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Post by Manifest on May 13, 2011 17:17:13 GMT -8
Night time was particularly strange to Anna. She wasn't used to going out at night. In fact, she wasn't really used to going out at all. It was kind of odd now that she thought about it. Her parents never liked her to go out when it was dark. Something about it being unsafe, even if the point of the trip was to go to the library. Anna never questioned this. But ever since she begun attending the Xavier School for the Gifted, she had been experiencing a lot of things. Most were a little out of her comfort zone, but some she really found that she liked the mysterious air of. Taking long walks at night was one of them.
She had limited herself to the usual, highly populated area but the smell of cigarettes bothered her and she couldn't see the stars with all the fog. This is what led her to the High Line, an area of New York where an old train high rise had been turned into a park. She saw it on Wikipedia and thought it'd be interesting to visit one of these night. Visualizing the location had become easier and easier for her, what with all her practicing and need to be perfect. She had already graduated and was allowed to stay behind in order to continue working on understanding her powers, so curfew did not apply to her - not that she avoided curfew to begin with. To Anna, rule were in place to protect people and to question said rules was to question the rule maker's care for you. A bit high strung and snooty, yes, but it was all Anna knew.
Needless to say, her walking around at 10pm at night was a new experience for her. She zipped her black hoodie tightly, drawing the strings for the hood to squeeze around her head. It was a little chillier than the weather report had said, but Anna felt some what at ease with the cool air blowing through her long brown hair. She exhaled and smiled at the sight of her breath materializing and floating upward toward the night sky. The stars were prettier this time around. There wasn't a dull gray cloud of smog covering up the tiny balls of gas light years away. They sparkled happier and seemed to dance along the night sky. Anna sighed and smiled as she stuffed her hands into her pockets and took a stroll down the street.
She soon realized why she never went out at night, at least in New York. Four men stood at the end of on side of the park, laughing loudly and spitting on the ground. She couldn't see that far but she had a nervous feeling that they had probably been drinking. It seemed as if the once pretty park had grown into something out of a horror movie. Anna attempted to keep herself covered and wanted to use her abilities to just zip past them. However, Mr. Xavier's words came into her mind. She was advised never to use her powers in public, unless under extreme circumstances. Would this be considered extreme? Anna figured she could hopefully scoot away and if that didn't work, she'd just port out of there and all would be good.
Sadly, this wasn't the case. Anna's figure caught the eye of one drunken man, who emerged under the light to reveal that he had large growths on the side of his forehead. He smiled with a sneer, obviously liking what he saw. "Hey pretty lady," he said in almost a demonic voice, completely matching the weird bones popping out of his head. "Don't be afraid," another one said, showing that he too had physical abnormalities - this time he was a bright green and had bulbous eyes. "Have you ever been with a mutant?" Another with red bumply skin crooned, cackling as Anna tried to walk past. "You know what they say... once you go mutant you don't go back." The horny mutant said, reaching out for Anna. She gasped as his clawed fingers reached her arm and instantly felt an overwhelming sickening feeling come over her. Was this his ability?
Anna shrank against a trash can, feeling as if she were going to vomit. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the safety of her bedroom but for some reason all she saw was darkness. Her heart began beating quicker and quicker as she felt sicker and sicker. "What's...happening?" She whispered, clutching onto her jacket. "It's ok precious," the horned mutant cooed, "Just relax. Tommy'll take good care of you...."
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 13, 2011 18:35:24 GMT -8
The night air was pretty cool, but Madrox liked it that way. It bit at the lungs, a snap to let you know you were alive. It was even refreshing to an extent, and the small whiffs that appeared in front of his mouth as he exhaled only served to remind him how cold it was. He immediately regretted wearing the jacket he had on, wishing he had worn a longer, thicker coat. Either way, he wanted to get back to his warm bed, and to do that he was going to have to cut through the park.
Dangerous place this time of night, but he had his own bodyguards. Dozens of them.
Entering the park, he figured the best way to get across was to take one of the diagonally directed walkways, so he made his way down the path, knowing it would be darker than the others, but again, not worrying too much about his own well-being.
He was finally getting to the end of the park when he saw a crowd up ahead. He wondered what they were all up to, and as he approached he began to make it what it was: A young woman on the ground, and the four men standing over her. He sighed as he approached, then smiled.
"I think the lady wants to be left alone." Madrox stated when he got close enough, now being flanked by six duplicates of himself.
The four men turned to look at him, then looked at the girl. It was like they were sizing her up, and wondering if she was worth the risk.
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Post by Manifest on May 13, 2011 18:54:51 GMT -8
She felt sick. Sick to her stomach. It was as if she had eaten three month old raw clams that sat out in the sun on a hot summer day while insects took their fill on it. She wanted to vomit but whenever she tried nothing came. It was as if it was only in her mind, but why did she feel so ill? She couldn't concentrate and the feeling made her collapse to the ground, grasping for the thick, icy air. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep it off, like she had done whenever she got a migraine but this was far worse than a simple ache. This was painful. She couldn't think straight. Trying to port out of the park was becoming more and more difficult. Her body fluctuated as if she were a hologram after each attempt, but it became fewer in between. She could feel the heat from the mutant goons and it dawned on her. Not everyone would use their powers for good.
This was a naive sentiment but Anna had always thought of the good in people. Her parents had taught her that a poor upbringing did not necessarily mean an individual was a bad person. Some one with difference could be nice, kind, and caring. Clearly, this wasn't the case. She closed her eyes to keep the world from spinning and grasped onto small pebbles around her. "What are you doing to me?" She practically begged, trying to port time and time again was making her even worse. "Just enjoy the ride, darling," she heard, unable to pinpoint which mutant was talking to her. She heard the rustle of foot steps, quite of few of them to be honest. She hoped beyond hope that it was a police office, security guard, even a nun would be alright with her.
She heard his voice, deep, gruff, manly. It has to be a police officer, she told herself thanking the gods. His appearance distracted the horned mutant, who puffed his chest and eyed the clones. "Heh, what are you gonna do about it?" He narrowed his eyes focusing his own powers onto Jamie. The other three men gathered around their friend. One's eyes began to glow an odd hue of pink. Another cracked his neck as spikes grew out of his skin. And the last one snorted and dug his feet into the ground. This gave Anna the opportunity to breath. She gasped and managed to open her eyes. They stung and tears welled up. She could only make out several blurs of the same people. Towering young men, who appeared to be wearing the same thing. Perhaps a group of police officers back from eating at their local donut eatery? They didn't seem like cops. They seemed too close in appearance to be cops. Perhaps there was a convention for octuplets or something and they just so happened to be passing by?
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 13, 2011 19:07:04 GMT -8
"Heh, what are you gonna do about it?"
Jamie then, out of nowhere, felt an overwhelming sense of queasiness, like he was about to throw up all over the place. He stumbled a little, his vision blurring, but he could just make out the men in front of him. It took all his strength to stay on his feet (assisted by the men beside him, who weren't affected by this power), and when he finally managed to get a little steady, he gave a smirk. Or what would pass for one, anyway.
"Adapt, and kick your ass." He replied.
Six became twelve. Twelve became twenty-four. Twenty-four, well, you got the picture. Now there was a small army in front of the men, and Jamie found some confidence in his position.
"Still want to push it? Mine's bigger than yours." He said, teasing them almost.
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Post by Manifest on May 13, 2011 19:16:52 GMT -8
Horned mutant man snarled as he noticed the remaining siblings or whatever they were didn't appear affected by his power. However, he did get the one who was smart mouthing him. That was until this guy began to copy himself... over and over... and over. His eyes widened as he looked toward his comrades for support. They looked a little pale in the face, as if color had drained from them. "Look buddy," horned mutant said, holding his hands up. "We didn't..." he turned slightly and then balled a fist, lunging toward Jamie. "Fuck you and your stupid clones!" He then shouted, attempting to amplify his powers while swinging at Jamie.
The glowing eyed mutant cackled as smoke began to illicit from eyes. A thick black smoke filled the area. "It doesn't matter how many of you there are... especially when you can't see!" He laughed, creating palm sized fire balls from his palms and hurling it toward at clones. The spiky mutant clenched his fists and screamed in pain as his spikes shot from his pores, growing in length as they soared through the air. And finally, the fourth oddly stanced mutant charge full blast toward a crowd, his skin turned an odd shade of gray as if he were hardening himself.
Anna had finally gotten her senses together and turned onto her side, watching the show go down. She let out a small scream and shuffled back toward the trash can, knocking down the heavy lid. It landed with a clunk. "It's ok. Anna," she told herself, "Remember your training." Anna felt the need to do something. This guy...these guys... whoever he or they were had gone out of their way to help and were now being targeted in some sort of mutant assault. She grasped the heavy lid and lifted it, dragging it somewhat before she could gather her strength. In a big effort, Anna swung the lid toward the horned mutant, clogging him in the back of the head. He turned, eyes glaring into her. Anna squeaked "Ut oh" and held her breath, feeling that same icy tingle come over her. She had gone invisible.
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 14, 2011 13:12:42 GMT -8
"Fuck you and your stupid clones!"
A fight? It was about damned time. The first one swung at Jamie, who, in his weakened state, couldn't dodge it, and upon impact split up, two more dupes emerging from him. That duplication helped Jamie feel better, and he was able to get to his feet just in time to see the smoke begin to fill the area around him.
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are... especially when you can't see!"
Oh really? The mutant obviously hadn't heard about such a simple scientific theory as displacement, and even as the fireballs and spikes began to fly, Jamie's dupes surrounded the group, leaving less space for them to move around even in this smoke. They wouldn't be able to hide for long.
Jamie had fought as an army before. He knew how to use the empathic link he shared with his men to give them basic orders and directions, and soon, they were starting to win the fight, even if rocky mcrockster was a bit of a hassle to bring down without some more force. Jamie himself, and a couple of clones, were left to fight the loud one of the group, a horned mutant who was obviously overcompensating for something. After a particularly nasty collision, both men were left standing shakily, trying to keep their balance. Then something that made Jamie want to laugh and cry at the same time happened: The girl fought back. The creature turned to look at her, almost growling.
That was until he was spear-tackled by Jamie, who hadn't even noticed that the girl had disappeared. He had the numbers advantage, and he knew that his team winning was only a matter of time...
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Post by Manifest on May 14, 2011 14:16:48 GMT -8
Anna scrambled out of the way as the horned mutant as he came crashing to the ground with a big thud. She rose to her feet, looking at her hands to only see nothing there. With a happy sigh, Anna reminded herself of her training. She remembered engaging in a Danger Room blindfolded and to rely on her other senses and trust her powers. She inhaled and gathered her courage. It was now or never and at least she could say she survived a real fight. She kept herself invisible, feeling that usual cool feeling come over her. She usually got a little chilly the longer she stayed invisible, which was nice on a hot day.
Anna heard the horned mutant grunt as he struggled to get up. He moved his elbow back to hit Jamie in the chin and watched the leaves in front of his crunch. He knew at that moment that he was dealing with two mutants. Reaching out, he grasped onto Anna's invisible ankle, pulling her down to the ground. Unknown to him, Anna fell right on top of his shoulder, cracking it in the process. He howled in pain as Anna lost grip of her invisibility and flashed back into visibility. She peered down between her legs and proceeded to hit him in the back of the head, pushing his face into the dirt. When horned mutant reached for her, his ability beginning to have effect, Anna ported. POP.
She landed with a wobble and had to catch herself. She turned toward Jamie and grabbed onto his jacket. "Hold your breath," she said quietly, clenching her eyes shut. From what she heard from her classmates, holding their breath made the port easier to handle. They had the tendency to vomit shortly after, even if it was a port only 3 for 4 feet away. The feeling must've been like being on a roller coaster ride. She inhaled and then held that breath, feeling herself soaring through the air. She could feel the extra weight effect her, causing her to waffle just a little. Her feet slammed against the ground and she heard the loud piercing sound of a semi's horn coming close to her. Opening her eyes, she found herself standing in the middle of the busy New York Streets just as a truck barreled toward them
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 14, 2011 14:35:33 GMT -8
((you modded!!! lol))
Jamie took an elbow to the chin, stunning him and knocking him back just enough for his momentum to be lost. He heard the mutant in front of him roar in pain when something hurt him, though Jamie couldn't really see what it was due to the blurriness of his vision. He'd been in fights before, so he knew it wouldn't last long, but right now every second counted. That all changed, though, when he felt a tug on his jacket.
"Hold your breath,"
He did. He even closed his eyes, though he had no idea why. When he realised that they had moved (as evident by his feet landing firmly on solid Earth even though he'd been standing before), he opened his eyes to see that they were in the middle of a busy street. He was about to say something when he heard the horn of what would have been a truck. He turned to look. Yes, it was a truck. He grabbed the young woman out of reflex, pulling her out of the way of the truck just as it screeched, trying to brake but not nearly stopping in time.
Letting the girl down, Jamie looked at her.
"If you can teleport, why didn't you teleport out before?" He asked, more out of curiosity than anger.
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Post by Manifest on May 14, 2011 14:54:36 GMT -8
Anna felt her feet lift off the ground as Jamie pulled her out of the way form the truck. Breaks screeched but they had ported too close to the truck for it to avoid them. It swerved out of the way and bustled another loud horn. Anna felt her heart beat in her ears for several seconds, only looking up at Jamie with large, wide eyes. His voice broke through the pounding in her ears. She felt it coming and soon, it erupted. Anna leaned over and vomited… all over Jamie's shoes. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and slowly fell down her cheeks. "I couldn't concentrate," she said weakly, holding the back of her hand to her mouth.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save your brothers," she said sheepishly, feeling a tinge of guilt for having left them to deal with the other mutants. She straightened herself up and brushed her hair out of her face, looking at Jamie with clearer eyes. "Thank you for..." she smiled to herself, "You know. Considering what they were and what...I am."
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 14, 2011 15:12:26 GMT -8
They had made it to safety, and Jamie was poised to do the whole "Knight in Shining Armour" thing, when she threw up all over his shoes. So much for chivalry, it seemed. He wasn't put off helping her or anything like that, vomit just usually put a dampener on someone seeing you as a hero. Yes, even though he had his evil moments, it was nice to help people once in a while. At least, Jamie thought so.
Then she started crying.
"I couldn't concentrate,"
He shook his head, about to tell her that it was all right, but she beat him to it.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save your brothers,"
Oh, that. He smiled a little, ready to fill her in on the joke. She looked up at him, her tears starting to subside a little while she composed himself.
"Thank you for..."
Here it was, the part where he could tell her that saving her was its own reward, and that it was all in a day's work for a mutant like him.
"You know. Considering what they were and what...I am."
"A girl?" He asked, a bit clueless.
"And those weren't my brothers. They're my dupes." He said, not guessing that she wouldn't have understood the term.
"They're on their way here right now to recombine. It's my power, like you can teleport." He said, not as clued in as he could have been.
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Post by Manifest on May 14, 2011 16:25:02 GMT -8
She looked up at him with curious eyes. "Dupes?" Her brow furrowed. What in the world was a dupe? It hadn't set in exactly what ability he had. She was wondering whether his 'dupes' were hallucinations or something. "You're a mutant too?" She had very little experience outside of the institute that involved meeting real life mutants. Well, other than the odd four meanie mutants she met in the park. "How…" questions began to form in her head but she stopped herself. It was rude for her to pry and she knew that.
"I can do more than just teleport," she replied sheepishly, looking down at her feet and digging her shoes into the ground. She winced at the sight of his own shoes and blushed. "I'm sorry about your shoes," she squeezed her jacket lapels closer together. "I'll pay for new ones. I swear. I don't lie." It was true. She doesn't lie. It was kind of an annoying trait really, especially considering how many other students worked so hard to create believable lies to keep themselves from being harassed because of their difference.
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 14, 2011 20:20:28 GMT -8
"Dupes?"
Ah. He'd not gotten to that part yet. At least they would be on their way. When they scrambled, the four mutants couldn't possibly chase them all, and the ones that escaped would be on their way here right now. He'd be recombined and would have some information on mutants for mister magnetic himself. All in all, he'd saved the girl, beaten the bad guys, and made himself look good. Not a bad day's work.
"You're a mutant too?"
He gave her a sort of "can't you tell?" look.
"How…"
How... Was he a mutant? Did he look that good? Was he able to have so many guys with him doe the fight?
"I can do more than just teleport,"
Oh really? Now he wanted to know. She seemed almost shy, looking at the ground, doing that shy, unassuming cute girl thing. It was definitely nice to look at, until he looked down and realised his own shoes were still covered in vomit. Thank god he'd worn leather.
"I'm sorry about your shoes, I'll pay for new ones. I swear. I don't lie."
Jamie shook his head, then turned his feet so he could kick the air and flick any vomit off that wasn't stuck to the material.
"Don't worry about it; happens to the best of us. You got somewhere to go? This isn't exactly the right part of town to be walking around alone in, you know."
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Post by Manifest on May 15, 2011 9:29:07 GMT -8
Anna looked shyly away, allowing her long mousy brown hair fall to cover her face. Feeling her cheeks go red, Anna mused over where they could go to get out of the busy street and the odd on-lookers who had witnessed the almost accident. She couldn't bring him back to the institute. That was against the rules. You had to go through all sorts of hoops if you wanted a visitor and usually you had to be a teacher to bring some one in. They wouldn't let any ol' person into that place. It was like Fort Knox... but for teenage mutants. "Um," she said quietly, "I can't take you home..." She looked at him and gave a sheepish smile, "I mean, I don't really know you and you could be some psycho serial killer..." But, he did just save her from a group of threatening mutants. Maybe he was a psycho mutant serial killer who only went after weirdos and freaks. She certainly wasn't a weirdo... or a freak... right?
"I'm not really alone," she pointed out, feeling her cheeks go even redder if that was possible. "To be honest," she added, "I don't even know what part of the city I'm in. I've never really ported anyone this far before... and most of the times my classmates get a little discombobulated and end up going to the infirmary...." She paused. Crap. Was she some how spilling the secret workings of the institute? Was Mr. Xavier listening in on her right now, waiting for her to come home so he could dispense some sort of mutant justice for spilling the beans! Anna looked around suspiciously and decided that Mr. Xavier wasn't that type of person and she probably was rambling.
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Post by Jamie Madrox on May 16, 2011 2:22:37 GMT -8
((sorry for my lateness))
"Um,"
She wasn't going to throw up again, was she? Not all of his clothes were going to be puke-proof, and he really didn't want to arrive back home smelling like sick. Not that he blamed her; he was just ready to dodge if she tried to blow chunks all over him again.
"I can't take you home..."
Jamie almost snickered, his brows rising while he thought about that...
"I mean, I don't really know you and you could be some psycho serial killer..."
The smile disappeared. He'd just saved her life, and she was considering that? He supposed it was better that she was being safe rather than careless, but still it might have been nice for her to have a little faith in him.
"I'm not really alone, To be honest, I don't even know what part of the city I'm in. I've never really ported anyone this far before... and most of the times my classmates get a little discombobulated and end up going to the infirmary...."
"Classmates? You go to a school and you openly use your powers? What kind of school is that? You're not one of the- Oh hell... Not again." Jamie responded, shaking his head.
Why was it that all the female mutants he met had been snapped up by mutant "institutes" or schools? Even recruiting them for shell-head wouldn't be possible.
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Post by Manifest on May 16, 2011 6:02:00 GMT -8
Oh no. The first thing that came to mind as Jamie was piecing together the fact that there was a school for people like them. Cover it up. Cover it up! She yelled at herself, wanting to smack her own forehead for her stupidity. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Anna laughed loudly in a big bellow that caused passerbys to turn to the odd couple. "I'm just kidding," she lied, "There isn't a school for mutants. That's just ridiculous. I went to Westminister High. Graduated two months ago." She looked around, trying to pull more bull out of her behind, but it was becoming difficult. Anna never really lied and her lying... well it sucked.
"Let's go in here!" She near shouted, her face turning red and somewhat opaque. She pointed at a record store a few yards from them and laughed uncomfortably. "You know, just to... uh... do something else. Unless you have to go somewhere. Then, that's ok too. I mean, I'm not forcing you to hang out with me. It's not like it's a date or anything. I mean, we just survived a mutant assault and I puked all over your shoes...." Yup, she was rambling. It was a bit of an awkward situation for anyone. A fistacuff with a few mutants, followed by getting nearly squashed by a semi, and then hurling all over the knight in shining armor... followed by the big reveal of a place that shouldn't have been revealed at all. Man oh man was Anna in for a mental whooping.
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