Mutants And Mayhem - The Main Thread

Hank packed his backpack back up and picked up his baseball bat again, before heading out after Alex. He sprinted after her, catching up in a few seconds to her jogging pace, then started to jog backwards in front of her, his breath holding steady and even the whole time. "Well, it's a long way back to base, perhaps you'd like to spend some time explaining why you thought it was a good idea to stab a captured prisoner in cold blood?" he asked.

Alex was hoping that she could perhaps make a sing-a-long along the journey but she knew that it was merely a wishful thinking. She let out a sigh, paused for a bit to think up of a viable explanation and finally said "Well, you guys know that I am human teenage girl, right? When I grew up in Florida, there is always this Nazi propaganda shits I see and hear everywhere; on the radio, on TV and on posters on every pole and wall. And every year, they grew scarier, larger, meaner. It's a fucking miracle my dad have enough balls to taught me to tell from the real dealfrom the propaganda bullshits"

She inhaled, with a worry in her mind that maybe her new colleagues would think that she is crazy, maybe she really is crazy.

"The others were...not so lucky, to say the least. I have classmates who are fucking crazy in the head, wanting to 'pop a cap in the mutant's ass' for turning America into a wasteland that it is. Hell, I'm not even sure what caused America to look like this except pinning the blame on the mutants if it weren't for my sane mind telling me that not all mutants are fucking monsters, both inside and out. They all talk about helping the NOA restoring America to its 'glorious' days, they played a pen and paper RPG where they play as the holy Nazi knights killing the monstrous mutants, they'll beat up any mutant sympathisers and report them and their family to the police so, by the time I was 13, half the class was filled with insane, angry fanatical motherfuckers, the other half was scared shitless who are too much of a pussy to run away from home and were simply moulded by the art of peer pressure..."

She gave herself a pause, thinking, oh shit, wait, how the fuck do I link it back to his question. She gritted her teeth, she kept on knocking on her forehead with her knuckles, her breathing became much more intense.

"So..." Alex said, after calming herself down by bending over and picking up a small piece of debris, inspecting its shape and texture. "The real question is...why do you think it's worth it to imprison a guard who have been taught from birth that we, mutants and humans who work with mutants, are complete monster? That guy who surrendered, he is cool, his head is in the right place and because he is sane enough that we can convert him, fight for our cause and all that. His friend is a liability, a resource drain, a resistive bastard; not only we have to imprison him in a fortified place but we also have to feed him properly, someone to keep watch of him, someone to teach him that we're not the bad guy and reverse years of teachings and shits. We can't even use him as ransom since the Nazi will either not care because they an endless supply of Nazi boys or would just steamroll us, is it really worth it for one prisoner? And if you say otherwise, then HOLY SHIT ARE YOU THAT NAIVE TO...to..."

Another sigh came, she threw the debris to smash a window nearby, hoping maybe that will give her a minor relief and said "Look, you do not have to like it, I just ask for an understanding, besides, it's already been done, that crazy dude's under your care now, I don't know how the Black Beret will take care of him but it's not of my concern. I'm in the Black Beret because they need a scavenger, and I am speaking of this from a scavenger's perspective. I would love to hear your reason to keep him alive."

edited 27th Aug '14 11:31:58 PM by sgtpendulum

"Oh, believe me, I have more reasons to want them all dead than you'd ever believe," Hank replied. "Unlike you, I'm old enough to actually remember what the world used to be like before things went to hell. I know how much we've lost. I remember watching my wife and kids get irradiated, while I was cursed to survive without them. And I remember when the Neo-Nazis started showing up, rounding people up, and killing them and making them slaves just because they didn't like people who were different."

He glanced up and to the side as if remembering something for a moment, but still kept his pace. He looked Alex in the eyes. "If you're going to kill someone who was born and raised to think differently from you when they're already broken and beaten, lying on the floor, how does that make us any better than them? That kid was about your age, all he knows is what he's been told, and he wasn't as lucky as you were to have a dad that set him straight. So why's it worth it? Why shouldn't we cut his head off when he's lying there on the floor? Because we can prove that even though we might have had our DNA turned inside out, we're still more human than they'll ever be."

Alex smiled a bit at the doctor, she expected a much more vitriolic answer but it's..lighter than expected. She pick up another debris, looking for another window to smash through.

"No offense but that's an oddly optimistic way of seeing it," Alex observed. "Sparing that guy solely to prove that we do have a heart...Yeah, I doubt the NOA see it that way. They'll think we are either too stupid or have too little resources that we can't even finish off one Nazi, trust me, they will see it that way, I watched the news too and it's so full of lies and bullshit."

She tried to muffle her chuckled by blocking her mouth with the back of her hand and observed "Shit, and I think of it as 'tactical' ways like 'what if he remembers what our faces looks like' or 'if we do need to imprison him, do we have the resource'. Heh, maybe I am twisted by the Nazi, in a weird way."

She found another window on a half destroyed building, this time further away. Alex stopped in her track, she aimed her debris, predicting the arc and then give it a nice throw.

"Still, considering your past and you still holding this idea that maybe the Nazi can see our ways, that takes a bit of willpower. That's good."

"Oh, shit." Remembering his abandoned sledgehammer that had his and Nick's fingerprints all over it, Tyler outright sprinted back to the Nazi prison and into the cell area to retreive it, before coming out again through his homemade exit, hoping that the Nazi reinforcements hadn't arrived yet, or picked it up.

If his prayers were answered by some mystic God, then Tyler would continue sprinting back to the bus, if slowing down slightly when he saw that it had disappeared. Stopping, and leaning on the wall, panting for a few seconds, the former Nazi carried on, except he was simply running now, rather than sprinting as he had been before, back to base.

His detour had still left him a long ways behind Alex and Hank however, the distance of which would likely increase if he came across a paint shop.

"My thanks. I hate to 'ride' when my companions are on foot, as it were, but I suppose you should have someone to watch the prisoners," Toriar responded to Sjan. Normally, he could keep pace with any unarmored man, but he didn't relish the idea of walking back in his current, sleep-deprived state. He gathered his weapons and mentally prepared himself. "How should we do this?"

edited 28th Aug '14 7:17:52 AM by StygianEmperor

"Not trying to prove it to the Nazis," Hank said. "Trying to prove it to ourselves. So we can remember what we're fighting for, that we remember that the world used to be better. Maybe when we get back to base that kid doesn't give us any options and we have to kill him anyway, but at least we gave things a shot."

"So..." He whistled as she threw another rock at an abandoned building. "Now that you've calmed down a bit, how about we go back to the prison and meet up with all the folks you abandoned?"

Amanda got back just in time to hear the conversation. "You're a monster, Alex. I can't believe someone who calls themselves a Black Beret would ever slice up a prisoner like that. We have to keep the moral high ground here. If they're struggling, feel free to knock them unconscious. I've done that more than my fair share. But never kill unless as a last resort. Trust me, when we get back to base, Lexi will hear about this, and there will be serious repercussions."

"Oh, and quit singing that damn song. You have no sense of humor. Or pitch, for that matter."

Alex smiled at Hank's insight and uttered "Wow, that's heartwarming, and I meant that in a non-sarcastic way, that is beautiful. Hey, by the way, could you do me a favour and let this...mistake... slide since that crazy dude has already been healed and talked to the others about it too. I don't want to be haunted by my own mistake. Oh, and what do you mean abandoned the folks back at prison? I thought the rest of our squad got the captured mutants on the bus...or do you mean a rende..."She paused once she realized she can't pronounce rendezvous. "-regroup with the rest? because I don't wanna go through a whole rant again AAAHHH!"

It was rather surprising that one of her squadmate suddenly scolding her out of the blue, it amused her actually, though she did her best hiding it. "Oh man, a little late there? We finished our conversation regarding morality, actually, so no need to relay the point once more."

She increased her pace so that she's slightly ahead of Hank and sang "When I wake up yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you~"

"Not a problem, a least this way I might sleep through Lexi yelling the roof off at Alex." Sjan quipped with a wry smile as she stretched her neck in anticipation of a rough jump, "Not that I like happened it's just... Wrong or not, I think it's funny how few people on the moral high ground stop to look down and ask the victim's point of view. Less funny when you're the victim, mind." She sighed a little then extended a hand to Toriar as if to shake his as well as one for cesar one he contacted the boy, "Anyhow, we didn't have the best time with first impressions, how about to put it there and hold tight?" Once the large armored man obliged she would add with a wink, "Now click your heels together three times and say 'there's no place like home...'"

Regardless of whether Toriar performed that last part Sjan would grimace and close her eyes as she focused on their destination. If and when they arrived successfully she would let out a faint, pained grunt and release her teammate's hand before falling backwards - unconscious.

edited 28th Aug '14 4:59:25 PM by Lt.BGob

"I'm talking about the people left behind, like that guy," Hank said, pointing off towards Tyler behind them. "Or her..." He glanced at Amanda.

"Anyway, we're stuck heading the same way, might as well head together, so stop for a minute and let that poor bastard catch up."

"Alright," Alex said as she shrugged and stop her pace dead in its track, allowing others to catch up."So what are we going to tell Lexi? I mean, technically, that Nazi dude is still okay after I slit his throat and you have already lectured me on a moral high ground so what's the point of Lexi knowing about it except scolding me for like a half an hour?"

"Fair point." Cesar said somberly when Sjan mentioned the mutants who had died. Cesar went over to the unconscious guard and fireman-carried him on his back.

"I can help lug him back to wherever you're taking us. Least I can do after saving my hide." Cesar said. He seemed genuine. Perhaps it was only Alex that had ticked him off.

Meanwhile on the bus, Jimmy just started singing "Dream On" while he swerved and skidded - apparently as a way to make his driving seem even more epic. The mutant that seemed to need the most attention was the chimp mutant (who had numerous bruises, a missing eye, and internal bleeding). However, the raven mutant had part of her beak missing and the moth mutant, who was only five years old, was very sick with a high fever. It would occur to Nicolas that these pieces of healing he was doing were quite straining. It seemed to be doing the trick but it was exhausting and it seemed likely that he would be out of it for most of the rest of the day.

After about half an hour of dodging NOA forces, all of the group finally met up at Black Beret headquarters. Lexi, Dave, and Lucky were all outside, applauding when the mutants shuffled off the bus.

"Nice work you guys! How'd you do it?" Lexi asked excitedly, extending a hand to recover her pistol and machete.

"With a front door distraction and a big hole in their holding areas," Nicolas said, sounding much more winded than he was at the start of the ride, but still making an effort to keep some of his composure. While keeping track of the mutants exiting the bus, he reached behind him and pulled out the revolver, holding out in the general direction of Lexi and the other two. "Got this too. Someone might be bringing a rifle back also.

"A secretary got injured at some point, though," he continued, this time a little more grim. "Got shot in the leg—we didn't have enough time to heal her properly. She's on the bus right now. Don't know what you want us to do with her…"

The secretary had obviously been nervous during the ride (for reasons that he safely assumed didn't have much to do with Jimmy's driving); he hoped that Lexi wouldn't be too harsh on her.

But then came the really hard part, something that he had been debating over during the ride back. The fact that much of his frame wanted to shake from the power exertion didn't help. "I need to report something—regarding Alex."

"Oh no," Alex muttered to Hank when she saw that the bus arrived at the garage first with Nicolas out already talking to Lexi. "Hey, can I have a confession? I actually like Lexi, she seems like a nice girl if it weren't for this rebellion thing and I...rather not want to see her upset. Should we just let it slide or...?"

edited 28th Aug '14 9:07:35 PM by sgtpendulum

Sjan was unconscious for just shy of an hour though she didn't have much concept yet of how much time she had lost, or even which way was up as of yet for that matter. She let out a groan quiet of discomfort as she attempted to shift limbs and open her eyes, happy to find herself in the relative dark of the lower floor 'dormitory'. Apparently someone had moved her hear from the garage floor, for which she was grateful albeit a little uneasy in regards to someone touching her while she slept. The mutant woman heard the sound of people above, presumably her teammates and the liberated prisoners. She wondered momentarily on the current whereabouts of the NOA captives she had delivered here, "Urgh, we really need to get another bus..." She muttered.

Sjan attempted to sit herself up but too quickly, "Nope." She groaned as a wave of nausea hit her and slumped back onto the cot. After a moment or two she tried again but slower, managing to sit on the edge of the cot and look around blearily for anyone else. Schrodinger knew rest was in order but she wanted to see what she had missed first.

Norbert was doing paperwork when there was an urgent knocking on his office door. it seemed, he'd thought more than once, that it didn't matter what you did, paperwork would be involved somehow. Glad of the interruption he said "Come in!"

It was Harry the Horse. "What are you doing here? Something happen at the prison?"

"Yeah boss, something big. A breakin by the Black Berets. Looked like they hauled everyone out including Shorty."

"Berets huh? Okay, good job." When Harry left Norbert picked up the phone and made a call. It wasn't to the berets of curse. Neither he nor they were stupid enough to maintain direct contact. Rather it was to the first link in a chain of communication that would, eventually, put him in touch with whoever was in charge at the moment.

edited 29th Aug '14 9:11:29 AM by tricksterson

"One thing about being an adult is owning up to your actions," Hank said, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder. "I can understand that you were angry, and you can change, but hiding isn't the answer. Half a prison and half the Berets saw what went down, so she's going to eventually find out no matter what. It's up to you to decide if she learns about it from you or from someone else."

Amanda went inside and helped the mutants get adjusted to their new situation. Most of them were able to adapt quickly to their surroundings. They all thanked her for her help in busting them out.

Once everyone was situated, she pulled up a chair and raised an eyebrow at Alex. If she came out about her deed, she might regain some of Amanda's respect. It wouldn't completely repair the relationship, but it would definitely be a start.

Toriar closed his eyes as Sjan took him. Feeling the rush of air, he opened them, and found himself indoors. "That wasn't so bad," he said, just as she collapsed. He caught her on the way down, keeping her head from crashing against the floor as he lowered her safely.

He solicited the assistance of Lexi, or one of her men, to tend to Sjan and explained that those he brought along with him were prisoners. Toriar informed Lexi that the mission was a success, and everyone else would return shortly, but he would go into no further detail until they did.

Finding no one else in the room Sjan tried standing, succeeding shakily after a few attempts and stumbling up the stairs as quietly as she could to find the others had returned. She smiled, happy to know they had made it alright and waved in an unsure matter - Lexi was already there and no of them seemed terribly happy. What Alex did was wrong but she hoped this wouldn't be too rough on the young woman. Taking a moment to dry retch in a corner Sjan lent against a nearby wall to observe what was about to go down.

Alex drew a deep breath to gather courage in her heart, she honestly does not know how Lexi would react to such news but Hank has put in faith into her and she does not want it to go to waste. "Yeah, thanks for the advice, though I would like it better if no one's watching me, so, err..." Alex said as she moved towards Lexi. "Check on the mutants, see if they need medical attention."

As she moved forward, she noticed Amanda sitting at the side spectating the inevitable. Alex was rather offended by it and complained "Man, what the fuck? Are you getting a front row seat of a disaster? Don't you have something better to do?"

The she saw Sjan at the stair well, waving in Alex's general direction. Alex waved back, though given that she dry retched into a wall, she was not sure if Sjan was in the right state to even be up here instead of resting on her cot so Alex just ignored her and moved on.

Already there have been two reports, one laconic, the other was a bit too detailed which Alex knew that Lexi can't ignore. Alex let out a sigh, gave the bag to her bodyguard, she said that it's full of the prison's loot. Then, while trying to stay calm and professional, she said to Lexi "Yeah, there have been some miscommunication of the handling of the Nazi captives. I am...not familiar with the code of conduct concerning them and I...attempted to assassinate one of them as he was bit too brainwashed, among other reasons. Fortunately, he's fine as our medics healed him back. My apologies."

She clinched her eyelid for what is coming next.

Nicolas quickly turned (and started to sway in place) in Alex's direction, blinking repeatedly in response to her confession.

He slowly nodded once to her—his quiet way of telling her that she was doing the right thing—then looked back to Lexi to see how she would respond.

Tyler was somewhat puzzled by the sombre atmosphere in the garage. It wasn't as if they'd left anyone behind, or killed any of the guards so, as far as he was concerned, the mission had been a success. As it soon became apparent that it was all Alex's fault, Tyler curiously followed her as she made her confession, standing behind Nicholas as he saw how unsteady the medic was.

It was the calm before the storm. As soon as Alex had finished speaking, Tyler literally exploded in anger. His heavy fists swung into the direction of Alex's face, and his boot flew into her stomach, and then her knees, which was followed by everything it would take to bring Alex's down. As soon as she was, the engineer would ruthlessly start kicking her.

All the while, he was screaming, spittle flying everywhere, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR, YOU CRAZY MOTHERFUCKER. ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT TO EVERY PIECE OF NAZI SHIT THAT YOU SEE, HUH? ARE YOU GONNA KILL 'EM ALL WHEN THEY'RE DOWN AND HAVEN'T TOUCHED YOUR MOTHERFUCKING UGLY FACE? WHAT IF THAT HAD BEEN ME, HMMM? WHAT IF HE JUST WENT, THOSE MUTANTS ARE OBVIOUSLY EVIL PIECES OF SHIT? WHAT IF THAT GUY WAS JUST SAVING HIS OWN FUCKING SKIN AND YOU JUST WENT AND TRIED TO KILL HIM, FOR WHAT? BEING A VICTIM? DO YOU WANT ME TO KILL YOU FOR BEING A VICTIM? 'CAUSE I CAN DO THAT, YOU KNOW! I CAN DO THAT, AND IT WON'T BE MOTHERFUCKING PRETTY OR PAINLESS!!!!"'

As soon as Tyler looked like he was going to swing, Hank jumped in the way, shielding Alex by taking the hits himself.