X-Men: Protest
A number of the inhabitants of Xavier's School have come to New York for an outing. After being dropped off in a hired minibus, the group have the opportunity to enjoy Times Square with its usual hustle and bustle. The sun is shining on a crisp February day and little seems to be wrong with the world; food vendors push along their carts, the regular New Yorkers make their way between work and their choice of lunch location, and other tourists marvel at the lights and skyscrapers of the central city.
However, a large group of people, not far from the students, waving placards and raising fists, are being closely watched by some of NY's police force. Signs touting 'Humans first' and 'Down with mutants' are a common theme among them.
Kaia, Daniela and Rook have arrived by minibus while, unbeknownst to them, Light and Lirerial are also in the city, having made their ways there independently.
February 15th
X-Men: Protest - History
TIMES SQUARE: Lirerial, Light
Two protesters broke through, both men with shaven heads and meaty statures. They eyed their fallen friends and the two armed girls before one put a hand round his back, reaching for something tucked in the waistband of his jeans.
"Watch out!"
Lire called out warningly as she immediately caught sight of the two men. They were hard to miss but what alarmed her most was the fact that one seemed to be reaching for a gun. She reacted faster than she could think as she brought up the knife and sent it spinning towards the man, straight for his throat.
"I think I agree," came the friendlier-tha
n-usual agreement from Light as she glanced around them. The crowd was getting too wild, and Light certainly didn't want anymore trouble than she had already faced. With a nod to Lire, the girl began to make her departure, but she was stopped by a cry from the other mutant. Immediately, she turned around, and spotting the two thugs across the open circle, Light gritted her teeth, slinging her right hand out and sending a wave of electricity toward the same man who Lire had targeted. She didn't give the other one a chance either, and sent a bolt right towards him with her left hand. Bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, Light turned, glancing at Lire briefly. "Time to go," she said simply to the white-haired vixen before she began trying to push through the crowd. Undoubtedly, if she managed to get away, some of the braver ones would try to follow her, but she could at least lead them on a chase long enough to escape.
The electrical bolt Light sent out saved the man's life, as he jerked and the knife instead plunged into his shoulder. The other man reacted in a similar way to the shock, both rigid. However, her electical force caused the first attacker's hand to clench, causing the 9mm pistol he'd just grabbed to go off, harmlessly discharging a bullet into the floor. However, the crowd were now screaming and pushing away from the group, trying to get away from the potential gunfight. Some fellow protestors could be seen trying to fight their way through to Lire and Light, but the scene had become chaotic.
"Shit!" Light swore rather loudly, ducking a little as the gun went off, too close for comfort. "Get out of here!" she shouted over the noisy crowd to Lire and immediately proceeded to grab at her shirt collar before pushing her way through the side of the crowd opposite the gunman. Anyone who got in her way she either shoved away or sent through a shock strong enough to make them more or collapse.
"Ack!" Lire was being dragged along behind Light, almost stumbling by her shirt collar until she gained her balance back and pulled loose. "I'm going." She shouted back to her and kept following, she was dodging anyone in her way, delivering well placed jabs to the arm pit and sides with the tire iron. Suddenly she realized that Rook was still in the area with his friends, "Wait! There's some kids around here, they're going to get hurt!" Lire called out to Light.
Light had to duck under several elbows and knock quite a few people down, but she was quickly seeing the edge of the crowd. She turned to Lire, pausing for a moment to scowl at the girl. "Not if we get these assholes away from them," she replied, grabbing the girl's arm this time. At her initial touch, Lire would have felt a strong shock, like static electricity. Light pulled the girl out, pushing forcefully through the edge of the crowd and into the clearing. She didn't feel like going back and risking her life for some kids she knew nothing about (not knowing they were mutants from the mansion).
Lire growled irritably even through the surprise of being shocked, but then again she'd known the girl was a mutant. "You and I both know all these jackasses aren't going to follow us. Those kids probably already have people following them just like I did!" She snapped as she jerked her arm out of Light's grasp. "I know Rook at least is a mutant and probably his friends too." She turned and looked back into the crowd, towards the store they'd gone into. "I'm going to help them with or without your help." She finally finished before turning to force her way back through the crowd.
Light didn't hide the giant eyeroll as Lire jerked her arm away, apparently insistent upon gong back for these meaningless kids. She opened her mouth to protest, or at least announce her departure, but Lire mention the name Rook, and Light froze. "Rook is here?" she asked, but Lirerial had already turned and disappeared back into the crowd. "God damn it," hissed the girl. She didn't feel like fighting her way through that crowd again, not eager to get herself shot. Taking a few steps, Light backed up so that she was pressed up against the wall of a building, facing away from the crowd. She carefully peeked around, looking for some sort of opening or way to get around everyone and towards the direction Lire seemed to be going.
Lire was doing her best to get through the crowd but the panicked people were hard to get through and she was so pressed by bodies that she was couldn't even really use the tire iron. She paused, trying to see where the store was but she short, which made it difficult to see over everyone's heads. She growled in frustration as she hopped up and down trying to see over everyone's head.
More gunshots rang out and the crowd panicked further. Many ran down the street rather than trying to make their way into any of the buildings lining the famous location. As people ran, the street became emptier, making it easier for Light and Lire to see what was going on and move. It was plain to see that a stronger police presence had arrived, and were corralling the protesters. Still, some were loose and shouting anti-mutant slogans. Appearing in front of Lire was the biker she'd met earlier. He hesitated before pointing down the street. "Head that way! Trouble's in the other direction!"
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DEPARTMENT STORE: Daniela, Rook, Kaia
Kaia smiled brightly at Daniela, “Oh, girl, you should be daring! You could totally pull those off.” She returned the crochet shorts to the rack and pulled out a pair of the same in her size and a similarly short pair of distressed cut-offs. Shuffling over to another discount rack, she quickly found a set of three crochet back tank-tops; dark green, pink, and purple for just seven dollars. She missed Rook’s distressed comment, but the commotion outside and the tension in her group was starting to make Kaia uneasy. “Yeah, I guess we should head out before this gets ugly.” she observed before she rushed over to the checkout, looking at her feet to avoid looking out the windows at the overwhelming amount of people and auras.
The people following the group had also spotted the cameras. They split up, one heading for the doors, one for the escalators, and the other coming a little closer to them.
"I might try them sometime." replied Daniela apologetically, not really imagining herself in anything so daring. Not that there was anything wrong with a girl showing off her legs, it was just something the girl would only do when egged on by someone she trusted. "It might be a good idea..." she added simply as both Rook and Kaia suggested they ought to leave. The girl was worried and unsettled, but if it came down to it she was sure she could put up a shield for at least a minute to keep them safe while help came. Before being given her heart monitor by Dr.McCoy and practicing with her shield, she rarely made it past 10 seconds. Of course, Daniela had completely forgotten Rook had a firm grip on her hand and her powers would be shut off for a bit if something WERE to happen. "How are you holding up?" she asked Rook with the best and most comforting smile she could muster as she led the trio towards the checkout counter.
Rook stayed silent as they picked out garments, not making any comments as to the actual outfits. He instead stuck close to Dani and looked up at her when she asked her question. "Okay," was his immediate answer. But it was far from true. She could feel how tightly he was holding her hand. Rook didn't want to accidentally brush anyone when they left and hurt them. He was more conscious of the people outside than he would let on.
Finished paying for her clothes, Kaia held on tightly to the bag and looked at Dani for guidance. She cleared her throat and quietly said “Someone might be hurt out there,” As she spoke, she finally noticed someone approaching them but didn’t know how to tell the others inconspicuously.
"We ought to head out... the police must be about to arrive, I've no idea what's taking them so long..." sighed Daniela as she stood by Kaia. Rook was only two or three years younger than Dani, but since he was small and a friend of Casper's, she couldn't help but feel he was a little kid, one that needed protecting. Instead of simply holding his hand, she pulled the boy towards her and put her arm and hand over his shoulder. If he was close she reckoned she could quickly cast a shield over all of them, she was just hoping it would not get to that. "I already called for pickup." she said the other two mutants. "Let's just wait a bit until they get here." she added with the best, bravest smile she could muster.
The man near them hesitated. They were all together, which could prove difficult. Still, he mustered his resolve. He started walking towards them with a smile. "Hey kids!" he called as he approached. "It's a little dangerous for you to be around here."
Having a stranger address her group so casually set off alarm bells for Kaia, and she pulled herself closer to Dani and Rook, taking a step back from the strange man as he approached. "We're fine, thanks," she shakily replied, hoping it would be enough to deter him. She wasn't sure of his intentions, but something told her he wasn't just a good Samaritan looking out for traveling youngsters. He was much too eager to be sincere.
Rather than hiding this time, Rook took a step closer to Daniela, actually putting himself slightly in front of her as if to protect her from this stranger. Thankfully Kaia answered the man and he didn't have to actually say anything. The short Asian didn't look much more intimidating than a small furry rodent at the moment, and he was certain that anything he did to reassure that they were okay would just prove that they weren't. But the sounds of fighting outside and the man approaching them put him on edge and he didn't like it at all.
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