Neena Thurman pours drinks, kicks ass. (fallsinplace) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-03-04 10:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, jubilation lee (jubilee), laura kinney (wolverine), logan howlett (wolverine), nathan summers (cable), neena thurman (domino), scott summers (cyclops) |
Who: Scott, Nate, and Neena, with NPCed Rachel. With guest stars Logan, Laura, and Jubilee
Where: New Jersey
What: Scott and the gang, while setting up shop in a new house in Jersey, have an encounter with old friends... sort of.
When: 2219; 5 years after the birth of Rachel
Warnings/Rating: R for violence (including character death) and references to nasty things (seriously don’t read this)
Status complete
It was hunting day. Logan prowled along the street, sniffing as he searched for prey. He picked up fresh meat and snarled, straightening. He laughed. "Ya smell that? Fresh meat! Dibs on the hearts."
Jubilee sniffed. Her eyes had a permanent red glow, her ears were pointed and long, and one hand was contorted into an ugly claw. They both wore leather clothing, and Jubilee had a jacket made of finger bones. The leather was made out of human skin.
"There's a woman. And a baby." She cracked her neck. "I want the baby's blood. You can have the woman."
"Who's the pack leader, bub?" Logan asked, his claws popping out of his hands. They gleamed in the moonlight, like steel. Or adamantium.
"Maybe Laura won't like you finding a mate."
"Fuck you. They're a couple miles upwind. Lets get Laura an' get moving." Logan took off at a run, back towards their 'den.'
Meanwhile, Scott Summers had Rachel on his shoulders while he was testing the bolt on the door to the house they were squatting in. It would take someone of incredible strength to break through it.
Laura was not far away. She heard Jubilee and Logan talking, but she didn’t feel like moving. It was still early in the night, and she’d been on the prowl all day. She was curled up in a pile of clothes they’d taken off their victims, surrounded on all sides by semi-feral dogs. They couldn’t help but attract packs like this, but Laura didn’t mind that much. She stroked a particularly fluffy dog, and waited for the others to arrive.
Neena was setting up on the second floor. The bottom floor’s windows were already boarded up, but nobody had bothered with the second story. She put her rifle next to a grimy, dust covered window, examining it for a moment. If she cleaned it (and she really wanted to), then she’d have to clean all the others, and it would be obvious which house was occupied. If she left it, her visibility would be compromised, and the only reason she was on the second story at all was to shoot anything that looked hostile. “Nate, I need a favor real quick. Can you break this window so it looks like it happened from outside?” She turned and looked up to ask her question. It was embarrassing to be shorter than someone less than half her age, but she was getting used to it.
Nate nodded. He’d been running his mind along the walls, strengthening them, filling the walls with a combination of naphtha and itching powder. It was slow work and only a small portion of the walls was done. He reached out with his mind to find that window, and from the outside, he smashed the window in, just a small area where the glass shattered and came inward, to be caught by him. The ground outside manifested scuffed areas as of someone walking by and then running.
Nate came back to himself and nodded, his voice a little lower now. “Done. Where do you want me to plant the glass?”
The telekinetic packet of glass wavered in mid air.
Neena examined it. “Hmm, is there anything we wouldn’t want intruders to put their hands on, or that they’re likely to touch? Maybe the front door frame.”
“Done.” And the glass shot out and down, and slid invisibly along the lower and upper parts of the frame, amongst the dust, making it a much more interesting entrance. Nate nodded. “Seems like a good place to hold out. “ His voice was quieter now that there was a hole to the outside. “Could be good for awhile.”
“I guess we’ll see. I’m a little disturbed at the lack of raiders around here. I guess it might be too cold for them, but it feels weird.” Neena shrugged. “We’re as prepared as we can be, you want to go check on Scott and the baby?” Yes, even at five years old Rachel was still a baby. To Neena, at least, she probably always would be.
Nate nodded. “I dunno. Maybe they got scared away by some conflict?” But he too was bothered by the quiet. They had endured a seemingly never-ending battle against raiders for years. Why quiet now?
“Sure, I can do that.” He smiled and touched her shoulder, then strode down toward where Scott was. His senses led him there,. He could find the three of his companions anywhere.
“Hey, dad. How’s it going? Upper level is secured.”
"Entrances down here secured. Would take someone as strong as you to break in and we'd hear them coming." They still needed traps. And something to obscure smoke from cooking fires. They'd found a few things to use as blackout curtains. Scott smiled at his son. Nate was going to end up taller than him at this rate, which was pretty impressive in general.
Scott glanced out through a crack in one of the boards in the window, as Rachel played with his hair. "It's oddly quiet here."
As worried as he was about that, he wanted to stay in one place for longer than a week, for once, for his kids' sake.
“We were just talking about that.” Neena noted, going over to poke at Rachel. She giggled, and Neena smiled. “It’s kind of crappy. If there’s too many people, I worry about another experience like Oregon, if it’s too quiet, I worry about something worse. We won’t be able to run around with her outside here, and that’s a shame.” She wouldn’t mind going back to camping again, but it was about to get very cold.
“Yeah. I think this is going to be a short stay.” Nate had an edgy feeling coming over him, and he hmmed. “There’s definitely something wrong with this area.” He glanced around. He shook his head.
“Or I’m getting paranoid.”
Jubilee pounced into the middle of Laura and the pack, teeth bared in an odd sort of greeting. "We smell fresh meat! And mating material!"
"We don't know that," Logan snarled. "Just know there's meat. Smells familiar somehow."
Laura grabbed Jubilee and rolled on top of her, biting playfully at her neck. The prospect of another mate was exciting. She grinned widely. Even Logan noting that they might not be suitable for mating couldn’t really bother her. If they weren’t good for mating, they’d still be good for eating. It was a win-win, really. “Familar? Maybe you’re getting old.” There was a little bit of challenge in her voice. She didn’t want to lead, but she didn’t want to follow someone with ailing senses.
Logan snorted and cuffed them both upside the head. If he let them, they'd end up fucking on the street, and then he'd just have to join in. It would be fun but then they wouldn't eat. "Probably someone's relative. We can keep it all in the family.”
Jubilee was arching under Laura, and ignoring the cuff. "There's a baby. I want it's blood. Fountain of youth." She was the bottom of the pack, but she didn't mind. The other two were her primary source of food so it wasn't like she had to compete with them. She did like special treats now and again.
"Maybe." Logan said. "Or maybe we'll keep it for ourselves. Raise it in our way."
Nate wasn't the only paranoid one. Scott set Rachel down. Neena had taught him how to shoot, but he still preferred his eyes. Still, he carried a pistol, and his hand went to check that it was actually there. "Until we know what this place is like, no one goes outside alone."
It was a shame. There was a beach nearby, and with the climate shift, post apocalyptic New Jersy (what wasn't under water) was actually really nice. Go figure.
Neena chuckled and nudged Nate’s shoulder. “You’re learning, young padawan. Soon the student will become the teacher.” She ruffled his hair, then offered Rachel her hand. “Let’s go make some lunch, kid. Your dad has to be dramatic right now, but we’ll all be hungry soon.
Laura snarled a little at the swat, but it wasn’t a big deal to her. She kissed Jubilee passionately, before standing up. “We tried that, once. Wound up eating the kid eventually. It was almost sad. No, I think the baby gets eaten. They’re really tender.” She shook her head, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. “But I’ll share mine with you, Hotness. I don’t mind if my meal’s a little dry.”
Nate chuckled. “Okay, fine.” He nodded and headed for their packs at the center of the building. “I’ll look around.” Rachel was all too eager to follow Neena, and grabbed ahold of her hand, smiling widely. She didn’t talk much, but she did when she had questions. “What’s paranoid mean?”
"I knew there was a reason I loved you." Jubilee laughed.
Logan rolled his eyes. "There's two men, a woman an' the kid. We'll figure out who gets what when we get there."
"I can turn one of them?" Jubilee offered.
"Last time, they lasted a week before the sun caught them. There's only one of those amulets, remember?" Logan looked at her.
Jubilee nodded and swallowed. She knew it wasn't be hard for him to snatch it off of her some day. She lived at their good grace.
“Oh, it’s perfect! One for each of us.” Laura said, enthusiastically. “But they’re going to run away if we don’t get going soon. So let’s stop yapping and get going.” Her stomach was empty, and she was ready for some fresh food.
Neena explained what paranoid meant as she took Rachel to the kitchen. They had a small semi-working generator ready and charged. It would be able to cook their lunch, at least, if they kept it small. Rachel was actually a very helpful assistant, and the two chattered at each other as they worked.
Nate, meanwhile, was at the packs when he felt something. He turned his head and moved toward one wall in particular, and looked out the grimy windows. Someone was coming. He caught a fragment of jumbled thoughts, wild thoughts and swore under his breath. Then he projected to the others. He could sense them coming from this direction.
Incoming, two minutes out. Wilders. But they feel... familiar. Crazy, though.
Logan broke into a run, and howled. Fear was sometimes their greatest weapon, and he was hoping they'd run. He wanted a hunt, and a chase. It made the conquest better. They'd play with their food first. Probably for hours.
Scott pulled out his gun. They know we're here. Neena, get Rachel into the Mako. She'll be safest there.
Neena nodded, grabbing Rachel and her rifle. Time to be quiet now, baby. She kissed Rachel’s cheek, and slipped out the back. Do you want me to stay with her, or take up my position in the second story? She assumed the plan was for her to stay with Rachel, but she wanted to be certain. I could start the mako and ram ‘em.
Laura fell in behind Logan, letting Jubilee’s hand go. Her own claws were out now, still bone instead of metal. She’d lost the metal ones to a band of raiders, before slaughtering them all. It had been the last blow to her humanity. She was happier now than she’d ever been before.
Nate slid into a position to watch the people coming. He couldn’t see them yet, but he knew the flavor of them, now. And he caught names, barely. Logan, Laura, Jubilee, all completely inhuman now, savage. I’m sorry.
He lashed out, then, a first line of attack, before they were even in the house. as he fell back to the center of the main floor. Pain was sent as a flood, a rain of cramps, hamstrings and headaches for their chasers.
Be ready in the Mako Scott said, glad for Nate's telepathic link. It had been indispensible with Emma and it was indispensable now.
He blanched at the names and cursed out loud.
Logan fell over, howling in pain. His claws popped out and he writhed on the ground, before straightening and shaking his head to clear it. He hadn't had to use telepathic defenses in centuries. The scents though, made sense. "I WANT SUMMERS' HEART ON A PLATTER!"
Laura staggered and shrieked, but recovered herself. Not through the use of telepathic shielding, but because she welcomed pain. It made her more eager to fight. The order made her laugh with glee. She wondered which Summers they would be getting. There were quite a few, and one strain in particular was lousy with telepaths.
Neena made a face. I’m going to get the mako ready to bolt. Unless Nate can scramble their brains, I don’t see us winning this one. He’s bound to have that damn adamantium all over his shit, and a gut shot won’t slow him down enough, even if we take out the others. She’d made a promise to Logan that she’d kill him if it came to this. She’d just assumed at the time she’d actually have a way to do that, and now she didn’t. “Some friend I am.”
Rachel hugged Neena while the mako moved next to the house. Neena kissed her forehead again, but kept her hands on the steering wheel and her rifle.
Blood was dribbling down Jubilee's nose, and her nails elongated, becoming even sharper and deadly. "We don't have to hold back with these!" She laughed in joy. A challenge after a hundred years of boredom.
"I don't know. Maybe it's some kind of time fuckery." Time fuckery was a Summers family trait, after all. "Don't matter, we're gonna fuck 'em an' eat 'em an' wear their skins."
And if the prey was very very lucky, it would be in that order.
Scott climbed up onto the roof, and scanned the streets. If we can take him down, we can remove his head.
Easier said than done.
Nate followed him, dropping back to cover his back. And this time, he knew exactly what to throw at them. Not pain, but something more real. Rocks rose from the ground in front of the trio and flew at them, clouding vision and slowing movement. The angrier and the less thinking mode the trio got to, the easier to trick and take out they would be.
“Here they come.” They’d be in sight for the others soon.
Good luck with that Neena noted, with minimal sarcasm. She hoped they wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get into the mako. Let me know if you’re coming in, I’m shooting the second one of the doors opens. She could provide cover fire with the mako until the attackers were too close. She took a couple pot shots, to keep them in the mess of rocks Nathan was creating.
Laura snarled and slashed at the rocks, dodging a little. “Nasty tricks. We haven’t seen mutants in so long, I forgot what they could do.” This was going to be fun. The mako fired, and Laura took a deep breath. “They have a car. How did they do that?”
Jubilee will have an amulet, Scott explained, a note of sadness in his voice. If we can get that off of her, she'll turn to dust in the sun.
It would probably enrage the fuck out of the others, though.
At the end of the street, Logan was charging forward, snarling, his claws out behind him as he ran. Jubilee had taken flight, speeding in the sky above the other two, trying to get above the rocks.
"They'll die like everyone else." Logan slashed at the rocks. That wasn't an ordinary car, it was some kind of tank.
"Laura, open the tin can, I'll keep-"
He was cut off as a red beam lanced through the air and struck him in the face. He crashed back into a building, and it collapsed on him.
Nate heard Scott’s words and closed his eyes then nodded. He reached out to Jubilee and smiled. He remembered watching her in the Olympics. “I’m Sorry.” He whispered then words then he yanked the amulet from her neck, even as he used his powers to launch her down at the ground in a sunny spot, hard.
Jubilee screamed, her clothing catching fire, and then the rest of her. In a flash of light, the vampire was gone.
Ash floated down onto the street, and a voice echoed in Nate's head, repeating thankyou over and over again.
Logan crawled out of the wreckage. His nostrils flared.
Laura darted toward the mako, taken completely by surprise when Logan was knocked into a building. She hadn’t anticipated it would be that Summers. Logan had been right. This would be kind of fun.
But she was going after the tank. The baby was inside, and the woman. She’d have to save one or the other for Logan. She wasn’t sure which one he’d get, just yet.
She stopped dead in her tracks when Jubilee screamed. She looked up in horror, and all thoughts left her mind. She’d heard a voice on top of the house apologizing, so she turned her attention that way. She dug her claws into the side of the house and used them to pull herself up. She was going to kill the bastard that had killed Jubilee. The tank could wait.
Neena was ready to intercept Laura, so it wasn’t hard at all to hit Logan with the mako’s gun. If they kept him out of the fight, they could deal with them one by one. Laura would be easier, with her human bones she’d be easy to break, and take longer to heal.
Nate looked down and saw Laura and sighed. Concentrate fire on Logan, keep him out of this. He wanted to get Laura even angrier, so he almost regretfully blew the section of wall she was clinging to off of the building toward the ground.. with her still on it.
Logan got blown back, and then disappeared down another street. He would have to go around and try to flank them. Between Summers and that gun, he wasn't going to be able to get close any other way.
Scott's beam hit the chunk of wall that Laura was on even as it fell, forcing it (and her) into the ground with greater force.
Laura felt her ribs break, almost all at once. The force of Scott’s blasts, plus the weight of the wall, were intense. She could feel intestinal damage, too. It was hard to catch her breath, and for a minute or two she was weak as a kitten.
Neena moved the mako over to the side of the house Laura was on. With great care, she rolled the mako over the rubble, putting the tire where she figured Laura’s torso must be. Then she increased the mass of the mako as much as she could. “Get out of that, bitch.”
“Bitch!” Rachel said, with a giggle.
“Man, Scott’s gonna have my head if you say that around him, kid.” Neena shook her head at Rachel, and kept her eyes open for Logan. This fight was far from over. He was easily more dangerous than Laura and Jubilee combined.
Nate smirked for a moment as he over’heard’ Rachel and Neena’s words, and then he cast his mind out for Logan, hoping to find the man before he snuck too close. Damn it. Logan’s gone quiet. Keep your eyes and senses peeled. He moved to peer over the edges of the walls, looking other ways and trying to spot the man before he found them
Six claws tore into the tires of the Mako. One, then another, then a third, all along one side, then started to carve at the hatch.
Logan was full of rage. Jubilee was gone. Laura he might still recover, but only if he could kill them and take her to a safe place to heal.
He was going to feast on their intestines.
With a roar, he tore the hatch off and looked inside. And froze.
"I watched you die."
“Yeah, that happens.” Neena said, before shooting him in the face. She put Rachel down and stood, pumping three more rounds into him. She went for his throat, where she could do maximum damage with a minimum of interference from his skeleton.
She had to get him away from Rachel. That was priority number one. She dropped her rifle in favor of a knife and shoved him off the mako, then jumped out herself. One of you needs to get down here and watch the baby. Nate, I vote you do it.
Nate smiled and leaped from the building. Dive left. Scott, hit the wall just to the left of the Mako, Laura is trying to shift and recover
And then, his weight and momentum increased by telekinesis, Nate landed on Logan, feet first, bounced, and rolled, hurting, sure one of his legs was broken, hands snatching Rachel, even as he threw one more trick at Logan. With every ounce of his power left, he held Logan in place and then He hit him with a vibration. And all the metal in Logan’s body shattered, all at once. Even Adamantium had a vibration.
And with that, Nate fainted.
Scott hit the wall, and it shuddered, before collapsing, several heavy bricks falling towards Laura's head. Then he started to climb down.
Logan's scream was like that of a dying animal. He lay on the ground, twitching, as Scott approached warily. "What the hell happened to you, Logan."
He had to work fast. Even Logan's adamantium could 'heal'. The man had told him that once. That the metal had been given regenerative properties. He just didn't want Rachel to have to see this.
"We need to separate the head. Same with Laura."
“I got it.” Neena said. “Get the kids in the car and move it.” If they woke up a little early, she was easily the least important person for this mission. She grabbed Logan’s arm and dragged him away, to keep Rachel from having any more nightmares than necessary.
Picking up Nate, Scott put him into the Mako. The tires were heavily damaged, but it could drive them far enough away to see if it was repairable. He started it back up. "Be careful."
The Mako rumbled of down the street, listing to the right from the flat tires.
Neena nodded and got to work. Years of killing their own food made her efficient at decapitating things. It was harder, because it was Logan, but she managed it. “I’m so sorry I died on you.” She chucked his head down the street, and went back for Laura. Laura was much easier, both because Neena was genuinely creeped out by the girl, and because her neck wasn’t full of razor sharp shards of metal. She threw that head down the street as well, taking her shirt off to wipe her hands down. She didn’t want to be a mess when she got back into the mako, it might upset Rachel. The poor mako looked like crap. She jogged over to it, kicking Logan’s head further down the street as she passed it. She climbed in and shut the door as much as she could. “Thank god he didn’t go for the engine.”
Logan's eyes watched her, then started to dim.
Scott started to drive again. "Check that manual, there has to be a way to do a field repair." He hoped they'd considered 'slashed tires' on the thing. Otherwise he had a grim look on his face and said nothing else. That hadn't been ... pleasant. Understatement of the decade. Rachel was in his lap, and he was holding her tightly.
“I’ll take a look, I think it was covered.” She sighed, stroking Rachel’s hair softly. “Poor girl.” She took a deep breath, and checked Nathan before looking at the manual. He was breathing okay, and he didn’t have a concussion as far as she could tell. “I never want to do anything like that again.” Her face was serious, because she wasn’t about to let herself be upset in front of Rachel.
Rachel, for her part, was clinging tightly to Scott, her face buried in his shirt. She wasn’t crying, but she was very upset.
“I hope we won’t have to,” Scott replied, his jaw tightening. He couldn’t promise that they wouldn’t. He couldn’t promise anything right now, except that he’d do anything to keep them safe. All of them.
“Me too.” Neena noted. “Tires are covered. I hope we have the stuff to repair it. Let’s put some distance between us and them before we start working on it.”
Nate sat up abruptly. And then he swore. Loudly. “Holy shit! Emma!”
He facepalmed, and he sighed as he glanced at Rachel.”Your alternate future self has some ‘splainin’ to do.”
“..Emma? What about Emma?” Scott looked back at Nate, brow furrowed. He ignored the thing about Rachel (though Nate might be confirming his suspicions). “Nathan. What about Emma?”
Rachel sniffled at Nathan, and wiggled out of Scott’s lap to go hug him. She didn’t want her big brother to be mad at her.
Neena frowned. “Wait, did you get in contact with her? Is she still alive?” It was possible, but why would she survive so long? She’d have to do it on purpose, and Neena couldn’t imagine Emma skinning rabbits or wearing a piece of clothing more than three times.
“I just talked to Emma, Scott. Your wife, Emma. The one I couldn’t remember for the last six years.” He sighed, and hugged Rachel. “I’m not mad at you. Promise, Rachel.”
And he nodded to Neena. “Yes and no. Something happened when I fell unconscious. I managed somehow to reach her.” A pause.
“In the past”
Scott stared at his son. It was like something unlocked in his brain, and he brought a hand to his face with a groan. Instead of voicing the guilt that coursed through him he said. “I hate time travel.”
Neena blinked, then also facepalmed. “Motherfucker.”
Rachel snuggled into Nathan. “Not my fault.” She thought it was very important to note that, at the moment.
“Time travel is evil. I think we’ve established that.” Nate laughed and poked Rachel lightly. “Very much not your fault.” He kissed her nose and her forehead and hugged her close. He bounced her, thinking that some things were more important than assigning blame. Yeah. But big Rachel had some splainin to do anyway.
He smiled. “The Mako will run. I have a destination in mind, also. There’s a town toward the coast of Jersey that sometimes fought off the raiders including our... friends. And apparently there is one of their recruiters hiding in a nearby building, astonished at our ability and hoping to recruit us for the town. Not necessarily as defenders, but as a reputation builder.”
He nodded. “We could do worse.”
"Okay. That's our destination, then." Scott thought it might be good to settle down. "It seems our reputation precedes us."
“Pfft, we sounded like fucking- uh, freaking Normandy out there.” If Normandy had lasers and futuristic mass increasing cars. “We could definitely use a break from traveling.”
“We did.” A pause. “Or Star Wars.” Nate grinned. And he nodded a lot. “Hey, Rachel, wanna go see some people who actually welcome us for once?” The sight of her nodding a lot made him laugh and hug her again.
“Maybe there’ll even be kids her age to play with,” Scott added. Rachel could use some friends. They all could.
“For once, I think I’d be happy to stay in Jersey.” Neena said with a nod. Maybe she could help Logan and Laura remember their humanity. That would be worth staying for.