Marvel, Rebirth:

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

John didn't really appreciate Daken's little maneuver, he would of put on his belt eventually, but at least it seemed like his older brother was trying to look out for him. The car ride was better, John showing Daken various hip-hop artists he was found of and some he thought Daken might like since he liked metal. He enjoyed explaining how Cudi was his first love and would always be his favorite artist.

 

"Sounds good to me, I think." John said as he got out of the car, not really sure who either of those people were.

 

IC:

 

Jennifer approached the locked door and examined the device. "Alright I'll try to get it open as fast as I can." Jennifer said.

 

She turned to the control panel before beginning to work on the key pad.

 

"Can someone drag one of those dead HYDRA soldiers over here? It looks like we need a finger print along with the right access code, I'm trying to crack the code now."

Edited July 23, 2014 by Flex Till Death

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Daken only rolled his eyes and held open the elevator with a wrist claw for another couple patrons to walk in. The blade slipped back into his forearm effortlessly when they turned around to thank him, the retracting motion as wide as his gracious smile at their fawning gratitude. They worked in tandem, calculated and precise; if the dagger pressed at your back was more dangerous than the one at your throat, then Akihiro's dagger, nestled in an adamantium sheath under his skin and disguised as a friendly arm around the shoulder, was the most dangerous of all. 

 

They stepped off on the fourth - and top -  floor of the mall and the two brothers made their way to the food court. Daken noticed that John had a better grip on himself when he was in the mall, and actually knew where he was going instead of meandering aimlessly. Had he come here with friends? Was he struggling with himself even now? He'd have to find out over lunch. He'd heard it said that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. Daken always found that you could find it through a few other places, too, but the stomach was as good a place to start as any in a public place. As long as another tooth doesn't pop out in his food. The gap where one of John's right incisors had fallen out in a pizza crust yawned; it was the only flaw in his smile, but it didn't look like John Howlett was in much of a smiling mood these days.

 

Daken picked Subway. He didn't want John to wait on a meal. The sooner her got him eating and talking, the better. The younger brother was ordering his own sub when the "Sandwich Artist" (what a ridiculously masturbatory title for a minimum wage stooge who only was faced with a difficult choice when she had to decide whether to put two layers of cheese or just the one) stepped up to Akihiro, who ordered two footlong Black Forest Ham subs, contemplating what toppings he wanted and ordering to his specification. The worker (he refused to call her an artist) didn't totally screw it up, though he had to ask her for a bit more oil and vinegar on both subs. How did she not get the hint on the first one? But there were better things to lose his patience at, and Daken was far too cultured to lose it over slight drought conditions on a footlong sub, so he paid for three combos (he got himself a bag of kettle chips and a cookie, and then slipped the cookie onto John's tray as a reward) and then sat them down at a seat close to the Ferris wheel that loomed over the food court.

 

John dug into the food fast, as though he hadn't seen anything so tantalizing in months. You wouldn't have known that, just thirty days prior, he'd been living large in Westchester. Or that forty-five days prior, he'd been a budding assassin for the Hand. This spectre looked nothing like John Howlett. Time to see if there was anything left that acted like him.

 

"Look, I just want to get one thing out of the way quick. Then it's behind us for good. But I feel like - as your brother - I gotta know, you know?" Daken took one of the halves of his first sandwich and took a bite. Still not enough vinegar. But the ham and spices overpowered the dry taste enough, and he calmly washed it down with a sip of Coke. "Matt Summers was your friend, John. I watched you two learn to walk together. I remember your first words. You heard him die...and then you came back to me the very next morning. Why? Are you protecting whoever else is left? You don't have to do that. If that's the case, I won't hurt them. I just don't want you to be a hero about this whole thing." He smiled and took a bite of sandwich. "You're not a hero, are you?"

 

-Tyler

Edited July 23, 2014 by Brooklyn Pace-Carlisle

[Makuta of Time]

IC: Marauder

 

The SHIELD agent began to lay cover fire on the androids as Hydra soldiers where shooting them. He adjusted each shot to aim for their heads. "Jennifer, what's your status on the op. We still got two tanks out here."

 

OOC: I honestly don't know what is the setting for Striking Dragon. Are we still outside?

[Snelly]

IC: Krystal

 

Krystal was already dragging back two soldiers, rather effortlessly at that. "These should do...hopefully they have clearance for this door, otherwise I can bring some more over...one of them is bound to work." 

Edited July 23, 2014 by Princess Anna of Arendelle

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"... Are you mad at me?" Kristen asked, so softly that Lilliana could barely hear it as she silently followed her, not sure what else to do... After all, wouldn't Dallas and tali get offended if she left without them?

 

Or-

 

She didn't particularly wanted to think about the alternative and the fact that Lillian, someone who was nice to her earlier, would be cross with her felt far more pressing.

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

John paused from eating his sandwich and looked up at Daken and paused with mustard still smeared on his lip. He quickly licked it off. "I came back because you're my brother, you're my real family. Westchester will never be my home again not after the things I've done. And yes I did do it partly because I wanted to protect them but I'm no hero. Not anymore. I used to think I was but I was wrong. Now... now I'm just hungry." John said before taking another bite of his sandwich.

 

"If you think I hate you are harbor any resentment for what happened too Matt I don't. I told him to leave, he was stubborn. Plus I've had loved ones kill my friends before. Ashlynn took out Jeremy and then Warren took out her. The things you did to me, I accept them. I deserved them. I killed a lot of people. Yes they were killers or mutant hunters but some of them could have had another chance. I enjoyed slaughtering them even though I thought I was dong good, I was a monster."

 

John tugged on the hood that hid his short buzzed hair protectively. He began to laugh softly. "Its funny, Matt used to think you were cool before you left and after. He said I was lucky to have an older brother... will you pass those chips?"

 

IC:

 

"I'm currently trying to crack our way into the data-room Marauder." Jennifer said as she continued to work her magic on the code.

 

"Thanks for bringing those over Krystal, can you lift one of their thumbs against the scanner for me? We better start trying."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"So you're not upset? Matt could have been a football player. Married a model. Had some cute kids. Now he's decomposing in Westchester. By now, his corpse may have started to bloat. You don't care that that's on me?" Daken asked curiously, tearing open the bag of chips with the knuckles of his index fingers and holding the bag open for John to eat his fill. "You accept that was necessary?"

 

"I mean I miss my friend, but no I don't hate you for it. Not anymore anyway. I won't lie and say there wasn't a moment. I've had a lot of happen to me in a short period of time, I've just kind of learned to let things go and let the past be the past." John accepted the chips and began pulling them out and tossing them into his mouth. "I guess I do, yeah."

 

"You're real up, kid." Daken shook his head in wonder and rustled the bag of chips around in his hand, using the bone claws from his knuckles to spear two and eat them. "Should I even be calling you 'John Howlett' anymore? You don't sound much like that Westchester punk I used to know. Should I find you a code name or something?"

 

IC:

 

Alaric sighed audibly and slipped on his boots, standing with a flourish and walking back to the elevator. He hit the button for his floor; Muzak alt-J began to play softly until the doors dinged, and Ric made his way to the kitchen. The fridge was freshly stocked, and Ric rifled through the alphabetical blood types and dug out a bag or two with each hand before stalking back to the lift and pressing the button for Lynae's floor again.

 

"Pssst." When he reached her study door, he knocked with his knuckle and held out the blood bag in front of him. "Today, it looks like you'll be eating...Albanian? Asgardian? Anchovies? A...something. Something exotic sounding. Could you open the door? I'm gonna get squeamish holding this stuff."

 

-Tyler

[Eevee]

IC

 

"... I'm not mad. Do I question your judgement? Absolutely. Now come on, I'm a bit hungry." Lilliana replied before heading to the register to pay.

 

Once that was done, she walked into the food court which was down the hall. "Hmmm I can't really decided... Anything you'd like?" She asked Kristen, watching the young woman carefully.

 

 

IC

 

He...He came back? She thought as she finally looked up at the door, dabbing the last tears from her slightly puffy eyes before getting up to let him in.

 

"Thank you..." She said with a small smile as she took the bags. "You... Want to come in?" She asked softly, her free hand outstretched.

[Blair the Cat]

IC:

 

"I know, that's why I-" Sierra's explanation was cut off abruptly as the feeling of her ribs breaking hit. Fighting against both the need to scream in pain and the urge to vomit, she reluctantly gave into the latter. It wasn't a pretty sight, with the shards of bone mixed in and all.

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"Food? To be honest since I've decided to stay here, I've learned that just about anything is good," she said, shuddering slightly as a brief memory of her other self hunting rodents came to mind.

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

"No John's fine, plus I was always kind of attached to Feral. Even if I don't have the claws for it anymore."

 

"I don't know how I feel about Feral. It's an X-Man name." Daken casually flicked a chip from John's sandwich paper and popped it into his own mouth. "I could give you claws. If you give me a name."

 

"True, you're right I'm not an X-Man anymore..." John said, his 'eyes' far away now as he chewed on a chip. "You can really give me back claws?" John asked with a flicker of hope inside his gut. "What about... Silvereyes, Cybereyes, Ironeyes or something." he shrugged.

 

"You're not a nickname guy, I see," Akihiro deadpanned once he'd finished off his first sandwich. "Speaking of lazy supervillain names, though...sure thing, little brother, I can give you claws. Not the claws you're used to, and you may not thank me for it, but yeah. You'll have your claws back." He balled up the wrapping of the first sandwich and tossed it into the trash can with the expert eye of a marksman. "I got an idea. How do you feel about being Iron Man?"

 

"No I guess I'm not," John grinned. Part of him had never thought he'd ever get his claws back. "Can you think up anything better?" he asked. His new eyes took in the motion of Daken tossing away the wrapping instantly. "Me? Iron Man? I'm not sure if I follow."

 

"You won't believe me if I told you. Just wait until we get back into the city. You'll see." Daken shook his head as he unfolded the wrapping on his second sub and took a small bite of one half. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for you, though, kid. It'll be rough. Probably excruciating. And there will never be any going back on it. I saw Lilliana through your eyes when you were at Westchester. It's not too late to start a life with her. Or with someone else, if you want. Matt's dead. Before long, all your other friends will be, too. They'll have kids and grow old and die, and you'll be young until that healing factor of yours gives out once and for all. Never's a long time, for brothers like us. I've paid for lunch, and you've paid for...a lot more than lunch. Go. Live that life of yours. I'm your brother; I want that for you."

 

"What if I want to live my life alongside my brother? I'll do anything to get my claws back. I've been to ###### and back I can face whatever comes next. Me and Liliana would never had worked out. Thank you for giving me the choice though Daken I respect that. Yes they will all die but you and me will still be around, perhaps it would be better if we had each other for company." he said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and crumpled up the wrapper of his second sub which he'd already devoured.

 

IC:

 

"Well that's just about the nastiest thing I've ever *****ing seen." Kane said when Sierra puked. 

 

IC:

 

"Sierra stop this right now. You can control it I know you can."

Edited July 24, 2014 by Flex Till Death

[Krayzikk]

IC: 

 

"Yeah. Quite a place." The supersoldier replied, glancing about the room, noting the bar and the banks of games, and from there the people around him. James Rogers listened to his friend's anecdote with a slight grin, but it was one that didn't quite ring true. The structure of the room was the same, the majority of its amenities identical. A few new touches here and there. It was the old base.

 

And it was wrong for it. "Given a couple weeks, it'll probably be as much a home as the old one was."

 

"Guess patriotism isn't dead after all." The remark, delivered with its usual dry tone, just barely cut through the pain and painkiller induced haze. Slowly, silently cursing the effort it took, the patient cracked his eyes open. The Director of SHIELD looked much the same as he always did as he gestured for the orderlies to get out of the room, but there was a barely perceptible air of fatigue as he took a seat in the sole bedside chair. "Gave us quite a scare, Rogers. Medics thought you were DOA."

 

"You mean I wasn't?" The patient managed, voice faint and hoarse. His head turned slightly to see his visitor, but the motion was the extent of what he could manage. Most of his muscles were too strained for him to use them, even if he wasn't too doped up to move properly. "Felt dead."

 

"Ha ha ha." Fury deadpanned, regarding the super soldier with his one good eye. "If your granddad were anyone else, you would have been. Rogers, do you have any idea how hard it was to keep you breathing? Multiple bullet wounds, a few cracked ribs, a messed up shoulder, and every muscle you've got pushed too far. It's a miracle your heart didn't just quit."

 

"..." James didn't comment, remaining silent for a few minutes as the director stared at him, before examining the medical records on the bedside table. When he spoke up again, his voice was even weaker than before. "The others?"

 

"Igloo. Barton, Siegfried, and Banner are all alive and well. Natalie's with them. We've recovered Noel. We're still looking for Stark. And you're dead." This earned a more alert look from the occupant of the bed, though that wasn't saying much. "I wasn't kidding about the medics. Right now, you're listed as KIA. The only people who know  you're alive are in this facility."

 

"Lowell recovered the shield. Hasn't let go of it since New York."

 

"... How long has it been since New York?" Fury held up three fingers, and shook his head when James said 'hours?'. "... Three days. ." Silence reigned for a few moments, and his eyes closed, almost like he'd lost consciousness. Fury was about ready to leave when his eyes cracked open again, and the super soldier spoke. "I didn't do enough, sir. All of that, still wasn't enough. Three of my team dead. Who knows how many civvies."

 

"It wasn't enough."

[Eevee]

IC

 

"..." Lilliana sighed and ruffled her hair. "Make a decision, please." The teacher replied, slightly peeved at the passiveness of the girl. "I'm going to go get something but you need to start making your own decisions. You need a spine and I don't mean it just about these things. If you don't start sticking up for yourself, people will use you. The world is not a place for the weak."

 

With that, the blonde walked off toward the subway. It seemed the right time for a spicy Italian.

[JiMing]

IC: TLAW-001 Vivus

 

Persephone apparently not a fan of giving her teammates proper warning, as she shot upwards into the air and dropped VIvus, all out of the blue. The android screamed some more as he dropped down before finally activating his jetpack. However, the android instead shot to the side, as Persephone continued upwards. After awkwardly fumbling around in the sky, he finally righted himself and started catching up to Persephone.

 

"Take it easy next time, will ya??" Vivus complained indignantly.

 

After that bout of grumbling, the android looked down and saw the crew from the tanks out and firing upon the two. In response, Vivus grabbed a stun grenade, tossing it downwards. Hopefully the HYDRA soldiers would see the object falling towards them and scatter, taking some pressure off the two androids.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I wasn't aware you placed such a high value on our relationship." Akhiro, face open but still, casually reached for one of the chocolate chips from John's cookie and pushed it into his mouth; the sweet left a drop of melted chocolate on his fingertip. "I find that..." Endearing? Appreciated? Admirable? Suspect?" "...intriguing."

 

-Tyler

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

"Yeah well I had some memories come back to me recently while I slept for days without torture," John said as he cleaned out his chips. "It seems like I forgot you after you left, repressed memories I'd had of you when I was little. I remember things now." John said as he looked up.

 

"And over the past year I think I've matured some. I spent a good deal soul searching in California after I took of Kristen's arm. I don't expect you to trust me right away Daken. I was put through Weapon-X too but for a good deal shorter time then you brother, I know what that can do to you." he crossed his arms and glanced around the food-court.

 

"So how much money were you thinking to spend?" John grinned now. "I can think of some things I could really go for..."

[Light]

IC: Betsy looked up, rolling one shoulder. "The taste is good enough, though they could have added more kiwi sauce."

 

A psionic knife flickered into existence in her hand and buried itself in the seat, shearing the edge of his boot.

 

"You eye my fries again and I'll cut you."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"A. There's no way you could know I was eyeing your fries, I only looked for a quarter of a second. B. You can't just go right for the wardrobe off an implication, or I'll never buy you another burger. C. You definitely won't cut me, otherwise I'll definitely never buy you another burger."

 

Warren smiled and took a big bite out of his Quarter Pounder, pulling the rest of a strip of bacon out from under the bun with his teeth.

 

-Tyler

[Light]

IC: A knife sliced the bacon even with his lips, the extra part falling to the table and landing in a hamburger Betsy had taken the top bun off, which she promptly slapped back on and took a bite.

 

"Warren. I can feel you wanting my fries."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"How do you say 'I'm breaking up with you' in Braddock-speak?"

 

-Tyler

[Light]

IC:

 

"The same way you say a baldfaced lie. Because if you break up with me, you won't get any fries at all."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I'm young, rich, well-educated and I happen to be a cut above most other human beings alive aesthetically. I'm sure someone would be willing to share an order of fries with me."

 

"But my fries are much better than anyone else's, because you have to work for them." Betsy's smile was criminally playful.

 

"That's a point against you. You know I bruise easily."

 

-Tyler

[Light]

IC: "Well, I suppose since you let me have some bacon I should let you have some of my fries."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Warren leaned in close to pick up a few of Betsy's french fries and pop them into his mouth with a knowing smile.

 

IC:

 

"Ohhhh that girl gave me her number, she must think I'm hot."

 

Dominik fought back a smile when he replied, "She has good taste."

 

"Mmmhmmm..." Shiloh started getting busy with her ice cream.

 

"Are the sprinkles up to your standards?"

 

"They pass..." Shiloh said when she felt like pausing her consumption, ice cream dripping down her lips.

 

"Yeah. You're some hottie, alright." Dominik rolled his brilliant hazel eyes behind his sunglasses and brought a napkin to Shiloh's lips surgically.

 

Shiloh tipped her hat in order to hide her blush. "It's been a long time since I've had ice cream."

 

"I can tell. Take it easy, I don't want you getting sick. I have plenty of money."

 

"I'll buy you another if you need one."

 

"That's okay I think this one is enough, I'm already getting a sugar rush."

 

"That's all I needed." Dominik leaned down to look over his sunglasses at Shiloh. "Promise me you won't go Tazmanian Devil and start tearing wallets out of people's pockets?"

 

"Well no but I can't promise the wallets won't tear out of their pockets by their own freed will."

 

"Remus will skin me alive if I let you come out of D.C. much richer than when you came in. She already says I'm too lax with you, you know."

 

"Fiiiine." Shiloh pouted a little, the ice cream was going straight to her head.

 

"Don't do that. I'm setting your salary cap at fifty bucks max. A penny over that, and it's all going to Rene to use for his hair's desire."

 

"The money usually comes to me on its own volition...for reals."

 

"Pretty sure it's a federal crime to give money free will. I think you get jail time."

 

"Shiloh is the New Black."

 

"I don't think there's a jail that can hold me that I can't convince to let me go. They're usually grateful for the gift of life."

 

Shiloh shrugged rather smugly.

 

Dominik looked at her and finally sighed in amusement, leaning back and mixing his ice cream with his spoon. "Fifty bucks. I mean it, Shi."

 

Shilioh grinned, "Yes sir." Then there was a small plop by her feet, Shiloh looked down. 

 

"Well look at this! Someone dropped their wallet." She picked it up, causally slipped some bills like a magician, and then placed it on the table. "Better hold on to it in case someone comes looking for it."

 

"What a Samaritan."

 

"I try..." The wallet squirmed, Shiloh's hand pounced at it. "Stop that."

 

Dominik looked down at his ice cream and focused on separating the chunks from the dairy with his spoon for a few seconds. "I would be extremely lost if anything were to befall you. Do you know that, Shiloh?"

 

-Tyler

Edited July 25, 2014 by Brooklyn Pace-Carlisle

[Snelly]

IC: Krystal

 

"Did you crack the code? No reason to start scanning thumbs until ya do." From what was on the door, it seemed you had to enter the code first, and then scan your thumb. 

 

The Aella lookalike watched what the SHIELD agents were doing curiously, she didn't completely understand what was happening. "He probably locked himself inside..." She muttered to herself, a bit of anger in her voice. 

 

IC: Shiloh

 

Shiloh let the wallet slip away from her, staring at her ice cream, she sighed. "I know..." She admitted, she could remember how everyone had reacted when she'd been shot on Genosha fairly clearly. "I'd be lost if something happen to you too you know." Dominik was the third Brotherhood leader Shiloh had followed, the first not worth even mentioning, and then there was Abraham...and now they had Dominik. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost him. Quicksilver she'd helped get rid of, Abraham had been a comrade and a friend and the loss had affected everyone, but Dominik...losing Dominik would be a killing blow, to their cause...and her heart. 

 

"I have a proposal..." Shiloh began, taking a bite of her ice cream. "We both promise that nothing bad will happen to us and that we will stay safe. Seem fair?" 

Edited July 25, 2014 by Princess Anna of Arendelle

[Silvan Haven]

John Harken- Team Sneaky Monkey

 

IC: "If that takes too long I could always break down the wall. I find that they tend to be easier to break through than doors in places like this."

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC:

 

"Mmmm just give me another few seconds..." Jennifer trailed off as she continued to tap away. "Almost have the sequence... and there!" she said as she typed in a new code. A button on the key-pad suddenly lit up green.

 

"Okay we have the code, now let's try the print."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Dominik had to smile. He knew she had a thief's thought processes, and her "bargains" tended to reek of highway robbery; he'd played enough poker with her to know that under those rhinestones she was always analyzing, dissembling, calculating. But it was hard not to look at her sometimes and see the friend who called him after every address to make sure he hadn't been pinched or gunned down, or the tech-savvy girl who would gripe about the dislike bar on her YouTube channels, or the Shiloh LeBeau had just turned eighteen four months ago.

 

She didn't like talking to people much, so she'd tried to keep things relatively lowkey and even avoided clarifying whether it was even her birthday or not. At that point, René was still in Westchester - unbeknownst to either of them - and Dominik knew that the loss of her twin was still eating at her. At the time, they'd gone under in San Diego seeking out Kane Johnson, one of the few holdouts from Abraham's Brotherhood that they'd yet to locate. So he'd snuck out to a nearby bakery and grabbed Shiloh a box of cupcakes, each with their own different color of candle; together, in one piece, they had represented every color on the rainbow. She liked to put on that rhinestone hat and pretend otherwise, but Dom had seen her smile that night when he'd pulled the box out from the fridge, and it had been brighter than any cluster of wax could ever be.

 

She was a thief and a viral troublemaker and, depending on who you asked, a domestic terrorist; she was his first lieutenant and his greatest lieutenant; she was his closest friend in the world, and for the first time Dominik Lord realized that maybe, after all the times he'd leaned on Shiloh LeBeau for support or assistance, she had gotten accustomed to holding him, and that he had become as important to her as she was to him. It made him feel like Abraham, so lost to people at large that personal relationships had, largely, eluded him. The thought made him quietly sad, but it was touching in its own way and it made his smile a little easier to bear. 

 

"That sounds fair, Shi," he agreed, and he clinked his plastic spoon against hers in a toast.

 

-Tyler

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Remus)

 

With the last of the ice cream long gone, Remus could only stare in bemusement at the antic's of the two Brotherhood leaders. For a moment, her mind flashed through the conflicts she'd seen recently. Vietnam, India, China all came to mind first. Wherever there had been rebels and revolutions, she had been there, in the thick of it. Sometimes leading, sometimes advising. She'd thrown in with the Brotherhood for a number of reasons; resources, a just cause and the like. She had not been prepared for the way this new Brotherhood seemed to operate, to say the least. This Abraham seemed to have had the skills, cunning and ruthless streak needed to win this particular conflict...but he appeared to be dead. Leaving the Brotherhood with Domink. Who had trouble keeping his first lieutenant away from the seductive wiles of petty theft.

 

She knew not to underestimate him, but sometimes it was tempting. She was torn from her reflections as her snout crinkled in reaction to the vile smell of *something* burning tearing through the air. By Athena, were they cooking rubber?

Edited July 27, 2014 by Basilisk

[Snelly]

IC: Shiloh

 

"Excellent." Shiloh said as they clinked their plastic spoons together. "You know...I think in order to celebrate our new agreement...we should eat more ice cream." 

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Nooo, no no, not for me," Dominik disagreed. "That's more ice cream in one sitting than I used to eat for a week. I have low tolerance, and I don't want to be fidgeting on the way back to New York." His mouth quirked. "We should be leaving soon. I'm not naive enough to believe that one conducive talk with the powers that be is going to be enough to take us off the government watchlists - or the hit lists. Or the no fly lists. Or the top-secret lists. Safest way to get back to New York City is probably via bus ride. I don't want to be fidgeting from ice cream overconsumption the whole way up."

 

-Tyler

[Snelly]

IC: Shiloh

 

Shiloh pouted. "Alright, I guess we should get going in that case."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Quiet and cold, Aleks had seen about enough for comfort.

 

The Russian freelancer had stood still and slouched, leaning back and watching events unfold. He could safely say he'd been taken aback when Christine - one of the most stable people he knew by anyone's standards - started to crack up, but the trail of blood from her nose and the confused back-and-forth in her posture, voice and mannerisms had spelled it out for him. He had waited in silence for her to return to normal, and though it seemed she had momentarily recovered her sense of self English knew that the brewing commotion between Kane and Sierra could only set off another bout of trauma. 

 

Silence had its advantages.

 

"Alright. You're done. Let's take this inside," Aleks said quietly, walking past Kane and putting his hand on Christine's tricep. "Johnson, get back to the school and find someone who can help treat Sierra; this transformation isn't a pretty thing, and it always takes a lot out of her. Walk backwards. Don't take your eye off her. Christine, with me." He led the dazed Southerner into the school, ahead of a backwards-forwards Kane Johnson, and into one of the men's bathrooms. He left Mimic in front of the mirror to wave his hand impatiently in front of the sensor on the paper towel dispenser; finally, he came back with three paper towels, wettened and folded over each other, and gently dabbed the blood away from Christine's nose.

 

"Look in the mirror, nice and easy," he said, voice slow and soft and deliberately not using her name while he tested her memory. "Who are you? Full name, please. In addition, I'd like you to name the first place that we met. First place we kissed would be nice, too."

 

IC:

 

Lilliana would murder Dallas if she could see him now, he knew, fingering the slide hammer in his pocket. 

 

First, to ease any traces of suspicion when a young man with blazing eyes and an insolent smirk walks into a store full of valuable tools, he smiled at the cashier and paid immediately for a Kit Kat. Then he broke the candy bar open and ate it while he "shopped," browsing around one or two sections in particular like he was searching for a specific tool instead of flitting around like a bee at a honeycomb. After a preordained amount of time he finished up with the Kit Kat, crumpled up the paper, and threw it out by the trash can at the front. That was when, with any attention on him at a minimum, he closed his eyes and struck. 

 

Time slowed to the pace where everyone looked like they were moving through molasses, and finally froze completely; suspended there, the lone moving cog in the hardware store machine, Dallas smiled dangerously and slid the slide hammer across the floor and out the door, into the throngs of people outside. The chronokinetic stepped out after it calmly, put the device in his pocket, and tore the tag off with his index and middle fingers; standing on his tiptoes, he made a show to the immobile people around him of leaning through the door and flicking it back into the trash can. 

 

When he was forty eight...forty nine...fifty paces away, time sped to a normal speed. No alarms went off. No one noticed the missing hammer. Dal was successful. And distinctly not murdered. Tali would be so proud of him - he hadn't hurt (or even threatened!) anyone this time.

 

IC:

 

In another mall, hundreds of miles away, Shiloh LeBeau and Remus stood in the parking lot; Dominik Lord was perched on the first step of the bus, with hands on his knees and one leg propped up on the second step. He was in the process of paying for three people to New York (and assuring the skeptical, overworked driver that yes, they had money to compensate for the gas and tolls and fees and basic transportation to boot) and working away at it successfully. The driver had a nasty habit of closing and opening the door behind Dominik, so that the dust and gravel clung to the back of his jacket, but he had kept his cool remarkably well and held out the toll money in one gloved hand calmly. Shiloh played with the wallet in her back pocket. Remus sniffed at something and made a visible shake of her head.

 

So did the driver, but he let them on the bus regardless. Remus stood, preferring for Dominik and Shiloh to sit so that she could obscure them from view; the news of one of Vince Jackson's supporters getting in an altercation with a mutant on a bus similar to this one was fresh in the minds of all three allies. Dominik slumped his head against the window and watched as they left the parking lot behind before turning his head back to Shiloh.

 

"You can take the window seat, if you want a place for your head," he offered. Shiloh leaned against Dominik's shoulder.

 

"Nah, I already got a place for my head."

 

Dominik smiled and set his own head back against the seat.

 

-Tyler

[Eyru]

IC

 

Had Remy LeBeau lived to know his children, Rene liked to think that hot-wiring a car was one of the skills he might have taught his son. It was a stereotypically dirty skill, known mostly for its use in stealing cars, but was also useful even if you owned the car in question and just happened to lose your keys. Regardless of its application, Rene was a self-proclaimed master of hot-wiring, and that mastery had translated into a 1997 Dodge Dakota that was now rumbling down the highway.

 

The truck had enough kilometres miles on it to suggest it'd been on a couple cross-continent road trips, and the engine sputtered weirdly, but it didn't matter much to the kinetopath: he could make any vehicle go as fast as he wanted. Nicer cars were fun, sure, but staying incognito was more important for now. And though he'd been careful, he wasn't certain that Dominik didn't know he was tailing him. The man seemed to know everything.

 

He didn't mind Dominik, really, but he wasn't particularly fond of him either, especially after seeing how close he'd gotten with Shiloh. Rene's gut twinged every time he saw his sister lay her head on Dominik's shoulder (that's my sister!), but there wasn't much he could do about it. He'd tried talking to Shiloh about it, but she'd always been stubborn, and months of separation hadn't changed that. She'd always been the leader of the two, more outspoken, more forceful, and more headstrong. He'd never won an argument with her, for as long as he could remember.

 

The kinetopath sighed and hit the steering wheel. Whether he wanted to or not, he was stuck here, following Dominik Lord.

[Snelly]

IC: Shiloh

 

Hey Rene, whacha doing? Rene heard Shiloh's familiar voice in his head. 

Edited July 26, 2014 by Princess Anna of Arendelle

[Eyru]

IC

 

Driving.

[Snelly]

IC: Shiloh

 

To where?

Edited July 26, 2014 by Princess Anna of Arendelle

[Eyru]

IC

 

Wherever the wind takes me.

[Snelly]

IC: Shiloh

 

You feel awfully close by. 

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

The mall Starbucks was playing OneRepublic, which nearly tarnished Dal's mood right there. He found solace in the expertly blended vanilla bean frappuccino (whipped cream and strawberry blended into the mixture, with whipped cream and strawberry on top; only one alive could brew his drink better) and the elegant, neat scrawl the cashier had used to sketch 'Dallas,' with an X not unlike the X-Men logo dotting his 'l' like 'i.' Below his name, the 'creme' option was marked with a quick, similar 'x.' Dallas pulled out the marker he'd nicked from the counter and scribbled out the name 'René' in his largier, loopier, artsy cursive; the capital R had devil horns and a long trident extending from its tail, with a B impaled through the center prong of the pitchfork; instead of an accent mark, Dal scribbled out a similar heart. For a long time, he stared at the side of the coffee. Strawberry and vanilla sloshed around behind their names.

 

"Dallas

x

René"

 

He pulled out his phone, took a picture, and sent the snapshot. There were no words attached.

 

IC:

 

"I feel like you're not taking this seriously, Bekah." Brooklyn's mouth twisted downwards. "Bekah, those are not shorts. Those are skinny jeans that you rolled up to the knee in an attempt to hoodwink me." Rebekah Fell's eyes widened and then her mouth twisted, forming a pout.

 

"And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids."

 

Brooklyn smiled a little and wrapped one arm around Rebekah's neck, pulling her into a quick kiss - her reward for a pop culture nugget well referenced. "Mom used to call me 'Airhorn,' because even at a tender age I was good at pointing out fashion crimes and putting the criminals on blast."

 

"Why did Jenna call you Airhorn?" Bekah asked curiously, reaching up to touch a tank top with black rhinestones sewn into the white fabric--

 

"YRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" she blared, taking a deep breath to steady her lungs when she'd finished.

 

-Tyler