Gavin groaned as he knelt on the ground trying to collect his senses but the Flinch's sonic attack wasn't helping. His bullet proof vest had taken a number of hist but managed to hold up. He could feel the collection of welts searing his chest before checking his arms. He had at least 3 on his left and 4 on his right. The others had just grazed him. Luckily, each time they fired a few rounds they drifted slightly. Probably lost their aim as soon as they started shooting. But even then, they'd been extremely accurate. It was practically a fucking miracle none of them got him in the head. Gavin quickly rubbed his head and felt his hoody, finding 2 bullet holes just slightly above where his head would've been.
"Way Too goddamn close." He slowly got to his feet, staggering a bit and using his power to help him up. Dan was closing in quick, a frustrated glare returning Gavin's gaze. Gavin noticed that Dan didn't seem even remotely affected by the sudden fall, only annoyed.
"Damn, if he hadn't grabbed me by the neck I probably could've dragged his ass into the stratosphere. Maybe that would've at least bruised him." Gavin said, trying to figure out his next move. Did guns work on this guy? Explosives? Did Gavin have any of these things? Gavin fired a few repulsive blasts at Dan McNeil, trying to keep him in place. At first he'd been taken by surprise and was blown back a few feet in the air, but landed on his feet. From there, Dan muscled through each blast, his feet slightly leaving the ground each time before slamming back down and continuing to move forward. It wouldn't take him long to get to Gavin and break his neck. How do you stop the unstoppable? Gavin couldn't just suspend him in the air or send him flying off. Gavin could only reduce gravity, perhaps send him into the stratosphere, but at some point gravity would take over again and he'd simply fall back down. He could focus and hold him up there, but Gavin would be practically fighting Dan and Earth's gravitational pull. He could barely do that at his best, let alone after being shot up. If only Gavin could just fling him into space. Gavin stood there in defeat, knowing he couldn't. And then it hit him.
"...they don't know that." He muttered, a grin spreading from under his hoodie. He crouched, as if stressing himself. Dan was upon Gavin, preparing a punch, when Gavin yelled as loudly as he could. "Touch me and everyone here is getting kicked off planet Earth!"
A number of people stopped, rioters and McNeil's, remembering the display they'd just seen. Dan stopped as well, still in mid punch.
"I didn't want it to have to come to this, but I will fucking sacrifice myself and everyone here if it means getting rid of the McNeil's once and for all!" Gavin yelled, bluffing harder than he'd ever bluffed in his entire life. The McNeil's glared at him, a few of the rioters appeared sick, and Dan simply stood there. He looked over at his family, not with a "should-I-do-this" look, but more of a "why'd-we-stop-fighting?"
Gavin stood there, wondering what would exactly come of this little bluff. He got his answer sooner than expected as Dan broke the silence, pulling his arm back and nearly landing a punch on Gavin. Gavin rolled sideways at the last second, groaning. He looked up , only to see Dan charging at him. Gavin flipped over him and landed shakily. "Didn't you hear what I fucking said?" Gavin yelled.
Dan ignored him and jumped through the air. Gavin started jumping backwards, but felt something grab his leg before slamming him into the ground. Gavin's power slightly dampened the impact, but ground was still ground. He looked up to see Dan McNeil standing over him and putting this foot on Gavin's chest. "Didn't...you...hear..." Gavin began to reduce Dan's weight, but the McNeil simply added force.
"I think I'll take my chances. Condor..." He scoffed, remembering their first confrontation. "You're just a mouse with wings."
I WILL MURDER YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! JUST YOU WAIT YOU WHORE! I WILL COME FOR YOU I-
I think she is gone
Wha-What happened I-I....
WE ARE GOING TO FIND AND KILL HER. THEN GET THE GUY WHO SHOT US!
Oh! And then the mailman! He has had it coming!
Why am I surrounded by you two?
Fromanzio's wound was being dressed as he saw who he had shot. The nice lady who had given up her seat for him. He immediately felt a sense of regret, one he rarely ever feels and said "Oh my, I do sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart! Stupid whore tried to have us shoot ourselves and he went ahead and stopped it!" Fromanzio turned to the doctor who had all but finished dressing the wound. "You will help her and her friend next yes? I do still have two bullets you know."
The doctor looked terrified, between a madman and a dictator-like mistress he nodded. "Y-Yes of course." He soon hurried over to Luneth and asked "Which of you first?"
Fromanzio looked back on the crowd of horrified onlookers, bowed and said "Luneth, if you ask, I am sure one of the factions will pay you. I currently have a few bodies to add to the grand pile, do be sure to avoid joining them."
Fromanzio flew out of the now terrorized hospital and figured his next move, find a lone soldier and capture him! The information in regards to snipers and mind controllers would be vital to killing them.
Alright! Mission accomplished! Wooo! Time to go kill some more things!
You are going to get us killed.
Lalalala Can't hear you at all!
Matthew continued his stride after a while, nearing 4th street, as he heard a clear shot. It didn't hit him, but it was probably intended for him. He kept sprinting. Adrenaline flooded him and his senses kicked up. He ran faster, leaping over rooftops with ease. He knew where the shot had came from. He was going to outflank the bastard. Outflank his prey. He couldn't leave such a witness. A second shot was not fired for a while. Aiken took cover behind a set of ventilation drums. He gathered his breath, the adrenaline did not dissipate this time. It took him only a short while to recover as he resumed his sprinting. He was circling his prey, closing in. Closer. He was the apex predator here.
His senses were too focused on the sniper. Too focused on his prey to realize what was happening in the streets below just yet. He moved with the grace of a subtle predator intending to feast. He felt famished, he salivated. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch.
Flinch's wave left Darryl dazed on the floor for a few minutes though when he regained his balance all he could hear was a high pitched hum. He dug his fingers into his ears and even followed up with a few pats to the back of the head but the humming continued. Darryl was getting ruffed up and he didn't even confront any of the McNeil's one on one yet. He staggered as he tried to make his way to the back of the group. Darryl needed a place to lie low and recover from his hearing loss before he made any stupid mistakes that would cost him his life. The streets leading up to the palace were littered with wounded and dead. Darryl attempted to move some to safety but soon realized that moving them would just worsen their already fatal injuries. He feel to his knees and quickly acknowledged that he would have to resort Plan B.
Darryl "borrowed" some underwear and pants from some of the corpses. A few of the wounded rioters mouthed what seemed to be slurs, swears and other sort of unpleasant things but Darryl just ignored them. He positioned himself behind a junked car that was parked adjacent from the palace. Darryl loathed using his powers in public but he couldn't identify any other options. Three duplicates emerged from the Darryl's body and attempted to communicate with one another only to realize they couldn't hear either. Darryl passed the dupes their outfits for the time being as he relayed his plans telepathically.
"Look...we all know what needs to be done. What I need you guys to do is attract as much attention from the McNeil's and keep them preoccupied in the front. Don't get careless you guys, we need to hurry up and end this."
The clones nodded in agreement and made their way back to the palace. They returned to witness the entire conflict had stopped as all eyes had fallen upon the man who attacked Dan. Even Dan stood in his place which was admittedly the most shocking of all. Sadly the silence was quickly cut short as Dan leaped for the flying man. The 3 duplicates rushed up the palace steps and charged towards Dan.
Darryl soon turned his attention to one of his other dupes, "Stop all your pussy footing around around 4th. I need you to make your way back to the palace. The initial attack didn't work so were following it up with Plan B."
"You can't be serious? Your really going to send me to sneak into the palace!?"
"It's the best I can think of. Now hurry up before it's too late."
Darryl's mind was soon filled with multiple obscenities but the dupe had no choice. It quickly found it's way rushing back to the palace hopefully successful in making an approach towards the back unnoticed. After sending the dupes their separate ways Darryl quickly fell asleep.
Saturday flung open the door to the staircase just in time to see the crazy man fly away.
"Thank god Doctor LaBeaux! That damn war outside is giving us more patients then we can handle and that crazy bastard just killed Margret!"
Saturday looked around at the various levels of injury and decided to get to work.
"Everyone who's not injah'd, start moven people into rooms. If you are injah'd I'll come 'round an see. Da East wing is full so bring da people wit' burns to da 4th floor. Move!"
People started scurrying about following his orders and now that they had someone to organize them, things actually started going smoothly. There was enough spare room to get all of the seriously injured people out of the reception area.
Saturday gave the less injured people some quick first aid and sent them out the door. Then he saw Lenneth and her friend being wheeled towards the elevator. He started after them but stopped when he heard someone call out to him in Haitian.
"" one of his lieutenants called from the entrance. There were 5 of them. The one who called out, Luke, was a beast of a man, muscles like a rhino and tattoos all over his arms, chest and head.
"" Saturday said, rushing after the winged girl.
"'Ello, I am Doctah LaBeaux. I'm 'unna to take good care you." He said, walking along side her bed.
"Help...Lucy." the winged girl wheezed painfully before the elevator door separated her from Saturday.
The aura around her was strong, even without the wings, he would have been able to tell she was a lethal super.
He walked back to Luke and said,
Saturday took the vials from Luke and hid them in his coat.
Luke nodded and headed for the staircase while Saturday found Lenneth's room.
"'Ello child. 'Dose wings are impressive. But dey ahn't de onleh ting dat makes you special are dey? What else can you do?"
"Mind walking with me for an bit? I have something to show you."
Happy that the conversation had moved away from her condition, Sarah followed Martin gladly.
"What I am about to show you, I have only showed to 2 people before you. I am showing you because I trust you, so I hope you will keep this an secret. Oh and this might seem a bit weird at first but just keep looking, it will all make sense in the end."
At first suspecting some kind of joke, she frowned when she saw that he was deathly serious, wondering what it could possibly be that the doctor would be so secretive about. Mentally preparing herself for the worst, she ran through many possibilities in her head, each worst than the last. Nonetheless, she certainly didn't expect him to suddenly pick up a scalpel and cut into his own hand.
"Just keep looking."
Speechless, she could only watch as he placed his hand on the cut, and it vanished in a matter of seconds.
"I found out a couple of days ago that I have an superpower, that superpower is healing."
After taking a moment to process this, Sarah sighed with relief. This wasn't bad news, it was amazing. Martin had been a brilliant doctor to begin with, but with that kind of power on his side he could heal even those that would ordinarily be beyond help, and with incredible ease too.
It did also raise questions about the nature of her own ability, however. Until now she had assumed that she was the only person who had gained powers after the first collapse, but now it occurred to her that there could be any number of others in the exact same situation.
She drove such worrying thoughts from her mind however, and turned back to Martin, grinning.
"This is incredible! I can't even imagine all the good you'll be able to do with that power."
After briefly considering, she decided to reciprocate the trust she had been given, and reveal her own power.
"And you know, you're not the only one who has recently gained an ability like that, though mine is pretty far removed from your own... I'm not certain I could show it to you very easily."
She frowns for a moment, wondering how to explain it.
"I have the power to change certain aspects of myself at will. I can become lighter or heavier for example, or as hard as a rock. It's... not as directly useful as your healing ability, I'm afraid, but it lets me do all kinds of interesting things."
lacktheknack
Je suis joined jewels.
Blech. Voodoo. Fun stuff.
So why did the young man talking about it seem to be so in the know with the doctor? He was probably into the nasty stuff himself.
If nothing else, it convinced Rico to leave the hospital now. There was no reason for him to stay, as no one was physically capable of figuring out what was up with him.
Rico decided he could jump out the window, in order to avoid the crowds. He walked to the window and pulled at it, but it was locked. Drat. Down the stairs after the doctor we go.
As he approached the stairs, he saw a huge Haitian guy walking up them towards the roof. Normally, Rico wouldn't have thought twice of this, but in light of the whole Haitian Voodoo Conspiracy that seemed to be cropping up around him like overenthusiastic rabbits, he decided that silently following the man up the stairs would be a good idea to see what he intended to do.
Luke saw the white man following him. It was clear the other man was trying to look casual, but he obviously wasn't a doctor so there was no reason for him to be going up and down the stairs. The man was quite big, but so was Luke.
He decided to keep going and see if the man followed him to the roof. When Luke got to the final landing of the stairs, he rushed out onto the roof and waited to the side of the exit with the full can of gasoline that Saturday had left for him in his hands, redy to whack the man if he came through the door.
Rico peered through the door. The Haitian wasn't there. Had he just hallucinated? Was he under a curse? Had the man seen him? Rico cautiously stepped through the door-
Rico fell, feeling a huge blow to his head. His face slammed into the rooftop, his brains slapping from side to side in what would normally be the world's most painful concussion.
Damage: None.
Rico slapped the roof hard, pushing himself to his feet in a second. The man who had clubbed him had done so with a tank of... gasoline?! Was he going to set the hospital on fire?! No, he'd have -
Rico plunged forward, punching the stunned Haitian's jaw at full force as he recoiled in confusion.
- set the fire on the bottom floor!
The Haitian fell, uncomprehending. Rico ripped the gas from his hands. "What was this for, you twat?!"
Sarah seemed speechless at first, Martin was getting a bit worried when she finally spoke up.
"This is incredible! I can't even imagine all the good you'll be able to do with that power." That is not the reaction I was expecting, but hey being happy about is was fine too. Martin smiled.
"And you know, you're not the only one who has recently gained an ability like that, though mine is pretty far removed from your own... I'm not certain I could show it to you very easily." She frowned for a moment thinking about something. "I have the power to change certain aspects of myself at will. I can become lighter or heavier for example, or as hard as a rock. It's... not as directly useful as your healing ability, I'm afraid, but it lets me do all kinds of interesting things." Martin was stunned for an moment. it seemed like he wasn't the only one.. maybe this was an second time people got powers? Who knew at least her having one was an good thing.
"It sounds to me like an very handy power. So your power might not be healing but you can still use it for good. And I am sure that someone like you will be able to find some use for it." Martin smiled as he looked at her. "Well I think it is about time for the next rounds of checking up on the patients. But I am very happy to hear that I can trust you." Martin smiled one last time before starting his rounds. He would start on one side and Sarah on the other one, just as usual.
Luke's head was ringing as the white man pulled the gas can from his grip. The blow to the man's stone-like nose had poked a hole in the can and it was leaking down into a puddle at the man's feet. Luke shook his head and got up onto one knee, pretending to still be fuzzed up from the punch.
"What the hell are you doing up here?" the man stressed
"" Luke said in Haitian, staggering to his feet exaggeratedly.
"What?" the large man asked.
Luke sparked his lighter inside his pocket, then dashed it at the puddle of gasoline. The flames erupted over the white man's ankles and Luke swerved around him, diving for the door to the stairwell.
Gavin attempted to send them flying but in this position, he wouldn't have much room to get away from Dan. He'd probably end up flying into his arms and in turn, directly into the arms of death. So it was either be crushed by his foot...or be broken in midair. Gavin didn't have many options at this point since Dan seemed ready for anything Gavin had. Gavin fired his grappling hook, but Dan simply caught the line and put his other leg on Gavin's arm. Dan then pulled back, winding up a punch. Gavin knew he wouldn't be able to defend himself from this. This was it. Just as Dan swung downwards, three men tackled him causing him to stagger back in minor surprise. Gavin rolled out from under him and stood up quickly.
They didn't appear to be superhumans, just three really tall black guys without shirts holding onto Dan McNeil. Gavin tried to get a good look at them but Dan suddenly flexed, knocking the three men away from him. They all looked at each other, wondering if they should just give it another go, but Gavin walked forward. "Stay back, I'll see what I can do." He said, taking a breather and looking at one of the men.
Gavin then realized one of the men resembled the man he'd seen directing the crowd. Except shirtless and under armed. He then looked at the other two men. They looked the same, aside from their pants. Triplets? He didn't have time to address this, Dan charging at Gavin once more. Gavin acted quickly, bending downwards and delivering an uppercut as Dan made his way over. He reduced gravity after the hit and sent them both flying upwards. As they slowed, he fired a grapple at the McNeil Palace and reeled himself in. He collided with Dan feet first and Gavin practically rode him straight through the palace's roof, letting gravity take control once more.
Dan slammed into the palace floor, leaving a small crate, and Gavin jumped off him. He stared down at the McNeil, who didn't appear to be in much pain yet wasn't getting up too quickly either. Was he hurt? Perhaps a bit confused? Gavin decided to give him some food for thought. "Who needs super strength when you've got physics?" Gavin said, laughing a little. Dan jumped to his feet and swiped at Gavin, who simply jumped over him and landed gently behind him.
"You flying pest...you flying rat!" Dan barked. He wasn't physically hurt but Gavin could tell his ego was a bit scarred. Gavin tried to remember if anyone else had lasted this long against Dan. Nothing came to mind except a peculiar case about Danny boy walking home drunk one day. And even that was open ended, if someone did live they sure weren't talking about it. Dan didn't appear use to having people last this long on his bad side. Gavin's chest ached and he had a few bullet wounds on his arms, but adrenaline seemed to be taking care of that. However, he knew he couldn't go on forever. He needed a plan. But what could keep Dan down? Hell, what could keep the entire McNeil family down?
Gavin was about to respond to Dan when he noticed someone tiptoeing through a hall way behind Dan. He looked over at Gavin and put his fingers to his lips, before continuing his walk. It was another one of the men he'd seen outside. Quadruplets? Gavin wasn't exactly sure how to react but figured something was happening if he was in the palace. Something important. Gavin jumped into the air and let himself float there for a few seconds.
"Hey, Danny boy. How high can you jump." Gavin asked, goading the McNeil. Dan got a running start and jumped as Gravin grappled himself towards the roof. Dan undershot him and went flying through a wall, away from the man Gavin saw sneaking past.
"I should probably get him back outside...or I could damage their palace." Gavin said, jumping away from the roof and through the hole Dan had made. Gavin knew he was probably pushing his luck, but someone had to keep Dan occupied. Hopefully the military and any other local supes were dealing with the rest of the McNeil's.
"Gah- GAH!" Rico dropped the can of gasoline. It hit with a thud, splashing an immense fireball into Rico's face.
"FFFMMMMMRRRRMM!"
Rico hurled himself free of the inferno, crashing down heavily onto the roof. Immediately, Rico began to roll. Soon, the flames on him were extinguished, the gas in his clothes burned out.
"For the love of Christ, these were my FAVORITE JEANS!"
His clothes had burned very quickly, but his modesty was barely preserved. The shirt was holding on by its collar, flapping in the slightest breeze. Rico pulled it off. His jeans had fared better, if only marginally. The belt, the butt and the crotch area were still mostly preserved. Rico kept them on.
Rico stumbled to the edge of the roof, away from the tower of flames. The hospital... it was on FIRE! He had to jump down and warn -
Rico heard a helicopter.
No... they'd extinguish it soon enough. The hospital is too valuable to let burn. Besides, fire goes up, so there's much more time now that they've burned the roof first.
...Why would they burn the roof first?
To attract aerial firefighters?
To attract someone specifically?
If it was the latter, Rico decided to intercept them.
Rico kneeled at the edge of the roof over the entrance. If the Haitian douche left the building first, Rico would jump him from several stories up. If an aerial help crew arrived before that, Rico would talk to them first. Fine.
Rico waited.
SkullKing84
What only should of been a few minutes walk to the pub turned into something far worse. Not even a second into a random rioting crowd Ottis got sucker punched and his skate board yanked out from his arm. But, the tall hairy Hawaiian man who held Ottis's board laughed at the aged rocker. Well, until Ottis grab him by the balls and let out the energy was was holding onto.
It doesn't matter how much electricity goes through ya, it only matters on what it hits in ya,thought Ottis. The refreshing high pitch scream and limp body had a few other looters backed away from Ottis.
Ottis loved the sound of anarchy, and stared at them back..." Fuck it. I think THIS is what I needed... MOSH PIT!"
Swinging his board like a club, as his Ipod started playing his favorite song "Blitzkrieg Bop [http://youtu.be/K56soYl0U1w]". As he smashed people's faces in, he decided to try not zap people in cause what ever the hell started this comes his way. While he lost track of time, he got physically lost in the city between punching, kicking people and skateboarding to the next crowd to the music of Chaos & Death.
After what felt like forever, he wandered out from a back alley checking himself over.
"Fucking too old for this shit. Fingers..." moves them around " not busted. Pants? Well not covered in all my own blood, good. Nose... bloody... but it aint broke." Stretching his back a few loud pops go off and he looks around at his new surroundings. Bunch of people laying on the ground, some dead, some soon tobe dead. Groaning...Fixated on the dead everything else in the immediate background is kinda a blur.
"And how the FUCK did i get here?"
Fromanzio had a clear goal. Find and capture a soldier for later interrogation. How hard could that be? Leaving the hospital area, Fromanzio lurched from building to building, attempting to find a small gang of soldiers. Sure enough, a few of them came up in sight. He was nearing the outskirts of the Noble house and a group of three soldiers were on patrol duty.
The first one said, "Man, I don't even know why we are here, the rest of the military guys are attacking, not like the civies are going to attack us."
To his left, a darker looking man said in his deep voice "They just want us to make sure nobody tries anything like a flank. Just keep your cool and-"
Fromanzio fired his colt from the building top and his bullet hit the soldier square in the head. Blood came pouring from his helmet as another shot rang out and killed the third soldier. The final one looked startled, but grabbed his pistol and started shooting at the roof.
"You bastard! This is north west patrol! We have been-"
Fromanzio had sneaked up behind and hit him on the back of the head with his colt. He picked up the radio and said "This is Fromanzio. We apologies, but the number you were dialing has been...disconnected." He laughed in the speaker and smashed it before taking the soldier's pistol and flying off with him.
Congrats big guy, you managed to kill two innocent people again. What are you doing with him?
I thought we were clear, if we are going to kill the psychic *****, we need information!
This is better thought out than I would expect from you.
THEN WE KILL HIM!
Of course we do.
Fromanzio landed near his stash. He had already tossed most of the soldier's equipment, most would be traceable. He then took a large stick he kept for just these purposes and used it to brace the soldier's leg. With some effort, Fromanzio was able to snap one, waking the soldier up violently. He thrashed at Fromanzio who kicked him square in the jaw. Knocking the soldier out again. They continued this routine until the other leg and both his arms were broken. Fromanzio left him unconscious for a second to search.
What do you want now?
I couldn't find any rope but...aha!
Fromanzio found an old discarded pink razor, five rusty blades still attached. He laughed and flew up to his hostage. Razor in his hand, he slapped the soldier awake, he looked beaten already, but still wanting to fight back. "Wha-What are you doing with that? Why did you do this? What do you want from me?" Fromanzio danced and sang a tiny bit, doing his normal routine. "We have taken you far from your home little birdy. Clipped your wings we have! Fromanzio can't have you fly away now." He moved in closer, put the razor on the soldier's arm. "Fromanzio has heard that little birdies such as yourself might have some useful information. Now, if you will, tell us anything you might know about a psychic. Preferably a super powered one. If you refuse, Fromanzio will slowly cut you with this blade. Sound fun huh?"
Lenneth had been asleep, she decided to take advantage of the situation and nap, she was in no life threatening danger yet and she knew it. when she woke up, a little after that Haitian left, she pulled her self out of bed, and looked at the wound, sighed and shook her head "today's been fucked from since i woke up this morning" she said to her self in an annoyed tone and started out the door after collecting her jacket.
she was still in quite a lot of pain, "fuck me, this hurts" she muttered as she walked pained steps to the elevator, she'd been shot before, still hurts like a ***** every time though 'just gotta find some one no one will notice missing right away' she thought as she pressed the button to get back to the first floor
Warren plodded his ferocious way forward, ignoring the three civilians who backed away hurriedly from his advance, his abnormal eyes focusing on the group of armed soldiers before him. There was girl, and the original man with his gun, but most of them were out of reach.
But not for long.
With a sweep of his arm Warren nabbed his original target around the waist and hoisted him back and into the air. It was then that he noticed a small hole leaking clear fluid out the back of his palm. It didn?t hurt, and it wasn?t impeding him in any obvious way, so he ignored it, dragged back from rationality by the roots that were clambering eagerly up his outstretched arms tiny mouths opening and closing in anticipation for their meal.
The boy he held, (for he seemed to be not much more than that in Warren?s eyes) was struggling, and seemed to be very hardy. Twice Warren had poured his partially augmented strength into tearing off his limbs, with no result. His anger was rising along with his annoyance at this pest. Why wouldn?t it just die!
The roots were busy trying to break through this boy?s skin when Warren brought the pest?s back down across his knee, in a vain attempt to snap it in twain. Disgusted and feeling like he had been cheated out of his vengeance, Warren discarded the boy, throwing him into the wall on his left and letting him rot there for as long as he could.
That was when he noticed the bullet wounds. Holes of varying calibre pockmarked his torso, leaking the same clear fluid that he?d noticed on his hand. Curious, Warren dipped his fingers into the substance and brought it to his mouth. A green tongue, all muscle and snake-like proportions, snapped forward and nabbed the morsel of liquid, sending it down into Warren?s plant-stomach.
The people before him were still firing, yelling things and pointing at the pest who wouldn?t break or tear. Warren missed the sun. He?d wandered far into the alleyway to deal with these violent people, and the angle had blocked out the sun until he fought in the shade. It made him uneasy not being able to follow the sun?s arc, and he decided that a retreat would be necessary, after he disarmed these people, that is.
In a burst of speed that surprised even he, Warren catapulted forwards, tendril fingers reaching ahead and pulling the gardens from the building either side to grab the people before him. He didn?t attempt to kill them, just bind them in place while he dealt with their weapons. The roots huffed and bemoaned this decision, snaking around his feet and snapping at whatever ankles got in their way.
"Seriously! How the hell did I get to the palace?" Walking around looking at the dead, like a lost child looking for his mom. His wrinkles scrunched. As much as he loves Anarchy and Chaos, too many damn innocents get killed. And not ever the right assholes. Looking down, he noticed something half hanging out of a young man's pocket... a can, not just any can, an air horn. The old rocker's eyes lit up.
" I haven't seen one of ya since my super protesting days with my boys." A slight sigh escaped and he looked at his hand holding the can. Pondering if he had what it takes to make a change in this damaged world. If he could be the man he hoped to be, that his kids could truly call a hero and not what he calls himself... the has-been.
"Fuck this noise, time fer a change." lifted the can to his right ear and pressed down. The 120 decibels of noise screeched across the area like nails on a chalk board. This would of deafen a normal man, but not Ottis. As the can sputtered to silence.
Matthew had pulled a rough half circle on the Marksman who had aimed a shot at him, ending up roughly behind him, if he was looking in the direction of the ent man. He wouldn't be able to proceed until he was dealt with, but more so, now Aiken was curious of what was transpiring in the streets below. He had time to gather himself, to not lose himself to instincts. Matthew focused and while adrenaline still rushed him, he was in control again.
The sniper was very close now. He had to guess that he was aligned with the Mcneils, which gave Aiken all the reasons in the world to kill him. A short sprint would see him on his rooftop. Getting shot would hurt, he wanted to avoid that, even if the shot would with all likelihood go right through him. Two jumps he counted, two jumps and he'd be on the same roof as the man. He licked his teeth, raking his tongue a little and gathering the taste of blood in his mouth again. He licked at his claws as well, lacing them in his potent poison, making them even more deadly.
He took his time to curl up his sleeves, exposing his clawed hands more thoroughly and making sure they wouldn't get in the way. He hadn't had time to do this before, as he wove between the rooftops, blurring in and out of sight constantly. Matthew kept all his other clothes on as normal. Like this, he could be mistaken for a human which made him feel somewhat better despite the awkward clothing, the claws brought a frown to his face, as he stared at them. But this was no time for reflection, he shook his head, gathered his breath and darted up, sprinting right for his victim at supernatural speed. A flurry of poisoned claws would soon follow...
John had been slowly inching forward towards the dropped glock and when the Ent-man bounded towards the other McNeils out on the street, he made a break for Ben's discarded gun. The sounds of shots and struggling on the street filled his ears as he reached down and felt the cold hard plastic of the weapon.
Picking it up he strode over to the battered but alive body of Ben. Assuming a firing stance; Ben's unmoving body no different to a target at a firing range; John aimed between the eyes and fired a single shot. Blood, brain and skull splattered against the wall behind him; where once there was a hurricane thoughts and emotions, now there was nothing. In a flash that storm had disappeared, leaving behind only calm water on which John's mind gently drifted. But John felt no grief, no sadness - he told himself it was because the body in front of him was that of a monster, and for now that was enough.
He lowered the gun, and held it to the side. There was fear in the minds of the other civilians; the other man had been grazed by a bullet and was writhing in silent agony against the wall. But there was also a fear of John; what had he done? Why? This is something that John was asking himself; why? Had there been an alternative? Was this too bold a move? After all this was tantamount to a declaration of war on the McNeils; and who was he? A powerless civilian as far as anyone was concerned.
But there were other things happening that the McNeils had to worry about, and there was no way of restraining Ben. Either way what was done was done.
He sensed an acceleration in James' mind similar to what he felt the first time he had tried to make an escape. He wasn't sure if it meant James was going to try and leave again, but there was no point taking chances...
"James, don't run - we need you!" he began to walk towards James, holding the gun as least threateningly as possible.
"Look what is happening! This is it, this is a second collapse! You, the Ent-man... this is exactly the same as last time! But remember what happened during the last collapse; total chaos reigned and people died in their millions. And the danger is greater this time. The first generation has spent its rule oppressing and killing the people who are now waking up to their own powers... There is a war coming!"
"But this time you have a power, and you have learnt from the past! The carnage has already begun, but you are in a position to bring it to a swift end; you have to! But you are going to need help; and that starts with that Ent over there, and I think I know what to say to bring him on side..."
The Ent was still grappling with the other McNeil soldiers. It did not look like he needed help but in this world there was no point taking chances; if they did anything unexpected a well-aimed glock on a man who could accelerate himself would be decisive. And once the the Ent was finished with the soldiers John would try to talk with him - he had a rough idea what was important to the Ent and with that there was something they could hopefully offer each other.
"Does that power of yours make you any better with a gun? Could you shoot any McNeil that threatens the Ent? Although don't point it at him!"
With a small smile, John offered the grip to James.