. Those monsters had…had…no, better not to think about it. That is why humans had to die. They were all guilty. None of them helped. The policemen wouldn’t help…they never helped…they let her die.
That day…she was watching the human riot on TV. Crystal. That face flashed in front of her. The skin was darker and smoother than the darkest, richest chocolate. Those dark blue eyes, the color of the finest sapphires. She saw the car driving by when she was watching the riot on TV. That car was so familiar. The face flashed again. Somewhere in her subconscious, Dragonfly heard a door close and lock behind her. She didn’t know she heard it, though. There were shouts. Crystal’s face flashed before her again. They surrounded the car. The girl was brought out. Who was it? It was so familiar. Crystal’s face flashed before Dragonfly’s eyes. She gasped a bit, but could make no sound. Crystal was on TV. The mob was on TV. They dragged her out. There was a scream. Was it Crystal or Rochelle? She was Rochelle, though. So few people called her Rochelle anymore. Was she screaming? No sound, just silent screaming. The girl was dragged out of the car. The police did nothing, just restrained the crowd from attacking the mayor. They pulled Crystal. What were they doing? Then they attacked. There were screams from every direction. Rochelle knew she was screaming now. She felt herself shaking. In the back of her mind, Dragonfly heard someone swear at the screams, run across the floor, check that the door was locked, then come and hold Dragonfly down. She couldn’t move. Why couldn’t she help? They had Crystal. She had a flash then. The morgue. They took her down to see the body. That body…they hadn’t touched it yet. It was still full of the marks from them. Oh, why the morgue? She screamed then, she knew it. That face was lifeless. She’d seen what they had done to her. “We couldn’t stop them,” the police said, “It was either the one mutant’s life or all of ours.” The screams echoed. They were Crystal’s screams too. The crowd wouldn’t let her go. Why’d they stop her? How’d they know what she was? Of course they’d know; it was so obvious. The screams couldn’t stop. Oh why couldn’t the screams stop?
A flash of Crystal again, smiling. Why did she smile like that? She screamed and the mob was on her again. Crystal was in the morgue. She was dead, but there were still screams. The face, the screams, the death…they flashed. It was as though a strobe light was going and with each flash, the picture changed. The only consistent thing was the screaming. It would let off…sometimes there were words. But Rochelle still couldn’t move. She had to move. She had to get to Crystal. But whatever was holding her down wouldn’t let her up. It was her chance to save her this time. The face. The screaming mob. The death. The face again. The screaming mob. The death. They all swirled to the sound of the screaming. More faces. They wouldn’t bury her. Why not? We don’t serve mutants here. That’s what the man at the gas station said. They were all the same. All humans just wanted her dead. They killed Crystal. The man at the gas station killed Crystal. Mrs. Croft killed Crystal? Why not…but no. She was a mutant too, just without powers. They had to stick together. That’s why…Rochelle. That’s her name. They called her Dragonfly. But there were still screams. Crystal was still there. Crystal was her real name and her true name…big difference. She was Mutant. She was born to be what she was. She’s gone. They killed Mutant. Who’s next? The ideal Mutant gone…who next? The face. The mob. The death. Face. Mob. Death. They were one. Crystal was one. Too confusing…too much involved. It was so simple: the face, the mob, the death. She saw the face again. The screams and the mob. The dead face at the morgue. With all those marks…what Antonio Shapiro looked like. Except this had to be worse. It was Crystal. Twenty mutants killed in the city this week. If a twenty-first is killed, would she get to be with Crystal again. And why wouldn’t the screams and shaking stop? Was the world shaking or was Rochelle? The beach came in. They screamed too. But no death. But Crystal didn’t scream. No scream from Crystal. She knew. She knew what she was too. But the beach. Crystal. Mob. Death. It all came to the death. Again, always came back.
There was one last scream. Someone was holding her down. She could feel tears on her cheeks. Every muscle was clenched and she was being held down on the floor. She was once on the couch. How did she get to the floor? Did she fall? Her throat hurt. Had she been screaming? But who was she? Rochelle…that much she remembered. She was Rochelle. She was something else too…that’s it: Dragonfly. But why the Dragonfly? Because she was as the dragon and the dragonfly was a good form. No one suspected a dragonfly. But it was a fire dragonfly. A firefly? No…she was Dragonfly. But what was holding her down? She saw hands. Someone was holding her down.
Then, as a rush, everything came back to her. John. John was Pyro. Crystal. Xavier. Magneto. Mutants. Humans. Shapiro. Croft. Everything was back suddenly. But who was holding her down? She looked up. The face belonged with one of the names. She knew it. And why did her throat hurt? Who had been doing the screaming? The dream came back too. Was it a dream? Her hands weren’t shaking anymore, though. Her whole body hurt. Why did she hurt? All her muscles were still tense. She relaxed, taking a deep breath. That face…it was…Pyro. That’s it. That completed it. She knew everything again.
The face stood in her line of vision. It looked wary, as though it was afraid she would start screaming again. She looked and saw bruises on the arms and fingernail marks on the fingers. They looked strangely like her own. She then saw she was holding the arms as if to push them away.
“I’m back,” she breathed. Pyro sighed and slowly let go. “How long was I gone?”
“Only about ten minutes. You’ve had worse,” he said, his voice shaking a little. “Mrs. Croft heard. She yelled through the door, but I told her it was another one of your spells.”
“Fits, you mean,” Dragonfly said coldly, “Call it what it is. I didn’t–the door was–did anyone…?”
“No, I locked the door when I came back into the apartment. The locks on the windows are getting tough to move, though.”
“You did…lock them, though, right?”
“Of course. Everyone is all right. Everyone.”
Dragonfly sighed in relief. Nothing had gone wrong. Pyro knew how to handle it now. It had been so long, of course he would know. If he didn’t…well, thank goodness he did. Dragonfly knew that her casualty count had to be higher than Pyro’s. He never told her who it was that she killed, but she could tell when she managed to kill a few by the look on his face. Luckily, no one had ever fired back at her. But it wasn’t guns, was it? She didn’t know what it was. Maybe tiger…tigers were good. Or maybe she managed to change into something she couldn’t fathom. Maybe she was a beast.
But she was tired now. Thoughts came in and out of her head. She couldn’t grasp them. It was as though she was trying to hold onto water. She cupped her hands on the thought, but it still slipped through.
“It’s cold,” she said, shivering. It was always cold after a fit. Maybe she changed into water or something. But she hadn’t changed. There hadn’t been enough room to change. Pyro had held onto her. She couldn’t change when someone held on like that. Maybe if she just fell asleep now, no one would notice…
“Get into bed,” Pyro whispered. He knew very well that she couldn’t make it all the way over to the other side of the room. He picked her up, cringing as she rested against the scratch marks and the bruises. She felt the bed underneath her and the hands lift to leave.
“Don’t leave,” she said, mustering up as much voice as she could. “Promise me again…at least just promise me…”
Pyro looked somewhat annoyed at the plea, but he sat down and held her hand. “You know I won’t stop until they’re all dead.”
“But promise me again…you’ll kill them all, right? Every…single…one…they’re responsible. They killed her. That’s why I’m like this.”
“You had fits before. It’s just that now you have something to have a fit about,” Pyro whispered.
“It wasn’t like this. You know that. At one point, I didn’t even have fits. Then I changed. Then life changed. Promise me you’ll kill all the humans.”
“I won’t rest until I do,” Pyro reassured her, squeezing her hand, then standing to leave.
“Wait!” she croaked, “Don’t kill Mrs. Croft yet. Even though she can’t do anything, she’s a mutant. You know she is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking ab–” Pyro began to protest.
“Shhh,” Dragonfly snapped, “Listen to me when I talk. At least this one time. Do as I say…again, at least this one time.”
“I do as you say all the time,” Pyro grumbled, “Everything I do, I’ve promised you I would. If you can’t handle your own promises, then that’s your business…”
“I’m tired, please don’t fight with me,” Dragonfly whispered, digging her nails into his hand. He flinched. She still had power over him. Even though he thought he wanted to do everything he did, she still held power. If they were to fight, she could win. All it would take is a fire form. Then his precious lighter would be useless. Unless he called the eagle down. That hardly ever happened though. No, Dragonfly would win.
The only way to stay with Pyro was to make him think he had power. He hated being caged. Everything he did was to rebel against what other people wanted. But he could see through reverse psychology. She knew that would not work. But love…or lust…was every man’s weakness. Dragonfly did love him; she just didn’t let him hold as much power as he thought he held. She would put up with his sulking and his tantrums, but she was born to win. She grew up fairly rich and she was used to getting her way in the end. Even if it meant deceitfulness, she would win in the end; she was sure of that.
“Now let me sleep,” she said, releasing Pyro from her grasp. He took his hand away, glaring at the new fingernail marks. “Please, John,” she added in a whisper. She didn’t want to talk anymore. After a fit, everything became so clear. She became to clear…so clear and so ruthless. She savored the dreams she had after one. She hated the fits, themselves, but it made everything so crystal clear. Crystal. That’s what was so clear. Everything was about Crystal.
Dreams were how Dragonfly sorted out her problems. She could see different scenarios. She could do the same when she was awake, but there were no distractions. She could just think. Sometimes she wished she had an actual power within her dreams, that she could see the future. But she didn’t know anyone who could actually see the future.
Dragonfly sighed, letting go of the thoughts in her tired mind, and let sleep drift over her…
[This message was edited by Gwilamlug on September 13, 2003 at 02:41 PM.]
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 13, 2003 09:00 PM
Stand in line behind me
We've got tons of time to
Let it all hang out
Cast the demons out...
And once we're in the roof falls
I heard that we have got to raise it up
And let the people learn
And this is sure to take a while
'Cause if we're going out
We're going out with style
So we all jump around
And we fall to the ground
Like its the last rock show of our lives...
Verity groaned as her programmed stereo played a loud, fast-tempo song at the designated time. It was like her alarm clock, and though Verity hated getting up so early (since we all know we love to sleep in till noon) she had decided long ago that it was better to wake up to music then to a beeping alarm clock. Verity clicked the stereo off and sat up in her bed, yawning and stretching her muscles. Seven in the morning...are we early enough? Verity wondered as she got dressed in her typical gothic-style clothing.
Verity grabbed no weapon when she finished putting on her baggy black pants and blood red shirt. The girl was almost more afraid of using a gun than she was of being killed by one. Verity had taken Tae Kwon Do when she was younger, and even those closest to her (ie, Matt, of course) sometimes teased her about it. But the martial arts worked enough for her to get her out of more than a few close scrapes, so Verity didn't mind when people second-guessed her abilities or made fun of them.
Instead Verity began to rummage through her room for the only thing she needed for ammission. Verity didn't need much at all on a mission, just her portable (and nifty and small!) MP3 player and headphones. Verity needed music within reach wherever she went. Didn't matter what form it came in, so long at it was there and tangible to her. Once Verity was finished storing away her palm-sized MP3 player in the pocket of her slightly baggy pants, the girl left her room and went to knock on Heather's door.
"Heather? You awake yet? Its almost seven..." Veroty murmured, knocking on Heather's door rhythmically seven times. Before Verity could even finish, Heather had opened her door, smiling excitedly. For a moment Verity was jealous of her zeal and anticipation at such an early hour, but the feeling immediately wore off as she gently tugged on Heather's arm and began to lead the girl towards where the Professor had held his late meeting the night before.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
[This message was edited by Aylwen on September 14, 2003 at 06:01 PM.]
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 14, 2003 03:45 PM
Kia woke up the next morning. She hadn't dreamed at all the night which was quite odd. Her power often lended itself to giving her vivid dreams. But last night there had been only darkness.
Kia pulled herself out of bed and into her smallish bathroom. She took a hurried shower and put on her red tanktop, black jeans and black leather overcoat. She brushe dout her long black hair and twisted it into a tight braid, except for the two strands of hair in front that refused to stay back. Kia walked back into her small apartment room and grabbed a few items that she'd need. Her gun for one. She always carried it around, often in a holster that attached to the back of her belt. After making sure that it was loaded, Kia grabbed two full magazines that were sitting next to it and clipped them onto her belt.
She walked out into her office and snatched her glasses off the desk and fitted them over her eyes as she stepped out into the hall. She was still mad at Danté. Treating her like a crippled infant! They had both been through a lot together, and Kia had never given into pain or weakness and now, all of a sudden, he wants her to stay!
Kia was in the elevator and was about to push the down button when Wolverine's paw-like hand stopped the closing doors. He, along with Ann got on.
"Going down?" Kia asked.
"What do you think?" was Wolverine's gravelly reply.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Time to save the world again?
~~~Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober ~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 14, 2003 04:54 PM
Ann not woken up as early this morning. Late nights did not agree with her she reflected as she looked over at the clock saying 7:00 in bright red letters. She was groggy as she dragged herself out of bed pulled on her baggiest pants and a sweatshirt. When she has washed her face and was feeling a bit more alert, Ann returned to her closet and pulled out her pride and joy. Her name was Artemis, and she was two feet of perfectly balanced steel. People sometimes laughed at Ann for using a sword, they thought she was some crazed Renaissance Fair goer (the insult to Ren. Fair was unforgivable). But that was before they saw her use it. Ann had learned to use it when she was little from a friend of her fathers (the man taught actors most of the time), and practiced with herself every morning. She was sometimes able to convince Logan to spar with her. Ann had never used a gun. To her, they had always been a weapon used in cold blood; a thing that horrified her utterly. The sword, Ann loved for the practice and the sparing. It had an element of skill, strength and coordination. Sometimes it was just like dancing. But not boring, she thought wryly. Ann fastened the sword belt so that the sheath hung down against her left leg inside her pants - they were baggy enough that it was inconspicuous – and checked that her knife was on her right hip.
You ready Thistle?
Of course I am. I’m just waiting for you.
Ann pulled on her snow-boots and warm coat and grabbed the other reason people thought she was crazy: her cloak. She had made it for herself shortly after discovering that it was unpleasant to change from wolf to human in front of others without some sort of covering on hand. If she had to shape-shift in the same room as other people it was nice to be under a covering of some sort, and a cloak fit around one’s body better than a blanket.
Logan was just leaving his rooms as Ann walked by on her way to the elevator. She nodded a good morning to which he replied in kind. They were just able to catch the Kia in the elevator so all four of them went down together. Ann looked at Kia hopefully. “Any chance of a decent breakfast before we go, or are we going to have to eat en route?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 15, 2003 04:33 PM
"not unless Magneto's mooks brought along a picnic basket," Kia sighed as the elevator's doors shut. The elevator lurched down and soon the doors were opening again.
"I'm headed off to the hanger to get the bird ready," Kia said and walked off to the bay. The great magnetically sealed doors pulled open and locked into place. Seeing as more people would be coming that way, it would be unecessary to close the hulking doors again. The NightHawk2 was sitting in the center of the underground hanger. She knew Danté was in there, but she didn't care. It didn't mean that she had to talk to him. The rampway was open and Kia walked up the small incline. The jet was already humming with anticipation. Danté was nowhere to be found, so Kia settled herself into the familiar co-pilot seat.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Time to save the world again?
~~~Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober ~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted September 15, 2003 05:31 PM
OOC: Everyone seems to be heading to the hanger right away, instead of going off to the meeting place. So I'm just gonna go along with that, if that's all right.
Heather grinned at Verity. "I'm all ready to go. Where are we off to?" She had slept surprisingly well, considering last night, and was almost bouncing off the walls with anticipation. Verity, however, looked less than well rested. "We're off to the hanger. Most of the others are probably already there."
"The hanger? What's that?" Heather asked, adjusting her sweatshirt.
They had reached the elevator. Verity opened the doors and they slid shut behind them with a soft hiss. "It's where the jet is kept," her companion replied, stifling a yawn.
"We're taking a jet? Sweet." Heather actually bounced a bit. The elevator was decending, taking them down underground.
"How can you be so cheerful in the morning?"
"I've always been a morning person." Verity nodded. Coming to a halt, the elevator doors slid open, revealing a short hall, at the end of which were two gigantic metal doors, standing open. Inside, in the center of the room, was the most sophisticated jet Heather had ever laid eyes on. Stepping out, Verity lead the way into the hanger. Heather followed close behind, still studying the marvelous jet.
"Hey," Verity called out, "anyone else here?"
<~:*:~>
...and I fired two warning shots. Into his head. - Chicago Click? Click!
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 17, 2003 05:10 PM
Danté was coming around the left side of the hanger when he saw Verity and Heather.
"Hey!" He shouted waving at them, "Head on-board, we'll be leaving shortly!" He said smiling. He had seen Kia get on, but decided to not follow her. They had had their arguements before and it was usually best to just leave things alone til they cooled down. Danté went back to tightening the landing screws as the two young girls boarded.
OoC:Apologies on shortness of post...due to shortness of time
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Time to save the world again?
**Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober ~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 18, 2003 09:29 AM
Verity yawned once more as Danté came cheerily down the left end of the hangar. She nodded at his reply and lethargically led Heather onto the NightHawk2. Verity took a seat behind Kia, who was in the co-pilot's seat, and motioned for Heather to take a seat next to her, behind Danté's pilot seat. Verity immediately shut her eyes drowsily once her head hit the back of the seat.
"Electro or Logan usually sit there, but I'm sure they can handle sitting in the back today," Verity mumbled to Heather, who was still gaping in awe and looking around her and at the controls of the aircraft. Verity lifted her legs and rested them on the shoulder of the seat in front of her, but her legs were soon shrugged off by someone's hand.
"Hey Kia. Sorry bout that. Didn't see you there..." Verity murmured groggily, shifting in her seat and trying to wake herself up. Come on, it isn't that early... Verity told herself. Kia made some sort of muttering reply to Verity's words, and Verity only smiled. "Tired, Kia?"
"No."
"Okay then," Verity said, just as Electro bounded onto the NightHawk, Logan and Ann just behind him. Ann took the seat that was stationed behind Heather's, and when Logan noticed that the 'new kid' had his seat, he only shrugged moodily and took the seat behind Verity.
"Yo, Touchtone, how come she's in my seat?" Electro asked, no less rowdy or loud than usual despite the early hour. Logan had a look on his face that showed Wolverine's distaste for Electro's persona. Verity lifted a brow and looked from Electro to Heather and back again three times before answering.
"I told her she could sit there..."
"Really? That hurts, Touchtone girl, that hurts..." Electro mock weeped sarcastically, glaring at Heather momentarily before taking the pilot seat where Danté was supposed to sit. "Well, I guess that means I'm piloting today, right then?"
"I don't think so," Danté said haughtily as he walked up to the pilot's seat, wiping his hands off on a dirty rag. When he reached Electro he threw the rag at Electro and shoved the man out of his seat. Verity noticed that Kia was avoiding Danté's gaze, but said nothing of it as the Professor wheeled onto the NightHawk to bid them farewell.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted September 18, 2003 11:23 AM
Heather shifted nervously is her seat. Everyone seemed to be looking at her. She slouched down, and wished she had brought a book, or her laptop. The silence was getting unbearable. She had to say something. Sitting up, she turned around in her seat, to address the woman behind her. "Hi, I'm Heather. I didn't get your name last night..."
"I'm Ann Tait," she replied with a smile, looking straight at Heather. She had beautiful golden eyes, and her voice had a lovely Scottish/English lilt.
"Nice to meet you." From two seats behind her on the left, the man who's seat she had taken spoke up. "I'm 'Lectro. So you're the new girl, huh?"
Oh no. This kind of situation was familiar to Heather, but she ignored the feeling of dread in her stomach and casually replied, "Yea, I only came yesterday."
"Fast mover," he said sarcastically, reminding Heather of how she had come to be sitting in the jet. "So what can you do anyway? Anything?" Kia spoke up. "Leave her alone Electro."
"It's fine, " said Heather quickly, not wanting to appear a wimp. Replying to Electro's question, she said, "I can split."
"Split?" This came from the man Heather could only assume was Logan.
"It's kinda complicated."
"I bet," smirked 'Lectro.
"It would be easier if I could show you." Without waiting for a reply, she accessed her power. Splitting felt strange, as if some part of herself was separating from her. Separating, but not leaving. With a final jolt of consciousness, she had split. Standing beside Heather in the isle was her twin. Adjusting herself mentally, she got control of her brain, which was reeling from trying to process another set of senses. Heather decided that she'd just let her go, as it was much easier that way. "Let me introduce you to Heather."
"Hi," said Heather.
<~:*:~>
"I'm away laughing on a fast camel." - Dave the Laugh
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 18, 2003 04:36 PM
Kia smirked at Electro's bewilderment but stopped as she noticed the Professor's serious demeanor.
"Good Morning, Professor," Kia said as the rest of the flight crew took notice of the man in the back.
"I've come to see you off. Danté the flight directionals has been preprogramed into your flight computer. You should have no trouble in reaching the warehouse fifty miles from here. Be careful, and remember that Magneto and his followers are mutants as well. We must all work together if we are to survive." He finished and left the now silent jet.
Danté threw the massive jet into ignition and the whole hanger began to tremble. The overhead door opened and NightHawk2 rose into the sky. Kia and Danté quickly fell into conversation, but it was strictly limited to flight patterns and coordinates.
"So," said Electro, getting up out of his seat, "While, Ol' Baldy didn't say to much, he did supply us with some very nice new toys this time!" He said, walking toward the back and then returning with a silver metal briefcase, "Now," He said as the briefcase clicked open, "here we have some improved communicators, just place one of these in your ear and you're in touch with your flight." They were small and silver, "Also your standard tranqs, detenators and whatever other mayhem you feel like causing while we're in there!" Electro said shoving the briefcase under his seat.
"Now, once we get to the base, we'll be spliting up into 2 groups, or flights. Verity, Kia, Heather and Wolverine will be in Flight A. You will take care of the mutants trapped in the lower levels. Flight B will have Danté, Ann, and myself, we will be in charge of getting the extra bits of virus for the vaccine. When those brotherhood mutants hook up with us, one will go to each flight. We don't need them teaming up." Electro added contemptuosly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Time to save the world again?
**Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober ~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted September 19, 2003 06:53 PM
Ann gave Electro an exasperated look. “Lets try to go into this with an open mind shall we? If we’re going to work with them we’re going to have to find a way to trust them. Just give them a chance. You might start by not quarreling with your own team members over useless issues. Cut her some slack; she’s new here.” Before Electro could reply, Ann hurried on. “Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry. I nipped up to the kitchen to get us some breakfast, so anyone who wants, come get something.” Ann opened the bag she had placed under her seat and started handing out bagels and fruit. “Oh, and there’s orange juice and cream-cheese if anyone wants.” Ann grinned at Heather as she passed her an apple. “I’ve learned that if I don’t look after our stomachs, nobody else will, and we’ll all rush out to save the world and fall flat on our faces from lack of food.”
“That’s because some of us think about more than just our bellies,” growled Electro.
Ann stuck her tongue out at him. “And see where it gets you? I’m sure you won’t be in nearly such a bad mood after breakfast.” She glanced over at Verity. “And it aught to wake you up some too.” Once she made sure that everyone had something to eat, Ann ravenously set to work on her own small mountain of food.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted September 19, 2003 07:39 PM
Verity smiled weakly in thanks as Ann passed her a perfectly round and unbruised Golden Delicious apple. Soon everyone (including Electro, if you can believe it) began to settle down to quietly eat their breakfast and the Heathers became one person again. Verity held up the perfect apple in her hand and was tempted to toss it, but didn't. Instead, she began to murmur out a soft song, the first one that came to her mind at the moment:
"And if I bleed, I'll bleed,
Knowing you don't care.
And if I sleep just to dream of you
And wake without you there,
Isn't something missing?
Isn't something..."
Her voice trailed off, and her apple slowly lifted from her cupped hands and hovered in the air. A satisfied smile on her face, Verity grabbed the apple from out of the air and took a big bite of it. It tasted as perfect as it looked, but it could have been because Verity was starving.
"So there'll only be two of Magneto's buddies coming along? Even if we don't split them up it we shouldn't have any trouble with them!" Logan muttered arrogantly in between gulps of no-pulp orange juice. Anyone looking at Electro could tell that the loudmouth had something to snap back at Logan, but Verity was also slightly surprised to see Electro hold his tongue.
"Before we make any judgements like that, I say we meet the two first," Danté murmured as he readied the aircraft for landing. Heather warily tightened her seatbelt, despite the fact that none of the others had one on, or moved to put one on. The rest of the passengers were busily putting their earpieces in and loudly checking whether or not they were working properly.
"Can you hear me now? Good! Can you hear me now? Goo-" Before Electro could finish his imitation of the oh-so-annoying cell-phone company commercial into his earpiece Logan had proceeded to mock-strangle Electro.
"Enough you two!" Ann laughed, trying to break up the pretend fight.
"Yeah, we're about to land!" Verity pointed out. She had quickly handed her set of tranquilizers and guns to Heather, who accepted them with hesitation. Verity never used the guns, but she did take some extra detenators from Electro's secret stach as Danté began to expertly land the NightHawk2.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted September 20, 2003 06:27 AM
Danté lowered the jet onto the ground, hidden behind the massive abandoned warehouse. Once the jet landed, Kia opened up the back rampway.
“We should head inside the warehouse,” Kia said, taking the flight comlink away and put the new group earpiece in. Danté took his hands of the controls and sighed as he leaned back into his chair and did the same. The group got off the jet, but Kia knew that Verity was lingering down by the bottom.
“Listen, Kia about last night,” Danté began and it was the first conversation they had that didn’t deal with flight patterns.
“I over-reacted last night, Danté, but I don’t want you thinking that I can’t take care of myself.” Kia said, finally looking up at him.
“I know, it’s just sometimes, I gotta worry, you know?” Danté said rather sheepishly.
“I know,” Kia smiled. She stood up and kissed Danté on the forehead. She swiped a detonator or two from the briefcase and walked off the ship and toward the warehouse, running into Verity.
Back on the jet, Danté smiled as he took a few things from the briefcase.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Time to save the world again?
**Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober ~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted October 05, 2003 02:43 PM
Magneto sat in a swiveling chair with his back to the party that entered the nearly abandoned warehouse. The chair moved of what appeared to be its own accord as Magneto used hardly any energy to swivel it. He looked at the group. They were all children. He almost laughed at the group of infants the stood there. So Xavier depended on the youth of the nation now. What had it come to? And here they were, those people that protested and claimed they hated Magneto’s ways here, asking for his aid. He smiled.
“You came from the nursery, yes?” Magneto asked them. They looked at each other for a second. “The school,” Magneto explained calmly. Their faces took on a look of enlightenment. This was going to be interesting.
“We came for your help…and the vaccine,” a girl with sunglasses said in a determined voice.
Magneto smiled. “Truly? Well, that all depends on what you can do for me.”
“We will do practically anything,” another girl said.
“Anything?” Magneto smiled again. He knew they would not in fact to everything. He wondered how much they would do for his assistance. Maybe he could test that later. For the meantime, he would give them what they asked for, his assistance and the vaccine. Magneto knew that they would want the vaccine. He brought it with him. Magneto gestured to one of his followers, who quietly moved over to a small black briefcase. He unfastened the clasps and opened the case with a click. There was a bottle of solution and a syringe inside the briefcase in a custom-fitting palate covered in velvet. The mutant had large muscles and looked fairly menacing. He saw the children eye the syringe warily.
“And you expect us to trust that?” came the familiar voice from the back. How could Magneto overlook Wolverine?
“Ah, Wolverine,” Magneto said, moving his chair forward, seemingly on its own. Metal wheels really did prove to be helpful. “You return to us. I see you are still taking up with these youths. When will you learn that their attempts are futile? We are the way of the future. You and that girl shall join us in the end.”
Wolverine glared with his wolf-like eyes. He also eyed Magneto’s “guard”. Wolverine would not be afraid of the mutant, Magneto knew. There was a girl with him. She was not much older than the girl of whom Magneto spoke, Rogue, was. Magneto noted that the girl stood in a similar fashion to Wolverine. There was something so similar between them. The girl must have wolf powers as well. That was what was similar: the wolfish parts of both of them. Well, at least Wolverine had found a mate. He would probably bring her with him when he finally accepted Magneto as the only one that would have victory in the struggle for survival. Magneto moved his chair forward again at Wolverine’s glare. The others backed up a very small amount, trying not to make their movements obvious. Magneto smiled.
“I do expect you to ‘trust that’, as you so delicately put it,” Magneto said to Wolverine.
“And why is that?” the girl next to him asked.
“Because you do not really have any other choice, now, do you? I have the vaccine and you do not. If you decline, then you may be the next ones infected. Then there is no hope for you. Now come along like good children and get your shots.”
Wolverine grunted and pushed his way forward. The girl next to him followed behind and the others fell in behind them. The mutant administering the shots was none too gentle with the needle. One by one, they got the shot. Interesting how they trusted that Magneto would give them the true vaccine. He did, in fact, give them the vaccine, but it was still curious that they, especially Wolverine, would trust his word. Of course Magneto’s intentions were not exactly pure. He did want them alive for what he had planned. They did say they would do practically anything. The time would come when he would test that. It would certainly come…
“You are all still alive, I trust?” Magneto asked the group. All of them except for Wolverine were touching the place where the shot went into their arms. He smiled at the mutant that administered the vaccine. The mutant seemed to have taken pleasure in driving the needles in so deep. “Do not hurt them. We will still need them alive and well,” he said quietly. The mutant nodded quietly and put the syringe and bottle back in the briefcase. He shut the briefcase with two more snaps and stood up and nearby at the ready. He was prepared for a fight. Magneto hoped it would not come to that.
“Now let us talk,” Magneto said, smiling and looking at his watch. He had received word that Pyro and Dragonfly were to come later. What a lovely pair they were. He hoped he could stall the others until the two juveniles arrived. It would take them some time to drive from the city. Well, Magneto had all day. And the other mutants would wait, as they needed to.
“Now tell me all about yourselves,” Magneto said, nodding. The mutant standing at the ready crossed over and stood in front of the door. Wolverine growled a bit, but no one made a move towards the mutant.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted October 06, 2003 02:39 PM
Kia shifted around on her feet. She was holding her leather jacket folded over her arm. The mutants around her were ill at ease, especially Logan. If they waited too long, Kia thought, Logan would get edgy and then there'd be trouble. She looked over toward Magneto, his evil countanance reflecting in her glasses.
"We won't wait around for your mutants all day," Kia said, walking slowly toward him and then sitting down on one of the nearby crates as she noticed Magneto's mutant tense up as though he were ready to spring.
"You may have all the time in the world but we don't." Magneto almost seemed confused for a moment, how could this impudent little girl know what he was stalling for. Kia read his expression quickly.
"Telepath," She said shortly, "There's more of 'em around than the Professor you know."
"Of course," Magneto conceded. "So...what a ragtag group you all are." He added calously, "How in the world do you expect to succeed?"
"Hey! Scr** you!" Electro shouted, starting foward, he always had a nasty temper and was never one for mind games. Danté put out an arm to stop him.
"Electro!" Kia said, right after Electro's out burst. She turned her head back toward Magneto, "We will succeed, ragtag group or not,"
"Indeed" was Magneto's stoic reply.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Time to save the world again?
**Absolutely!
~~Aylwen is a goober ~~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted October 06, 2003 05:50 PM
Where I come from old people were jealous of the young, Verity thought bitterly, defiant eyes glaring at Magneto. It was one thing to bring disgrace to the name of mutants, but it was another to insult your own kind. What was Magneto thinking, pushing everyone from the school to the edge? Logan was upset enough just being in the same room as Magneto, and now the elderly man had pushed Electro to anger.
It's too quiet in here... Verity added to her previous thought, finally realizing how awkwardly silent it actually was when Magneto wasn't blabbering about something. Other than that, the only sounds being made were from Danté trying to calm Electro down or Logan shifting impatiently and eyes darting from Magneto to Kia and back again. No one wanted to continue the string of conversation that Magneto had begun, save perhaps Magneto himself.
I jumped out the window
And down the fire escape
Broke the window
Who needs car keys anyway
Thrown out the window
There was nothing there to
Break my fall
Why does this happen all the time
I don't even want to be friends
It makes you happy when
All I've got left is my sanity
And all I've got left is my sanity
And I'm not sure how far it goes
How far it goes...
Verity subconciously began to tap her foot to the beat drumming through her mind as she resisted the temptation the sing or even hum the song she sang in her head. Kia looked over at her, reading her thoughts, roaming freely through the minds of every member in the party. Heather looked anxiously over at Verity, and tapped her on the shoulder. Verity grabbed her arm where Heather had tapped, sore from the shot given earlier and none too gently by Magneto's henchmen.
"What are we waiting for?" Heather asked, looking over at Danté, who was speaking in rushed whispers to Electro, trying to calm the fuming man down. Verity sighed and glanced angrily over at Magneto before rolling her eyes and shrugging to Heather.
"Magneto's helpers. He's too old and too busy being an elementary school bully to do anything himself," Verity murmured back, and Kia nearby shot Verity a look that tried to remind the girl of what Professor Xavier said about being serious on a mission.
"How long are we going to have to wait for your buddies, Magneto?" Verity asked, masking her impatience with a question towards the calm, satisfied old mutant.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
[This message was edited by Aylwen on October 07, 2003 at 04:41 PM.]
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted October 10, 2003 02:29 PM
There was laughter. Such an odd sound these days. No, it wasn’t these days. It was years ago. She saw the flames dance and heard the people laugh. She wasn’t that happy though. Crystal was gone. She was just gone. But there were people laughing.
She looked up from where she was sitting. Sonya was getting more wood for the fire. Sonya…that name was so familiar. That’s right: Sonya was Fusion. Her black irises danced with what appeared to be lightning as she put the wood on the fire and her dark blonde hair hung in waves on her shoulders. Every now and then, lightning would shoot out of her fingers to relight the fire that kept almost going out.
Alaina was there too. She sat on a rock playing with her long, light blonde hair. She could have been a human model if it were not for the enormous golden-feathered eagle wings that protruded from her back. Those wings could lift her body, hollow bones and all, and carry her wherever she wanted to go. Rochelle always envied those wings. Alaina sat with her hawk eyes staring at the fire, quiet as usual.
John was not there. He had already left. That was another depressing thought. The only other person that really understood Rochelle was gone. Rochelle sighed again.
Bobby and Rogue were by the fire still. Across on the grass, Jasper was dashing around. His unbelievable speed, however, made it difficult to keep track of where he was, which was quite disconcerting. He was called Velocity for a reason. Even his eyes behind his glasses darted. He could be at normal speed, but he preferred to confuse people.
The Twins were there too. It was disconcerting to be around them, as they knew not only each other’s every thought, but yours as well. They had the habit of finishing each other’s sentences. Sometimes they would even finish your sentence if they were of a mind to do so. Hisa and Mai were never apart, so people just called them The Twins when they mentioned them.
There was one more. She was off getting firewood, though. Ann Tait was there too. Ann was an ally. Rochelle could trust Ann. She could shapeshift too.
Ann came back with firewood piled on her arms. Ann was only a year older than Rochelle was.
“Rochelle! Rochelle!” Sonya called her, “Come on!”
“Not now,” Rochelle whispered, sitting on the wooden swing and gently swinging.
Alaina stood up and stretched her large golden wings. Her eyes were shining in the dark.
“It’s time to go,” she said and flew away.
The Twins looked at each other.
“Do any of you understand that girl?” Sonya asked, staring after where Alaina flew. The Twins shook their heads together. Ann just put the wood down, brushing dirt off her arms. Bobby and Rogue smiled and shook their heads. Jasper threw some wood on the fire, then sat down quickly.
“She wants to be alone,” Rochelle said. They looked at her. She hadn’t spoken much since they had gathered. The twins each raised one eyebrow. Ann smiled a bit. The others just stared. “Don’t you ever want to be alone?”
Rochelle sighed. She was alone. Ann understood though. Ann always understood…
Dragonfly woke up. She yawned and sat up. Next to the bed was a note. Dragonfly looked around. She could not see Pyro. There had been a dream. She remembered Wolf. What had happened to Wolf? She was nice. She understood Dragonfly too. It was not just Pyro.
She read the note:
Shellie,
We need help. You’re right. I’ll be back later. I’m sorry.
John
Dragonfly sighed and stood up. Pyro had apologized. At least there was that much. She went to the kitchen and got a drink of water. She wondered when Pyro left. She hoped he would be home soon. The clock said that it was about twelve-thirty. She was hungry. She made herself a sandwich and quickly ate it.
Just as she finished, Pyro came bustling into the room. “Time to go,” he said quietly, and he began picking up his things and packing once more.
“Where are we going?” Dragonfly asked. She went over to her closet and started to pack up her bag again.
“I was talking to people,” Pyro said, “We have to leave.”
Dragonfly stopped. “John. You’re not getting away with that. Now talk.”
“I was talking to people. You don’t have to know who they are. It’s better if you don’t. I wanted to learn what went on here while we were away. They said that stuff is happening. They’re with Magneto, so they know stuff. They say that they’re doing tests. The humans are testing this new virus. They say that there’s a place where they can take away your powers, but they just test the virus. It’s supposed to kill only mutants. Humans are unaffected by the disease. Magneto has stolen some of the disease and has formulated a vaccination. If we can get to him, we’ll be okay. They don’t think any humans know he has the vaccine yet. But we have to get there quickly in case they do find out.”
“What does the virus do?” Dragonfly asked, looking up from where she had continued her packing once John began to explain himself.
“You don’t want to know,” John said. He stopped and looked at Dragonfly. She kept her eyes on him. “All right. It’s typical really. The symptoms are similar to smallpox…except there are no physical marks. If you don’t get help in two weeks, you’re dead.”
“Oh,” Dragonfly paused a second, taking a breath, then went back to packing. She had the sudden urge to take a shower or wash her hands or make sure there were no germs on her somehow. She finished quickly and stood waiting for Pyro to finish. “So we’re going to Magneto’s I guess?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Pyro said, flipping the cover of his bag over and zipping it up. He hefted it onto his shoulder and Dragonfly lifted her bag up. The silently left the apartment and made their way down to the car. Dragonfly jumped into the driver’s seat.
“I’m driving this time,” she said. Pyro gave her a look, then got into the car next to her. They took off and headed out.
“Where are we going?” Dragonfly asked. Pyro gave her a look, then muttered something about asking to drive. He finally agreed to direct her.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted October 10, 2003 03:23 PM
Magneto looked up toward the young outspoken girl.
“They will arrive when they choose to, but I doubt they will be much longer. I don’t see why you’re in such a hurry. Running off to meet your doom in the hands of murdering sadists.”
Verity remained silent briefly stunned by the information
“Shut your mouth.” Kia snapped losing her temper. Who does he think he is? Kia thought to herself. Magneto then lost his. The metal of the gun on Kia’s belt was what he used to pick her up and then brought her in front of him.
“I don’t think you realize you who you are dealing with, girl.” He said dangerously. Kia remained stoic, while it was now Wolverine who held Danté off.
“I know perfectly well who I’m dealing with, Eric.” Kia said. Magneto sneered at his name he reached up and grabbed her throat, squeezing just hard enough not to hurt her, but let her know that he could.
“It is you who should be holding their tongue, or I will do the job before the humans can.” He said.
“I don’t think so.” Kia said, and then made him put her down and release her neck. The effort on her made her a bit woozy, but no one noticed. Magneto had left red marks on her neck. “Your friends better hurry up, now that we’ve gotten your vaccine, we don’t need to be here anymore.” Kia said contemptuously walking back toward the group.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~I have spoken with your father.
~~So, my lord? I speak with him every day.
**Aylwen is a goober **
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
elenna
Keen Eyed Wanderer
Shirriff
posted October 12, 2003 12:47 PM
Angel stood somewhat apart from the group. She could feel the tension in the room somewhat more intensely than most, and it made her edgy. She tried to send out waves of calm from her own mind, but knew that very few of those in the group could actually feel them.
She smiled reassuringly at Wolverine, who was in the process of loudly cracking his knuckles. He managed to tilt one corner of his mouth at a 15 degree angle, which Angel decided to count as a victory.
And I still have finals to grade, she thought to herself, remembering the huge pile of essays still sitting on her desk. As the English and Creative Writing teacher, her finals could never be multiple choice, and so they took forever.
Angel laughed at herself, thinking about tests when she was faced with such a problem. She had taken the vaccine, as had the rest of the group. Angel hadn't confronted this particular strain of virus before, and although she thought maybe she could handle it, it was better to be safe than sorry.
But she came out of her thoughts suddenly. Magneto held Kia by the throat.
“It is you who should be holding their tongue, or I will do the job before the humans can.” Eric growled. Angel started forward as Kia released herself and came back toward the group.
"Don't be a fool, Magneto," Angel said, her musical voice cutting through Dante and Wolverine's angry noises. "Is it your goal to destroy everyone on your side? Would you face the Clean America people alone?"
Magneto looked down his nose at the small golden-haired woman, but she met him stare for stare. In her eyes he read a depth of power that he very rarely encountered. And the longer he looked at her, the less angry he felt.
"No. But your people had better calm their insolence, Angel, else I will be forced to take measures."
-----------------------------
I am the blade that pierces the heart.
You are the torch that lights the pyre.
Together we conquer.
Together we rule.
Re: X-Men----X-Factors
posted October 12, 2003 03:02 PM
They drove for about two hours. They covered about seventy-five, one hundred miles, leaving the city far behind. Pyro said to look for a warehouse. Dragonfly kept both eyes open for it long before she saw it.
“What are we going to do when we get there? We can’t very well just walk in and wave ‘hi’, can we?” Dragonfly asked.
“Why not?” Pyro asked.
“Well…I don’t know,” Dragonfly said, clicking her rings against the faux wood on the steering wheel. “It just doesn’t seem right.”
“Why not?” Pyro asked again.
“I…I don’t know. It just doesn’t,” Dragonfly said. “We left him.”
“I guess,” Pyro shrugged.
They kept driving. They would be reaching the warehouse soon. Dragonfly turned on music and clicked her rings against the wood on the steering wheel nervously. Magneto was always unsettling to her. She never fully trusted him. She would rather have remained with Xavier if she had her way. He seemed so safe. But Magneto was so powerful and he knew how to get things done.
They saw the warehouse as they drove up to it. It appeared as though there were already others at Magneto’s. There was an airplane outside. Dragonfly recognized it immediately.
“It looks like Xavier’s here already,” she said, pointing, “Or teachers, students, and other disciples.”
“Do we have to go in?” Pyro asked, eyeing the ship. Dragonfly shut off the engine and glared at him. “All right, all right,” he said, unfastening his seatbelt. It was about three o’clock in the afternoon.
They walked over to the warehouse. Pyro threw his weight against a door, pushing the sticky door open. They quietly entered the warehouse.
“Well, well,” came Magneto’s voice. Pyro made a half-grimace, half-smile, and Dragonfly gave a small start at the words.
“We heard you have a vaccine,” Pyro said coldly, trying to recover. “We came for it.”
Dragonfly pinched Pyro in admonition, looking around the room. There were other people in the room. She recognized some of them from Xavier’s school. There were Day Vampyre and Wolf. Wolverine was there as well. They all looked uncomfortable and maybe even as though they had been there too long. Wolverine especially looked disgruntled.
“Rochelle?” Ann said, looking at Dragonfly intently.
“Ann,” Dragonfly smiled briefly at Ann, but turned back to Pyro, who was loosely sizing up the whole crowd. “John, chill out. We’re with friends.”
“So you say,” Pyro said, flicking his lighter nonchalantly. Dragonfly snorted a bit and rolled her eyes at Pyro. She turned to Magneto. He was smiling in that way, like he knew something that she did not or that he was thinking some very amusing thought that he did not wish to share. Magneto always freaked Dragonfly out. She never liked him. Xavier was not there, though. Ann was. She could trust Ann. Ann had never done anything to her. She had not known Ann that long, though. She left soon after Ann arrived, following Pyro wherever he was going. But Ann was also mortal, as they all were. Just as mortal as Crystal was.
“Magneto,” Dragonfly said looking at him, trying not to show her discomfort, “We were told you could help us. We’ve heard of the…virus. We were wondering if you could help us. Please?”
Magneto looked at her. He was still smiling in his peculiar manner. He really did make her uncomfortable. “I will help you. But you must help me.”
Dragonfly rolled her eyes. They had been tricked into helping Magneto more times than she wished to recollect. She really did not want to become involved with him again. Neither she nor Pyro liked being attached to anyone. It was better to work alone. Although nothing was getting done. She had been right before; she knew it. They could accomplish nothing alone. The only hope the mutants had for defeating the underdeveloped humans was to unite as one powerful force. Xavier would always oppose Magneto, though. Pyro and Dragonfly were unhindered by Xavier when they were on their own. It was more comfortable to be alone too. She did not have to see that disconcerting smile. Why did he smile like that? Or was it just his way? She could never tell with Magneto. He was such an enigma. She did not think anyone but Xavier knew about him. They were friends and yet there was an animosity between them, it seemed. She did not understand it. How could anyone fight someone they loved as much as Xavier seemed to love Magneto? They had to listen to Magneto. Magneto would help them not contract the virus. They would listen to Magneto. But then would all hope of freedom be lost? They had to risk it.
“We will do anything you ask,” Dragonfly said finally, keeping her voice level, despite the great tendency it had toward shaking when she was in his presence. She caught a brief look from Pyro, and gave him a warning look not to destroy their chances. “Understand we do not want to go with you, though. We just want to be rid of the threat of the disease. But how can we trust you?”
“Have I ever steered you wrong in the past? Did you lose anyone by my hand?” Magneto asked, his voice comforting for some reason, even though his presence was anything but comforting to Dragonfly. She knew he spoke of Crystal. Because of Xavier, she could not act. He had not let her go to Crystal. But he let her go to the Morgue. Her hands shook, but she steadied them and kept her eyes on Magneto. She knew what he could do; what he would do if necessary. But Magneto had never directly harmed either Pyro or Dragonfly. She solemnly shook her head “no”.
“Very well,” Magneto smiled that smile again. Dragonfly shivered at the smile. She really did not trust Magneto.
Magneto brought out a black case. In the case was a syringe. Dragonfly shivered at it. She really hated needles. She could feel her skin prickling at the ready. She warded off her instincts though. It would only bring trouble.
She approached Magneto. His hands felt cold, and she found herself shivering. Was that what she was shivering about, though? She felt the needle and flinched. She did not like needles...she did not like needles...
It was over. She felt odd...but good. Pyro went next. He did not even flinch. He even glared at Magneto as the shot was administered. He came back and went to stand with Dragonfly. She realized she was still shaking. She did not like it here...she did not like needles...something was wrong...she should not be here...it did not feel right...it was not safe...
Pyro touched her arm and Dragonfly gave a start. She did not like this place.
"So," Magneto said, "What shall we do now?" Dragonfly shivered more at the voice. She did not like it here.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted October 13, 2003 10:14 AM
As Ann watched the proceedings between Magneto and her team, her hackles slowly rose (or would have if she had had them in human form). By the time his mutants arrived she was growling under her breath, and when they opened the door she wheeled and was half-crouched in fighting stance before she could see more than a silhouette against the bright light outside. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Wolverine was echoing her stance. Then they entered and her jaw dropped in amazement.
Of all the mutants she had thought they could possibly be waiting for, these two had never even occurred to her. “Rochelle?” she whispered. It had been years since they had been at school together, and Ann had never really expected to see her again after she left with John. They had been good friends. Rochelle had still been in shock and depression after Crystal’s death, but there had been mutual liking there, and the bond that comes with similar powers. And understanding. Ann had missed that. There was some of that between her and Wolverine, but the relationship there was different. Ann felt her spirits rise. She had never been close to John, but having Rochelle with them would be wonderful.
Ann watched as Rochelle took the lead and the two had their shots administered. Rochelle was much easier to read than most other people were. Probably because she had so much animal in her. She was obviously ill at ease. More so even than the situation warranted. And Magneto was playing on that nervousness and building it into fear. Ann felt her anger flare. Rochelle had never been terribly stable, and given what she had been through, Ann did not blame her in the least. She did not deserve to be played with this way. Ann glanced about at the rest of the X-men. They were watching the two newcomers with suspicion bordering on hostility. Rochelle stood a few feet away from the group but obviously separate with John on her other side. Ann walked over to stand next to her and smiled at her. “It’s good to see you again Rochelle,” she said. She squeezed Rochelle’s hand and then turned to the other X-men. “Well, if we’re all here, why don’t we introduce ourselves and then get going?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I'm being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow; a leaoing and a hopping like a moonshadow, moonshadow moonshadow."
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted October 13, 2003 01:51 PM
"We'll introduce ourselves on the jet." Kia said holding her coat over her shoulder as she walked out of the warehouse. She had had enought of this nonsense with Magneto or Eric or whatever the h*** he called himself now. She had picked up some terrible memories from him and if she had wished, she could have broken him quite easily. AS she walked outside, she found her hand going to her neck. His grip had been so cold, she wondered if her neck was still red.
However, Kia brushed those feelings aside,she had a jet to get ready, the rest could come when they pleased. She walked up the rampway and begin kicking the thrusters in to gear and the jet began to hum. Sitting in the co-pilot's chair, she reached over for her headset, which was resting on Danté's seat.
"Ow" She muttered to herself as her arm grazed the side of the chair. The area around where she had gotten the shot was still sore. Her reaction to the pain had been instant as she rubbed at her arm, wincing a little, trying to massage away the odd pain. It went away quickly enough and Kia reached down to the jet's floor to pick up her headset.
--back in the warehouse--
Danté was still mad at Magneto, but was better at controlling himself than Electro, who was looking ready to run up there and knock Magneto to the ground.
This whole business had been shady, and Danté was ready to get out of there.
"Well, thank you for your kind hospitality"
Danté said although he heard Electro mutter "B******t"
"Let's go, we've got directions to where we're goin' on the Nighthawk." He finished, ignoring Electro, and heading for the jet.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~let me stay where the wind will whisper to me, where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story~Evanescence~
**Aylwen is a goober **
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted October 14, 2003 01:14 PM
Verity wasted no time in following Danté and Electro out of the warehouse. Like some of the other mutants from Xavier's school (no names shall be mentioned...), Verity had little patience to deal with petty name-callings and retorts, especially with some old man with a strange way of reasoning things. Danté led the way out of the warehouse, followed by Electro and Verity and Heather. Closely behind them came Ann, Logan and Angel, while the last two, Dragonfly and Pyro, tarried for a moment before joining the group.
"Woah you could play my game,
If you'd just tell me your name.
Boy you could play my game,
But I'll put you to shame!"
Verity hummed to herself as she got on the Nighthawk, taking a seat behind Danté and next to Electro. She figured that it wouldn't matter who sat where, so long as the new people sat in the back Verity was content. Everyone took their seats, and Kia stood up and faced the passengers once everyone was seated.
“Here’s the deal,” Kia began in a no-nonsense tone. “We’re going in two flights to the Clean America complex. One group will go and rescue the captive mutants. That’ll be me, Verity, Heather, Logan, Angel…the other group will break into the labs and get more of the virus. The people in that group are Danté, Ann, Electro, and Dragonfly and Pyro. Everyone got it?”
“Yeah,” chorused Electro, Danté, and Logan. Verity saluted Kia, while everyone else just nodded or said nothing. Kia sighed and sat back down in her seat as Danté started up the Nighthawk.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted October 15, 2003 09:58 AM
Heather was silent as she boarded the Nighthawk and took the seat she had occupied on the flight to the warehouse. The two mutants that were apparently part of Magneto's group (even though, by all appearances, they did not want to be here) walked to the back of the jet, taking seats behind everyone else. Verity was humming as she sat in the seat in front of Electro. Heather watched everything, saying nothing.
For as long as she could remember, her silence had been her shield. It covered her like a soft velvet shroud, blocking feeling, concealing fear. She hid deep inside herself, locking a part of what she was away, in a room whoes lock could not be opened because of the ravages of disuse, and whoes key had rusted away long ago.
Kia's voice cut through her thoughts. “Here's the deal. We’re going in two flights to the Clean America complex. One group will go and rescue the captive mutants. That’ll be me, Verity, Heather, Logan, Angel…the other group will break into the labs and get more of the virus. The people in that group are Danté, Ann, Electro, and Dragonfly and Pyro. Everyone got it?” Blinking, she nodded slowly. What had she ben thinking about? She couldn't remember... With a gentle rumble, the jet's engines powered up, and they were lifted from the ground. Looking out the window, Heather watched the ground drop away below her.
Turning her attention back to the interior of the Nighthawk, she waited. Kia had said something about instructions. But she sure as heck wasn't going to go first...
<~:*:~>
"I'm away laughing on a fast camel." - Dave the Laugh
[This message was edited by Eruanne on October 16, 2003 at 07:56 AM.]
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted October 17, 2003 01:51 PM
Dragonfly boarded the ship staying close to Pyro. Danté and Electro boarded first. Ann gave Dragonfly a sympathetic look, and Dragonfly smiled at her. She took Pyro’s hand and they boarded the plane. She looked around once she was aboard the ship. She took a seat by the window and Pyro sat next to her. Ann sat across the aisle. Danté sat up front to drive. The others sat down in various parts of the plane. Dragonfly was still not entirely sure what was going on. She could feel tension, though, and she felt that there had been some scuffling between the group and Magneto.
One of the girls spoke…her name was Kia, Dragonfly thought, “Here's the deal. We’re going in two flights to the Clean America complex. One group will go and rescue the captive mutants. That’ll be me, Verity, Heather, Logan, Angel…the other group will break into the labs and get more of the virus. The people in that group are Danté, Ann, Electro, and Dragonfly and Pyro. Everyone got it?”
The group sat down. They were silent for a while. Everyone seemed absorbed in his or her own thoughts. Pyro shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his seat, giving Dragonfly a sense of unease. She had to break the silence.
“So…you said we were breaking into a lab?” Dragonfly asked any of the members of the group that listened to her. This had really been the first time she had been informed of what they were going to do for Magneto.
“Yes. To get samples of the virus for a vaccine,” Ann said quietly from across the aisle.
“I guess you got vaccinated as well?” Dragonfly asked Ann. Ann nodded. “Well, I guess that is good.”
“Are we ready?” Danté asked from the front of the ship. They all answered in the affirmative. It felt odd to Dragonfly to be working with other people again in a manner that did not involve waving a sign or attacking guards. Even then, everyone was really working for himself or herself. Here, they actually relied on each other for this mission. She would have to help the others.
She felt a rumbling as the ship started. It gently lifted off the ground. Dragonfly held on and quickly remembered that her seatbelt was unfastened. She speedily fastened it, then looked out the window as they rose. She loved flying. The feeling was so exhilarating. There was nothing like soaring above the treetops. Dragonfly suddenly had a memory of herself soaring above the treetops as a hawk.
The ship rose higher. Dragonfly could feel the air pressure decreasing. She yawned to clear her ears. It was also colder up here. Dragonfly looked down in vain for the car. She left her jacket in the car. It was her favorite jacket; it was nice and warm and snuggly. It seemed that everything in Dragonfly’s life was cold.
She pouted a bit, then turned to Pyro to try to see his expression. Pyro was always so expressive; it was simple to tell exactly how he was feeling. His countenance had a slightly brooding sense, but there was no danger behind it at the moment. He had his lighter protectively in his hand, as always, but he was not toying with it. When he toyed with his lighter, it generally meant he was pondering whether to use it or not. The fact that he was not thinking of its many functions showed that he was at least somewhat comfortable in the new company. Dragonfly felt strangely at ease here too. Magneto was gone; that was another good thing. She shivered again, thinking of that smile.
“So,” Pyro said, broadcasting his voice up to the front of the ship. Dragonfly jumped, startled by Pyro’s sudden talk. Pyro continued when he was sure he had their attention, “How long will this trip take?” Dragonfly raised her eyebrows at Pyro, surprised by the question.
“Not too long, we hope,” Danté said, not turning to look at Pyro, but concentrating on the flight.
Pyro sighed, then leaned across Dragonfly to look out the window. She patted him on the head a little, then leaned back in her chair and turned her head to look out the window too.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted October 17, 2003 02:38 PM
The jet piecred the cloud cover and zoomed through the sky.
The complex was south of there. E.T.A. was going to be about 3 hours.
Kia and Danté were busy adjusting the flight path and scanning the radar for nearby planes, listening in on the transmissions from other planes.
"Kia, you ok?" Danté asked.
"yeah, Magneto's just a p***, that's all." Kia sighed, looking over at Danté and then back through the window, "I'm fine. What do you think of the new recruits?"
"I dunno, they both seem pretty shakey to me," Danté said.
"The boy is a fire mutant," Kia said, nonchanlanty, shooting a look over to Danté
"Really?" He said raising his eyebrows and smuggly smiling, before returning his gaze to the controls...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~let me stay where the wind will whisper to me, where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story~Evanescence~
**Aylwen is a goober **
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
elenna
Keen Eyed Wanderer
Shirriff
posted October 19, 2003 07:49 AM
"OK. Rescue mission. Sounds good to me," Angel said, smiling cheerily.
"Why are you so stinking happy?" asked Logan, annoyed.
"To balance you out, grouch. And I hate labs. They remind me of doctors. And I really hate doctors. Give me rescues any day."
"Yeah."
Angel quieted, watching everyone else sitting on the jet. "Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm worried about taking students into that building."
-----------------------------
I am the blade that pierces the heart.
You are the torch that lights the pyre.
Together we conquer.
Together we rule.
Posts: 654 | Registered: December 12, 2002
Aylwen
youngling
posted October 24, 2003 03:05 PM
I hold my breath
As this life starts to take its toll
I hide behind a smile
As your perfect plan unfolds
But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to
I've lost all faith in the things I have achieved
And I, I've woken now to find myself
In the shadows of all I have created
I'm longing to be lost in you
Away from this place I have made
Won't you take me away from me
Crawling through this world
As disease flows through my veins
I look into myself but
My own heart has been changed
I cant go on like this
I loathe all I've become...
Verity was drifting off to sleep, wishing the ride would be over. Then she mentally scolded herself for being so impatient as her CD player forwarded to the next song. Verity slumped her head back onto the head rest and she let her eyes close. Where other people were dreaming of their mutant pasts, Verity began to dream about Chinese food, Quality Cheese, and dancing Jedi Knights.
When she woke up it was because of a combination of her CD player getting to the loudest song and her stomach rumbling and growling for food. Not only was Verity tired to the point of collapse (well, she's already sitting), but Verity was also starving. Verity looked over and back at Electro and then to Heather, sighing.
"Anyone got any food?" Verity asked, putting her CD player on pause.
"Girl, you need-a go back to yo English class!" Electro replied, making several of the other passengers roll their eyes. If Electro noticed the gesture, he ignored it. Electro shook his head. "If I had any food, Touchstone, I'd be eatin' it right now."
"I only expected that much, from you, 'Tro," Verity pointed out before turning back into her seat. She passively wondered about the two newcomers, who they were and what they were there for, but Verity figured it didn't quite matter since she wasn't in their group. No, she was stuck with Heather, Kia, Logan, and Angel. Angel had been her Creative Writing teacher for one semester in ninth grade, and Verity knew Kia and Logan from the X-men. Heather was a newbie, but Verity trusted her all the same.
"Awww, 'Lectro, you aren't in my group!" Verity complained sarcastically, remembering how when she'd met him, Electro had been the Rio Party Boy. Electro snickered.
"Damn. Isn't that just the luck?" Electro replied, snapping his fingers and shaking his head in mock sadness. Verity laughed, then tried to see through the front windshield of the Nighthawk. Clouds upon clouds, and no sign of the sky.
"Are we - " Verity began, but she was interrupted by Kia.
"Yes, we're there. I knew you would ask!" Kia smiled, the first sign of cheer since they left the warehouse...or, well, since they even entered the warehouse.
"Of course you knew!" Verity retorted sarcastically. Danté began working at the controls to land them, and everyone began shuffling in their seats with anxiety and impatience for landing.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted October 26, 2003 05:19 AM
The jet had landed in practically the middle of nowhere. Vast forests were surrounding a large what appeared to a government military complex. The ramp was lowered and Kia got out. It was chilly and she rubbed her arms a bit, trying to get warm. The complex was a menacing grey concrete structure framed in black steel. Kia shuddered. She didn't dare use her power now. So many thoughts must be crying out around there and if she tapped into any one they would all come flowing out and who knows what could happen to her.
She walked back toward the jet and a few others had disembarked; Danté, Verity, and Wolverine
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~let me stay where the wind will whisper to me, where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story~Evanescence~
**Aylwen is a goober **
[This message was edited by DayVampyre on November 01, 2003 at 05:21 AM.]
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
elenna
Keen Eyed Wanderer
Shirriff
posted November 04, 2003 12:15 PM
As Angel stepped down the jet's gangplank, she was immediately barraged with all the mental anguish of everyone in the complex. Gasping, she tumbled down the last few steps, only to be caught by Wolverine.
"What's wrong?" he asked, steadying her and looking concerned at her waxen face.
"I didn't think it would be this bad," Angel whispered. "I can feel them. All of them."
-----------------------------
I am the blade that pierces the heart.
You are the torch that lights the pyre.
Together we conquer.
Together we rule.
Posts: 654 | Registered: December 12, 2002
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted November 04, 2003 05:36 PM
Kia knew how she felt. But there was business to get on with. The sun was rapidly setting and darkness was speedily arriving.
"Alright, we've got to get into postion. Flight A will be entering on the North Side, so we've got a bit of a hike...Flight B will be able to get in on the western side, just down that trail there..." Kia said pointing a little down the way, and it was more of a thicket, than a trail.
"Keep in touch, we don't want anyone getting lost in there." Kia added.
"D*** Straight!" Electro threw in.
"Flight A, let's start moving..." Wolverine said, heading off, alone as he always did.
Kia followed after. Danté watched as she disappeared from view and the pangs of worry returned.
They walked for a bit in silence then to everyones' surprise, Wolverine was the one who broke the silence.
"When we get into postion, how're we getting in?"
"I've got a few tricks..." Kia said shaking the black canvas bag she was holding.
"What's in there?" Angel asked.
"Just you're standard breaking and entering kit...video distorter, blowtorch, and whatever else Electro packed for me." Kia responded smiling.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~evanescence(ev'e-nes'ens ): 1. A dissipation or disappearance like vapor 2. A really great band~
**Aylwen is a goober **
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted November 06, 2003 11:07 AM
As the group had gone further into the thicket, what had been a few troublesome trees had become a major tangle.
Heather kept to the middle of the group as they bushwhacked through the alders. Most were higher than her head, and as they passed through the branches, released pollen. Her nose was itching abomitably, and her throat felt tight. Instead of thinking about these discomforts, she put her head down and concentrated on not falling on her face.
Kia was directly in front of her. Increasing her stride, she came level with her. "Doing all right Heather?" Kia asked, glancing over at her.
"Yea, I'm doing good. I was just wondering if we have much longer before we break out of the thicket."
"Shouldn't be much longer."
"Thanks." Heather retreated back to her former position. Her eyes had begun to itch as well, and her throat was clenched and tight. Thankfully, her nose wasn't running like a leaky faucet. After about 10 more minutes of steady bushwhacking, the trees begun to thin. Finally, they came to the edge of the thicket. Putting her hands on her knees and breathing deeply, she tryed to let her throat unclench.
Kia turned around to look at the group. "We're here, and now it's time for the real work to start."
(OOC: 400 posts!)
<~:*:~>
The Evil Flaming Gopher of DOOM *da da da dummmm* has spoken!
Insanity Central 01
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted November 07, 2003 04:09 PM
Danté, Electro, and everyone else had hacked their way to the fence. They had been lucky that their tramp was a short one. Danté signaled for the group to crouch down in the long blades of grass. The sun was gone and the light cast blue shadows across their faces. The air was cold and they could all hear the hum of electricity plusing through the titanium.
Danté crouched nearest it, Electro on his right. He swung off his bag and opened it.
"Alright, we've gotta blast a decent sized hole in here. I took some aerial photos...here..." He said passing three around the quiet mutants. They showed the solid fence they were sitting by and then about 30 or so yards away was the actual complex.
"Now, blasting through won't be hard, getting in, however will be. Any ideas?"
------------------------------------------------
"No!" Kia nearly shouted at Wolverine. He had started to send his adamantium fist through the wall, "It's electrified..." Kia finished calmly. She reached in her bag and pulled out a small white colored box will a red tab sticking out of the side.
"Get back" Kia said. She pulled the tab and sent the box flying. It quickly adhered to the wall's surface and two seconds later it exploded.
The bang wasn't as loud as the others had been expecting to be. Kia zipped up the bag and threw it over her shoulder.
"Come on..." She said, the smoke still clinging to the wall, "And don't touch the sides. Only Electro could do that."
The troup slunk through the inky blackness that had already over taken them...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I don't have time to be proper. I want to live. I'm a woman, I like men. If that means I'm not ladylike, I guess I'm just not a lady. At least I'm honest.
**Aylwen is a goober **
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted November 08, 2003 09:21 AM
“I hope they’re quiet blasters, or we won’t need to worry about getting into the building.” Ann muttered. “We need a better look at the entrances to the building from ground level. Rochelle, can you transform into something small and scout for us? I’m thinking rabbit, sparrow, mouse, something along those lines. In fact, a sparrow would be most useful so we could know exactly where we were going before we blasted. I’ll try to keep in contact with you mentally, but I doubt I’ve gotten any better at that since last time we tried.”
Last time had been an abysmal failure. Admittedly, Ann hadn’t been as sensitive yet then, but the main problem was that Rochelle was originally human, and her animal forms were elemental. Her thought patterns had been just a bit too different from those of an animal, Ann doubted that had changed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Everything about the act of writing fiction is an act of absolute and despotic power."
~Philip Pulman
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted November 08, 2003 01:17 PM
Dragonfly bit her lower lip for a second, thinking of various forms that she knew. She only changed into animals that she was sure of their elements. She did not know what would happen if she tried to change into an animal with a mysterious element type to her. She had been lucky she had guessed right thus far. Her power was such a mystery to her still.
"A dragonfly would be too small...just in case I actually needed to get somewhere quickly. I could probably go rabbit. I just want to be in a fire form, in case Pyro has to step in." Dragonfly mused out loud. She noticed that the company stopped at Ann's comment and some looked at her, as though they forgot she was a member of their company. "But I suppose as a sparrow I could fly...that's air...I like the air. Flying is nice." Dragonfly cut herself off before she went on, as the other members of the party she did not know were giving her odd expressions.
Ann nodded and smiled. "And hopefully we will have better luck," Dragonfly added, sighing a bit. "I can wait a second before I go, if you want to check."
Ann nodded. Dragonfly stepped away from the small group. A few of them gave her a suspicious look. Dragonfly suddenly felt a little nervous in front of all the people. She looked at them all for a second. Then she felt the transformation.
The people grew and grew. Actually, Dragonfly knew that she was shrinking. She had it down nearly to an art. In a matter of seconds, she felt herself at the same level as the others. She blinked and looked out through ethereal eyes. Everything appeared a bit distorted, but Dragonfly was used to the appearance of the air elementals. She preferred fire, but as the air, she could be nearly invisible and silent. She stood for a second, closing her bird eyes and getting used to the feeling of the air.
Can you hear me? came a faint voice in Dragonfly's head. The fact that her mind was human and her forms were not actually animal made Ann's telepathic ability somewhat limited. She could, however hear her.
Just, Dragonfly replied. But, if I remember correctly, this is better than last time. I will not be going too far anyway.
"I can hear her and apparently she can hear me," Dragonfly heard Ann say to the group.
"And we're just one big happy family," Pyro muttered very quietly. He was standing near to Dragonfly, and she hoped that she was the only one who heard this utterance.
Dragonfly willed Pyro to keep his temper. She doubted that he would. She tested her wings. She felt her newly-small body lift off the ground. She flapped her wings. The wind would have blown into her face, had she not been one with it. That was one advantage to her power: no wind burn. Dragonfly would have laughed to herself, had she been able to.
Okay, it was time to actually work now. Dragonfly looked down and silently wished Pyro luck with his temper. Then she flew over the fence into the compound.
If any of you know the layout of this place, Ann, I would be much obliged. I would hate to accidentally fly into a bird hunting range or something. Not that they would see me... Dragonfly looked around through the airy, slightly distorted world in which she now flew.
I can hardly hear you, came a faint voice. Did you say layout?
Yes, Ann. The layout. Where are the entrances we want? Dragonfly corrected her flight a bit. She had nearly lost her balance concentrating on trying to hear the minute voice in her head.
I'll ask, Ann said.
Dragonfly flew into a nearby tree and waited. There was a long pause. The others were probably arguing. Either that or Pyro finally lost his temper and tried to kill them all. Dragonfly hoped it was not the latter. She sighed and waited...
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted November 11, 2003 12:47 PM
While Dragonfly awaited orders from the group below, Kia and the others had slipped in. They had enterd through one of the steel covert tubes. The tubed, until recently, been blocked by a metal grating. A small blast and a little assistance from Wolverine had taken care of that problem. The small corps had hunkered down just inside it.
"OK, so that was the easy part." Kia said, "These tubes should lead us down where we need to go...but there are too many prisoners in here for us to stay in one group. We're going to have to split up."
"That's no good...we can't do that!" Wolverine said.
"We have to. There is no other choice. Do you think this doesn't go against my better judgement?" Kia retorted back.
She stood up. Her legs were killing her from having to crouch down. They couldn't sit because the covert was filled a little less than ankle deep with water. The air was getting stuffy.
"We've gotta get moving, we can't sit here and argue all night. Alright," Kia said trying to take in a breath of stale air, " I think that Verity and Angel should come with me. Wolverine, you and Heather, should stick together, seeing as you can split," She said looking toward Heather.
"Yeah! Tell her to just look for the nearest door from where we are and about how many yards away it is!" Danté said to Ann. He was shifting around on his feet, nerves were starting to eat away at him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I don't have time to be proper. I want to live. I'm a woman, I like men. If that means I'm not ladylike, I guess I'm just not a lady. At least I'm honest.
**Aylwen is a goober **
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted November 11, 2003 02:50 PM
Danté says to just look for the nearest door and to say how far away it is. Oh, and hurry. He's a bit grouchy, came Ann's distant voice.
Dragonfly smiled as much as an air bird can and answered, If I knew him, I'd make fun of him, but you know...
She looked around and swooped low near to the complex. She saw the door. How far was it? Dragonfly had always been bad at approximating distances. It was roughly thirty yards, though, she would guess.
Ann, you there? Dragonfly asked.
Yeah, what's going on? Ann answered
It's about thirty yards away. Is that all you needed?
For now, I guess. Danté really wants you to come back so we can get going.
Dragonfly flew back the roughly thirty yards that stood between the door and the fence. Yes, it was about thirty yards. She flew over the fence and landed near the group that was still standing there. She saw a slightly disgruntled Danté standing there.
As she changed back, she saw an even more disturbed Pyro. She wondered if anything happened while she was away. That was a silly question; Pyro probably managed to offend every single one of them while she was flying. She would have to ask about it later. She smiled at Pyro, who only looked a bit mollified. She sighed and looked at Ann, who smiled warmly, as always.
"Well...shall we go?" she asked.
"Let's," Pyro said, a sharp edge in his voice.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted November 16, 2003 03:17 PM
"But..." Wolverine began to protest again, but Kia held one finger to her mouth before he could continue. Logan sighed and took a good look at Heather for the first time. He spoke begrudgingly when he had finally decided on what to say. "Alright, kid, let's get going. Kia, which way do you want us to go?"
"I'm shocked you had the manners to ask." Kia muttered, rolling her eyes sarcastically and dramatically. Logan glared at her, and Verity had to suppress a laugh. Kia smiled and looked around the tubes. Not to far away was a split in the tubes, a fork that made a Y shape with the gritty tube that the group was already in. "Well, you guys can go right. I'll go left with Angel and Verity."
"Alright then, what are we waiting for?" Verity whispered, keeping her musical, sing-song voice low as it echoed along the rusted metal tube walls. Verity stood and admired her echo as she paused for someone to answer her.
"Her highness, of course!" Logan retorted, gesturing his arms in a way to motion Kia to go first. Kia snorted and sloshed through the water towards the fork. The others followed her, and Verity dared to send a half-hearted glare Logan's way before they reached the fork. When they reached the fork, Logan put a hand on Heather's shoulder and gently forced her to take the first steps into the right tube.
"Take care, Heather. Oh, you too, Logan..." Verity murmured the goodbye, and Heather waved.
"I feel so loved," Logan muttered as the two became lost in the darkness of the tubes.
"So, let's go?" Verity suggested to her companions, Kia and Angel.
----------
Err...Yeah. Aylwen gets violent sometimes. We love her anyway.
DV IS A GOOBER. If only I knew what 'Goober' was in Spanish...
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted November 16, 2003 09:03 PM
Heather and Logan sloshed along through the dark maze of pipes, murkey water lapping around their ankles, breathing the foul smelling air. Breaking the silence, Heather turned to look over her shoulder at the man behind her. "Where do you think the exit leading to the...the uh...cells, is?"
"Keep your voice down."
"Right," Heather said in barely a whisper. "But where's the exit? It would be easy to miss."
"Well then keep an eye out." End of conversation. What a great stroke of luck this is. I'm walking through disgusting water, in old rotting pipes, on a dangerous mission that I didn't even want to go on, and I'm stuck with probably the least helpful guy in the world. Truely a brilliant stroke of luck. I could probably make a fortune at the casinos with luck like this, thought Heather sarcastically.
Suddenly, suprisingly, a breath of fresh air entered her lungs. They must have reached the holding area. About a yard ahead, she could make out a grate; Logan sloshed past her, and with a soft deadly shick extended his claws, and sliced through the grate like a hot knife through butter. He pulled it off and placed it quietly outside the tube.
Following Logan, Heather stepped out into a damp stone room, her sneakers squishing. "The cells are above us. I've got some equipment from Kia for you." From out of a backpack, he handed her a grenade to hang from her belt, and a holster. Inside was a small black gun. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into. "You know how to use the thing?"
"Yea, basically." Heather's father owned a small collection of handguns, and he had talked to her often enough about safety and usage. She knew how to shoot a handgun; in theory. "What about you?" she asked.
Logan looked at her, then looked pointedly down at his hands. Heather felt very stupid. "Oh. Do you think that I'm actually going to use these?"
"You'd better hope that you won't have to. Are you going to split or what?"
The abrupt change of subject had Heather confused for a minute. "Yea." Hey, its gotten easier. Two of herself stood beside her. She grinned delightedly. Her power was developing; hardly any strain could be felt with two. She let them go, and the sensation of being pulled in two directions, making two sets of decision's faded to a dull kind of feeling of lightheadedness. "I guess we're ready to go."
<~:*:~>
The Evil Flaming Gopher of DOOM *da da da dummmm* has spoken!
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
Re: X-Men----X-Factors
posted November 17, 2003 02:31 PM
With Dragonfly safely back on the ground, Electro carefully put the charge on the wall and signaled for everyone to move back. They all took cover and in three seconds the wall had a rather big hole in the side of it. The blast hadn't been very loud and they quickly but carefully slipped through the hole. Danté ran ahead to the door and attached a small metallic looking box to the key card door.
"Another bomb?" Asked Ann.
"No, something a bit less drastic," Electro said over his shoulder.
The small device made small clicking sounds and after a few seconds it stopped and the door opened.
"All the door locks are operated by numerical codes. Any of they can be broken so long as you've got a toy that run numbers fast enough," Danté said pushing in the door.
"I wonder how he knows that..." Pyro said under his breath as Electro went in after Danté.
Dragonfly was about to answer when Danté pushed his way back past Electro.
"You don't think all we do is teach and go on missions with a few days notice do you? You might, but we don't. Kia went undercover here as a researcher a couple of months ago. We could've have completed the mission but her cover was almost blown." Danté said, glaring for a minute at Pyro before going back into the building.
------------------------------------------------
The tunnel seemed to stretch further and further, Kia was getting worried, but she didn't let the others know. Finally, they saw a dim light...it was greenish and a bit pale, but light was light.
A minute or so later they stood in front of a metal grating.
"This'll kick out, see, they don't take of anything down here." Kia said contemptuously. She set back on one heel and kicked at the grating with the other. A few kicks and it came out. Kia got out and was quickly followed by Angel and Verity.
"Alright, this is the cell block, there was six rows of six, most will be holding two mutants. " Kia checked her watch. "The guards are making another pass in 5 minutes. Here..." She said handing Verity and Angel each a metallic looking box, "This is a code-breaker, Electro's own little invention, just place this on top of the key card lock and the code shouldn't take more than a few seconds to come up, the door will automatically unlock. We don't want these mutants sticking around to get in the way, tell them how to get back to this tube and then to get on the jet. Alright, let's get to work."
Kia knew Verity and Angel could handle it, so Kia headed off toward the last row and began to unlock the doors. She opened the first and two mutants immediatly stood up, scared.
"get out of here, I was sent by Professor Xavier, there is a path through the grate and then head out side to the plane, we left a trail, you will be able to find it."
The two did not speak to herbut hurridly ran out. Kia moved on. She was able to get three more cells open when she realized she had been there too long. The sound of army boots came down the hall.
"They're coming!" Kia whisphered through the inner-com. She slipped into a dark and damp crevice, drawing out her gun. The footsteps came closer and Kia eased her way around the corner, getting ready to meet them face on. She bit her lip and kept re-affirming her grip on her gun. She stared hard, preparing to fire as soon as she saw them. So close were the steps, she could swear that she could feel breath on her neck.
**Crraacckkk**
The butt of a shotgun was thrust into the back of her head. Sudden painful pressure and Kia fell down. Her earpiece shattered as it hit the ground and her sunglasses flew off her face.
The guards smirked as they picked her up and drug her off.
```````````````````````````````````````````````
Kia woke up with a splitting headache. She was on the ground, which was gritty. She sat up and ran her hand up her face and over the top of her head, coming back down the side of her face. Something didn't feel right. Her hand stopped on something unfamiliar alongside her right temple. Something rough, metal like, maybe. She looked around. Yep. Definitely in a cell. She bit her lip, that's when she noticed the blood. She groaned and wiped it away. She heard steps again and the door to her cell opened, the light which was dull and pale burned her eyes a little, more irratating than anything else.
"The little girl is awake," One guard said, there were two.
"Hey, **** you," Kia said, not looking up at him.
"Watch the language, mutant," The other said, kicking her, knocking her back onto the floor. They forced her up and out of the cell, each holding one arm. They took her down the hall and into another room. This room was different. Cleaner, there was a table in the center, one chair on each side. A man was sitting one, flanked on either side by other soldiers. The guards carrying her, brought her in and sat her down. They went back to the door, closed it and stood in front of it.
"Well, we've waited a long time to finally get you." The man sitting in front of her said snakily...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I don't have time to be proper. I want to live. I'm a woman, I like men. If that means I'm not ladylike, I guess I'm just not a lady. At least I'm honest.
**Aylwen is a goober **
[This message was edited by DayVampyre on November 17, 2003 at 03:35 PM.]
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted November 27, 2003 08:12 AM
Verity wasted no time getting to the row farthest away from the one that Kia had just rushed away to. Angel went for the middle rows, and Verity occupied herself immediately with the first cell prison she came to. Verity took one look at the code-breaker made by Electro, and scoffed before slamming it above the key card lock. When it was done figuring the code, Verity assumed it would unlock automatically like Kia said, but when it didn’t, Verity knew she could waste no more time with Electro’s electronics.
‘Hey you,
Out there in the cold
Getting lonely
Getting old
Can you hear me?’
Verity sang softly, and the key’s gears began to twist themselves to the number combination figured by Electro’s code-breaker. The door unlocked itself finally, and Verity shoved the door open without another moment’s hesitation. Inside were two male mutants, one who looked to be in his late twenties and another who looked about Verity’s age. They were sitting somberly on the cold metal floor, but looked up at Verity, suddenly alert when she came in.
I wonder why they didn’t just use their powers to get out, Verity thought before speaking to the mutants.
“First of all, telepathy helps very little in this kind of situation,” the older man murmured defensively as he stood. Then he pointed to the younger boy. “It’s hard for him to concentrate on the steel when we’re half-starved. You are?”
“Verity. Sent here by Professor, Professor Xavier,” Verity rushed her words, suddenly all to aware that she was wasting precious time. She helped the teenage boy to his feet and pointed to the hallway. “We’ve got to go. Now!”
She pulled them out to the hallway and in the heat of the moment blanked out about taking them to the tubes. Verity looked up and found the air vents and the grated opening into the ceiling. Verity sighed and searched her mind for lyrics. I’m wasting time, she thought.
“Yes, you are,” the man growled, and Verity disrespectfully told him to shut up while she concentrated. She’d open the grate, and then…
'Now you’re halfway ‘round the world
And I’m just a day behind
Nothing seems to fill the hole
That I’ve had since you left my side
You’ll always be my one and only
Though I can’t hold you at night...'
The grate slid open and Verity sighed. Now how do I get them up there?she wondered, dreading all these opportunities to make decisions. In the distance she could hear the sound of voices echoing in the cellblock hallways, and Verity knew her time was almost up. Still she thought, even as Kia sent a warning through the intercoms.
“What are we going to do?” The younger boy spoke for the first time. Verity looked at him; he looked vaguely familiar, but Verity ignored the feeling for the moment.
“I’m thinking…”
“So that’s what that little buzz in your brain is…” the man said sarcastically, and Verity shot him a deadly glare.
Verity would have to lift them with her telekinesis. The man's telepathy would be of no help here, and the boy was too weak. But Verity had never tried lifting people with her powers before. The guards were getting closer, and Verity's intercom had gone static, so there was no room for her to worry about the trivial details like...never having done such a thing before. So, Verity sang the first song that came to her mind.
'I wish you were here to hear me say
This is going to be my greatest day
How far would I go
How long would I stay
To see it all and carry it
All back with me again
How hard would I try
Just to hear everybody say
This is going to be my greatest day...'
Verity put all the power she could in her voice while still keeping it down to a murmur as the group began to hear voices shouting just down the next line of cells. Verity lifted off her feet first, then the boy her age, then the young man. Verity floated through the air easily as she continued humming the same verse over and over again, and soon she and the boy were crouching inside the air ducts. Just as the guards were coming down their hall, Verity was able to lift the man high enough for him to be pulled into the vent. Very quietly Verity and the two other mutants replaced the grate as the guard cursed about one door being opened.
"Okay, names please," Verity whispered, praying that her words would not echo to some other air vent and grate. "And tell me why you're here."
"Ryan, I used to go to the school before I got caught on a mission," the boy Verity's age explained. "I was thrown in there, and he," Ryan looked up at the older mutant. "He was already in there."
"Josef," the young man introduced, thinking twice about shaking Verity's hand. "I used to be a student of Xavier's back when he first started the school. I was off trying to calm one of the Clean America protests and got knocked out in the crowd and taken here."
"Right. Now we've got no time to talk about what's been going on around here, because we have several problems." Verity muttered, cursing her luck inwardly. "First, there are two other mutants with me who were sent to unlock the other prisoned mutants, and now that the guards have come around we don't know where the hell they are."
"Second," Verity continued. "There are more mutants trying to get some sort of vaccine or germ or something, and we don't know where the hell they are."
"Lastly, I hope," Verity sighed. "Is that there are still more mutants down in those cells that have yet to be unlocked."
"We can tell you who is in which cell blocks and which ones actually have mutants in them," Ryan offered, trying his best to help and not be the useless rescued.
"Yes, because some of the cells don't have mutants in them, and that would waste time later on," Josef added matter-of-factly.
"We'll do that later, once we figure out what happened to Kia and Angel, the ones who were helping me rescue mutants," Verity said gratefully.
"Hey! We caught one! There's likely to be more, so boss wants us to go under lockdown and keep an eye out for the missing mutants and the mutants rescuing them!" A shout echoed through the cell block hallways and up into the air vents. Verity sighed.
"The problem now is," Verity whispered. "We lost someone and they also know that we're here..."
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted November 29, 2003 07:36 AM
Dragonfly followed the others, Pyro at her back. He was muttering something about Danté Dragonfly didn't quite catch. She was not sure she really wanted to know what he was saying. As she could not hear him, hopefully Danté could not as well. Ann walked right in front of them, and every now and again she looked back to make sure that Dragonfly and Pyro were still behind her.
"So, do we know where we are going, then?" Dragonfly asked quietly. Danté made a motion to shush her but then answered.
"Yes, as I said, Kia was here for a while," he answered quietly, so Dragonfly had to strain her ears to hear. "Hopefully things did not change in the time since she left."
Pyro glared at Danté, who returned the disgruntled stare. The two were going to fight before long, and Dragonfly hoped it would be after the mission when they were at least in safe territory. She looked at the building they were walking through. It was immaculate and seemed to shine as a hospital.
Or a government-run establishment, Dragonfly thought, nearly chuckling to herself. She had the sudden urge to find some way to dirty up the place. It was just too...clean...and organized. She would go crazy if she had to work here.
You're crazy anyway, hon, said a little voice in her head. Dragonfly nearly laughed again, but stopped herself. The place was really too clean.
"Keep going," Pyro said, reaching out a hand to push a little on her lower back. She realized she stopped, and she quickly moved to catch up to the others. "What's up?" he whispered once they caught up to the group.
"Nothing, just thinking," she murmered. "Guess I can't walk and think at the same time."
"Will you two be quiet, please?" Danté hissed back at them, "Someone will hear us."
Pyro called Danté a name very quietly, but then proceeded quietly and with a rather rebellious look on his face. Dragonfly willed him to keep his temper for a while longer. He did not like taking orders from Danté. He probably felt pretty threatened by his presence. Pyro was used to at least believing that he had power, then Danté, another strong male, comes along. Dragonfly resisted the urge to mutter Men out loud, then smiled to herself, thinking of the antics of men, all trying to impress each other and women.
"We're almost there," Danté said quietly, more to himself than to the rest of the group. Dragonfly looked through windows on doors as they silently passed.
------------------------------------------------------------
Anírach únad\Egor gurth hen\Han cenin vi chen lín\Egor ú-erin le devi\Tellin men achae\Brennin men anann\Rago! Ú-erich leithio,\Ú-erich o nin gwanno. -- "Don't Let Go" from the "Return of the King" Soundrack
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted November 29, 2003 10:18 AM
"Yes indeed, we almost had you the last time you visited our fine institution." The man said leaning back in his chair. Kia glared defiantly up at him.
"What are you talking about...this is no fine institution."
"Ah, good, I'm glad to see that you aren't going to try and deny your being here. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to waste time dragging that out of you. I can only hope that the rest will be as easy. Where are your other friends?"
"I came alone."
"Nonsense, I'll ask again. Where are they?" The man's voice was even and smooth, no hint of anger or frustration. Melodic, hypnotic, deadly.
"It is as it was last time, I came alone, you just got lucky." Kia said.
"We did indeed," The man said, shifting gears, "Last time, we knew you were a mutant, we knew that the human gene code wasn't in you, we just couldn't prove it. Your species of mutant is hard to prove. Your deformity isn't physical, no one can see your impairment. Tell me were those contacts painful for you to wear? You wore them constantly for a long time ..."
"..."
"But, yes, you were right. We did get lucky. "
Kia had been ignoring him since he started talking. Controlling his mind would be too hard to do right now, but the least she could do was read it, delve into his thoughts and see exactly who she was dealing with. But as soon as she did, her head felt like it was shattering. The pain shot all the way through her head, down her spine, ripping all the way down to her feet. She heard herself scream and collapsed to the floor. The guards on either side of her picked her up and dropped her back into the chair. It took a split second for her to recover and then she lunged at the man across from her.
"What did you do to me, you son of a *****!!!" She yelled, the guards pulling her back to her seat and then handcuffing her hands behind her and to the metal chair. A guard stuck the back of her head, as she kept saying "what did you do" quietly, half sobbing, not with defeat but frustration.
The man, who had remained completly stoic through it all replied, "It's a new invention. Did you like it? It'll keep you from using your powers. I invented it myself. It only works on mutants with a inferior deformity. It worked much better than I thought it would. Where are your friends?"
"**** you, you pompous p****..." Kia said, weakly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
Dante was getting worried, they should have run into a guard, lab personnel, someone. Nothing. They were almost to the elevator when it dinged and the up light flashed on. No where to run and no where to hide, they were going to have to fight it out. Dante readied two fireballs in each hand. They were medium sized and zoomed about it's twin like atoms.
"Get ready guys, lets make sure that none of them get a chance to tell anyone else about us!"
OoC: So yeah, this'll be a short battle, there will be about 10 bad guys, it won't cause they to get caught, b/c lets face it the X-Men are going to kick their butts!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted November 29, 2003 04:10 PM
Verity sighed as she crawled through the ducts with Ryan and Josef. Josef was in the lead, and Ryan was in the back. Josef continued making decisions on which direction to take and Verity hoped he knew what he was doing. Verity had begun to worry for Kia, Angel, Heather, and Logan. Kia knew her way around, but anything could go wrong in a place like this. Angel especially was worrying Verity, since she had no way to defend herself because of her inability to bring harm to another person.
"What exactly are they doing to you here?" Verity asked, suddenly curious to fill in the gaps of information that Kia and the Professor had neglected to provide to the other mutants.
"Experiments on our powers. Clean America wants nothing more than to stop or hamper mutants' powers and prevent such mutation in the future generations of the United States," Ryan explained, surprising Verity by the strength and venom in his voice. "With powers that are visible to the naked eye they try to destroy it entirely. With powers that they deem controllable they just use pain to teach the mutant to stop using it."
"Huh?" Verity murmured, thoroughly confused.
"Ryan has some sort of forcefield within his blood that attracts metal; like a magnet almost. Clean America has been starving him and isolating his intakes to a chemical they serve in his water that has been concentrating the element in his blood and making it so that he has no power with metal whatsoever," Josef explained gruffly, taking a left turn. "My power of telepathy isn't visible, but it's definitely there and they don't want me using it. They use something to send a shock of pain through my mind whenever I use my power. They're trying to take me off being a mutant."
Verity shuddered. Some of her friends at the school sometimes complained that Verity's power was invisible; that no one had to know that she was a mutant and all she had to do was stay away from music. They didn't understand that music was her life, and that it meant more to her than being a mutant. Verity would never give up music just to be considered 'normal' by someone else's standards. Verity didn't want to think about what the Clean America scientists could do to handicap her mutation.
"Hey, look here, is this one of your mutant friends? I haven't seen her here before," Josef murmured, pointing down the grated cover of the air vent. Down below them was Kia.
"Yes. We have to wait until those men leave, then we can get Kia..." Verity whispered, determined to help Kia.
"Should we wait that long? They'll probably take her to a cell before they risk leaving her alone..." Ryan murmured.
"Go get the truth serum and torture devices," Verity looked down to see one man speaking to two others dressed as guards. "We may need them soon."
Soon only Kia and the one man were left in the room.
"We can take him..." Verity hissed.
"They'll sound the alarm." Josef said surely.
"Who will? The guards aren't there!" Verity exlcaimed.
"Verity..." Ryan murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder. Verity shrugged it off and looked to Josef.
"Send a message to her, Josef!"
"They're sending the shocks through her brain..."
"That means that she can't use her power. She'll still be able to hear it if it's coming from you!"
"Very well," Josef said, giving in.
Kia, my name is Josef, I'm here with your friend Verity. We're here to help. Don't attract attention to us, but we're right above you. Make a move, show us you can hear me. It's me, Verity, and another mutant she saved...
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted November 29, 2003 05:11 PM
"Truth Serum?" Kia said, looking up contemptuous, "You actually believe snake oil like that can work? You're not as sophisticated as I thought..."
She finished the effort of talking exhausting her. A bruise had developed on her right eye and a bit of blood had trickled down the side of her mouth. Her head dropped back down onto her chest until she heard a voice again
Kia, my name is Josef, I'm here with your friend Verity. We're here to help. Don't attract attention to us, but we're right above you. Make a move, show us you can hear me. It's me, Verity, and another mutant she saved...
A dull sting to her brain almost made her wince. She ignored it, for her friends sake and hoped that no one would hear them.
"Yes, yes, I know. Truth serums are so medieval in thought. But you'd be surprised at how well they work. " The man said, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah, well, inject me with all the truth serum s*** you want, my answer is still the same. I work alone." Kia said looking up and smiling her usual mischievous grin. This set the man off. He got up, got around the table and struck Kia. She doubled over and groaned
"When I get back, you won't be smiling." He said from behind her, whispering it into her ear. He turned and went for the door.
"I'll just wait here then..." Kia said to his retreating figure. The door slammed.
Kia leaned in the back of her chair, looked up at the vent grate, and winked.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted November 30, 2003 01:54 PM
"Hey Kia," Verity waved, and moved the grate cover. "We need to get out of here before that guy comes back. Are you okay? Can you move at all?"
"I'm alright," Kia grunted, struggling with her handcuffs. "But I can't move unless these things are taken off..."
Verity nodded as Josef and Ryan helped gently lower her through the vent square. She examined the cuffs and looked around for the key, and sighed when she realized that the man must have taken them with him. Verity looked to Kia and grinned. "They must not know you very well. Leaving you here with some magician cuffs. These should be really easy to pick. I hope...anybody have a bobby pin?"
"Don't look at us," Josef snorted, and Verity rolled her eyes. Then she hummed a quiet little tune and moved the gears of the lock. Kia pulled the handcuffs off and rubbed her wrists gingerly.
"Right, let's go," Kia muttered, pulling the chair underneath the air vent opening and letting Josef and Ryan help her through the opening. Verity hopped onto the chair and was about to reach up for Josef and Ryan's outstretched arms when the door began to click open. Verity yelped quietly and reached farther until she'd reached their hands and was pulled up just in time.
Just as the group had slid the vent over the opening, the man and two guards walked back into the room.
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted November 30, 2003 04:23 PM
Ann cursed under her breath. She didn’t have time to change forms, which was a far preferable way of fighting in an enclosed space like this one. She would have to use her dagger. She drew it and got ready to launch herself the moment the doors opened. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dante ready four fireballs and moved so that her course wouldn’t intercept theirs.
A second later the doors opened on ten guardsmen. They were all armed but obviously not expecting anyone to be waiting there for them. Ann dove for one of them before the doors were fully open and felt one of Dante’s fireballs pass unsettlingly close to her neck. The startled man put up his arm to slowly to prevent Ann’s dagger from slitting his throat. She turned to the next man, just as he got over his surprise. She grabbed his arm as he aimed a gun at her chest and dug her thumb in between his writs bones, forcing him to let go. As she drove her knife into his belly she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She dodged to the side, but not quite quickly enough to prevent a glancing blow to her head. She lost hold of her dagger as she was knocked aside and her vision temporarily went gray.
OoC: Erm. That got a bit violent, didn’t it? Sorry. I’ll stop now and let other people do stuff before the fight ends.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hobbits bow to nobody!... Except their plates...
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted November 30, 2003 04:47 PM
Dante was faced off with two of the guards that had foolishly raced toward him. He sent two fireballs at their heads. They managed to duck just in time to miss their heads, but it burned the tops of their hair. One, unfased, sent a punch toward Dante's head, but Dante's fist connected first. It sent the guard flying as the second guard came up from the side and Dante sent a wall of flame his way. This time the guard wasn't fast enough.
Electro was in his element. A guard came toward him and Electro sent blue electric energy through his body. The bolts flowed off of Electro's arms, into the air between hima dn the guard and then into the guard. The guard dropped after a few seconds and Electro moved on. Another guard came up behind Electro. Electro spun around and dropped the guard with a punch to the face.
-----------------------------------------------
Kia watched as the man came in and chaos insued. He turned on the men and barked orders at them.
"We've gotta move, it won't take them long to figure out where I went." Kia said looking to Verity and the others.
They began to crawl through the air duct...
[yeah, not a big addition, so sue me, my brain has quit working, maybe I'll be able to jumpstart it later]
[This message was edited by DayVampyre on December 02, 2003 at 03:05 PM.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted December 02, 2003 03:11 PM
Dragonfly looked around and immediately began to change as the guards approached. She felt her paws hit the ground and the fire envelop her. She growled as one of the men as he approached and leapt. Her arms still hurt from changing so quickly, but she ignored it for now. The large man's arm singed as she bit into it. She felt a slight breeze as fire swept over her whole body. She turned and looked over her shoulder at where Pyro stood, his eyes smouldering and the fire in his hand matching those eyes. She turned back to where the guard was. However, the guard was no longer among the living. She growled again as she trotted back to Pyro, who toyed with his flame as he glared at the other guards, waiting for a clear shot.
Dragonfly saw Ann's dagger clatter to the ground in front of her. She looked at Pyro and nodded to it. He leaned over and picked it up with his free hand. She dodged a bullet from another guard, then lunged, knocking him to the floor with her full weight. His uniform caught fire and she saw her breath burn his skin as her fiery breath blew against his face. She opened her jaws and bit down for the kill.
After finishing off the guard, Dragonfly backed off and returned to Pyro. Ann had retrieved her dagger and now Pyro launched a ball of fire nonchalantly at one of the guards.
"We should get going before more come," Pyro said quietly to the tiger at his side. Dragonfly nodded and slowly changed back to human form, wincing as she rubbed her sore arms.
------------------------------------------------------------
Anírach únad\Egor gurth hen\Han cenin vi chen lín\Egor ú-erin le devi\Tellin men achae\Brennin men anann\Rago! Ú-erich leithio,\Ú-erich o nin gwanno. -- "Don't Let Go" from the "Return of the King" Soundrack
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted December 03, 2003 12:32 PM
"I only have three code breakers," said Logan skeptically, looking at the two new girls standing by Heather.
"That's no problem. #1 will stand guard, while #2 and I open cells."
"Are they competent?" he asked her.
"As competent as I am." That wasn’t a good thing to say. Seeing as my competence is somewhat in doubt by all present. Including myself.
"Right then, here we go."
* * *
Looking into her first cell, Heather could see it was empty. The next one wasn’t. Inside there was a girl who looked to be about 19, maybe 20. Applying the code breaker, the door clicked open in a few seconds. From the back of the cell, the girl watched silently, her eyes boring into Heather. “Hi, I was sent by Professor Xavier. I’m here to rescue you.” The girl didn’t move, didn’t say a word. “Can you hear me?” A nod. What to do… I’m wasting time. “We have to go.” Still, she didn’t move. Impatiently, Heather grabbed her arm and yanked her up. Or at least, she would have if the girl hadn’t moved so quickly. She was behind her now. “Look, I promise I’m not going to hurt you, I’m here from Professor Xavier, he runs a school for mutants. What do you want, proof?” Another nod. “Fine.”
She split again, feeling the strain. It took several seconds, but there was a third split standing beside her now. “I’m a mutant, just like you. Will you come now?” The girl stood outside the cell, looking impatient. “Good.” The split beside her vanished, as Heather let her go.
The next cell had two people in it, two middle aged twins. “We heard your talk next door,” said the first one. “Are you going to let us out of what?” asked the second.
“Yea, just a sec…” In a moment, the lock clicked open.
“Thanks,” said the first one.
“Don’t mention it. Take her,” Heather gestured towards the silent girl, “and get into the tubes. Get out of here.”
They went, taking the girl with them. Checking her watch, Heather noted the time. Three minutes and forty three seconds. Better move it.
OOC: Sorry about my lack of posts, more will be forthcoming, and will catch up to the others. PS DH, are you going to do a Logan post?
<~:*:~>
Hold on, hon/we're gonna bunny hug/I bought some aspirin/down at United Drug/in case you shake apart/and want a brand new start/to do/that/jazz...
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted December 07, 2003 04:00 PM
“As competent as I am”
Logan raised a sardonic eyebrow at the girl and saw her wince a little. She should not have been allowed to come. She was far too young, and she had only been at the school for a day or two. That meant that she was not only inexperienced but insecure as well. She had better not the kind that felt she needed to go through all sorts of heroics to prove herself. That would get her killed at the very least. Well, he’d just have too keep and eye on her. He handed her the two code breakers, the sooner they got going, the less chance there would be trouble. “Right then, here we go.”
Logan took the corridor straight ahead as the girl took the right fork. This seemed to be a lesser used section of the building; most of the cells were empty. He was half way down the hall before he found an occupant. She was virtually impossible to see, huddled motionless in a pathetic heap against the back corner of her cell. He opened the door and stepped inside. He was about two steps in when he heard a movement from the front corner and whirled, crouching into a fighting stance and extending his steel claws. Something about the size of a body flew past where his head had been a moment before. He snarled and whirled again to find another girl of about 15 laying sprawled on the ground where she had obviously just landed gracelessly, staring up at him.
“You’re a mutant!” She sounded as if her breath had been knocked out of her.
“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed. Now, if you have quite finished your little display, I would advise that we leave before the guards arrive.”
The girl looked blushed slightly, but raised her head in defiance. “Well, if you had been a guard you’d have been out cold and we would have escaped!”
Logan retracted his claws as he went to help the other girl up. “And what if there had been more than one? Your friend here is in no shape to help you.”
She made no reply so Logan ignored her for the moment as he lifted the other girl gently to her feet. She looked to be about 18 but was in horrible condition. She was obviously very weak, and looked as if her spirit had been completely broken. The first girl hurried over to help, looking concerned. “That’s Tanya, she feels other people’s emotions. I think she’s been here a long time. I’ve only been here a day, so I don’t know what they do to people here but it must be really horrible.” She gulped and stopped.
Looking over at her Logan saw that under her thin venire of defiance she was terrified. Well, he would be too. “I need you two to go down that hallway to the tunnel you find and keep going as quickly but quietly as you can until you get outside. Can you support Tanya?”
“No. I’m going to come with you. Tanya can make it alone, can’t you?”
The nearly limp girl let out a quiet groan. “Please…don’t leave me…alone…”
Logan looked across at the girl. “It’s more important that you look after her. I have other people to free.”
The obstinate girl shook her head. “No. I can help you. We’ll free somebody else and they can help Tanya, but I’m coming with you.”
Logan growled to himself. He didn’t have time to argue. He needed to move on. They freed the next group, two boys this time, and they took Tanya off with them. As they left, the girl looked over and grinned at him. “I’m Holly, or Phantom, ‘cus I go invisible.” When Logan failed to respond she added “What about you.”
“I’m Logan, Wolverine, and right now we need to be quiet.” This was wonderful. Now he had two younglings in a dangerous place to look after.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ann got back to her feet as her vision cleared, and saw that all the guards were dead. “Somebody must have gotten caught of been seen. This is not a regular sized patrol. But I don’t think it was us, they were too unprepared.”
“But don’t lets hang around anyway,” added Electro.
“No.” She removed her belt with her dagger and sword. “If somebody will take these for me I can try to give you more notice for the next time.” Keen as her human senses were, they were far better in wolf form. It was also a better way to fight. “And I’ll have a talk with the mice to see just what’s going on.”
OoC: Sorry I’m so late.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hobbits bow to nobody!... Except their plates...
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted December 11, 2003 04:07 PM
Kia's head was swimming. She unsteadily crawled along in the cramped, coffin-like air vent. She might of heard a siren but then again, she wasn't sure what was real anymore...maybe she wasn't really crawling through the vent, maybe she was still in the room and had just gone unconcious. The group pressed on till Kia heard a sharp clanging. It was Verity, she was pounding out the grill. Josef pushed past her, gave it one solid 'clang' and it fell out. They crawled out and both Ryan and Josef quickly stood up, they were outside.Verity however looked down at Kia. She had collapsed. Kia had just breathed in her first breath of fresh air and then reality was lost to her.
~dream~
Kia's back in the interrogation room, the man and two guards are there, but Kia is able to move around, she's not stuck in the chair.
"We won't be asking you again." The man says[his voice echoes]"Just tell us and we'll remove the bolt..."
Kia reaches to the side of her head, the bolt is still there.
"we'll keep your defect secret, don't you want to use your power again?" He echoed.
~End Dream~
A rough shaking brought her back to reality. Kia felt her eyes roll back down into her head, her hand went to her temple...the bolt was there...
"We've gotta go down, the sooner the better, we can't have much more time" Electro said walking onto the elevator, the rest following.
"Has anyone checked on the other flight?" Dante asked...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted December 12, 2003 03:12 PM
OoC: Sorry guys to double post, but I can't edit on this stupid lame laptop and I wanted to add more...blah
BiC:
A rough shaking brought her back to reality. Kia felt her eyes roll back down into her head, her hand went to her temple...the bolt was there.
"Come on Kia, you've gotta get up!" Verity said, pulling Kia to her feet. Kia slowly got up and they got all of two feet before they heard
"Surely you and your friends aren't leaving us so soon?" The man. He had found them and he wasn't alone, an entire squad was with him, guns at the ready. Kia turned around.
"leave them alone," Kia said looking up at him.
"Oh, and what are you going to do?" The man said evily.
The second the last syllable fell from his lips two bullets were fired and into Kia. She dropped instantly, one to the upper left shoulder, the other fell into her lower right torso.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted December 16, 2003 06:46 PM
Heather felt the message in her mind as she dashed past the empty cell. Guards. Logan knows. Split #1 ended communication. Heather assumed that split #2 had also recieved the message as well. Where should I hide. Think, think! It came to her. Unlocking the door, she pushed inside, and closed it again.
Hopefully they wouldn't look to closely at the lock. Heather huddled in the back of the cell, trying to look inconspicious. Seconds later, she heard the thud of boots on the floor. They stopped in front of her cell.
"You," said a harsh male voice. "Look at me." Heather didn't look up. "I said, look at me!" The malice in his voice scared Heather, and she looked up slowly. "I don't remember you being here before."
"I-I'm new." A weak excuse, and she knew it. He looked her over, and his eyes froze at her waist. Damn, Heather thought, panicking. The gun was totally visable. Her cover was blown. Shouldering his was into the cell, he grabbed her arm, and pulled her roughly to her feet, his own sidearm at her temple.
"Who the f***k are you?" The gun barrel pushed against Heather's head, and she winced, preparing to die. But the shot didn't come. The man crumpled to the ground as his throat was cut.
"Logan! Oh my god..." She looked down at her shirt, which was splattered with the man's blood, and then up at her savior with wide eyes. "..thanks," she gasped.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" he said angrily.
"Hiding from the guards..."
"In an obviously unlocked cell, with your weapons in plain site. That," he hissed, "was stupid."
"Guard!" yelled a girl that Heather hadn't noticed. She promptly vanished, and in confusion, the guard's first bullet missed her, hitting the wall above Logan's head. He whirled, claws sliding out, and ran towards the man. The unnamed girl appeared next to Heather. "Do something!"
"What?" said Heather desperately.
"Use the gun, idiot! It's the only one we've got!" Heather pulled the gun out of its holster, just as the man fired again. This shot flew true, and hit Logan's right side. Heather took aim, steadyed her wrist, and fired.
OOC: Sorry, it's a bit dramatic...
[This message was edited by Eruanne on December 17, 2003 at 10:29 AM.]
<~:*:~>
Hold on, hon/we're gonna bunny hug/I bought some aspirin/down at United Drug/in case you shake apart/and want a brand new start/to do/that/jazz...
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted December 21, 2003 02:09 PM
Has anyone checked on the other flight?" Dante asked.
"That would have been too logical," Pyro said from behind Dragonfly. Dragonfly hissed, repremanding him slightly. "What?"
"If you don't have anything nice to say..." she said quietly. He fell quiet and she rolled her eyes and sighed a bit. "How would we go about checking on them, anyway? Do we have walkie-talkies hidden somewhere that I did not see?" Dragonfly continued. She remembered then..."Oh! Right! Sorry. Forgot about the whole mutant thing."
The others looked at her in shock. She smiled guiltily for her lapse of memory and shrugged. They continued to look at her for a second. She turned around and even Pyro was looking at her funny.
"Oh, don't tell me that you never do that!" she said incredulously. The others shook their heads. "I mean...oh really! Anyway, how do you propose we go about communicating with them? Just mentally jump up and down and go 'Yo! Over here! How...are...you...doing?' What?! I'm in a good mood: I got to kill something. What can I say?"
She blushed and looked at the others innocently, as they continued to stare at her somewhat strangely...
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted December 22, 2003 08:18 AM
Danté pointed to his ear. The silver comlink was still there.
"Well, yeah, we could try the whole 'mutant' thing or we could just use these..." He said smiling as Dragonfly went into a violent blush.
"DayVampyre this is Danté, are you there?"
**Staticy fizzle**
"DayVampyre respond..."
**More staticy fizzle**
"Touchtone, this is Danté, please respond..."
**Continued staticy fizzle**
"This is no good," He said to the others, "We have to hurry up and get the virus, then we have to figure out what the h*** happened to the others."
Danté said as the elevator doors binged open and the mutants found themselves walking into a huge lab...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted January 02, 2004 06:11 PM
"No!" Verity shouted as the shots were fired and they found their mark. The sound of the gunshot hurt Verity's ears so much that she began to hear a ringing sound in her ears. The sound pounded in her mind, and Verity could hardly bring herself to look upon the fallen Kia. But she did, and Verity kneeled down and lifted Kia's shoulders into her arms before looking with horror up at 'The Man'. "You little -"
"Now, now, little mutant child, no need to be so fiesty." The Man (as he has come to be called) hushed Verity's anger with a soothing voice, lifting a calloused hand in some sign of peace. Verity shrank away from his hand as he walked forward, the guards just behind him. Turning to face Josef and Ryan with sadness in her eyes; she nodded to them.
"You can save her?" Verity asked, her voice just above a whisper. Kia would kill her if she knew that Verity was giving in. But what else could she do? Verity choked back tears. The tears were not only for Kia, the woman with whom Verity had become friends with and who had helped Verity become part of the X-men, but the tears were filled with the agony of defeat. The Man looked upon Verity with false tenderness and sympathy.
"Of course we can, if you give yourselves up to surrendering we can have her alive in no time," The Man smiled, but as hard as he tried to make his smile look comforting, it continued to show hidden malice and lies. Verity sighed and looked down at Kia before looking back up at The Man.
"Alright," Verity caved in. But then, with a wild look in her eyes, Verity looked at the Man intently as an idea came to her mind. "But let Josef and Ryan go? I will come freely, with out struggle, if you let them go and not let Kia die..."
"They are of no use to me, and they are weak from the experiments. I see no reason why they cannot be allowed to roam free like the animals they are," The Man sneered, and with a flick of his wrist two guards came and gently lifted Kia out of Verity's arms. Two more came to take Verity, but Verity held up a hand for them to wait a moment. Then she turned and faced Josef and Ryan, who were wide-eyed with what had just commenced.
"Our jet lies just outside the perimeter," Verity explained, whispering so as not to alert The Man and his guards. Pulling something from her pants pocket, Verity handed the paper with the passcode numbers to get onto the plane to Ryan. "When you get there, eat something. Then use the comm unit to call Danté on line five. Tell him where we are!"
Ryan and Josef nodded. Ryan took Verity's hand for a moment and kissed it lightly, thanking her for taking their place before he sprinted off to catch up with Josef. Verity turned and let the guards roughly lead her away, following the man and the guards that carried Kia. Before entering the labs again, The Man flicked his wrist as he had done so many times in just the past ten minutes. Then, one of her guards took his gun and smacked Verity upside the head with the butt of the gun. And everything went black.
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted January 03, 2004 09:23 AM
When Kia came to, she felt groggy and there was a dull ache in her side. She tried to remember what happened. There had been a tunnel and then she had been outside...but then, she couldn't remember after that. She got up to her feet and as the bleariness cleared she realized where she was.
"Another g*****n cell" she muttered. Anger welled up inside her. It wasn't fair. She had gotten out. She had beaten them. She shouldn't be back in here! Kia pounded the wall with her fists, she screamed...the anger coming out till she sunk to the floor defeated. The door to her cell swung open.
"You a******!" Kia said standing up, looking her tormenter in the eye.
"Now, now let's not be hasty...you wouldn't want anything to happen to your friend?"
"What are you talkin' about?"
"The young girl I've recently taken into my care"
Kia paused for a moment and then she remembered.
"Let her go! You don't need her!" Kia said starting toward him but was immediately restrained by one of the guards.
"Her deformity perplexes me. It's not a physical one is it?"
"If you hurt her, I swear to *** that---"
He walked out of the cell before Kia could finish her threat. Unfortunately, Kia didn't get much further because one of the guards sucker-punched her and Kia got the wind knocked out of her.
He walked down the cell block with two guards silently following behind him. He paused at a cell door and opened it.
"Well, the game is up..." He said to the cell's occupant, " Your friend gave you up."
"You're crazy." Verity said, taking one step backward. The man radiated evil.
"We know what your deformity is and how you use it...now its only a matter of time before we are able to begin fixing it..." He said turning on his heel and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
OoC: Aylwen, If I played your character too much lemme now
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted January 03, 2004 03:57 PM
OoC: Nah, it's fine!
Verity sat on the dusty tile floor with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around her shins. Her face rested on her knees so that her black hair hid her disgusted, fearful, and hopeless features. Verity thought that Ryan and Josef would have called Danté by now; would have sent for someone to save them, something. When hours had passed and Verity had woken from her formerly unconsious state, the young mutant had begun to lose hope. Perhaps Ryan and Josef had taken their great opportunity and had fled, leaving Verity and Kia to experimentation and eventually death. But Verity was disgusted with herself for containing such doubt in them; for, though she didn't know the two mutants well, Verity remembered how she'd saved them and how they knew what it was like to be a prisoner.
Click!
Click!
Click!
Slide!
The sound of footsteps nearing her cell frightened Verity into jumping from her seated position and backing into the corner of her cell. The lights blinded her; it seemed a trivial matter, but now the lights in her cell seemed to bright Verity felt she would burst. The person outside stopped at her cell, and Verity could hear the person fumbling with the lockpad to her cell. But, the door did eventually open, only to reveal The Man.
"Well, the game is up..." The Man called to Verity, a smug look on his face and a menacing smile widening with each passing second. Verity loathed him, wanted to kill him where he stood. For the first time in her life Verity wanted to have had a gun in her hand. " Your friend gave you up."
Kia? Verity thought frantically, choking back the tears. No! I won't let him see me cry. I will not show him any weakness that he can manipulate. Verity waited until she knew she could speak with unwavering strength. "You're crazy," Verity said simply, for it was all she could muster without her usually melodic voice going out of tune and pitch.
"We know what your deformity is and how you use it...now its only a matter of time before we are able to begin fixing it..." The Man smiled wider, and Verity wondered how his face could stretch so, like rubber. With that, The Man left her cell and closed the door behind him. Verity ran to the doors and spat through the barred window, and The Man turned around for a moment.
"You can't fix something that isn't already broken," Verity hissed, her voice so low it could hardly even be considered a whisper. The Man merely smiled, and rolled his eyes as if Verity were some naive child who did not know right from left. As he walked away, Verity let one broken sob escape her throat and she crumpled to the ground. Verity could only imagine what they would come up with; Verity was already losing it without the music to calm her down.
"Do you remember me?
Lost for so long.
Will you be on the other side
Or will you forget me?
I'm dying, praying, bleeding, and screaming!
Am I too lost
To be saved?
Am I too lost?"
Verity sang the familiar, popular song to herself, willing herself not to whimper or be a wuss. She was a mutant, she was strong, she wasn't alone. It wasn't over...yet.
---
"9692919," Ryan recited, and Josef punched the numbers into the keypad that would allow them to enter the NightHawk and find a way to rescue Verity and Kia. When the code was finished, the door whooshed open and Ryan and Josef sprinted in and towards the pilot's seat and copilot's seat. Josef began trying to figure out how to work the comm unit while Ryan looked aruond the plane. One of the seats held a discarded pair of black sunglasses, and Ryan guessed that someone either forgot theirs or they were spares. Another seat held a CD player, which had been left running by someone.
"Hey, Ryan, I got it working!" Josef called back, feeling very accomplished. Ryan went back up to the cockpit and joined Josef, sitting in the copilot's seat. Josef smiled. "Now, who did she tell us to call? What line did she say?"
"Umm," Ryan murmured, biting his lip. He remembered the moment very clearly, almost too clearly. The frantic look on Verity's face, one of panic and worry. The blood of Kia as it surfaced through means of her bullet wounds. Ryan even remembered the octave of Verity's voice when she'd murmured the intructions. "Danté, line five."
Josef nodded and paged whoever was on line five. "Hello? Danté? Hello? Do you read? Danté, do you read?" Josef spoke through the walkie talkie, feeling very cool and rugged as he spoke with some sense of false purpose.
"Yeah? Kia!?? Kia is that you? Touchtone?" a voice came from the other end of the walkie talkie, presumably belonging to the man called Danté.
"No, this is Josef and Ryan. Verity rescued us, she and Kia were taken hostage!" Josef said urgently into the walkie talkie.
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Re: X-Men----X-Factors
posted January 03, 2004 05:35 PM
Through luck, or some vestage of skill, Heather's bullet found its target. But not quite. Instead of hitting the guard in a vital area, the bullet had buried itself deep in his left thigh; with a scream of pain, he dropped his gun and clutched the wounded leg. Trying to keep her hands still, Heather fired again, aiming higher. Blam. It was a head shot, and the guard died instantly, falling to the floor in a heap.
Putting the safety back on, she shoved the gun into the holster and ran towards the tableau. The as of yet unnamed girl was already there. "What..." Heather began.
"He's either dead, or unconcious, I can't tell which. Some vitals have definetly been hit."
"****. We have to do something, someone will have heard the noise."
"Were you two the only ones here?"
"No, there're seven others. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that it's time to regroup. We have to do something with the...," the words seemed to be stuck in her throat.
"The body," finished Heather, surprisingly calm. "We could put it in one of the isolated cells, and come back for it when we leave." Why am I so calm? thought Heather. I should be mourning.
"Right. I'm Holly."
"Heather."
[This message was edited by Eruanne on January 05, 2004 at 03:16 PM.]
<~:*:~>
Hold on, hon/we're gonna bunny hug/I bought some aspirin/down at United Drug/in case you shake apart/and want a brand new start/to do/that/jazz...
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted January 03, 2004 05:49 PM
Danté was moving silently through the lab. Every step was like walking on pins and needles. The lab was insanely sterile, everything echoed and every sound seemed to be loud enough to be an alarm. Besides the physical aspect, his thoughts were driving him crazy. Why had no one responded to his message? Where were they? He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. It was Dragonfly. Danté made the "What?" look on his face. The group hadn't talked since leaving the elevator. She pointed toward Pyro and Electro. Electro had found a hidden door and was trying to open it. Pyro was standing nearby. Danté hurried over, Dragonfly at his heels. Electro grunted as he forced the door open. It vvwhished open and a cloud on smoke billowed out. The group stepped quickly inside.
The temperature change was instant. It was freezing.
"Yeah! This was a great place to find!" Pyro whispered harshly.
"Shut up!" Dragonfly said.
"Hello? Danté? Hello? Do you read? Danté, do you read?" Danté's hand went to his ear.
"Yeah? Kia!?? Kia is that you? Touchtone?"
"No, this is Josef and Ryan. Verity rescued us, she and Kia were taken hostage!"
"Who the h*** are Josef and Ryan?" Electro said.
"They don't expect you to but that right?" Pyro asked incredulously.
"How do I know you're not bull*****ing me?" Danté asked.
"Hey, we're transmitting from the jet, we got your frequency channel from Verity. Your friends are in trouble. They won't make it out alone..."
Danté switched his comlink off.
"Alright...Electro...you and Dragonfly keep going down till you get the virus...it'll be here in this freezer. Pyro, you're coming with me."
"Now just a d*** minute!" Pyro said, nearly shouting but bringing his voice back down, sharply remembering.
"Will the mutants come for their friends?" A guard said, looking over the monitors. One screen showed the hallway, one showed Kia's cell, the other Verity's.
"Of course...all mutants are the same..." He said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted January 03, 2004 07:43 PM
"Aw ****!" Josef cursed, slamming the comlink down into its holster. Josef looked to Ryan, anger and panic in his eyes. "Dammit, Ryan, this Danté guy switched off his comlink! What are we going to do now? Huh? We can't go back in there, we're only two mutants!"
"Was it just me or did you hear other voices with this Danté guy? He was with at least two other people, wasn't he?" Ryan murmured, remembering the static voices that were heard past Danté's during the previous conversation. Josef nodded and picked up the comlink again. But they didn't know what line to try. Ryan sighed and took the comlink. "We'll just try the next one down. We'll try line four."
Line four was loud, buzzing static. Ryan sighed and looked to Josef, who shrugged simply. Ryan turned back to the comlink and pushed it up two lines, till it was stationed on line six. No static. Clarity in its purist form graced the small speaker of the comlink, and Ryan dared to press the 'Talk' button and find out if they could speak with one of Danté's comrads.
"Hey, we were serious about Verity and Kia," Ryan said urgently through the speaker. Better hurry before they hang up again, Ryan thought frantically. After all, they probably think we're trying to lure them into a trap... Ryan sighed and thought quickly for something to convince them. "The code to get on the NightHawk is 9692919. Kia has black eyes...all black...her hair was black, too, in a messed-up braid. Verity has brown eyes, wears red and black...black hair, too..." Ryan recited as quickly as he could, and waited for either a response or a clicking sound that would mean he had been hung up on, again.
Neither sound came. Only that pure silence from before Ryan had spoken.
---
Verity continued to sing parts of songs that she knew, louder and louder as her hope returned and her sorrow was forgotten. Verity had quickly snapped out of her mournful reverie, knowing in her heart that no amount of tears or sadness would get her out of the prison. Only hope.
"If I smile and don't believe,
Soon I know I'll wake...
From this dream.
Don't try to fix me
I'm not broken.
Hello, I'm the lie
Living for you so you can hide.
Hello..."
Another song sung by Amy Lee. Natalie's favorite band. Verity cringed thinking of Natalie and Matt and home, but continued thinking of the random facts that would keep her from going insane. Evanescence...easy chords, easy to learn, easy to figure out, easy on the ears...Music...
Verity had subconsiously begun to tap on the floor with her booted foot. The tapping was rhythmical, and so familiar. At first Verity passed it off as just tapping to the rhythm of a song that no one else could hear, but then the tapping that she had begun became recognizable: Morse Code. Morse Code! Verity's father had been in the Military...he'd taught her, when she was little. Verity thought it was music...
Maybe Kia knows it! Verity thought hopefully, but her heart sank just a little lower when she thought of those slim to none chances. In any case, just tapping will be comforting in a place like this. Too clean, too quiet...
And with that, Verity began knocking harshly on her wall.
K.....I.....A.....
Verity tapped slowly, hoping that after all those years she'd gotten the letters right. It was just as she'd remembered it, the sound, the knocks and taps...
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted January 04, 2004 06:17 AM
Ann watched as Dante and Pyro left the lab. The one disadvantage of wolf form was not being able to talk to people. She had set herself to guard the hallway, so she had no idea what had happened inside the lab. They didn’t even glance at her as they passed, so she had no choice but to melt back into the shadows and wait. She snarled silently. She HATED not knowing what was going on! She had even managed to get a comlink to fit in a wolf’s ear. Unsurprisingly, they had completely forgotten to use it. She heard a faint rustle just around the corner. It sounded like a mouse. Perfect. Here was her opportunity. Hello? Do you think you could help me?
The mouse froze. After a moment it sent warily With what?
In just need some information. Do you by any chance know if there’s some sort of disturbance going on?
What, you mean besides the one you’re making?
Yes.
The mouse seemed to consider for a minute. Alright. People have been running around, banging, yelling, and falling down all over the cage area. Some people have been taking people out of cages, and some have been putting them back in. If I were you I’d stay away from the cages. The mouse sniffed. Stupid humans. And then she was gone.
Ann stood frozen. She had known something had to have happened to send Dante off like that, but from what the mouse had said somebody must have been captured. She stifled the desire to chase after them. It could so easily be a trap! Surely the guards would have realized that others would be here! They would be searching the complex, especially in the cell area…
She shook herself. If they searched this area she had better be ready for them. She slunk through the shadows to the other end of the hall and back. This would be her patrol. Just please HURRY with the virus so we can help!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hobbits bow to nobody!... Except their plates...
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted January 05, 2004 12:42 PM
"So where are the labs exactly?" asked Holly, or Phantom, as she preferred to be called. "I was only out of my cell once to be tested."
"I heard something about them being on the upper levels." As they rounded the corner, they saw another camera. "God, not another one." Studying it, she saw that like all the others, this one had blind spots. "Same old path though. Go." They dodged through the path of the infared beam.
"So anyway, the upper levels," continued Heather.
"You've got to be insane, thinking we can get into the labs. When I was hauled up there, there were at least ten guards swarming around the place. Unless your friends have knocked off a lot more of them, it's not gonna work."
"All the guards have probably been diverted from the lab area anyway. We haven't been very quiet." Suddenly, her voice went quiet. "We're due for a sweep." Without a word more, Phantom vanished, leaving Heather out in the open. An empty cell nearby would have to do. Unlocking it, then locking it agian carfully, she lay down on the cold stone bench facing the wall. Mussing her hair up, she feined sleep.
Tense seconds went by. Then, sure enough, boots marched by them, at least four guards. Don't stop, don't stop, thought Heather. They didn't. A minute more passed before a voice came from outside the cell. "They're gone. Come on."
They made it past two more patrols. Then some unusually alert guard heard Phantom, and started waving his gun around. She had punched him out, and confused the other two, before Heather had made it out of the latest hidey hole and shot them. They had bound and gagged the other one with his own trousers. All the noise inspired them to move even faster. The labs were only one level up now, if they had predicted right.
The talking had ceased. Nearing one of the ever dangerous corners, they stopped. No camera. "We're clear," whispered Heather, but Holly held her back.
"I thought I heard something."
"You're just imagining it, we have at least two minutes." But then, footsteps, two of them could be heard, getting closer at an alarmingly quick rate. "Maybe not. But there's no time to hide!" For me anyway.
"Get ready then, we're gonna fight it out," said Phantom grimly. Clutching the gun, Heather waited just around the corner as Phantom took up her position in her invisable state. Three.....two.....one! counted Heather silently. At one, she whipped around the corner, and came face to face with the most unexpected person in the world.
OOC: Preeeeesenting, Dante and Pyro!
[This message was edited by Eruanne on January 05, 2004 at 03:18 PM.]
<~:*:~>
Hold on, hon/we're gonna bunny hug/I bought some aspirin/down at United Drug/in case you shake apart/and want a brand new start/to do/that/jazz...
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted January 05, 2004 03:57 PM
Danté and Pyro made they way quickly from the labs into the detainment blocks. The place was swarming with guards. They were caught by surprise only once and Danté had quickly turned them into ash. However the altercation had left Pyro with a broken lighter.
"Now what? How am I supposed to fight?" He snarled.
"Just use my flames..." Danté said over his shoulder. The little fire menace was growing on him. They continued on at a quickened pace. Something then caught Danté's ear
....tap...tap...tap...tap....
"do you hear that?" Danté asked, stopping Pyro with his arm.
"Hear what?" Pyro said, looking hard at Danté and then falling silent. Then he heard it...
"What's that?" He whispered.
"Dunno, its coming from this direction. They headed cautiously in the sound's direction.
Kia was pacing about her cell. She was getting anxious. Things were too quiet, she had been left alone for too long and unfortunately her enemies had thought so as well. Just then her cell door burst open. Kia stepped back into her cell, nearly to the wall as guards filled her cell and he entered behind them. He carried something behind his back.
"I've gotten a little something prepared for you." He walking toward Kia. She began to move and was immediately grabbed by the guards roughly about the shoulders. He brought out a syringe with a long needle. There are certain things that Kia hated and needles were at the top of her list. She began fighting hard against the guards, two more came to aid them and all her struggling was useless. The man pushed Kia's head to one side and plunged the needle into her exposed neck. She gritted her teeth and tried to hold the pain in, but it escaped. The man seemed to give a slight laugh as he took the needle out and turned her head to look at him.
"There now that wasn't so bad? Was it?" He said. He was smiling.
"What did you do?" Kia said, pulling her face out of his hand, refusing to look at him.
"Oh just a little experiment I've had laying around. Your friend didn't hold up well to it at all." He said turning away. Kia couldn't stop herself.
"What do you mean?" She shouted at his back, staring at him with pure hatred.
"Hmm," He mused for a moment, "Oh nothing...see you in a few hours." Kia began her struggle again, trying in vain to free her arms. A guard gave her a rough shove and they were gone.
"You wanna watch where you're pointing that thing?"
Danté said pushing Heather's gun out of his face. He and Pyro had just burst around the corner and found a gun in their faces.
"What's going on?" Heather asked and was about to say more when Pyro interrupted.
"Who is that and who decided to give you a gun?" He blurted starting to step forward, but was stopped by Danté.
"Did you hear a tapping, or was that you?" Danté asked quickly before Heather and Pyro could begin to argue.
Electro and Dragonfly continued down the freezing hall.
"All I have to say is that the virus had better be in here, or I'm strangling Danté" Electro muttered. He hated being cold.
A sudden voice buzzed loudly in Electro's ear
"Hey, we were serious about Verity and Kia," Ryan said urgently through the speaker. Better hurry before they hang up again, Ryan thought frantically. After all, they probably think we're trying to lure them into a trap... Ryan sighed and thought quickly for something to convince them. "The code to get on the NightHawk is 9692919. Kia has black eyes...all black...her hair was black, too, in a messed-up braid. Verity has brown eyes, wears red and black...black hair, too..."
Electro shouted back.
"Hey settle down kid, we've sent off two of our best guys!" He said, switching the earpiece to his other ear and rubbed at the one that had been shouted in.
"You ok?" Dragonfly asked.
"Well, I'm not deaf..." Electro said.
[This message was edited by DayVampyre on January 06, 2004 at 05:04 PM.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Dancing_Hobbit
Adolescent
posted January 05, 2004 04:39 PM
Logan regained consciousness on complete silence and a cold, hard surface. He slitted his eyes open ever so slightly and only saw the ceiling and walls of a cell. As he stood up a bullet rolled off his right side, and there was a slight twinge of pain from that area. His shirt was still damp. Can’t have been out for more than a minute or so then. Damn! The girls are either gone or captured. He listened carefully, and, not hearing anything from outside, moved to the door to look out. Nothing. He pushed the door and it swung open. Interesting. The girls must have won and dragged him here to leave him. This is what happens when people join the team at the last minute and don’t know enough about their partners. Healing powers are useful, but not instantaneous. More guards will be here any second now, and I have no idea where they went. At least they weren’t sentimental about leaving a dead man. I have to give them that much credit – although we ought to go over taking a pulse… He thought wryly.
He moved carefully out the door and down the hallway. There was no way he was going to be able to find them in this warren, hopefully they would head straight back to the NightHawk and stay out of more trouble. Just then he heard the hurried run of multiple sets of feet around the corner. Can’t be more than two or three, no problem. He stepped up against the wall and waited for them to round the corner. As he had expected, there were only two of them. They were completely unprepared, and quickly dispatched. Lets just hope I can manage this without leaving a trail of bodies…
OoC: Sorry it's rather short, that's all I have time for right now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hobbits bow to nobody!... Except their plates...
Posts: 69 | From: A fairyland of mists and shadows deep in the emerald woods. | Registered: June 13, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted January 05, 2004 06:24 PM
Verity continued tapping letters out in morse code, eventually getting to the point where she was knocking the letters out. Whether Kia was in the next cell or not, someone would hear the tapping. Verity knew. The only time she halted was when The Man entered her cell, two guards staying stationed by the doorway. "No one will answer you" He said, a malicious tone in his voice, "How has your stay been so far?"
"Wonderful," Verity retorted, sarcasm in her voice. This man was annoying her to no end. Making her captive in a lab and threatening her was just the beginning, but just the presence of The Man made Verity angry. "The food is wonderful," Verity gestured to the bread and water she'd been given, but she'd never touched, or even considered touching. "The lighting is most desirable," Verity looked up at the blinding white light. "And the seating is incredibly comfortable. Why don't you join me, in your own special cell?"
The Man's bottom left lip curved into something of a smile, but not the cruel, menacing smile Verity had seen before. It was a smile of achievement, as if he had gone and done something he was very proud of. "I'm so glad you like our accomodations. You'll likely be staying here for a long while, and it only makes it easier on you that you like the room so much. So, how close were you to your companion? You wouldn't miss her too much, would you?"
"You jackass, what did you do to her?" Verity nearly screamed, but she kept her voice as calm as she could. "If you hurt her, if you...if you try and hurt her like you did to Ryan and Josef, I swear I'll send you where you belong, in Hell!"
"Now, now, mutant girl. No need to get all upset over such a trivial thing," The Man grinned at Verity, knowing how hard she was struggling to retain her anger. The Man bowed mockingly and left the room, promising to see Verity again soon about her 'mutant problem'.
"...Sometimes we get second chances
And sometimes we never make it past the first
It really makes you wonder
Why some things happen when they do
It really makes me wonder why it wasn't me
Instead of you
And when you say, "It doesn't matter"
Well it does, and all it takes
Is a mistake to eat your words
Just one more time
I think I'll drive on home tonight
Sometimes we never see the warning
And the voice in your head tells you not to go
It really makes me wonder why some things happen
When they do
It really makes me wonder why it wasn't me
Instead of you
And when you say, "It doesn't matter"
Well it does. And all it takes
Is a mistake to eat your words
Just one more time
I think I'll drive on home tonight..."
Verity sang. Loud. Hoping someone would hear. Either someone who could help her, Kia who might be able to hear or might not, or the guards even, for all Verity cared.
----------
DayVampyre is an über Goober.
Forget me not, friend, or I may forget myself.
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Eruanne
The Eternally Insane Princess
Chief Shirriff
posted January 05, 2004 08:17 PM
"Did you hear a tapping, or was that you?" asked Danté. Still glaring furiously at the other mutant, Heather said, "What?" Then, she said to seemingly empty space, "They're friends Holly."
"What the f***k?" said the mutant who Heather had just remembered as John, as Holly appeared out of thin air.
"Sorry, I forgot to mention Phantom, I mean Holly. She's one of the mutants that were being held here."
"Speaking of forgetting to mention people, where's Logan?" Danté cut in.
"There was a fight, and the long and short of it is, we were standing around being useless, and he got shot. The body's back in one of the isolated cells," said Heather, willing herself not to freak out.
"Hold on a second, the body?" said Danté, puzzled. "That can't be right."
"Look, I saw it happen, Heather's not insane. He's dead," said Holly, since Heather had closed her eyes, and was biting her lip. She looks like she's gonna be sick.
"Godda*mit, you guys, he's a healer, he's fine. Didn't you check for a pulse, or anything?" Frustration was evident in Danté's voice. Suddenly, Holly shushed them.
"Someone's singing."
John was staring around them. "It's coming from over there."
"Verity, it's got to be Verity. Then Kia's close," said Danté, breaking into a run in the direction from which the sound was coming. ...It really makes me wonder why some things happen
When they do...
<~:*:~>
Hold on, hon/we're gonna bunny hug/I bought some aspirin/down at United Drug/in case you shake apart/and want a brand new start/to do/that/jazz...
Posts: 469 | From: Immersed in a Good Book | Registered: February 17, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted January 06, 2004 06:17 PM
Danté kept listening hoping that something wouldn't stop Verity from singing. All that kept flashing through was Kia. To h*** with the vaccine and all the mutants trapped in here and his own personal saftey, all that mattered was her.
But his saftey wasn't the only thing he was risking. He had a group of younger mutants that he was responsible for. One that might be in as much trouble as Kia. The singing was getting louder and the mutants soon found Verity's door.
"Sir! The mutants have reached that unknown mutant!" A guard said urgently as the monitor displayed a group of four mutants standing outside a cell.
"We are not concerned with them. These, however, we are..." The man said pointing to another monitor showing two mutants.
"They're in the lab!" The guard shouted, "Send down a squad!"
"Cancel that order." He said, "We don't want to startle them yet." The guard looked questioningly for a moment and then called back his command. "let's see how that serum is working on our other friend." He said clicking a button and the picture blinked onto a mutant alone in her cell.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For they told you life is hard,
misery from the start, it's dull, it's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet In spite of the misery
~*~ Aylwen is a goober ~*~
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Aylwen
youngling
posted January 16, 2004 04:58 PM
When it gets cold outside
And you've got nobody to love
You'll understand what I mean when I say
There's no way we're gonna give up
And like a little girl cries in the face
Of a monster that lives in her dreams
Is there anyone out there 'cause it's
Getting harder and harder to breathe...
Verity could hardly sing anymore. She was too distraught and worried about what would happen next. Not just to her - but to Kia, and Danté and Electro...everyone else. But still she sang on. Then Verity heard something...it sounded like a familiar voice, but that could mean one of thousands people Verity had met in her life.
"Verity?" Oh, Verity racked her brain for the name of whoever was speaking outside her door. What had just a few hours in the cell done to her? It was terrible! When the voice repeated her name, Verity finall recognized who it was...
"Danté!" Verity had meant to strongly and calmly call out the name, but her voice came out as a weakened croak. She quickly went over to the small barred window, the only place where the air of the cell met the slightly more stale air of the hallway. Verity stuck her hand and forearm out between on of the bars, and someone on the other side took her hand. "Danté, is that you!?"
"Yes, yes..."
"Kia's next cell over..." Verity informed him. "Who else is with you?"
Posts: 126 | From: Michigan is NOT shaped like a mitten. Trust me. | Registered: January 29, 2003
Gwilamlug
Town Local
posted January 18, 2004 07:50 AM
Dragonfly shivered as they went down the chilly hall. Once more she regretted leaving her jacket back at the apartment. She saw that Electro was none too thrilled with the frigid hall either. She followed Electro along the long passage, looking behind her every now and again to make sure nobody decided to follow them. The people guarding the virus obviously wanted to deter people from going in as much as possible. Either the cold was continuing to penetrate her to an even deeper level, or it was growing colder the farther they went.
There was a loud clank! behind them. Dragonfly started, her chattering teeth clashing harder than before, catching her tongue in the process. She swore and spun around. She saw that way back down the door was now slammed shut.
"Ow...great," she said, putting her left hand up to her mouth, and seeing some blood from her tongue on her fingers.
"You all right?" Electro said, coming back to join her.
"Fine. Bitten my tongue before," Dragonfly said shortly, still shivering slightly and trying to keep from accidentally biting her tongue again. "The door slammed shut back there though."
"I see," Electro said, "Well, if you're all right..." He turned and started off along the corridor again. Apparently, he was as ready to find the virus and leave as Dragonfly was.
The mutant girl gave one look back at the door behind them before she turned and quickly ran to catch up to Electro. They walked down the corridor for about a minute more. Finally, they came to another door. Much to their surprise, it was unlocked.
"Is it me, or does this not feel right?" Dragonfly said as they entered the chamber.
"You mean it feels to easy?" Electro asked, confirming Dragonfly's assessment.
"Yes," she continued, "If this virus was so important, shouldn't they keep the door locked? I mean, one would think that they wouldn't want people just wandering in here."
"Keep a sharp eye," Electro said.
"What do you think I've been doing the past few hours, ever since we landed?" Dragonfly said, sighing.
The room was pure white. There were computers here and there, all displaying genetic codes and various other scientific equations and models that Dragonfly did not understand. In the middle of the room on a pedestal was a vial. It did not look as though anything was inside. Was the vial empty? Was the virus gone?
Don't be stupid, Dragonfly's voice in her head scolded, You can't see viruses. Even you know that.
"Is that it?" Dragonfly said aloud. "Do we just take it?"
"Hold on," Electro said, putting his hand over the earpiece. "Hey, guys, what's happening over there? And chill on the volume."
He listened for a second, then said, "Look, if there's anything new, tell me, but if there's nothing, we could use less distractions now, all right?"
"Smart," Dragonfly said as he took his hand down from the earpiece. "We don't need those two kids yelling in your ear if we meet any trouble."
"Yeah," Electro muttered as they approached the vial.
"I vote for grabbing and running," Dragonfly said, looking at it, "Although I'm so cold, I'm not sure my legs would work to run."
"And there are still the others," Electro pointed out.
"Then careful removal, and then, if need be, running?" Dragonfly said.
"I suppose," Electro said. He reached out a hand.
"Wait!" Dragonfly said, "You might not want to touch that with your hands. The more space between us and that thing, the better."
"True," Electro said. He pulled out some gloves and put them on. He then proceeded to carefully pick up the vial. They both paused and looked at each other.
"I don't see any lights...or hear any sirens," Dragonfly said. "This feels very wrong."
"It does," Electro said, hesitating.
"Well, what's done is done. And you have gloves?" Dragonfly asked.
"Best to be prepared," Electro said, securing the vial. "Now, I think it would be best to leave quickly."
"I second the motion," Dragonfly said, "I'm tired of this frozen hell that they call a science complex. Always hated science..." She gave a silent little nervous laugh.
"All right, the cold's gotten to you. We're leaving," Electro said.
"Lead the way, then, Mighty Captain," Dragonfly said, following Electro at the brisk pace they set back down the passageway.
************************************************
Pyro looked at Danté. "Kia's next cell over, then? You can work on that door, I'll work on this one. And about this Logan?"
"He can fend for himself," Danté said, looking at Pyro incredulously. "You say you'll get this one?"
"Yeah," Pyro said, trying to pretend it was not a big deal that he was helping. "It's Verity, right?"
"Yeah," Danté said.
"Should I watch out for any bolts of anything to fly at me if I get the door open? From her, that is..."
"You shouldn't," Danté said, looking worriedly at the cell next to Verity's.
"Go get Kia, then," Pyro said. Danté hurried to the cell next door where Kia supposedly was, and Pyro looked at the cell in front of him, pondering the best way to go about opening it.
Posts: 179 | From: Floating off into the sunset on a cloud drawn by shooting stars... | Registered: June 12, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted January 18, 2004 08:35 AM
The injection had taken effect almost immediately. Kia slumped down to the floor of her cell. Her brain seemed to fall in a state of pure relaxation. She felt her eyelids getting heavy, her subconscious trying to lull her to sleep. This wasn't right. Her mutant brain was trying to scream out to her. If she fell asleep, then she wouldn't be waking up. She shook her self awake but was instantly greeted with a mild shock of pain from the bolt in the side of her head. Seconds later the hazy sleepy feeling began to return, again Kia had to bring herself out of it, and again the bolt delivered another blast of pain, this one stronger than the last. Every time it was same, only the next time things got increasingly worse
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Danté looked in at Verity before leaving.
"Well it was me and Pyro for awhile, but then we ran into some familiar faces." he said managing a forced smile. He went to Kia's cell and tried to look in. He saw someone. Couldn't be Kia. The figure he saw was lying on the floor, weak and barely moving. He looked over to Pyro, still trying to figure out the door. Danté lit his hand on fire and began to cut through the door like a welder. He was able to cut a small rectangular hole in the door and ran in. He went to the figure, knelt beside it and was forced to realize that it was Kia. She looked like she had taken a beating and the odd metal bolt in the side of her forehead couldn't be good. Her eyes were shut, and her body was cold. If it wasn't for her long deep breaths, he would have thought her to be dead. He pulled her into his arms. Kia gave a violent shudder and her eyes opened for a brief moment.
"Danté" she said, able to reach her hand up to his face. After that her hand fell back down and her eyes shut again. Danté didn't know what to do. He looked back over his shoulder. Heather was standing outside, looking in. A loud clang told Danté that Pyro had somehow gotten the door open.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"You did lock the door to the lab, correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Good and the temperature is being constantly lowered?"
"Yes sir"
"These foolish creatures. So full of arrogance, I'm surprised that they don't just kill each other off. Two squads were sent to take care of the two mutants we let go?"
"Yes sir"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
DayVampyre
Dark Artisan
Inn Keeper
posted January 19, 2004 03:21 PM
Ok so...if you're not already aware, Bree is moving back onto a lovely ezboard. Mr. Thain is going to be moving the games over there, so unless ya'll have the incredible uncontrollable desire to post, you may was well wait till the game has been re-set up over there
Posts: 258 | From: on the brink of sanity | Registered: May 31, 2003
Re: X-Men----X-Factors
Dragonfly ran the last few steps to the door, pushing slightly ahead of Electro. She hit the door as hard as she cool manage with her shaking legs. The door made a dull clinking sound but did not give. She tried again, this time making sure to push enough. The door did not budge. Dragonfly helplessly began slamming against the door.
"It's locked," she said to Electro over her shoulder.
"I see," Electro growled, the cold making his temper none too enjoyable. He thrust the bag into Dragonfly's hands, and pushed against the door a little. "And," he added bitterly, "I think it's getting colder."
Electro was right. It did feel even colder down in the hallway. Dragonfly shivered and tried to think. It was too cold to clear her mind, though. How were they going to get out? If they didn't leave soon, they would freeze.
"What are we going to do?" Dragonfly asked.
"Are you a mutant or aren't you?" Electro levelled the question. Dragonfly started. She nearly forgot about that.
Her mind began to work again. Was there a strong form? Her strongest forms were fire, but the cold would weaken those. Water would not work, for she would perish. There wasn't enough room in the hall for any of the massive earth forms she felt comfortable with. Were there any good air forms? None of the air forms were really strong.
Dragonfly shook her head, "I wouldn't risk fire, and there isn't enough room for rhino or elephant here. If we were on the other side, maybe...and the air forms are too weak. Obviously I would freeze in water form...and the water forms aren't really built to deal with anything on land."
"Big help you are," Electro said grumpily.
"I'm doing the best I can," Dragonfly hissed, her temper beginning to get the best of her as well.
Electro sighed, "I know you are. I'm sorry."
Dragonfly waved off the whole conversation, and put her ear against the door. She could hear the muffled voices of some men.
"They...get...right?" a man asked. From the tone of his voice, Dragonfly supposed that he was asking assurance that the door would not budge.
"No...possible," another man responded gruffly.
"...why...guard?" the first man asked.
"What do you hear?" Electro asked.
"They have guards at the other side of the door," Dragonfly replied glumly. "Even if we got out, we'd have to fight them right away. And there's little chance that they'll have the inept qualities of the ones in the movies, I guess."
"Let me listen for a second," Electro said, "Maybe I'll think of something then."
Dragonfly moved away from the door. She leaned against the wall and slid down to a sitting position. She held her legs, shivering and trying to keep warm.
"Dannen le/A ú-erin le regi/Rang ail le iestannen/Lû ail le tegin na hen./Gwannach o innen/ului/Ú lû erui, ului."-- "Not Now, Not Ever", "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
rpg
Electro listened for a few minutes, but he couldn't make out the words of the guards. He stepped back from the door and gave it a good look over. The door was solid, no cracks or obvious weakness.
"Ok..."he said, somewhat to himself as he scanned the corridor
"Ok what?" Dragonfly snapped, looking up at him, "You've been struck by lightening?"
"Cute..."Electro said, "the last thi---" He said stopping short, he felt a breeze play across the back of his neck, up until now the hall had been as stagnant as a tomb. He turned sharply and looked upward.
"Holy s***!" He cried in excitement, running over to the vent.
"Yeah, so what?" Dragonfly said getting up to, but less enthused, seeing as the vent was covered over with a thick grate.
"Well, can't you, ya-know, transform into something? Something to slip through the grate and get us outta here?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
When asked if she really had nothing on in her famous calendar photgraph of the early 1950s, Marilyn Monroe, her eyes widening, purred,"I had the radio on."
Dragonfly and Electro Escape
Dragonfly began to get more excited. She thought: dragonfly could probably work for this. Dragonfly was her favorite form.
"I believe I can," she said, smiling. She backed up and stood away from Electro and began to change. Since there was no immediate hurry, she took her time so that she would not singe herself.
When the change was complete, Dragonfly flew up to the vent and slipped through easily. Once inside, she carefully changed back. There was just enough room for her to lay on her back in the full vent. She put her feet towards the grave. Dragonfly gave a good, swift kick, and she saw the grate go flying and nearly hit Electro, who gave her a disgruntled look.
"Sorry," she said. "They will have heard that. Let's hurry."
Electro climbed into the vent and they crawled along quickly. They took the first turn they came to so as to get out of view. Shouts came from the hall as the door opened and the guards came into the cold passage. Electro and Dragonfly crouched for a time around the corner of the vent. When the voices died down, they continued to pull themselves along slowly.
"First safe grate we come to, I'm getting out," Dragonfly said, her arms already starting to feel the tension.
"I'm with you there," Electro said as they continued along.
--------------------------
"Dannen le/A ú-erin le regi/Rang ail le iestannen/Lû ail le tegin na hen./Gwannach o innen/ului/Ú lû erui, ului."-- "Not Now, Not Ever", "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
rpg
Heather watched as Danté cradled Kia in his arms. As she slumped back into unconciousness, he turned to look at her. "What'd they do to her?" she asked Danté.
"I'm not quite sure. It looks like some kind of drug, and she's been hurt as well." His eyes were bleak.
"She'll be fine. We'll get back to the school, ad she'll get the care she needs." Heather's voice trembled as she spoke. This has all gone wrong. From the very beginning. But Kia will be fine. She has to be.
Rpg
Electro and Dragonfly hurried along through the vent. The smallness of the space was starting to get to Electro when he saw another grating. He looked through and saw that it was clear. He punched it and crawled out the hole follwed quickly by Dragonfly.
"Look!" He said, "The door we came in!" He grabbed Dragonfly's hand, pulling her to her feet and they bolted for it. Out the door, across the ground and through the hole in the fence, back into the forest they went, hopefully undected.
"we've gotta get to the NightHawk!" Electro said, catching his breath.
Danté got up from the cell floor about to say something to Heather when a shout from Pyro interupted.
"Who the h*** do you think you are?!"
Danté came running and saw that Pyro had tried to send wall of fire at this man. The man surely wouldn't survive such an attack...but he did. Right in front of Danté's unbelieving eyes the man stood this ground and just seemed to absorb the fire.
"This guy's a mutant too!" Pyro said backing up next to Danté
"Yes, unfortunatly, I haven't been able to rid myself of it yet, but seeing as you lot refuse to die, I must fight fire with fire as it were." The man then sent a wall of fire back at the group. Danté and Pyro grabbed everyone and pulled them all into Kia's cell.
"How are we gettin' outta here, boss?" Pyro asked...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story...and this one is very good. This one is perfect.
Dragonfly cursed not changing as she struggled to keep up with Electro as he ran through the forest. She struggled to catch her breath and wasted some of the breath she obtained swearing at both her boots and her lack of physical stamina. Blisters were definitely forming on her heels and the fleshy part of her foot, and the lack of oxygen could only be attributed to cigarette smoke. Between gasps, she strained her ears to try to hear for any pursuit. However, nothing came to her attention.
"Electro! Hold on!" she said, stopping at a tree and bending over, wheezing ungracefully as she attempted to get air.
"We have to go!" Electro said, pausing momentarily. Dragonfly nodded, holding one finger up, still doubled over.
"Just wait a tick. I'll change into something better for this." She began to change as quickly as she good, rapidly becoming an airy horse. Electro waited for a second as Dragonfly gathered her bearings, then the two charged off into the woods again. Dragonfly kept at a canter right next to Electro as they pounded through the woods towards the ship, which did not lie too far away. Every now and again, Dragonfly had to change her path to avoid an upcoming tree.
Finally, they saw the ship. When they reached it, Dragonfly changed back. She shook her head as though to clear it. Changing into air-creatures always made her feel dizzy for some reason. Once they were safe standing by the ship, Dragonfly wondered what they should then do.
********************************************
"Am I supposed to solve everything?" Danté snapped back at Pyro.
"Great use fire is against other fire," Pyro muttered. "Why can't one of you throw water or something?"
"Not helping," Danté said as the stranger advanced.
"Wait," Pyro said, "Do you think that we could at least hold his fire off with fire while we run? I don't see any other way out of it."
"I guess it might be worth a shot," Danté said, looking first at the intruder, then at the rest of their company.
diversionary tactics
Heather felt a burst of flame pass overhead, singeing several of her hairs. Beside her, Danté and Pyro argured tatctics. She didn't exactly know where Verity was, and Kia was still lying motionless on the stone floor of her cell. "I guess it might be worth a shot," she heard Danté say.
"What might be worth a shot?" asked Heather. Just as the words were leaving her lips, flame burst from Danté's fingertips, and flew towards the attacking mutant. Pyro quickly lit up, aiming a horisontal pillar of fire towards the hostle party. The three flames met, slamming against each other with a surge of heat. Glancing backwards, Danté saw that Heather hadn't moved. "Get out of here! Get Kia and go! We'll hold this guy off and follow you."
"That won't work! I have no clue where any of the others are, this place is swarming with guards, and that...fire barrier won't hold for long. Plus I don't know if I can handle getting Kia out safely. We need divsionary tactics."
"What?" shouted a distracted Danté.
"Just keep it up for as long as you can. Oh, and you'll have to give me your guns." Pyro did not take kindly to this.
"F**k off, you're not taking my gun." Heather ignored him, and concentrated on splitting. Three seconds later, there were three of her standing beside Pyro and Danté. Without a single word, the two splits had grabbed the guns. "This had better work," said Heather. "Cover us, we'll try to get around to the back."
Ann, Logan, Holly
When Ann had heard the lock of the door click closed as she passed it, she almost went crazy. There was absolutely nothing she could do about that. She tried to reach Dragonfly mentally, but she was too excited for it to be any use. She stopped when she heard footsteps. Guards, almost certainly. If she waited, maybe they would open the door. She whisked around the corner and waited. The guards arrived, and her heart sank. There was a whole troupe of them, it would be impossible to fight them all off. But they didn’t unlock the door. They stood there and talked.
“They can’t get out, right?” The guard was fingering his gun nervously.
One of his companions laughed at him.
Another one answered. “No, don’t worry, that door is made so that kind of thing is not possible.”
“Then why are we guarding it?” Asked the nervous man.
“Just in case we hear anything suspicious.”
A few moments later there was a loud crash from the other side of the door. The guards jumped and immediately began to fumble to try to find the keys. Ann slunk carefully around the corner. She would wait until they had the door open. If she attacked from one side, and her friends from the other, they just might have a chance. The door opened and the guards ran inside, but there was no sound of gunshot or struggle. Ann reached the doorway ready to launch into a fray, only to see the guards spread out looking puzzled and angry, staring at a ventilation shaft that was missing its grate. They got out! They were alright!
Ann aborted her leap, but her momentum carried her into the room. She spun and dashed in the other direction just as one of the guards noticed her and shouted. Bullets bounced off the floor and walls as she sprinted down the hallway. She heard footsteps pounding behind her. There was no way they would be able to catch her, but their bullets might, and she could always get lost. A moment after she turned the corner, she heard the first bullet whiz past. She flattened out and tried to dodge from side to side, hoping to make it harder to hit her, but the guards were far from inept. A bullet grazed her side, and another one hit her flank as she turned the next corner. It knocked her off-balance, and she stumbled against the wall, but she was far enough ahead now that she turned another corner just as they entered the hall, and after that she didn’t see them again.
She kept running until she could no longer hear the sound of their pursuit, then turned one last corner, and found herself hurtling towards a man facing a wall of fire. He looked like he was controlling it, so she assumed it must be Dante or Pyro. She braced herself to stop, but her hind leg chose that moment to give out, and she landed hard on her back and went flying into his legs, knocking him down.
************************************
Logan prowled the corridors, listening for any sound that could give him a clue as to where the girls went. But he found nothing but more fuel for his temper. He came across a couple guards looking winded and out of sorts, and disposed of them as a matter of course, hiding them in a nearby cell. Everything seemed to be deserted. He snarled, wondering if the girls had been caught, and ghosted down another corridor.
***********************************
Holly watched Heather split in three, each one taking a gun. She was about to protest that she should have one, since she could slip around more easily when she was invisible, but everybody looked too busy to listen. She looked around, and finally just grabbed the lock from one of the cell doors. It was better than nothing, so it would just have to do.
Ooc: What would happen to Heather if somebody injured one of her? Would it matter which one? Would all three be disabled? Just curious because it seems relevant. Edited by: Dancing Hobbit at: 4/11/04 12:21 pm
XMen XFactors
Re: X-Men----X-Factors
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