EOD BONEYARD
The bone-yard probably occupies a full third or fourth part of the North Sprawl, starting from the Wall Gatehouse and stretching all the way to the MLA command tent on the other end of the area. Much of it is simply an empty expanse of sandy dirt, bleached by the sun and cleared by years of training and practice on it. The yard includes a makeshift obstacle course, training dummies and a firing range. However, closest to the MLA tent lie a square area fenced with chicken wire and two high beams hot-wired to the posts that flank the fence. Using the little electricity they can get from old car batteries and the sort, the MLA hosts brutal mutant on mutant fights where bets run high once or twice a week. Around the arena, some makeshift bleachers have been constructed with scrap metal.
X-Men EoD Time
Wednesday, August 13th
In the middle of the bleached, caked over dirt a lone figure was practicing with a katana. Most gave
The Rook a wide birth as he swung the sword in an expert dance of grace and dangerous accuracy. But this was just a warm up to the real show. The thing many of the MLA mutants would stand around just to watch. His dancing blade was nothing on the moves he could do with his agile body. Mutants who possessed showy powers and relied on them too much could and often did find their demise at the hands of the short and powerful Hisoka. He had been seemingly emotionless since he first joined up with the MLA, the only thing on his mind was vengeance. And now, as his toned arms moved in a smooth pattern, the metal blade shining as it caught the light, his face was equally as calm and neutral. But most knew that was when he was simply the most dangerous.
"Looking good with that sword." A voice rang out from behind the mess that was called the bleachers.
Justin rounded the corner and placed his elbow on the edge of one of the 'seats'. "Mighty fine weapon to be found in this mess." He threw back a small swig from the flask he had in hand and tucked it into his back pocket, his vest swishing as he brushed it to the side. "Wanna spar?" He offered, cinching his gloves back comfortably.
Moving so his sword was pointed at Justin,
The Rook paused in his movements, looking over Justin. "You are getting intoxicated once more," he stated simply. "You should refrain if you wish to spar. I have no wish to accidentally hurt you again, Warp." He had the habit of referring to the mutants by their codenames, as he preferred to be called by his. The Rook put his sword into the sheath on his back and gave Justin a nod.
Justin chuckled a bit but never smiled. "Man, that takes me back." Cracked his neck before leaning to each side to stretch out a bit. He was undeterred by the blade, even though in the hands it was in i was a perfect instrument of death. "I drink just enough to feel something you know that Rook, sorry The rook." He looked up his eyes cold and empty, the old spark had long since died out. "Besides i think i got ya this time around." he stood up stock straight and strolled to the center of the boneyard only turning his side to the mutant. He never turned back broad side but instead took a slight bend in his knees, held one arm only lightly out to his side at elbow height and the other tuck in front of his chest in boxers jab stance.
"
You may call me Rook,"
The Rook said quietly as he took his own stance, both legs bent and spread shoulder width, his elbows at perfect square angles and hands straight. He looked at Justin with narrowed eyes. "No powers, and I will not lay a hand on your flesh." It was a deal he made every time he sparred with Justin. They could be classified as friends, Hisoka actually did like Warp, and they each respected the other's abilities.
"Good, i didn't want to try and break your hands as my main tactic, it puts me at a disadvantage cause im not watching the rest of you."
Justin's face darkened, his eyebrows cinched. He waited patiently, usually an opponent would have a bead of sweat on their brow, or their foot would slowly slide in this loose dirt something he could build off of and play to his advantage. But Rook was different, never giving a sign never leaving an opening. He suddenly snapped, pivoting fast on his front foot with a blinding spin the back of his plated glove lashing out at the blunt side of the blade for a parrying strike his main hand struck out at where Rook's abdomen should be with the back of his hand facing up in case he had to block again.
Justin was right to watch
The Rook for any signs of blocking. But Rook wasn't about to break his hand by blocking the metal plated glove. He instead did a quick bridge, taking him out of the line. He flipped over so he was in an upside down bridge and swept a foot out. Unlike most fighters, who only used one part of their bodies at a time, Hisoka could utilize the entirety of his own. Putting his weight on his hands, he followed the foot sweep with a quick kick upward before coming up on his feet again.
Rook's sweep kicked out
Justin's leading non weight supported leg causing him to fall forward and back.
My boxing and wrestling are for strikes and grappling im going to have to compensate for his kicks, i wont be able to dodge them well. He tucked his left arm that had started the spin strike taking the upward kick directly on his reinforced shoulder. The momentum was enough to allow him to torque his body away with the help of the kick in a half side roll landing in a deep crouch. "Thats going to leave a deep bruise." He wasn't in a position to strike out from his position, so he chose to hang his right arm low with his left in a down strike chin level position.
Allowing Justin to move away,
The Rook brought his arms up to fend off any blows that might come his way. When all was clear, he slid in closer with a quick jab, his fingers crooking in a solid movement. He was going easy on Warp, knowing that his training meant that he could have ended this fight moments ago. But he needed the practice.
The simple jab was enough to let
Justin know it wasn't more than a feint. With his left he torqed his wrist and tried to grasp the wrist and swept pulling back and stepping forward in an arm drag hoping to unbalance Rook with the grapple. He right hand extended out in another body blow. He was going to have to work the liver in order to take on rooks speed then use his own skills to go for a win, but he had to stop the speed first.
The Rook went with it, but not in the style Justin wanted. He brought his front leg up before he was too far, aimed for Justin's abdomen with scary accuracy. His other arm went for his sword, but he stopped just before he reached it and instead swept his elbow out at Justin's face.
Justin was in position, he exploded from his low stance in a straight tackle throwing his head forward meeting the elbow with his forehead, taking the blow to the stomach with flexed abs, it did cause him to loose his breath. He was in close, had to catch his breath and let his view settle but he was where he wasn't most comfortable. he had yet to land a blow but grappling was his forte, here speed didnt matter. His right arm sunk low sweeping behind Rook's knee as he exploded in the full body tackle, his left trying to cinch under Rook's right shoulder and lock his hand around the base of his neck for a revers half single leg drive.
The Rook dropped like a stone. His entire body went slack, bringing him a quick eight inches down until he snagged on Justin. Warp's aim was for someone who was trying to stand upright, but Rook wasn't afraid of hitting the ground. On the contrary, he could use it. His weight brought him swiftly to the ground, driving the sheath of his sword into his spine. It would leave a nice bruise, and he grunted slightly, but other than that, didn't slow down in the slightest. A quick roll took his leg out of Justin's grip at the same time his left arm hooked upwards to catch Justin's left hand to end this fight.
Justin came straight over top of his opponent, his full extension sending him up and over. He Turned hard driving his knee straight down toward the laying down Rook. He let his left hand get caught and jerked up to add major force to the knee drop at the mans chest aiming to make his heart falter or crack ribs.
Both arms crossed over
The Rook's chest, stopping the knee dead in space. Rook's face was lined with tension, his arms bulging slightly as he used all the force his smaller body could muster and shoved upward and to the side. The marks on his arms were already clear, but his chest was still intact as he moved to stand again.
Justin Rolled springing back up into his stance, fists floating close ready to strike.
Way to close, his speed is still more than i can handle, that and if he was going to use his sword or knives id already be dead. until now he had been the aggressor since that had always been his style, dive in and ask questions latter, it had almost cost him his life once when he lived in the mansion... but he was here now in a battle of wills. He opened up a bit taking a better parrying stance.
His arms came up again in his stance as
The Rook became ready to go on the offensive. Attack and counter attack were both ways to fight, but in this instance, he was ready to move in. With surprising speed and agility (to everyone who may have been watching and had never seen him fight before), Rook moved in, his hands and feet moving in a swift dance of punches and kicks, all aimed for different portions of Warp's body.
Justin's boxing allowed his to see and parry the majority of the punches with a simply rotations and palm blocks but hi inexperience with kick made him take a multitude to his thighs and calfs taking a real beating. The Shear multitude of punches combined with the speed caused some to slip through his blocks taking them to the shoulders and chest, the face blows he was able to minimize with slip turns but they still grazed by. He had no choice but to peekaboo, ruck his face behind his forearms and chrage into the blows minimizing the damage since he could not fully extend his attacks.
The closer he got, the more
The Rook's knees got involved until Rook figured he had done enough damage. He spun away and held up one hand in a 'halt' position. "We should not be killing one another," he said, his one hand coming up to rub at his opposite forearm, which was sporting a quickly forming bruise. "We can continue this tonight, of course." In all their sparrings, Rook was usually the one who ended it because the more into they got, the more likely it was that he would do something irreparable.
Justin's knees wobbled as he stopped his advancement, as the endorphins wore off he could tell with any more he wouldn't have been able to stand up. "Yeah, that was a good fight, you had me there." he brushed the tip of his nose with his thumb as he acknowledged his losing condition. "Any news from the higher ups" He asked retrieving his flask and taking another pull from it before wiping his mouth with the back of hiss bruised wrist.
Lucas appeared near the edge of the boneyard, squinting his eyes again as the sun hit once more, he could see the two who had been fighting previously. Of course it would be them, it always was, Lucas couldn't help but smirk having just caught the end of the fight, poor Justin. Lucas made his way to the bleachers to take a seat, content on sitting in the sun for a few moments in case any more brawling broke out. The sun shone off his shocking white hair, and glinted off his armoured body, like it did with his fake arm, sending off flecks of light whenever he moved.
There was a moment when
The Rook paused in his motion of turning to think if there had been any news. "Not that I have heard," he said, looking over at the figure who was sitting in the bleachers. "We should go check." Mainly he wanted to be out of the direct line of sight of Lucas, who he didn't fully trust yet. Yes, they were acquainted, but he didn't want everyone knowing his entire fighting skill. Only Justin truly knew, but that was because they had gone on missions together and practiced a few fighting techniques to use against those who would see them dead.
"Yeah, i need to get back out there."
Justin sighed brushing the dirt from his vest. "Besides if i cant take down a feather weighted ninja, i cant take out the president." A slight tone of sarcasm was layered in voice, the quip much like he once was but his face showed no sign of humor. His eyes wandered over to the bleachers coming apon the newcomer. The faintest sign of a smile emerged form the corner of his mouth. He withdrew the metal flask once more but instead of drinking he hurled it at Lucas. No matter how much he hated to admit it he loved watching Lucas' magic tricks.
As the flask hurtled towards
Lucas, he smirked a little, instead of stopping the flask in mid-air, he concentrated on a figure of eight, the flask following his mental direction perfectly. It spun twice before continuing it's trajectory towards Lucas, coming within an inch of his face before stopping, the cap unscrewing and the flask tilting, allowing Lucas to take a swig. His face screwed up as he tasted the contents, and he took the flask into his hand, screwing the cap back on and standing up, making his way to Justin. As he approached, he called 'Is this the kind of crap you're drinking? You need to come back to the bar sometime." He stopped and held out the flask. "Things taste alot... smoother there." He added, his smirk returning.
The Rook actually did roll his eyes, turning away from the sight of Lucas taking a drink from the flask. He started on dusting himself off, straightening his gi as he readied himself to go and check on any missions that needed doing. It wasn't that he didn't like Lucas, it was simply that the New Brotherhood hadn't helped him when he first arrived and seemed more concerned with causing trouble than actually helping out. Hisoka didn't downplay his own importance and position in the MLA, but he also didn't show off as Lucas tended to. It was unnecessary. "The president is not nearly as strong as this 'feather weighted ninja'," Rook said in response to Justin's statement.
"It was a joke, i still have those some times."
Justin snatched the flask back before putting it away in his back pocket. "You know any force with you on it is a force to be reckoned with. Thats why im glad we share a common goal." Justin knew the Rook wouldn't stay around long, he wasn't on exactly friendly terms with New Brotherhood and their leader, but he liked being around him, it was a memory of better times, when everyone had class in the mansion, MTG in the foyer, and danger room sessions. "Rook if theres any mission you want some help on you know where my shack is." he waved him off, being more friendly to these two than he was with any one else. He finally turned back to Lucas, between them he had hung out most with Hisoka and Lucas.... and her but never really together as a group. "Good day my liege, why would i drink that watered down swill when the good stuff is always is at Jacks?" He faked a bow, his voice sarcastic but his face frozen in the slated frown that was burned in from over the years. Justin never had an official alignment within the MLA, most would view him as the right hand of the New Brotherhood, some a smuggler and trader with the iron fang, and a gun for hire like the rook, but all in all he did what was best for achieving his goal.
Lucas let out a fake 'Ha' before responding. "As if I'd waste good water on that sort of thing, it's more expensive than the booze." He added, bowing his head in response to the bow Justin had given, he was glad his status caused such great amusement to everyone. Unfortunately it meant that everyone held him in the same eyes as the brotherhood, assuming he was to blame for their rapings and pillaging and they're general ferocity. It was like trying to control a hundred horny angry children. To this day he didn't know how many they numbered, he of course caught wind of most of their plans but often left them up to the members to sort out. However one had come to light which he could not refuse, "Before you head off back to your drunken stupor, there's a matter I need to attend to, perhaps you'd accompany me?
The Rook might want to join us too."
Watching Justin bow to Lucas,
The Rook rolled his eyes again when Lucas bowed back. The entire charade was ridiculous. The request to accompany Lucas was posed, and Rook leveled his gaze at the Scrap King, his lips pursed together in mild distaste. "If you are going in the same direction I am, then consider yourself joined to me." He looked over to Justin and gave a small nod. "I may be needing your help if there is transportation issues like last time."
Justin ignored the static in the air caused by the conflicting personalities. They were there for a common goal and unfortunalty that alone kept some from ripping out the throats of others in the sprawl. The previous thought of why he was there still lingered in the back of his mind, killing any decent mood that might have been accumulating. "Lets go, might be a decent posting at the command tent." HIs thumb pointed over his shoulder waiting for one of the two to go first.
Lucas nodded, the look on his face becoming a little more serious, he turned and made his way through the boneyard to the
EoD MLA Command Tent with Justin in tow.
Rook followed at his own pace, making a face at Lucas behind his back as he walked the path to the
EoD MLA Command Tent. Not too long after he vanished, Rook appeared again and walked through, picking up the plastic jug holding his water from the ground before heading out to the
EoD North Sprawl.
Lucas exited the tent, and with a fast pace, quickly made his way across the boneyard, heading for the
EoD North Sprawl.
Lucas entered the boneyard, a few other MLA were here, training or talking, but he ignored them for the most part, going straight into the
EoD MLA Command Tent.
Justin stopped as he entered the faux battle ground. He scaned the area taking in the usual MLA ruffians that picked fights and the few that actually trained. Instead of challenging them, most would refuse any way, he instead chose to start boxing the scrap metal man he had made a few days back. He started off with simple patterns, left right one twos, successive jabs to uppercuts, and slowly stepped back using his portal to land his blows from all directions working on his pinpoint accuracy. It wasnt long before his training gave way to blowing off steam as the tin man rang out in sickening thuds and crunches, Justin putting all his power into the blows. The combantants stopped and stared as the dummy was slowly being reduced to a compacted mess, Justin growling and grunting with each blow.
Shield came into the Boneyard almost at a running pace with a mischievous grin on her face after hopefully embarrassing Hisoka a bit. Coming to the yard, he noticed a couple of men staring at what seemed to be Justin, wailing at a metal training dummy like a horny monkey. "H-hey Justin!" she called out, walking towards the dummy's immediate area. "Uhm.. letting out some steam there, soldier?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
The dummy was nothing more than compact junk now as
Justin finally let up. Sweat dripped from his brow as his eyes bored holes into the scrap, his mind light years from the actual Boneyard. He never turned to look at Dani but he presence finally broke his trance. "Yeah, something like that. Its an escape, like wrestling used to be years ago. You get something down while your mind is somewhere else." He managed to respond after a minute or so.
The Rook came up after Dani, his sold blush coloring his cheeks a firey red. He wasn't sure what had prompted the girl to do that, but he was fiercely embarrassed. Seeing Justin, Rook relaxed a little and focused on keeping his steps even despite his level of embarrassment.
"That's nice and good but I didn't know you were needing to blow off that much steam." replied
Shield approaching the dummy and resting her hand on what was left of the practice dummy. "Then you show up at the doc's with your hands a bloody mess and we pick of the pieces." teased the girl as she rested most of her weight on the dummy and crossed her legs, putting her other hand back on her hip. Suddenly, Rook arrived, red as a beet, and Shield couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "If I'd known it was that easy to get you off kilter, Hisoka, dear, I would've done that years ago during our practices in the mansion." she stated matter of factually, trying to lift the moods of the boys a little, after all, lately they seemed to spend a disproportiona
te amount of time brooding.
Justin's hand plunged into the air porting to his hovel and fished his flask out of the dresser once again. He withdrew it and instantly took a deep swig before placing it into his back pocket. His eyes wandered to his hands, the plated gloves having taken the brunt of the beating but Dani was right he didn't need to shatter his bones just to et away for a bit. "I just dont like the memories, especially with to much time around Halo, i spend all this time drinking and fighting just to forget it all until i can deal out some payback anyhow." He glance up finally taking notice of Rook's face. "Whats got you all rosy?"
The Rook mumbled something under his breath and rubbed his cheek again, staring at the ground. He kicked some dirt before he looked up at Dani and actually gave her a small smile, possibly the first any of them had seen from him. "Shield kissed me," he said, answering Justin's question in a way he knew would cause some sort of reaction.
Justin hummed not giving it a second thought at first. Hmm its like school again. Dani is a cute gir.... wait... He quickly did a double take examining the two like they where some sort of new species, one eyebrow cocked quizzically. "Did she now?" He wasn't sure if it was the buzz from the moonshine or the conflicting information grinding in the back of his head. "Huh now thats news." He broke out in a slight smile returning the rare one that Rook just let slip.
Shana came through a few moments later, carrying with her a brown paper bag from the Dead-end Diner, which contained her lunch. She passed through the middle of the area without so much as a glance to her teammates and friends, and walked the distance to EoD MLA Command Tent.
"Well I'm just saying, no need to get self-destructive, if you end up dying in a dumb way, the only one it helps is the enemy." replied Shield, who didn't buy into the whole 'glorious death' vernacular that seemed to prevalent in the MLA, she was considerably more strategic in her thinking. When Rook mentioned what had happened so matter-of-factually, the girl couldn't help but break out into a small laugh, now resting her elbow on top of the dummy and keeping her other hand on her hip. "Is it now? What's it to you, jealous?" she grinned, obviously teasing the other boy. "Hisoka is a dear friend and he did me a solid, so I gave him a small reward." she added with a sweet smile on her face that seemed almost innocent, akin to the one she'd had nine years ago. "Just a little sugar." she added, having fun with the conversation and completely missing Shana going into the command tent behind her.
The Rook kicked another small dirt pile before he let his hand drop from his face. Most people didn't get very hands on with Rook, especially not since he became what they deemed scary and intimidating. But Dani still did treat him as if nothing had ever happened and they were still happy kids. "I should do you more favors then," he said in a teasing manner. "And maybe I should start doing Warp favors as well." The last sentence was said quieter than the first, and Rook's cheeks became even redder.
A rare chuckle escaped Justin's lips at the whole situation. "I cant say im not jealous but no, no my kisses belong to someone who cant receive them any more." He said not aiming the comment at either one in particular. His eyes followed Shana as she quickly shot by for the meeting between the powerhouses of the MLA. His smile actually stayed as he wrung out his hands trying to get feeling back into them again.
A glistening Halo appeared a few moments after Shana, even though she'd left the diner first, her boots scuffing into the dry, dusty ground and kicking-up a small cloud of dust in her wake. She strode further into the arena to where the others had collected by the pulverized practice dummy, her limp a hindrance in what would otherwise be a long, easy gait. One eyebrow quirked up, seeing Shield smiling, Justin chuckling and Rook blushing. 'I miss something?' she inquired in her remote manner as she glanced casually in the direction of the command tent.
"Well I won't complain if you guys wanna do me any favors." grinned Shield with a slightly sing-song tone to her voice while completely missing the last thing Rook has said. Finally the young woman took her weight off the dummy and walked in the general direction of the command tent while stretching. After all, she was used to waking up much earlier than this. "Wow, read the mood, Justin." she teased the other mutant when he made the very mood dampening comments about people who couldn't receive his kisses anymore, "No wonder you guys spend so much time blowing off steam." she frowned, turning towards then right as Halo walked in. "Hey Halo, nothing much, we were having some fun banter while we waited for our fearless leaders, and taking turns making Hisoka go red. I reckoned it was Justin's turn, but I don't know if he'll want to play." she said to the other woman, the numbers even now, with a mischievous smirk. Obviously, Daniela was asking Halo for some complicity and well placed peer pressure in this case.
The Rook's blush was dying down after Justin's comment, and the Asian decided not to push anything. But no sooner had he seemed to regain his composure than Daniela mentioned taking turns making him go red and was trying to get Justin to play along, which brought back the whole thing and caused Rook's cheeks to flame again. He mumbled something once more and drew his sword, turning away from the group to wave it around a couple of times, trying to hide his growing redness.
Justin snapped back to the current situation, the shine putting him in goods spirits. He slicked back his hair before cocking his head slightly to the side. He gave a sly smile before eyeing them both like a single guy across the bar. "And what happens if i do you both a favor at the same time?" He asked shrugged his shoulders like it was truly innocent question.
Taking her cue from Shield, Halo drew her attention away from the command tent and back to the ragtag trio in her midst. The woman thrust her hip to one side and planted her free hand on it. 'Rookie. C'mon, what's wrong?' she baited as the slight Asian man turned away and unsheathed his katana to swing it about. 'This is no time to stand around playing with your sword. Don't you do that enough already?' Instead of her usual, vague sly smile, Halo actually grinned this time, and her shoulders shook a little with a suppressed laugh at Rook's abashedness. A little humour could go a long way, and depending on what decision Shana and Lucas made, it was probably best for them to savour it in the moment. Justin's comment was like a needle scratching across a record, however, and while the tall, dark-haired woman maintained some semblance of a smile upon her lips, her coppery eyes were less accommodating. 'I'm sorry, do you care to repeat that?' she calmly inquired, directing her attention to the other male, for she had construed the comment as being directed at she and Daniela, although it could have just as easily been directed at any combination of the three of them.
"Things are going from the funny into the kinky now." replied simply Shield lifting her arms in a gesture of concession as she stood back, She did note how strange it was that Rook stepped away and started swinging his sword. He was MUCH more fun to mess with than Justin at this point. Almost as if the two girls were flanking the Japanese man, she walked to whichever side of the man Halo was not in and added to her 'concern', "Trying to squirm away now?" she said with a big grin. Almost in tandem with Halo, however, she turned towards Justin and simply made a small 'no' gesture with her finger, then feigning a sigh as she crossed her arms in front of her chest; "No two timing."
Although The Rook didn't understand half of what was being said as far as context, he knew an innuendo when he heard it. And he also knew when he was caught. With his cheeks firmly reddened, Rook turned to look first at Halo then at Shield, a his eyes wide in mock horror and embarrassment. Although this was not what he saw himself doing today, he knew that in the camp things could always take a turn for the scandalous. "I do not squirm," he said, his face grimacing slightly.
With a simple shrug he fished his flask out taking another long swig. Maybe his sense of humor had deteriorated over the years. Justin eyed the two girls tormenting rook with a half smile. As much as he enjoyed seeing him squirm he settled with the idea that shield and Halo were doing a much better job at it than himself. "I'm sure rook wouldn't hesitate to ask for a favor. with that he gave the ninja a wink.
'Everybody squirms' Halo said to Rook with a casual shrug and a smile to match, and added 'Just gotta find the right buttons to push,' as she carefully leaned over the shorter man since he still had his sword drawn, like she was just about to tell him a secret. She looked past Rook to direct a single, concise nod to Shield after she gave her answer to Justin when the flash of the teleporter's flask caught her eye. Standing up to her full height, Halo set her coppery eyes upon the man, ignoring his little quip, her expression resolute and her voice almost too calm as she inquired, 'Are you seriously tying one on right before potential mission assignments?' She extended her free hand, the one that wasn't holding the bag of food she'd brought along, and held it out, palm-side up, indicating in no words that she wanted him to hand it to her.
Shield hadn't meant to really bother Rook, just tease him a little, since he fancied himself ever the sword and zen-master, which meant that getting him out of whack was all the more fun. She didn't WANT to get the small man pissed off, however, as she was happy to consider him an old friend. "Sorry sorry, sword master THE rook. We meant no disrespect." she said simply bowing in a overly dramatic way, her wavy black hair bobbing up and down as she did. The woman had missed what was going on between Halo and Justin as she tried to, very clumsily, appease the swordsman. She only turned around in time to see Halo demanding Justin's flask, situation to which she decided to add some kindling by adding "Busted" and making a small hiss-like noise. Soon, however, she decided it was time to try to get some business done, they couldn't just hang out forever; "So.... who wants to go see if Shana & Ferro killed each other yet?"
With the girls alternating between trying to give him a heart attack and giving Justin a hard time about his flask, The Rook sheathed his katana and glanced over at Dani. "I will volunteer," he responded to her far to eagerly and quickly. Really, he just wanted the torture to end. Justin and Dani might have been the only ones who knew that Rook even had a sexuality in the least, and the teasing was almost expected from Daniela. But from anyone else, it embarrassed him to no end. Hisoka glanced over at Justin and let his eyes land on the flask. He didn't much care for the habit either, but it had become part of who Warp was. Just as being stoic was part of who Rook was.
Justin eyed halo as she held out her hand like she was expecting to get paid. With a unamused face he tossed it in her direction. He didn't need to drink anymore anyway he was on the perfect level of buzzed where he could walk and fight but still get hit and barely feel it. "Im better when im a bit buzzed it calms me down, would you rather have the hot headed twitchy overreactive kid who ate a laser fireball combo nine years ago?" He asked with more sarcasm in his voice than snarky retort. "Besides i know Rook likes me no matter what my BAC is." He gave a sly smile. After rook volunteered for the suicide trip he added "if you have to facepalm them both."
'I'd rather that there's no possibility of getting assigned alongside of someone who's soused,' Halo replied to Justin as the weight of the container pressed down into her calloused palm, despite the fact that no one else appeared outwardly concerned. Only her eyes shifted Dani and then Rook's direction, hearing further conversation and a question, but she didn't seem overly interested in it as she in unscrewed the flask's cap. No matter what justification the functioning alcoholic tried to use, nothing satisfied the woman, and she turned the flask upside-down to empty the remaining contents out onto the dusty, sun-baked ground, although she wouldn't have been at all surprised if it was already empty, either. For the moment, Halo contributed nothing to the conversation, even as Dani provoked them, Rook volunteered to run interference and Justin made yet another suggestive quip.
"That's nice of you Rook." replied Shield to the small Asian man as he offered to take one for the team and go into the tent. "If you don't come out in 15 minutes, we'll send Justin in." she added with a small smile. The argument between Halo and Justin had started to escalate ever so slightly, but at least the jarhead had handed Halo his flask without TOO much protest. With Rook apparently heading into the tent soon, Dani aimed her attention to Halo and Warp now, "What's a BAC?" she asked nonchalantly, a bit of the old time innocent she had peeking through.
"Blood alcohol content," The Rook answered automatically as he turned towards the tent. He did pause long enough to look over at Justin with a wrinkle of his forehead. "For the record, when your BAC is up you are usually not so uptight." That statement, coming from the Asian man, was probably the most hilarious thing he could have said given the circumstances. He shook his head and kept walking, though, stopping at the entrance of the EoD MLA Command Tent and listening for arguing before stepping inside.
Justin watched in disbelief as his shine emptied onto the dust of the battleground. His eyes danced back and forth from the damp ground to Halo, his face showing hurt. "That was uncalled for." He managed to get out. He managed to snatch the container back with a quick port and turned it upside down with a shake. It was bone dry, and disappointment melt onto Justin's face. "Jack wont get a batch like that for a while." He sighed. While he took offense to her actions he relaxed when he realised maybe it was best that he stopped where he was for the day, buzzed was one thing but shitfaced was a couple steps to far and that moonshine had the road map to get somewhere there fast. "Bye rooky." He waved as the man left adding the vowel to tease him a bit more. He turned back to the two girls after Rook had disappeared into the tent. "Wait... is he saying im uptight right now or that im nicer drunk than sober in general?"
'You're not helping,' Halo firmly and impassively directed at Rook upon his last comment before he wandered off to the Command Tent, although she didn't remove her fierce eyes from Justin the whole while, at least not until the teleporter managed to retrieve the flask from her hand. With a flicker of a glance to Shield, she calmly explained, 'Next time, I'll pulse that thing,' she paused to jerk her chin toward the flask ',into dust,' and her inky eyebrows bounced upwards once as if to say how do you like that? Unlike some others, Halo preferred not to participate in gratuitous diplays of her power, even though she did occasionally enjoy little things, like entertaining the girl at the diner for a few moments earlier this morning. More or less content with Justin's reaction to the punishment, Halo finally allowed a vague smile to alight her lips again, as if a switch had just been turned. 'When Rook speaks, sometimes I find it best to just... smile and nod,' the tall woman said with a shrug to indicate that she wasn't particularly concerned with what the swordsman meant. All this frivolous talk hadn't entirely distracted the woman from the reason why they were standing there in the Boneyard, thus she cast another look across the way toward the tent before returning her attention to the present company.
Shield was beginning to wonder what exactly was going on in the tent, thankful that Rook was seemingly going to spur the two in there into action. As if to change the topic, she simply turned to the other two "We're going to spend the entire day out here waiting, it seems." she said with a shrug and a clearly sarcastic tone in her voice. "Warp, do you know what the missions actually are?" she asked, considering that him and Ferro were pretty chummy, after all.
Tapping his chin with his thumb Justin thought back to recall the missions they had read over that morning. His hand absently mindedly traced the scar on his neck after a minute or so before he answered. "There where three, getting some guns transported by the iron fangs, raiding some medical supplies, and snatching the generator for the New Brotherhood. For me i felt the supplies or the generator would help the most but most of us mutants don't even use guns even though I guess I could snipe with mine if I wanted." His mind wandered off again on a tangent before he snapped back. "What do you guys think?"
Pushing a slow, deep sigh out from between her lips, Halo brought her attention back to Justin and Shield as the latter finally spoke-up about how long it was taking for Shana and Lucas to hash-out whatever they were going, or not going, to do. Quirking a lustruous eyebrow, she looked first at the other woman, and then settled her gaze upon Justin, who seemed to possess at least a little information. With her head cocked thoughtfully to one side, Halo attentively listened to what the teleporter had to share, although she stayed silent for a few moments after he inquired as to what the females' opinions might be. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm and logical, as Halo typically was in such situations, 'Guns are... useful. Better to be armed more than necessary than to have nothing to fall back on. And we always need medical supplies, probably more than anything else. Well, except maybe for food and water, of course. The New Brotherhood... mmm...' She said nothing else right then, but her uncertain, unconvinced expression said it all as she sucked a breath in between her teeth. 'A generator for The New Brotherhood?' she asked and cast a skeptical glance to Shield, curious as to what she might have to offer. 'Is that all? Gotta figure how's the benefit outweigh the risk?' There had to be more to it than Justin's brief synopsis, and hopefully they'd soon be enlightened.
Daniela walked around the edge of the bone yard arena, the pit as some called it, until she found an old oil drum that had been toppled over and half squished to serve as a makeshift bench during the fights. Sitting on it nonchalantly, the girl crossed her legs and rested the palms of her hands on either side of her body, leaning back a bit as Justin spoke. Once he was done, her concerns much echoed Halo's however. "Ok... that's all stuff we have to do though." she asked her head cocked almost in an empathetic echo of the other girl's. "Transporting guns doesn't mean WE'RE going to get the guns. Retrieving meds doesn't mean they're for us. And getting a generator for the new brotherhood doesn't mean we are getting any juice out of it. I mean... the Plank is all the way across the friggin' island and any generator small enough to transport... or steal... will probably light a single building or house." replied the girl, in the usual display of common sense the MLA men seemed to drink down the toilet every morning. They were, after all, infamous for picking or going into missions without even reading the instructions in detail or so much as understanding them. "Any idea what we here at the sprawl are going to get out of these missions?" she asked once more, and added, as if to drive Halo's point further, "Benefit to risk ratio."
Justin shrugged in acknowledgement and defeat. "I mean anything good for the Brotherhood is good for me." He was unofficially in the top chain of the new brotherhood somewhere along the line because of his past with their new King, not the he cared for titles or that the band of misfits had any for that matter. "But your right i suppose none of that stuff is actually for the sprawl. I do remember that the freaks were offering explosives to anyone that helped with the generator though." By then he had sunk low into his seat his head thrown back as he watched the clouds pass by overhead.
With an earnest, receptive expression, Halo watched Daniela as she meandered toward the crunched barrel to take a seat and nodded ever-so-slightly as the other female similarly reiterated her own thoughts on each mission. Wiping the back of her hand over her forehead, although it really did little good to actually keep the beads of sweat from eventually trailing down her bronzed face, Halo shook her head as Justin piped-up, apparently not really processing what they two women had just said. 'If that's honestly how you'd choose what missions to choose, we might as well just throw a dart at the board and pick whichever one got stuck with it,' she said wryly, and punctuated the sentence with a humourless laugh as she combed her fingers back through the short mess of dark, wavy hair atop her head. Halo also couldn't really tolerate second-hand information, and since she hadn't read the postings herself, she figured there was little point in bickering over the finer points, so she said nothing more for the time-being.
The girls where clearly getting fed up with his responses. "Look, the speaker asked us to raid an old hospital for medical supplies and promised some of them out for the MLA, i don't think there will be anyone guarding it and the lord knows the sprawl needs meds. I have made my number of runs with the Iron fangs, your going to get shot at no matter what your smuggling or where but they want to smuggle out people this time, and they where willing to donate some fire power for the cause if we help. The generator will be highly guarded most likely and probably the most dangerous mission. No one but the Brotherhood benefits from it. I can see why you guys want to analyse every little detail but honestly i hate all this hog wash. If it where up to me id throw up a port through the wall, storm our way to D.C. and massacre those racist bastards right now." Justin threw up his hands towards the clouds in defeat, trying to grab one and straggle his frustration out on it. He hated how this 'war' had already been drug out as long as it had. "I mean there aren't enough of us to be respectable army but, every day we wait, sit here and squabble over petty missions is another day they get more funding and power and we lose men. Between us there isn't a thing they could do to stop us. With Lucas the entire US army couldn't get a bullet close to us, with Dani they couldn't even nuke us, they cant even scratch Shana or throw some new weapon at us she couldn't manipulate, and with Halo and myself they dont have a place to hide we couldn't go." He paused for a second as his rant rolled to a close. "Even those cowards at the mansion wouldn't stand a chance, rook would drop them like stones." He finally dropped back into his spot, eyes still searching the clouds for answers. He hadn't answered their questions, "To me the missions dont matter Halo, i just want to finally return some of the pain the government has caused." he responded his voice much softer than it had been seconds before. "Im sorry for getting mad with you guys."
Shana stepped out of the tent, leaving behind Lucas and Rook, just in time to see the tail end of Justin's tantrum. Crumpling up her paper bag, the girl cocked an eyebrow, almost in amusement, before she tossed the trash into a nearby garbage bin. The paper she held, she folded and put into one of her cargo pants pockets, then crossing her arms, she stepped over to the group of three in which her best friend stood. "What's got your panties in a wad?" she asked, clearly speaking to Justin, honestly curious why he was so frustrated when she was the one who had to deal with the man who would be blindly leading her comrades to possible death. Still, as irate as she felt, she kept her anger hidden, as she did with most of her emotions these days.
The Rook slipped out of the tent, his eyes not leaving the flap until he was a couple of steps away and could turn to face those waiting. The young Asian didn't want to be led to his potential death, but neither did he want anyone else to go to their's in his place. So he would wait for his assignment. His personal choice was to stick with Daniela or Justin, but that wasn't always going to be an option since they tended to not travel together. He stood a bit away from the others, staying silent as he waited, looking around at the others nearby.
"Can't port through the wall, Warp, dear." replied simply Shield with a cool and collected demeanor, sitting on the oil drum, her legs crossed and her chin resting on one of her hands. "And yeah, I could probably shield us from a nuke, for about 10 minutes. After which shields would go down and we'd melt..." she added with a shrug, trying to get him to understand the need for the organization he was currently in. "... and even Rook, love him to death as we all do. He's good at short range, one on one, but against a properly trained and properly armed force well... sword to a gunfight." she shrugged. Every day since the war they'd gotten stupid people with the romantic idea that they could take men with guns with swords or some other melee weapon. "I, for one, know the good doc could use some meds. And you guys could too." she added pointing at Warp and giving him a small smile just as Rook and Shana emerged from the tent. "As I said, the wilier you lot get, the harder you are to patch up. I'm for raiding that hospital." she shrugged as she turned towards Shana. "Ah, fearless leader. Where to and who goes with who?" she asked, wanting to get to the crux of the matter as quickly as possible.
'You'd be more successful trying to talk some sense into that pole over there,' Halo cracked to Shield with jerk of her head to indicate some indeterminate point in the distance, '...than trying to do so with him.' When she said him, she looked right at Justin and shook her head ever-so-slightly. Halo understood what drove the alcoholic teleporter to make the ill-informed, knee-jerk decisions he made, but it didn't make his reasoning any more tolerable, effective or pertinent. 'And the medical supplies sound like a smart choice...' she started to add, but figured that they'd soon enough find out what they were going to be doing, as her attention settled on Shana, who didn't look all that ruffled, considering her temperment before going into the meeting with Lucas. Resuming a calm and strangely complacent expression, Halo fell silent and await a response to either of the questions hanging in the air.
"Just a bit frazzled over all this mission business." Justin huffed in response to Shana's inquiry. "Lets smash through the wall then. Make a rail cannon.... forget it its all hot air anyhow i suppose." He ran his hand through his hair as he calmed down. "Hey, i take slight offence to that," he squinted at Halo as he slowly simmered back down to a reasonable level. "Lets just pick one and get going. The closer we get to getting ready the closer we are to an assault."
Shana's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at Justin, his reply to her question seemingly completely irrelevant since she hadn't witnessed his outburst earlier. The girl opened her mouth to say something to the man, but she closed it after a second, blinking as she turned back to her female friends. "Hospital, it is," she announced, specifically to Daniela, whose statement she had caught the tail end of as she had approached them. "And I'm just taking my girls," she added, eyeing Justin through the corner of her eyes, then looking back at Rook, to make sure both of them understood. "You two should try to convince your 'leader' not to get you guys killed."
Lucas exited the tent out into the boneyard and the conversation. He'd just caught what Shana said and made his way over to the group, planning on posing the questions he'd been contemplating in the tent, once he'd reached them he stood with his arms folded, his shoulders relaxed as he looked from Justin and rook to Shana. "We can't save everyone. If we all make it out of this, it'll be a freaking miracle." He turned to Justin and Rook, directing the next question at them. "I'm leaving it up to you guys, it seems the fruits of labor aren't as bountiful as I'd thought on the generator mission, so do you guys want to go ahead with that one, or try escorting some people into town?" His tone wasn't exactly excited, he just wanted to get things done now, his usual sarcastic demeanor lost for the moment.
"He is not my leader," The Rook responded to Shana's statement. He didn't exactly like Lucas or his sycophantic followers, not that anyone would necessarily know. Rook played the part of the good mercenary, doing what he was told for the most part. Looking at Daniela, Rook gave the girl a nod, wanting to tell her to be safe but knowing that would probably earn him derisive looks from Shana. Instead he moved a bit closer to Justin, keeping one eye on Lucas. He would have preferred personally to go on the hospital mission, knowing enough about medical supplies and computers to actually be useful, as he had learned from his father's business. But that seemed out of the question as Shana was in a bad mood from her argument with Lucas. But then again, the woman was usually in a bad mood. He waited for Justin to make any comments for or against the expedition, his eyes on the girls as he stood there.
Shield hadn't expected Lucas to come out of the tent right after Shana, she had believed Lucas would remain in the tent and wait for the boys there. Considering what Shana had said and the instructions she'd given Justin and Rook, that was probably what she believed would happen too. Nonetheless, Lucas emerged just after Shana, which meant both leaders were.. once more, in the same place and nothing would ever get done over the pissing contest. Covering her eyes with the palm of her hand, Daniela sighed and figured if Lucas wanted to be out here so badly, they would get in the tent. "Regardless...." said Daniela, not really paying attention to the magnetic mutant and turning to Rook. "We all need to learn to work together." she added with a small, conciliatory smile. "Now... how abouuut, us girls go into the tent and get briefed by Shana." she began to say as she placed her hands on her best friend's shoulders and nudged her towards the tent. "And you guys get briefed by Ferro." For a second, the girl caught Rook's nod and smiled; "We'll be fine, promise." knowing he was prone to worry in spite of the stern face he usually put up. Right before she headed towards the EoD MLA Command Tent, she made a motion with her head, as if asking Shana and Halo to come along.
Justin sighed his eyes downcast as he addressed Lucas. "I don't think we can do it with just us two. Rook...you know how he is he would wan to help out with the injured. I know you can stop bullets and i can get us anywhere we need to go, but I don't think its enough. We would be walking into a wall of fire and im not dieing unless i take some politicians with me." He face was nothing but concentration as his hand ran to his neck tracing the scar with his palm again. "I know you want to help the brotherhood, the freaks will be there to. I just dont know man, we need that generator to prep for some offensive but there are those that need the supplies too."
Ignoring the floundering tit-for-tat amongst her compatriots, Halo glanced over to the Command Tent, but hazarded a look at Shana and offered a small nod when the tattooed woman had her final say on what they'd be doing; she was pleased with the decision, even if she didn't show it. Also surprised that Lucas deigned to grace them with his presence, Halo shifted her attention between he, Justin and Rook, whose non-committal comment did nothing to remedy the situation. Justin seemed to be getting a little wishy-washy just then, inducing a subtle eyeroll from the tall, dark-skinned mutant, when just a moment he'd seemed to gung-ho about playing lapdog to the New Brotherhood. It was nothing she was not accustomed to, however. Following Daniela's lead, Halo scuffed the toe of her boot into the ground, kicking up a little dust and dirt before mockingly tipping a non-existent hat to the guys, and headed over to EoD MLA Command Tent.
"Then stop followin' him around like a lost puppy," came Shana's snappy reply to Rook, along with a scowl in his direction. Perhaps her accusation wasn't true, but if she couldn't convince Lucas himself not to throw away their companions' lives, then maybe the men would decide to save themselves from his oh-so-intelligent command. The girl couldn't even suppress an exasperated sigh and a very noticeable eyeroll when she heard Lucas' voice behind her. "Behold, gentlemen, he expects you to die," she announced in a mockingly praising tone, her hand held out in acknowledgement in the metal-weilder's direction. Daniela's little shove did little more than move Shana's shoulders a bit, since the silver-haired woman was definitely rather stout compared to her best friend, at least for a female. Still, she knew better than to try and start something again, and so with a long sneer in Lucas' direction, the girl turned on her heel and followed her female companions into EoD MLA Command Tent.
Ignoring the caustic comments coming from Shana, Lucas turned to the two men remaining and pointed towards the Scrap Heap, "Guys, I'm going to go get one of the New Brotherhood members, the one who gave me the information on the mission we're going to undertake." he said, "Her name is Corpsefire, she's trustworthy... ish." continued the older mutant. "I'll have her meet you in the Scrap Heap, wait for her there." he finally concluded before turning away and disappearing among the shacks of the North Sprawl.
The Rook watched Lucas leave and narrowed his eyes. "Did we agree on doing the New Brotherhood's errands?" he asked Justin, looking over at the other mutant. He was right, Rook would rather go help the refugees. He was protective and instinctual. It was part of his programming to help others. Clearing his throat, he tried to ignore the feeling he was getting in the pit of his stomach that said Shana was right. They would be going to their deaths. "I am not his lap dog," Rook said with a final sigh.
"I guess we are after the generator after all." Justin stood up with a slight sway from a sudden rush in his system. He turned towards the Heap but his eyes stayed on Rook without taking a step. The lap dog comment struck him a bit remembering that Rook was Rook and not a brotherhood goon. "Your not, thats why i want to ask you to go with Shana." His hand wandering to his short hair with a slow run through and a huff. "I cant have Lucas die though. Besides losing another friend we need him as a threat to the government. Im going to run with him and the freaks." He realised how somber things had gotten before changing his expression, "You stay safe out there, kay bud?" he said with a half smile.
Looking over at Justin, The Rook frowned firmly. "I would hurt if I sent you with him and one of you came back injured." Rook knew that of all the people in the camp, he was the one with the highest form of training when it came to combat. Where Lucas could easily handle a few people, and Shana could kill one, Rook had the ability to run through them with ease. "I will accompany you. I would rather go somewhere I will be somewhat useful. And wanted." His eyes shifted to the tent before he stood a little straighter. "Lead on, you know these people better than I do."
Justin was actually taken off guard by rooks response. He faltered for a second before completely facing him. "Hisoka, there's a chance someone's going to die. You don't need to be going along with my vengeance plans or Lucas power trips." He grabbed him by the shoulder as he met his friends eyes. "I don't mind dieing as long as im killing some suites while im at it. You have alot more to live for after this hell hole though."
"Everything I have to live for is currently planning to leave on a mission," The Rook said quietly, staring at a point above Justin's shoulder. He wouldn't voice it out loud, never had, but he was pretty certain that Justin knew where his loyalties lay. There was nothing for him here, not without Dani or Justin. Hisoka couldn't handle losing another person.
With a sigh Justin realised that Hisoka had decided on going and nothing he would could change that. His eyes down cast for a moment before coming back up and giving a faint smile. He threw the hand he hand clenched of Rook's shoulder and set off to EoD North Sprawl. "Lets give em hell then"
Nodding, The Rook started walking behind Justin, hoping deep inside that dying wasn't going to be an option right then. Because despite what he told Justin, there was a lot in life he hadn't had a chance to experience. In many ways, he was still too young to be doing this hard work. Silent, he followed Justin with a determined expression.
As she stepped out of the command tent, Shana paused for a brief second to bend over slightly, fiddling with one of the zipper-pockets on her cargo pants. Once she got it open, she dropped the USB inside and zipped the pocket up again, then picked up her pace again, walking across the boneyard back to the EoD North Sprawl with, hopefully, Halo in tow.
Ducking out of the EoD MLA Command Tent, Halo took a couple of steps then paused to wait for Shana to get situated. She took a passing glance down at the other girl, then a quick survey of the Boneyard. No sign of Justin an Rook; she assumed they were finally on their way. She fell easily in step with her partner, and silently crossed the yard to EoD North Sprawl.
ACCESSIBLE AREAS
EoD North Sprawl
EoD MLA Command Tent
X-Men: End of Days * X-Men EoD Characters
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