A/N: To everyone who've reviewed the fic: Thank you, dudes and dudettes – it's better than caffeine ;). To the rest of you: Feed the monkey, damnit! Feed the monkey! *g*
A/N 2 - the author's notes strike back: At the end of this chapter, there are some notes regarding the fic. Don't forget to read them :) (they are for readers as well as people with characters in this little fic – and no, it's not bad news *g*)
'...' Indicates telepathy
_..._ Indicates thoughts
* * *
Chapter Six: ...And All the Walls Came Tumbling Down.
* * *
Zach reacted instinctively and dived for cover behind a pillar of concrete, one of the many that supported the roof of the warehouse. The sharp pain as he landed on the floor was dulled by the adrenaline that rushed through his body.
A bullet hit the concrete next to him, and Zach ducked, just in time to avoid the next bullet.
"Zach!"
Zach spun around, just in time to see the blackclad man behind him. The cop was fast, no doubt about that, but he was fragments of a second too slow. Zach pulled the trigger and watched with an almost morbid fascination as the policeman fell to the floor.
"Zach! Come on!"
This time he recognized the voice – Pheonix. She was waving for him to get out of the line of fire, and find some other and better place to take cover. She was hidden by two other pillars, but she wouldn't remain safe for long – using the chaos as a cover, three cops were quickly making their way towards her.
And she couldn't see them coming, Zach realized. Fuck! He had to take them down.
Zach raised his gun. Just a bit further...just a little bit further...and they would be directly within his aim.
He ignored the shots and chaos around him, took a tight grip on his gun...
...And felt a renewed rush of adrenaline as a bullet zipped past his right ear. He spun around, just in time to see a cop sink to the floor, hit right between the eyes. He looked at the direction of the shot, and saw Laetitia lower the smaller of her guns. He sent her a grateful look, and she nodded slightly in return, before grabbing her shotgun again, and taking down one of the cops that was closing in on Pheonix.
Zach raised his gun and took down the other two attackers, barely pausing to reload. He quickly scanned the area for any possible danger...and only then did he notice the unnatural silence of the room.
No gunshots, no shouting, not even the sound of shoes against a concrete floor. Zach gripped his gun tighter. He could see Blade and Jordane hiding behind the sad remains of a wall, Laetitia had found cover behind the same pillar as Pheonix, and Hal and Aaron were crouching behind a metal-table, looking just as anxious as he felt.
But there were no cops anywhere. Something was seriously wrong.
How many? Zach mouthed. Laetitia held up six fingers, then frowned and shrugged. Zach nodded. At least six, then. Great. Just great. They were probably trying to find a place that was easier to shoot from – or maybe they were just waiting for one of them to stick their head out.
He had to do something, and fast.
An idea occurred to him, and he smiled maliciously. Maybe it was time to show the flatscans just why they should fear homo superior.
He motioned for Laetitia to get Pheonix' attention. The Greek nudged the younger girl, who spun around and glared at her older teammate. Laetitia just nodded towards Zach.
Pheonix sent him a questioningly look, and Zach mouthed the word 'water'. Pheonix frowned, and Zach sighed.
"Water," he half-whispered, and desperately hoped that the humans would be too stupid to figure out what he meant.
Pheonix' eyes lit up, and she sent him a grin that rivaled his own. She then closed her eyes, and frowned in deep concentration.
The first hint that something was happening, was the sound of waves hammering against the dock next to the warehouse. At first the sound was almost inaudibly, but it quickly increased, until it reached the point where it sounded like they were in the middle of a hurricane.
Zach knew that it didn't take Pheonix this long to gather the necessary strength – she was just playing with her prey, much like a cat would play with an already doomed mouse. Zach watched her carefully, waiting for his cue. She would grow tired of the game soon, and then it would be his turn.
Finally she gave in. A wall of murky, gray water burst through the door, sweeping across the room, and soaking everyone who was too slow to get out of the way – including the remaining police officers.
The Shadow Alliance reacted instantly, moving to higher grounds to avoid the water. They quickly retreated to the first floor, before the cops had the chance to realize what was happening.
Once in safety, Zach took a good look at the indoor flooding Pheonix had caused, and noticed with a certain satisfaction that it covered the entire floor. He looked at Blade, who nodded in reply to the unspoken question.
Zach smiled grimly. What he was about to do wasn't very honorable, but then again...neither was the ambush they had just experienced.
He concentrated and felt the small ripples of energy underneath his skin. His hands started to tingle and emit a pale, blue light. Zach felt the energy fill his veins and caress his muscles, but the pleasure was replaced by a stinging pain as he continued to build up energy. It felt like a myriad of needles, piercing his skin, but he ignored it until he reached a point where his hands were aching, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before the scorch-marks would show on his pale skin.
Zach opened his hand and watched as a glowing ball of pure energy manifested in the air. Not one to be outdone, he flung the ball away with a dramatic motion, not even bothering to aim.
He didn't have to - the policemen were still standing in the ankle-deep water. The glowing sphere of energy flew through the air and hit the water. The sudden, blinding light from the explosion forced Zach to covers his eyes. The light slowly faded, and he blinked rapidly to clear his head.
Blade stepped closer to the edge and looked down. On the floor beneath them lay six bodies – most likely dead, judging from the burns on the ones closest to the explosion. And if the blast didn't get them, the electricity itself certainly would have.
Blade sent the bodies a disinterested look, then looked at his teammates.
"Let's go," he said.
Nobody objected.
* * *
"Ryan," Diana said worried. "The road..."
"I know," Ryan replied, and tried to keep the anxiety from his voice. "I know."
In the rearview mirror, he saw Diana turn around to look at the cars behind them.
"It's too late to turn around now. Wouldn't it be a good idea to pull over and take a look at things before we continue?" she asked.
One part of Ryan's mind knew she was right – the best thing to do would be to pull over and discuss things before they continued. The other part was way past logical thinking, and was now moving into paranoia territory. Two cars, both full of teenagers, who 'just happened' to stop right before a mutant checkpoint...someone was bound to get suspicious.
They couldn't go back – there was no way to get to the lanes that ran in the opposite direction. The only thing they could do was to stay where they were, and pray that they would get through safely.
But then again...when had God ever listened to mutants?
* * *
Once they were out in the open and had checked the perimeter, Blade started to give orders. It was only a matter of time before reinforcements showed up, so they had to get out of there as fast as possible.
"Pheonix, Laetitia, Aaron, Hal, you'll take the 'rover. Zach, you're with Jordane and me. We'll split up, and rendezvous in the motel in Pittsburgh in three days. You all have the address, you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Any questions?" he asked.
The rest of the group shook their heads and quietly headed for their respective cars with their luggage.
* * *
Ryan's car slowly found its place in the line, followed by Kyle's. Judging from the at least fifty cars in front of them, this could take some time.
_Okay, a lot of time,_ Ryan thought with a sigh.
He killed the engine and leaned back. Oddly, he wasn't nervous. He probably should have been – they were surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of human who would like nothing more than to see his kind in prison camps. Okay, to be fair, it wasn't all the humans who wanted to see the mutants disappear, but those in high places did, and that was all that mattered.
Oh, well. Maybe he was getting immune to nervousness.
Yeah, right. It would probably show up the moment the guards reached their car, and with his luck, it would bring along a few of its cousins.
"I hope you know what we're doing," Diana mumbled from the backseat.
Ryan closed his eyes briefly.
"So do I," he whispered. "So do I."
He took a moment to gather his thoughts, before addressing the others.
"Ben, when we get closer to the checkpoint, you'll have to drive. With all these people around, even the most basic manipulations of the mind will require all my attention, so I won't be able to focus on driving, too."
"Got it," Ben said.
"Diana, when the officers show up, do you think you'll be able to influence their feeling? Maybe make them more understanding or trusting?" he continued.
Diana frowned slightly.
"If I have some time to prepare for it...yeah, I think so. At least for a short while, anyway."
Ryan nodded.
"Good. I'll notify the others."
He leaned back once more and let his mind seek out Kyle's calm, controlled presence.
'Kyle.'
'Hey, Ryan. So, what's the plan?' Kyle replied.
'When we get closer to the checkpoint, I'll leave the driving to Ben. I'll have to control a lot of minds, and won't be easy.'
'So we'll go for the one option that's so dangerous and stupid, that we'll have to rely on pure, dumb luck to get us through?'
'If you put it that way...well, yes.'
Ryan could almost heard Kyle sigh, and smiled. Kyle might not be a very loud person, but he was good to have by your side in a fight.
'Whatever you says, boss. But we'll need a *lot* of luck to get out of this one,' Kyle replied.
'Don't remind me.'
* * *
In the other car, Kyle opened his eyes.
Okay, so they were going with the most stupid, risky, and dangerous idea they had been able to come up with...he could accept that. After all, Ryan was a competent leader – if anyone could get them out of there, it would be him.
But there was always the risk that something could go wrong. And if that happened, there was no sense in all of them getting caught – especially not when one of them could easily cross the roadblocks undetected.
Kyle turned around to look at Suzuka, who was still looking out the window with a slightly bored expression on her face.
"Suzuka."
The girl looked at him.
"Yeah?"
"We'll be going with the direct approach. Drive into the lion's den and hope that Ryan is strong enough to get us safely through."
He paused, giving Suzuka a chance to think about what he'd just said.
"You can leave now, you know. Transform into some animal, and meet us on the other side of the checkpoint. None of us would blame you if you did," Kyle said.
Suzuka looked at him, and knew that he was right. If she *did* use her powers to get past the police, there wouldn't be any hard feelings. They would all understand. They would all forgive her...but she would not.
"Thanks for the offer, Kyle...but I'm staying with you guys. I'm done running," she replied, more determined than she'd felt for a long time.
In the driver's seat, Kyle smiled. Maybe things weren't quite as hopeless as he'd feared.
* * *
Some notes:
1: From this chapter and onwards, I'm accepting suggestions for pairings. I can't guarantee that all of the pairings will show up, but some of them will :) (The only one that's certain for now is Blade/Jordane (if no one objects, that is) and that's because I'll need them later on to introduce a new character *he, he*)
2: Those of you who have a picture/drawing/etc. of your character, please mail it to the address below – it would be a big help :). If you don't have one, this page (http://ver.rubberhouse.net/drags.html) has a bunch of links to cartoon doll creators. Don't forget to write something in the subject line – 'character picture' or whatever. I delete any mail that has an attachment, but nothing in the subject line.
3: I think it's time to make the fic interactive, and not just a 'I'll Put In Your Characters'-fic. If you have any suggestions/ideas/plotbunnies that you'd like to see in the fic, mail them to d.angelino@caramail.com and I'll take a look at them. If your suggestion gets picked, you will, of course, be credited :)
So mail away. I promise I won't bite...hard ;)
