EOD BROTHERHOOD STAGING GROUNDS
The road to this small outpost of the MLA is long and grueling, specially if one comes from the sprawl. Bikes, buggies and ATVs are really the only kind of vehicles that can brave the ruined city and The Plank. From there and assuming one has the luxury of a vehicle and fuel, follows a rough, several hour long drive with nary a road in sight to an old abandoned gas station from before the war. Once there one must avoid a mine field with carefully detailed instructions given to you by a member not only of the MLA, but of the Brotherhood proper.
Once inside the Gas station, covered by fetid smelling rat corpses, is a trap door that leads down the the hideout of the elite Brotherhood operatives known as The Freaks. The room itself is like a mix between a the home of a dark, satanic cult, a mancave and a 13 year old boys bedroom. Along the walls lie dozens of knives and carving tools, many of which seem to have seen recent use, probably in "interrogations". On the far wall there is a large garage style door and several weapos hung on the wall, with caches of ammo underneath. An old gas power generator sits in the middle of the room with the top of a wooden crate over it serving as a table. Several empty bottles of booze and moonshine sit on it. About three or four large screen TVs are fixed to the wall in front of the makeshift table, along several video game consoles and what seems to be an old satelite uplink, sitting on the floor and hooked up to the generator. Opposite to the TVs, on the other wall, are a couple of old, stained couches as well as several bunk beds along the floor. Hanging from the ceiling like some kind of gruesome piñata is the dead body of what seems to be a company agent. His face has been cut up to the point of being unrecognizable and his uniform is full of slashes and cuts and caked with dry blood. The corpse's wrists, ankles and waist have been fastened to the ceiling with metal strips. Currently, one of the Freaks, Kyle Amata, also known as Toxicant is waiting here for the backup he requested from the MLA to show up, accompanied by three other, very dangerous looking men.
X-Men EoD Time
Wednesday, August 13th
The three mutants waiting in the room looked up almost at unison as they heard some noise coming from the gas station above their hideout. Soon, a tan, shapely leg kicked in the trapdoor above the corner of the room and Corpsefire made her way down the ladder, ignoring the grins and stares from the men. "Ai, Freak." she said with a grin, stepping aside and leaving the metal ladder leading up to the gas station clear as she leaned against the wall. "Brought yer boys. Scrap King ain' comin'. Somethin' happened at the Plank and 'e was called, but these ought to do." she added with a cocky half grin, nodding in the direction of the pair who should be making their way down.
Justin was the first to descend, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darker room since he was used to his own shelter under his shack. The first thing he did was cringe a bit at the sight of the body hanging like a trophy of war, dangling a mutilated with what appeared to be professional slices and skinning techniques, not unlike the deer he and his grandfather used to field dress. The tv's and gaming systems surprised him though, a hobby he hadn't had the luxury of enjoying in years. Then his nose picked up a familiar smell, alcohol! Moonshine even! "Man why haven't i joined the freaks yet?"
Sliding down the ladder,
The Rook hit the ground just behind Justin, giving the place a quick scan and taking in everything in his first second of being in the room. He stepped up behind Justin, ignoring his comment. He already knew why it was said, and frowned deeply. His eyes landed on Kyle and he waited for the mutant to start talking.
"I'd say because ya were born in th' wrong mutha' mate." replied Toxicant with a crooked smile, crossing his arms and standing up as he approached the two mutants who had just walked in with corpsefire. "Only two uh?" he added. Kyle Amata, or Toxicant as he'd rather be called, was a tall, lanky man with wild red hair and sunken eyes. His body was muscular but stringy and long, his cheeks sunken and dark and many of the signs of a substance abuser, constantly on edge. He wore nothing on his chest, instead one could see he'd been pierced all over, more times than one could count at a glance, and wore a pair of tattered jeans and heavy combat boots, alongside two large machetes hanging from leather belts crossed around his waist. "Nice work babe." he added, turning to corpsefire. "Technically there's only three freaks, sprawlers." he said, furiously scratching under his chin, a term for people who lived in the sprawl and not in the wastes. "Me n' me bruthers." he continued. "These 'ere are jist brutherhood people, like you." he continued as he pointed at the other mutants, "That there is Fuse..." he said pointing to a small, crooked looking man in a pair of overalls and a stained shirt, wearing leather gloves. "And dat's Clobber..." he added pointing to the lasr man, an impossibly large black man dressed in what seemed to be trucker clothes. "What's yer names and what do you do?" he asked as if it was the most natural thing ever. "This ain't a small convoy we're tacklin' need to be at our best, you know?" added the man with a smile. There was something, unsettling, about Toxicant. He was like a rabid dog, anyone who was good at reading others could sense an unpredictability about him. Not the kind of danger that will cut you down if you cross him, but the kind who will rip your throat out and piss on your corpse for no reason at all.
Justin sank back a little by the abrasive man. He wasn't unused to such people but still the aura he gave off was more than enough to deter most people. He scanned the other members as they where introduced, becoming a little more confident in the mission now that he saw there was a lot of muscle to roll with the in this fiasco. After they had all been 'introduced' he stood up straight trying to match up with the air in the room and not appear to be dead weight to the others. "Call me Warp," He twisted his wrist plunging his hand into empty space, vanishing up to the wrist grabbing the mason jar across the room and withdrew it holding it up a bit. "I can distort space and make holes just about anywhere i want." He paused for a second, "Mind if i have a swig? Had a chick poor my shit out earlier."
The Rook didn't hesitate to reach around Justin and expertly snatch the jar out of Warp's hand, not giving the man time to react before he held the thing out of his reach. "Later," he said seriously. Looking at Toxicant, Rook was possibly the least intimidated in the room. But then, he was highly trained to take out worse opponents. "The Rook," he said as an introduction. "Whatever it is you do, one touch and I put an end to it." He set the mason jar down on the nearest surface and glanced at Warp before turning fully to Kyle. "I am also highly trained in hand to hand combat." That much should have already been obvious, but sometimes these people needed it explained to them.
Toxicant walked back to the couches and took a seat among his men, motioning Corpsefire towards him with a pat on his thigh, as if demanding she sat on his lap. The woman, instead, sat down on the arm of one of the couches, away from the freak, giving him a mocking smirk as she passed by him. After Warp and Rook had spoken, Toxicant let out a wry smile of his own. "You." he said simply pointing at Warp. "You I can use." he added, almost chuckling. "And you'll watch your friend's back." he continued, now motioning towards Rook. "And the pieces fall in place." he declared theatrically, now seemingly speaking to the ceiling. "We'll split into three man teams y'know? Flank'em, hit'em hard n shit." laughed the man, spreading his arms. "You pick one of my peeps to go with ya'." he continued, taking a step back and wrapping his arms around both Corpsefire and Fuse. "I need lovely lil' Corpse or my man Fuse 'ere with my team though." he finally added, asking the MLA militants to choose.
"Before we strike though we have to take care of any mutants if they have them with them. Rook and i game plan we need to use if any of those damn X-men show up."
Justin added, giving Rook a squint as he said his damn obviously disgruntled that he was denied his booze. "Ferro had the same idea port the generator out of there, we have to have a place in mind to get it to so i know where it is. Something that big i can push about three quarters if a mile or a mile if i push it." He glanced back over at the other two. "What can they do?"
The Rook waited patiently for Justin to finish talking. His job would be simple enough. Keep Warp alive. To do that, he would kill any and all of the X-Men that showed up. Simple as that really. "We need someone with offensive capabilities," he said quietly to Justin, glancing at the other mutants gathered. "Preferably with the ability to attack at a distance." He would protect Warp, but he was better in close quarters. They needed someone who could take people out before they reached them.
"Clobber is a physical type, obviously, Fuse and Corpse are our only ranged fightas, Lightning and Fire, which is part o' why I need one o' dem with me." replied Toxicant with a wry grin. "It's hard to plan fur mutants kiddo." said the man to Justin with his arms crossed as he leaned back once more on the couch. "Never know what dey be bringin' to the table. Better not worry 'bout that an' focus on what we DO know. I reckon' if you say ye can do it, you'll move th' generator. Getting you TO it'll be easier said than done tho." added the twitchy man, motioning the pair over after they denied to pick their third team member. Open on the table was an old road map of the area as well as what seemed to be some hot wheels, two cars arranged in front and behind a small toy truck. "Dis 'ere is our target, we can't just knock it over or the generater is bust tho'" said Toxicant with an annoyed expression washing over his face. "Dese 'ere be the convoy... APCs, armored. These we can tear appart, don't matter. They be two of them, so we'll split into teams, either flank them or take them from the front an' back." said the man, looking up at the other five mutants besides him just to make sure they were listening. "Most of the route is flat, open ground, they'll see us first, shoot us down and outrun us. Suicide for an ambush, but here..." he said pointing to what seemed to be an overpass on the map. "Here they won't see us, we'll have cover from their guns and I can force them to stop easy enough. And here..." he added, pointing to an old bridge over a small river. "Here they'll have to stop and cross the river one at a time. Still open ground, but they'll be divided if we hit'em at the right time. An' they'll also be forced ta stop." he finished with a grin. "Generator is 'bout the size of a small car. If ye can't port that, you port yerself next to the driver and put a cap in 'is 'ead. Then commandeer the truck out while we make a mess o' things."
"I cant port the truck, porting in and taking the wheel might be a better idea like you said."
Justin tapped his chin in thought. He could shoot out a tire with a well placed shot through a port, clobber could probably flip a APC just by looking at him, and Rook was basically a walking tazer for mutants. "Yeah, it'd be best if i hop in and put one through his head. He nodded in agreement liking the plan better than Lucas'. "Clobber, if you can flip an APC over the bridge while we commandeer the truck and Corpsefire take out the other, im sure Rook can deal with any muscle they bring along."
The Rook nodded at the sound of Kyle and Justin creating the plan. Standing by, his hand checked his sword, making sure it was ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. His hand also went to his pistol, checking for its placement as he waited for them to decide they were ready to go.
Corpsefire, Clobber and Fuse looked up at Justin as he put in his two cents, and then the eyes of the three mutants immediately shifted towards Toxicant, as if to see the reaction of the Freak. "Sounds good. Mostly doable." replied the man with a grin, "Bit o' a hitch." he added pointing to the river area. "There's no bridge 'ere chicklin', they's gonna hafta ferry the APCs and the truck from one side of the river to the other, one at a time. Good place to split them up and they'll be forced to stop anyways." he added. "There's problems though, there's only one ferry so if we all move to attack from one side of the river an' don' time it right..." said the man, licking his lips nervously as he made his fingers walk over the map, away from the river area as if to indicate the enemy would get away. "If we split up and hit them on opposite sides, one of our teams won't be able to help th' other... hell, one of th' teams might end up on one side of the river with no one to fight." he added with an annoyed look, scratching under his chin. "And if we don't time it right we might catch the truck in th' middle of being ferried, take a dunk and ruin the cargo." The man's eyes turned towards Rook, they were unnaturally green, almost as if they glowed and some radioactive ichor flowed through them in lieu of blood. "So 'gain, either we hit them on the overpass... there's cover so no getting shot at for Clobber and yer quiet fella over there, but we have to make 'em stop... which I can handle... an' fight them in full force. Timing it won't be as much of a problem tho." he said, his finger on the overpass area. "Or we hit 'em at the river. We don' have to stop them, they'll do that on their own. We can also catch'em divided, but there's no cover anywhere, we'll hafta be extra careful n pray to good ol' Satan they didn't bring no snipers. Timing is majorly important there tho'" Concluded Toxicant as his finger slid over to the river area.
The Rook looked over the map and frowned, his eyes narrowing a bit as he thought about what was being said. The river was more dangerous for him, more in the open, less close quarters. He couldn't protect Warp if he wasn't close by. And the overpass meant that they had to force them to stop. Downsides on either one. But the overpass would make it easier to get the truck out, too. It meant that Rook could get in close and neutralize whatever X-Men they might bring along. "Hit them at the overpass," Rook said quietly. "If Clobber can handle any soldiers, leave any X-Men to me." He looked up at those gathered. "If you have weapons, give me your ammo. I can coat them in my blood. Then even if the mutants attack, shoot them once. They will not be an issue." Glancing at Justin, he looked back at the map again, hoping that Warp wasn't going to argue with his plan.
Justin placed his hand on Hisoka's shoulder. "You're tough but you'er not a honeybadger Rook, diving in guns blazing isn't your style. I like the overpass idea but lets add some strategy. If we stay down and out of sight I can open a small hole to see through, Corpsefire Ill throw up two small ones for you near the engine block of the APCs, fry the engines blow a cylinder, over heat them blow the radiator something to shut them down. Toxicant and his long range can start the attack with a barrage while the close range ones leap from overhead and deal with the ones who come out. Ill drop into the drivers seat cap the driver and take off, You guys keeping them busy with cover fire. How does that sound?" He offered.
"Sounds like ye can't drive a truck through an APC wit' a busted engine." replied simply Toxicant looking up at Warp as he crossed his arms and leaned back, pointing out the fact that Warp's plan meant boxing in the truck they needed to move out. "And Corpsefire'll be with me an' Fuse on the other side of the road, kiddo." continued the man, his head and shoulders shaking a little bit, almost spasmodically, as his tongue darted along the side of his mouth. "Dunno how easy it'll be for ya to make a portal that you can't see inside a moving vehicle..." he added, from his experience with teleporters at least, they more often than not need to know where they're porting to. "I can make the convoy stop easy enuff WITHOUT blockin' our escape route. Don' worry about it." he added, patting Justin on the shoulder and giving him a wicked grin. "Clobber here is th' only one who uses Melee weapons you can coat, sword dude." continued Toxicant, nodding towards the large man who pulled what seemed to be a sledgeghammer from behind the couch. "So overpass it is, uh... Corpse, Fuse n' me will go from the north then, we'll force the convoy to stop. Once that's done we'll be countin' on your team, comin' from the south, to wreck the last vehicle, we don' want 'em backing up n' stuff." he mentioned, clearly pointing out the horizontal road, there were probably massive blocks of concrete from where the overpass was before the war on either side of the road that could hide them until the last second. "Sound good?" finally asked Toxicant.
"Yeah,"
Justin agreed. "Lets get to it." He cracked his knuckles loosening up just in case he had to go fist to face inn the upcoming squabble. He Motioned to Rook that he was satisfied waiting to see if he had anything to add.
Crossing his arms,
The Rook just nodded, not happy with Toxicant's dismissal of his suggestion. He was certain the man didn't understand in the least how his powers worked. Looking at Warp, he nodded, ready to head out. Although he didn't say anything further, he would make sure to take care of his part of the plan before they engaged the enemy.
"Good then." replied Toxicant with a wicked looking grin, the whites of his eyes clearly visible for a second around his ichor green pupils. Under the man's neck and face, dark green veins could be seen clearly each time his muscles flexed or his expression was particularly marked, reminiscent to the mutants of Korvka's so many years ago. "Clobber!" called Toxicant, and the larger mutant, Sledgehammer in hand, approached. "You're with the newcomers." To this, Clobber nodded and turned to the other two. "C'mon." he said, his voice deeper than any the young mutants had ever heard. "We're walking, ATV can't carry me." he added as he made his way to the garage door and lifted it one handed, while he rested his sledgehammer on his shoulder with the other. Once the door was open, Clobber simply stepped out, as if expecting the other two to follow. Toxicant, in the meantime, had turned to Corpsefire and Fuse. "Corpse, baby, you're with me." he added with a predatory smile as as he made his way up the ladder Rook and Warp had used to come down. Fuse climbed right after and Corpsefire spat on the ground after Toxican't grin, holding onto the ladder and turning briefly towards the two militants. "See you there, chicklins." she added with a slight tilt of her head before she climbed up too. For a few seconds, the pair were alone in the hideout while Clobber waited for them outside.
Justin quickly snatched the mason jar and took a big swig before plopping it down and taking off through the garage door before Rook could deny him it again. He coughed slightly as the burn set in.
Watching Warp,
The Rook took a deep breath before he gave into the urge to slap his hand. While he didn't have a problem with Warp's drinking, he did have a problem with him doing it while on a mission. Part of him was happy that Corpsefire wasn't joining them. But at the same time, he didn't think that Clobber was the type that he could work well with. Rook took his sword out and carefully unwrapped the cloth on his forearm, running the flat of the blade against the skin and getting just enough blood to coat the blade. He would clean it afterwards, but for now, he wanted to be prepared. Tying the cloth again, Rook took off after the others, his mind leaving the preoccupations of Warp's drinking and their partner and went back to the task at hand, protecting Justin and capturing the generator.
As Rook and Warp headed outside, they saw a dust trail left behind by their 'teammates' on their ATVs, heading northeast to the area where the road was. Standing by the door of the garage, ready to close it once the two had stepped out, was Clobber. Now under the sunlight, the pair could see the enormous, sledgehammer wielding mutant better. Clobber was a black man clocking at around 6'2'' or 6'3'', muscular but not as thick as Vlad had been back at the mansion, which made him seem even taller. He was wearing what seemed to be a trucker or loading dock employee's outfit, a white sleeveless shirt with a pair of grey overalls, the top of which he had tied around his waist. The man had a straight nose, short black hair and deep seated, dark brown eyes, Rook's keen eyes also noticed that, he had very faint lines all over his body, almost like fissure lines that could only be seen up close. Warp failed to notice this, but he did pick up on the fact he was wearing steel toed boots which had thick spikes on the bottom, under the sole. "It's gonna be a bit of a walk, I'm 'fraid." said Clobber, closing the garage door with the press of a button. The outer side of the door had been cleverly camouflaged to appear as a dry, spiny stretch of thorn-bush from the outside. "Toxicant n' miss Fire will get there first, they can set up on the far side of the road.... We have a bottleneck spot we can take them at." he said as he started walking, almost as if he was repeating the plan for himself as much as for Rook and Warp. "Toxicant has a way of makin' them stop without blockin' the road. Then I take down anythin' that's in front of the truck... and you move in and drive it the hell outta there." said the man, pointing at Warp. "I dunno if the little one should come with me and mop up whatever we got up front though... or go and guard you." he continued, now turning to Rook.
"You guys are underestimatin
g the little ninja a bit. Hes a game changer if we need him." Justin examined the mutant as they began on their walk. He would rather just port there but he needed to save what ones he had left in case of an emergency. "You have a bit of an accent. Where are ya from clobber?" He asked, having missed his physical characteristics he did pick up some qualities in his voice.
The Rook was pretty much dwarfed by this man. His eyes traveled over the figure, catching the lines and he was instantly curious if this had to do with the man's power. Whatever his ability, Rook hoped it was useful. Otherwise they wouldn't make it very far. Blinking slightly as he was addressed, Rook didn't lift his head in the least as he looked up at the man with them "Clean up is not an effective use of my abilities," he said quietly. If he had it his way, he would be on the front line, fighting them before this brute ever made it that far. Rook didn't resent being called little int he least It was useful for what he was talented at. Slipping in and out without being caught and being agile enough to evade people. But the way that he saw it, Clobber would need to be shown those particular skills in order to believe it. Justin spoke up, though, in his defense, and Rook's cheek twitched as if he was about to smile. When Warp asked his question, Rook blinked and decided to watch where he was walking, waiting for an answer. He would let them decide where he should go, since he had already voiced his preference. If it all came down to it, Rook would guard Justin and leave Clobber to his own devices.
"Not underestimating anythin'" replied simply Clobber, turning to the pair as he walked and giving them a puzzled look. "Jus' askin' if you two think your friend is better off helpin' me deal with them escorts or helpin' you take that truck." continued the massive man with a shrug. "I dunno 'im, I'm no one in charge, can't really be barking orders, y'know? Sprawl folk get their panties in a bunch so easy. Touchy folk, like miss Corpsefire always says..." he added, the giant man's deep voice trailing off. "... I'm from here, upstate really. Never did much like the city." he added, this time he spoke while keeping his eyes forward, on the trail. The trio had walked to a small outcropping, what used to be a highway had broken down under the pressure of the bombardment and the asphalt had turned into massive flakes, some sinking down into the ground and some raised. In the distance, they could see a large mount of concrete and bent metal with some towers poking out, clearly the remains of the overpass. Rook and Justin could see some sort of backwater road, flanked by cleared debris, cross straight through the remains of the structure. The only place in which the road had no clear view of everything a couple of miles around it was when it was crossing through the overpass, just like Toxicant had said. "45 minute walk from here, we should just beat the convoy." added Clobbber with a longing glance back to their hideout before he started making his way down the broken highway, in the direction of the ruined overpass.
Justin found it fun to keep stride with the large man, almost as if game. "You sounded like you weren't from the city." He continued to walk, his heads searching up and interlocking behind his head as he almost laid back as he walked. "Rook... well i cant tell him what to do. What do you wanna do bud?" He finally asked turning to took at his friend, as the dust kicked up from his heels, the 'overpass' dancing in the heat in the distance.
Listening to this man talk wasn't nearly as difficult as The Rook was making it. Mainly because he was anxious to get there already and talking would keep them slowed down a bit. "I will start with you," he said to Justin, glancing over from where he was watching their path. Even on what seemed to be a straight shot could lead to trouble, and he was always aware of his surroundings. "I would rather focus on getting that truck out." It was the entire goal of this trip in the first place. Rook looked over at him and tried not to frown. Today had him worried, not only about this group, but about the girls, too. And he had almost half an hour to worry, as he didn't want to focus so much on what they were doing until they were closer. Looking over at Clobber, Rook gave a nod. "If can handle yourself, I will leave you to it. I do not want to get in the way." Truth was, he didn't want Clobber in his way, but he wasn't about to say that.
Clobber nodded and echoed, "You two handle the truck then, and get it out, I'll handle th' guards up front and make sure ta clear th' way for ya." as he continued to walk forward ponderously. The rest of the walk went by in silence, by the time they reached the edge of the overpass they could see a trail of dust coming from the north west, heading in their direction. Quickly, they saw clobber duck behind a fallen concrete column and then turn to them, motioning to duck as well. "Don't let'em see us! Imma go to the other end to cut 'em off there." he said pointing the west end of the road that cut through the fallen structure of metal and concrete. "You look fur a good position' in the middle." he said as he heaved his sledgehammer over his shoulder. "Fuse, Corpse n' Toxican't must be across th'road already. Good luck." he added as he quickly scurried away, keeping his head down to try and mask his gigantic silhouette.
Waiting until Clobber was on his way, The Rook glanced over the barrier and towards where he wanted to hide. His eyes quickly scanned for a good position, and he spotted it. A small ditch complete with a drain pipe, the metal grate worn and rusted out. That would be their hiding place. Planning a quick route there that wouldn't draw attention, Rook looked back at Warp and nodded. "Follow my every step," he said before starting the trek over to where he wanted to hide. Rook made sure to keep his head down and watch the approaching dust cloud, keeping up his speed so that they would reach their destination in plenty of time.
Justin nodded back at Rook automatically confirming that he had chosen a good spot. With some surprising agility he stayed on rooks heels making their way to the ditch, his head low and his steps fluid. He slid into the lookout spot, instantly throwing up a pin sized hole on the concrete that would be impossibly to spot unless someone was right looking right at it from a foot away, the other side looking out from a pillar towards the incoming convoy.
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