IC:
"Are you absolutely sure you want to go after him?"
IC: Ashley
Ashley jumped.
IC:
Tera chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "I appreciate the sentiment, Aella, but I'm not sure that that would be the best idea. The couch seems plenty big now, but when you're trying to sleep it will more than likely seem a lot less so."
Ic:
Kristen had been told she could look around, and with a place as gorgeous as this, it would be A shame not to. She eventually found herself in some sort of sitting room, with a woman in white watching a fire burn. Unsure of what to do, Kristen stood there saying nothing as she watched silently.
IC:
As soon as she started to jump, I could tell what Ashley was doing. So guess what I did? I jumped too. It turns out that the fear of certain death is pretty good motivation too use your powers.
Once that nasty business was out of the way, I swooped under Ashley and braced for impact.
IC Tokiomi
"So," Tokiomi said, turning to Vivus and Jennifer. "Is their anything that we need to wait for or shall we get going?"
IC: TLAW-001 Vivus
"It's good to see you too, and this js a pretty bad situation, but maybe I can finally do something useful." he said to Jennifer. Turning to Tokiomi, he said "I have no objections to going now, and we seem to have the right equipment, but perhaps we should wait for anyone else to show up."
OOC: Punished Snake/Flaredrick said he wanted to join.
IC: Aella
I made a pouty face, "But it would be fun!"
IC: Ashley
Ashley had been preparing herself to land on the snowy cold ground below, what she hadn't planned on was for Sierra in her wolf/bat form to coming swooping in, she yelped in surprise.
Ashley's eyes flashed a bright red as she activated her powers, there were many plants all around them, even if most of them were dormant during the winter season. Many vines shot out from the side of the mansion and the ground, they came together like nets, ready to slow and cushion both the mutant's fall.
Ic: Anberlyn continued to look at the fire, though she had given up the deep thinking in exchange for simple silence. She appreciated the peace and quiet that didn;t generally accompany her before she reunited with Alaric; even her mind was always busy with stressful thoughts. In that silence she could hear incoming footsteps, feminine by the sound of it, but they came in without purpose then stopped abruptly. Not a mansion servant.
She turned in her seat slowly to look at the person and was somewhat surprised to see a teenaged girl who just stood there, obviously out of her element. "Hey there, sweet thing," she called out. "You just going to stand there like a museum exhibit or are you interactive?"
IC:
I had intended to open my wings and catch both of us, until Ashley activated her powers, that is. Instead, I lightly touched down on the mat of plantlife.
IC:
Morrison - who had long since walked away from the non-responsive Alistair - had been walking through the halls of the institute that he now called home, looking in a few of the classrooms and such every once in a while. To put it quite simply, he was rather bored. He could smell Ashley on the air, meanwhile, but not Dallas; how odd, they were normally together. Oh well.
Regardless, as he stepped outside to walk around in the grass a bit, see if there was some annoying little mouse he might catch, he promptly heard a scream coming from one of the rooms on an upper floor; the window was open, so it made it easy for him to hear such a thing. Instantly he stopped, turning back - that sounded almost like Ashley; what was happening up there?
After a moment, he saw Ashley promptly jump out the open window, with the odd mutant from earlier jumping out and catching her, vines flying over to catch the two. Had he been able to frown in both confusion and anger, he would have; currently, though, Morrison was a fox, not a human. He bounded over towards the nets of plantlife that had been made, jumping up and climbing over towards Ashley when she landed, poking her with his snout - obviously concerned as to what was happening.
IC: Ashley
Ashley hugged the now wolf/bat Sierra, "You're so fluffy!" She seemed to forget that they were still hanging from a mass of vines.
Then she got a nose poking her, she looked up to see a fox. "Oh hi Mr. Fox!"
IC:
At least one of us is happy.
IC:
Morrison frowned (mentally) upon again being called Mr. Fox. Rolling his fox-eyes, he transformed himself into a human, standing on the net of vines there with the other two, his frown now visible on his face.
"My name is Morrison and I would appreciate knowledge as to what's happening, Ashley," the Kitsune said quietly. "Why did you scream, why are you with the thing that (I think) was attacking us earlier, and why are we standing in a net of plantlife?"
IC: Ashley
"Ohhhhh....sorry Mr. Morrision!" Ashley apologized. "I figured out that Dallas was kidnapped by Nicole! We have to find where she's taken him and save him!"
Ashley looked toward Sierra. "And she's a student that can transform into this wolfbat thing! So cute!"
IC: Marauder
Upon arriving in New York, he looked for a place to land, so he found the closest place he can find near the ocean,
La Guardia Airport. He knew of a robot that was built and is working with S.H.I.E.L.D, but forgot to figure out his number. Once again, he lighted up a cigarette and this time mounted a Harley and searched the docks.
OOC: Don't know where you guys are, but I'm guessing a dock in Manhattan.
IC: Nicole
"Here take some of these," Nicole said as she tossed a bottle of pills towards Dallas. "They should help with the swelling."
"The news? Not really. I hate the news, its sooo boring. We're headed into the city because there is a nice mansion I want to show you. Its my new home away from home." she continued to speed down the road; taking the exit off the freeway and now merging onto one of the streets within the city. It would be only a few more minutes until they were there, Nicole was so excited.
"Plus there is someone I'm sure you want to see again." she smiled. If only Dallas knew who he would find still alive.
IC:
Dallas' brow furrowed as he fumbled around with his wrists, trying to open the pill bottle. He scraped the underside of his arm three times trying to twist the cap and finally it went flying under the seat; he poured two pills out shakily into his hand and popped them. They refused to go down without water at first, so finally he pulled all moisture into the front of his mouth and swallowed. His hands and feet were starting to go numb. Nicole clearly had never learned to tie a real knot.
"Plus there is someone I'm sure you want to see again."
He turned to Nicole, with that giggle and that white smile, and the unchivalrous desire to smash in the teeth of this "friend" of his with the dog leash around his hands came rushing through his body, settling, pulsing, burning behind his eyes. Someone I'm sure you want to see again...
"John," he said. "What did you do with John, Nicole?"
IC:
John Howlett's voice was gone. At this point, he communicated solely through whimpers and screams. Once or twice a day, the man would come back and ask him something, and when he would not receive a satisfactory answer he would use fists, blade, or more words to wring every ounce of pain from the beaten mutant. Yesterday, he had examined the fresh rips in John's hands where his claws had been cut out - long, thin, ugly scars between his knuckles that snaked back like veins toward his wrists. There was no measure of time besides facial hair growth and the two times the man would come, every day, to make John squirm. But he did not come once in the morning, once in the evening, oh no; sometimes he would space out his appearances for what must have been hours at a time, and sometimes he would take perhaps a ten minute smoke break. John's internal clock had been beaten into shards. Sleep only came when he was too exhausted with the effort to maintain consciousness. Food never came at all.
Until today.
"Do you remember what I said about powerful men, John Howlett?" he asked, holding up a bag of food. "McDonald's. We did not know what you would like, so we ordered a few different types of burgers."
John groaned, through cracked, swollen lips.
"Relax. They're not poisoned." The man laughed, for the first time since John had known him, and moved over to the chair he was bound in. The chains and fetters went down, singing like windchimes when they flopped against the floor. The man put a soda on the right armrest; John's hands didn't bend the way they used to, and his healing factor was largely keeping him from starving to death for the time being, so the man lifted the drink up to his lips and let him drink what he could. The humiliation that would normally come from being practically spoonfed when you're nearly a grown man was shrugged off, and that meal was the best of John's life.
"These powerful men we spoke of want you back," he said, and John looked up at that. Back? What did they mean, back? He would remember this sort of agony in his life. Even at Weapon-X, he had been treated decently well for the most part. He ate, he socialized...there was, of course, the murder, and the constant threat of internal obliteration from the bomb in your head, but that had been a totally different sort of struggle. The psychological warfare aspect had come into play just as much as the physical aspect in this place. It was awful.
He would have remembered this. Wouldn't he?
"Can you walk?" he asked, and John nodded feebly. The man helped him up with surprising gentility, leading him forward when he took his first step, then his second. Left foot, right foot, all the way to the elevator, through the hallways, through the second elevator, and then through a lobby and out the door. Had he thought to question it, he would have looked around and realized he was in an office building, not exactly a dojo, but the Hand operative did not say a word. Nor did anyone in the lobby spare him a glance. That was odd, too. But the door was revolving and made of glass. Outside, New York City beckoned.
When his turn in the door came, he pushed with his useless, swollen, scarring steak-hands and took in huge gulps of breath. The man did not follow him, but stayed in the lobby and watched him without an expression. Instead, a chauffeur stepped out of a limousine on the street and walked towards him, holding out a hand to put on John's arm. Now that he was in the light, he saw a strong jaw, a firm nose, and dark, hard eyes like onyx. There was a killer in those eyes, but there was a softness, too. Was it relief? Understanding?
Or pity, thought John Howlett, and a new wave of terror gripped him. But by then he was being ushered into the limo and down the street, and before long, the Oscorp building loomed like the fist of God, long and sleek and eternal before him. The snack bar, though, was stocked full of food and drink, and hunger and desperation can make even the most tactical of minds lose it. He ate, drank, ate some more until he wretched, and then tried to replace the calories he lost by puking. If anyone noticed when he opened the limo feebly and stepped out into the next chauffeur's waiting arms, they had the grace not to notice.
Again, the maze. Hallways, elevators, doors, happy secretaries, smiling secretaries, a trap a trap it had to be a trap, they were going down in the elevators until they couldn't go down farther. By now John was pushing and struggling to at least walk on his own, but the grip on his bicep was like iron, and he'd had one meal and a couple snacks in the last...God, how long had it been? What did he look like? How long had it been since he showered? He stank; he must have reeked, he must have been a ball of grease and and and puke and--
And they stepped through a door. A handsome youth with expressive eyes and a bow's curve mouth was leaning against the doorway, staring down a massive bulls-eye on the other wall and a bow and arrow in his mouth. He smiled warmly - a good, honest smile - drew, notched, and loosed. Bullseye. Impeccable aim. Another woman was sitting at the minibar in the corner, clapping amusedly. A second girl manned the pinball machine next to the bar, playing as if she was born to do it. Her movements came almost before the ball had even swung, and when she turned around to look at him John realized with a jolt he knew her features. Angela. That's Angela Dean. Could this be the X-Men? Had Warren saved him somehow? Angela winced when she looked at him and turned away. Then he heard the laugh, and what nerves he had racked up again melted away like the morning dew.
The laugh - long, whole, powerful - rang out from the center of the room, and when he turned to look he wanted to himself, or sob, or both. The ghost of his big brother, dressed in fine black clothing, impeccably groomed, and grinning wickedly, was sitting in the corner.
-Tyler
IC:
Kristen blushed at the woman's comment, gently rubbing her prothestic arm, "I uh... I'm interactive."
Ic: Anberlyn narrowed her eyes at the girl's shy remark and analyzed her. [Distrustful, nervous. Can't say I blame her.] "Then come over here. Interact, why don't you?" she invited.
IC: Marauder
Upon arriving in New York, he looked for a place to land, so he found the closest place he can find near the ocean,
La Guardia Airport. He knew of a robot that was built and is working with S.H.I.E.L.D, but forgot to figure out his number. Once again, he lighted up a cigarette and this time mounted a Harley and searched the docks.
OOC: Don't know where you guys are, but I'm guessing a dock in Manhattan.
IC Tokiomi
A SHIELD agent drove by on a motorbike. Tokiomi waved. "Over here."
IC:
"Sure," Kristen said, walking over to the woman, "Last time I talked to a stranger, it worked out pretty well for me..."
IC
"I suppose... But I ought to check on my little dove soon.." She said softly. "I told her she wouldn't be hurt here."
IC
The Black Queen began to walk through the mansion, her heels clicking softly as she locked for her pet.
"Kristen!! Oh Kristen!! Where are you my little dove?!" She called as she approached the lounge area.
IC:
Kristen heard Lynae's calls, her eyes widening. She turned back to the woman in white, "Sorry, but my Mistress is calling me, and I have to go!"
Kristen made sure to curtsy to the woman saying, "Sorry, but it was nice to meet you Ma'am!"
She darted off, following the sound of Lynae's voice. When she finally found the vampire, she smiled, "Did you have a nice meeting Lynae?"
IC:
"Yes... I ended up meeting with my male counter part." She took the girl's hand and began to lead her back to her room. "Tell me Kristen... Do you know a man named Alaric?"
IC:
I growled at Morrison, agitated from struggling with the vines I was tangled in.
IC:
"Alaric!?" Kristen exclaimed, her mouth forming a little 'o' as her eyes widened, "As in... Carlisle?"
IC
"So you remember him, huh?" She smirked a bit and then opened her bedroom door.
IC Peter
"Okay, the textbooks for physics for the grade elevens are-wha?" Peter saw something all outside the window. "Okay, what was that?" Peter opened the window and looked outside. He saw the origami frog girl, that wolf-monster from earlier, and a Japanese man he hadn't seen before. "Um, everything okay out there?" Peter asked. The wolf seemed docile at the moment, but he wasn't too sure...
IC: Ashley
Ashley went up to Sierra and gave her and pet her on the head, "Easy Sierra, he's a friend." Ashley began to use her powers to untangle Sierra as she spoke, the vines slowly retreating back the way they came and slowly lowering them toward the ground.
"Um, everything okay out there?"
"Yep! Normal stuff!"
IC: Maraudar
A S.H.I.E.L.D agent know as Tokiomi waved him down as he rolled down the docks. He got near the trio and shut off the engine of the bike. He then kicked the kickstand, and got off the bike. He puffed his last smoke and squished his cig on the ground.
He shrugged a bit then said, "So are you the guys who are going to help out in New York?"
IC:
"He used to be the history teacher at the institute... But he went missing after he went after his dad in Vegas..." Kristen said, eyes dropping as Lynae pulled her along, "Nobody knows what happened to him after that..."
IC
"He's my partner now." She said firmly. "He knows you're here and will make sure nothing happens to you. Some people here are very unpredictable." She growled.
"I can't have my pet getting hurt."
IC:
As the vines sank back into the ground, I tilted my head toward Peter and looked at him curiously.
IC:
Kristen went slack-jawed.
"He survived..." She said softly, before looking back up, recovering from this revelation. Kristen smiled at Lynae's comment about her being her 'pet', "Hehe, it's good that you care so much for me mistress."
IC:
"..."
Tera stared at Aella with something akin to surprise, less at the response, and more that she has figured out how to pout. After a moment, she shook her head.
"Fine, fine, if it'll cheer you up. But if it turns out to be too crowded, I'm moving to the floor, and you're not allowed to protest."
IC
"Just call me Lynae. Or rather Lady Lynae.. I am a Queen after all." She said, head held high.
"But yes, he lived."