Players:
Summary: While playing hookey from school, Quenton and Shane meet the Purifier's in the Mall.
Date: Date the log took place.
Log Title: Mutant Hunting For Fun And Profit
Rating:R
Westchester - Salem Center Mall
On the far end of the Food Court lays the long, wide hallway of the Mall. Oversized skylights let the sunlight pour in during the day, while the florescent bulbs light the Mall at night. This hall has a number of kiosks, selling anything from cheap jewelry to car stickers to on-the-spot portraits, along with them come a number of benches and let's not forget the store fronts calling out to the consumers with their bright lights and attention-drawing displays.
Hopefully, and that's a big hopefully, it's pure coincidence that Quenton decided to take Shane to the mall at Salem Center, so close to where their classmates had been taken. He certainly doesn't seem like he's here on recon, because he's got his eyes mostly focused on Shane, and he hasn't tried to bully answers out of anyone. Maybe he's banking on the idea that they wouldn't go tot he same place twice. "Just figure maybe we can try to… take a breather before I go all gung ho and do something stupid to try to get Nick back," he's in the middle of explaining.
"…How stupid we talkin'?" Shane asks, a bag from the department store held mostly in one elbow. "Like, Homer Simpson stupid, or Three Hundred Spartans stupid? Just gotta know, so I know what t' tattoo on y'face in case y'end up in medical." Less surly than usual, even considering the kidnappings casting a pall over everything, Shane watches the crowds go by as they walk, her lip curling almost by reflex as they pass the Rebellious Teen Store.
"That depends on the tattoo, babe," Quenton decides, eyeing the Rebellious Teen Store and then looking over himself, and then the groups inside the store. "You'd think they'd take cues and start dressing like yours truly. Instead, apparently being a rebel means being a dude and putting lipstick on just right." His crimson eyes, shielded by red tinted sunglasses, fall on the exploding girl wonder and he wonders, idly, "What's wrong?"
"Well, parents hate it," Shane says, lifting a shoulder. "So, guess it fits." Falling silent for a moment, she shakes her head. "S'nothin'. Just… y'know, me. Nick's gone, religious fucktards kidnappin' mutants… Fuck, be *nice* if gettin' Nick an' Warlock back's all it ends up bein'. Just can't shake the feelin' like it's gonna get a couple duzen fuckloads worse, y'know?" With a shrug, she leans her head against Quenton's shoulder. "Like I said. S'jus' me."
"I guess," Quenton murmurs, staring at the store before he glances down at the top of Shane's head as she leans against his shoulder. His arm drifts behind her, and it might seem like it's about to wrap about her, but it doesn't, instead falling limp to his side. "Nigel says it's going to be war. If it comes to that, I probably should… we probably should just go. I love a good fight, but I don't want to rage again." He wets his lips. "Especially if you're not around to stop me. And I wouldn't want you on the front lines. I mean… not like I think much of the Animaniac's inbreded cousin's opinion, but… you never know."
"'F there ain't no gettin' away from it, you're fuckin' A I'll be out there," Shane says with no small amount of heat. "Got no reason bein' anywhere else, *'specially* if I gotta stop you. Human fuckin' hand grenade, remember?" Blowing out a breath, the slight young mutant closes her eyes for a moment. "…Only thing that worries me is if the shit gets deep… I don't wanna freeze up again, y'know…?"
"I could have done a lot more damage if you weren't there to stop me, Shane," Quenton says, quietly. "Hell, I said if I raged, you need to run. You've… we've never did that, before. We've never experimented with my rage because of the effect it has on my body." His gloved hand lifts a moment, then clenches into a fist. "What if you couldn't? What you did was really brave." He draws out a quiet exhale. "I regret that day, but I don't regret bringing you. You saved me from myself." He clears his throat. "And now I'm being a sappy wimp."
"…Nothin' wrong with that," Shane murmurs after a moment, though it's clear that she doesn't quite share Quenton's opinion, for all that she appreciates it. "You're cute when you're sappy, Q. 'S cos you think you suck at it." Wrapping her free arm around Quenton's, she nods toward the Cinnabon stall. "C'mon. Let's grab a snack."
Right at the moment when Quenton and Shane are passing the Rebellious Teen Store, loud bangs, dust and smoke come from within. A girl sporting bright purple hair is pushed out the door and thrown to the ground. "I swear it's just hair dye!" She says between sobs at the two men who are dressed in long grey coats with a white cross across the front identifying them are purifiers. "Quite mutant!" One of them shouts to her, hitting her in the back of the head with the butt of the rifle he's holding. Rushing out of the store is one of the employees, a man in his twenties. "Leave my employees alone!" He protests.
Cinnabons make him hesitate. It's not that he hates them, no. But eating them gets messy. Ah, well. "Cute? I'm not cure, babe. I'm rugged. And manly. And rugged." He walks carefully, letting her set the pace before he pauses at the sight of the woman being rifle butted. His eyes jerk to her hair, and then to Shane's own. "Fuck. Go hide behind a kiosk." Quenton doesn't pull away from her, not when she's holding his arm, but he does twist a little to the side so that he's hopefully shielding her head from view. His other hand moves for a nearby food court table, his fingers digging into it. He can't help it, really. It's the Avenger Boy in him. So it probably isn't a surprise when he uproots said food court table from the ground and throws it at the man who rifle butted the woman.
"And goddamn adorable when you're insistin' on i--" Shane's amused retort, cut off by the uproar from the clothing store, her arm tugged free of Quenton's even as reflex forces her to hide behind him. Peeking out from around his shoulder, she watches, eyes wide, as a girl is clubbed for the terrible crime of having purple hair. "…They're fuckin' serious," she whispers. "They're taggin' her cos she's got weird h--" And here she stops, looking up at her own bile-green mop, and her face goes ashen. "…Yeah I'm'a just be over here." And as Quenton goes for the table, she scurries to the nearest planter, peeking between the trunks of the mini-hedge to watch the scrum begin in earnest.
The table hits it's target and the man is thrown off his feet, his face quite bloody from getting table smacked. It doesn't look like he's getting up for the time being. The other Purifier laughs and pulls up the girl by her hair, throwing her towards her coworker. "Have her, she wasn't what we came here for anyway." He speaks into a communications device in his collar. "He's made his prescience, Tarn is down." Reaching into his coat he pulls out a small, fist sized device, and clicks a button on it before throwing it towards Shane and Quenton. The small orb lands by them then rolls a few feet away, beeping faster and faster before letting off a small concussive explosion, not enough to kill but enough to shake the ground and destroy a few benches and planters in the area.
Quenton's durability power doesn't make him any more denser, just harder. So the blast throws him off his feet, but he turns his momentum around, trying to swoop down and catch Shane bridal style before she hits the ground, hopefully. If successful, he'd set her down and twist about. "You should have done your fucking research before coming for me," he growls, successful or not, and either way he'd also then remove his sunglasses, exposing his crimson eyes and throwing the pair straight for the man. "Church of Humanity. You're using her to draw me out? Hypocrites."
As the concussion grenade goes off, and Shane is sent flying, for once not under her own power, a tiny, detached voice in the back of her mind proclaims embarrassment for the not-at-all-badass shriek torn from her throat. As Quenton catches her, however, she looks up at his face, torn between amusement and annoyance at her need to be saved. …Nevermind that her hands are shaking, just a little. Once set down, she skitters away to another set of planters, watching with wide eyes. "Kick 'is ass, Q," she murmurs, clenching her hands into fists.
The Purifier ducks the sunglasses that have been thrown and seems to let whatever Quenton says to him roll off his back. He pulls out a few throwing knives from his jacket and throws them at the mutant, trying to hit him with the vibranimum blades as he takes steps closer to Quenton. Coming up out of one of the shops a few storefronts down, are two more Purifiers who start to fire assault rifles in the direction of Shane and Quenton, not caring who is in the area. Screams from civilians erupt as they try to hide and store employees start trying to usher people into the stores then roll down the gates to hide.
The knives plunge into Quenton and he staggers back, but spits to the side and growls again. "You're just fucking tickling me," he barks, charging at the Purifier as he takes a step towards him but then skidding to a halt at the sound of gun fire, instead diving in Shane's direction in an attempt to shield her from any bullets. "Christ. Shane, hit your panic button," he mutters, shakily, pulling one of the knives out of him with a trembling hand and then throwing it at it's owner.
"QUIT WORRYIN' ABOUT ME!" Shane hollers over the hail of gunfire, as she curls herself up into a ball to make sure nothing is visible from the other side of the planter. "STOMP THEIR FUCKIN' GUTS IN AN' LET'S GO HOME!" One hand plunges into a jacket pocket, thumb hammering on the panic button as fast as she can.
The knife sticks the Purifier right in the shoulder to the hilt and he lets out a frustrated noise of pain. "We may need you alive, but we don't need her." He growls out as red is quickly staining the front of his jacket. He makes a hand signal to the other two who drop their weapons, letting them hang by their straps, and one of them throws a small pen like object near Shane where it lets out a shrill sonic shriek. The second Purifier is busy talking into his communication link, yelling for more back up, now!
"Leave her alone!" barks Quenton, and he draws the other knife from him before the shrill shriek hits him and he drops to one knee, clutching his head with his free hand. Steam begins to rise from his shoulders, and he drops the knife onto the ground, letting it clatter as his other hand jerks to his head as well. Eventually, he just struggles to his feet, doing his best to beat the rage back. Not here, not with so many people around. He jumps, moving to shoulder tackle the Purifier he's been dealing with as hard as he can.
Shane shakes her head as the sonic device goes off, eyes squinching up… but one does not listen to the music Shane listens to, at the volume she's comfortable with, without being able to withstand tooth-grinding dissonance. Uncurling, she scrabbles toward the device, closing a hand around it and pulling it back to her hiding spot. One short, loud *CRACK* of explosion-compressed air, and the noise is gone.
The device is easily smashed by Shane and the sonic noise disappears just as Quenton tackles the guy so hard that when he hits the ground he's not moving. That's when more reinforcements show up, marching their way up the escalator, six more Purifiers emerge. "We need to get him quick or else Lady Death will have our hides!" One yells as he makes a motion towards Shane. No weapons are drawn but the four of the men all rush towards Shane and her hiding spot, pulling her from it, two holding her by each arm, another holding her at the waste and fourth one pulls out a knife. "If you don't want this girl getting cut up, I suggest you surrender." The fifth one though seems to be watching something above them, his hand at his side giving the slightest hand signals.
And it's a good thing, too, at least for the Purifiers, as Quenton's rising, the man he tackled being lifted by the head, his hands beginning to squeeze. But before any serious damage is done, he turns around, red veins throbbing on his face, but he's not roaring, and there isn't that mad look on his face when he's fully let the Rage consume him. He watches Shane, wetting his lips, before throwing their friend through the glass of the Rebel store and turning with his hands up. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you all," he promises, hoarsely.
Shane screeches in mingled fright and fury as she's hauld from her hiding spot, struggling against the grip of the Purifiers… But there are four of them, and her arms are like unto noodles. Her struggles cease, however, as the knife comes out, and for a moment she simply stares at it in utter panic. Then, as realization strikes, a slow grin spreads across her face. "Hey," she whispers to the Purifier in front of her, as her skin begins to flush. "Wanna guess my name?" She takes in a deep breath, and all at once the pink cast to her skin goes red, then luminesces, and then comes the full force of her explosive power, with all the attendant problems that come from wrapping your hand around a lit M80.
The plan works -almost- perfectly, they weren't expecting Shane to explode like that, sending the four of them flying in different directions, hitting the wall, the mall stands and anything else in their path. There are a few groans but none of them are moving. From a distance away though, two shots are fired at Quenton's back, two darts from a sniper one designed to depower him and the other designed to render the mutant unconscious.
"This is why I love —" Quenton's cut off by the sudden dart to his back, and he bellows, twisting around and lurching into the air, the other dart hitting him in the neck. He begins to fly towards the sniper, but as he does his body goes limp and drops, hitting his head on the rail and then falling onto his back on the ground. His veins begin to throb as the rage tries to wake him, but it begins to fade fast. And just like that, he's out.
"KILOTON, BITCHES!" comes the triumphant roar from the ravaged concrete where once stood a hostage situation. Turning with a wide, bright grin, she starts to crow about her victory to Quenton, but the words die on her lips before they can even be formed, her eyes growing wide as she watches Quenton lurch skywards… and fall back to earth, landing harder than he ever normally would. "Quenton!" She starts to run toward him, but her power display has made the ground uneven and treacherous, and there's no small amount of stumbling between her place and his.
The last standing Purifier pulls out a small pistol and fires it at Shane, trying to hit her with a dart as well, not to take away her powers but to render her unconscious. Once the green haired girl is down and unconscious, Quenton is taken away. When Shane regains consciousness she'd fine that she's in the Xavier's medbay being checked for injury.
