Fantasy The Core of Power

[Shog]

One day in August an object fell from the sky and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. A shockwave engulfed the planet causing a temporary power outage. The strangest part was that seemingly random people developed special powers. The world was never again to be the same. Many people took it upon themselves to become vigilantes and protect people while others became consumed by their power and became villains. Others still decided to remain hidden and try to live a normal life. Some governments even created special forces where mutants were trained to use their powers for military purposes.


That was all one year ago and the Core (the thing that fell from the sky) has yet to be found. All technology fails around it in fluctuating distances making it almost impossible to find. Many believe finding it could solve many of the worlds problems such as disease and making high risk jobs easier. Unfortunately there are also those that want to find the Core to try and harness it's powers and create weapons for them to use.


Mutants can be found simply by taking a blood sample. Everyone around the world was required to get tested and catalogued as mutant, normal, or contender. Contenders are powerless but show signs of possibly mutating in the future. Many mutant hate groups have popped up here and there, but the only one with any power is the Black Fist. This is a group with many rich and politically powerful people.


In this world, where do you stand?

 

[Shog]

"Are you sure about this Sentinel?" Dash asked. "I just don't think going into a place that is more populated with mutants is a good idea. I mean, if you heard about it than what is to say the military or something hasn't?"


"Well what do you suggest we do?" Nick (A.K.A. Sentinel) retorted. "I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out just scavenging the streets. Besides, they have increased the patrols to pick up people like us. I think we have a better chance of surviving with others of our kind."


"Yah, but..." Dash started to say before he was interrupted.


"We already debated and voted on this" said Cricket. "We're doing this at least temporarily. Remember, It's just a trial run."


Nick, Ross (A.K.A Dash), and Ryley (A.K.A Cricket) had been together for a few years now in the streets of New York City. They scavenged what food they could and even made a few temporary jobs on rare occasions. They each had their own jobs and a working system. Nick would stand guard and did most of the fighting. Dash often ran distractions as his powers was speed. It wasn't supper fast, but no one could catch him and even outran the police in a car chase. Cricket was their thief that would snatch a few spare bucks or a morsel of food. She had increased agility and jump tight allowing her to squeeze out of tight situations. Now that there was an increased number of patrols on the streets and sewers for rogue mutants they knew it was only a matter of time until they were captured. Then Nick heard of a safe house for mutants and they decided it would be best to check it out. It was currently midnight with only a sliver of the moon in the sky. Not that that mattered much with the rain coming from the sky. They stopped arguing when the supposed save house was close. They walked up to what they assumed was the front and Nick knocked on a door. He cased his hand with his metal hoping the sound would carry better, but quickly uncovered it just in case.


@rosamortelle (They are at the "front door" of your characters safe house)

 

[RubyRose]

Erin inwardly sighed, staring out at her quarry from the safety of her lucky penny. She was supposed to be shadowing the guy to find out if he was having some sort of affair but so far he had just done some shady business as far as drug exchanges went. She wondered idly if the wife knew about those... but it wasn't her job to report on anything- her job was simply to discover if he was sleeping with another woman or not. She phased out of her penny, clutching it in her hand as the guy turned a corner down the street.


Just think, you could be in bed right now after having worked a decent job for decent pay but no- because of this whole 'being a freak' accident you have to be some kind of spy. She whined to herself, not for the first, nor the last time. She wasn't even as obvious as some of the other mutants- she could have easily passed as a regular human but no, they had to go and catalog all the people in the world and she just happened to be lucky enough to be one of those affected. It was still a rather bitter memory, receiving the results from the test.... It was even worse the first time she discovered what her mutation actually was.


Sighing, Erin continued to trail the man- ducking into alleyways and merging into her penny when there was no one else to hide. Sighing at how obnoxious all this trailing was, she attempted to plan out a way just to slip the penny with her connected into his pocket. She wished she would have thought of that earlier. Erin would hopefully figure this out eventually- meanwhile, she'd just keep surviving. She just needed to stay alive until mutants were a little more accepted, right? Erin puffed out a snort at the thought- she doubted anyone would be alive when that happened, considering how people were still racist of something as simple as skin color in these so called 'advanced' ages. Checking her watch, Erin sighed- midnight. How much longer did this guy plan on staying awake?

 

[Rook]

Asher stood in front of the shed, peering through the crack- he could see gasoline, which made this raid even more valuable. He sighed, holding the padlock in his hand. Did they really think that they could keep anyone out with this piece of junk? The world was full of literal superheroes, and yet people still thought this would keep others out. With a disappointed frown, he whistled, directing the sound waves into the lock and breaking the mechanism. The padlock fell from the door, which swung open.


The villain smiled, looking at the contents. Gasoline, a few stacks of money, canned food- this would last him a week or two. Thank god that people actually thought they would need to store this stuff up for the future. Saves Asher the trouble of killing anyone- too many hoops to jump through, too much unwanted publicity. He wanted to be known, but not yet. Not until he had far better control of his abilities.

 

[Waverly]

Valerie leaned back at the brick wall, looking over her shoulder at the cloud of steam rising through the manhole cover further into the dark alley. She then turned her gaze to the street, carefully peeking around the corner as she heard footsteps coming closer. That must be him! And there is no one else around, great! She smirked as she prepared herself mentally to begin the act; she was about to take on the role as a mistress.


She had scheduled a date with a man named Big Bill, or at least that was what he called himself on the looking-to-cheat-on-my-wife website on the internet. He was supposed to come meet her at this particular alley at midnight, after which they'd go to back to her place for a bit of fun. At least that was what he thinks! She hardly had time to finish that thought before the silhouette of a big man appeared in the alleyway. "Big Bill?" she said, hoping for an answer as she took a step forward.


"Only you here, right?" Was his reply; he seemed a bit worried, perhaps this was his first time cheating and he was scared? Big Bill proceeded to approach Valerie and eyed her from top to bottom, much like if she was an object for sale. Pig. She smiled and brushed her hair to the side as she pulled down her hood to reveal her blonde hair and proceeded to wrap her arms around him. "Of course! I've been waiting" she replied a soft voice. "Now, come with me, this way! Before anyone sees us!". She promptly started dragging him into the alley. Bill was already going touchy-feely and leaned in close and whispered in her ear: "I've been looking forward to this. To you." Valerie shivered inside as Bill spoke, and sort of regrettet getting into this in the first place. Just you wait till we pass through the steam of the manhole. She thought and squeezed tighter at the paving-stone Bill hadn't noticed that she had in her hand. Pig.

Spoiler

Illustration


@RubyRose

 

[Taelonthesands]

"Isis Don't forget that the children's room needs to be checked again. I know that Tobias thinks he can handle it but the las time he was in charge we found a child stuck to the ceiling. I don't want to see that happen again."


The girl named Iris nodded and turned Ella. Once she saw Iris go safely down the hall, Ella looked over at the two people who walked up to her both with worried expressions and both speaking at a rather fast pace.


"Please calm down you two. I cant understand you when you speak at the same time." Ella said to them. The first to speak was the safe house's head food supplier.


"Ma'am I'd like to inform that the food supply for sections a, d, and f are almost depleted." Ella face showed no kind of worry as she responded.


"Alrighty then, take the tunnels down until you reach section E. Their supply group has been waiting for their turn. Make sure to do in haste too. I don't want people starving if this rain worsens,"


Ella looked over at the other who was still fidgeting beside Ella, "Now what do you have to report to me?"


"Ma'am someone has reported that there was knocking at the front door. We believe it sounded like metal but were not sure." Ella's calm face turned into a slight frown. She was worried who the person might be, but she was head of the Safety home now and could not show to much worry. She did not need a full out house rage with a bunch of touchy and scared mutants living in it.


"Alright, I need you and section A to secure the doors and quickly evacuate everyone to their rooms."


The person did what they were told and quickly moved to where they were supposed to go. As for Ella she quickly morphed the jewelry into her armor and made her way up to the surface floors. Slowly moving to the door, Ella transformed her bracelet into a glass spike. Then she heard the bell signifying everyone was hidden. Using her free hand Ella opened the door, only peeking her head out, and looked out to see 3 people standing in front of her. "Hello, can I help you?"


@Shog

 

[Shog]

"We need a refuge" Nick said. He wasn't going to waste time, but he was also to going to directly say that they were mutants, if at all possible. What the was going to do was make several implications so that only a mutant would understand, should they be keeping up on what is going on in the city. "The streets are no longer as safe as they once were. I can't fight off everyone like I once did with the increased patrols in the streets. Please understand."


 
@rosamortelle

 

[RubyRose]

Well this guy obviously doesn't plan on getting any sleep tonight. Erin sighed, holding her breath as she looked around the corner of the sidewalk. He suddenly seemed a bit... nervous? His stature had definitely changed since his last 'meeting' and Erin suddenly began to wonder if there was more to his wife's paranoia then what Erin had thought at first. She watched in interest as he ducked into a dark alleyway and counted to ten before moving from her spot behind the corner.


Erin listened intently as she reached the alleyway, not daring to look around the corner in case the man was looking back out. Faintly she heard a soft, feminine voice ask 'Big Bill' and wondered if this would be his last stop for tonight. She had a bad feeling she'd be reporting back to his wife that he was in fact a terribly awful cheater on top that he was also in the thick of a drug dealing business. Which honestly kind of sucked since angry clients were much less likely to nicely fork over the money owed. Well, she had half of the payment at least- as per her contract, so if things went sour at least she wasn't out of luck completely.


'Only you here, right?' She heard the man speak. He certainly did not sound as certain anymore. After listening to his commanding and fearless voice the past several deals, it was odd to hear it sound so unsure. Wanting to get a better view of the situation, Erin reached into her pocket for her penny, carefully sliding it across the ground to the mouth of the alleyway before swiftly slipping into the small, copper object. It took a moment for her view to come back but when it did she noticed a blonde woman being the target this time.


'Now, come with me, this way! Before anyone sees us!' the girl said, dragging Bill deeper into the alley. Dang it, why can't you just stay in the alleyway. Erin groaned inwardly, unable to actually make a sound when she was inside the penny. She logically knew that it was impractical and probably uncomfortable to have an affair in an alleyway but it would have made her job so much easier... now she'd have to find a way to unphase without them seeing and follow them further. She did allow herself a moment to consider that she could just go report back right now, but she wanted to confirm the actual affair. As unpleasant as that would be.


Erin took note of everything in the alleyway, trying to figure out the best time to change back so she could continue following after them. A stream of steam was rising out behind the man and his mistress which would allow maybe a moment for Erin to change and continue after them. She waited for her opportunity, her gaze on the two people sharp. She inwardly shivered as 'Big Bill' leaned in towards the blonde woman, whispering something to her... and couldn't help thinking I do not envy her right now. I wonder what her interest in that guy really is... she must be hard-up for money at the moment...


@Wavebird

 

[Taelonthesands]

Ella quickly retracted all of her armor back to its regular jewelry except for her computer glass that looked like advanced glasses. She opened the door fully and took a better look at the group. Ella could tell that they were in need of help. "Quickly before anyone else sees you."


Looking out the door she rushed the group in and spoke into the mic fused to the glass in her computer. "This is base speaking I am calling code green on this situation. I will descend in a few moments with our new guests and I expect a warm welcome."


Once Ella had finished her report she looked back at the group again. "If you would kindly follow me please."


With that Ella tapped a code into what seemed like an apartment keypad. Suddenly the far walk from the door moved and an old mall elevator appeared. Stepping inside Ella beckoned to the group she let in.


@Shog

 

[Waverly]

Valerie led Bill deeper into the gloomy alley and aimed her course at the manhole. She reviewed her plan in her head one more time as they were only steps away from the steaming manhole: First, turn colourless (that is what she called turning invisible in fog) then take a quick step back behind him, jump up to get some altitude and better position, and then: hit him as hard as I can in the back of the head with the stone! He will faint and I can take the money. With any luck he won't even remember what happened.


It was a plan that was far from bullet-proof and she was well aware of that fact. But according to what she knew, the man with his arm around her waist was carrying a couple of hundred, maybe even a thousand, bucks worth of cash on his person right now. In short: It was worth it! Especially since she was in a dire need of some real income right about now.


As they were enveloped in the cloud of steam Valerie let her plan commence; she turned colourless and disappeared from view. In the blink of an eye she ducked and took a swift step backwards and let her training in gymnastics and dance pay off as she made an impressive jump up into the air where she then landed as if there was solid ground below her. During the motion she had lifted the paving-stone over her head. And then she struck!


The blow landed but Valerie had not been fast enough; Big Bill had noticed her disappearance all to early and made a side-stepping motion, making the blow land on his shoulder rather than in the back of his head. Shit! I missed! Bill recoiled slightly but did not faint. Instead, he yelled out and started tossing his arms all around in order to get hold of the attacker. "Mutant bitch!" With some luck he managed to get a steady grip around Valerie's ankle since she was standing in the steamy air a few feet above him. Valerie got thrown down from the air, out from the steam cloud and became visible again. One could hear a hard thud accompanied by the splash of water, as she landed hard in a puddle of water against the wall.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Erin watched the two intently, attempting to time it so that there was no way they'd chance a look back for any reason. She had been so focused on her plan that when the girl first disappeared into the steam, she just thought that the blonde had been surrounded by steam... but when she paid closer attention she could still see 'Bill's' form... but not the girl's. Confused, Erin peeked her head out of the penny to get a better look. The girl was literally no where to be seen... but... another mutant?


'Bill' flinched from what looked to be a physical blow, and then he was calling out 'Mutant bitch!'. Erin had a tiny moment of thinking he had actually been talking to her... but no, he wasn't aware of her presence- he was paying attention to his invisible assailant. Erin watched as the man's hand wrapped around something invisible before tugging downwards, pulling a girl out of seeming thin air and throwing her to the ground. There was a loud noise that accompanied the blonde woman hitting the ground.


Erin was out of the penny before she could really think about her reaction... but froze up as soon as she was no longer connected. What was she doing? Trying to get herself killed? It was the blonde's own stupid fault for attempting... what was she attempting? It seemed perhaps that she was attempting to take 'Bill' out? Why? But... then it kind of hit Erin that if this girl was also a mutant she probably was having about as much luck in the job department as Erin was.


Bill loomed over the girl, looking ready to kick her while she was down. Erin had a split second to consider leaving now. She had no absolute evidence of the affair but she could still guess as much... and if the guy killed the mutant girl it wouldn't affect Erin's life. She attempted to convince herself of that.. but she couldn't. She couldn't just leave someone in the same situation as her- or at least she assumed the same. But what could she do to help?


"Hey... You!" Erin hesitated, voice wavering as she shouted at the man- distracting him for at least a moment. "What do you think you're doing?!" She demanded before pulling up her camera to show it off. "I've got a camera here! You've been seen! I can take photos and show it to the police if you do anything to that girl!" Erin called out, staying at the mouth of the alley in case Bill moved to chase after her. He didn't- in fact he looked... alarmed. And here Erin had just been calling out random things that came to her while she shouted. She continued to wave her camera around. "If you want to get out of this safely, I'd suggest you leave!" Erin said, her gaze trailing down to the girl- unsure if she had recovered yet or not. Hopefully she'd be up for running soon- she wasn't sure how 'Bill' was going to react to this.


@Wavebird

 

[Shog]

Nick was surprised at how fast the tides turned, but he was grateful none the less. All three of them stepped into the building and took off their cheep coats. They were all still wet, but at least the coats helped to keep them from being soaked to the bone. "Thank you." Nick didn't really know what else to say, but he meant it.

 

[Taelonthesands]

Ella smiled, "It's no problem at all, you don't need to be thanking me. We always love to have new faces staying here."


Ella was about to say something else only to pause when she heard the beep of an incoming call on her computer glass. The person on the other end was the second in command. They had informed Ella that the sections had all gathered in the main hall for the evening meeting and to see the new people staying with what the New York mutants called the Sanctuary Caverns. It was a named that Ella and the rest of the originals mutants had grown to accept.


Ella gladly thanked her second in command and smiled once more when the elevator doors closed behind the others with her and slowly moved down to where the core of the Caverns was. Since the preparations had been fulfilled by the sections, it was Ella's turn to give the main run down of the safe housing. She looked at the one who thanked her and suddenly her leadership expression appeared back onto Ella's face. "So before everyone meets you three, there are a few things needed to be discussed. First off, when we reach the commons there will be a meeting held for the safe haven. These meetings happen every morning and every evening before breakfast and dinner. Everyone in the safe house must attend these meetings no matter how long you stay with us. Second, we have a strict set of rules in this safe haven that everyone must follow here. I you break them we will not kick you out for this place does not believe in risking innocent lives. However, you will be given some sort of punishment because breaking the rules is the same as costing the safety of us all. You will be informed with the rules once you are settled in. Third thing, there are all kinds of people with different situations living here, some even in hiding still. We kindly ask that you respect the boundaries of everyone and treat each person with respect. Lastly, at least for now, we hope you that you enjoy your time with us and hope that however long you stay you feel welcome."


After Ella had finished her speech, the same one she gives to every new person who comes to stay with the safe house, she took a deep breath and finally manipulated her computer glass back into what looked like a glass headband. Fixing her hair, Ella turned and faced the elevators as they opened. Stepping out from the doors, she breathed in the welcoming air of the cavern commons and finally relaxed. Then she turned her head slightly and said, "Welcome to the Sanctuary Caverns."


@Shog


(Sorry if it is a bit long.)

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Conner breathed, eyes closed as he went over what he knew about the syndicate he had orders to infiltrate. It was large, going almost exclusively after high ranking members of anti-mutant groups. Personally, he didn't see the problem, but apparently it was and he had to gather more information so they could properly do something about it.


Back on track, back on track, he told himself after nearly walking into someone, Eyes open.





What else did he know? Oh, right. The leader of the group was called Chorus and was supposed to be in New York City. Why else would he be here? They wanted him to get close to the guy. Whatever that meant. It would be more efficient to find someone who was a known member of the group and claw his way up from the bottom. Wait, scratch that, it sounded better in his head. Problem was, he didn't know where to find him. He'd been trained for this, but it was his first covert operation and it would be foolish to not admit he was nervous.


Obviously, we're just going to have to walk around and hope we recognize him from a blurry image of him that probably isn't accurately showing what he dresses in on an everyday basis. Piece of cake, he concluded, continuing to walk around the city that he used to call home.


@SpecOpsPandaz

 

[Shog]

"Wow' Nick breathed. This was way more than he expected it to be. he was sure that whatever rules they had he could deal with.


"I take it all back " Dash replied. "I am all for this."


At this point Cricket stepped forward and said "Pardon them. They are not all that custom with social norms. Is there any way we can help our around here?"


@rosamortelle

 

[Taelonthesands]

Ella laughed at the reaction of the boys in the group. It was the common one most new people had but it always brought cheer to her. "That is quite alright. It's common for people to have reactions like this."


Then when one of them asked about helping around Ella gladly responded with, "Of course there is things to help with. As for what, we can discuss that after the evening meeting. I you wouldn't mind accompanying me, the perch is this way."


Ella guided the trio to what the Caverns called the perch. MIT was named after the first head of the house after they were killed trying to protect a child who got separated from the group they were rescuing. It always made Ella sad to look at it for it reminded her of another loved person in her life. Yet Ella did not let that sadness show as she leaned against the railing of the perch looking over the edge. Down below in the commons close to 300 mutants sat at tables oblivious to their viewers from above. Ella waited a moment before she spoke to let the newbies take a look at the place and for the rest of the makeshift leadership to join Ella on the porch.


@Shog

 

[Shog]

as they were walking over to the perch Dash said "So I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Dash, he is Sentinel, and she is Cricket."


When they arrived at the perch Nick said "This is quite a view" Nick said. "How did you find so many people? I imagine it's hard to find enough food, though." He was truly impressed with how many people they had here, and wasn't shy in letting her know it.


@rosamortelle

 

[Taelonthesands]

Ella laughed at the one they called Sentinel. "Well only about a quarter of these people are the ones that stay with us permanently. The red of them were either rescued, only staying for a short time, and/or found the Sanctuary Caverns."


When they had mentioned food, Ella paused and looked at the group below once again. "Food can become difficult for sure, but we have a system worked out to handle that. Even if it means we have to result to stealing things. Oh by the way my name is Ella."


After introducing herself Ella noticed that the rest of 'command' had joined her. "Oh yeah I almost forgot these are the other leaders of the safe house," Ella pointed to a set of twins and the girl Ella had sent to check on the children earlier, "The carbon copies of one another are Morgan and Maddie they are our main raid leaders and head of sections E and F. The girl next to them is Isis she is our head medical person/hospitality person and in charge of section C."


Ella then turned to two boys one who seemed like a toothpick and the other a jock. "The short one is Evan. He is head of supplies and in charge of section G. The one who could probably bear Evan up is Joe. Joe is our 3rd in command and in charge of section D."


Finally Ella pointed to one last person, "The boy with the glasses and book in his face is Elijah. He is our second in command and in charge of section B. And as said before I am Ella. I'm first in command and in charge of not only section A, but the safe house itself."


Pleased to have introduced everyone Ella stood back at the railing of the Perch and in unison Morgan, Maddie, Isis, Evan, Joe, and Elijah stood behind her in an arc. Ella then looked at Dash, Sentinel, and cricket giving them the come stand by me face.


(Sorry if the command sounds confusing, I just thought of random names to use but trust me they are just for if the characters are needed for like a sentence.)


@Shog

 

[Shog]

Nick was never really all that good around groups, and being I front of them was even worse. While the other two started walking up immediately, he had to stand back for a few seconds and collect his thoughts. He saw everyone looking up at them and made his face neutral. At least they weren't all focused on him directly.


 
@rosamortelle

 

[Waverly]

Valerie had hit her head in the hard pavement when being thrown down to the ground, and now her head was spinning and she could've sworn she saw stars. On top of that she had the wind knocked out if her. Above her towered Bill's figure, draped in the darkness of the alley. Valerie could feel her heart beating like a hammer as her mind replayed what had been said in the chat-room where she had first contacted Bill. One thing was for sure; Big Bill was into crazy stuff. No wonder he had do cheat, there is no wife who wants her husband doing that to her! Valerie's heart did only come to beat even harder as she considered what was next to happen to herself – She was very afraid.


"Hey... You!" Valerie heard a voice coming from the street. Thank God! As she turned her head she could see a person in the very mouth of the alleyway, a woman holding a camera. The woman proceeded to threat Bill with giving the camera to the police. It seemed that she had spied on him, but Valerie couldn't quite make it all out, still dizzy from the impact.


Big Bill was caught off guard, and remained quiet for a brief moment, straightened his back as he turned to face Erin. His eyes fixed on the camera for a while, but then he placed his gaze upon her. He finally spoke as he began to slowly walk toward her, with his hands visible as if he wanted no trouble. "Whoa! Easy now, we can settle this." he paused briefly before continuing, "Who sent you?" His voice was surprisingly calm and not threatening, but it did betray him. He was worried, and it was obvious he didn't like the fact that someone had been trailing him. "Maybe we can strike a bargain?"

 

[RubyRose]

Erin only truly realized her mistake when the man began walking toward her. Her heartbeat picked up as the 'fight or flight' response kicked in. Geez Erin, what have you gotten yourself into this time? She wondered, having been able to hold her ground so far but knowing it would be unsafe to do so for much longer.


"We can settle this? Really... what did you have in mind?" Erin asked suspiciously, weary of the fact that the man could just be stalling.


"Well I was considering a bit of a trade." Bill offered. "The camera for your friend." He explained, gesturing at the girl on the ground. Erin took a step back now- warning flags were beginning to go off. Too close, he's getting too close. And there's no way I'm handing over my camera. When Bill proceeded to ask who had sent her, she paled. Erin had rather hoped she wouldn't have been found out... but then how many strangers walking by at midnight would just so happen to have a camera and the guts to face off an attack.


Erin knew better than to confirm she was working for anybody. As soon as she actually said that she was, she betrayed the contract. So her lips hardened into a firm line, deciding that just not saying anything was best. At the mention of a bargain, Erin forced a smile across her features.


"Ok, yeah. We can strike bargain. Here is your one chance to just walk away from all of this. If you hurt that girl or come any closer to me I'm going straight to the police." Erin threatened, attempting to appear cool, calm, and collected... but knowing she was failing when Bill just laughed.


"I don't believe you realize that your life is now at stake." Bill explained. "Now you can give me that camera, or I can show you why no one gets away with crossing me."


Oh shit, what have I gotten into? Erin thought fearfully, heart racing though she attempted to continue to appear calm. She glared at Bill. He was still coming closer and in a few steps he'd be in decent range to lunge at her, possibly swiping her camera by force. Erin took another step back, completely out of the alleyway but looking around there was no one in sight, Well world, it was nice knowing you. Erin thought, feeling like she had gotten herself into a terrible situation.


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

As Erin and Bill where exchanging threats and demands, the carousel that had been Valeries mind had come to a halt, and she could finally properly focus her gaze without having black spots jump in and out of view as a result of her mind trying to cope with the trauma. She didn't try to get up yet, instead she decided to bide her time.


"Fork it over!" Bill was getting annoyed and stressed now, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Valerie was still out and then continued his slow approach towards Erin. The situation had, without any doubt, twisted and turned its way into what was now a sort of stalemate between Erin and Bill, but Valerie was now in a position to make a move. Run! Run you fool, you don't know that girl! Valerie's mind said one thing, but her conscience said something else: But I can't leave her, she risked herself for me. Valerie knew that she had to proceed carefully about this if she was to come out of this with the money and without having herself or the woman with the camera getting harmed. Slowly and carefully she reached out to grab the paving-stone that lay beside her in the puddle.


Then, as from nowhere, Bill made a move. He took a quick two steps forward in an attempt to grab Erin and take the camera from her. “Give it here!”


@RubyRose

 

[Taelonthesands]

Once Sentinel, Dash, and Cricket stood next to her, Ella was given a bull horn by Elijah. Taking in a deep breath Ella thought about what she was going to say. Then she held the bull horn to her mouth and began speaking. "Excuse me everyone if you could quiet please that would be quite appreciated."


Suddenly the commons fell quiet as everyone looked up at Ella. Once she had everyone's attention, Ella continued. "Well my fellow cavern goers I would like to thank you all for attending our meeting. Before we begin I would like you to welcome our new guests," Ella side stepped to give the trio more room, "Everyone this is Sentinel, Dash, and Cricket. Please give them a warm welcome."


At first it was quiet, but then people started to cheer for the new comers.


@Shog

 

[RubyRose]

Bill continued to demand her camera... but Erin shook her head, she wouldn't hand her camera over even if there was a way just to give him his photos. She was too stubborn for that.. and she still had a payoff to receive. Erin took another step back as Bill continued to approach, looking both right and left and considering which direction would be the better escape option. Her gaze trailed to the blonde woman still on the ground and she mentally urged her to get up, wishing she could call out and ask if she was alright but she had Bill to contend with at the moment.


She was still backing away when Bill lunged at her, growling 'Give it here!' as he did so. Erin tripped in her haste to back away, automatically curling around the camera so as not to land on it when she hit the ground. She landed pretty softly all things considered, and started scrambling back to her feet when a kick landed on her side. Erin choked off a yelp, not wanting to seem weak, as she continued to try and scramble back to her feet- her ribs throbbing where the kick had landed. Erin was, luckily, able to get to her feet before Bill could strike again, wondering which direction would lead to a police station.


"Hand it over and you won't get hurt... further." Bill explained, his voice dangerously low.


@Wavebird

 

[mikaluvkitties]

It was dark and cold, and Conner was all in all not in a pleasant mood. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of this guy, and it was wet. He was soaked.


Should've dressed heavier, he thought, mentally cursing the fact that he'd forgotten to pack anything.


He heard a bit of ruckus nearby and decided to turn the street corner that would bring it closer to him, subconscious telling him to run as he did. He tried to keep casual, a just walking by sort of thing, but then he saw what he'd admittedly been wanting to find out about.


There was a girl and a man, looking as if they were in the middle of a standoff in an alley on the other side of the street a little bit further down, and then the guy lunged and the girl went down, and he kind of froze to watch, wanting to move but not able to. Then the guy kicked her, and he automatically began to walk over, heedless of the fact that a car could hit him. He just focused on the guy, making sure to get to the sidewalk before the man could see him, not even noticing the girl get up. He wanted to be the first to say something, surprise the guy. His feet splashed through puddles until he was close enough to hear what was being said.


"Hand it over and you won't get hurt... further." The man's voice sounded dangerous, and he glanced down to where the girl was, only seeing her feet, and scanned upwards to be greeted with a shiny camera- looking object. He looked a bit closer and- yep, camera.


"H-Hey," he startled even himself by speaking, even if it wasn't even a whisper, but he knew he had to keep going now that he said something, and tried to follow the example his brothers had set- fake it till you make it, "What's up?" He tried his best for his voice to be unwavering, and relaxed his posture as much as he felt comfortable doing, scolding himself for getting involved.


@RubyRose @Wavebird