Players: David and Star
Summary: Star and David are caught and captured during an ambush on the village
Date: January 27, 2011
Log Title: Ambush in Africa
Rating: Log Rating.
Africa - Rundown Village
The lush green trees of the rain forest hide the small village, with only one road that leads out. The road clearly doesn't get much use, high grass growing up the center. It's nestled next to a beautiful river, flowing with the clean source of water. Still, it is a good walk down a slippery slope to get there.
The village here is poor, but hardly unpopulated. There is one solid building standing at the middle of town, and that's the church, though even that is a roug stucco building. It also seems to double as a clinic. There is no steeple, it is a simple block building, but a cross stands high over the main entrance of the buildling. There are no white people who live here, a dark shade of black on the skin tones of each inhabitant. Though it is small, there are people who live and play. Children run amidst dogs, the women wash clothes and cook while men bring in the food. Some traces of civilization can be found, playing cards and checkers seems to be the popular activities among the elderly, and they can be found in the shade of any of dozens of trees or around the large fire kept burning at the center.
The rest of the buildings in town are all the same. They are grass huts, and offer little privacy. None of the inhabitants seem to mind, content with their community life. This might offend some of the sensibilities of Americans, but they don't seem bothered by such things.
It is the afternoon in the African village, which has been the site of numerous attacks as of late. One ending the kidnapping of a friend and the retribution equally causing the kidnapping of another. David for his part, has overcome his injuries from an earlier battle with the wildlife at the crash site of the Blackbird. David, has been walking the perimeter of the camp and using his cybershades to analyze the best defense for the village. Walking around, he seems lost in thought as children and other villagers seem to just stare at him.
On edge from the attacks and kidnappings, Star is dressed in the lightly armored version of her green and black training uniform that Connor brought for her. She's been feeling rather useless with trying to protect the people of the village and her fellow mutants, but maybe that's why she's just wandering at the moment. She offers a slightly uneasy smile to a few of the villagers as she makes her way to the edge of the village, not really paying much attention to where she's going as she tries to keep tabs on the emotional state of those around her. Her own emotions tightly wound and leaving her looking like she's ready to break at any moment. She rounds the corner of a building and stops short when she spots David, waiting until he's closer before speaking, "Hey." Her voice is soft and uncertain, probably not sure of her welcome with interrupting his thoughts.
Not acknowledging Star for a moment, David seems to stare out into the rain forest. His cybershades draw up a holographic map of the Nigerian wilderness, particularly that around the village. Ten red dots appear on the hologram and appear to be moving towards the village. David suddenly takes a defensive stance and yells out to the young mutant teen without even looking at her, “Star! Get the children out of here!” Shots are fired and bullets pelt towards the side of the building that David and Star are at. The villagers begin to run away and flee as the shots are fired seemingly from the trees and unseen assailants.
At the sound of gunfire, Star freezes for a moment. It's only when she's yelled at that she's shaken into action and scoops up the smallest child, "Come on! Let's get you to safety." She herds the nearest children toward the chapel, seeing to it that they're safe inside before she rushes back out to make sure that all of them are in the relative safety of the building.
Dodging the bullets with a semblance of grace, David pushes some of the villagers down to the ground, but a little boy and an elderly woman are shot and let out small moans of pain, showing they are alive, but hurt. David remains at their side as he shouts to Star to remain inside with the children that she has herded to safety. The holographic map reappears as David takes note, Ten shooters remaining hidden and another larger red blip moves towards the village on the map. Suddenly a tree can be heard being uprooted. A large African man wearing skin-tight black body suit walks forward lifting the tree with one hand. His head has been shaven and his eyes seem clouded as if he were some kind of zombie or something. He hefts the tree towards the building where Star is smashing through the wooden wall. The children run out screaming as the man walks forward, slowly ready to snatch the first person he can grab.
Star pauses at the door when she's told to stay inside, her expression torn between wanting to stay safe and make sure that the children are alright and wanting to help however much she can. Then the choice is taken from her when the tree comes crashing through the wall. Fear spikes around her as she rushes to make sure that all of the children are alright, giving a couple a gentle shove towards the door to get them outside and moving on to better safety. It's only when she's got most of the children out of the way that she actually looks up at the giant of a man, her eyes widening at the zombie look he has, "Oh God…" Her voice is the softest of whispers, either an oath or a prayer, though it's unclear which.
No more bullets are fired as the behemoth makes his way into the village. When David urges the villagers near him to flee and get help. As he stands up, another shot can be heard fired. David suddenly gasps and grabs his throat and he suddenly feels a choking feeling and the sudden abrupt sense of loneliness as his powers seem to disappear. He clutches at a collar suddenly around his throat. It is a power dampener. He screams out to Star when the brute with super strength spots Star. His face seems to twitch a bit and he starts to move faster and faster almost charging at young empathy. David without the use of his powers suddenly has no choice but rushes to Star’s side and pushes her away from the charging man as the brute tackles David into the remnants of the destroyed building.
The confusion of the attack has Star unable to sort through all of the emotions swirling around her, backing up a step and almost falling over when she steps on some debris. She gasps, arms pinwheeling to keep her balance and failing when David pushes her out of the way. The empath cries out and falls, watching as the older mutant is tackled in her place. Suddenly, anger blooms around her and she struggles back to her feet, "Leave him alone!" And she's rushing for the zombie-man, bringing both fists up and locked together to try to hit him.
When Star rushes to attack the man, she will find he standing over David, his boot to David’s neck. The Xavier’s Institute staffer whispers for Star to run, but he can’t make out more with the man’s boot to his throat. The brute looks to Star confused a moment as he is suddenly him with a sensation of emotions. First fear than anger, Star is able to connect as she pounds on the man, but she will find it’s like hitting a brick wall. The man suddenly becoming angry attempts to heft Star up and fling her out of the damaged building. His foot coming off David’s throats, David attempts to grab the man’s legs and trip him over, but is unsuccessful as the man simply walks along towards Star dragging David along the ground.
Unfortunately, Star doesn't hear David's order to run, not that she'd probably listen even if she did hear him… Not with how angry she is at the moment, anyway. The fact that she's hitting a breathing brick wall doesn't seem to register with her as she screams at the man, "Get off of him." The anger she's unwittingly forcing on him just serving to make her even angrier. Then she finds herself flying through the air and outside, landing in a tumble and trying to tuck and roll, but just sprawling instead. It takes her a moment to start moving again, her motions slow and obviously pained.
Letting go of the man’s leg as it is useless for him to be dragged along. David rushes back into the building as the brute looks down at Star. Not feeling as angry as before he silently stares at her before putting his fists together and ready to slam down on her when David reappears with a two-by-four and smashes it across the brute’s back. IT snaps in half and he turns to face David. “Star, focus! Be calm and it’ll calm him down!” The man charges after David who runs as the man’s attention is on David and off Star, for the moment.
Star is really too dazed to focus well at the moment, fear, anger, and a touch of hatred flavoring the air around her as she tries to move just a little too slowly out of the way. Then David's instructions sink in and she takes a deep breath, clamping down hard on the anger and fear that practically overwhelm her. Her expression smooths and she thinks calming thoughts, slowly filling the air with a haze of calm colored with worry.
Like something out of cartoon, David is running around with the brute chasing after him. But soon, the brute man’s charge slows down as does David as he is no longer feeling scared, but instead is feeling calmed and peaceful. As Star’s power takes effect, David looks toward the zombified brute and then calmly picks up a rock and hurls it at the man’s head between his eyes, pulling a David versus Goliath type move which knocks the brute over. As Star’s powers sweep over the village, everyone remains calm and seems at peace when suddenly another shot is fired and around Star’s throat latches on a power dampening collar.
Calm… Star's breathing evens out and tense muscles relax as she concentrates on calming thoughts. She doesn't look at either the brute or David, just so that she won't be distracted from what she's trying so very hard to do. Then comes the shot and suddenly she's not smelling the emotions of those around her. Suddenly, she's alone and there's something that's just a little too tight around her throat. She cries out, her hands coming up to claw at the collar, memories of being dead and not feeling anything flooding her mind and terror crossing her face.
Having taken down the brute, David rushes towards Star, “Stay calm.” He tells her as he attempts to study the collar around her. He is without his powers and can’t mimic the skills of the person worked on the collars. Suddenly the ten soldiers come forwarded enter the village. One fires on David which seems to knock him out and the soldiers surround Star, guns pointed at her. A laugh can be heard coming from the rain forest. A sinister laugh.
Star's breathing is ragged and panicked, but she tries another calming breath. She's still, holding her chin up so that he can examine the collar and starting to calm down just a little, but then he's shot at and falls earning a scream from the girl, "David!" She flinches slightly when she's surrounded, but still manages a defiant glare up at the soldiers as she's surrounded, a shiver of fear running through her at the laugh, "Leave us the hell alone…" At least she doesn't just roll over and play dead, even if she is scared out of her mind right now…
The soldiers surround Star and one yells at her in poor English,”Shut up! We kill you!” He places the end of his rifle directly in her face and gets ready to press the trigger when an unearthly ugly looking thing begins to rise up out of the ground growing until it is human sized. A short fat thing with a face where its chest would be and for arms surrounding it and a serpentine tongue lashing back and forth, “She will not die….today!” The Sugar-Man moves to the unconscious body of David, “This is the psychomimetic, is it not. Can copy others.” His tongue snakes out and licks David and then lifts up the near dead mutant. He grabs David by the throat,”I have something special for him.” Before turning to Star, “The empath will prove tasty as well. Take her to Nero with the others.” The soldiers pick up Star and Drag her to the camp, While the Sugar-Man takes David and leads him elsewhere into the rain forest. The villagers remain hidden, but have watched it all ready to tell the others.
