THE HUNT

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At a quiet and well-secluded area in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina lays a large wildlife refuge popularly used by tourists as a campgrounds and escape to nature from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Among the widely spread, small campsites, wild animals of many varieties are allowed to wander, spending their lives safely away from hunters, cars and other dangers presented by humans. Lately, however, amid the usually peaceful and quiet forests, there have been rumors and 'sightings' of a creature of the large and violent variety, one which supposedly has slaughtered several wild animals and nearby livestock, and has recently begun to attack both empty and occupied campsites, running tourists off in fear. Alexa Grey, one of Xavier's former, and now graduated, students, is one of the top park rangers of the area, and has called on the X-Men for their help, out of fear of harm coming to people in the park, and strongly believing that the creature could be something supernatural that regular humans could not handle on their own.
The team of three X-Men is dropped off, under the invisibility cloak of the X-Jet so as not to alarm anyone or anything, in a clearing about half a mile away from the nearing park lodge, where Lexy is waiting for their arrival.

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X-Men Time

Friday, December 23rd

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"That thing is fast," Faro commented, looking up at the sky from where the X-Jet had left. She nodded to Flame and Anastasha, trying to gain some confidence in her abilities. "Okay, so I guess our first step is finding our contact. Right, Flame?" she added, making sure to defer to their team leader.

"Worth its weight in gold." Flame commented as she flicked her holowatch on. In an instant she lost her scales, blonde hair, and black eyes in exchange for brown tones all around. Her claws were still more or less visible, they would be too dangerous to hide if someone tried to grab her hand suddenly. "Right, lets head up to the lodge and find this Alexa." A bit of a hike, but nothing too bad, provided they didn't run into these things before they reached their contact. "Come on." She started out over the ground, pushing back any form of concern for the other teams into the back of her mind.

Hearing Faro's comment, Anastasha nodded in agreement. It definitely had been interesting, and much different from the flight she'd taken to come to the states in the first place. Looking to their leader as she spoke, Star was caught a bit off guard to see her looking completely different and significantly more normal than her usual appearance. Well, that's some technology. As her teammates started off on their journey she followed behind, glad that they were finally getting started with this whole thing. "So what do you think this creature actually is? Just another mutant?"

Faro shrugged, walking between the other two women. "I've heard of some pretty scary looking mutants with some major teeth and claw things going on, so it could be." She took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh, clean air that she hadn't had much of back in Brooklyn. While they were safe, she figured that she might as well enjoy her time in this park. "If it's a mutant we might possibly be able to talk them down. If it's not, then we might have to rely on getting physical."

"That aimed at me?" Flame quizzed Faro jokingly as she kept up the pace. No point wearing them out before they got where they were needed, but they needed to keep good time too. "Not sure what it would be outside of a mutant, not like we're dealing with Big Foot or something. Would rather handle this via talk if we can, but considering the tone the current meet ups have had with this thing, not sure it will be that simple."

Faro smiled at Flame's comment. Maybe the reptilian looking woman was starting to open up a little bit? Hope we still get a chance to share that drink later, she thought to herself before pushing any negative thoughts away.

Listening to Flame's reply to her question, Anastasha gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Could just be a bear or something. Like a massive, rabid bear. Has... Ahh, Alexa? Has she seen it at all?" Human testimonial really could be so fickle sometimes. Who was to say it was a living creature at all? Maybe some brats were playing a ridiculous prank in order to have a good campfire ghost story.

Climbing over an awkwardly fallen tree log, Flame glanced back at the two girls, a nagging blip going through her mind that the name of their contact was... rather familiar. Placing it was a little harder to do. Ah well, if Flame did know her, she was sure it would click into place once they met up, if not, then it was no major loss. "Not keen on the idea of having to put down a bear, but if it is that we can just let the local authorities handle it. Alexa is an old member of the household, I would hope she would be able to tell the difference between a random animal and a mutant, considering she's a ranger as well."

Faro considered the possibilities of what they were going to face. "Does anyone else wonder whether it could be some sort of genetically created creature or..." she felt silly saying it out loud, "an alien?" Red lights lit up under her eyes in bands running down her cheeks, her embarrassment manifesting itself physically. She shook her head. "Forget I said that," she added firmly as she caught up with Flame.

"Well, I suppose that's true." Following behind Flame over the fallen, decaying tree, Anastasha stopped trying to debate on the issue. Worrying over what it was would do no good. She'd just have to see for herself when they caught up to the dang thing. Hearing Faro say something about it, Star turned to the female as she finished the last of her sentence. This also caused her to see as the female's face turned a rather vibrant red. However, instead of ridiculing the girl, a grin actually showed up on her face. "An alien? That would be great, actually. 'Mutants Discover Alien in Woods of Park.'" Despite having to turn her face back so she could actually see where she was going, a small smile still remained on her face, "I'm totally voting for that outcome, now." Watching Faro as she passed, Anastasha began humming to herself, though the low tune didn't carry far past the three of them.

Flame actually stopped in her pace as the two talked about the possibilities, before giving a shake of her head at the topic and continuing on their way. Sure, aliens, big foot, hell, throw some sparkly fairies/vampires in there and they could make it a damn party. However, Flame kept her mouth shut. There was enough stress on putting them on a mission without training, she didn't want to take any fun they could have during it out of the situation. As long as they were serious when the need called for it, she didn't mind at all. The other concern in her mind was how were they to recognize their Alexa? Hopefully it was someone from her time at the school. Flame had a pretty good eye for remembering most faces she came across, provided she actually interacted with them more than just randomly passing them in the hallways.

With Flame staying quiet, Faro turned to Anastasha for interaction. "So, what can you do?" she queried. She let her hands light up, but made the brightness nothing too uncomfortable to look at. "This is mine," she said, wiggling her glowing fingers. "Obviously our team leader is a kick ass lizard lady, but I don't know what you do."

When Faro eventually turned back to her and asked her a question, Anastasha watched the female as she further showed her own power before giving an answer. "I summon... Well, I'm not exactly sure of their nature. I suppose 'demons' is the most accurate description I can make of what they are. Anyway, they respond to my singing when I concentrate on calling them." And that was true. Though she'd gotten the gist of calling them to her, she really was still in the dark as to where exactly they came from or anything about them at all. She could only hope they wouldn't take this opportunity of a mission to misbehave, as she'd been able to control them for the most part up until this point.

"Woah," Faro breathed after a pause following Anastasha's explanation of her powers. She tried not to be freaked out by the other girl's powers, but she felt that her own abilities were a little feeble in comparison. She let her lights fade out as they continued walking, now feeling a slightly surplus as a teammember in comparison to the other two she was with.

"So at least we will have demons, if not aliens." Flame joked softly, not bothering to add on her ability to grow back limbs to Faro's summing up. Better for her to not have to use it during the mission. It wouldn't kill her, but just be a damn annoyance if they had to fight at all. While she was trying to stay 100% concentrated on the mission, Flame couldn't help her mind wander at the comments before. What if it wasn't a mutant? Shana and her were going on the fact it was. It could just be a rabid animal, or, well, who knew. If the world had people running around with super powers, including one that brought about demons, who the hell knew what else could be out there. No. Enough X-Files shit. It was a mutant. It was something they could cope with. It was something they were going to clean up, then go home. Simple as that.

Soon enough, after a bit of a trek through the woods, the edge of the woods came into sight of the trio of girls. Beyond the trees they could see what looked to be a parking lot, with a few empty cars, surrounding a large, wooden cabin. As they drew closer, they could see large green letters attached to the front of the building that read, "Chimney Rock State Park", and below it, "Lodge and Tourist Information Center".

Faro felt better at seeing the lodge up ahead - some more info on what was going on would make her feel better prepared for the mission. She nodded towards the building and turned to Flame. "Let's hope our contact is in. I don't fancy waiting around too long."

Watching as Faro turned away from her at the explanation, it wasn't something Anastasha didn't expect. Most people didn't know what to say to something like that, but she was used to it. Hearing the comment that Flame said almost under her breath, Star smirked at the back of the scaly woman's head, "I heard that." It wasn't long after at all when a clearing began to open up to show them the edge of the woods and the center before them. Well, that really hadn't been so bad after all. "Agreed, Faro. I don't know how I feel about waiting around either." It would be almost a downer, after all, since they had to trek their way out here. She'd really like to know more info on what they were to do here as soon as she could.

"Lets do something about that, then." Was Flame's answer to them both, heading straight towards the information center and inside to try and find their informant. She tried her best to keep her nails out of view, down by her sides so not to draw too much attention to them. "Anyone in?"

Faro followed close behind Flame and to one side so that she had a good view of their surroundings. She kept herself alert, ready for anything that might come at them. Though hopefully we're safe here, she thought to herself. "We're from the Xavier Academy," she called out after Flame's.

Following behind the other two and on Flame's opposite side, Anastasha followed Faro's example and took plenty of time in scanning everything around her. It was eerily quite, though perhaps that was in accordance to the 'monster' attacks that had been going on. Being the last into the building, Star closed the door behind them and took a look around, "Hello? Alexa?"

If the nearly deserted parking lot was any indicator, it told the trio of mutants that the inside of the lodge was bound to be empty. However, upon entering, the girls found a few people to be occupying the room, a middle-aged man behind a wooden counter who smiled, waved and welcomed then with a "Hello, how are you ladies today?"; a younger man and woman, who appeared to be married, sitting in the corner and browsing through a few pamphlets that advertised the parks different recreations and other attractions around the area; an older gentleman who looked to be filling out some sort of information form at the counter; and lastly behind the counter and the man who greeted them, a skinny girl sat at a computer with a blindingly pink headband over her head, facing away from the entrance and typing away on a computer. Upon the girls' calls out, one by one as they each entered, the man at the counter gave them an odd look, his eyebrows furrowing, and was ready to ask if he could help the girls in any way, when he heard of of his employees' names. "Oh, you need Lexy? Lex!" he questioned, then called back behind him, turning to look at the petite girl.

The supposed Alexa perked up, sitting up almost spastically, then turned quickly in her spinning chair to look at the girls. Her auburn hair was tied low into fluffy pigtails on either side of her head, the headband wrapped harmlessly around her head, and freckles dotted the dark, tanned skin on her cheeks, but her most noticeable feature was her piercing, ice blue eyes. "Oh, you're the X.... girls?" she said somewhat awkwardly, her head turning to the side much like a confused puppy. After getting a good look at the mutants, 'Lexy' stood from her chair and walked over to the counter, leaning forward on her elbows and looking up. "I don't think I recognize any of you. I need some proof before I let you in," she said almost playfully, flashing the girls a toothy grin, showing that her canine teeth were rather prominent and sharp.

Flame shot a look back at the other two. What were they, a choir trio or something? She brushed off their mix of entry lines as she glanced around the rather emptyish settings. Not that she went to many national parks, but damn if she didn't expect a few more faces around. Whatever was out there really was doing a number on the visitors. Returning the man's smile along with a 'good' and 'thanks', Flame focused her attention on 'Lex'. Narrowing her eyes at the girl, she gave her a steady up and down look, before coming to focus first on the woman's startling eyes, then her headband... then her teeth. It was a long moment before a smile spread across Flame's face, and she mimicked Lexy's pose, dropping her voice to whisper at the girl. "Oh, I have proof, just like you do. Nice to see you're still as," She offered another obvious once over to her. "foxy as ever."

While Flame made their introductions to Lexy, Faro meandered round the lobby area, looking at posters. She moved over to where the couple were sitting and picked up a couple of pamphlets herself, flicking through them without really taking any notice of what they offered here. She was eager to find out what it was they were after and dissolve all of the mystery hanging over the mission.

Turning to their contact as she appeared, Anastasha quietly looked the girl up and down. Was she the only mutant around here? It would explain why they had such a hard time taking care of whatever problem they had bugging them around here. After listening to the banter between their leader and Alexa, Star rolled her eyes at the comments before deciding to join Faro as she looked at brochures for the area. "See anything good?" Since coming to the States, she hadn't been out and about in the outdoors as much as she had used to back in Cairo. She kind of missed it, and sort of welcomed the prospect of being able to explore the woods a little more.

Faro shook her head. "Nothing I'd come back here for," she murmured, putting down the brochures. She went back towards the entrance and leaned against the door frame, looking out at the trees and the rest of the wilderness. This was more nature than she'd ever experienced, and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable - the streets of Brooklyn were her home and her hunting ground.

Lexy blinked a couple of times as Flame claimed she had some sort of 'proof' as to her mutantness, though the fox-girl couldn't see, and when the woman-in-disguise mentioned her appearance, the young girl's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't really remember you. You look pretty normal--," she started to say, but then caught the blinking of something on the woman's arm - a holowatch! The girl stood up straight then, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side again. She stared at Flame for the longest, but she still couldn't figure out who she was. "Okay, I give," she announced, hoping the dark-skinned woman would at least give her a name to go by and possibly trigger some memory of her. The meanderings of the other two girls seemed to go unnoticed, as Lexy was more interested in how this supposed mutant knew her.

Flame offered a chuckle as she gave a relaxed glance to the other two girls, keeping an eye on them before looking back at Lexy. "It's Flame, Lex." It was good to see Lexy again, just as it was nice to see other returning to the house. It gave a feeling of normality back into a time of chaos and learning how to cope with events. "So, we got a place to talk about why we're here?" She wasn't sure how much Lexy's co-workers knew about what was going on, or what Lex was. But then again, she may just be covering her ears to keep the tourist calm, rather than those working in the park.

"Hmm. Not a outdoors fan, or just nothing fancy here?" Peaking over her shoulder, Anastasha took a second to look at what Faro currently had open. The park did seem kind of small, but maybe it would be different once they got to where they needed to be. Speaking of... "I wonder how long this mission will take. Think we'll be staying outdoors?" Looking back to Flame and Alexa, she wondered how long it would take them to finish this dance of theirs before they actually got started in the first place.

Faro, still leaning against the door frame, looked over her shoulder at Anastasha. "I want to get this done with before dark. But I'm guessing it could take longer." She considered the thought of sleeping out there with nature all around. "I'm not too keen on being out there with this... thing... just wandering around. Especially at night."

Something underneath the fox-girl's headband seemed to twitch, as Lexy cocked her head to the other side, reminiscent of a puppy, when Flame told who she was. The girl was silent for a few seconds before her face lit up, and she let out a long, "Ooooohh!" before giving Fame a huge grin and nearly jumping over the counter to give the older mutant a hug. "Man, it's been forever!" she squealed, giving Flame a tight squeeze and then letting go before she made the woman uncomfortable. Bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, Lexy replied to her old classmate, "Yeah, the office is in the back. We can talk there." She then stopped and looked past Flame, leaning to the side cartoonishly, her pigtails falling off her shoulders with the pull of gravity. "They're with you?" she asked, then puckered her lips a little, noticing that the two girl seemed to be distracted from the actual task at hand. "They look really... uninterested." They hadn't even come to say hi yet, which came off rather rude to Lexy, though she wouldn't say anything.

Catching Lexy's question, Faro looked round and smiled at their contact. "Hi, I'm Maria, but call me Faro," she said as she approached the counter. "I'm new to the Xavier Academy, so we haven't met before," she added as she took a place to Flame's right.

Returning the hug briefly, Flame let her hands drop again, trying to keep as little attention on her nails as possible. "Too long." Leaving Faro to her own introductions, Flame looked to where Lexy mentioned. "Yeah, lets take this out of the way then, easier to try and sort out what's going on here and how to sort it out."

Hearing Alexea start speaking of them as well, Anastasha turned her head towards the two females and waited for Faro to start heading that way before she did as well. Coming up on Flame's left, Star took a second to really look at their contact. Much like their leader's comment of the female, she did give her a very fox-like feel. Small, with a lot of bark and no bite. Or maybe the last observation was just the spite she was feeling at the look that she was being given. At the thought a small smirk came to her face, "Anastasha." Now that introductions were done and Flame suggested the next course of action, she waited for Alexea to take them somewhere more private perhaps so that they could discuss the problem that was going on.

Oddly enough, as if the one girl had read her mind, Faro began to approach Lexy, introducing herself and all just as Lexy wondered why she hadn't. "Whoah, are you a telepath too?" she wondered aloud, looking at Faro with a hint of awe. Then as Anastasha approached as well, Lexy was distracted turning her attention away from Faro and back to the other girl. She smiled at first, but the grin immediately faded when the girl, seemingly ticked at something, announced her name stiffly. "Oookay. Yeah, to the office!" she announced, cheerily nonetheless. Walking over to the edge of the counter, she opened the wist-high swinging door and, with her hand, invited the other girls back. Then, motioning for them to follow her further, she marched across the room to a door, whipped out a key to unlock it, and stepped inside the room.

The office wasn't anything unusual; a desk with mounds of paper stacked high, and a desktop computer monitor that was lit up with a Windows XP screensaver (perhaps a little outdated), a mini-fridge where the employees' snack and drinks were surely kept, pictures of the park's founders hung on the walls, as well as paintings of different park scenes, most notably the 'chimney rock' for which the park was named. There were only two chairs in the office however, and Lexy had immediately taken one, where she could have a seat in front of the computer screen.

"Not a telepath, no," Faro said as she followed Lexy to the office. When they were inside, she concentrated on lighting up her palms and showed them to the newly-met mutant. "I can produce light," she explained, pointing out the obvious before letting it fade away. "I'm hoping we can help you with your..." she gave up trying to find a better word, "...your monster problem."

Following behind the girls, Flame waited before they were inside before speaking, keeping her voice low. "Lets try and keep anything flashy out of eye view until we're sure it's just the four of us," Glancing back to the open door as she spoke, intending to close it as soon as Anastasha joined them. "Don't want to start up any panic or anything with the norms." It was a sad reality, but one to keep in mind. "We can play 'show and tell' then." She then addressed Lexy. "I assume you're joining us on this hunt?"

As Alexa started moving to lead them somewhere else, Anastasha waited for the other two of her group before taking up the rear. Coming in last to the office she took a brief look around, looking at all the different pictures and paintings on the walls. Moving further into the room, she took up the space to Alexa's left, leaving the chair to either Faro or Flame. Star couldn't help but smile a little at the way that Flame descibed their mission. A hunt? It made the whole thing sound so exciting. "Where's the last place that an incident happened at?"

Lexy immediately set about logging onto the computer, entering her password and opening up a Documents folder. Only when she caught movement - a flash of light - from the corner of her eye did she turn to face Faro. The fox-girl stared wide-eyed at the flashy phenomenon, then glanced at Flame when she asked the girls to keep their powers hidden for now. Giving a nod of approval, she turned her head to type something into the computer, then faced the other girls again. "Actually, it's a werewolf," corrected the girl when Faro mentioned monsters, her eyes widening and eyebrows raising. "I mean, nobody else believes me, but I'm pretty sure that's what we've got here," she continued, whirling around in her spinning chair to face the screen yet again as she began to open more files. "Oh, I'm going. I've been camping out almost every night to try and catch this thing. Not that it bothers me," she giggled a little, referencing her natural fox instincts which led her to be partially nocturnal. "The attacks keep happening in the park. And the worst of them always seems to happen on the night of the full moon. We usually find a few of the local farmers' livestock the next day, pretty much torn to shreds. It's gruesome. Luckily no one has been hurt, yet." The skinny girl double-clicked a file that brought up a video, but she didn't press play yet, turning to the girls to see what they thought of the information she had given them, however unstructured.

"I'm careful," Faro muttered under her breath after Flame scolded her. When Alexa came out with "it's a werewolf", she had to pause and let the information sink into her head. "That's insane," she scoffed, but still she moved closer to the computer so she could get a look at the files Lexy was bringing up. "I mean... fuck." She shook her head. "Maybe all those stories of werewolves were based on some truth? Maybe mutants who shared a similar mutation?" At the mention of cattle remains, she shivered. "Well, whatever it is, let's not end up like the local farm animals."

"Animalistic mutations aren't exactly rare, or the ability to do the damage of one." It seemed like the more logical explanation to Flame, as she stepped back to close the door behind them all. "Or a mutant who could create the image of a beast and not actually be one." Telepaths and similar powers were freaky shit, and something Flame was hoping they wouldn't run into. Physical mutations were generally easier to battle than one that took place in the mind. "The attacks always a night?" She asked, moving into position to see the computer screen.

"Werewolf, huh?" Well that was an interesting concept. Sure, mutants were accepted nowadays, but to hear an actual supernatural term applied to the situation made it seem a little different. While mulling the thought around in her head, Anastasha listened to the other two say their bits about it and turned to Flame as she finished up. "Couldn't be a telepath, could it? I know some can project terrifying images and make them feel real, but are there any so powerful that they can actually do real damage with their illusions?" And that was actually something scary to think about. Illusions could be as real as the person projecting them wanted them to be, and that meant that it could literally be anything. Plus, they would have to find the source of the threat to take it down: playing with the toys wouldn't do them much good. Looking back to Alexa and the video that had been pulled up on the computer screen, Star quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's this?"

"But it's true," replied Lexy to Faro, a hint of anger laced in her voice as she cut her eyes in the other mutant's direction. Maybe she was getting a little too defensive, but she knew what she knew, and people calling her ideas insane wasn't exactly unoffensive. Taking a short, deep breath, the fox-girl looked back at her computer screen. "Maybe it's a mutant, I don't know. But why would they just.. go around killing goats and scaring people off?" Lexy shook her head, unwilling to believe that the attacks were just some scheme by a prankster mutant or something. "Yep, always at night, but not every night. Seems like it's always on a full moon. And I got video footage. There's no way it's an illusion. Telepathy works on the mind, not on video." She grew quiet for a second, letting the other girls finish talking, before clicking the 'play' button on the video player on the screen.

The video that played was one of those classic, grainy night-camera footage videos, a green-tinted screen peering down into the woods, probably attached at a tree stand. The camera seemed to be set up near a campsite, but its inhabitants were inactive, probably asleep. In the background, there was a blur of movement, something large and dark moving in and out of focus between the trees. The figure then disappeared out of view, and there were several seconds of video where nothing moved. Suddenly, closer than before, the thing appeared again at the side of the screen; a large, hairy, wolf-like creature, but too big to be an actual wolf, sniffed its way into view. It made its way over to the smoldering fire pit of the campsite, where a couple empty dishes lay, probably from the campers' meal earlier that evening, and it played around there for a few seconds. Finally, after knocking over a pot, and presumably making a racket, the creature, looked around, then proceeded to move out of the area.

Lexy stopped the video, then moved it back to the clearest picture of the creature, where it stood in the middle of the campsite, and paused it there, letting the girls get a good look at it. "So?" she asked, turning in her chair to face the other three mutants and gauge their reactions.

Dumbfounded, Faro struggled to find words that would convey her astonishment. "What the hell, man?" she managed. Her knees gave way and she flopped down onto her bum, dazed and confused at the footage. "A goddamn werewolf." Her throat had gone dry and the world seemed to wobble for a moment - but only a moment. Getting her composure back, she folded her feet under her legs and sat cross-legged, looking up at the others. "So, what are we going to do? Try and catch it alive or go for it with lethal force?"

Watching the video pulled up on the screen before her as Alexa went to play it, Anastasha was pretty astounded by what she saw. It was, indeed, what the fox-girl perched in the chair next to her had described it to be. Much larger than a wolf, of course, but still very feral and animalistic in its characteristics. "Holy shit." Star muttered the words under her breath, releasing air she hadn't known she'd been holding. Remaining quiet for a few moments, she turned her face to look to Faro where the female had fallen to the ground, the white pupils of her eyes guaging her reaction. After a moment she turned and looked at the other two females as well, attempting to re-evaluate them. Since she'd not seen any of them in action, it was hard to do, but at least Flame seemed like she may have the physical capabilities for such an encounter. "I think we could always try to catch it first. If it is a mutant, I think we should try to figure out why it is attacking everything first to try to prevent the problem in the future if it's something we can alter."

When Lex said a werewolf, Flame was really expecting something more out of a horror movie. Not that it changed the mission, they still had to stop this thing. Finding out why it was going on would be an extra bonus, but not their main purpose. "X-Men don't kill." She answered shortly to Faro, not taking her eyes off the image as she tried to place a the new information into a plan. Since the attacks were at night, then they would have to wait it out, but was that a good idea? Wouldn't it be better to go after it during the day? Would it be less dangerous in sunlight? Ignoring the other two for now, she focused on Lex. "Have you been able to track it? Or only seen via the videos and others?"

An almost smug look spread its way across Lexy's face as the girls seemed to finally believe her claims. Of course, everyone else in the office just thought it was some guy in a suit, but the evidence was there that something supernatural was happening. At least everyone trusted her to get things fixed. "No!" she initially shouted in response to Faro's suggestion, jumping forward in her seat. However, Flame took over and explained that the X-Men never aim to kill, only to fix the problem, and the fox-girl relaxed a bit. "I don't wanna hurt anybody, or anything. I just want him to stop hurting the animals and leave people alone," explained the girl sullenly, looking down at her lap. It was obvious that the girl cared a great deal for the wildlife in her park, human or animal. After Flame's question, then, Lexy looked up again, twiddling her fingers in her lap. "I've tried tracking it, but the trails it leaves don't really lead anywhere. There's no doubt it's hiding somewhere in the park though, and this park is not small." She looked at the other girls before standing up and stretching a bit, then bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, she asked, "So, who's up for some dinner before we get started on our hunt?"

At the reactions to the others regarding killing the creature, Faro shrugged it off - her viewpoint was that sometimes things had to be sacrificed for the greater good. Guess we try to capture it, she thought to herself. She started thinking about how they could catch such an elusive creature when Lexy suggested food. "I could eat," she said as she stood. She was still mildly preoccupied with the problem set in front of them.

Seeing the others quickly go off on their own opinion about the situation with the werewolf, Anastasha gave a shrug of her shoulders. Whatever. It was just a suggestion she'd given but she realized she was not the leader here and would do as she was told by Flame. Remaining silent for the rest of the conversation, her mind wondered over the fact that they couldn't really trace down the animal. That could definitely be an issue, as they'd have to wait for the creature to find them instead of their group having the upper hand. Hearing Alexa mention food, Star looked to the woman as she stood up from her seat, "Food would be great, actually." Giving the woman a genuine smile for the first time since they'd been there, Star also followed the statement with a small 'thanks' at the offer.

"So the chances of us finding this tonight is... fuck all?" Flame quizzed Lexy, one brow raised in skepticism. Unless, "Or we act as bait for it." That was a though, since it was going after campers, and while it also would be a shot in the dark, be better than walking around randomly and hoping to stumble across it. As the topic switched, she offered the fox girl a smile. "You know me, will never turn down food."

A devious, toothy grin spread across Lexy's lips at Flame's words. "Maaaybe," she answered in a sing-song voice, cocking her head to the side and giving the girl a wink. "Hope you guys like meat, cause you'll be eating a lot of it!" she announced suddenly as she snatched up a set of keys from a hanger on the wall. "Let's go!"

A few hours later, after everyone had their fill of several different kinds of meats (as Lexy explained it would be more likely to attract their werewolf), a grill mix of sorts, save Lexy, who announced at the dinner table that she was a practicing vegan, the group made their way deep into the park, taking one of the park's many Land Rovers. Now the girls found themselves surrounded by trees and darkness, as the sun had recently set, and the light of the harvest moon illuminated their campsite.

After helping the girls set up their campsite, with one giant tent that could fit two people, a smaller to accommodate one, and a nice, cozy fire Lexy climbed back into the Land Rover parked close by. "Im gonna go take watch from higher ground. Chimney Rock is close by, so Ill head up there," the girl explained, pointing in some direction where the tall rock supposedly stood. "There's a radio in the survival pack, and I'll have mine on, channel 3. If you hear anything, put out the fire. It might not come near if there's fire around. There're flashlights if you need 'em, too."

While she never complained about a free meal, Flame was more or less totally stuffed, maybe not a good idea if they had to run down or fight this werewolf. Also, while they were isolated now, she didn't want her true appearance to scare off whatever this thing was, so her holowatch was still firmly fixed to 'on'. While she did share Lexy's idea of needing bait, she hated the idea of being the prey. It made her more than a little paranoid, especially since the forest was not an environment she felt strong in. "Yeah, thanks Mom, we'll play good while we wait for the big bad wolf." Her voice was flat, meant more for sarcasm than anything, but still not happy over the idea. The chances that this thing might not even show up was not her main concern, it was if the two girls got hurt. Lexy knew enough of Flame's powers to help her if she got injured, but they were a bit away from decent medical help for Anastasha and Faro. Would be so handy to have a mini Danger to take with them, some sort of portable field kit for emergencies.

Faro was sat near the campfire, warming her hands - while the bodysuit she was wearing kept out the cold to some extent, her extremities were feeling a little frosty. "So, if this thing shows up, what's the plan?" She looked at Flame as their team leader. "I could use my lights to dazzle it, but it might just run then, and might also affect you guys."

Sitting next to Faro at the fire blazing in the middle of their cozy little home-away-from-home, Anastasha silently listened to Alexa's instructions on the situation. She had had some mixed feelings on the smaller girl's plan to use them as the bait, but whatever. If it hadn't seemed like a relatively good idea to draw the beast out Star might not have taken it so well. With Alexa climbing back into the vehicle and Faro trying to think of a game plan, she returned her attention to the girl next to her. "I do think it might scare the thing off. I'm not against trying to blind it, but I wouldn't say it might be good until after we somehow corner it so it can't just head back for the hills. If we plan it right, I guess Flame and I could just close our eyes for that split second while you light up?" Humming to herself, Star played in the dirt for a second with the toe of her boot, "I can possibly summon a creature after to help keep it tamed or caged in." Anastasha stopped for a second to look up and to her two teammates, "By the way, how tall are the two of you?"

"Uhm, I have a tranq' gun," announced Lexy from the driver's seat of the Land Rover, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I really don't wanna hurt him too bad, if you guys can help it. After we catch him, I plan to sedate him so much that he won't be able to transform. I'll question him, and then go from there." Lexy give a little wave as she climbed fully into the vehicle, closing the door and starting the engine. "Let me know as soon as you see or hear anything," she called out to the others with a wave, before she drove off, the vehicle disappearing into the woods.

Faro stretched and lay sideways, languidly lounging with her head close to Anastasha's lap. "Y'know, I wouldn't mind this lasting a while. I haven't been out in the woods before. It's a lot quieter than the city. And with this fire it's not too cold." She yawned, the large meal catching up with her. "Totally gonna have to come here on a trip. Y'know, like, when there's no werewolf."

Cold wasn't exactly something Flame had to worry about normally, but there was enough of a nip in the night air that even she felt a chill. However, with how little her uniform covered, it wasn't surprising, no matter how much her holo-hidden scales helped to combat the cold. 'Don't wanna hurt him too bad' huh? Well, it didn't mean she could rough this thing up a little bit, for all the annoyance it had caused in the area. She was sure a giant wolf thing could take a few scratches thrown its way. "Might make a nice survivalist training exercise." Damn, that was a very Logan or Scott thing to say... this leader thing was really going to her head, life was so much easier when she was just a lazy, drunk, up to no good, student.

Out of the blue, Shana's voice came over the three girls' communicators, stating: "Flame, it's Shana. The Convoy team is back and safe. Mission was a success. How are things on your end?"

Flame had forgotten she was still linked up to Shana back at the house, so the sudden arrival of her voice caught her off guard enough to make her jump. Smooth. Hitting the button, she responded. "Good to hear," That was the team she was really worried about, sending the kids up against who knows what type of guys or weaponry. It was a relief to hear they were back in one piece. "Just playing stake out for now. Will let you know when we got this all sorted our side."

"Hmmm..." Anastasha hummed to herself as their contact drove off and Faro spoke, her eyes never leaving the flames before them. She absolutely agreed, as this was the same thing that she had been thinking back when they were at the cabin where they'd initially met up with Alexa. Not really having her attention focused on anything, she vaguely heard Flame's comment and gave a small chuckle in response. Now that would be something to see... Wonder how many of the students would actually be able to hold up in such an environment? When Shana's voice suddenly flared to life, Star tensed but quickly relaxed back to her prior state when she realized there was no threat. Well, she'd at least expected the communicators to beep or something before the person's voice came through. Like one of those phones, or something. Nonetheless, she was glad to hear that one of the teams had at least finished their mission safely. Now it was their turn.

Faro fiddled with a twig in front of her before flicking it into the fire. "Playing stake out is right," she murmured. Although she'd been shocked at the appearance of the werewolf on the video Lexy had shown them, now the excitement was starting to peeter out. The realisation that this was quite likely what the majority of missions involved - waiting - annoyed her. What good was it sitting around? Out in the world there were hundreds and thousands of people out to get mutants like her, simply because they were different, and here she was waiting for a monster. A spark of contention planted itself in her.

It wasn't Flame idea of a great X-Men mission either, but she was kind of glad. It was their first time out soloing it, so starting off small scale was a good thing, even if it meant being monster bait in a forest. Sighing, she crossed her arms to rub her hands up and down her arms and surveyed the night around them. So many trees made it near impossible to see anything coming their way, and if this werewolf was even after them, then not doubt it would smell them out well before they could ever see it. Flame trusted Lex, but at the same time was tempted to try and create some sort of plan to fall back on, if things went to hell in a hand basket. Should they try and blind it with light? Let whatever demony things that could be conjured up at it? Or could she just take out its achilles so it couldn't run away? No, Lex was right, try and bring it in one piece without too many bumps and bruises to figure out what was going on. That just meant waiting. Crap.

"So, should we all be up all night or are we going to assign watches?" Faro asked Flame, tilting her head so she could see the holo-disguised woman. "If so, I call shotgun on not going first." She smiled and edged a little closer to the fire, enjoying its radiant warmth.

Despite being stuck out in the woods waiting on a werewolf creature to find them, Anastasha found herself to be quite content. While she was ready to get this mission out of the way, being able to just chill next to a warm fire was completely ok in her books as well. The heat reminded her of Egypt, the place she oh-so missed. Hearing Faro's comment about taking watch, Star scoffed at the other female and smirked down at her. "Oh, come on. And here I thought you'd be all fired up to see this creature up close and personal." Turning slightly so she could see their leader out of the corner of her eye, she called to Flame, "In all seriousness, I'm fine with first watch. It's up to you."

"Hoping we won't be out here long enough to have to do shifts." Not that Flame had any better plan in mind. "But we donno if this thing will come near us while we're awake." She let out a sigh, not liking the sensation of being out of her depths, at least not when she had the other two counting on her. "May as well give it a go."

Several minutes passed before anything really happened, and finally, Flame's radio came to life with a crackle of static. "Hey, it's Lex'. I'm on top of Chimney Rock now, so I've got a good view. I'll let you know if I see anything. Do the same for me, will ya?" came Lexy's voice over the radio before it cut off.

Handling a radio and its small buttons with claws was not an easy feat, let alone finding it in the bag first, then getting it sorted in Flame's hand so she could hit the button with the side of her thumb. "Will do. You want us to make as if we're sleeping for this thing to show up?"

There was some more static before Lexy's voice come through clearly: "Yeah, that works. Just be sure someone is on guard so you guys don't get overtaken or anything. If I see something, I'll head down A-Sap."

"Acting asleep? That'll be hard," Faro joked before she failed to suppress a yawn. She stretched out and put her head on her arms, closing her eyes. "Don't think I'll need an alarm clock - if there really is a giant wolf thing coming at us, I'll be awake in a snap." Again, she yawned.

Despite having talked about the idea of taking shifts, Anastasha highly doubted she would actually allow herself to fall asleep. Sleeping in front of others was not something that she really did, considering the night terrors that came and went as they pleased. If need be, she would simply pretend to take a nap if they decided to rotate. It was almost like she could hear those little demons of her cackling in the back of her mind, as if they knew they were vexing her. Looking over to Faro as the girl shifted over to a sleeping position, Star gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Yeah, we'll see. Maybe the thing is smarter than we think it is." Maybe the thing would know it was a set up and never even show up. Guess really the only thing to do was to wait and see, and wasn't that the annoying part of this whole ordeal?

"You two get... comfortable as you can, I'll set myself up to keep an eye out first." Hopefully that would be all it would take. Was it partly because Flame didn't trust the other two to watch her back? Maybe a little, she hadn't seen them in action before so had no true knowledge how they would react under pressure of the situation. She would also feel more than a little guilty if she wasn't the one to catch sight of this thing first. She was suppose to be leading her team, they should be able to count on her to do her part. The whole school had to... damnit Professor, you had to see something in her that she didn't herself.

Faro obliged by curling her arms under her head and taking a deep yawn. "I'll take second watch if you like," she murmured as she allowed herself to sink towards sleep. The chances of the creature turning up tonight, and at their campsite, were minimal.

Staring at the fire as she listened to Flame speak, Anastasha mentally sighed as she propped her elbows on her knees and hunched over to place her chin in her upturned palms. If the even breathing coming from Faro was any indication, it seemed that the girl very quickly made a trip to dreamland. With just the two of them now, everything seemed eerily quiet with only the crackling of the fire providing the only sound besides the occasional cry of the nocturnal life in the woods. After a while Star decided to lower her body so that she was sitting on the ground and her back and head were supported by the chunk of wood behind her. Despite having planned not to sleep the long day had caught up to her, and it wasn't long before her eyes closed and she found herself drifting to somewhat of a fitful sleep.

From her place at the camp fire Flame watched as her teammates drifted off before turning her eyes to the dark forest around them. The scene made her nervous and she was itching for a smoke to try and calm her nerves, but would it throw off this werewolf they were after? Screw it, she was going to take the risk. Tapping one out of the packet, she lit the cigarette and let it rest between her lips, letting the first breath in via it to exhale lazily from her mouth. She didn't bother to stoke the fire, letting it slowly die down, blanking them deeper into the shadows to hopefully draw that animal in closer. Just turn it over enough to keep the embers alive. Hurry up, you slobbering, vicious beast, hurry up and show yourself.

It seemed forever before anything decided to happen, the darkness and cold of the night air creeping in on the trio of mutants. As the fire in front of Flame flickered, the radio suddenly came to life, playing a bout of static that lasted for a few seconds before it went silent again..

As the static blasted from the radio, Faro was shocked out of her sleep, her limbs flailing in surprise. Her head went up and she looked around, not sure what was going on as her sleep-addled mind tried to catch up with events.

After already not being able to have a peaceful sleep, the sudden static that came from the radio they'd been giving quickly jolted Anastasha from her light slumber, causing the girl to jump into half of a standing position. When she noticed nothing was there she slowly relaxed before looking over at Flame, "...What? I've never heard a radio do that."

Two hundred, sixty four thousand, five hundreds and seventy one beers on the wall, Two hundred, sixty four thousand, five hundreds and seventy one beers, take one down, share it around... God Flame was bored, willing to stab herself in the thigh with her own nails bored, just to give herself something else to do. Or to keep herself awake at least. The radio coming to life was a shock, but a welcome one, and part of her was really hoping Lex was about to give them some action. The static was not so welcomed. As the others woke, Flame snatched up the radio and hit the button to talk over it. "Lex? You read me?"

Flame's voice was followed by several more seconds of only silence, but after it seemed there was going to be no reply, the radio came to life again. "Yeah, I'm.... I'm here.... Something's wrong," came Lexy's voice in return, sounding no less than stressed. The radio turned off for another moment, leaving the girls in even more silence, before it popped back to life. This time, Lexy urged quickly, "I think... you should leave. Something's very wrong and... I think it might be too dangerous. You guys have to get out as soon as poss--". The radio cut out again, this time not coming back to life.

"Lex!" Damnit, no, no, no! "Both of you! Up on your feet, now!" Lexy's cut off message was all Flame needed to hear, as she was up in a flash and jumping over Faro's still semi reclined body and sprinted off towards the direction Lexy was stationed in. The other girls better learn to keep up, as Flame's long legs quickly allowed for her race towards her old friend.

Before Alexa could even finish attempting to say whatever she had been saying, the edginess and tone of the static-filled words had Anastasha already rising to her feet. Now this is getting weird! Seeing Flame's body flash by in front of her over Faro had her mind reeling and she took off after their leader's lithe form into the darkness. In the inkiness of the night Star had a hard time from falling over broken branches and stumps that she stumbled over, but there was no time to falter. Shit was going down and she wasn't planning on getting caught without her team in it.

Faro was the slowest getting up, but she was then sprinting after the other two. As she drew up alongside Anastasha she held out a hand and let her bioluminescence illuminate their path, helping them avoid any undergrowth. Her heart was racing, and despite the chill of the night, she was already sweating. Please don't let my nerves get the better of me, she pleaded with herself.

Lexy had been stationed about a mile out from the girl's campsite, so even if they ran as fast as they possibly could, the trio of mutants wouldn't be able to reach the location for several minutes. As they ran through the woods and further away from the campsite, the light of their fire faded and soon the girls were running through near pitch darkness. However, as their eyesights adjusted, the light of the full moon filtered through the trees and illuminated the ground before them. It was long until an eerie feeling washed over the girl, almost urging them to slow down. Things grew quieter, and soon the only sound that could be heard was their footsteps crunching on the snowy and leafy ground.

From behind them, a crash sounded, almost akin to a branch falling from a tree. None of them even had time to slow down and look behind them before a heavy set of footsteps sounded behind them, approaching quickly. Bursting from the brush of the forest, a giant black figure leapt out towards them, completely over the last in the group, Faro, and landed near Anastasha with a thud. On the other side of the girls, another figure appeared, more dainty and lightfooted. From the reflection of the moon, the girls were able to see the antlers of a deer, which promptly skidded to a halt and turned tail to run in the other direction.

With a low and rumbling growl, the creature that had hit the ground heavily leaped forward again, knocking Anastasha to the ground with its back feet, and diving after the deer, disappearing into the woods again.

As the adrenaline spike she had started to fade and switch her body to a endurance mode for the run, Flame quickly doubted herself. She acted without thinking, she should had made sure her team was ok first, not run after Lex with no knowledge on what had happened. She could be leading the girls into a trap, or just a pointless run through the night, which itself had its own hazards. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The sound of breaking branches and a heavy mass landing beside the group caused the sudden sting of bile to rise in the back of her throat, Flame whipping her head around to try and catch sight of whatever the hell was with them. The low light was little help, even with Faro's help, but the size of the thing was clear enough to know Flame really didn't want to get in its way. "Siren!" Stumbling to a rather ungraceful stop, which ended up with a long smudge of ice and mud up along the outside of one thigh and across her hands, Flame twisted back towards her team.

Faro had managed to avoid screaming when she was leapt over. With it leaving them behind, she went to Anastasha's side. Kneeling beside her, her fear was causing her to light up her cheeks blue. "Are you okay?" she asked, true concern audible in her voice. Her head whipped around, trying to spot any signs of the creature returning.

Despite seeing the large mass drop down so close to her, Anastasha was shocked by the creature's sudden appearance. Even if she'd had half of a thought that she was going to change directions to face the wolf-like creature, it seemed to have decided that for her as it launched off after something else and smashed its feet directly into Star's torso. The sheer force of the hit sent her off her feet and toppling to the mushy ground below her. Trying to sit up, Star was left gasping for air like she'd never had the luxury of having the gas inhabit her lungs. Luckily it didn't take long for her breath to return and she found herself returning to her feet. Grasping Faro by the elbow and helping her back to her feet, Anastasha snapped her head around to look at Flame's returning form with rage burning in her eyes, "Do we go after that thing or go find Alexa?" As much as she wanted to destroy that damn wolf at this point they did have a team member in potential danger, and she would follow her leader's decision in the matter.

Seemingly from only a few feet away, in the direction where the large black mass had gone, there came a deep, rumbling roar, followed by the sickening sound of the tearing of flesh and crunching of bones.

Faro's head immediately whipped round at the sound of growling. Standing with Anastasha, she tried in vain to control her fear - her hands and forehead were pulsing with bright light, keeping time with her accelerated heartbeat. She faced the origin of the sounds and tried forcing herself to take deep breaths. "What do we do?" she whispered with a low, shaky voice.

Swallowing back the feeling of her heart in her throat, Flame's attention turned back to the direction the wolf thing went in as she motioned for the girls to move away from it. Hitting the button for the radio again, she spoke quietly into it, trying not to draw the attention of the beast much like Faro was. "Lex, answer me." She did not want to have that thing at their back, but feared the worse for her old friend.

Following Flame's direction, Anastasha followed the woman further away from the direction the beast has disappeared to. Almost forgetting her grip on Faro's arm, Star attempted to lead the smaller girl behind a tree so that her luminescent body wouldn't stand out too much. The adrenaline pounding through her brain nearly drowned out Flame's voice and the only thing she could focus on was the direction that the creature had bounded towards. Turning to Flame once she'd finished speaking, Star whispered over to their leader, "I can send something to scout it."

There was no reply from the other radio, not even static, after Flame called for Lexy. The tearing of flesh and crunching of breaking bones continued to echo around the trio of girls for a few moments. However, suddenly the sounds went silent, save for the sound of air rushing out of the creatures nose, much like a loud snort. Faro's inability to control her powers had distracted the creature, and now, as it stepped out of the deep woods and into the light of the moon, the X-Men group could see it rather clearly. It was definitely wolf-like, a canine body standing, on all fours, at about five feet tall, and its large pointy ears adding even more height to its body. The creature's deep brown fur glistened in the moonlight as it walked slowly forward, bowing its head to sniff the ground. Lifting its head again, its reflective eyes locked on Faro, and the thing stopped dead in its tracks, around ten feet from the girls. Mouth dripping with blood, it shook its large head, sprinkling some of the still warm liquid on the ground near it and onto the girls' legs. Stilling itself, it looked back at the girls, and it made another snorting sound, standing completely still and staring at the mutants, as if challenging them to make the next move.

Any answer Flame had for either of the girls was quickly killed as the wolf reappeared and focused its attention on them. Slowly stepping forward enough to place herself between the beast and her team, she forced herself to ignore just what it had splatted over her boots and slowly raised an arm to move the girls behind her. "Back off, fuzzy." Could it understand them? Did it have enough brain power to communicate?

Faro when the wolf-like creature returned. From deep within her she summoned the courage to stand and hold her hands out, palms flat, towards it. "Shield your eyes!" she shouted before closing her own. Immediately she sent out alternating bright flashes of light at the monster, her hands like strobe lamps. Even with her eyes closed, the light was dazzling.

Eww. Anastasha tried not to frown so hard as the creature shook its muzzle and splattered the three of them with blood, though she was glad she couldn't actually feel the coppery liquid through her clothing. Hearing Faro shout for them to close their eyes, Star quickly obeyed as she remembered what they had spoken off earlier. Even with her eyes clamped shut, the array of colors that the luminescent girl threw out still left lights dancing in her brain. Knowing that this most likely wouldn't bode well with the wolf creature, Star began belting out a loud tune. It was something she'd heard as part of an opera once, and the loud notes were probably easily heard through the forest. Not long into the piece, a white skeleton flashed to life over her tanned skin and an almost identical doppelganger of herself appeared in a dark plume of smoke. While it appeared to be like the girl, it was very demonic in appearance with clawed hands, pointed teeth, a set of horns curling back along the expanse of long hair, and eyes devoid of any color. As it was linked to Star, the creature knew to protect its eyes upon its conjuring from Faro's light show, though the tension in its muscles was proof enough of the creature's readiness to protect the three of them from the wolf-being.

The creatures lips pulled back into a sharp-toothed snarl, it's large white canines glinting in the moonlight. A deep rumble came from inside the thing's chest as Flame called out to it, but its eyes did not leave Faro. As soon as the light show started, the beast reacted, it's ear flattening, jaws opening to let out a loud snarl, and feet pushing it forward, sending it hurtling in Faro's direction. It landed on top of the girl, knocking her flat on her back, with its heavy paws on her chest, making the mutant feel almost crushed. Teeth still bared, it was only a matter of seconds before it certainly decided to attack.

Faro tried to scream, but with the beast pressing down on her she could barely summon the breath to squeak. She immediately lost control of her ability, and she started strobing all over her body, all the colours of the rainbow, though not nearly half as bright as when she concentrated her power. She knew this was it, and she hoped the end was quick.

"Stop!" Was all Flame was able to get out before her night vision was destroyed and her sight filled with spots and lights. Slapping a hand up to rub at her eyes, she froze at the growl from the beast. No, no, no! They didn't know it was going to attack them, now it would since it was provoked. Stupid! The mix of noises around her slowly began to clear for masses of shapes, bodies that moved around her as Faro's lights continued to filter through the trees. Through the beams, the shape of a much larger body on top of a small was enough to spark Flame into action. Letting out her own snarl and she launched herself at the wolf. Sinking the claws of her first hand deep into it's ribs, she threw her weight over its back as her other nails found a target in the wolf's back. It was bigger than her, heavier, but Flame hoped her momentum, of her throwing herself onto and over the beast would at least yank it far enough off Faro to let the girl slip free. She had to get it's attention on her, not her team.

By the time the brighter of Faro's lights ended, Anastasha was too late to throw her creature in front of her teammate before the wolf-like being was upon the girl. Catching on to Flame's attempt to throw the creature's weight, Star silently commanded her demon to help. Her copy rushed over to the mess of beings and towards the snarling and snapping jaws of the wolf. Being tall enough to be a defensive creature of Star's, it's skin was nearly impenetrable and it showed this fact by shoving a forearm into its mouth like one would put a bit on a horse to keep it from clamping down on any part of Faro. Shoving the arm back as far as it could to tilt the wolf's head back, Star's copy also shoved all the force it could from such an angle into the wolf's throat in an attempt to shove it back or to cut off air. Coming to help here, Anastasha herself threw all her weight under the wolf's chest in an attempt to further distribute the weight off Faro's body, hoping that their combined efforts would at least give her the room to wriggle out.

The beast was just opening its jaws when it felt a sharp pain in its side. With a deafening screech, the beast turned its head toward the source of the pain, snapping as whatever was stabbing into its ribs, though its heavy paws did not move from Faro's chest. Another pain surged through its back, and with another painful howl, the thing began to shake, trying to rid itself of the oversized flea it seemed to have acquired. As it snapped at its attacker once more, something stopped it, lodging itself into the giant canine's jaws and preventing it from biting anything else further, at least for the moment. Soon it felt pressure on its through, and forced by a lack of oxygen and searing pain throughout its body, the creature rolled over on its back. In this position, the thing was able to kick its feet up, colliding with Anastasha's abdomen and sending her flying a few feet backwards, landing hard on her back. Taking its chance, it bit at Flame again, this time managing to sink a few of its teeth into the scaly woman's arm. Despite the pain, the woman could tell that if she didn't get free from the beast's grip, she could be flung across the forest or possibly lose an arm.

With the beast off her, Faro was able to suck in sweet, sweet air again in giant wheezes. Looking at what had happened in the space of a few seconds, she could see the tables still hadn't turned in their favour. Terrified as she was, she couldn't let her teammates take on the wolf-thing alone. With considerable effort, she lunged at the werewolf's head trying to clamp her hands over its eyes before focusing the brightest light she could muster out of her palms.

Feeling her breath forced out of her body as the beast rolled it's full weight onto her, Flame let out a cry of pain mixed heavily with a dose of anger. She would rather not lose an entire limb this early in combat, so with more than a little difficulty withdrew her nails from its back and ribs. She wanted the damn thing off her, her lungs wanted the damn thing off her.

Even though the plan to get the creature off Faro seemed to have worked, the success was short lived as Anastasha was jabbed in the stomach by the wolf's powerful legs and sent hurtling several feet away from the group. She landed hard on her back, having the wind knocked out of her once more. With the impact and loss of concentration, the skeleton on Star's skin disappeared and her doppelganger vanished from where it had rolled with the wolf, leaving the beast an open chance to latch onto something else. It seemed to take ample advantage of this, finding Flame's arm a suitable replacement. Even from her position laying on the forest's floor, Star could hear the sickening sound of sharp teeth carving through flesh. Rising from the ground with dirt clinging to her back and the bandage holding her hair half undone, Star ran back to her group and grabbed onto the creature before singing once more. The white bone structure became tattooed again on her skin and a copy-cat of the werewolf appeared. Much like Anastasha's own copy had been, the copy of the beast looked noticeably different with multiple rows of horns, teeth where none should have existed, and paws that seemed to hold daggers instead of claws. Snapping its warped jaws and snarling, it lunged at its mold, aiming claws for any vulnerable flesh and aiming sharpened teeth at the vast area of the beast's throat.

The beast showed no mercy even as Flame retracted her nails from its hide - the grip of its jaw grew even stronger, its teeth sinking further into the woman's skin as it tasted her blood. Just before Faro reached it, the beast gave a sharp tug, jerking Flame forward as it tested out her body to see just how hard it would be to tear a limb off. However, it was unable to continue as a pair of hands, with a bit of struggle, found themselves over the creature's eyes. Opening its jaw wide, the beast roared loudly, giving Flame a chance to escape while it shook wildly, knowing the still weak Faro off of it. As it turned to attack the girly, it was met with the teeth of another canine on its throat, sending the large wolf creature sprawling onto its back. A sharp whine came from the creature, but its cries immediately turned into angry snarls as it kicked and clawed at the thing on its neck. The beast's skin was tough, so it did not break under the pressure of the other creature's sharp teeth right away. After a few seconds of struggling, the beast managed to turn its head and wrap its own teeth around on side of the dark creature's head.

With the breath knocked out of her again, Faro didn't have the strength to stand. She lay on her side and waved at her cohorts, trying to indicate that they should move away from the creature. Their attempts at subduing it were useless. A thought came to her - was this creature only trying to protect itself? "ssTOp," she wheezed out before gulping in more air. "Stop... Attacking!"

Throwing herself from the wolf, Flame allowed her momentum to drop and roll her away from it, getting up onto her feet as she held her hand tight against her injured arm. "That's what I was trying to say!" Did no one listen to her? Godamnit! She ground her teeth together as her image inducer flickered between her true self and the holo-disguise. That damn thing had gotten to it enough to upset something within the fragile mechanics. "Back up." She ordered Faro before raising her voice to Anastasha. "Siren! Move back and get those things off it!" Please let it calm down now, or at least leave. They would have to come back for it another time, better armed and with a better plan to trap it and move it somewhere where it wouldn't hurt anyone else.

Anastasha was glad that her teammates had gotten away from the dangerous bits of the creature, but with the adrenaline rushing through her she was a bit surprised that both her teammates were calling off the fight. "But we've...!" Looking at Flame's face she realized the woman was very, very serious and she didn't think that disobeying would end very well. With a sigh, Star moved herself backwards so her eyes were still set on the creature. She only stopped when he was next to her team and let her creation disappear with a small cloud of smoke, releasing all the pressure off the wolf and to let the head it had been clamping onto be replaced with air. As the skeleton over her skin faded away, she waited as patiently as she could to see what the creature before them would do.

Just because she gave the order, didn't mean Flame trusted the beast for a second, and once again quickly moved to place herself between her team and the wolf. Better it chew on her than them. "Leave, and we won't follow you," Tonight. "No more blood shed." Please let it leave, just go and let them recover, let them find Lex and get the hell out of here.

With all matter suddenly removed from between the grip of its jaws and teeth, the creature's mouth snapped loudly and violently shut, briefly stunning it. Rolling onto its back and then over to its side, the beast stood and shook its head violently, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling of its teeth colliding together too hard. Rubbing a giant paw over its face, the thing suddenly stopped, having heard Flame's voice. It turned slowly to face the woman, a low growl rumbling loudly from deep within its chest. Its eyes flickered in the moonlight as it lowered its head, revealing the ice blue stain of its irises. It was still obviously very angry, blood trickling down its fur to explain why. Baring its teeth, the growl transformed into a snarl, and with a strong push of its hind legs, the wolf beast lunged towards Flame...

However, the creature never reached the other mutant. Something happened that caused the creature to whimper, and it fell straight to the ground, curling up into a convulsing ball. While the girls watched, the thing's form seemed to shrink, fur retracting into its skin. After several seconds, sure enough, the 'werewolf' seemed to have transformed back into its human counterpart, leaving behind a curled up, bloody, shivering and naked young girl with auburn hair, a tail, and a peculiar pair of ears on her head.

Letting out her own snarl as she realized the beast was still going to have a go at them, Flame threw herself forward to meet it half way, ready to end this damn battle and keep her girls safe. However, as the animal collapsed into its more humanoid form, Flame shifted her hands to catch the body instead of stab it. Holding the girl in her arms, she felt her stomach instantly sink. "Lex?" She almost killed her. She had been ready to drive her nails into her neck to save her team.

"Lexi," Faro whispered, crawling over to the vulpine girl. She lit up her front so the others could see. "It suddenly came to me," she said, turning to the other two girls. "Why we hadn't heard from her. It was her." She stroked the prone girl's hair back from her face. "We should get her back to the mansion for medical treatment."

"Holy..." Anastasha had been absolutely prepared to go back into brawling with the creature, but had not been ready at all to see the beast shift back into a too-familiar face. Star was silent as she listened to Faro talk and nodded her head in agreement. With the three of them attacking the poor girl? Who knew how much real damage they had done. Groping around her uniform for the communication button, Star pressed the button in before speaking, "Shana? It's Siren, we need a pickup out here ASAP. We have someone who needs medical attention."

The response was quick, with Shana replying, "Who is it?"

"We're going to have to get to some sort of clearing for the jet to even pick us up, and something to wrap her in and keep her warm." They had to get back to the camp, get Lex warmed up and stabilized enough that she would be fine until pick up arrived. This was going to suck, it was going to hurt, but they needed to get moving. With a grunt Flame shifted Lexy's weight to over her shoulder, taking a long moment to gather her balance and adjust to the weight addition before standing a little unsteadily on her feet. Shifting on her footing Flame braced her injured arm up around Lexy's form, supporting her mass as she started back towards the direction they had run from. "A light, please, so we can get back to camp." Then lowered her voice. "Hang in there Lex, I got you."

With Flame's request, Faro pulled herself off from the ground and staggered to beside the reptilian woman. She put her shoulder up under Flame's to help her with the weight of the unconscious Lex. Her other hand she put out in front of her and lit up the path ahead of them. Tears were leaking down her cheeks - she felt huge shame at the part she'd had in hurting their ally.

Watching her two teammates start to lift the unconscious Alexa up, Shana's voice responded to the request for an airlift for the four of them. Pressing the button on her uniform once more, Anastasha made her way in front of the group, "It's Alexa. She was the creature we were sent here to investigate." With Faro's light illuminating the forest in front of them, Star did her best to start moving the larger debris out of the way in an attempt to clear a flatter path for her allies as they carried their contact. Hopefully a clearing would open up soon so that the jet could come take them back home.

It wasn't quick or easy to get back to camp, bracing almost the full weight of another across her back, especially with an arm more or less down. Faro and Star's help was certainly welcomed as Flame focused on just setting one foot in front of the other. She could rest once she knew Lexy would be ok. Trying her best to ignore the strain on her back, the feel of her legs wobble, and the numbness that was spreading across her arm, Flame turned her face to Faro as she spotted the girl's tears. "Why are you crying?" It wasn't asked as an accusation, no malice behind the words, more concern.

With Flame nothing her tears, Faro wiped them from her face. "I've been in fights before, but that was horrible. I just hope she's going to be alright," she whispered to herself. Anastasha's clearing of the path was speeding up their progress. She did what she could to help Flame with Lexy's weight while keeping their path lit up. "She's gotta be alright."

After clearing the way a small distance ahead of their group, Anastasha looped back around to check up on her two teammates. She was a bit unsure how Flame was handling a body so well with one arm mangled from the fight, and Faro looked highly shaken up about the situation as well. Star wasn't really sure what she was feeling about the mission. Regret? Guilt? Nothing? If anything the demons that seemed to constantly be in her head were at least giving her a little peace and quiet for once, "Need to switch? I think I have enough in me to summon one last creature, and we should be able to carry Alexa."

"Hey," Flame offered a tired smile to Faro. "We were doing what she wanted, taking on this beast that had been ransacking the place. She's a tough girl, she can last." She hoped. No, don't think like that, just keep going. "We did the job we were here to do." It was messy, they all needed training on how to work like a team, but it got the job done. "I'm ok, thanks Anastasha. Save it for when the jet gets here, I need to lose this thing before I take too much blood loss, so will need a hand getting her on board then."

Another response came, taking a second or two longer than the first. "Jet's coming. Just find somewhere it can land - it will find you."

Faro smiled with Flame's words. "You're a good leader," she said quietly before she heard the transmission. "Not far now," she said in a louder voice, remembering their camp hadn't been too far from where they'd met the werewolf - no, Lexi. Where they'd fought Lexi. A slight shake of her head dismissed the thought. Flame was right; they'd done what they had come to do.

With Flame telling her that she was ok for now, Anastasha nodded and quickly made her way back up to the front of the group and resumed her job of clearing any obstacles that popped up in their way. Like Faro said quietly behind her, Flame really did handle her position well. Several times she had noticed the scaly female trying to redirect Alexa's attention from her teammates, and even now she dismissed Faro's concerns with what seemed like almost no effort. The woman had definitely done a lot to earn Star's respect in the amount of time they had been together. Hearing Faro mention that the camp should be close by, Anastasha's attention finally returned to the direction they were actually walking in. The smaller girl was right, as the shrubbery and trees around them slowly started expanding outwards and creating a wider path before them. Hopefully the jet would find them quickly once they found their way there.

Flame wasn't too sure about that. It was her fault they had wound up in the middle of the woods, running off without thinking. Yet, it was nice to hear it, even if she didn't believe it. "Thanks." As they made it into camp, she spoke again and began to shift Lex off her shoulders. "Give me a hand, would ya? Need to try and keep her warm until the jet gets here." In the middle of the forest, dead of night, in nothing? That was asking for something like hypothermia. With Lexy settled and as safe as she could be until the jet arrived, Flame pulled her knife from her sheath. This part was never fun. "Stay here." She moved off away from the group, firstly to spare them the sight of what she was about to do, and also to find a log or rock she could support her arm on. A fallen tree was ideal, as Flame rested the hand of her injured arm on it and moved her opposite foot to stand on said hand. At the Circus she always had alcohol and drugs to help dull the pain before her performances. It didn't matter how many times she did it, she was always cutting a piece of her own body off. Taking several deep breaths, each faster than the other to a point where she was nearly hyperventilating, Flame sucked in and held the last one as she sliced the edge of her knife into the flesh around her elbow, pressing past the slight resistance her scales caused. "Goddamnit..." Rotating the knife around the joint, trying to make sure she didn't miss any of the major tendons or ligaments, she let out her shaking breath, stabbing the knife into the tree trunk beside her. Inhaling sharply, Flame pressed her foot down harder against her hand as she jerked the rest of her body back, straining against the resistance her elbow joint created. "Come on..." One more hard jerk and the joint cracked and popped as it pulled free from her upper arm, promptly followed by a shriek of pain from her. "MOTHER FUCKING GODDAMNIT!" Stumbling back as the limb came free, Flame paused to catch her breath. A quick check her blood flow was stopping, she grabbed up her knife, gave it a quick wipe down against the leg of her uniform, and replaced it in her sheath. Picking up her loose limb, she took a moment to catch her breath, gave a sharp shake of her head, then returned back to the camp site.

Faro took the weight of Lexi and then gently lowered her to the ground. In response to her naked frame and the dangers it exposed her to, she lay next to the prone vulpine/lupine girl and wrapped her arms and legs around her. Her hands rubbed Lexi's skin to stimulate blood flow. She was so focussed on the task that she didn't notice Flame move away, and her head shot up at the other mutant's sudden cursing. She watched as Flame returned with an arm detached, and Faro looked away, focussing again on keeping Lexi warm.

It seemed like forever had passed, but a few moments later, the Blackbird had successfully located the team by the communicators on their uniforms, and the sound of its engines heralded its appearance. Of course, to disguise itself from others, it was using its cloaking shield, but as soon as the large black jet descended below the tree line, it made itself visible to the girls. The engines powered down to a dull buzz, and the walkway lowered itself so that the girls could climb on.

Faro stood, pulling Lexi up with her, and setting her over her shoulder in a fireman's lift. She spread her legs apart to take the strain, her body listing off to one side with the girl's deadweight. She walked awkwardly up the gangway to the jet's interior and lay Lexi down near the rear as gently as she could. Immediately, she looked for a first aid kit, and mete seconds later was tearing it open. She retrieved the pack's foil blanket and lay down with Lexi, wrapping the silver shroud around them. "Come on, warm up," she whispered to the unconscious mutant.

Watching Flame disappear off into the forest, Anastasha hadn't quite realized that their leader had literally meant that she was going to "lose that thing" until she heard the older woman scream and return back to their campsite lacking a limb. Star was more than a little shocked that the woman actually got rid of it. How was it so easy for her to just... not worry about losing an arm? Finally drawing her attention off the deformity, she realized Faro had managed to get Alexa onboard the long-awaited jet without her help. Taking another look back at their one-armed leader, Star followed her teammate on board. Pausing briefly by the seats, Anastasha gave a slight sigh before turning to sit down next to Faro as she spoke to their aide. "Hey, I'm sure she'll be fine." Reaching over the two of them, she moved Alexa's hair so it wasn't resting quiet so directly in her face before doing the same for Faro. "We'll be headed back soon enough, and I bet we can find a way to help her." It was very uncharacteristic of how she normally behaved towards others, but she'd gained a lot of respect for both of the females she had gone on this mission with. Call her a sucker, but she felt a sort of attachment towards the two at that moment in time. Perhaps it was only manifest in the lingering adrenaline rush of battle, but she'd see how she felt once all the chaos that had happened had finally settled down.

With the rest of the team on board, Flame quickly followed behind, barking out orders to Danger as she got on the plane. "Danger, get us out of here and have a pod in the infirmary ready for when we get back." She stopped at the girls. "Lets get her strapped in to a seat and we can get the hell out of here."

Danger, still remotely connected to the jet, did as she was commanded by Flame and then quickly took flight, carrying the four girls back to the mansion, to X-Men Hangar.

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