HEY! Scribe here! Just commenting to say I own my stuff and nothing else! nooootthhhingggg...kay? Good! Now back to the show-Story-Fic whatever! ;D Ha! Enjoy!
Chapter 25: Stryke-Outs
What do I say?! I think to myself as I stare at them all with a look of utter confusion. Can't we just get a break here?
By the way, 'Domino', I can't help but notice, is blue. This seems to be a common color among Mutants but it's still striking to see in someone who looks relatively, well, human aside from the random polka dot on her eye. Her hair is cut short and jet black with streaks of indigo, and she is loaded with guns and ammunition. Even more than Deadpool. She also has an air of authority that leads me to believe she's the one in charge of this group, and so, when I speak, I address her directly, "Where are our friends?" I ask evenly, asserting my tone. "And why are you attacking us?"
"Well, first off, hon," Domino begins loosely, stepping towards me. She ignores the catlike glare from Jubilee as she moves in on us, a smile playing on her deep blue lips, "I don't know where your friends are. But I'm guessing the Bat's taking a snow-nap somewhere and the Ape's probably out fending for himself against our boys in black."Domino says nonchalantly as Jubilee fumes beside me. "And we're not attacking you, specifically." She adds with a dangerous glint in her eye as she brings one of her drawn guns under my chin. The cold metal raps against my jaw, tilting up my head but I resist the urge to swat her away. I pray for Jubilee to remain calm beside me but I can tell she'll snap any second.
"And by that you mean the Professor, right?" Jubilee snarls at them and the group exchange glances. I have the feeling they might not have known about the Professor after all. I really wish Jubilee would shut up right about now.
I meet Domino's eye, the metal under my chin digging into my skin and she gives an almost imperceptible smirk, "Yes," Domino says smoothly, lowering her gun at last and I exhale, not realizing I had been holding my breath. "But we don't want to hurt your 'Professor'," Says Domino. "We just want him to…back off a little. Send the troops home, you know?" Domino adds, taking a step toward Jubilee this time and—
CRACK!
"One more move like that and I'll be aiming the next one for your head!" Jubilee warns holding a firecracker between her fingers as Domino stares at the smoldering ground before her feet, eyebrows raised, unimpressed.
That's it, I think in horror as Jubilee tosses me a triumphant smile; like that really scared them! We are so dead.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Aww, Man, I love this girl!" Deadpool whoops joyfully. The metal man had let him go after he'd stopped squirming like a child and now he begins to run towards us, his guns and grenades bouncing precariously off of one another as he shouts, "Oh! OH! I wanna try next!"
Jubilee and I ready ourselves to go on the defensive as the maniac hurls himself after us. Domino just shakes her head with a hand to her forehead, like she can't even believe this guy's on her team. But Deadpool never even makes it to us. A cable thick enough to secure a bridge shoots right the hell out of nowhere and catches the psycho around the throat, stopping him just short of us. We watch guardedly as he falls on his butt in the snow with a soft, "Ow."
"Idiot!" A distinctly Russian voice mutters as a tall, rather odd-looking Mutant steps out of the brush with Deadpool in tow, another cable trailing far behind him, who repeatedly scurries to his feet only to be yanked back with an "Ooph!" every time, like a demented puppy.
"Red, status report." Domino commands to the man with the cables. Jubilee and I exchange suspicious glances as the Russian brings forward his other hand with a grunt and retracts a second cable from his wrist; bound in that coil is an unconscious Beast.
"The Van is too small for this one." The mutant called Red explains as I lunge forward and pin Jubilee's arms behind her to keep her from bounding towards the attackers in fury; much like Deadpool persists in doing opposite me. "But I can carry him." Red adds flatly, his long, pale pony tail swaying behind him in the breeze. Like the metal man, this mutant, "Red," also wears a red suit. Unlike the metal man, however, I can't help but notice how incredibly pale he is. His hair is long and blonde and put up in a pony tail and his eyes are strange; lacking both pupils and irises.
"Jubilee, No!" I hiss into her ear as she thrashes about in my grasp, literally trying to fight me to get to them. The group of Mutants seem preoccupied with some kind of discussion but I tune them out to try and reason with the rampaging Mutant wriggling in my arms. "We're out numbered."
"I don't care!" She whispers back fiercely, trying to drop her weight so I'll lose my grip on her. "I'd rather go down fighting than surrender like a coward!"
"The odds are against us! Just wait." I add but soon fall silent when I notice the groups conversation has ended and they are watching us. I release my hold on Jubilee, hoping she's calmed a bit, and clear my throat before taking a tentative step forward. The man with the cables, Red, takes a step, too, as thought ready to meet an attack. I pause and don't continue until Domino puts up a hand to stop the man. He backs off, eyeing me much like Jubilee now glares at them. So hostile!
"Where is our other friend, Neo?" I ask calmly once I'm in talking distance from Domino. This feels dangerous, but judging by the fact that they haven't actually attacked us just yet tells me there's more to be heard here. And we're not going to get anywhere with Jubilee trying to kill everyone.
"What? You mean the Bat?" Domino asks. I nod tensely and she turns back to Red and waves him over. Dragging both Beast and Deadpool with him, Red comes to stand by Domino, looming over both of us like the seven-foot giant he is.
"You know," Deadpool says to Jubilee once he's in range, leaning in a little too close for comfort. "I have a thing for Asians."
I act before Jubilee gets to.
One shove with a palm-sized energy shield is enough to send him staggering back into an unwavering Red, who keeps him on a shorter leash while he speaks, "The Bat has been successfully transferred to base. We wait for the next van here." Red finishes giving his short report, all the while glaring down at us with those odd eyes. "We are taking them, too, Da?" He adds, seeming to be itching for a fight.
"We're not going anywhere with you, bub." Jubilee snarls and the mutant gives a start, his right eye twitching. I catch this movement just as it happens—having been staring at those strange eyes—but it seems to go unnoticed by Jubilee, who continues on making demands, "Not until we get our friends ba—"
Suddenly, Red drops the cables holding Beast and Deadpool in place and, before either of us can react, wraps them around Jubilee's neck and waist with the force of a sucker punch. "What did you call me?!" He roars at her as she fights for air, his cables tightening around her dangerously.
"Jubilee!" I cry, freezing before I can get myself to act. But when she sputters out a weak, "Help." I snap out of it and jump into action.
"Let her go!" I call, raising my arms over my head, and, with the flourish of my hands, send an energy blast right into his ugly face. The Mutant drops Jubilee, roaring with rage, and tumbles backward into the snow a few feet away, clutching his face. I rush over to a gasping Jubilee and help her up out of the snow. But I am not met with praise, "Took you long enough!" Jubilee coughs by way of thanks, I suppose, and I roll my eyes, saying, "If you wouldn't piss everyone off all the time…" But another roar interrupts our little moment as the Mutant called Red charges straight for us, footsteps thundering in the snow. I put up a wall between us just in time before Red smashes his fists against it, ready to pummel us into tiny bits. Both Jubilee and I breathe a sigh of relief, momentarily safe. Domino, Cybil, blondie, the metal guy and Red move in on us, looking more like a gang than a band of mercs. Especially with Deadpool striking poses in my force field, admiring his reflection (if that's even possible to do with my shield).
"Omega Red, stand down!" Domino says in a tone of amusement while still maintaining an air of authority. Omega Red shifts his enraged gaze to me, as if cursing me for blocking his attack, and gives a low growl before backing off. They can't get to us. But they're sure as hell going to try, "Now, ladies," Domino continues though I haven't dropped my shield. I feel better when it's up; more prepared. "I think it's about time we've come to an agreement. Don't you think?"
"We're listening." I say behind the shield, making it clear that it won't be dropped any time too soon.
"Here's the deal," Says Domino, shifting to one hip with her gun drawn over her shoulder. You'd have thought it were an umbrella by the way she was holding it. "You come with us to get your little friends and talk to our boss," Domino says with a smirk. "And we won't hurt you or your friends."
I look to Jubilee for confirmation and she looks back at me through narrowed eyes. I open my mouth to suggest contacting the Professor for direction (I mean, we did come here for reconnaissance right? And we can't just leave Glenn and...the other guy behind), but Jubilee turns away from me and shouts, "I've got a better Idea!" Oh, no. Is all I can think as she saunters right up to the force field, looking like a piece of bait in shark infested waters. "Jubilee—" I whimper in protest but she brings up a hand and covers my mouth before saying, "You let go of him and the Bat, and we won't destroy you. That way we all walk away happy."
I'm gonna be sick.
"Oh, and her friend, too." Jubilee adds as an afterthought. "Tarina, was it?" I nod silently, her hand still over my mouth. Jubilee smirks and tosses her black hair, saying, "You don't, and I wipe the floor with you pansies."
I think my heart just stopped.
Did she really just bluff right now?! Or does she seriously think we can take them all down by ourselves?
"Well," Domino sighs, placing a hand to her hip, where yet another gun lies snug in a holster. "If that's the way you want it…" She draws her first gun and the one at her hip out and aims it right at my shield, her once placid face contorting as she barks out a fierce order, "Stryke-Outs, attack!" Domino commands and before I can blink, we've got three supercharged Mutants (the man with the blonde hair, Deadpool, and Omega Red) charging for us at full speed. Though how they intend to get past my shield, I'm curious to see. I keep my energy field up as high as possible and bring it around us in a cylinder to prevent them from jumping over. Jubilee launches her Pafs (as she calls them) at the three who bang on the shield repeatedly, each one trying to out-do one another as they land thunderous blow after thunderous blow on my shield, all the while trying to dodge Jubilee's firecrackers. One of the men, the blonde with the accent who first spoke, backs up a few feet, and then literally propels himself like a rocket at the shield, forcing me to have to use more energy to keep it up. Each blow feels like someone's hitting me in the back with a blunt object, each one harder than the last. My arms and my shield shake with every attack.
A few more hits like that and I'll be down.
"You just had to pick a fight with 'em, didn't you, Pyra-Nutcase!?" I call over the sound of shattering booms coming from the blonde, rocket-launcher. The others have stood back for him so he can continue his assault. Wolves waiting to strike. Blondie rears, then propels himself forward like a bullet and slams into my shield. It feels like someone is shoving against my outstretched hands in an attempt to knock me over, and I'm finding it harder and harder to keep from staggering back as Blondies' attacks grow more frequent and more powerful.
"Better than having a slumber party like you wanted, Miss. Fuddy-duddy Phantom!" Jubilee returns icily but just as she was beginning to send out another round of Pafs, a cable snakes over the wall of the cylinder where I had neglected to seal off our little sanctuary (I'm still new at this, okay?) and binds my wrists together in a whip-like motion. I only have time to cry out a warning once before I'm jerked up out of my own energy field. I almost kick Jubilee in the head as I'm thrown out of my shield, which drops shortly after, leaving Jubilee exposed with only a handful of Pafs in her grip.
I give a girlish yelp as I go flying into the air, but rather than drop me, the one they call Omega Red reels me in, dragging me across freezing snow, and lifts me off the ground before him. "Let go of me!" I shout as I thrash in the air, kicking Omega Red repeatedly in the chest with the heel of my boot, but when he merely smirks at me—my kicks proving ineffective—I try for his jaw instead; only to have the cable suddenly jerk and throw me down into the snow on my back. I groan, prickly cold snow crawling into my collar, and look up just in time to see a boot the size of a snow-shovel coming down on me. I roll out of the way, an explosion of snow erupting where his foot landed just inches from where I am, and I scramble to get away, only to be pulled back down my a chord wrapping around my ankle. Snow fills my suit and soaks my hair as Red drags me through the snow, reeling me in with those cables. Knowing I can't fight my way out of his grip, I turn on my back to avoid ice-burn and close my eyes with my finger tips at my temples, concentrating of phasing away. A moment later, my trek through the snow comes to an abrupt halt and I open my eyes to find Omega Red starting for me once more, cursing and retracting his now empty cables.
Seizing the moment of victory, I get up and dash out of reach as the Mutant tires to catch me again, shooting out his left cable like a deadly harpoon. I evade him easily, pivoting to my right to avoid him, but I stay within reach in the hopes to tire him out, ducking and weaving (all the while maintaining intangibility) and running circles around him as he grows more an more frustrated that he can't catch me.
"Hey, Edna!" Jubilee calls over to me, causing me to work harder to maintain intangibility. "Eida!" I correct and pause to seek her out. I spot her being cornered between a tree by the two other men as Omega Red stops before me, trying to grab me, to no avail. Jubilee ignores my correction and calls back, "I could really use some help over here!"
"Got it!" I shout back, sprinting away from the tentacle'd giant to help. I aim an energy blast at the branches of the tree just behind her, causing a pile of snow to fall on the two men with a heavy fwump!
"Really!?" Jubilee exclaims, running over to me as the men look down at their soiled clothes, trying to wipe the snow out of their eyes. "That's it?"
"Not hardly." I reply, but when Jubilee's eyes suddenly widen in alarm, I glance back to see Omega Red moving in just a few feet behind me, preparing another attack. Before he gets the chance, however, I unleash a curved wall of energy using both arms, and catch the two mutants in it like a cane does during a bad act in one of those old TV shows. The two men grunt, landing with a heavy thud against my field of energy, and I then swing my arms around with all my strength and hurl the two men right into Omega Red, leaving them snow-bound for at least a little while.
"Nice!" Jubilee comments with a smirk, helping me up from where I lost my balance and stumbled into the snow. I stand up and return her smirk, meeting her eye levelly for the first time since our meeting. Oh, bonding! But we've got more trouble ahead. "It's not over yet." I inform Jubilee, gesturing with the nod of my head as the other mercs (The metal man, Domino, and Cybil) begin to advance on us. They had been standing idly by, watching the big boys do the heavy lifting, but not anymore.
We won't make it against all of them, I realize. We barely made it out alive against Omega Red, Metalman, and Blondie, and they've already recovered. One of us isn't making it out of here. "You have to get Beast out of here." I tell Jubilee, figuring I'm that one.
"And just what are you going to do?" She asks as I put up another shield around us, this time completely covering us in a dome smaller than the cylinder. It'll last for a while, or at least long enough for Jubilee to get away.
"I have to go with them," I reply calmly. "To find Glenn and Tarina. You have a better chance at escaping than I do." I add, using her ego to persuade her. It must work because Jubilee nods in understanding, complying with me for once. "That's for sure." She mutters.
"I'll cover you," I assure her as she looks out hesitantly at the "Stryke Outs" all trying to break through my shield, which is getting weaker and weaker by the second. "Just go!"
The moment Jubilee steps through the force field, I shift the field into a shield and, like I did with the van back in that town, I send it out like a wave and knock all but two of them to the ground. The one they call Cybil is out completely and Domino, Deadpool, and Blondie are struggling to their feet. Jubilee sends her own hail of fireworks down on them while I deal with Omega Red and Metalman. Both come at me, flanking me on both sides, and I fire upon them with everything I have left, but, like that night at the park, my energy is fading, my attacks having less of an effect.
Jubilee just barely makes it into the jet, hauling a semi-conscious Beast with her, when my powers as well as my legs give out completely. My energy is spent. I can hardly lift my head as I fall to my knees in the snow, breathing hard as my head goes reeling. I've never used that much energy before in my life. I wasn't ready for that.
A gun under my chin catches my attention and I look up to find myself in the presence of Deadpool rather than Domino. "You let my Asian get away, Baka!" He hisses angrily, the gun cocking under his thumb and I start to grow nervous. This guy is unstable, that much is obvious. Who knows what he'll do? Luckily, Domino comes to my aid, saying, "We need her alive, Deadpool."
"Da," Says Omega Red, stepping forward with a look of sheer vengeance on his alien features. "But no one said we could not break her legs."
"No!" Domino scolds, as if he was just talking about stealing someone's wallet rather than breaking their bones. I shudder at the disappointment that flashes across his face. Domino waves both mercenaries aside and stops to stand before me, pursing her lips in thought. After a brief thinking period, she turns to Cybil and says, "She'll escape if we try to take her in the van. Put her under just to be sure."
Wait.
What?
Something sharp stings me in the shoulder and, for one, stupid moment, I think I've been stung by a Bee. Then my vision blurs, my head growing light an alarming rate, my hand going to the dart in my arm, and the next second, I'm careening to the side. I black out long before I hit the ground.
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