xp_logs | Genosha - Stemming The Tide: Ambush Part 2

Molly, Matt and Meggan run straight into some very welcoming arms.

As Meggan, Matt, and Molly, fled from the magistrates that were in hot pursuit, Meggan was trying to simultaneously watch out for anything that could potentially trip up Matt, shouting the occasional warning of ‘rock!’ or ‘huge branch, duck now!’ as she stayed close. She appeared desperate as they neared their goal, skidding through one spot that sent up great clouds of dirt in their haste. They were close now.

Meggan shouted out frantically, “Keep going, we’re almost there! Just through that bend, we can make it!”

"Move, move, move!" Matt added, practically dragging Molly with him. He had the longest legs and despite being blind, was making the best time with the younger girl, practically carrying her as they ran. The words helped to illuminate the world around him through his sonar so he could 'see' better. If he had been fully blind without powers, this wouldn't be possible.

Molly looked behind her occasionally. Meggan and Matt was yelling and she did her best to keep up, occasionally hopping over some rocks and branches and stuff as Matt pulled her along. She could hear the branches cracking and footsteps and see the bad guys coming up really, really fast. If she threw a rock she could hit them but that was only a thing to say cause she couldn't stop and throw a rock.

She heard a click as a couple of them lifted their weapons.

"Guns!" Molly screamed.

There was a shadow, and then a loud crackling, like a car running over several felled branches. Between the running children and their pursuers was now a massive, glowering tower of fat and bones. Fred Dukes stared down at the armed Genoshans. He didn't take his eyes off the Magistrates, and actually leaned towards them, "Yah kids okay?"

Meggan nodded an affirmative as she slowed to a temporary halt. None of the three had fallen onto any rocks or brambles during their mad dash for safety, nobody had been shot by those Genoshans. “We’re all okay, Fred,” she confirmed. She knew that would be their cue to get out of the path of danger now, and go back to camp.

The realisation was instantaneous. There was no warning; the lead magistrate opened fire on Fred, hitting him with the entire clip.

"Trap!" the magistrate screamed over the roar of his gun. "Fall back! Van Tieghem, radio!"

A man in the back was already raising his walkie, but as he did a flare of energy erupted from the case. Though the man yelped as it spat sparks in his ear, it was more than an electrical short; the transceiver literally fell apart in his hands the moment he pushed the button.

"How observant," Jean-Phillipe murmured dryly as he sent another jolt of electricity through the radio just to be sure. And if some of the energy spilled over onto the radio operator and rendered him unconscious, so much the better. As the giant form of Fred drew gunfire, Jean-Phillipe skirted the edges, trying to circle around the magistrates. If they had a vehicle, and he could get to it, his powers would make quick work of disabling it and leaving the Genoshan culs stranded in the bush. Fred squeezed the barrels of the two nearest guns, violently pulling them from the Magistrate's hands and tossing them aside before driving the two nearest men into the ground. He grabbed the one that tried to get back up and tossed him into one of the guards closer to Jean-Phillipe, "Heads up, Sparky," Fred grunted out.

"Merci," Jean-Phillipe answered. Not that he had really been in danger of getting hit by the flying magistrate. Fred's aim was quite good. But drawing his attention to the two men tangled up in each other gave him the chance to hit the pair with one strong jolt of electricity, stunning them both into unconsciousness before they could disentangle themselves from each other.

The two remaining magistrates hadn't waited to see the fate of their comrades. They dove into the bush, pounding for the vehicle they'd left at the edge of the treeline. It was their way out -- and, more importantly, it contained another radio.

A tree fell across their paths with a snap like a gunshot, its severed trunk bulged and frayed as if it had exploded from some internal pressure. The rear man was so preoccupied with avoiding his abruptly-halted comrade that he never saw the attack coming.

A huge, dark form burst from the opposite tree, roaring. It hit the man in the side with crushing force and drove him to the ground, twisting the magistrate's knee with dislocating force. It fastened its jaws on his shoulder, and the man screamed as the massive beast jerked its head to the side, tearing muscle and ligament to leave the arm useless.

"Tom!" His partner had drawn his sidearm in an instant: no rubber bullets now, only live ammo. He leveled the gun at the attacker's back, but it seemed to sense the intent for its giant leonine head was already turning. Stark yellow eyes narrowed, and its tail lashed once. The magistrate pulled the trigger --

The barrel of the gun exploded.

The man fell back screaming, instinctively clutching at the shrapnel in his face and eyes. The assailant ignored him and turned back to the man it still held pinned. His face was white with pain, breath coming in short, sharp gasps. The unreadable feline face stared down at him, as if considering. After what seemed an eternity, it finally broke the stare and stepped away. A moment later it was gone.

By the time he reached the others Marius had already returned to human form and reclaimed the square of cloth that was as close as one could get to modesty when one lacked an outfit of unstable molecules. He was just securing it around his waist as he came upon Fred and Jean-Phillipe.

"Stragglers sorted," he commented. He glanced from one teammate to another. "Any problems?"

Fred deflated enough to keep his footsteps from rumbling, moving towards Marius and kicking any of the gunman that stirred on the ground, "Other than tha fact we only got to fug'up a few of these asses?" He nodded to Jean-Phillipe before offering his larger hand to Marius, "Lookin like it came off well. Thanks for the k.o., Mr. Marius..."

"No worries. Doubt either of mine will be in much shape to travel, but we might do well to find their vehicle. Disable, maybe scrounge a bit, what have you. Not than an armful of metal is ever replacin' a bouquet of flowers, but I'd say Lorna deserves something nice, eh?" Marius looked dispassionately at the pile of men in Fred's wake before turning to Jean-Phillipe. "Any of yours get off a communication?"

"Non," Jean-Phillipe said succinctly. "I was sure to hit every radio first." The first rule of terrorism - the unknown is much more terrifying. An entire patrol dying is not nearly so terrifying as a patrol that completely vanishes without a trace.

Marius nodded curtly, lashing his tail. He turned his head to squint back down the trail.

"Wonder if the others found the command post . . ."