On the roof of the building Marnie and the other Strand members were holding the hostages, the Double Helix landed and went into stealth mode.
"We're outnumbered at least three to one so we're going to have to take them by surprise. Come at them from three sides." Jesse reviewed. Brennan and Emma nodded their agreement and they were off.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Down in the lobby, Brennan made the first move, taking out two armed thugs at once with telsa coils. Jesse came through the wall to Brennan's left and knocked another armed thug out with a massed fist, before going hand to hand with the next in line. Emma remained hidden so she could confuse those guarding the hostages, making them believe the hostages were now venomous snakes. Meanwhile, Brennan had electrified another thug and a fourth and fifth were trying to beat him down with fists and feet.
How things went so wrong from there wasn't exactly clear. But Brennan was cornered, Jesse was getting clobbered and Marnie had Emma at gunpoint.
"Nice try. Really. You almost had us. But now, we have you." With a nod of her head, the Links all attacked Jesse and Brennan at once.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Just outside Hillcrest, Adam parked the SUV.
"Could you guys just give me a second?" Ally asked from the front passenger's side.
Adam and Shalimar exchanged looks. "Yeah sure." They climbed out and stood by the entrance.
Adam hadn't shut the engine off yet, so when they weren't looking Ally turned on the radio and found a broadcast about the hostage situation.
It appears a tactical strategy has failed. I'm getting reports that electrical tasers were involved but it wasn't enough and now the arsonist has more hostag--
Ally shut off the radio and rejoined Adam and Shalimar.
"You ready to do this?" Adam asked.
Ally sighed, resigned in her decision. "I guess there's only one way to be sure."
Swinging as hard as she could, Ally sucker-punched Adam in the face, and keeping with the momentum, she spun all the way back around and sparked a fire at Shalimar's feet, forcing the feral to back up instead of leap after Ally.
Shal looked at her like she was insane.
"Shal, they've got the others. I have to go, I'm sorry." Ally formed a fireball for insurance and backed up to the still running SUV, while Shalimar stamped out the fire on the ground with her feet.
"You should get him somewhere safe." Ally said of Adam, looking at Shal directly in the eyes, willing her to understand the hidden meaning. "Somewhere he won't be seen."
And Shalimar did understand. And she let Ally go.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Marnie knelt, her knees resting on Brennan's chest, and ran her fingers over the unconscious elementals face. "I think we'll start the process of elimination with this one." She said to Emma, who was spared the vicious beating her teammates took. Marnie liked having an audience. "He seems to be the one your cowardly friend cares for most. You know...although it's unnesessary, I can make the withdrawl of information very painful for him. He'll be begging for death once I have learned the location of your precious Sanctuary."
"I thought you were trying to gather more New Mutants, not kill them." It was Ally who'd spoken.
She thrust her hands outward as if she were trying to push the air, and the flames that were blocking the police and fire teams from the first building smoldered.
Using the distraction, Emma took the chance to attack her guards, allowing a few of the hostages to make a run for it before she was subdued.
"Stop!" Ally pleaded before the thugs could do too much harm. "Leave them be! Let me put out all the fires and I'll surrender to you without a fight."
Marnie snorted her laughter. "What makes you think you're in any position to make deals? We have you!"
"I've got someone too." Ally held up Kelly's red wig. "That fire's getting out of control fast without Kelly focused on it. It's already spreading through the higher floors of this building. If I don't stop it now, we'll all be in trouble." Even as she said this, the alarms and sprinklers went off.
Marnie growled in frustration, but after a moment, she waved the other Links off. "Do it."
Ally walked back around the corner to where she'd left Kelly dazed. She bent down and slapped Kelly across the face. "Wake up Blondie. I need your help."
Ally yanked Kelly to her feet and dragged her over to the window looking out at the burning building next door.
In sync, they held their hands out and concentrated on the flames. Slowly the fire shrunk away from the windows, the smoke started to clear, and the fire department was able to finish the fires off.
Marnie came up behind Ally and pointed her gun at Ally's head. "What about the fires upstairs?" She demanded.
Ally turned to face down the barrel of Marnie's gun. "That was more or less a bluff. The sprinklers would have taken care of them by now."
Marnie sneered. "Good, because the fires would have only been the beginning of the ways I could ruin your life for messing with me. Now we can get down to business." She waved two thugs over and they became Ally's guards. "Move out!" She crowed to the Links. "Leave Mutant X, but take the remaining hostages." Marnie looked Ally in the eye. "For insurance."
One of the Links had the ability to draw in light like a vaccum. The entire lobby was swallowed into darkness as the Strand slipped away.
By the time the light began to return, Brennan, Emma and Jesse were coming to.
Brennan moaned and rubbed the back of his aching head. "What happened?"
Jesse used the wall to help him climb to his feet. "Everyone's gone..." He looked outside. "The fires are out."
Brennan slowly stood, testing his mobility. "We're going to have company of the Black and White kind, we should--"
"Ally!" Emma blurted, jumping to her feet. "She was here!"
That got the boys full attention.
"What?!" Brennan wasn't sure he'd heard Emma right.
Jesse was. "Oh no..."
"We have to find Adam and Shalimar." Emma ran for the stairs.
"We're outnumbered at least three to one so we're going to have to take them by surprise. Come at them from three sides." Jesse reviewed. Brennan and Emma nodded their agreement and they were off.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Down in the lobby, Brennan made the first move, taking out two armed thugs at once with telsa coils. Jesse came through the wall to Brennan's left and knocked another armed thug out with a massed fist, before going hand to hand with the next in line. Emma remained hidden so she could confuse those guarding the hostages, making them believe the hostages were now venomous snakes. Meanwhile, Brennan had electrified another thug and a fourth and fifth were trying to beat him down with fists and feet.
How things went so wrong from there wasn't exactly clear. But Brennan was cornered, Jesse was getting clobbered and Marnie had Emma at gunpoint.
"Nice try. Really. You almost had us. But now, we have you." With a nod of her head, the Links all attacked Jesse and Brennan at once.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Just outside Hillcrest, Adam parked the SUV.
"Could you guys just give me a second?" Ally asked from the front passenger's side.
Adam and Shalimar exchanged looks. "Yeah sure." They climbed out and stood by the entrance.
Adam hadn't shut the engine off yet, so when they weren't looking Ally turned on the radio and found a broadcast about the hostage situation.
It appears a tactical strategy has failed. I'm getting reports that electrical tasers were involved but it wasn't enough and now the arsonist has more hostag--
Ally shut off the radio and rejoined Adam and Shalimar.
"You ready to do this?" Adam asked.
Ally sighed, resigned in her decision. "I guess there's only one way to be sure."
Swinging as hard as she could, Ally sucker-punched Adam in the face, and keeping with the momentum, she spun all the way back around and sparked a fire at Shalimar's feet, forcing the feral to back up instead of leap after Ally.
Shal looked at her like she was insane.
"Shal, they've got the others. I have to go, I'm sorry." Ally formed a fireball for insurance and backed up to the still running SUV, while Shalimar stamped out the fire on the ground with her feet.
"You should get him somewhere safe." Ally said of Adam, looking at Shal directly in the eyes, willing her to understand the hidden meaning. "Somewhere he won't be seen."
And Shalimar did understand. And she let Ally go.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Marnie knelt, her knees resting on Brennan's chest, and ran her fingers over the unconscious elementals face. "I think we'll start the process of elimination with this one." She said to Emma, who was spared the vicious beating her teammates took. Marnie liked having an audience. "He seems to be the one your cowardly friend cares for most. You know...although it's unnesessary, I can make the withdrawl of information very painful for him. He'll be begging for death once I have learned the location of your precious Sanctuary."
"I thought you were trying to gather more New Mutants, not kill them." It was Ally who'd spoken.
She thrust her hands outward as if she were trying to push the air, and the flames that were blocking the police and fire teams from the first building smoldered.
Using the distraction, Emma took the chance to attack her guards, allowing a few of the hostages to make a run for it before she was subdued.
"Stop!" Ally pleaded before the thugs could do too much harm. "Leave them be! Let me put out all the fires and I'll surrender to you without a fight."
Marnie snorted her laughter. "What makes you think you're in any position to make deals? We have you!"
"I've got someone too." Ally held up Kelly's red wig. "That fire's getting out of control fast without Kelly focused on it. It's already spreading through the higher floors of this building. If I don't stop it now, we'll all be in trouble." Even as she said this, the alarms and sprinklers went off.
Marnie growled in frustration, but after a moment, she waved the other Links off. "Do it."
Ally walked back around the corner to where she'd left Kelly dazed. She bent down and slapped Kelly across the face. "Wake up Blondie. I need your help."
Ally yanked Kelly to her feet and dragged her over to the window looking out at the burning building next door.
In sync, they held their hands out and concentrated on the flames. Slowly the fire shrunk away from the windows, the smoke started to clear, and the fire department was able to finish the fires off.
Marnie came up behind Ally and pointed her gun at Ally's head. "What about the fires upstairs?" She demanded.
Ally turned to face down the barrel of Marnie's gun. "That was more or less a bluff. The sprinklers would have taken care of them by now."
Marnie sneered. "Good, because the fires would have only been the beginning of the ways I could ruin your life for messing with me. Now we can get down to business." She waved two thugs over and they became Ally's guards. "Move out!" She crowed to the Links. "Leave Mutant X, but take the remaining hostages." Marnie looked Ally in the eye. "For insurance."
One of the Links had the ability to draw in light like a vaccum. The entire lobby was swallowed into darkness as the Strand slipped away.
By the time the light began to return, Brennan, Emma and Jesse were coming to.
Brennan moaned and rubbed the back of his aching head. "What happened?"
Jesse used the wall to help him climb to his feet. "Everyone's gone..." He looked outside. "The fires are out."
Brennan slowly stood, testing his mobility. "We're going to have company of the Black and White kind, we should--"
"Ally!" Emma blurted, jumping to her feet. "She was here!"
That got the boys full attention.
"What?!" Brennan wasn't sure he'd heard Emma right.
Jesse was. "Oh no..."
"We have to find Adam and Shalimar." Emma ran for the stairs.