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Mutant Town had been quiet more or less, with the regular roving gangs of teenagers causing trouble and looking for 'mutie' freaks and the alike from time to time. But otherwise, there hadn't been any major attacks, incursions, or riots for the better part of the past year. It was shaping up to be fairly quiet compared to 1963, relatively.
As the sun set and the chill of fall settled into the section of the city, people tucked in for the night. Parents put their kids to sleep, dinner was scraped off plates and put away. A few night owls walked the streets to the 8-ball and a few drinks. But otherwise, the streets had few people around at this time of night.
Lorna hadn't seen anything questionable in her self-proclaimed 'patrol' of the streets. The green haired mutant had wrapped a scraf around her shoulders to ward off the deepening chill. Her leather jacket no longer enough to keep warm. A pair of knitted, fingerless gloves had been added as well to the outfit that made her look vaguely like a greaser from the '50s.
Even as Nightfall had come and the setting sun had faded, Bobby was still out and about Mutant town. Not so much as patrolling like Lorna was, but just getting a sense of the place that he didn't know before. Though eventually, he would just keep a side eye on the people there..making sure no punks tried to mess with his fellow mutants.
Afterwards, it started to get cold…thus did Bobby have to pull out that beanie he tends to wear to keep his head warm and he zipped up his black jacket a little…despite wearing a rather comfortable looking longsleeve shirt as well. In all, he wears that black zip-up jacket, blue jeans, tenneshoes, a dark blue T-shirt, and that black beanie with a white sun logo on the front. Now that he's nice and toasty without using his powers, he goes about his business once more…which for now, wasn't really considered so much as business than traveling.
Though eventually he does spot Lorna, and he gives her a little wave in greeting as he headed that way.
Rose might be a mutant, but she doesn't come to Mutant Town for the politics. Or because she needs to be around other mutants. She comes here because there are things that she can get here that she can't get anywhere else in the city, at least not easily. The illegal kind of things. Weapons. Drugs. Etc. And that's why she's here tonight. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold, opting for a leather jacket despite the cooler weather and jeans. No hat which is something she even has to admit is nice. The fact that she doesn't have to disguise herself to not stand out in a crowd.
Julie has recently resolved to help Lorna 'keep an eye on the place,' … having had a chance to spend a few hours here, she's wearing some of her warmer after-work clothes under a fairly nondescript leather jacket, presently driving that relatively late-model green Chevy wagon she sometimes brings out for urban-discretion purposes, though of course she's made a few alterations, and is wearing a number of her little bolas and things on her belt and in various pockets, just in case there *is* trouble. For now, she cruises up and down the streets of the little neighborhood before finding a spot to park, which'll likely be around her usual hangout.
Thea is bundled in a belted navy coat, blonde hair pinned up ruthlessly. Her head is ducked a bit, as if she's just trying to avoid eyes, be unseen. Anyone who actually uses powers of observation can tell from the shoes she wears, the quality of the coat, that she's not from this part of town. But the messenger bag that's slung from shoulder to hip is bulging and heavy, and filled with god knows what.
Lorna glanced up as Roberto approached, and she flashed him a some what hesitant smile. There were shadows around her eyes, clearly she hadn't slept well the previous night after they'd departed. She didn't exactly rush toward him, though he did get a wave as she stopped under a street light for him to catch up. Cars drove by sedately, their exhaust pipes leaving smoky trails in their wake.
It was quiet enough, the muted sounds of city life, that an airplane flying lower than usual could be heard above. A rumbling thing that lumbered above in the cloudy nightsky.
"Hey," Lorna offered him as Roberto got closer. "How are you doing?"
It was then that something unusual happened. Tiny flecks of white fluttered down from above. A dancing torrent of … paper? Scattered over Mutant Town below.
Pamphlets. Thousands of them dumped from the sky above down onto the occupants below.
Roberto would give Lorna a warm smile as he approached, though he noticed the bags around her eyes. She hadn't slept, or perhaps tried and failed. Thus does Bobby look a little concerned. "Hey you. I'm doing pretty good…little tired, little chilly, but it is what is is." he chuckles a bit, before looking at her. "How are you? You look good tonight." he compliments her appearance, offering to greet her with a hug.
But then those little specks of white fluttered over everything, and Bobby looked around "what the….is this…paper?" he questions, lifting out a hand to perhaps catch one in his palm. Was it that plane earlier? he thought as he hums a minute "where the…." he looks around a bit, wondering where this sudden stuff came from.
The plane flying low over the city raises an eyebrow from Rose. That's definitely not something that's part of the norm. Bits of paper falling from the sky is another thing to put her on the edge. What is it? It's obviously not some advertising thing. Not in /this/ part of town. Casually snatching a pamphlet out of the air, she takes a look to see what it says.
Julie senses, more than hears, the low-flying plane, …cause that's not where that kind of spinning of engines and props usually is around here. "Well, that probably ain't tourists," she muses, continuing on until such papers appear fluttering in her headlights. She hrms, and slows to a halt, where we can pluck one off the street, to eye one under a dash light. She hrmphs, and pulls into a spot a little distance away from where the cluster of others have gathered.
Thea hurries her steps up into a doorway, moving her bag strap up over her head. She's inside less than sixty seconds before she's moving back down to the street, that bag now rumpled and clearly empty, the contents still a mystery. She comes to a halt on the curb, frowning at the paper precipitation, hand out to catch one to try and read. "What the hell?"
Lorna blinked upwards as the papers tumbled from the sky and she lifted up into the air to pluck it from the air. She lowered herself back down to the ground, arching a brow and frowning. The papers, held different Bible verses.. Such as
"Psalm 137:9 Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!"
"Leviticus 21:18-19 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch.
And so on.. With hand scrawled notes below.
"THIS MEANS YOU, MUTIES!"
"FREAKS!"
"YOU SHALL BURN IN HELL"
Along with a sermon against mutants and man's supremacy over all else on Earth.
A few held pictures of clearly mutant people being crushed beneath a foot.
Lorna frowned darkly, her lips twisting as she crushed it between her hands.
Bobby read the words on the letter, the one he had managed to grab also having such crude notes and horrific beating of mutants….Bobby frowned, teeth clenching in anger as his offhand clenched in rage, the paper in his hand incinerating.
"Oh…I'll show them how hell burns." he says darkly, looking up at the sky as if looking for whatever dropped off those letters.
Rose rolls her eyes as she takes a look at the pamphlet, crumbling it and tossing it over her shoulder. You'd think these people would have better things to do with their time than print up flyers and then write all over them. All for what? To try and terrorize a ghetto? Losers. Taking a look around through at the citizenry of Mutant Town, it's clear that this is a bigger deal to them. Mostly from the fact that people /are/ reacting to the pamphlets, already many of the papers strewn about and caught on fire as various powers are activated in respose to agitation from above.
Julie hrms, getting out of the car, and walking along toward where others are. "So, I guess Sister Mary Atrocious went and got herself a Beechcraft," she says, her accent local and Italian-tinged. "Really ought ta pack em in the pews or something, right?" She shrugs a bit and looks around, says, "Hey, Lorna, ah, everyone."
There's a roll of brown eyes, before she's tearing that pamphlet to shreds. "Just more reason to become non-religious. Morons. Stirring up people with powers, that's a brilliant idea." Clearly Thea doesn't really think so, but there's a flush of heat in her cheeks and a darkness in her eyes. She lifts her gaze, as if looking for someone responsible to show up.
Lorna glanced up as other started to come out and look at what the commotion was about. The spike of powers and the draw of people reacting in irritation and anger increased… However there were a good amount of people that looked scared or worried and quickly darted back inside, slamming doors, and locking them fast. Lorna exhaled a breath, the paper still crumbled in her grip as she looked around, spotting Julie and a few others still on the streets.
There was a ripple of sound from down the street, and further down.. the bloom of orange. A spike of light pierced the skies further away and so did the sounds of screams. Of glass shattering.
Whatever the green haired magnokinetic was going to say was broken off at the sounds and she took off, running down the street toward them.
If the others followed? They would find shattered windows littering the streets. People scared remained huddled in their homes. Rocks, tied up with more of the printed papers could be seen strewn about. The sounds of fleeing feet, the scream of car tires… And then, eventually they'd come to an abandoned lot, that was usually empty and acted as a sort of park for the mutants of the area.. Now? Now it was lit with a large, burning cross in the center.
At the sounds of glass breaking and sreams, Bobby didn't even hesitate, running off in that direction as fast as he could. "Come on!" he says to anyone near him that could hear him talk. Though once he got there? Oh….boy was Roberto -pissed-. He walks straight to the cross "I know this faith….and this isn't it. This is some sick perversion of hatred." he growls and attempts to absorb the flames that stain the cross into him, which it wouldn't hurt him at all.
"as for the people who did this…." He clenches his fist, looking around for those tire tracks to follow what that noise was…though he looks through the glass first, to where the screams he thinks came from. "You all alright in there?" he asks, making sure everyone's okay first -before- he starts looking for the suspects.
Huh. Rose was expecting a quiet trip to Mutant Town. Just purchase a few things and leave. She wasn't expecting the explosions. She would've brought some weaponry if she was. Still, the excitement of what's happening does pique her interest and she does move toward the direction of the commotion. She wants to see what's happening. She'll decide if she's going to get involved after she can see what she's dealing with. On the plus side, if she does get roped into something here, her dad is going to be so annoyed that she's going into a conflict and not getting paid for it.
Julie just kind of stares for the moment, at the sound of getaway vehicles, ….she curses in Italian briefly, and waves her hand in various motions back at the car she brought. She whistles loudly between two fingers for a flourish as it starts, apparently, driving itself up to the group and stopping right there. "Gonna see if I can at least get some plate numbers, I oughtta be able to spot out the engines if they don't get too lost in traffic. Anyone coming?"
At the sound of screams, Thea is running towards them, not away. There is a glance at the door where she's just made her drop, but she'll wait and see. That bag is gripped in her hand, maybe a couple bits of pieces still bouncing around in the old army medic's bag. By the time she reaches where rocks have shattered glass and increased people's fear, blonde strands are escaping those careful pins. The nurse spins, eyes landing on Dizzy for a moment, though she doesn't call out to the mechanic. She doesn't want to draw any attention at all, not with all the uncertainty of some aspects of her life.
She'll turn again, and focus on one mutant with eyes that give him away, who had been hurt by shattered glass. Blood will push out glass shards, suddenly, and then he won't bleed at all, the skin starting to close together.
The 'get-away' car, such as it was, wasn't going to get far. Not when there was an angry magnokinetic in the area. As the van reached the edge of her limits, Lorna drew heavily on the power lines, electricity crackling along the fields of her magnetic pulse as she stretched out her hands in a snarl. The car's tires squealed, spinning out and burning rubber as she dragged it back down the street toward Julie.
"They're all your's!" She shouted.
The flames at least, had been absorbed by Roberto in quick order, leaving nothing behind but a charred cross still planted in the center of the abandoned lot.
It wobbled for a brief moment, and collapsed over on its side. Clearly, if it had still been lit, the fire would've spread to the dried leaves and grasses all around.
A few scared responses were what Roberto got in response, before one mutant woman came running out with a child in her arms. A bloody gash on the back of his head where a rock had smashed through the window and hit him. The child was limp and wasn't moving in his mother's arms. The woman sobbed, pleading for someone to help.
Rose takes a few steps off from the main part of the street. There's a lot going on and with cars being tossed around and fires being set, she's much less concerned with some flyers and a bunch of people in a van. She starts to take her time, looking around the upper areas of the buildings and off at the best places to hide. If the whole plan is to stir up trouble in order to distribute a bunch of flyers to a bunch of people who don't want those flyers, it doesn't seem like a good plan. And if there's something else going on here… she wants to know what it is.
Bobby would have his hands full with the woman with the bleeding child in her hands, he looks around "Anybody here have the healing skill necessary for this? I'm helpless in this way…" he sighs a bit, attempting to help the woman as best he could…before Lorna steals his attention as she drags that car back….which has Bobby have a smirk. "Let me take care of whoever is inside…." he growls faintly.
Mutants were his family…no one hurts his family.
There isn't time to care, or hesitate about… whoever sees her, or if she's being watched. Not now. Thea moves quickly to the mother, her voice low and calm. "It'll be all right. I'm a nurse. Just let me…" She will move, her bare hand coming up to cup the back of the child's head. Pupils widen and darken her brown gaze, as her perception splits, but she doesn't dare close her eyes, not knowing what may still be to come. She's slowing that blood loss, which is always such a flood from any head wound, and the baby fine but resilient skin of a kid makes it easy to bring it together without worrying about scarring. She will feel the burning inside herself, her heartrate increasing, her lungs working harder. But this.. this is a small wound, not from a bullet or a knife. In what seems to the healer to be seconds, but can have been moments, the skin is whole, there is no rising lump or bleeding, and inside is just as healed. There may be a ringing in the ears or a headache for a little while, but the kid will be okay… and Thea tells his mother so as her hand lifts away.
Julie has done her own tire-squealing, along the way, that beaten wagon geared -down for just this sort of urban situation, though before long she's sliding to a stop a little sideways behind the van. She hauls from the passenger seat, a trusty set of old tow-hooks. She's swinging the chain a bit, …she does discreetly point at the license plate on the thing, there's a little 'vrrr' as screws turn and pop out, the plate clattering to the ground… or up toward Lorna, perhaps. "Got it!" she yells back to Lorna. Hooks one end of said chain to a lamp-post.
There was chaos in the streets. People poured into the streets to watch. Others to take hits at the people inside the van that had clearly been part of the chaos. Though if there'd been any of foot, it was now impossible to be certain where they'd gone. If there someone in charge? They weren't to be seen. Not in the chaos of shattered glass, scared and angry masses and muddy pieces of propaganda littering the ground. Thea's help had the mother sobbing in relief as she cradled the child close and thanked the woman profusely.
Lorna didn't let go of the car, even as she struggled to pull it back, metal screamed and twisted. The doors bent inwards and with a groan, ripped off the car. The whole of the metal carriage twisted and bit by bit, pieces started to fall off the car. Even more than simply getting the plate as Julie had done.
But then a loud crack went off. A bullet sang into the air… and Lorna could stop it. It hit her shoulder, sending her stumbling away and dropping her powers. The car's tires squealed and it drove off, vanishing into the night and chaos of what had happened in mutant town.
Bobby watched as Thea did her thing, and he smiled to her warmly "Thank you…" he pats her on the shoulder…before Lorna gets shot. That's when Bobby rushes to catch her when she stumbled "I got you…here, stay put." he looks to Thea "Can you help her too?" he asks, staying at her side a moment…but then his eyes almost glow red.
"I'll be right back…" he growls as he uses a thermal updraft he makes to fly..pursuing the van in the direction it headed…or at least attempting to pursue.
Rose frowns as she hears the gunshot go off. If she sprints, maybe… no way. That van is going to be gone fast. And with the gunshot coming from the van, it sounds like there was no backup for the people that did this. So she really has to wonder what these people thought it was all for. Why bother doing something like this? Particularly since their act of stupidity seems to have caught the attention of some guy who's now glowing and flying after them. They /can't/ be happy with that result. Coming away from the side again, she closes a little on the group of people that have gathered following the incident. Aside from one of them being shot they seem to be doing alright so far and there's not a lot she can offer to help with.
Thea glances at Bobby at that pat to her shoulder, as her pupils contract to normal and she's just inside herself again. "Piece of cake." She'll even wink at him as she hurries to Lorna's side and kneels.
"Hey there. I'm Thea, and you're going to hate me for a minute, and then you're gonna think I'm great, okay? Can you hold still?" She'll lay on hands, watching the other woman's face. "It's gonna look like a lot of blood, but I have to get the bullet out, okay? Then I'll heal you up and you can never tell anyone you don't want to about the time you got shot." She'll wait for permission, though.
Julie gets a snarl of *really* angry, there. The not-quite-sound of "VRRRRR" spools up really noticeable as she lets that van get up a head of steam, then *WHAM*. Axles stop turning very suddenly, if briefly, all the better to send those inside said van banging about in there. And the tires make a tortured sound before they start spinning again… Diz just keeps an eye out for that gun again.
Lorna stumbled into Bobby's grip, shock coloring her features. She should've been able to deflect it, stop it. Someone had been prepared to fight a magnokinetic though. The bullet, wasn't a ferris metal, she couldn't feel it in her skin. She turned pale as she clapped a hand over the bloody mess of her arm. She had barely caught herself, wincing in pain when Bobby went off after the van.
As Thea came up to her, she nodded, her features twisting into a grimace of pain. "Yeah.. Su-sure. Do whatever you have to." She breathed, gritting her teeth.
Rose faded into the crowd of onlookers without issue. No one had anything else to say. At least. not until Julie stopped the van. A few men in ski-masks came pouring out of it, running and scattering in different directions. About five of them. At least two of them limped more than ran.. but the other three?
They had no qualms of pushing their way through the now angry and churning crowd for a hope of escape.
As Bobby flies through the air, he homes in on one of the ones not limping, assuming the crowd can take care of the two limping away. Bobby dive bombs for him, hopeing to tacklehim to the ground and literraly beat him into unconsciousness with his bare hands. No powers, just fist to face…because that hockey mask probably wasn't going to be durable against his enhanced strength. "You want to hate mutants you piece of shit? Don't pick a fight with people who've done nothing to you." and he lets him go after that, just gonna leave him there after, off to return to the group in a clear pissed off demeanor.
"Take a breath. It's going to be okay." She will dull the pain first, before there's that rush of heated blood over Lorna's shirt, and the tink of something on pavement. Then there's pressure as Thea's hands close over the top of the wound. The blonde will pale, eyes wide and dark again as she reverses the rush of the blood and pulls it back from the wound to close it up.
And just like that, the hunt is on. 5 of these guys out of the van. 2 of them are dead meat. But three of them have a chance of getting away. Rose looks for the most likely one to get away. That's who she's following. She's easily faster than any of them. And she can disappear when she wants to. Stopping this guy earns her nothing. But following him back to wherever he comes from? Now /that/ might be worth something.
Julie just halts and releases the now-stalled van, "Yeah, you better run! Whatsammata youse!" They can go away bruised all they want, really. But Diz does keep on backing off with an eye toward if anyone takes another potshot at her friends, or herself for that matter. Stops to scoop up that license plate, and her tow hooks, if they keep running. She scoops up the heavy chain, heaving it doubled-over onto one shoulder like it's something she does all the time, then heads back on over. The beater she's driving, well, follows back along at her walking pace.
The two limp men? The crowd makes short work of both of them. Mutants pile onto the two injured men and in the heat of the moment. Between the chaos and the blood and the smells of ash in the air, the crowd tore them limb from limb. In minutes, two humans are dead, their remains scattered over the street. Blood running down in splatters over those that ripped them apart and down to the pavement below.
The man that Roberto tackled to the ground did not get back up. And if he didn't keep an eye on the man, the crowd wasn't likely to leave him alive either.. especially judging by the anger in the mob that still rippled beneath the surface.
Rose finds that one man runs in a nearly straight route, as if it had been planned ahead of time. He curves down alley ways and around the bends, never stopping despite the fact he seems to have lost most of the crowd otherwise. A few blocks away? Another get away van pulls up to the side of the street. This one with a church logo painted on the side reading "The Church of Humanity", and in subscript beneath, "United, Forever, Strong" in purple lettering.
The other man? it seems he too gets away.
Leaving one man alive in a violently angry crowd.. At least until police sirens howl down the street. Their lights flickering as they catch a wave of people in the street, and have to slow.
Bobby did not care at all what happened to the man who he left alive…let the crowd have their way with him for all he cares. He was far too angry. Though his anger dissipated when he sees Lorna being treated to again, and he walks up to be next to her "Hey, you alright? You took a good shot." he smiles to her, before looking to everyone else "Anyone else hurt?" he asks, brown eyes moving through every face he saw, even Thea, despite her clear ability to heal.
But Bobby's attention just as quickly returns to Lorna and Thea as the former starts to be healed, staying with them.
Julie tosses her chains in the back as her vehicle stops near where Lorna is. She takes a deep breath, possibly shaking a bit from various emotions. She pauses to breathe really deeply a few times, and heads up. "Oh, bene, it's Thea," she says, and looks to the others. "Glad you're here tonight. How is she?" Anger fades to concern. In past incidents like these, the hot-rodder girl's usually only been in time to help clean up and rebuild. Now she's really seen it. She squats a bit. Just glances to Berto, and nods slowly for lack of much to say yet.
So this /was/ the plan. Huh. Rose doesn't give this 'Church of Humanity' a ton of credit. It's a terrible plan considering they ended up losing at least 2 members and a van (and used enough resources to afford a plane!). Still, it means that they have resources. And what they're doing isn't legal. She's pretty sure taking some of those resources would qualify as exactly what she came to Mutant Town for tonight in the first place. Hurrying quickly up towards the getaway van, moving into an all-out sprint, she ignores the man who's trying to escape her, immediately moving to take out the driver. She's pretty sure, stopping this getaway should be worth her time. If nothing else, she can always go back for the guy who's trying to get away.
Lorna glanced up at Bobby and Julie as they came back toward her and she grimaced. "Yeah.. I'm okay." Her voice was raw from having gone through the pain of being shot at, swallowing her anger as well as Thea's treatment. Which still, was a thousand times better than being shot. She made to stand up, clapping her pants off from whatever was on the street.
Green eyes scanned the approaching police cars and she frowned. Her hands rose up and the lights sparked once, and went out.
"That should buy people some time to get out of here." She looked around at those that remained, the crowd now freely fleeing back to their homes. No one was going to talk to the cops about the men that had attacked them. Not when there were two.. no, now three.. bodies on the ground.
Thea rocks back on her heels. "She should be okay, but she needs fluids, and possibly some ice at the site of injury." She says to Bobby, standing up and.. realizing her clothes are covered in blood. She will sneak away back towards home.
Bobby would smile warmly to Thea "Thank you." he nods a few times to her, staying with Lorna until he helped her walk back home.
Julie eyes the flashing police lights. She waggles the license plate. The now-beaten initial van will still hopefully be traceable, but there's some kind of proof, perhaps. She does glance to Thea, then between the car and Lorna, nodding. "You wanna come back to the medbay, let me know. I guess I'll see what we can get on running this plate down, and see about a few reinforcements."