Mutant Ascension [IC]

[Talchyon]

Getting there
Shauna Marks (aka "Lady Lang")

Nick, the new recruit, had gotten the coordinates in the GPS, and they were cruising down the highway. Traffic was decent, driving with the flow. Jacob was in the back, apparently lost in thought. Nick wasn't apparently much for small talk, either. So Shauna turned on the radio to see if anything else was going on. There were no stations playing songs she knew, or even ones that sounded half-way interesting. Keeping one eye on the road, she absent-mindedly flipped through the stations to hopefully find something that could pass for music.

Instead, she got a traffic update. There were traffic jams at various north-south intersections. Reports were coming in of several car accidents, that had wrecked into concrete walls or something like that. Huh.

Shauna was going to flip to the next station, when the report said that if you were looking at a map, the accidents were taking place in a straight line up around 84th. Wait. 84th was where they were heading. She suddenly was all ears, and turned the volume up slightly. The announcer said that these concrete walls were not part of buildings, but were popping up in a straight line beginning around 84th and heading due south.

"Nick, Jacob. I got a feeling about this. These car accidents and this straight line of concrete walls? They were starting up around 84th. Nick, check the address again, and see if it matches what the radio guy is saying." Thankfully, the traffic report was still ongoing. It gave Nick time to check the GPS. And sure enough. That straight line of concrete walls were heading in a direct path away from (or towards?) their destination, the bar where there were mutants fighting.

"New plan. We're going to the place on the south, where the concrete walls stopped. Something tells me that one of these mutants can make concrete walls and got away... Remember, we're not going to try to fight them if we can help it. We'd rather they join us."

And she stepped on the gas and got going to the new coordinates. They were getting close.

[Zjaum]

The heat from the blasts to the concrete bunker finally donned the mutants inside and they escaped. That heat must burned them if not for their quick-thinking, he assumed. He picked up his gun again, before approaching the collection of people and....mutants from TV. Great, mutants. He looked at them, before asked, "Who's the...leader? I assumed one of you mutants, or humans beside you, is the leader of wherever you are with now, right?"

Tristan and Tarmo simultaneously responded with "I am" and "I believe that..." in response. They exchanged glances. Tristan preemptively responded to Tarmo, "They're my mutants; I'm in charge."

"They were your mutants; they are our mutants now," Tarmo replied. "Or did you forget that?"

"We were here first. Look I don't have time for thi-"

"Giovanni Serrano, at your service," as he bowed to the Tristan, Tarmo, pretty much anyone whose on the vicinity of both of Tristan and Tarmo as well. "I need a gun, though. A bigger one. My mutation strictly limited to healing regeneration and immortality on sickness."

Tristan looked the man over. He looked like he could handle a gun, though probably not something along the lines of a rocket launcher. He took out his Sig Sauer P320, checked to make sure the safety was on, and tossed it over to the man. He thanked his lucky stars that MISC wasn't tied with the FBI when they contracted with Glock for the trash M-series. "You'll find that it's much better than the 17M." It was better to make friends than enemies or, worse, rivals.

"I was hoping you could just, well you know, get out of the area", Suity McSuityface said while pointing towards the massive earthy bunker thing, and what appeared to be a couple of flame-eaters.

Will had half a mind to replay "No shit, Sherlock," but his more reasonable half knew he was too timid for that. Rather he replied in the characteristic federal agent response: "Thank you for letting me know, sir. We're the Mutant Intelligence and Security Corps, and we're here to hel... where are you going?"

Stupidly, he began to walk back to Suitstrap, "Hey, Black Diamond, is there anything I can do to help. And um, what's your name, Black Diamond makes you sound like a stripper."

"Sevenson. William Sevenson. And you're right, it does sound like a stripper name. Well, for now, I think we're taking care of things. Well actually- if you're a mutant, and you can handle possible damage, it'd be nice if you could help out. The mutants we're chasing broke the law and such. Do you have any powers?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the silhouette of a winged individual. While he couldn't identify further, he knew those were wings. After excusing himself but not walking away, Sevenson tapped his radio. "Hey, Boss, I found a winged mutant a few meters away. I don't know what you want me to do, but it might be useful in surpassing the barriers. If it's strong, it might be able to take someone over with it, one of our more powerful T-types."

Spinner replied after directing the rocket launcher squad towards the walls. "Yeah, that would be a lot faster. We'll need it to volunteer, and we'll also need one of us to volunteer with it. Ideas?"

Sevenson called out to the silhouette. "Hey, you! Winged Thing! Would you like to help us out? We could use your wings!"

Meanwhile, the rocket launcher group, cautious not to hit anyone, made some progress against the first wall but was laughably slow in their progress. Spinner was getting impatient quite fast.

[Clashus]

Woah. Mutant Intelligence and Security Corps. These guys must be hardcore. Ace had met a new agent, William Sevenson. A casual by-the-book agent it seemed, kitted out with all the usual, outdated tech. Man, these MISC guys must be pretty low-tech, he couldn't even see any body armour at all. The guns looked formidable though, a good old Sig, not his first-choice. Still got the job done though, man hopefully his other guns weren't getting dusty though.

"Sevenson. William Sevenson. And you're right, it does sound like a stripper name. Well, for now, I think we're taking care of things. Well actually- if you're a mutant, and you can handle possible damage, it'd be nice if you could help out. The mutants we're chasing broke the law and such. Do you have any powers?"

Thankfully, Sevenson hadn't put a name to a face, he didn't know about his heists. He intended to keep it that way. Which arguably made his next decision the dumbest he could ever think of. Hey, Will stop staring at the Gargoyle Statues. You asked me my powers. I got the ushe, you know Energy Manipulation, Transfer that jazz. What do you want me to do? Cause some mayhem? I'm fine with anything you know.

[River Tree]

Sevenson called out to the silhouette. "Hey, you! Winged Thing! Would you like to help us out? We could use your wings!"

TJ spun around as she heard someone call out, and instinctively spread her wings to take off. She watched the person who had called out, and after reassuring herself that they weren't trying to hurt her she calmed down. "Ok... Help with what exactly?" She asked, inching her way forward. She watched the nearby area to try and find what she would be helping with. Her eyes landed on the concrete walls, and the group trying to break through.

[Talchyon]

About a mile away from the Dragon's Bar
An almost deserted street
Shauna Marks (aka "Lady Lang")

There. With the change of plan and makeshift guesswork combining the traffic reports on the radio, with the original location of the bar they had been going to, Shauna was as sure as the next that they had made it. What looked like part of the urban jungle, with some low income apartments, graffitti, litter, and cheaper auto models several years (maybe even decades) off the lot, was a place now deserted. Granted, it was not normally going to be bustling with activity at this hour, but still. There were only a few souls who dared to show their faces right now. One was a gang of urban hoodlums, by the look. And one of them, who had his back turned to her, had stepped out from the group toward the other three, who definitely stood out.

These three were as out of place as Arnold Schwarzegger in a romance movie. They looked winded, each of them sweating and red-faced, some of which might be a bad sunburn. Their orange colored jumpers marked them as fugitives. And the concrete walls that had been erected were standing behind them. This had to be them. The mutants they were here to engage. And hopefully not have to fight.

Shauna parked the car and got out, thankful that there was no traffic here and she could drive everyone off if things went well. The others with her, Jacob and Nick the new guy, got out with her. She kept her voice low and said, "Remember, we don't want to fight these guys. We want them with us..."

But the sound of the car driving and parking startled the three who were there. They flinched at the newcomers and started to look angry. Plus, the hoodlum turned around, his grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood up now revealing a familiar face. Shauna felt her heart sink. Shay! What was he doing here? And now that she was closer, she began to recognize some of the trouble he had been hanging out with.

"Courage. You just need courage," she tried to tell herself. And stepped forward.

Now was the time to make the three mutants feel that her words were very important. So important, they'd drop everything to make sure they were hearing everything she had to say. However, let's have the same words feel completely unimportant, trivial and nonessential to the gang of hoodlums and for Shay. This will be fun.

Speaking to the three mutants, Shauna said, "So, gentlemen. Looks like we all have an interesting situation here. Judging by your choice of clothing, I'd say you guys have some government geek types breathing down your necks. And you guys could probably use some help. Well, it's your lucky day. That's exactly what we're here to do. Give help. But not to fight. I'm not here to fight anyone. These government geeks back there probably didn't like your kind. Mutants. And a lot of people don't either, not after that explosion at the airport recently and so on. Let us help you. Come with us. Right now. Leave these" (glancing at Shay and his friends, who by now recognized her) "esteemed gentlemen back to what they were doing. And you guys in orange - hop in the car. We have a proposition for you. You need help and we need you. And we can help you. Regardless, it's a free ride wherever you want to go, in the city of course."

[NewLakotah]

Los Angeles, California
Dragon's Maw
Kw'eh T'soh Dai/Keith Dai

The mutant escapees and escaped again. This time via some large blast that had rendered him and the entire staff of MISC, Tarmo and the few other mutants hanging around, immobile for long enough for them to get away a bit. The dragon-guy was still there, next to an Italian looking man. The man started to walk towards them with a quick bow to Tristan. Kw'eh wasn't really paying attention, as he walked down the street trying to see if he could spot where they were or where they were trying to get to. He frowned. Sure, he could track them, get back on them, especially with the MISC tech and abilities of the mutants, particularly Suzuki and even Tarmo. That wasn't the problem. The problem was what 3 scared mutants with abilities would do as their shot for freedom slipped away. They could easy start a fight around civilians or worse. Kill or capture them. He turned back to Tristan to try and get some information of the possibility of a helicopter, as the Italian guy spoke.

"...My mutation strictly limited to healing regeneration and immortality on sickness." Giovanni was saying. Kw'eh frowned then smiled as he walked up to the man.

"Well, well. Figures that I'm not the only one like that. Minus the healing regeneration... For me... it just sucks." He smiles and moves to shake the man's hand. Another man, another possible mutant was standing over with Sevenson, Kw'eh's old friend. A Winged Mutant, literally flew right above him. He shook his head.

"How in God's name did all this guys stay hidden so long?" he quips out to no one in particular. He turns back to Tristan as he hands Giovanni a gun. He doesn't particularly like giving a loaded firearm to a random stranger, but considering that some people here had abilities that could render bullets harmless, it probably wasn't a bad idea.

"So, Agent. What's the possibility that we get some air support? Unless you either want to hoof it, or sit in LA traffic trying to find them for hours, we should get some eyes up in the air. Make the ground team's job a lot easier. Make sure we don't run into a trap or anything as well."

[Zjaum]

"So, Agent. What's the possibility that we get some air support? Unless you either want to hoof it, or sit in LA traffic trying to find them for hours, we should get some eyes up in the air. Make the ground team's job a lot easier. Make sure we don't run into a trap or anything as well."

"I couldn't agree more," stated Agent Spinner. The rocket team had managed to blast through the third wall at this point, but Spinner had already formulated another plan, one that involved the winged creature. As he overheard her ask how she could help, he called back, "Hey, I don't know you could carry someone while flying, but we could definitely use an extra hand or two on the other side of that wall."

Tarmo realized that he was at an advantage and that Tristan was at a disadvantage, one that he needed to use in order to protect the teenagers. He took a deep breath and then began to charge himself up again, lifting himself off the ground. Tristan looked at him, asking the same. Tarmo simply replied: "Can't. Would burn or shock man who clings to me." With that, he began to move himself over the walls.

A few minutes later, Tarmo was at the other end of the wall of walls. He could still hear the rocket launcher team, and he was half expecting to find the winged creature they mentioned to be right behind him, but that didn't matter at this point. He saw four teenagers, beholding for the first time his future pupils. He was also quite glad to see that his friends had managed to avoid the roadblocks. He arrived just as Shauna was finishing her speech. "need help and we need you. And we can help you. Regardless, it's a free ride wherever you want to go, in the city of course."

12, 38, and 67 all felt excitement and pride at Shauna's proposition. Shay, for most of the speech, was mildly ashamed at getting caught red-handed, albeit not for the first time. At the thought of taking his friends away, though, Shay got mildly defensive. "Wait, guys, we're mutants! We don't need anyone!"

Tarmo landed on the ground. "You are wrong. You men don't know half of what need to know in life."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" stated 38, who was the only one besides Shay to return from feeling good.

"All right." Tarmo didn't need much time for a response. "You apply for a job. Name two good things to bring with you besides resume."

"My fists, which can morph concrete!"

All right, good to know. "Okay, how long does concrete usually last before needs to be repaired?"

Tarmo relished in the blank stare 38 wore. 38, mildly flustered, replied, "You know what? I'm done listening to you. Come on, guys, let's get out of here."

The four of them began to walk away, proud as ever to be mutants. They didn't need these adults telling them what to do.

Tarmo listened as the rocket launching team hollered about clearing another wall. If Tarmo was going to take these kids, he was going to have to do it fast.

Meanwhile, Tristan was shouting at the rocket launcher team. "Look, it might very well be faster if we move halfway around Los Angeles at the rate you're breaking walls? Sheesh!"

Sevenson just finished listening to the shady man and decided to report him over to Tristan. "Hey, we got another guy who can manipulate energy. Do you think he'll be useful?"

Today must be my lucky day. "Hey, could you bring him over here? We really need help tearing down these walls. Tell him that I can pay him these buffoons' salaries if he wants to help out."

[Altito Asmoro]

Los Angeles, California
Dragon's Maw
Kw'eh T'soh Dai/Keith Dai


"...My mutation strictly limited to healing regeneration and immortality on sickness." Giovanni was saying. Kw'eh frowned then smiled as he walked up to the man.

"Well, well. Figures that I'm not the only one like that. Minus the healing regeneration... For me... it just sucks." He smiles and moves to shake the man's hand. Another man, another possible mutant was standing over with Sevenson, Kw'eh's old friend. A Winged Mutant, literally flew right above him. He shook his head.

"How in God's name did all this guys stay hidden so long?" he quips out to no one in particular. He turns back to Tristan as he hands Giovanni a gun. He doesn't particularly like giving a loaded firearm to a random stranger, but considering that some people here had abilities that could render bullets harmless, it probably wasn't a bad idea.

"So, Agent. What's the possibility that we get some air support? Unless you either want to hoof it, or sit in LA traffic trying to find them for hours, we should get some eyes up in the air. Make the ground team's job a lot easier. Make sure we don't run into a trap or anything as well."

Giovanni Serrano

Another immortal mutant? Well, that's...sad. He didn't liked the idea of being immortal but at least it's useful to developed his own skills. But for another to be immortal without his intention, well, that's sadly sad. He shook the man's hand. "Without healing regeneration? That sucks. We being immortal can do anything with that regeneration," he chuckled sadly.

He asked for how they hid so long. To everyone, of course. "I changed cities and identities every 10 - 20 years. Lately it's been 20 - 30 years. I can tell everyone it's all because of surgery, healthy life, and so on and it would be much more believable than if I did the same thing and said the same thing 500 years ago. Everyone would think I'm the incarnation of the devil himself," he sighed worryingly.

He looked as Tarmo went off the ground. "Hey, what's he's doing?" as he pointed to Tarmo as he went on. "Is he trying to rescues the mutants? For what? Or recruiting them?"

[Talchyon]

A not-so-deserted street
Shauna Marks (aka "Lady Lang")

Tarmo realized that he was at an advantage and that Tristan was at a disadvantage, one that he needed to use in order to protect the teenagers. He took a deep breath and then began to charge himself up again, lifting himself off the ground. Tristan looked at him, asking the same. Tarmo simply replied: "Can't. Would burn or shock man who clings to me." With that, he began to move himself over the walls.

A few minutes later, Tarmo was at the other end of the wall of walls. He could still hear the rocket launcher team, and he was half expecting to find the winged creature they mentioned to be right behind him, but that didn't matter at this point. He saw four teenagers, beholding for the first time his future pupils. He was also quite glad to see that his friends had managed to avoid the roadblocks. He arrived just as Shauna was finishing her speech. "need help and we need you. And we can help you. Regardless, it's a free ride wherever you want to go, in the city of course."

12, 38, and 67 all felt excitement and pride at Shauna's proposition. Shay, for most of the speech, was mildly ashamed at getting caught red-handed, albeit not for the first time. At the thought of taking his friends away, though, Shay got mildly defensive. "Wait, guys, we're mutants! We don't need anyone!"

Tarmo landed on the ground. "You are wrong. You men don't know half of what need to know in life."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" stated 38, who was the only one besides Shay to return from feeling good.

"All right." Tarmo didn't need much time for a response. "You apply for a job. Name two good things to bring with you besides resume."

"My fists, which can morph concrete!"

All right, good to know. "Okay, how long does concrete usually last before needs to be repaired?"

Tarmo relished in the blank stare 38 wore. 38, mildly flustered, replied, "You know what? I'm done listening to you. Come on, guys, let's get out of here."

The four of them began to walk away, proud as ever to be mutants. They didn't need these adults telling them what to do.

Tarmo listened as the rocket launching team hollered about clearing another wall. If Tarmo was going to take these kids, he was going to have to do it fast.

Obviously, when they had more experience together, this Mutant Center or whatever it's name was going to be, they should probably learn to let her do the talking. That was her way to contribute. Some guys could turn electrical. Some could blast fire. Some might even be able to kill yaks with mind bullets from 500 yards. But talking? That was made for Shauna.

Except. Tarmo, who had flown back, decided to offer his own ideas, put forward his own suggestions that the three didn't like, and proceeded to give like some kind of tips on what to say on job applications. Couldn't that have waited until later? Now, the three mutants were walking away. From the sounds of it, there were explosions in the background getting closer. And Tarmo was getting about as frustrated as she was.

Ok. Fine. If that's how they want to play. She'll amp it up. Those three'll feel like they should have realized the fact of what she was saying all along, and feel grateful to her.

"Guys! All three of you! Like I was saying, you three hop in the car right now. We'll talk on the way. You have a free ride to wherever you want to go. But I think you'll be interested in my proposition. Some opportunities come around once in a life. And this is it. Unless you guys want to go back to where you came from." And throwing a look at Tarmo, Shauna whispered to him, "Tarmo, from now on, let me do the talking, ok?"

[NewLakotah]

Kw'eh smiled and shook his head while Giovanni talked. He knew the feeling well of having to bounce all over the place in order to not be noticed.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Its a lonely world if you don't have an objective. I've done the same thing as well. Bouncing around places after staying too long. Shorter periods of time, though, since I've spent most of my life in the Canadian Army, and a few odds years here in the US Military. Hard to stay in with your age being a key aspect of military life. Was planning on heading back home to Canada when.. all this happened." As he responded Tarmo lifted off before he had a chance to talk with him. He had hoped to get a moment to gage his intentions, if possible. He wasn't entirely sure which side, if he had one, Tarmo was on. He watches as Tarmo flies off in a hurry. He turns back to the rocket team, as they hammer their way through the final barricades.

He turns back to Giovanni and Agent Spinner.

"I'm still wondering which side Tarmo's on exactly. 3 mutants show up, turn a bar into a warzone, and he seems more keen on recruiting him to his league and protecting his mutants than protecting civilians and society at large. I don't know much about him, but from what I can tell, he has had a bad history with government forces and mutants. Probably not misguided, but still... Got any word on those choppers yet? We need to move fast if we are to make a play." He says to Spinner. He still has his Peacemaker pistol and tomahawk with him, and decides a bit more firepower would be in order.

He turns to the parked van next to him and retrieves one of the extra M4 assault rifles and a few spare magazines of ammo. It felt good in his hands, a comfortable, familiar feeling. He didn't really care if it drew any attention anymore. With now a flying mutant with wings hovering nearby talking with a few agents, and Tarmo blazing off in a bolt of electricity and a magical mutant concrete wall appearing, subtlety seemed a bit out of the cards for this one.

[River Tree]

TJ nodded, spreading her wings out behind her. "I can carry someone over the walls if you need me to, but who are you wanting me to take?" She asked, looking around at the people nearby. Cant carry all this and a person so... "Here, you take care of this and tell me who to take." She said, dropping her bag at the agents feet.
She began wondering how she ended up in this situation. For nineteen years she virtually knew only two people, and after two days out in the world she's offering to carry a stranger over a series of concrete walls to chase down three potentially dangerous mutants.
She snapped back to reality, watching the agent as she waited for an answer.

[Altito Asmoro]

TJ nodded, spreading her wings out behind her. "I can carry someone over the walls if you need me to, but who are you wanting me to take?" She asked, looking around at the people nearby. Cant carry all this and a person so... "Here, you take care of this and tell me who to take." She said, dropping her bag at the agents feet.
She began wondering how she ended up in this situation. For nineteen years she virtually knew only two people, and after two days out in the world she's offering to carry a stranger over a series of concrete walls to chase down three potentially dangerous mutants.
She snapped back to reality, watching the agent as she waited for an answer.

Giovanni Serrano

"Maybe you can put me there over the walls?" asked Gio to TJ. It might be the good idea for him to help, though the fact that 3 mutants versus 1 mutant is not a good tactical advantage, but then again, what is? He probably could pitched in with whatever firepower he has. He looked to the pistol again, and muttered, "Why do I always get the pistol kind? Can I at least get a rifle one?"

He turned to Keith. "Hey, mate. Can I get one of those rifle? Pistol doesn't seems to do...much. I mean, we're fighting mutants, not humans in armored suits or something."

[NewLakotah]

Kw'eh T'soh Dai/Keith Dai (Red Wolf)

Kw'eh nods. He pulls out another M4 from the van, grabbing a few spare magazines as well. All fully loaded. He hands them to Giovanni.

"Here. Its, well, you can call me Keith." He says, he figures that Giovanni, being similarly immortal would probably understand him using a pseudonym, but he still decided to stick with it for now. "What's your plan? You're probably going to need some backup out there. They don't go down like humans either." He says again to Giovanni as he loads his own M4. The winged mutant was still nearby talking with a mutant. He wasn't sure of her lifting capability, but until Air support could be brought up, she was their best asset by a mile. At least he and Giovanni, with their experience would at least know how to handle the situation and crowds better than just the agents, or the young rookie mutants.

[Altito Asmoro]

Kw'eh T'soh Dai/Keith Dai (Red Wolf)

Kw'eh nods. He pulls out another M4 from the van, grabbing a few spare magazines as well. All fully loaded. He hands them to Giovanni.

"Here. Its, well, you can call me Keith." He says, he figures that Giovanni, being similarly immortal would probably understand him using a pseudonym, but he still decided to stick with it for now. "What's your plan? You're probably going to need some backup out there. They don't go down like humans either." He says again to Giovanni as he loads his own M4. The winged mutant was still nearby talking with a mutant. He wasn't sure of her lifting capability, but until Air support could be brought up, she was their best asset by a mile. At least he and Giovanni, with their experience would at least know how to handle the situation and crowds better than just the agents, or the young rookie mutants.

Giovanni Serrano

Giovanni took the rifle and checked it out. Nice American weapon, to be fair. Assault rifle, standard-issued, probably. He never enlisted into the military on 21st century, but took enlistment at Italy and France instead on 20th century. World War was a nice war, to be fair.

"Keith, huh? Thanks, mate," he said, figured that Keith was probably his real name, or not. But he won't pry, not his rights after all. He asked for his plan. "My plan? Shoot and kill. Think it's easy enough to put on some hit on their heads, or legs. But body is the easiest one. I don't know, that's the best I can think of. We're taking them alive?" he asked to Keith, unsure of the kill-policy, or no-kill policy.

[Zjaum]

Well, while Giovanni wasn't the best mutant for the job, he was the only volunteer. He'd have to do. "All right, Bird Lady, take Giovanni here over the walls. I'm going to see what the hell is taking the... Ah, there we are."

Tristan saw a single army-grade helicopter off in the distance. It would take five minutes to get there, and another ten trying to figure out how they'd climb aboard, but that's what the bird girl and Giovanni were for. "Do not engage, you two. I only need you to stall them. Shoot to wound if necessary, and kill only in self defense. I appreciate the sentiment, Giovanni, but I don't want blood on my hands. I'm not interested in getting you two hurt either, understood?"

Tristan stroked his chin. As for Keith's question about Tarmo, his priorities seemed clear enough. Desperate men will do desperate acts, after all, and his didn't seem too rash, given circumstances.


Tarmo backed off the conversation. He knew better than to challenge a psychic in a battle of wit, at least the second time. The second attempt seemed to work better, and they slowly made their way towards the van. They were both confused and excited for what was to come. Shauna would make a very good spokesperson. He'd have to make a note of that during the next round of advertisement.

That said, the car was completely full. The college students in the back seats, Tarmo, and Shauna filled all five of the seats. Three more individuals would stuff the car past suspicion. To fix this, Tarmo approached the car. "Well, someone gets out."

Nick was all for cramming the eight of them inside the car, but the other two weren't as comfortable with that, especially when it would inevitably come to a car chase. Further, none of the three wanted to stay behind to face the wrath of the number of government agents on the other side of those walls. Tarmo facepalmed. Everything was going according to plan except for the size of the car. "Well, anyone wish to give up spot? Maybe one or two. I can stay behind, guess."

[Altito Asmoro]

Nick was all for cramming the eight of them inside the car, but the other two weren't as comfortable with that, especially when it would inevitably come to a car chase. Further, none of the three wanted to stay behind to face the wrath of the number of government agents on the other side of those walls. Tarmo facepalmed. Everything was going according to plan except for the size of the car. "Well, anyone wish to give up spot? Maybe one or two. I can stay behind, guess."

Giovanni Serrano

Giovanni nodded along, "Alright, chief. Your call," as he lifted to the sky with the Bird Lady and on his way to be dropped upon. "Ms. Bird, you may drop me on the roof. Safest spot with clear sight of them," said Gio to her. His gun aimed, anyway. He looked for the targets, but found a van, he was unsure whether he remembered if that van was actually with the agents or not.

"Drop me on the roof," as he motioned for the roof. Though he could spared some ammunitions to the van, it is sort of dangerous without covers.

---

Suzuki Hashimoto

She hasn't done anything, lately. She decided to took a swig of beer at the bar instead, just one shot of vodka. She wasn't sure she liked the current mission, and was torn between Tarmo and Tristan.

[Anxiety Cafe]

As soon as the electricity tingled out of Jacob's hands, he knew he had made a mistake. The veins in Agent Spinner's neck bulged, and he became consumed in an argument with Tarmo over the mutants. Jacob didn't know exactly how he felt, but he knew he probably would've made the same decision as the young mutants inside the bunker if he was in their shoes. He could imagine what it felt like, trapped under the government's control, called by numbers instead of names. Maybe the government even experimented on them. He shuddered at the thought, but didn't have much time to interrupt their heated argument as the whole bunker collapsed, converting the air to dust and blocking his line of vision. He heard repeated gunshots, and again worried for the potential recruits' safeties, but before he knew it he was back in the car with Shauna and the others, driving through LA in an attempt to catch up. In the distance he saw a winged figure aiming towards the group, hopefully to help them. And by "them", he meant the school, or the center, or whatever they were going to call it. Because one thing he caught before he rushed out of the car was the MISC's rocket launchers. They never had any intentions to get the mutants out alive, whether they had a deal with Tarmo or not. Jacob started to wonder just how much they could trust the MISC.

After some struggling with locating the recruits, Nick managed to punch an address into the GPS, and at first when they stopped Jacob assumed he had made a mistake. The place was almost deserted, save a few kids watching the mutants. As they stepped out of the car, Shauna reminded them that they were here to recruit them, not fight them, but Jacob began to doubt himself. If he was in their position, he most definitely would not trust these newcomers. Jacob wasn't sure if they could even win in a fight, or if they would even try. Shauna started speaking to them, low at first, then slowly gaining confidence. Even he had the strange urge to follow her advice and jump back in the car, Tarmo had just flew over the walls, charged with electricity. Even Jacob was a little scared at the sight, and one of the mutants' friends appeared so as well. Before he could stop them, they had started walking away. Again, the question came to mind. Were they supposed to fight them?

Their chances at stopping a full-on confrontation seemed to be slimming. He could hear the rocket launcher team breaking down the walls in the distance, and the footsteps of the mutants echoed even louder.

"Hey!" Shauna started, hoping to get them back with her voice. Jacob could only hope her ability would be enough as the shadow of wings came over him. The winged-girl, clearly carrying someone who he couldn't make out in the distance.

"Tarmo..." Jacob warned, glancing in worry. "We need to do something. Fast."

The shadow of wings kept growing and growing as Shauna's speech came to an end. The wings landed at a nearby building while the thwip-thwip-thwip of a helicopter echoed. The mutants were once again astonished by Shaun's vocals, and Jacob was sure he would've been too if he had been listening. Unfortunately, the car itself seemed to disagree with their plans, unable to fit all of them.

The college students and new recruits were undoubtedly the most important, especially considering the government was after the recruits. And Shauna would have to stay as well, in case any of the recruits changed their mind. Jacob could stay behind along with Tarmo, and hopefully hold the government off long enough to allow for their escape.

"I'll stay," Jacob impulsively responded. "We can hold back the MISC long enough for them to escape. That said, we don't want to fight the MISC. We just have to stall them long enough."

Sean felt as if he was having the most difficult day of his life. While the rest of his family sat together, ahead of him by a few rows, his seat had been moved towards the bathrooms, between a rather talkative woman and an old man whose drool seemed to have an urge to touch Sean. The woman was blabbing about her two daughters or something, to no one in particular as Sean attempted to sleep. It was impossible to do so, however, with the stench of the bathrooms wafting into his nostrils. Instead, he attempted to watch the movie the person in front of him was watching, through the space between the seats. He was only disappointed further to see that he was watching the news.

He sighed for what seemed the millionth time as he attempted to feign drowsiness, in the hopes it would finally get the woman to be quiet. He finally started drifting off as the familiar buzz of the speaker coming on woke him up.

"There was an um...incident. At the airport, in LA. Right now we're over Kansas, and we've been told that um...we have to stop here folks. You will be reimbursed for the inconvenience. Sorry."

With that, Sean's mind could not stop racing. What could've possibly happened that could deprive the pilot of his charisma? All of their screens flashed for a second, before displaying the news that the man in front of him had been watching. The sound blasted out of the speakers, for all to hear.

"There appears to have been an incident at the Los Angeles International Airport, Tom Bradley Terminal. What is believed to have been a mutant terrorist attack took place yesterday, which we are just being told we are allowed to broadcast. That's right, folks. I said mutant. Apparently, there is a subspecies of the mutant race, with a variety of special abilities, such as flight or electricity."

Sean, dumbfounded, just blinked at the screen in response, his mouth open. The anchorwoman touched her earpiece for a second, before continuing. "Wait, we are just receiving word that there is another mutant terrorist attack happening at this moment in the terminal. Here is Tom, at the scene."

The scene switched to a middle-aged Asian man, clearly surprised at the events transpiring around him. There was a large crowd standing in front of a giantess, so large she could caress the ceiling with her arms just by shrugging. There was a man with scales, a albino woman, and government agents with guns everywhere.

"Yes, thank you Susan. We are being told that the government has a mutant task force specifically made for this type of threat. We have been told that this woman is a criminal escapee from a government facility, and that the government has employed the help of at least a dozen other mutants to help them in this catastrophe. Wait, we are being told to evacuate the facility."

The screens switched off as the pilot's voice came back on, telling everyone to be calm and to relax, and that everything was going to be fine. But to Sean, everything was the opposite of fine.

Laura was a couple rows in front of Sean, next to Sebastien and her stepfather while their mother was across the aisle. The news report had woken her up, and she had woken Sebastien up as they watched the news in awe, seeing the powers of the mutants on display. But what shocked them most was that there were even mutants at all. While her stepfather was asleep, she and Sebastien began to whisper.

Laura was staunch against going to LA or doing anything to help the government. She wanted to protect their secret at all costs, and stop anyone from finding out about their mutation. But Sebastien brought up especially valid points. People could be dying, and they could prevent their deaths. Their identity would be hidden anyway by their Amalgam form. She knew they could easily convince their parents to go with them, so they could "witness history as it happens". Sean would most definitely agree. She was outvoted.

A couple days later, their parents had allowed them to explore LA, as long as they called every hour to assure their safety. They watched from the top of their hotel building as the sun rose, almost giddy to form their Amalgam form. They hadn't done it in a while due to their close proximity to their parents, but as their bodies formed the Amalgam, they couldn't control their excitement. They began to fly over the LA skyline, careful to stay high enough that they would be mistaken for a bird, or a plane. And they flew faster than the cars, rushing towards a government helicopter on the horizon.

[River Tree]

TJ set Giovanni down on the roof of a building, landing next to him. She lowered into a crouch as she watched the mutants below. She had no idea who any of them were, and didn't know if any of them would attack. "Maybe you could shoot out the wheels of the car to stall them?" She asked as she watched the mutants get into the car. She figured the car was a getaway vehicle, and she hoped to stall them without flying down there. She just hoped Giovanni was a good enough shot not to hit anyone without reason.

[Talchyon]

Heading out to anywhere but here
Shauna Marks (aka "Lady Lang")

Hearing that both Jacob and Tarmo volunteered to stay, that meant there was plenty of room in her car. The three escapees in the back, with Nick beside her. Shauna was aware of explosion sounds getting closer, and vaguely aware of something flying nearby and helicopter noise in the background. They had to leave. Now.

Strapping in, and telling all the rest who were coming with her to do the same, Shauna started the car and took off. Had to drive the speed limit, the 30 mph. It would really suck to get stuck in traffic now. She just hoped that her brother Shay back there would forget her involvement in this, and that he wouldn't do something stupid. Like get himself killed. That would be all she needed.

Because there was a helicopter out there, that meant she was going to have to drive normal, outside of suspicion, and just get into traffic. Maybe also go under a few overpasses or something. Shauna knew just the place. And she headed off toward the interstate.

As she drove, she said, "Gentleman. I'm glad you were smart. So I'm Shauna, and this is Nick. The other two back there, the Eastern European guy and the other kind of nervous guy, they're with us too. We're here to look out for people like you. Like us. See, we know about this government group, and we don't have the same goals. We're not out to capture mutants or treat you like laboratory test subjects. We're here to..." (She broke off in thought. What was it exactly they were trying to do with their newly formed Center or whatever it's name was going to be?) "We're here to help. And that means, helping fellow mutants. Especially now since John Q. Public is getting worried about mutants, and when the public is worried, the government takes action. We just want to live in peace."

Of course, as she spoke, her words were dripping with her ability that enhances feelings. She wanted them to feel confident, approving of her plan, and of course, in no danger now.

[Altito Asmoro]

TJ set Giovanni down on the roof of a building, landing next to him. She lowered into a crouch as she watched the mutants below. She had no idea who any of them were, and didn't know if any of them would attack. "Maybe you could shoot out the wheels of the car to stall them?" She asked as she watched the mutants get into the car. She figured the car was a getaway vehicle, and she hoped to stall them without flying down there. She just hoped Giovanni was a good enough shot not to hit anyone without reason.

Giovanni Serrano

"Yes, well, let's hope I can hit it well," he said it, though he was worried it won't hit the wheels...but the occupants instead. Tristan would be angry to him. Or more. He figured he could aimed it well as he hid himself behind a short wall cover on the roof, unfortunately for him no scope on that rifle but the iron sight should be enough. He eventually fired few rounds of shot into the sedan's wheels as it went passed the building where he fired at. Should be good, right?

"Let's hope it hit, mate. If not, well, at least we would be short of one rogue mutant."

[Zjaum]

The first and third of Giovanni's bullets missed, but the second bullet hit the back wheel of the sedan. The car swerved and went careening to the side. The airbags deployed, but the car didn't receive the expected crunch of metal against the side of the road. The college students were concerned about the anomaly, but the escapees all knew. 12 piped up. "You know, kinetic and dissipated energy isn't the tastiest, but it sure is filling."

He moved towards the door and got out. "Don't worry about this; I got it." He smiled wryly as he closed the door. 38 and 67 enjoyed Shauna's talk and began to associate the "Center" (or whatever) with feelings of happiness, freedom, and security all at once. 12, however, didn't seem to be as phased by Shauna's speech. He took a look at the car's tire and looked high and low for potential assassins and interceptors. At long last, he noticed a group of two people on the building above him and walked toward it. "You know, it's so much easier with the other two out of the picture."

He squinted and looked at the two people on top. One seemed to be holding a rifle. Good; more energy he could use. The other seemed to be hiding, only popping her head out. She also seemed to have wings. Hm, he'd have to get them out of hiding in order to blast them to oblivion. He walked up to the side of the building and touched it. The building began to shake heavily, not quite at the point of collapsing but close. His prey would soon be ripe for the kill.


Tristan heard the rumbling of concrete from a mile away, even over the noise of the helicopter. Out of the group of individuals present at the scene, only one had that sort of power. That mutant was definitely not on their side. After cussing to himself, he shouted at the rest of the mutants. "Look! Once you climb in, equip parachutes immediately, and be ready to bail at a moment's notice!" With that, the helicopter lowered a ladder. Tristan motioned to the other mutants to climb aboard. This could very well spell the end of the MISC away squad, but their inaction could spell the end of the entire city, or at least its infrastructure.


Tarmo heard, simultaneously, the whirring of helicopter blades and the rumbling of structures. This didn't sound good, by any means. On the one hand, it looked like his team was in danger from... someone. On the other hand, MISC was closing in, endangering his team even further.

Then he realized that he could only stop one of them. The energy absorber, assuming that the gangsters were rebelling, could easily counter his assault. He could, however, threaten the helicopter. He didn't know how, or even if, he could stop the helicopter and still preserve the people inside, but he was fighting for something greater than they were. With another groan, he rose back into the air. "Jacob, see if you handle building. I handle helicopter."

He found the helicopter and got in its way. As the helicopter moved to the side, Tarmo moved to the side. Tristan leaned out the window with a megaphone. "Get out of the way, Tarmo."

"You plan kill the young mutants!"

"Are you're okay with killing innocent civilians, and possibly anyone in this helicopter, you fucking hypocrite!"

"This was our deal!"

"LOOK AROUND YOU! DO YOU HONESTLY CARE ABOUT YOUR DEAL?! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

I fight for something greater than myself, Tarmo thought. Perhaps so does he. I know, though, that I can't fail. Tarmo's electric circuitry began reconnecting and routing currents, creating a magnetic field, getting a good grasp on the helicopter but not moving it yet. Just getting ready for if bad things happened. He dearly hoped nothing happened.

Tristan placed his finger on the trigger of the helicopter gun. "You all may want to check the straps of the parachute. I'm sure he has a good heart, but Tarmo doesn't seem that cooperative."

[Altito Asmoro]

Giovanni Serrano

Shit, the attack wasn't a failure but wasn't a success either, the thought crossed his dear mind. He aimed his rifle for a second shot, but suddenly the building went for a shake. A good one, in fact. "Earthquake!?" he said loudly. Perhaps not. Perhaps one of the mutants who were involved at the bar did something. He turned to the Lady Bird, "We need to get out of here, and far away! Maybe you can bring both of you and me far away?" he asked, put on a brave face. Since he's not going to be killed rather easily. But then again his immortality is only on his age and sickness, not ultimate death counter. His healing factor is fast, but not the fastest.

---

Suzuki Hashimoto

She climbed in to the helicopter and put on parachute, as per Tristan's request. She felt, however, that she was no longer up to the tasks, she almost didn't do anything on this time. As the helicopter went to the sky, so with Tarmo. Both he and Tristan were no longer friends. And with Tarmo put on his best abilities for the counter efforts, she could at least do some things.

"Tristan, I'm going to try something, but you may not like this!" she said it to Agent Tristan.

She put her hands to the left side of the helicopter, pulling from the grounds what seemed to be few Harley-Davidson motorcycles, courtesy of the local bikers she looked with her clairvoyance. "It might not hit Tarmo, but put on your finger on the trigger, this will distracted him!" and then she pulled with all of her might the motorcycles to the direction of Tarmo. It may slightly grazed the helicopter, or maybe not, but if it's possible to put Tarmo out of the picture for a while, then so be it.

[NewLakotah]

Kw'eh T'soh Dai/Keith Dai (Red Wolf)
Above Los Angeles

Kw'eh hadn't hesitated at all. He was one of the first ones on the helicopter, grabbing a parachute as Tristan has said, even though he felt it was more of a comfort to some people, since the chances of them falling out, deploying a chute, it opening in time before impact were low. Unless they really were going to gain some altitude. Either way, Kw'eh was ready, he readied and checked his gun as the helicopter took off, heading up and over the concrete, towards the escaping mutants. On one side he saw Giovanni and the Winged Girl Mutant, he still hadn't gotten her name. It was standard now almost, to meet someone random, have them become involved, all without even knowing their name or anything about them other than they were mutants. Then, he noticed the walls and the foundation shaking. Both mutants shaking with, trying to get off of the building before it collapsed.

Damn... how many civilians are in that? he thinks to himself. Within seconds... Tarmo is flying right past him and right in front of the chopper and commanding the chopper to halt. He could barely hear him over the whirring of the chopper, but Tristan had a megaphone and seemed to be able to hear him just fine. Down below, he saw Shauna's car stopped. It wasn't wrecked, but it seemed disabled on the side of the road, and a man standing out front, seemingly using his mutant abilities in some way. He might be the whole cause of all this. It was far away, too far. And the chopper didn't exactly provide stable footing. He looked once again towards the shaking building and then back to Tarmo. In an instant the M4 was at his shoulder, Kw'eh aiming down the red dot, right at Tarmo's chest. Easy shot, if he chose to take it... He hesitated. HIs finger achingly close to putting on that last few ounces of pressure to fire. Then.. he relaxes, the gun dropping slightly. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he didn't feel right about killing Tarmo.

A distant memory popped up in his head, his focus shifting... the first time he had killed a man. Years ago, many years ago, back in the Wild Western Canadian Days. He was a teenager again. the memory vivid and filling his mind up... His mind going cold and dark... His mind shifting to a different memory of the same period.


"LOOK AROUND YOU! DO YOU HONESTLY CARE ABOUT YOUR DEAL?! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Tristan yelled, snapping his attention back. He frowns, pissed at himself that something so long ago would cause his attention to break like that. Suddenly the helicopter started to shake ever so slightly, then hold steady. Kw'eh smiles softly. His hands grasping the side of the helicopter tightly.

Maybe I shoulda taken that shot? That's the last time I fucking trust anybody... He thinks to himself again. Seconds later Suzuki steps up to the plate. She yells towards Tristan... something about doing something he wouldn't like. Uh oh?

Suddenly he saw motorcycles fly up from the ground, courtesy of Suzuki. He turned to her with a smile.

"Nice move." He says, but he sees the strain on her face... the massive push draining her strength. He leans over. Placing his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you got this, don't push it too hard. Just guide it. You'll be alright." He hoped she would have enough strength to push them high enough to break Tarmo's attention so the helicopter would be free, and still be alive and conscious afterwards. Hopefully Tarmo wouldn't bring the chopper down with him.

[The Last Magic]

Lynn watched the events unfold silently, unsure of how she came here.
It had been a normal day with Lynn walking along, umbrella and all. It's not that it was raining, because unless she hit her head a little too hard, it wasn't. It was hot. Maybe not to most, but it was for Lynn. That was why she had the umbrella. In the heat, she had three options. Option number one: She could suffer from the sun while preforming everyday activities. Option number two: She could walk around with an umbrella. Option number three: Someone could walk around with a fishbowl containing a fish known as Lynn Collins. Option number one was normal looking and number three was comfortable, so she chose the one in between.
She had come down to where this was to see a whole array of mutants doing... something. The thing that stood out to her was not the helicopter, or the girl with the wings, but it was the flying motorcycles. She held her umbrella a little higher as if that would protect her from falling vehicles.

[Talchyon]

Shauna's car, no longer moving
Shauna Marks (aka "Lady Lang")

They hadn't gotten far at all. Maybe a block and a half away. And then, without warning, gunshots fired and a loud exploding sound filled the car. She tried to keep the wheel steady, but the car got out of her control. It was happening too fast. Shauna had been in a car accident once before, a stupid time in her teenage years when she thought she could drive fast on a dirt road. Needless to say, the shock of trying to keep the car stable while it was shaking from the rear and out of control was not a pleasant feeling. She tried the brakes, just hoping they wouldn't die. The car ran off the side of the road, headfirst into a curved metallic guardrail, the kind that they put on the sides of the road when the paths are dividing. Just then, the airbags went off, and the car was stopped. Taking a deep breath, Shauna collapsed into her seat, just glad to have survived. She glanced around at the passengers in her vehicle. All safe. Good, then.

It had been a gunshot. Must have been a rear tire they hit. "Wonder what the damage is." For the second time, Shauna wondered if she should actually be driving her own car to situations involving the Center. Pretty unlikely that the person who shot at her would be handing over insurance information. Which meant any repair work would come out of her own pocket. She couldn't afford to have her car in the shop, and especially if it's going to happen a lot.

One of the new mutants she had just tried to rescue got out to deal with the shooter. He had gone to a building, and then somehow caused a seismic vibrations. By then, Shauna had gotten out. She could feel the rumbling on the ground as she looked over the damage to her car. Some fresh dents up in front. The grill of the car was toast. But it seemed cosmetic. She'd have to have someone check out the engine to be sure, but it didn't look like any damage had been done.

Checking out a car during an earthquake is generally a 'no-no' in L.A. And checking out a car during an earthquake, with a shooter who just fired at you, and an attack helicopter practically above her, was just stupid. But what else could she do?

Calling out to Nick and the other guys in her car, she said, "They shot the rear passenger tire. Help me put the spare on." And Shauna popped the trunk, got the spare and the tools out, and proceeded to begin working the jack.