brushing off the must Who: Colossus, Zap; tag Poison / OPEN When: Sunday, February 24th 2008 Where: NYC What: Coming home after their previous mission (here) Poison spots them while she's out (here) Status: in progress Rating: PG-13
When dawn hit, it wasn't long before Zap felt an influx of energy pouring into the building and slipping both below and above where their elevator was perched between floors. The dark corners and niches of the office building were perfect nesting grounds for the infected - but the lobby was bright and open - an ideal escape route. They'd just waited too long the evening before to reach the doors. Now though, they were ready. She didn't remember falling asleep - and believed it would've been pretty hard with the horror flick going on around them, but apparently she had - it was the first thing she remembered Piotr mentioned before he shook her and asked her to power up the lights in the small space. But it was to be expected - she'd used an awful lot of power searching out for living beings like that, then powering the lights and elevator through the building. "I guess it didn't hurt much."
"Net," Piotr responded, pushing himself up off the cold floor, while the lights flickered on around them. It was past dawn now, and the front of the building should have been well exposed to the sun's light. He checked his phone, then began checking the floor for any items they might've pushed around or misplaced. "We should get going, though. I hope they haven't damaged the car," - he'd worried about that. These things were unpredictable and tricky. "Do you sense anything nearby?" His hand was extended downward to help the electrokine up, and after she was standing, he moved into place by the doors.
"I don't think so," she felt recharged and alert - which was the best state to be in when poking around for mutated cannibals. All of the energy in the building was tucked away and huddled together en masse. Pete didn't look too certain about her answer, so she added, "It's clear. It's fine," she raised two fingers. Scout's honor. Her backpack was strapped back on, as was Piotr's, and she stood back a few feet (which was about all she had) while he turned metal.
Despite the girl's promise, he armed himself with a UV grenade and went armored, then motioned for her to move them down and open the doors. When they reached the lobby and the metal doors slid open, he waited and listened. Nothing. No noise, no one in sight. He moved out of the frame of the doors, but not so far away that someone could sneak in behind him, and gave a better look around. Nothing. The lobby was filled with warm light. The night had been so dark and cold, he felt as though his feet were pulling him toward the huge wall of windows. He turned and motioned for Zap to move to his side. "You ready?"
"For hours," she admitted. But in all honesty, it hadn't been so bad - aside the cold and the creepy noises. She felt safe with Piotr, and they had gotten their job done - which seemed to be their main priority. Business minded, they had been. She was almost a little confused at the lack of mention of their pre-Apocalypse dating encounter. They hadn't really been serious, so when the need to crack down and work arose, they sort of (she supposed) got too busy. It had happened school-wide, though. People were dropping hobbies and recreation to pick up extra chores, classes, duties, etc. But still, she wondered if he had thought about 'them' at all throughout the night. Maybe she'd mention it on the way home. Zalika moved up to walk beside the metal man and they made tracks for the building's entrance.
When they reached the doors, they could see outside properly, and hallelujah - the Hummer hadn't been damaged. Everything that had been added was still attached and nothing looked out of place. Piotr took this time to crank up the engine by remote and pushed the previously-broken door open so Zap could step outside. The front of the building was glass - up to the third or fourth level, so he knew nothing was going to pop out at them - especially with the sunshine bearing down into the glass.
"I'm freakin' starving. It'd be awesome to find a McDonald's that was open."
"Da - we'd be able to catch them for breakfast." Piotr smirked. It was a sad joke, though. The abandoned streets of the city and the long stretches of deserted highway that led into the metropolis were barren of life - let alone functioning chain restaurants. "Let's get out of here," he switched back to his un-armored form and climbed down the stairs to the street level, keeping pace with Zap. Something in his subconscious made him crane his neck around, gazing upward into the buildings that rose above their heads. He felt like he was being watched. That didn't sit well.