[IC] The Unwanted. Superpowered RP with a hint of horror.

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

Jennifer grew extremely annoyed at Nate's flip-flopping behavior towards her. She knew she was messed up on numerous levels, but even she had her limits. And now she was outnumbered by multiple Nates...just exactly what she needed. Complaining under her breath, Jennifer proceeded to get in the back seat of the car like Nate had told her. Once she made herself comfortable, she felt a bit chilled and goosebumps started to emerge from her skin. She figured it was the cold seat for which she wasn't prepared for, and dismissed the idea that maybe something wasn't right. She instead chose to suffer in silence, knowing that complaining wouldn't get her far with him.

She was comfortably resting her head back on the seat of the vehicle as she waited for Nate to finally drive off to whatever destination they were going, but loud, repetitive noises very near to her suddenly pulled her from her thoughts.

"Who the fuck is that guy?!" was all that she managed to say as she stared at the man who was punching and kicking the vehicle for goodness knows what reason. Jennifer reacted by pushing herself across to the other side of the seat opposite from the berserk stranger to maintain a safe distance away from him. When she noticed that he wouldn't stop, Jennifer pushed the door open and crawled out of the vehicle, her side being the first thing to hit the pavement as her attempted escape was anything but impressive. "Nate, help me!"

Jennifer was scared. Not in a scary movie sort of way, but with enough adrenaline to run halfway across the Earth. Her pulse had skyrocketed and she had some mild tunnel vision going on. It was safe to say that her body had entered its fight or flight response, but it was especially hard for her as she couldn't do either very effectively. Somehow, though, she managed to get on her feet and run down the alley, hands wildly swinging from side to side as she kept them clasped in front of her. She didn't dare to look back, but only because she knew that Nate could hold his own and didn't really need her help.

[Subject Zero]

After Jennifer and his duplicate got into the car, Nate glanced sideways, catching sight of someone approaching. The man didn't look like much of a threat but it was better to be safe than dead. So he slid into the driver's seat and pulled the door closed behind him. He waited for a moment, watching the man approach, until his suspicions were proven correct. This man was targeting them. Either that or he just had a thing against Chevrolet. The guy pounded on the car like it owed him money and Duplinate, sitting in the passenger seat yelled "Hey, don't scuff the paint!"

Nate noticed people start to wander in off the street, attracted by the noise the crazy in the alley was making. Nate didn't like crowds. He'd have to handle this quickly before more arrived. Or worse, the cops showed up. He also noticed his other duplicate head back inside and close the door.If it had been anyone else, he would probably have been majorly pissed about that but this was a copy of Nate and he knew he would do this same. Not out of cowardice but rather to ensure the possibility of a counterattack if necessary. Better to stay out of danger at the moment and come to the rescue when needed.

Nate was set to just drive off and forget all about the crazy trying to start a fight with his car until Jen decided it would be smart to run away. As she fell to the ground in the alley, Nate let out a weary sigh and complained "God damn it."

Meanwhile, Duplinate was rummaging around in the glovebox until he found the stun gun he had put there earlier. As Nate got out of the car to help Jennifer, Duplinate rolled down his window and quickly fired the stun gun into the crazy's chest. He jerked violently and dropped to his knees, switching to his back as Duplinate slammed the car door into his face. I swear to God," he complained as he stepped out "If you left a mark, I'm gonna be pissed."

"What was the plan here, J.J?" asked Nate as he chased after her. "I swear, you would be the first to die in a horror movie." He gave a friendly smile and a wave to some of the people approaching as though telling them that everything was alright, despite the fact that he was clearly chasing a distressed woman in handcuffs.

[Thundercrash]

Swishing the water in her mouth, Christi spat back into the stream. Only minutes after she had left the cabin, it felt like the entire world had turned on its head. Literally. She didn't know what way was up or down, and within seconds she had tripped over her own feet. It took several more minutes before she could do more than lie there and vomit, Jack licking at her fingers and whimpering in concern. When whatever... it was had passed, seeking to put as much distance between herself and her former home. While her brother wasn't as good a tracker as her, he preferred to spend his time in town, he was good enough, and she had no doubt that he would get some of his "friends".

The thought nearly made her retch again, and she brushed the tears out of her eyes. He had been one of them, one of the boys who had hurt Tillie. She could hardly believe it. He had killed the only other friend she had had in the world. She'd been nice to her, and they'd...

She shook her head, driving the thoughts from her head. She couldn't go there, not yet. What she needed was to keep moving, and she knew at least one place where she could get some proper rest.

Rising, she winced, pressing her hand to her side, her shirt damp beneath her fingers. In her haste to escape, she'd forgotten that she'd still been holding her knife, and when her balance went out she'd nearly impaled herself. As it was, she was lucky that the cut hadn't been deeper. Normally she would take the time to clean and dress it, but as it was she didn't trust that Daniel wasn't right behind her. So, she whistled for Jack and kept moving.

The sun had just crossed its peak and started its descent towards the mountains when she passed the pair of crossed pines that indicated that she was getting close, and Jack suddenly stopped. Christi did the same, crouching into the undergrowth and peering in the direction the dog's nose was aimed. If there was one thing she could trust at least, it was the fact that his senses were sharper than hers. Somebody was nearby.

Placing her hand on the dog's collar, she pushed him down. "Lay down. Quiet. Good boy." Slowly, she started creeping forward, leaving behind her backpack and drawing one of her bolts. Her steps were noiseless as she slipped through the undergrowth, settling behind a large bush. Gently, she pushed aside one branch, and instantly sucked in a breath.

Sitting not far from the mine shaft that was her destination was a rough looking man in work clothes, a pistol holstered at his hip. She recognized him from the couple times that Daniel had let her come into to town with him, though she don't think that she had ever gotten his name. Daniel hadn't liked it when she had talked to people. Christi bit her lip. If he was here, and armed, then it probably meant that he was looking for her. Daniel must have gone into town and told the police. She groaned. Now she really was going to be strung up like Tillie. They hadn't done anything for her.

But... as small voice in her head whispered. But, she did know that the man in front of her didn't work for the Sherriff. In fact, he had been one of the few people in town who hadn't paid her any attention at all, as opposed to all the whispers that she knew went on behind her back. Which meant that there was a chance that he didn't outright hate her. And she really did need to take care of her cut. If there was a chance that she could convince him to leave her be...

Two sides warred in her brain, and she groaned. She couldn't just go up to him, it was too risky. What if he was with the police, and they were waiting to ambush her? Another option was needed. An idea came to her, and she turned around and crept back to where she had left Jack and her backpack. Pulling out her journal, she tore out a page and scribbled on it, then crept back to her bush and pushed it onto a branch, where it would be visible for someone who looked. Then she let out a low whistle, an up-down note that was just loud enough to hear, and retreated back to a safe distance, out of sight but close enough that she could watch.

@AcerRo

[Rawk]

The remainder of the night into the morning hours, when the sun finally did rise and cast it's yellow-orange hue onto the white penthouse exterior, had been rough. Vin didn't even make it from the pool to his bedroom, but instead crashed on the patio couch, and awoke with a pounding headache the equivalent of Chuck Norris kicking his ass while feeding him cheesy one-liners and dumb internet jokes. Fuckin' Death in the Afternoon A drink he swore he'd probably not even bother with, but inevitably took the absinthe/champagne challenge and paid the ultimate price. "Never again" He mumbled to himself, a mantra he enjoyed listening to himself repeat, but never follow. Then again, the stubborn kid from Seattle was never one to back down from a challenge.

Vincent stood up and walked over to the balcony, which allowed an almost majestic view of the Atlanta cityscape. The bustling city, it's people, food, and culture were growing on him each day, and he couldn't get enough. "The Hollywood of the South" some might call it, mostly out-of-towners like Vin, but he also considered it so much more than that. It had the class that Hollywood only wished it had, and that was good enough for him. He slowly leaned forward over the metal railing, looking onto the city streets fifty stories below, watching as ant-sized activities took place at a high rate of speed.

"It's a long way down, bud." A familiar voice echoed from across the patio. "Probably best to take the elevator"

Vin turned around to see James strolling passing the pool, a couple of coffees in hand, and giving a once-over to the chaos strewn across the brick pavement and wooden deck near the waterfall. "So...when are you gonna get your own place?" A sarcastic grin formed across his face. “You know the cleaning lady hates it when you leave all your shit everywhere.”

“Whoa, this isn’t all my stuff and you know she just loves me, even though I barely understand a word she says.”

James lifted up the large coffee that was in his hand and put on his best cheesy smile.

“Starbucks?, really James?” Vin snorted, not finding it at all funny that only a couple of weeks out of Seattle - and away from the nine thousand Starbucks shops at every corner - only to have his best friend show up with one.

“Hey, it’s double espresso, bro, and you’re gonna need it today.”

Vin grumbled as he grabbed the drink. “Yeah well, thanks I guess. So what brings you here?”

“You mean other than the fact that I live here?...” James smirked. “I need you to get your ass over to the shop. We have a new artist swinging by there in-” He checked his watch and sighed. “Ten minutes”

Vin just about choked on his hot coffee. “What? I’m not even dressed, showered, or really anything, and I smell like a fucking sleezy nightclub.”

“Yeah well, you said it, bro” The other retorted, unsurprisingly.

“Why didn’t you call me!” Vin exclaimed, as he headed back toward the large french doors going into the living room with James in tow.

“Vin, I did call you, like seventeen times…” James said coolly, sipping his coffee and taking a seat on the leather L-shaped couch. “You only choose to answer when you feel like it.”

“Fuck you James!”

Vin’s voice echoed from the second floor balcony as he scrambled to put together a decent wardrobe, leaning toward jeans and a black dress shirt. His took a quick shower, dressed, and checked his hair in the mirror, noticing a couple of small scratches and fingernail marks on his neck in the process. He vaguely remembered “play fighting” during the pool party, mainly with redheaded twins, whose names he probably never knew to begin with. Pulling his collar up a bit, he did a last second check before heading downstairs to the foyer, grabbing his keys from the wall hanger on the way out.

The elevator always seemed to move a lot slower when you were in a mad rush to get somewhere. Vin just leaned against the mirrored walls of the elevator car, watching the numbers slowly descend until it finally hit the garage level, where he all but sprinted to his ride, a sweet cherry red [i]Lexus RC Sport Sedan[i/] decked out to the nines and the only girl in his life that hadn’t let him down.

He pulled out onto the main drag, and kept nearly to the speed limit knowing the ATL cops were prowling around like cats in heat, just waiting to pinch some poor prick for speeding. Yeah, he’s had plenty of spots in the city to open up all the cylinders, but this area wasn’t one of them, and this was no joy ride. He’d made it about halfway to his destination when, while sitting at a stop light, he noticed a scantly dressed young woman with a frightened expression running full speed down a narrow alley.

“What the hell is this shit?” He mumbled under his breath, while checking around for any police cruisers in sight. “Figures...not around when you need one.”

Vincent cut the wheel hard and turned onto the one-way side street running parallel with the alley, sped up to get ahead of her before skidding to a stop and heading toward her location on foot. He saw the woman again, this time coming up to a fenced in dead end, looking over her shoulder to the adjacent building where it appeared another was turning the corner.

"Well damn, this is going to put a dent in my day..." Vin grumbled under his breath as he stopped only a few feet from the girl, whose wrists were shackled with police cuffs, and her wide eyes flicked back and forth from him to the other guy. At this point, Vin knew he'd gotten himself into some kind of shit storm, but nothing he couldn't handle with a bit of reason, provided these were reasonably people.

"Whoa!...okay...eh, what in the hell is going on here?" He exclaimed, holding his arms in front and palms out trying to keep his composure while letting the other two know he's just trying to help.

"Is this guy a cop?"

@Xandrya
@Subject Zero

[Shoe Thief]

Eric Miller

Eric doesn't like long car rides... Especially handcuffed. He eventually was given the key by Eli who was driving. And had a gun. Though he liked the idea of Hunting, though pistols normally sucks when it came to hunting. He especially didn't like getting a knife. What was he going to do with a knife?! Look scary? Wait... had he been recruited my government officials? no... They'd give him a gun or something. "I have guns? I could use one of those? Just back at my place?" but now the car was stopped.

After walking for a bit Eric saw the old mines. Being there though was.... scary. Not the miens itself. But hearing the voices coming from Eli's head right now (Which at this moment Eric was still trying to understand) almost made now seem like some sick horror movie. But then he was hearing a different tone. "...Uhh... I don't know if you're waiting for someone, but someone is here. And I don't think they are here for tea..." He couldn't tell what they were thinking either. He just needed more time on them. What he could tell though was they were not happy to see them. It's like when you hear someone who's language you have no idea how to understand it, but you can hear the emotions in their voice.

Eric could get a general direction of the person, but it was still iffy. Listening in on a person was hard. And this one was a way back still. "Maybe they overlooked us.... but someone is here man." Eric never told Eli about his ability, if he asks he will claim that he used his hunting skills or something. But right now he didn't like the idea of getting shot at again. In the same day at that. She, the person near by was a she. But she was tense. Tense people tend to lead to bad situations.

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

She came to a halt when another man intercepted her path, not that she had much choice anyway as they were in a dead end. Jennifer looked back at Nate and with her eyes, she motioned towards the stranger. Maybe Nate knew him and they were working together, or maybe this man was partners with the psycho they experienced a minute ago. Whatever the case, she just wanted to be out of those handcuffs.

"Play along" she whispered to Nate, her voice barely audible. She hoped he would catch on and act as if she were an arrestee who'd somehow gotten away. For a second, she did enjoy the idea of Nate being a detective, but she quickly dismissed the thought as she prepared herself to play the role.

[Subject Zero]

Detective Nathan Hunter

---

---

Slowing to a casual jog when he saw the car pull up behind Jennifer, he slowly came to a stop beside her when he caught up. The stranger's insinuation that he was a cop brought a slight smirk to Nate's face. J.J's insistence that he play along surprised him somewhat and he raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He had half expected her to tell this guy that he was some kind of psycho who had abducted her. That may have been technically true but it wasn't the full story. No, there were clones and crazy people and all kinds of wacky shenanigans in the full story but he didn't want to get into that right now. No, this wasn't the time for the truth. Jen wanted him to roleplay. So Nate would roleplay like no one had ever roleplayed before.

"Yeah," he said as he grabbed Jennifer by the arm. "This one here got away from us. Picked her up for solicitation on the street corner." Again, he glanced at Jennifer to see how she reacted to that. "You should be ashamed of yourself lady." he said, playing the bit a little too far. "Selling yourself for a buck fifty." He waggled his finger in front of her like his grandmother used to do to him and said "Shame!" as he booped her on the nose.

The finger of shame was quickly thrust in Vin's face as Nate narrowed his eyes and practically yelled "And you! You wouldn't be out here looking to solicit this fine young floozy's cervixes would you?."

Roleplay. Nate totally nailed it.

[Rawk]

Yep, Vincent had definitely stepped into something that stunk worse than a warm bag of raccoon shit, and yet was unrecognizable all the same. He stood a good distance away from the woman, unsure of the situation, and a bit perplexed overall. Once caught up and in better view, the guy who’d been following her looked more like a kid who’d just jumped the fence of his high school after getting pinched for smoking dope behind the gym. Vin, adjusting his aviator sunglasses, slightly chuckled to himself for thinking such a random notion, especially since he had been that kid...once. The fact that the guy didn’t deny being a cop also didn’t necessarily make him one, but Vin wasn’t going to debate the particulars during this seemingly awkward meeting.

Just play it cool, Vin, you’ll be out of this and back on the road in no time…

Officer “muscles”, nonetheless, did bring a bit of humor along with him, albeit at the expense of the woman he’d taken into custody, even the last bit, as his snappy retort was aimed right at Vin. He kept still for the moment, furrowing his brow and actually contemplating the strange question as his eyes shifted from the cop, back to the underdressed, yet overly hot chick in cuffs.

“Pfft!” He’d suddenly burst out, trying to play it cool. “I mean shit...who wouldn’t, am I right?” Vin flashed the dark-haired girl a wry grin, but noticing her face wasn’t playing along to the same tune, he quickly wiped the cheesy smile away and shrugged.

“Eh...not my type anyway.” He continued, in a matter-of-fact tone, motioning his hand dismissively before raising it up to his ear like a mock phone and mouthing the words Call me in her direction.

“Well..” He said, starting to back up slowly toward his car. “It’s been a real treat meeting you both, and-”

The sudden sound of a gun being fired cut off his exit strategy, as he quickly ducked and turned to look behind him, catching a glimpse of a figure with a pistol shooting rounds into the front and rear driver-side tires.

“Shit!...what in the happy hillbilly hell are you doing, numbnuts?”

He screamed and instinctively, yet recklessly started running toward the bearded figure who had quickly pointed the gun at him in mid-step, causing him to stopped in his tracks.

“Whoa...friend, no need for this.” He said, holding both hands in the air. “Take the fucking car...or shoot it up some more if you want, I don’t care. Well, I mean I do, but-”

The bearded shooter, dressed in a gray business suit and standing only a few feet from his target, suddenly rushed him full force, tackling Vin to the ground before sticking the gun up to his head. “You goddamn freak, I should blow your head off right now so help me…” The man, obviously pissed about something, spoke through clenched teeth as he pushed the barrel of the gun harder into Vin’s temple.

Coming around the corner, from the other side of the alley where Nate and JJ initially emerged, three armed figures in similar suits and hand guns headed toward them both.

Vincent’s fearful gaze and painful guttural scream, from the gun pressed against his head, suddenly changed into an intense stare of anger, as he let out a sadistic laugh. He stopped struggling, and yet it appeared that the images on his skin were in motion, pulling, and lifting from the surface like tiny black tendrils. “I don't know what you want from me, but I'd run if I were you, asshole.” Vin said, straining to speak. The bearded assailant took notice and tried to get up, but was anchored down by the dark wiry matter that had manifested itself, and began to wrap around the arms, legs, and neck of the unknown man.

“Fuck, get it off me!” He yelled, and instinctively tried to pull the trigger on the gun, hoping to put a bullet into his target’s head and end the nightmare. His attempts, however, were futile, as the black ichor wrapped itself around his finger, pulling it backwards until it was clear of the trigger guard. The more the unknown man struggled, the tighter the black tendrils became around his neck, causing him to choke as they cut off his air supply.

@Xandrya
@Subject Zero

[Subject Zero]

Detective Nathan Hunter

---

---

Nate was surprisingly calm when the gunfire began. So long as he wasn't the one being shot at, he didn't much care. And for once, he wasn't the one being shot at. He was immensely confused about the latest goings on though. Beardy weirdo seemed to have something against nosey parker's car. Was it a local thing.? Did people in Buckhead just not like cars? Was there some kind of secret Montague and Capulet rivalry going on. That was a ridiculous theory but he did hope it was true. It would explain a lot.

He barely reacted when Vin was tackled to the ground except for to stifle a smile. He could have helped but he wasn't about to insert himself into someone else's business when it could result in a bullet being inserted into him. What was of far more concern to Nate was the gaggle of goons heading their way with handguns. They were probably after nosey parker too but Nate couldn't take the chance that they were here for J.J. It was his job to protect her after all.

He was momentarily distracted by...whatever the hell started to happen with the two on the ground though. As the tattoos on Vin's body began to attack his attacker, Nate pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket. He put them on, only to immediately whip them back off to illustrate his surprise.

This guy had powers too? This suddenly became his business and he regretted not bringing another pair of cuffs. Maybe J.J and the new guy could share. But, all jokes aside, meeting someone else with powers was an important lead in his investigation. And these idiots with guns were trying to bury that lead...right after they killed it.

Time to take action. Nate Reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a handgun. "Time to play action hero." he said out loud to really no one but himself. Not even turning to face Jennifer, he informed her "You may want to duck." before placing his hand over her face and shoving her onto her ass.

He stepped out into the middle of the alley and seemed to split into three of himself. All three Nate's leveled their guns at the oncoming goons and yelled "Freeze! Police!".
Both Nate and one of his clones slowly turned to look at the third, who had actually yelled "Fashion police!" at their stares, he returned the look and complained "What? Those suits are cheap!"

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

A surge of adrenaline coursed through Jennifer's body when the gunfire erupted through the air and interrupted the awkward meeting between them three. Her reaction was to push herself against the wall, not that it would help any if she were to get shot. She could only stare in silence at the stranger and his attacker as they both fought for control of the gun. And who wouldn't, honestly, when your life depended on it. She wanted to run in the opposite direction now, and it seems that she was doing just that quite a lot lately, but she noticed the man's tattoos had started to come to life, literally. It dawned on her then that he also had some special abilities himself, although it's far from what she would expect.

"Should we help him?" she turned to Nate, but that's when she noticed three additional men who were wearing similar suits heading towards them. And yes, they had their guns out as well. Goddammit! She hoped they would just ignore her and through some miracle leave her alone, but realistically speaking there was no chance in hell that such thing would occur. Jennifer looked at the man on the ground, who seemed to be doing alright at this point as his tattoos were choking the assailant with the gun. Maybe he didn't need their help after all.

"I think we should--" but before she could get another word out, Nate used her face to push her down to the ground. The landing was a bit rough, but she couldn't complain, not when she looked up to see three Nates standing between her and the gunmen.

Better them than me, she thought, turning to the tattooed man once more but now with a bit of a guilty conscience. I mean, it didn't matter if one of the clones died, right?

"What the fuck do they want?!" she asked right before realizing that maybe he was being hunted for his abilities. "Can you get rid of them too?"

[AcerRo]

Even as Eli sat waiting, sing his little song. He couldn't help but listen to the birds. The birds were the best alarm system in the hills. As long as the birds sang, everything was gonna be okay. It's when the songs stop that you need you need to worry. The they stopped, so did Eli.

As the birds song ended, Eli began to pay attention to what was going on around him. It wasn't until Eric Miller spoke that Eli realized that the Raines girl had finally showed up... Or so he hoped. "Come to that idea by yourself did yah? Eric Miller?" Eli said as he heard what sounded like a bird.

Eli's eyes moved right to where the sound the came from. He drew his pistol and held it at the ready as he got closer to where the sound came from. With each careful step he notice something in branches coming into focus. "If anything happens get down that mineshaft, and don't stop running." Eli said to Eric Miller.

It was sheet of paper, with more than just a tad bit of blood on it. Slowly and gently he reached out for it. As he pulled back the note he saw the writing. "Who are you." Eli read aloud. Writing looked to Eli as if it were from a female, circular and soft. He was near certain that on the other side of the trees was the Raines girl.

Eli hadn't really ever talked to the girl but he knew for her to sneak up like that, she was damn good. Either hr was getting rusty, or she was something else entirely. He had little doubt she was in the better position of the two.

"My name is Elijah Craigh, Christi Raines. I think we met in passing on day when I was talking to your shit stick brother. The boy behind me somewhere is Eric Miller. Neither of us intend you any harm and it looks like you could use some seeing too. Blood on the note and all..." Eli said a in raised voice. He didn't wasn't to yell or shout for fear of who else might be close by.

It was moments like this amazed Eli the most. For all he was able to do. He had no fucking clue what to say to the girl. If the truth were known, he wasn't even completely sure she was there at all. "I know about your PA. Truth be told I couldn't careless what happened him. He was a drunken shit apple redneck who got what he had he coming and if I know that dumb shit brother of yours he'll come looking for you. I don't know how you two came out the same woman. Your Momma g-d rest her soul was a sweetheart. What happened to her wasn't your fault sweetie... I'm gonna take a few steps back and put my gun away now. Why don't you come out, we can talk and get you patched up." Eli said, struggling to find the right words. He back peddled to his bag and pulled out his own first aid kit.

As he looked to Eric Miller, he suddenly felt the need to justify his knowledge of Christi Raines life. "Family's been here since the Civil War. I know damn near everything about everyone's family. Product of living here for too fucking long." Eli said as he got everything for Christi.

[Thundercrash]

For a long moment, Christi was silent, her breath frozen in her chest as she leaned her back against the tree. Elijah Craig. Now she had a name to a face. But the things he said, they didn't make any sense. He wasn't there to arrest her? It wasn't her fault? Of course it was her fault, she had been holding the knife, she'd made him angry. Of course it was her fault Mom was gone, she was here and Mom wasn't. If she hadn't been born, then her Mom would still be alive. All of it was her fault.

Why would they want to help her? Everything was her fault. They shouldn't be helping her, they should be with her brother. Biting her lip and clutching at her arms, she again debated on what to do. The longer she stayed there, the more likely it was that Daniel would catch up with her. Or they'd just start looking for her.

And what about Eric Miller? That name didn't sound like one of Daniel's friends, but she didn't often see them anyways, or really know their names.

Maybe if I just... looked? She peered just slightly around the tree, and crouched to her feet, circling left. She made it nearly fifty feet before finally catching sight of him. He was... nice looking? She frowned. He didn't look like the boys that she would sometimes see Daniel with when they were in town. They were all big, brawny, and always looked like they had something stuck between their teeth that they just couldn't get out. Eric was... wiry. Thin, like the deer she shot. And the goggles on his head made him look... almost cute. Instantly burying her face against a tree, Christi banished the thought from her mind. She wasn't supposed to think about people like that, it wasn't right. The only person she'd talked about things like that with was Tillie, and now she was...

Biting her lip again, she quietly tore another page from her journal and scribbled a single word, then laid it against the base of the tree and whistled up-down again, creeping away to watch from safety.

Why?

[AcerRo]

The bird call again. Eli turned to back to the tree hoping to see Christi, yet all he saw was another note.

He had a thought to send Eric Miller to get it but he thought against it. Eli knew what was going on, how they were treating her. Something should have been done about it but fear of making things worse kept him from it.

Eli walked over first aid kit in hand and read the single word note. "Why?"

That one question was enough to get Eli riled up. He wasn't mad at Christi. No, he was mad at himself. He knew better than to drop a stitch like this.

Eli took a deep breath before speaking. "I was 11 or 12 when your Momma passed. I can remember sitting with her not long before you were born. She'd say 'Elijah, my Christabelle, is gonna be a good. Just you watch Eli. She's gonna be something special.' Past that I've known Tillie Helton since she was a little girl. She used to write me letters when I was in the war. She told me some about you. Said you were a good kid, quite and shy but she thought the world of you Christabelle. Between her and what I can remember of your Momma, that's more than enough for me." Eli was at his wits end at what to say to her. If that didn't get it done he didn't know what else would.

He took one more deep breath before speaking again. He was really missing combat right now. Lord knows it was easier for him than this. "Sweetie we ain't got a lot of time right now. I'm gonna walk passed these trees and we're gonna get you patched up... Alright, I'm coming through. Just stay calm for me girl." Eli waited for just a few short seconds before pushing past the branches and getting eyes on Christabelle.

His were in plain sight, he did what he could seem as non threatening as possible. He did his best to calm and collected but the look of fear and how battered she looked wasn't making it easy. "No one is gonna your Christi. Just wanna talk." Eli said as he slowly stepped to her.

[Rawk]

The bearded man’s attention had been fully focused on his futile attempts at releasing himself from the thick, black, inky mess that entangled him, as his fingers clawed and pulled at the tendrils wrapped around his throat. The color in the man’s face turned from his natural light peachy skin tone, to a shade of red, as the blood rushed to his head and eyes, causing veiny lines to appear as though they would burst at any moment. Vin made a last ditch effort to push the suffocating man off of him, and with the little strength he had left, tipped him over on his side as the serpent-like creatures continued to squeeze and crush. The bearded man writhed and kicked on the ground, making one last attempt at catching a breath of air that would never come, until all movement ceased.

Vin’s head pounded and his vision wavered, but not as any normal headache or migraine that one would experience at any given time. This was much worse. An almost indescribable feeling of a thousand knives carving and tearing through the gray matter for what seemed an eternity, and visions that became distorted and skewed to a point where reality was difficult to grasp. He could hear the commotion around him, the indecipherable voices of the cop and the woman, the muffled noise of the traffic ambience, and the final choking & guttural breath of the now dead attacker laying next to him. The experience was unlike any drug or drink he had ever consumed, no, this didn’t have even the slightest euphoric effect.

This had happened only once before, but not like this...

It was the one thought that resonated in an otherwise tangled mess deep inside his head. He tried to forget that day, only a couple of weeks prior, that changed everything and yet the nightmare rushed back like a scorned lover you could never escape. His body however felt weak, as the last vestiges of strength seemed sapped from him, an apparent and unfortunate side effect of a power he knew nothing about. A curse, perhaps? The dark wiry tendrils slowly released and retracted from the dead body, making its way to their place of origin -their host as it were- as the tattoos shifted, reformed, and realigned back to normal.

Vincent turned his head to the other side, and while his vision continued to blur and sharpen uncontrollably, he could make out the faint figures several meters away. There were the three attackers and what appeared to be identical looking men aiming pistols at them. Vin tried to speak but either he couldn’t hear his own voice or the words wouldn’t form, and yet his senses were still intact, albeit, marred at the moment. He glanced over at the young girl, cuffed, and sitting on the ground nearby the cop, words were spoken between them, yet Vin couldn’t understand it.

He locked his eyes on the woman though, focusing as best he could on her hazy form, and slid his arm along the gravelly pavement to an outstretched position in her direction. There was considerable distance between them, but he didn’t know what else to do as he suddenly felt completely immobilized from head to toe, with nothing but a single thought.

Fuck, I wish I’d never left the house today…

[Subject Zero]

Nathan Hunter

---

---

For a moment, no one seemed to move. The Nates were busy staring down the goons while the goons were busy trying to figure out what the hell was happening. But then their bearded buddy bought it and all hell broke loose. Bullets whizzed through the air. One narrowly missed a clones ear and another not so narrowly hit one of the goons in the chest as the others ducked for cover. Nate would have preferred to avoid gunfire. Gunfire meant cops and he was already trying to avoid those. He'd have to thank nosey parker for getting him into this situation later. If they both survived it of course.

As the two clones began to advance on the attackers, ducking and weaving between cover, Nate dropped back to J.J and Vin. He grabbed hold of Vin and hauled him into cover beside J.J, dropping him back down onto the ground in a less than gentle manner before peeking around from behind a nearby dumpster and firing off another shot. "You know we could have been half way out of the city right now if some people weren't little baby scaredy-cats." he remarked in a tone far too calm for the current situation as turned and gave Jennifer a weary look. "Just saying."

Meanwhile

Duplinate gave the crazy on the ground a quick tap with his foot and asked "Are you dead?" When there was no response, he gave him another kick and waited for some sign of life until he heard the sound of gunfire from the direction the others had run. People nearby began to run but Duplinate just sighed, knowing that his brother had gotten into trouble again. He would go help in a moment but was confident that the issue would be resolved quickly. It wasn't like Nate was short on backup. For the moment, however, he decided to check his attacker for some kind of I.D. Any kind of information on who this guy was and why he tried to attack them would be useful. He reached into the attackers pockets to see what he could find.

Also Meanwhile

The clone that had re-entered the safehouse had casually strolled back upstairs and into the apartment where he promptly flopped down onto the couch and began taking selfies with his phone. Sure, he had developed superpowers and was being hunted by the police and lord knows who else and that was definitely the sound of gunfire coming from the streets where his other selves were most certainly under attack but, hey, gotta keep those Instagram followers happy.

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

Her questions went unanswered by the stranger, although after a few moments, it became obvious why he hadn't bothered with a reply. Instead, he reached out to her as a plea for help. Jennifer wasn't sure what was wrong with him; he hadn't been shot, not as far as she could tell, and he wasn't choked to death unlike his attacker who now laid dead a few feet away from him.

It was then that additional gunshots went off, making Jennifer nearly jump out of her skin. She froze in place as the group of Nates advanced on the men in suits, one of them falling back to her spot and helping out the nearly unconscious stranger by dropping him off next to her. Predictably, Nate suggested that it was Jennifer's fault they were stuck in this situation. She just shook her head at him with an I can kill you right now look before her attention went back to the man. She weighed the benefits and consequences of helping him, but the answer wasn't anywhere as clear as she would have liked. She wasn't sure why this particular ability was given to her, or if it came with the responsibility of using it to a certain extent. Jennifer cursed under her breath, looking at the man whose condition wasn't getting any better.

'You owe me," she said, not particularly addressing him but instead, using it as a motivator as she sighed in anticipation of what awaited her. Jennifer decided not to dwell on it when she pulled on his arm to hold his hand between hers.

For a moment or two, she thought that maybe the pain was his to suffer alone, but then it started to take effect. At first, the headache was mild and the dull pain was something she had experienced on numerous occasions before, but as she continued to hold on to his hand, the pain increased to the point where she felt as if something was attacking her from within her own head. Jennifer wanted to let go of him, badly, but she denied herself that option. She suffered in silence up until the point where her vision grew dark. Jennifer wasn't quite sure that she had intentionally released his hand as it could have very well been her own body protecting her from danger. She suppressed the urge to scream as she pressed her hands against her eyes, but she found no relief from her actions. She fell to her side when her body started to feel numb. Now she could no longer move as well as she wanted to, even though the pain didn't lessen any. Jennifer was terribly scared, the thought that she may die dancing around in her head along with the vicious pain that wouldn't leave her alone.

[Rawk]

The sudden and unexpected fall to the ground, causing his head to slam against a metal grate, jolted Vin out of his momentary lapse of consciousness. His body still numbed by the previous surge of power that coursed through his veins, leaving him in an almost catatonic state, as his remaining senses tuned in and out at random intervals. Blurred colors and shapes passed by, some more abstract than others, but one in particular came into view as a silhouetted slim figure leaning over him. The girl. The thought came and went, but he tried to focus on her, tried to filter through the chaos, and there it was. As if by some miracle, his mind began to slowly clear, and the pain that once dominated was replaced a soothing touch, a euphoric feeling he’d longed for. Within a few seconds, the muddled sounds and blurred images all flooded back into his senses at once, as he heard himself screaming for the first time since the attack.

“WHAT. THE. HELL!”

It was about all his brain could conjure up at that moment, but a good sign nevertheless, as he sat up and noticed he was behind a large garbage dumpster with the young and overly gung ho cop firing off rounds at the three other attackers. Laying next to him, however, was the girl, curled up in the fetal position with her hands over her face as her body suffered through short bouts of spasms. Vin slipped his hands under her arms and pulled her further behind the dumpster, which was apparently the only barrier between them and the jerks shooting at them. He had no idea what to do as he’d never been in a situation like this. CPR? Shit, he didn’t attend that class in school, trading an actual educational experience for a quick roll-around with whatsherface in the janitor’s closet. Dumbass.
Figuring it would be the most obvious start, Vin did a quick check for any bullet wounds on her, but considering her lack of attire, it wasn’t hard to surmise that she hadn’t been shot. Another bullet, however, ricocheted off the brick wall a few feet from his head, kick up pieces of red dust and fragments.

“Douchebags!” He exclaimed, blinking the dust from his eyes as he quickly turned his head toward the kid with the gun who he automatically assumed was responsible for the shit pile he’d been roped into.

“Can you tell your buddies to stop fucking shooting at us?” He reached his hand up to rub his temple, as a stint of sharp pain surfaced before quickly subsiding. “Look...this-this girl needs help! Can’t you call for backup? The paramedics? An aerial strike?...”

He leaned his head back against the rusted metal dumpster, closing his eyes for a moment and wishing this was all a huge damn nightmare, or perhaps he was being punk’d by one of his dickhead friends. In either case, this wasn’t Vin’s scene at all, and for once in a very long time, fear began to rear it’s ugly face and the thought of death seemed a lot more real.

[Shoe Thief]

Eric Miller

Eli asked about how Eric came to his conclusion. "I've been in these woods for most my Teenage lifetime. Humans sound a lot different then animals." Which was true but Eric had no idea how to tell that. He was still skeptical on what was going on. Though at this point he wasn't sure how much he wanted to know. He was still wondering if he was being recruited for some government experiment. Like... he wondered if he'd end up being an Avenger! Even though that would be cool, he's not a good fighter. Decent shot yes but no professional marksmen.

Eli went to pick up a note, he read it, spoke, then she was actively thinking again. Eric wished he could understand the sounds better then he did. He couldn't tell a lot, but he could tell the person was definitely a girl. She was curious, but it was motivated by fear it seemed. Then her fear seemed to turn into relief centered around.... Him? She was thinking about him? The thoughts were turning positive. Even though the noises in his head were annoying he liked the thought of a girl thinking positive things about him. Unless they involved violently murdering and using like a murder toy or something like that. He was hoping it wasn't that. The thoughts soon turned negative. Not angry, at least not directly at him. More of... shame? Eric really wished he was better at understanding the noises. He wished he could understand more then tones from new people. The better he got to know people the better he understood them.

Eli got another note. He didn't need to read it out loud for Eric to know what it said. "Why?" Now he was wondering what was on the first note. Eli soon stepped forward in hopes of helping her. With all the other thoughts in the air he didn't even register her pain. Now that he was looking for it he could tell she needed it. "You can trust him, I don't know his first aid skill much but I worked with Eli a lot over the last couple years. He's a good man." His words may not help much, but if she had no intentions on hurting them, might as well do what he could to help her out. "Neither of us bite as well. Well, I don't. Eli might. But he's had his rabies shot so we're good either way."

[Subject Zero]

Nathan Hunter

---

---

Rooting around in the pockets of the unconscious crazy, Duplinate hummed a tune that had been stuck in his head all week. He didn't find much. Car keys, some loose change and a packet of mints. But one thing was interesting. There was a small stack of photos in one pocket of the man's jacket. Photos of a young woman. Initially, as he flipped through them, Nate didn't think much about them but then one of them struck at a memory lodged in the back of his head.

He knew this girl. He didn't know her name or even anything about her but he had seen her before. It took a moment to place her but then...there she was. As clear as day. A memory washed over him. A memory of the last day he had felt normal. The day of the charity gala. He had seen this girl there. He remembered her. He remembered her smile...She was so happy.

And then she was gone.

They were all gone.

Dead. Like so many others that night.

Suddenly, the air of cool calmness left him and he frowned at the photo. He glanced up at his attacker, suddenly understanding so much more. He knew why he had tried to attack them now. The news had reported than he and J.J were wanted for questioning in regard to that night. This guy must have thought they had something to do with the nightmare that that night had become. He must have thought that they were responsible for killing this girl, whoever she was. Everything suddenly felt so real. So painfully real. Nate shifted from his knees to his backside and dropped his head into his hand for a moment. He had tried his hardest to push the memories of that night to the back of his head. He had tried not to think about the people that had died. Their families. All the people who loved them. But sitting here now, seeing the faces of one of them and confronted by someone who was so grief stricken that they would seek revenge...It all caught up with him.

He felt nothing but sympathy for the man in that moment. "Oh god." he whispered as he stared at the photos in his hands. He wished he could explain this to the man. To give him some kind of answer. But he had none to give. Not yet anyway. But that was what he was trying to do. Get answers. Some kind of explanation for the horror. He wished he had time to give him some kind of comfort but he knew there were more pressing matters. He took one last look at the photos he held, separating one from the others and staring at it. After taking a deep breath, he placed the photos back in the man's pocket. He kept hold of the one he had separated though, placing that one in his own pocket.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly to the unconscious man next to him before he got back to his feet and back in the car, quickly speeding off.

---

Nate was too distracted to notice when Jennifer started doing her thing on the almost completely out of it Vin. If he had, he would have stopped her. He had already seen the drawback of her powers, taking on an element of whatever she healed, and he didn't like that she was making his job a lot harder. He was supposed to keep her safe and she was far from safe right now. Not only were there bullets whizzing around but she was actively harming herself too. Hell, Nate may have admired that kind of thing in anyone else. Anyone he wasn't supposed to be protecting.

By the time he noticed what was going on, it was too late to stop it and he could only bare his teeth at the entire situation to express his annoyance. Well that and fire bullets into people, which was what he was trying to do right now. He felt slightly better when one of the clones nailed one of the attackers in the arm. The other was well covered though and kept firing, causing both clones to duck.

When Vin began complaining about being shot at, Nate retorted "It's not my buddies shooting at us, moron. It's yours. Apparently they objected slightly to you murderizing beardy weirdo over there." At the suggestion that he call in backup, maybe even an air strike, Nate ducked back around behind the dumpster and planted his back against it next to Vin as he he thought about that for a rather long second before shaking his head and saying "Nah. That'd be fun but slightly overkill...But I do like the way you think."

The air strike ultimately proved unnecessary. One of the clones dropped the goon that he had already wounded, making this an entirely unfair fight. The last attacker apparently knew this and began back peddling out of the alley. But right as he did so, a car pulled up at the street and out stepped Duplinate. He quickly and and almost casually fired at the last goon, dropping him in a heartbeat. With that out of the way, he yelled at the others "Get your shit and get in the car! We gotta go!"

Hearing the sound of sirens quickly approaching, Nate reacted even before his clone had finished his sentence, snatching up Jennifer and carrying her to the car where he placed her in the back seat and got in beside her. The other two clones were almost as quickly on top of Vin, whom they grabbed by the arms and hauled him towards the car. "Sorry but you need to come with us. No time to explain."
"Your car's at at a crime scene with two flat tires and four dead bodies. One of which you're responsible for." said the other. "You'll be arrested if you're still here when the cops show up."
"...Apparently there is time to explain." added the first.

The clones shoved Vin into the passenger seat of the car next to Duplinate as Nate shoved a hand out the window which they both grabbed hold of and seemed to instantly vanish. The group were quickly gone from this latest disaster, leaving chaos and the sound of sirens behind them.

@Rawk
@Xandrya

[Thundercrash]

(Made with the assistance of @AcerRo)

If Elijah's words had stopped Christi's heart before, then this was a knife to finish the job. He... he knew Momma? She said that about me? If anything, that made her feel even worse. Her mother had thought so highly of her, and she had paid it back by killing her.

And Tillie... In a way, his words didn't surprise her in the least. Tillie had seen the best in everyone, even Christi. Every time that Christi had shown her whatever new carving she had finished, she had always lavished it with praise. She had even sworn that when she owned her family's general store that she would sell them right at the front counter. Whenever Christi had come into town, Tillie had always dragged her away to talk about one thing or another. Not that Christi had really talked much, she was more inclined to listen, but when she had Tillie had always listened right back as though her words were the most fascinating thing in the world. And when she left to go back home, Tillie always did her best to crush Christi’s ribs with a hug, and melt her heart with a kiss on the cheek. When she’d… been with Charlie, and then practically had it painted all over town, Tillie had been the one who had hiked up the mountain and held her while she cried. Tillie had loved everyone, and everyone had loved her. Right up until the world turned on her.

But to have singled her out to someone else as special? Even just the thought had her lip trembling and tears threatening break free, and she barely heard Eric’s words. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t deserve all that praise, she was just worthless Christabelle, who had killed her own mother. Tillie had been the perfect one, and now she was dead and Christi wasn’t. It wasn’t fair, it should have been the other way around!

A sudden snap of a branch nearby broke through the loop of miserable thoughts, and her head shot up. “Sweetie, we ain't got a lot of time right now. I'm gonna walk past these trees and we're gonna get you patched up... Alright, I'm coming through. Just stay calm for me girl." She could hear him coming closer now, making her heart hammer against her ribs and panic flood through her mind. If he got much closer, he’d see her, he knew what she had done, he’d catch her. She needed to get up, needed to run, if he caught her he’d…

It wasn’t a pretty sight when Elijah stepped around the tree. There she was, sitting between two thick roots with her legs clasped against her chest and her crossbow sitting at her feet, a large, blotchy bruise running up and down the side her face, stretching from her temple almost to her jaw. As she saw his face, filled with naught but sympathy, she gave a small hiccup.

It was the bruise that sold Eli on Christi. Seeing her face like that, Eli could only hope her father did it. If what he was told was true, he’d be a long time dying. That single thought almost made things better. "No one is gonna hurt you Christi. Just wanna talk."

The low, soothing tone of his words broke her, and her tears began to spill down her cheeks. “D-did you mean it? What you said?” Whether it was fear or hope in her cracked voice was anyone’s guess.

“Every word sweetie. I don’t lie.”

Something moved in Christi’s chest, and she began crying in earnest, burying her face in her knees. Shoulders shaking, all the hurt and fear of the past few hours poured out. It only lasted for a minute, but as short as it was, it was intense. After she was done, she stayed sitting there for a moment, then lifted her head wiped her arm across her eyes. “Okay.” Tillie had always seen the best in people, and she knew that she had wanted her to as well. If Tillie had trusted Eli, then she would too… for a few minutes, at least. With that, she stood up, revealing the red stain on the front of her shirt, shouldered her bow and began walking, pausing once to look behind her as an indication to follow.

Reaching the spot where she had left her bag and Jack, Christi smiled as the dog got up and approached her, whining. She briefly dropped to her knees, scratching his ears. “Good boy.” Giggling once as the German Shepard licked the tears from her cheeks, she wiped the dog drool away and turned to look at Eli. “This is Jack. I didn’t take him, he just… followed me.” Her expression fell slightly. “Danny’s prolly mad about that too.” She grabbed her bag and turned to follow Eli, gesturing. “C’mon Jack.”

“Danny ain’t your problem to worry about anymore, Christabelle,” Eli answered softly.

She didn’t believe him. Danny hated her more than anyone, especially after what she had done. He wasn’t going to stop until she was dead and broken on the ground, just like Tillie.

When they got back to the mineshaft, she spared a clearer glance at Eric. He seemed somewhat wary, especially of her crossbow, but overall, he looked… well, he was there. Sitting down at the mouth of the mine shaft, her eyes flicked over the open bag and first aid kit laying on the ground. She had her own, of course, never left home without it, but since this one was there… she reached out and grabbed it, then nervously looked towards the two men. “Um, I can do this myself. Cou-could you… um… go? Away?” Her fingers plucked anxiously at the hem of her shirt.

“You heard the girl. Other side of the mine, Miller,” Eli barked to the boy. “Christi, don’t run off on me now.” He walked to join Eric, just out of sight and back turned in respect. “Keep an eye out, that girl has had enough shit for one day,” he said in a low voice, half hoping Danny and his friends would show up.

Christi watched them go, biting her lower lip. Once she was sure they weren’t watching, she pulled both shirts over her head, wincing as she felt the cut open up again. She’d been very lucky; located about an inch beneath her left breast, the cut wasn’t too deep, the edge of the knife having angled such that it had caught and skated along the top of one of her ribs, but it was long, half again the length of her middle finger. Pulling out the bottle of alcohol, she soaked a corner of one of her shirts, a ratty old green thing that was half falling apart, and pressed it against the wound, a sharp hiss of pain escaping her lips as it stung. A second, sharper hiss followed it as she dribbled more of the alcohol over the cut, wiping it clear with her shirt as Jack whined in sympathy, his head perched on her knee. Grabbing a role of bandage, she cut off a section and pressed it to the wound, sticking it in place with some tape.

Wiping away the streaks of blood that had spilled down her side, and satisfied that she would have full range of movement without the tape pulling loose, she slipped one shirt on and pulled a third out of her bag, stuffing the soiled one inside. It still hurt as all hell, but it could have been a lot worse. She stood up and stepped out of the mine shaft, nervously looking at the two men. “What do you want?”