Not Your Typical Saturday at the Mall

[Striker]

Oleksander made his way out of the theater with Gabriel in tow. He'd promised to go and see another movie with his friend and had kept it this time, doing both that and knowing he would make Rose happy in that he'd left his apartment for some amount of time to do something social. Movies still weren't his favorite thing but a bit of mindless explosions never hurt anyone. Still he wasn't overly keen to return to the institute just yet. "What do you want to do now?"

"Are we not heading back to the institute?" Of course Gabriel would say the exact opposite of what Oleksander was thinking. He stepped outside of the confines of the campus even less than his friend. It would probably be better to walk around town and breathe some relatively fresh air for a bit. Movies weren't too bad and he hadn't been struck down by lightning yet. Still the teenager glance up quickly to check.

"Later. Let's make use of the time we have." Gamma Strike's leader was more than content to work almost constantly but days off were a rarity and he thought it best they use it. He wasn't overly hungry, Gabriel always insisted on getting food in the theater and though he didn't hang around in malls much it was still an interesting place to observe. "Let's just walk for awhile."

Not too far away from where Gabriel and his companion were exiting the theater there was a crowd of men who you did not normally see in a mall, no matter what the time of day was. They were dressed in uniforms. They looked strikingly similar to mall security, except that they were far more impressive, and they quite obviously had weapons on them, though for the moment their guns were holstered at their hips. They were glancing around, alert, as if searching for danger. They surrounded the door and an entire section of one of the mall's clothing stores. There was a secondary crowd of gawkers, but they had cautiously taken up residence on the opposite side of the mall, craning their necks in attempt to see what might have brought the armed guards here.

Gabriel never got to indulge in popcorn and movie candies at home. It was not something that wasn't allowed. So now he indulged himself more than he would admit once they went to the movies. The tall blond started to slow down his stride once he caught sight of the guards. He looked to his team leader. "What do you think that is about?"

How lucky was Q then, to be coming out of a nearby Gamestop, white and black bag housing the newest console banger, to see that there had amassed a crowd through which he would have to push through in order to get out said Game stop <Wha...? Where all these guys come from?> "Uh, hey, pardon, excuse me..." The thin Ascendant made his way through only to drop his bag when some fatso backed into him, the impact sending Q off balance just enough for his grip to loose, and the bag meets the floor...only to be kicked moments later as he reaches for it. "Hey!... Dammit..." Kicked halfway across the lane towards those tough looking guys. Naturally, he goes after his 65 dollar game, and as he's bending to retrieve it, notices those men. <...And, who are these guys?> Visions of the canals danced in his head.

"I am not sure." Oleksander was a bit wary, not thinking that was the sort of thing one normally saw at a mall. Still, they were on their day off and the Major hadn't called them to duty so they weren't required to find out. "Best to stay out of the way I think."

The source of the armed guards was not long in showing herself. She came out of the clothing store, gliding gracefully despite the sheer length of her high heeled shoes. She was recognizable immediately. Even if most of the people in the mall had not recognized her, likely her milky white skin and navy blue hair would have drawn the gaze of many. The moment she appeared half the crowd gasped and started drawing out their video cameras to take pictures of her. She was, after all, none other than the press secretary for the second richest man in the world and she appeared on TV almost daily. There were people who followed her press releases as if they were an on-going soap opera. There were even rumors running rampant that she was engaged to the business tycoon whom she served, though for the moment she had managed to dance neatly around ever answering that particular question. It was hard to miss the diamond ring on her finger though. She strode out of the store with a pair of shopping bags in her hand, and when of the men, obviously body guards, strode forward to take it, while another tried to block her from all of the cameras that had just appeared. The albino woman was slow to notice the fact that her body guards were blocking the entrance to the store, but the moment she did she snorted in disgust and tried to shoo them out of the way. "We hardly own the store, move out of the way and let other people go shopping if they want." She was saying as one of the men reassured her that they were only being through and tried to convince her that it would be best if they left before the crowd grew any thicker. One of the men took notice of Tag, and while his hand moved closer to his gun, for the moment all he did was give the boy a hard look and arch one eyebrow.

"I wish that everyone would take that good advice." Gabriel watched one of the newer additions to the institute get his purchases kicked all over the floor. If he remembered correctly, not watching that much television, she was some sort of famous person. She was definitely an ascendant by the look of her. Now that woman looked so familiar. Gabriel had the nagging feeling that he should know better.

Ember rolled her eyes as she followed Cazella out of the store. She held no bags in her hands and in stark contrast to the elegant woman, she was dressed very casually in well worn khaki pants and sneakers that looked as if they had seen much better days. "How do you put with this all the time, Cassie?"

"Indeed." Once Oleksander had seen that the armed men were bodyguards he was quite ready to turn his attention away. He knew vaguely who the woman was but wasn't interested in the stalkerish lengths people went to about media celebrities. Besides he had some personal knowledge of what it was like to be on the receiving end of that sort of attention and would never push that on another person. "Let's go somewhere else."

So, that explained it. Someone important was shopping. Heh. Used to happen all the time when his grand dad took him to his malls and such. Though, Q and his own parents live rather simple lives; his caretakers long decided that even with the life long bounty of the Wright Stipulation depositing small fortunes into their individual accounts, normality was good for the soul, as well as Quentin's moral perspective. Heck, he only spent 68.78 on that X-Box game, supposed to buying the whole store, which, monetarily, he could. It took him only seconds to place her face; a moment or so longer to believe she was here. He...he'd seen her before, but it was years ago. Would she even remember him now? One way to find out. "Hey!" He waved at her, which prolly didn't do much to make him stand out among the others, so, ignoring the stern glare from the man, moved closer. Perhaps too close. "Yo, hey, I know you! I met ya, a few years back..." Like that would make placing him easier or something.

At the same time as Quentin was stumbling across the hallway right into the path of Cazella's entourage, another man crossed in the same direction, jostling him in the shoulder. The short, pasty fellow didn't seem to pay the minor collision any mind; in fact, he didn't give any indication that he even noticed the posse making their way through the broad corridor. He simply pulled his plain blue baseball cap down lower on his scruffy black hair, and strolled into the video game store that Q had recently vacated.

Gabriel could not help but sigh as he watched the play unfolding before him. It certainly was not going to end well. Perhaps it would only end as slightly annoying for those involved. "Yes. I can only imagine that the mall will only get more crowded. That kind of news spreads faster than anything I've ever seen." Gabriel smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in his shirt as the pair skirted around the edge of the adoring crowd.

Cazella tossed a glance over her shoulder at the young woman who was her companion for the day and rolled her eyes ever so slightly. It was nice that her fiance was protective of her, but sometimes she thought he took it a little too far. "Patience, my dear Ember, a great deal of it. Now David, let's be reasonable about this whole-" She was cut off mid sentence when a young man suddenly darted in her direction and David, apparently the leader of her body guards, quickly pushed himself between her and the young man, drawing out his gun in one smooth motion. "Back up kid," he growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You and everyone else in the -" "DAVID!" Cazella interceded in exasperation. "Put the gun away! It's just some kid." She shouldered him right back out of the way and offered a kind smile to the young man, though she by no means recognized his face. "I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive him, he's just doing his job. I'm afraid I don't remember having a meeting with you, young man. I'm sorry." She did, after all, have alot of meetings with alot of people and most of the time she was just 'in the room' and not really taking active part in the meeting itself. "I'm afraid I'm here on personal business, as you can see, so if you're trying to get in touch with Mr. Warden, you will have to go through the usual channels." That was, after all, what people usually approached her about.

As for Oleksander he mostly just put it out of his mind. Women shopped and spent time in stores, or so he was told, and so long as they kept moving he didn't foresee much trouble. It was much easier to walk in this direction anyway though he slowed their pace once they cleared the rabble. "We won't spend to much time if you do not want to." He glanced in through the glass into the game store though had no real desire to enter, he didn't play those things.

Q was yet young, and headstrong. So, naturally, he 'forgot' the men around the woman, until one saw fit to remind him. Q stopped hard. but kept that sarcastic attitude even with the gun out....seeing as to him, nine mili rounds were, well, kinda slow. "Chill out, Bro...!" he replied, smirk in play, as the woman he called to spoke up in Quentin's stead and offered apologies. But, alas, she didn't know him. Well, go figure; he, too, often just stood in rooms, supposed to listen and learn how to become a corporate legend. So, it wasn't much a of surprise she didn't recall him. She might recall this name though. "Oh, no, I don't wanna meet Mr. Dub... But, maybe you remember the time ya met my 'Uncle', Benjamin Ashford?" Currently, Chairman of the Board of the Wright-Bright Foundation. A man who just had a recent meeting with Mr. Warden's Board members not a month ago. She might recall that....and take note that Q's 'Uncle' was white. And, he, Black! One could only wonder about the relation....

[Striker]

Ember started when David drew the gun. "Damn, Cassie, these guys are edgier than normal. Someone spike your coffee this morning?" She grinned, despite the seriousness of the situation. That was certainly like her, never serious, even now. She moved closer to Cazella, pointedly ignoring the guards to have a look at the kid speaking to her friend. Granted, he couldn't be too much younger than herself, but that didn't change her thinking him.

It probably had something to do with all of the training; or it could of been the fact that someone drew a gun. Most people got tense when firearms were involved. There were probably a few shocked gasps and the need to move back in the crowd. "The major will not be pleased." Gabriel had to fight down the faint, silver glow around his form for a brief second.

On the contrary, the man in the blue cap had caught sight of the conspicuously armed group, and it was all he could do to keep himself from breaking out in a cold sweat. "Complications, Vera. There are about half a dozen suits strutting around with some serious heat. Like 'I'm compensating for something' firepower." There was a brief pause in which all Dominic Marek heard was the droning murmur of the shoppers around him. A few seconds later, the nanomachines which permeated his entire body vibrated the delicate inner workings of his ears, generating a simulated voice that only he could hear, <Just stay on course with the mission. We need this to get you into the good graces of those 'Horsemen'. Don't worry about being ID'ed if fighting breaks out, I'm taking care of the security cameras.> As he shouldered his way through the crowd of games shoppers that clogged up the small store, the Czech engineer issued a frustrated growl under his breath. It wasn't the cameras he was worried about!

When he finally reached the sales counter, a young retail clerk who couldn't have been more than twenty years old greeted him with a brief glance and a smile that was only half sincere. "Welcome to Gamestop. Did you find everything you were looking for today?"

"Now I have," Dominic responded, unable to prevent the crooked grin that twisted his pale, unassuming features as he laid a hand on the counter, its skin bearing a grey colour and an oddly metallic sheen. "Or I will, as soon as you hand over the flash drive on your key chain."

The cashier's eyes shot up at the man on the other side of the counter again, drawn wide with shock and fear. "W-who...?" he started to ask, but the demand was cut short by Dominic's harsh, howling laughter.

A moment later, the drama unfolding outside the video game store was suddenly interrupted by a chorus of terrified screams from within, as shoppers all but trampled each other in a mad rush out the door and straight into Cazella and Ember's entourage.

If Quentin had mentioned the Wright Bright Foundation, it probably would have jogged Cazella's memory, but the name didn't ring a bell. She wasn't a business executive, after all, she was just a pretty face in those meetings. Jonathan wanted his business partners to get used to her presence, but she wasn't quite sure why it mattered. She shook her head again while her head body guard hovered closer by her shoulder, shaking his head and glaring in the youth's direction. "I'm sorry, young man, I'm not a member of Mr. Warden's board. I'm just his press representative. As I said, I'm here on personal business today and not to discuss business matters. If there's something you need, it's better if you get in touch with the regular people at JW Industries. If you're associated with one of Mr. Warden's business partners, you will of course know the proper person to call." She offered him one more kind smile and then considered the matter closed. She turned her attention back to Ember and chuckled slightly. "Jonathan is just paranoid after that one incident recently when-" Again she found herself cut off in the face of another commotion. One that actually concerned her this time. She frowned as a panicked crowd began to rush passed her armed entourage. There was only one thing that would make people risk an armed man's ire - real danger. Yellow eyes sought through the crowd to find the source of the disturbance while her body guards formed up around the group standing there, drawing their guns, clearly meaning to defend their charge. For the time being, Quentin was forgotten and allowed to remain within the inner circle of protection.

Ember found herself pressed against her companion. Her eyes flicked about nervously now. She reached down and carefully took her friend's hand. "Cassie," she whispered tensely, "if things get real bad, I'll get us out. Nobody will even see us leave." She grinned again, but there wasn't as much mirth behind her eyes now.

Oleksander and Gabriel had almost just passed the game store and were moving onto the next when the rush of people made their scramble out of the store and it was impossible for them to ignore it now. The feeling of panic was almost painful despite his shields and a quick mental probe inside told him that their day off was officially over. They weren't armed like the men across the storefront from them, but they didn't necessarily need to be. He backed against the glass of the store next to the Gamestop, slipping across it until he could peer into the quickly emptying store to see what was going on. He touched Gabriel's mind as well, giving him the impression to be ready.

What was happening now? It didn't even involve their companion at the institute or the bodyguards. It was someone or something else entirely. Gabriel's hands clenched into fists as he backed away from the fleeing crowd. If they needed his help then he would certainly do so. It was obvious by his emotions, but he nodded at Oleksander just slightly.

He, too, was attending to personal matters. And very important[/] ones too! Ghostbusters had just hit the shelves! And his boy, Tony, reserved a copy for him, which the eager Q had in his little black and whit bag. And that's when he was told he wasn't remembered and he gave up. "...Oh.... well, I..." Trying at least to come away [i]not looking like a groupie, when heck hit the fans. He, too, looks towards the rushing crowds origins, and gasps.... Tony! Tony was working today! Hell, his name was even on Q receipt! What was it, a robbery, or something? Whatever it was, two things weren't happening today... Tony wasn't getting trashed, and Gamestop wasn't gonna be closed down cuz'a some fool with a gun! "Dammit!" A blur was all that became him, first opening he got, leaving a gust of wind to be felt by the woman and cassie, before a blur materialized inside the store. But, what Q saw was a shock to him. Was it.... the Green Goblin? "Huh....who are you? and why are you trashing my Gamestop? Oh, and where's Tony??" Can't forget Tony...

Even at his speed, by the time Quentin made it into the gaming shop, it had been completely emptied out save for the two young cashiers named Tony and Josh, and a third figure that appeared less human than some kind of demonic robot: six feet of polished metal, with barbed spines protruding from its shoulders, elbows, and down its back, ending in a long prehensile tail that sliced through the air with a dull whistle as it flicked to and fro. Rapier turned his monstrous skull-like visage toward the man in the doorway when Quentin announced his presence and sized him up briefly before he spoke in a hollow, synthesized voice, "Sorry, asshole." One viciously clawed hand dropped the cashier he had been holding aloft to the floor in an unceremonious heap, then drew a small computer key drive into the palm of his hand as if it were sinking into a pool of mercury. "No pumpkin bombs!" The floor beneath Rapier's feet cracked as his nano-armor rooted him solidly in place, and the long tail-like appendage which sprouted from the base of his back lashed out at Quentin like a silver whip.

Cazella's heart thumped heavily in her chest. A wild sort of fear clutched her with cold hands, and for a moment she couldn't think of anything at all. There were so many horrible people in the world who were after her. Though she'd learned to live her life without looking over her shoulder, moments like this reminded her of the terrible danger she faced. She half expected bullets to start riddling her body guards with holes, much like the last time. It was the squeeze of Ember's hand that brought her back to reality. She blinked golden eyes and turned to her friend, sucking in a deep breath and nodding. She gave the other woman a grateful look and squeezed her hand in return. "Thank you, Ember, I pray it won't come to that. Stay close." She steeled herself. "David, send some of your men to help. It won't take all seven of you to protect me, and Ember is here too. You have guns, and it will take the police awhile to respond." David, for his part, looked less than happy. He hesitated. It was his job to protect his charge... not the whole mall, but he gave in to her fairly quickly. It made sense. "Alright," He said indicating half the group. "You stay here and protect Miss Amery at all costs. The rest of you are with me." Grumbling slightly to himself, he took off in the direction of the disturbance to see if he and his men could offer any assistance.

Even with his reflexes he had, something surprise would take its toll. so, when Q saw his good buddy [who didn't know he was a super-fast Ascendant, by the way. In fact, no one outside of the Gate knew...yet] dropped to the floor like corny lines on a hot chick, his attention lapsed enough that by the time th tail was flung out, he had just realigned his eyes with the dragon looking man. Luckily, he was still super-fast. "Whoa!" Hyper clarity kicked in, and he leaned back, as the tails edge passed over his face, nearly removing his nose from his boyishly handsome visage. Yet, as it passed over, but before it had finished its full arc, Quentin shot ahead, straight at the man who hopefully, couldn't perceive super-fast objects, intent to plant a 40 mile an hour fist into his jaw. All while spouting a Q-ion quip. 'S'ok. Well just settled for you're being ugly..."

Oleksander cursed softly as after a very noticeable gust of wind blew past him and then the sound of a far to cheerful voice drifted from the shop. It was a mind he was vaguely familiar with, if rushing in to confront an unknown enemy was incredibly stupid. He didn't trust moving in without any sort of intel and without arms and would not pit even Gabriel's strength against such an unknown foe. Before he could even move the guards were beginning to move in too and he knew this wouldn't go well either way, if the confidence being put out by the metallic man inside was any indicator.

Though Gabriel wished to do the right thing in this situation he respected the word of his team leader and remained where Oleksander motioned him too though the light sheen of silver began to appear around him again as he called his abilities up for when they would be needed.

[Striker]

"I hope it doesn't come to that either." Ember continued to hold Cazella's hand. Her powers would only work with Cazella if they remained in contact with each other. "Just hold on. It'll only work if we're touching."

The proximity alert whined in Dominic's ear, warning him of the incoming blow, but the punch was launched too quickly and too close for him to take advantage of the Rapier system's assistance. Quentin's knuckles hit the armored face plate with a metallic clang!, snapping Rapier's head back abruptly. He would have dropped to the floor entirely if his feet hadn't been firmly lodged into the floor; instead, his upper body reeled back like a blow-up punching doll, stars exploding before its pilots eyes. On his way back up, his arm shot out and, partially out of instinct, he dug his clawed fingers into one of the wooden display shelves floating on the floor. Nanomachine tendrils spread from his hand like roots and gripped the shelving unit in response to the intention they sensed from their user's mind. A groan of protest preceded a sharp crack of splintering wood as Rapier uprooted the shelving unit from the floor and swung it straight into Quentin's left side.

Oleksander may have had misgivings about the guards who were rushing towards the scene of the disturbance, but they approached with a caution that Quentin had not. Signaling to each other, they took turns moving forward, watching for threats and motioning when it was safe. When they reached the store front and took in the sight there, David let out a short string of curses. This wasn't going to end well. Reaching up he tapped the radio receiver at his ear and said to the men still guarding his charge, "Get Miss Amery out of here NOW. We have an ascendant here. I don't think any of us can do much if he makes a run at her. Better to make sure he doesn't discover her presence." Though she wasn't wearing one of the radios herself, Cazella heard the report from the man hovering nearest her, and involuntarily squeezed Ember's hand once more. There was a part of her that wanted to run... and there was a part of her that desired to help, if she could. "What do you think Ember?" she murmured, before her guards could shoo them outside. "Should we run? Or should we try to help?"

"Do you think we could help?" Ember replied, turning a wicked grin towards her friend. Her free hand clenched tight into a fist and her grin twisted into a grimace as she pulled her power about her. At first it was flickering across their bodies, a strange haziness like heat rising from pavement. Then they were were hazy, indistinct, Ghost-like. A sheath of blue flame lapped at Ember's fist, springing from nowhere. "Shall we?"

The store was small. Well, ratherbig in that it could hold a max of a 100 occupants, legally, but small in that for someone like Q, reaching to other wall on any adjacent side took, well, truly an eye blink. He went from the door, to upside maerk's grill-piece, to the Used PS2's in a heartbeat, and had to stop himself from smacking into a Halo game box. Attention went to the prone buddy on the floor, whom this was all over, initially, but when that shelf was uprooted, Q, again, was stunned. "....Aw, geez...now he's bustin' out some Omega Red bull...." Sentence wasn't completed before the damn thing was hurled at him! "Fuh..." And he goes to work, or his mind does, seeing as he had no real way to dodge, with the lack of room the used corner provided, or deprived him of. Time slows for him, as his knees bend, and fists curl. He lacked super strength, so he was risking two broken hands, but hopefully the stand was mostly plastic or something. As it came within arms length of him, he wails against it, its weaker parts shattering to bits in a flurry of rights and lefts...until, that is, he hit something alot harder than his fist, that being the metal pole that acted as its spine. Coming at him sideways, and baring a respectable amount of weight, it 'clotheslines' him across the chest, taking the skinny youth back with is hard, through the store walls [which weren't anything as tough as stone, mostly plywood and such]. He hits the floor hard along with white debris in the stores back room. He's prone a moment or so, but lucky for him, his Ascendancy gave him denser bones, which dealt with the concussions of rapid footfalls. This meant while he was hurt, he was doing better than a normal Human, and was far from K.O.'d. "....Ow.... this dudes.... not playin' fair..." He stumbles to his feet, peering out the hole...

Oleksander watched with a mixture of shock and horror as the metal ascendant went back but then almost instantly returned and slammed the shelves into his attacker with one hand. Now he was glad he'd kept Gabriel from rushing in. But before anyone else could, hopefully, get seriously injured he attacked from where he was outside, choosing brute force instead of subtle manipulation here since he had yet to encounter any mind shields, as strong a blow as he dared.

[Striker]

Cazella's body seemed to accept whatever it was that flowed from Ember's body that allowed the two of them to flash out of existence. It was far easier for Ember to exert her will over the albino woman than it likely would have been to exert it over any normal person - not because of the color of her skin, but because her own ascendancy naturally accepted the 'changes' being exerted over her. With a mischievous sort of grin at her friend, Cazella lightly tugged on her arm and immediately took off in the direction of the trouble - just where her guards didn't want her to be. "Let's! If nothing else, we may be able to help anyone who was hurt when the attack started." She murmured quietly so that her voice would not give their position away.

As David organized his men on either side of the door way, setting up a defensive position before making any move to attack the strange creature inside, the radio in his ear buzzed to life. "Sir!" Said a desperately anxious voice that made every tiny hair on the back of his neck prickle and stand on end at the same moment. Something told him he wasn't going to like the rest of what came through that radio.

"What?!" He hissed back. "We're a little busy he-"

"Miss Amery just.... vanished!"

"She... what?!"

"She's just... gone! She was here just a minute ago! I - "

"You lost her?!"

"What?! No! I... I swear she was just here a sec-"

"I don't give a damn! Just find her. Find her NOW and get her out of here, or you're going to have to be the one to explain this whole god forsaken mess to Mr. Warden and when he kicks your ass out the door, I won't shed a tear for your unfortunate early retirement!"

Part of what made it for easy for Ember was that her friend was an albino. Lighter colors were easier to turn invisible, by far. Cazella's hair was challenging to keep invisible, but Ember was managing at the moment. She allowed her friend to choose the direction they headed and quite naturally, Cazella was pulling her into the thick of it. Ember probably wouldn't have had any other way anyway. "We might be able to move anyone that's hurt out of harm's way," Ember replied in a whisper. "But we'll have to move them one at a time and even then it'll be hard for me to keep everyone invisible."

Gabriel did not think that he could wait any longer. There are people who could get injured or even killed with just the debris of this battle. Gabriel's abilities were not on all the time. The pushed against his mind right now in all of the excitement. He just let it go now in a burst of silvery light. Silently he touched base with Oleksander before finally making his own move.

The monstrous, metallic being tossed aside what was left of the shelving unit he broke over Quentin's shoulder, which was little more than a few scraps of wood dangling awkwardly from two or three screws. Rapier's grip on the floor released and he turned to advance on the newly-made door to the back room. "Are you sorry you stuck your nose into somewhere it didn't belong yeeeeEEEAGH!!" His rhetorical gloating was suddenly washed away by a tidal wave of agony as Zander's mental blast struck home, tearing across his mind and freezing up every muscle in his body for a few short seconds.

Well, as much as Q's booty hurt from going through that wall, he had a ton of fight left in him. <What is this guy? Not an Ascendant....? Not one I've ever seen....> His youthful mind replayed the last five minutes over, the metallic clang stuck out to him. <So, yer in metal, huh dude?> He cut his eyes to the side, as the square fuse box besides him caught his eye. <...Sucks to be you....what??> N ow his body was locking up and the man inside screamed? Hah! Couldn't get any better. Q grabbed the thick silver wire that was jarred into the top of the box, yanking it several times in as few seconds; the repeated tugs forced it to rip out of its moorings, the array of electric wires fizzed from the current they wanted so badly to conduct. And they would. Taking advantage of the man's stunned moment, Q rushed at him, and passed him, making sure enroute to jam the coils right down his open and wailing maw. "Nope. You sorry ya mama gave you such a big mouth?"

Oleksander gave Gabriel a small mental push to let him know it was alright for him to move, though stuffing any more people into the storefront wasn't going to work very well pretty soon. That was why he looked across the doorway, staring at seemingly nothing. Though the guards could not find the invisible women there was no hiding from his abilities, and he did not look happily on civilians putting themselves willfully in harms way. That was why both women would feel a note of caution in their minds, a warning against going inside where the lack of room would make things even more dangerous for them. It was easy enough to tell where the feeling was coming from, the young man near to them was looking right at them as if they were perfectly visible. But it did not last long as he preferred to keep up the assault on the man inside, though it might flag slightly after the initial assault.

"We'll go slow." Cazella reassured her accomplice as they slid their way passed the armed gunmen and young ascendants wading into the madness. It was odd to pass somewhere and know that no one would be able to see you... that no one would react to you, even though she was counting on it. She paused for a moment in the doorway, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickling and tingling as she felt eyes boring hard into the back of her head and she turned her golden eyes to Oleksander's staring back at him defiantly for a moment before she moved forward. If he could not see the stubborn expression on the albino woman's face, he would get the sense from her mind that she was determined to be of some use here. That she was no fragile flower. She had seen plenty of danger in her life. This time, she didn't feel the need to run from it. Inching her way slowly forward, Cazella reached for the first of the unconscious workers. Motioning for Ember to help her, she pulled the body slowly up off of the floor and draped it part way over their enclosed hands so that they would not have to loose their grip, then she waited for Ember's signal that it was safe to start backing out of the store.

David tried to put it out of his mind that his charge had suddenly gone missing. The sudden silver flare of Gabriel's ascendancy as he unleashed the full force of his powers eased his mind somewhat, though not enough that he stopped gritting his teeth together. If Gamma Strike - even just a few of them - were here, then this situation was a whole hell of alot less hopeless than it looked "Alright men!" he gave his orders through the radio so that he could keep his voice down. "Whatever... that thing is, we can't hope to take it down, so concentrate your efforts on supporting the ascendants. Guns at the ready." Oleksander would also be able to sense David's willingness to follow his orders, if he deigned to give them any. Meanwhile, those of his men who had been ordered to protect their charge, scattered, desperately searching every nook and cranny of the mall to find their pale skinned charge.

Ember couldn't help but turn and look too as she felt eyes on her back. She just glared and continued to move with Cazella, gripping her hand tightly as they picked their through the chaos. Ember helped Cazella position the body between them. "Too bad that I can't make things lighter too," she joked quietly. She shot a look back towards safety. "Let's move."

Even if Quentin moved at a normal speed, Rapier would not have been able to avoid his improvised attack. Where the boundary between mental agony and physical was, the Czech wasn't sure - he only knew that he crossed that boundary somewhere between the time that the super-speeder shoved the electric cable into his 'mouth' and the hundredth of a millisecond it took for the power coursing through the line to lance through his entire body. The Rapier armor rippled for an instant as his howl became a shriek, then suddenly exploded like a blowfish, needle-like spikes firing out of its metallic form in every direction.

Cazella nodded once to let her friend know that she was ready and then slowly began to walk backwards, dragging the prone form out of the game shop with her. Her years of dancing served her well here as she was easily able to sync her movements with Ember's so that their feet moved at the same time. This made it easier not only to hold hands, but to keep the form they had taken into their care properly balanced in their grip. Once they were safely outside the door and passed her armed guards, Cazella jerked her head to the left and picked up the pace a bit. It didn't matter if they were completely invisible now, since they were likely to be outside of people's notice. Just around one corner, not far from the game stop, there were a pair of benches, now completely vacant since everyone had fled the mall. "Let's get him up here." Cazella said softly, hefting the weight of the limp form up off of the floor a bit more. She sighed softly. "I'm sorry I can't be more useful. Damn my bad luck - My ascendancy is basically useless without Jonathan here."

Ember carefully maneuvered herself as they dragged the unconscious person out of the chaos. She let Cazella lead them, concentrating hard on keeping not only herself, but Cazella and the person they had rescued, invisible. As they lifted the limp form up to the bench Ember sighed. She was already starting to feel worn out. She shook her head at Cazella's comment. "Nonsense. Your ascendancy makes it easier for me to make you invisible. It'd be near impossible to do what we're doing now without it."

Oleksander still hadn't entered the store proper but he didn't need to be in close contact to know what was going on, and he could see the reaction the metal ascendant's body had to Tag's attack. For the time being he ignored the two women, nothing he could do to make them stop their unwise course of action. Instead he pressed his mental assault, doing what he could to keep Rapier off balance, though it waned somewhat as his attention was divided . He doubted he could keep the man there forever but the way he was now not even Gabriel could tackle him safely. He did turn his attention to David though, sensing his place in the guard. "Tell your men not to open fire, two women are rescuing the employees. The best we can hope to do right now is detain him as long as possible."

David blinked as he was addressed by the young ascendant. A lesser man may have felt a thrill at the fact that the famous Maestro was speaking to him, or a sense of self importance at the fact that he was getting to work along side the famous leader of Gamma Strike, but in David's case, all he felt was a deep respect for the young man. Certainly he couldn't boast the kind of courage and skill this youth had. He listed carefully for a few moments, expecting to be asked to help, but he was surprised at what Oleksander had to say. Blinking and scanning the store, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly and begin to say "I don't see any-" Something dawned on him slowly. "Shit!" It slipped out before he could catch his tongue. "Is one of them an albino woman with blue hair?" He asked in a low hiss.

Q sat there watching the light show, all gleeful. Now, with Mr. Gleamed Goblin preoccupied, he could go help Tony and... What?? Where did he go? Somehow this dude must've did something to them! Dammit! He swore he was watching everything! Now Q was made! Those volts wouldn't last forever. In fact the fuses behind the wall were melting as the mans body was wracked by over 500 volts which normally powered the stores stuff. Lights flicked on and off. Meanwhile, Q brandished that metal pole with greater intent to do harm now. "Damn this guy... Where's the clerk, you asswipe??!" He hurled the pole at him as the current faded from the man's body once the final fuse blew out, aiming for the back of his head at close to a hundred miles an hour. "What'd you do with him??" It might have helped if someone told Q those two removed the men teens to safety, alas, neither girl could risk exposing herself.

As the electric current raced through his body, a high-pitched shriek reverberated through Rapier's head, and he wasn't entirely sure whether it was the computerized armor's alarms going off, ringing in his ears from the electricity, or the after-effects of the mental blast he'd suffered. If it hadn't been for the nanomachines shielding him at least somewhat from the current, his body would have been like a potato baked in tinfoil - and it still could have come down to that, if the fuse hadn't blown when it did. Gasping for breath, Rapier ripped the cable out of his 'mouth' and dropped to his knees. It was no use, however. He was too far gone; darkness was eating away at the edges of his vision, and what he could see had drained of all colour. Within seconds, everything went black. Of course, if those on the outside had any indication that he had just slipped into unconsciousness, they might have found it even more impressive when his arm shot up and his hand clutched the action end of Quentin's improvised weapon.

[Tag]

\Yes, that\ would've been nice to know. That this mass of machines was able to operate even when stone cold KO'd. Cuz, technically, otherwise, it would've meant Quentin had won his first fight... yea, why, want that? Still, in this case, not knowing was the batter part of valor, for this just meant to the speedster that this guy would take a lot more to take down than 20 mile an hour punches.

It'd take something more like 80.

<...Hm... He's still up... It's too tight in here... Can't get any real speed... Unless...> The youth would dash out of the Gamestop, and made a B-line for the fountain, which was hardly four stores away. It being the center of the shopping complex, it was a nexus of stores, pretty much. Yet, Tag wasn't looking for the bathroom. He was actually completing several rotations around the fountain, 35 in total, but it took him a only 7 seconds to do it. And, after the 7th second, he shot out back towards the Gamestop, and inside once again, zooming straight at a much slower moving R.A.P.I.E.R., whom Quentin planned to give a 120 mile an hour punt kick, if he were still prone, otherwise, he'd most likely just aim for his /'face'./

This post has been edited by Tag on Sep 4 2009, 05:16 PM

[Cazella]

Despite Ember's reassurances, Cazella still felt somewhat useless. Bravery only got one so far. If she'd had real abilities she would have been more able to help in this kind of situation. She could have helped try to fight... whatever that thing was. Or she could at least have done something for the people it wounded. As it was, getting the two unconscious employees out of the shop was the only thing she could do. But at least I can do that much...

She settled the first young man they had rescued onto the bench, laying his arms on his chest and leaning over him a moment to check his pulse. He seemed to be breathing without difficulty and she felt the reassuring flutter of his heartbeat strong beneath her fingers. She nodded and smiled with satisfaction at her friend. "One more then." She said, though she gave Ember a moment to rest and regain her strength before they returned to the store a second time.

Much like the first time, Cazella strode brazenly with her friend's hand in her's into the midst of the battlefield, stepping carefully lest they run into something and give themselves away. By now it seemed that both Maestro and her body guards knew what she was up to, but so long as that creature thing didn't discover them, she thought they would be fine. Like they had with the first employee, Cazella leaned down and pulled the young man up, draping him over her and Ember's joined hands so that they could move him without breaking the contact that allowed them to remain invisible and then steadily began to back out of the store again.


In the mean time, having gotten no response from the young ascendant and feeling that he was fairly helpless until someone could tell him what was going on or where his charge was, David motioned for his men to put up their weapons. He couldn't help but swear again, unprofessional though it was. The last person in his position had lost both their job and their life because they had become negligent when someone had started shooting at their charge. The way things were going, he couldn't help but feel he'd be lucky to get out of this with his life and his retirement plan intact.

"Hold your fire gentlemen. We don't want to hit these invisible innocents." Apparently it never occurred to him to question Maestro's word. And why should he? What reason did the ascendant have to lie to him? "One of them is probably Miss Amery, so don't get twitchy with your trigger fingers. Maestro, Sir..." He said, turning back to the young ascendant, apparently not having any problem with addressing someone so much younger than him with such a respectful tone. "Please let us know when the women are clear and we will do our best to back you up."


Outside the mall, where the sounds and destruction of the battle inside the mall had not quite reached yet, the world was stirring. People who had fled from the insanity had gathered into groups outside to murmur among themselves. Cell phones and blackberries were in hands, people chattered and texted and typed and waited to find out what would happen next. Anxiety and even an edge of panic was in the crowd, but that didn't seem to have kept them from milling about in the mall parking lots... apparently curiosity and the desire to know what would come of the situation had overridden fear and panic, and the crowd was even beginning to grow as others noticed so many people milling about in one spot and diverted to join them in hopes of discovering what might be going on.

A few blocks distant the sound of sirens suddenly split the air. The unmistakable wail of police sirens and screeching tires made people's heads turn. As the first flashing blue and red lights became visible on the horizon to those in the parking lot, the wail of police sirens reached the battlefield inside the mall.

[Rapier]

Ever since the Marek siblings first discovered the unexpected, but promising, true potential of their most prized creation, they had diligently worked to push the Rapier System to the limit of its capabilities and properly outfit it as a weapon of war. Among the first feature to be added to the nanomachines' OS was a medical diagnostic program currently in use in the British special forces, pirated by Dominic's sister and modified for their own purposes. Along with various other bells and whistles, the most significant of those modifications was a cyclical check of the user's brainwave activity, to be executed every four seconds. If Dominic's brain output failed to meet the established criteria for 'consciousness' at any time, the system would trigger a second program: an automated defence protocol, synthesizing as much personal combat information as she could cram into it and governed by a strong sense of self-preservation.

It was for this reason that Quentin, though he may have had good cause to feel triumphant, would probably find himself in a worse situation than he had been before. Dominic Marek might have been unscrupulous, willing to do anything to get what he wanted, even hurt people if there was no way around it, but at heart, he was not a violent man. The same didn't go for the cold, dispassionate intelligence that now controlled his body. To the defence protocol, this was a logical problem to be solved: its objective was to extract the user from this life-threatening situation, and Quentin was an obstacle to achieving that goal. Therefore, the obstacle must be removed.

Another aspect of the emergency program was the heightened capability of the Rapier System's physical reflexes. Unfettered by the limitations of its user, it was only slowed by the nanomachines' ability to process information and communicate with one another - which could be best described as 'lightning fast'. Even that wasn't enough to outright avoid the punch Quentin aimed at its 'face' this time, however, though it was able to anchor its feet to the floor much the same as it had done earlier. The fist landed on Rapier's steel faceplate with a sharp crack!, snapping its head around and throwing the upper half of its body back - but a severe (and possibly championship-winning) limbo was as far as it went. The anchors held firm in the face of the speeder's punishing attack, and nanomachines quickly flooded into the legs to provide extra support and strength when it sprang back on the offensive. In a silvery flash of what at least appeared to be stainless steel, a set of long, wicked claws sprang from Rapier's fingertips and relentlessly lashed out at Quentin in a rapid and mechanically-precise combination of swipes, slashes and stabs.

[Tag]

/At about/ the same time Ol' Rapier was winning himself a luau, Tag was receiving his own medal. The 'shunna dun that' plaque of excellence. Lucky for him, his bones were a few times denser than a normal humans, or he'd have a broken hand. At this point, he only hurt it quite a bit, and reacted much like anyone would expect of him. Hopping around, groaning from the pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow..." Apparently, there...were a few kinks to work out in his fully improvisational attack stratagems. But, who had time for thinking now??

He hopped in a circle, as the machine being erected itself. His back was partially to it, and thus vulnerable, yet the sound of sharpened metal was enough to cant his eyes thither, in time to get a shock to the system. <....And now he'd pulling a Krugger!!?> What the hell was this thing?? There was hardly the time to postulate that query, before those stabs begun, all of which were executed with such precise accuracy, that most all of them were aimed directly at a vital organ or limb. Not too mention, while much slower than he, the combination of accuracy, swiftness, and relentlessness had the youth evading several near-misses. One of which nicked him across the arm. That's when Q backed up to reconvene mentally.

<Whoa! This dude's gettin' crazy! Might need to take this somewhere else...> First opening he saw, Tag quickly vacated the store, ending out in the massive halls, before turning to again face his adversary. In his mind, this being had done something to the two store clerks, and this fight wouldn't end until he found out what. Of course, they were perfectly safe...but no one had yet informed him of this! "Yanno what, dude? You blow..." Right arm extended, and rotated several dozen dozen times a second. This continued motion would create a small, yet potent vorticle of wind, akin to a mini-tornado, only it carried the force of a normal sized one. Though, due to its small size, its wrath was confined to a remarkably small radius. However, this raging wind channel shot forwards the moment it was formed, aimed to strike the creature directly in the solar-plexus, with the force of an 18-wheeler.

Should be enough to put Q back in the driver's seat in this fray... \He hoped...\

This post has been edited by Tag on Nov 5 2009, 12:54 AM