Half An Ocean Away: Into The Sewers

[x-firestar.livejournal.com]

James leads the X-Men to the sewer entrance, and they head in to find Chloe.



"Before I forget you don't have to hurt every Shadow Dweller we come across. Most of them don't really want to be there but are...there is many a couple that would attack you on sight." James said to the group while gazing at the entrance of the sewers.

"Right..." Blaine eyed the tunnel entrance with some hesitation. "I suppose when that happens I should duck and hide?"' He directed his question to Angel. She looked strange in the tight leathers and her hair pulled back severely... Almost dangerous.

"Actually we were wondering if you wouldn't mind staying with James?" Angel said quietly, her uncertain tone making the words into a question. "We've got a motel room nearby for you guys to hide out in until this is over, so you can be safe and away from all of it."

"Very good idea, actually." Blaine nodded quickly. "I would only be in the way downstairs and you need to focus on finding Chloe." He glanced quickly at Scott and stepped closer. "As long as you don't leave just as suddenly with your... friend... You still owe me that talk."

Well that wasn't too ominous. "I'm not going anywhere," Angel assured Blaine, trying very hard not to focus on the talk she knew was in her future. One thing at a time.

Watching the two boys walk down the street and round a corner Scott waited till the sound of their footsteps had faded before reaching up to activate his comm, "Ok, they're clear. We're at the sewer entrance now, lets go get Chloe back."

"It's a sewer, it smells like poo gas." In addition to his uniform jacket and pants, Kyle had the bandanna he sometimes used to keep his hair out of his face over his mouth and nose. "Cyke, I am -not- sure I am gonna be able to track anything that isn't a fart in here. It's pretty stank. I'll try, but we might be relying on the ears, not the nose."

Angel wrinkled her nose a bit as she looked towards the sewer entrances. "It's supposed to be huge down there, too," she said regretfully. "Like, tons of tunnels and paths and they could be hiding anywhere."

"Tons of tunnels and paths that have metal pipes." Lorna pointed out. "I wonder if we could use the pipes to tell us where to go."

"Too bad we do not have a telepath handy," Yvete reflected with a wry note to her voice. Her eyes cast blue reflections off the slightly damp walls. "I think, if I were to be living underground, I would be looking for somewhere less close to the sewer smell, yes?"

Scott nodded at Yvette's observation, "Perhaps an unused section where they'd be as far away from the raw sewage as possible," he mused. "Give it your best shot tracking them, Wildchild," he told Kyle, "We'll all keep our eyes open, and Polaris should be able to help us zero in on them if they're using metal tools but every advantage we can get will help."

"I believe there are a number of places where the water is relatively clean", Kurt said with a nod. "Kyle's nose might help us keep away from the other ones."

Kyle grunted, but nodded. "Just keep noises down - echoes are gonna bounce around like crazy, and if I'm relying on hearing and not smell, I don't wanna be leading us down to find Pennyworth the Laughing Clown instead of Chloe the Kidnapped Girl." He gave a faux-shudder, and cracked a grin in Angel's direction. "We fight any giant space spiders, I am holding you personally responsible."

"Nr!" Angel shook her head, trying to rid herself of the images of a giant killing clown. "I swear to god if we run into a killer clown, I'm shoving you at him and running." Angel snorted under her breath. "And if we run into any giant space spiders and they don't eat you and we actually make it out alive, then all the donuts you can eat, on me," she told Kyle wryly.

"I am holding you to..." Kyle started, and then cocked his head slightly. "Hold that thought." His voice dropped, not quite a whisper - the hisses of a whisper carried. "Footsteps. Not real stealthy."

Scott help up his hand gesturing the team into the shadows as they, moving silently as he crouched down waiting for the target to emerge around the corner.

"Wildchild...thank you for the mental picture of Pennyworth. Just want I needed before I go straight into a sewer." Lorna whispered and stopped moving in the darkness.

Footsteps and now laughter, "-when I said to the bloke that it was a total pain in the ass that I don't fight birds," more chuckling, "I think they probably felt that for a month after. Next time the tossers'll listen." more chuckling.

Which stopped when the corner was rounded, "Oy, Fin!"

"I see 'em. I ain't blind, mate," snapped Fin before leveling his eyes on the people in his home.

"Well, not space spiders, but almost as ugly." Kyle said, muffled by the long-fingered hand that clapped over his mouth. He huffed and took a step back, moving away from Yvette and closer to the sewer wall - tight groups were bad for fighting and these guys looked like they wanted a fight. Or maybe Kyle wanted a fight. Either way.

Angel had to force down every single instinct that was screaming, "Set 'em on fire, set 'em on fire!" The sound of Fin's name had seriously kicked up the "fight fight fight" response, but Kyle's smartass remark, strangely enough, had served to ground her, to remind her that she wasn't here alone, and if this could be ended peaceably, well then, good.

Of course, if she ended up lighting something or someone on fire, even better.

Scott took a step forward quickly sizing up Fin and his cohorts. "We're here for the humans you've been kidnapping Fin," he saidly coldly. "No one wants a fight, just give them to us and we'll leave peacefully." As he negotiated the X-man held his hands loosely by his sidespalms facing away from the shadow dwellers. Satisfied they couldn't see he signalled his team to get ready, if he could solve this diplomatically so much the better, but Scott wasn't planning on letting them catch him by surprise.

Kurt had shifted to one side, drawing the shadows around him in an effort to go unnoticed. If they didn't know he was there at all until he wanted them to, so much the better.

Lorna moved up a bit but stayed hidden, to the best of her ability. Hearing Scott trying to negotiate with Fin, her metals started to form a solid form around her fist and half way up her arm just in case things didn't go smoothly. But when did things every go smoothly?

Fin looked around, his eyes even settling on people cloaked in shadow, more than just a quick glance. He knew they were there, "What a pain in the ass," he muttered, "Are you bloody kidding me?"

Like Kurt, Yvette was difficult to see in the darkness, especially as she pulled down her tinted goggles over her glowing eyes. She watched warily from where she was crouched, biting her lip a little. Somehow she didn't think they were going to back down so easily.

"Think they're keen on fighting, Fin." Said one of them, and Fin rolled his eyes.

"Who says 'keen' anymore? But sure, they can knock themselves out. Just another pain in the ass to deal with."